Tonight was going to be the night. After waiting nearly 4 years from first hearing The Childballads, and over 10 years from seeing Stuart Lupton last perform, I was going to be able to finally see them when they opened for The Kills tonight. I was looking forward to this show more than any other that I can think of in recent memory. Then I see their name isn’t listed on the venue’s website anymore. I do a bit of searching around and came up with this:
“Childballad fans, we have to humbly apologize for not being able to tour and not making it known that our tour was cancelled with the Kills. We tried to the 11th hour to make it happen. It’s mainly due to lack of tour support. It’s very expensive to tour these days and the funds are just not available. Labels aren’t making the money they used to, gas is ridiculous, 4 star hotels ain’t cheap and drummers eat a lot.”
Apparently, I’m destined to never see them. This track was recorded live at the Mercury Lounge in New York back in August of 2004.
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Download: The Childballads – Green Jewelry (Live)
I had a request for more Child Ballad stuff which I will gladly satisfy. This track was recorded at the soon to be defunct Tonic in New York City back in 2005. The EP that they put out earlier this year so far is my top contender for best record of 2007. It’s no Jonathan Fire*Eater, but it comes pretty damn close.
The new Childballads EP was finally released last week. I ordered mine today, so I’m still waiting to hear it, but I’ve heard most of the songs on live recordings that a friend of mine has been sending me the last couple of years. This track comes from a recording at the Mercury Lounge in September of 2004, so they have been playing the songs from the EP for almost three years. But I’m really excited to hear it since it’s the first “official” recording that Stewart Lupton has put out in close to ten years. They have been playing around New York and D.C., but now that the EP is out, hopefully they will do a proper tour and make it out to the west coast.
Stewart Lupton was the singer of the late, great Jonathan Fire*Eater. He’s been playing around New York and D.C. for the last couple of years with a new band called Childballads. This is a track from the show they played at the Knitting Factory in New York on August 8, 2005. I see that they are supposed to have a single out in December on Loog Records (home of The Duke Spirit, Soledad Brothers, and The Bravery) and a full length out early next year. You know it’s going to be awesome.
