Collected Animals

Outside of a couple shows, I haven't heard many of the boots for the songs on the new album. What is everyone's favorite live renditions of the songs from IIN? Curious to hear how they differed from the studio, etc.

Thanks to foxtrot for the idea

And its me again!

So you have heard 'Skiffs' songs live but none of the 'Now?' songs??

Also, have you heard the Music Box stuff? I'm guessing so. That's where the whole era started and the early versions of Magicians and Defeat there are fascinating - must listen.

Assuming that's the case, here are a few neat early versions of Now? songs (that maybe highlight some of the ways they've changed/grown):

Broke (Started much quicker and with these Spirit style high pitched synths):
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPzn73z1WNQ&t=1719s[/youtube]

Gem (Also started a little faster though otherwise no huge shift, just tightened up a bit over time and a few sweet little additions to studio):


Stride (I like this one just cause it shows how much the song evolved from this minimal thing over a synth loop into a full blown Deeks piano ballad. People love the 2021 version but I don't see a huge difference between that and the studio version. There is a big difference here):


Magicians (This version has cool long intro, a few different vocal bits, though structurally pretty much the same as it ended up):
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE6aepJZ2Y8&t=3s[/youtube]

Defeat (1st part has a much more metallic kind of sound/atmosphere, significant lyric changes, different vocal delivery, 2nd part build up still in a very early form - main section MUCH more medieval and melodically much simpler, 3rd part most like studio but still various changes - quicker, vocals are delivered more forcefully which changes the feeling a bit):
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzkMopqf4z4&t=2s[/youtube]



And just in case you haven't already heard (VERY different versions - the germination of the entire Skiffs Now era):

thanks for sharing all these! I can't wait to listen to em

I've heard the blast sessions, and I think the Desert Daze or Meow Wolf boot (unless they're the same). Gonna listen to these today! Those are some great thumbnails

Was Cherokee the only song they initially had auto-tune on?

no, cherokee, bolder, kings, and passerby

Gem and Royal as well. I completely forgot about the auto tune on Kings tho, what a weird version of that song.

this is really awesome

Thanks to foxtrot for pulling those together. I'd stopped listening to boots last year and now with IIN? out there its crazy to go back and listen to these. I love that early version of Stride, it was one I never paid much attention to and I can't remember if I ever saw them play it live. The album version feels a bit more disjointed and I love how this one just flows. Its way more minimal but I wish they had kept that flowing loop vibe with the vocal melody shifting instead of breaking it up into these kind of distinct dramatic sections.

I want to revisit a lot of boots from this era, the 2019 stuff is especially fun. I can still remember and get that sense of excitement when I listen that came when they first debuted these songs.

4 years later and 2019 Passer-by is still my favorite thing to come out of this entire era.

It was transcendent. I guess maybe one day we'll get some soundboard recordings or something

I miss the cowbell on gem and i

4 years later and 2019 Passer-by is still my favorite thing to come out of this entire era.

Fully agree. Possibly one of my favorite songs ever of theirs

this is a gun, this is a gun, this is a gun, this is a gun

yee 2019 passerby and the more energetic vocals of cherokee are my 2 all time favs, also love bolder's chorus so much

i'm gonna be totally honest with you guys sometimes i would roll my eyes at the idea of and obsession over the "anco magic" (and i'm an old head) but like, the 2019 boots are exactly that to me.

Hellomark wrote:

4 years later and 2019 Passer-by is still my favorite thing to come out of this entire era.

Fully agree. Possibly one of my favorite songs ever of theirs

thirding this opinion. i would kill to hear 2019 desert daze passerby recreated in studio

the first version of dragon slayer (when we were calling it Shine) at meow wolf is still my favorite of any of the boots



i also prefer the 2022 Gem and I's when they had an extended intro but still all the fun bells and whistles of the studio version.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jDwRcIG0lE&pp=ygUbZ2VtIGFuZCBpIGFuaW1hbCBjb2xsZWN0aXZl[/youtube]

takes until 1:15 to start the first verse here, when that's already mid chorus in the studio track. would have loved a longer take on the album.

senconded on gem and I's intro jam. that song was the only one I really rinsed before release, the blast session one. love how the groove kind of pokes its shoots through the soil before the song fully blooms. album version is still cool, they clearly weren't aiming to capture that aspect of the live experience. but dang it woulda been nice

I really like the extended intro broke used to have, don't know if it was supposed to be a part of the song or just acted as a transition but the wavering piano in the beginning always reminded me of the cure's poppier stuff.

sthere witas a Defeat that was played at one of the octm 2019 shows that I thought was just so gorgeous and Practically Perfectl. I wanna same it was on the same bootleg where they also played Grass live