Rough Travel for a Rare Thing: A Live Album

VINYL FORMAT. Finally! The Smog live album everyone always wanted for years and years has finally reached the public just in time to be a Bill Callahan record instead. Doesn't make a bit of difference - Smog classics ride alongside Callahan hits with the same unforgettable gait. Rough Travel for a Rare Thing was recorded in Melbourne, Australia on November 8, 2007, at a club called The Toff. The show sold out in a matter of hours, which Bill's minders delightedly reported to their star, in order to get his spirits up for the show. They needn't have bothered - Bill loves playing live, whether in front of sold-out houses or almost sold-out houses. In any case, it was a moment to remember when the band walked into the venue for the first time. Bill was like, "Cool! There's a bar in my dressing room. Which way to the stage?" Then he found out he was standing on the stage. The place was small, I tell ya. Small.

When Bill makes his records, he has a certain sound in his head which we hope can be extracted by the time the budget is maxed. The same thing happens on tour but we pay a lot less money for it to happen. For the sold-out tour all across Australia that this recording was taken from, the line-up was: three fiddle players who also sang back up, a drummer without cymbals and a bass player who also played harmonica. The idea was to have a strong, simple foundation with a lot of space left on top to be filled by the mystical strings and voice. And that's what came to pass. Rough Travel for a Rare Thing features Kate Connor, Lara Goodridge, Pria Schwall, Tim Rogers and Lawrence Pike and an audience of probably a hundred. But they were packed in there. And there were lots more out on the sidewalk in front - honest!