Music Review: Michale Graves – Illusions Live/Viretta Park
Review by Tony – Hell Feels Like Home
“Michale would often tell me that he felt like his set was like going to a funeral. Maybe a funeral for him, maybe it was for the fans, the songs or a ghost. I don’t know for sure what he was talking about, but I felt very differently. Each night what I saw was a celebration.”- J.V. Bastard, 2008
The quote above appears in the liner notes for the latest Michale Graves release Illusions Live/Viretta Park, and I feel that both J.V. And Michale are correct. I caught Graves acoustic twice this past year and this is exactly how those shows felt to me. These shows had an air of both sadness and joy as if we were saying goodbye to the past and to the heart break, while welcoming that we had survived the pain and loss and that our lives were opening to something new.
Illusions Live is a recording that captures the beauty and despair of Michale’s acoustic sets. The recording quality of these live tracks is raw and an excellent representation of what it was like to actually be at the show. The Graves classic “Blackbird” starts this record out and rather then the catchy punk of the original, this song is stripped down to the emotion and honesty of the words and this is what this album is all about. These songs are transformed into the raw emotion that gave birth to them originally and strip away the fat. The track list for this live set is just about perfect and includes not only Michale’s solo work but also songs from his days in Graves, Gotham Rd. and the Misfits. The only song I am disappointed isn’t included is “Tell Me”.
Also included on this record is the acoustic demo Viretta Park which was recorded in Romania while Michale was working on the film Perkins 14. No idea why these tracks are called demos, the recording is crisp and clear and the songs are excellent. Besides a re-recorded acoustic version of “Blackbird” there are five new songs. My favorite of these new songs is “A Generation Coming Down” This one starts with some dark strummed acoustic guitar. The chorus is catchy and strong with vocals that really shine. The lyrics question what is going on with the world and what is going on within ourselves and if we can take it.
I am so glad that this album came out because Michale’s acoustic shows really touched me, and I can’t think of a much better souvenir then this. If you didn’t catch the shows make sure to give this a shot and listen with an open mind. Forget about the Misfits (yeah, I know it’s hard), forget everything you know about Michale Graves and let this album teach you a little bit more about the man behind all these great songs.
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