My favorite live versions of every Lake Street Dive song I can find.
Like all great bands, LSD is always tinkering. Over the years, many people have uploaded videos from LSD shows. Some of these videos show early versions of songs, from before the band landed on the style they liked best. Some of these videos demonstrate how the band tweaks songs so they work better for the live crowd (and also because McDuck can't play three trumpets at once). All of these videos show why this band is special.
I can't entirely quantify what's going to make a video show up here, but I can make a few guesses:
- Crowd energy is key, but studio performances for things like radio shows will do in a pinch.
- It's fun when the band tries new things.
- Having good audio and video quality is important, but not vital.
Let's rock.
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sometimes When I'm Drunk And You're Wearing My Favorite Shirt | |
| 2 | I Can Sleep With My Eyes Open | |
| 3 | The Frustration Song | |
| 4 | Drugs Or God | |
| 5 | A Cowgirl Lovesong | |
| 6 | Well Lit Room | |
| 7 | Scones (astepbackwardsbut) | |
| 8 | The Very Special Person Song | |
| 9 | I Make The Wrong Decisions | |
| 10 | Chinatown | |
| 11 | Just Show Up And Look Pretty | |
| 12 | Re;ply Girl (the Betty Song) |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Be Cool | |
| 22 | The Panhandling Song | |
| 23 | Thinking Of You, And Such | |
| 24 | Love To Food | |
| 25 | The Paddleball Game | |
| 26 | As Much As I Do | |
| 27 | Hell To Pay | |
| 28 | Death On Pluto | |
| 29 | Dupont | |
| 30 | Promises, Promises |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Hello? Goodbye! | |
| 14 | Don't Make Me Hold Your Hand | |
| 15 | Henriette | |
| 16 | My Heart's In Its Right Place | |
| 17 | I Don't Really See You Anymore | |
| 18 | Miss Disregard | |
| 19 | Elijah | |
| 20 | Funny Not to Care | |
| 31 | Neighbor Song | |
| 32 | Got Me Fooled | |
| 33 | We All Love the Same Songs | |
| 34 | My Speed |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | Bad Self Portraits | |
| 36 | Stop Your Crying | |
| 37 | Better Than | |
| 38 | Rabid Animal | |
| 39 | Go Down Smooth | |
| 40 | Use Me Up | |
| 41 | Bobby Tanqueray | |
| 42 | Just Ask | |
| 43 | Seventeen | |
| 44 | What About Me | |
| 45 | Rental Love |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 46 | What I'm Doing Here | |
| 47 | Wedding Band |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 48 | Faith | |
| 49 | Clear a Space | |
| 50 | I Want You Back | |
| 51 | Rich Girl | |
| 52 | This Magic Moment | |
| 53 | Let Me Roll It |
I won't mince words: This album inspired this project. My introduction to LSD was when they were touring Side Pony and played a show in San Luis Obispo. I excitedly pre-ordered the album because "So Long" made me want to burst into tears and I wanted to play it on repeat forever.
When my copy arrived, I deflated; the song didn't stir me. Similarly, "How Good It Feels" was missing its descending return to coziness that I remembered from the live version; instead, it soars to a finish. "Hell Yeah" lost half of its live energy and driving rhythm.
It wasn't until I'd bought copies of Bad Self Portraits and Free Yourself Up that I realized Side Pony was the outlier here. I've since speculated that the band chose to self-produce Free Yourself Up because they felt Side Pony had been polished just a little too much.
I don't want to get too down on the album in service of explaining myself. The songs are awesome. So let's find the best versions of them and remember why we fell in love with Lake Street Dive.
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 54 | Godawful Things | |
| 55 | Close To Me | |
| 56 | Call Off Your Dogs | |
| 57 | Spectacular Failure | |
| 58 | I Don't Care About You | |
| 61 | So Long | There's way better audio out there, but this is the one that makes me cry. The halo lighting on Rachael, the emotion in her face, and the emotion in Bridget's face when the camera pans over to her all adds up. |
| 60 | How Good It Feels | |
| 59 | Side Pony | |
| 62 | Hell Yeah | |
| 63 | Mistakes | |
| 64 | Can't Stop | |
| 65 | Saving All My Sinning |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 66 | Baby, Don't Leave Me Alone With My Thoughts | |
| 67 | Good Kisser | |
| 68 | Shame, Shame, Shame | |
| 69 | I Can Change | |
| 70 | Dude | |
| 71 | Red Light Kisses | |
| 72 | Doesn't Even Matter Now | |
| 73 | You Are Free | |
| 74 | Musta Been Something | |
| 75 | Hang On |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 76 | Darryl | |
| 77 | Young Boy | |
| 78 | Jameson | |
| 79 | Angioplast | |
| 80 | Who Do You Think You Are? |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 81 | Hypotheticals | |
| 82 | Hush Money | |
| 83 | Same Old News | |
| 84 | Being a Woman | |
| 85 | Making Do | |
| 86 | Nobody's Stopping You Now | |
| 87 | Know That I Know | |
| 88 | Lackluster Lover | |
| 89 | Anymore | |
| 90 | Feels Like the Last Time | |
| 91 | Sarah |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 92 | Automatic | |
| 93 | Anyone Who Had a Heart | |
| 94 | You're Still the One | |
| 95 | So Far Away | |
| 96 | Nick of Time | |
| 97 | Linger |
| Issue | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 98 | Black Candles | |
| 99 | Love Doctor |
| Issue | Song | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | Bohemian Rhapsody | Queen | |
| 101 | Second Hand News | Fleetwood Mac | |
| 102 | Take On Me | A-ha |