Cave Cafe at Calvin College – November 9, 2010

June 21st, 2011

RETRO SERIES:
This would be Valentiger’s last live show before taking a nearly a four month break to mix and give “Oh, to Know!” a face, while also making a music video and make many public appearances.  Shirey tuned up his baby grand piano, contacted Mark Lago for his brass work and the boys hit mixing hard on their own as well as sessions with long-time partner, Steve Holsinger.

However, at the Cave Cafe, they would play the album in it’s entirety along with many favorite older songs.  “All I” was finally hitting it’s stride live and “Love to Forgive” was really coming to be quite sweet with the band polishing off their three-part harmonies.  Rockers like “Another Cool Move” and “Frozen Dozing” struggled in the more quiet and lax environment, but it was great practice for the impending tour down to their showcases at SXSW in support of the new record.  Things were really starting to come together AND pile on at the same time.  Valentiger shared the stage with Perry Wright.

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Billy’s Lounge – October 28, 2010

June 15th, 2011

RETRO SERIES:
“Pistolbrides bring rock, not folk, to Billy’s,” says The Grand Rapids Press and that’s just what they did.  Valentiger opened up the Halloween bash playing mostly material from the upcoming release of “Oh, to Know!”  Shirey was dressed in a full marching band costume with Rider in a mullet and Kehoe sweating in a full snow suit.  The boys blasted through a lot of rock n’ roll with “some of the best sound they’d ever had at Billys,” says Scott “Huckin” Schultz who was in attendance.  There was a good amount of dancing and Shirey even played a guitar solo with a feather-laden shoulder piece from his uniform.  But what really impressed him was Pistolbrides’ cover of Kinks’ “Wicked Annabella” from their 1968 effort, The Village Green Preservation Society.  “That is really up there with the best cover selections and executions I’ve seen,” exclaimed Shirey.  DJ Spyder Murphy spun records to close out the night and the boys rocked a cassette of Nirvana’s Unplugged in New York all the ride home.  Happy Halloween!

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WYCE Fall Fund Drive – October 20, 2010

June 15th, 2011

RETRO SERIES:
Over the course of two weeks, Valentiger made a few big steps toward the completion of “Oh, to Know!”  Shirey had recorded some of the last overdubs including tremolo guitar on both “All I” and “Into the Sun,”  as well as pedal steel guitar on a number of tracks using a vintage Music Man amp.  Shirey and Kehoe also spent a Saturday laying down the last bass lines while turning around to take their first stab at mixing with Steve Holsinger the following day.  The boys had been working hard an were ready to start promoting the disc and its release just in time for the WYCE Fall Fund Drive.  They appeared to perform both “Oh My God! This Weekend” and “Oh, to Know!” live and on the air, while also making a donation.  Turns out, Rider has a great radio voice.

Listen “Oh, to Know!” from that very day:

Listen to community radio on 88.1FM or via www.wyce.org!

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Founders – October 9, 2010

June 15th, 2011

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Valentiger joined Bill Tucker in celebrating REVUE writer, Justin Stover’s CD release party.  The boys played for quite a large crowd and were fairly excited to NOT play the headlining slot, giving them the opportunity to socialize and enjoy Justin’s set as well.  New songs from the then-unreleased “Oh, to Know!” were sneaking out more frequently and “All I” saw its debut.  Matthew Forbush of Alexis was in attendance commenting, “They (Valentiger) mentioned being a bit apprehensive about the new song, but they really pulled it off.  That vocal riff sounded fantastic.”  From there on out, the boys somehow convinced bartender, Don to come out the following day and participate in the annual Valentiger Fall Classic Baseball Game at Coca Cola Field in John Ball Park.  It was a thing of synergy and beauty.  However, Jason Roy of Relapse failed to show once again, leaving Kirk to represent with his truly awesome power hitting.  Other notables included “Killer Arm” Pete and “Shoeless Joe” Jarrells from WYCE, Scott “Huckin” Schultz and thee Molly of Blue Molly.

P.S. I think Justin Stover’s CD came in some sort of lunch sack?

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Destination 1111 – October 1, 2010

June 2nd, 2011

RETRO SERIES:
Shirey and Rider passed around a celebratory bottle of flavored wine with the likes of Alexis,  J. Oscar Bittinger and Ben Scott-Brandt of Ribbons of Song.  Another successful Destination 1111 had come and gone.  Following up their ArtPrize performance at the B.O.B., Valentiger hit this “let of ArtPrize” event which serves free Hideout Beer while you peruse local artwork in an old factory renovated into work spaces.  Valentiger played to a sizeable, yet intimate crowd in 2/3 fashion, sporting electric guitar and drums.  Of course, Shirey sang and played harmonica while Rider displayed his bell set on another rendition of “Courses.”  I think the real stand-out tracks here, though, were the fresh-out-of-the-box arrangements of both “Frozen Dozing” (then still titled “Hard Earned Gold”) and “Oh My God! This Weekend.”  The latter featured a newly pepped third verse, keeping the song moving while adding energy.  It was an impressively full sound for just two guys and, as always, the boys had a good time doing so.  From there, they enjoyed Shirt Prize from Revue Magazine, other artwork and more local music.  After loading out in the rain, it was all over on this Friday night.  The boys needed to save their energy for Saturday night’s Pulaski Days…

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