First Time Hearing 10,000 Maniacs ft Natalie Merchant with "These Are Days"

Comments · 1.5K

• MI

  @michaelraburn5992 · 5 months ago (edited)

  Their MTV Unplugged performance is legendary. “Because the Night” especially but all of it really.<br>And her solo album Tigerlily is a great, great record.

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• SH

  @Shifty_Looking_Cow · 5 months ago

  Natalie Merchant&apos;s voice is like being hugged by a beautiful person you love and trust.... It&apos;s so warm and comforting.

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• NO

  @NoNameForThisGuy · 5 months ago

  I had the distinct pleasure of running the soundboard for a performance of hers last summer. It was a ritzy benefit for an artist retreat in upstate New York. The performance was excellent and the crowd loved it, to the point where I had a hard time navigating to different areas of the room with the iPad to make adjustments. She was playing the piano, and she’ll admit that her playing is very rudimentary, which only helps to get it out of the way for her voice to shine through. The performance was excellent and a highlight of my soundman career so far, but the real experience was the sound check when I got a private performance. She was gracious enough to let me video a little bit of it. I don’t care what you listen to or who your favorite artist is, if you ever get the chance to sit down and have Natalie Merchant sing a song to you with nobody else in the room, I highly recommend the experience.

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• TO

  @Top10Renaud · 5 months ago

  When I was in High School we had a radio station and I got to interview many musicians. I was scheduled to interview Jakob Dylan (Bob Dylan’s son) who led the Wallflowers and was opening for the 10,000 Maniacs. When Jakob found out I was “only” in high school, he blew me off and wouldn’t let me interview him which sucked. So I went into the venue like 3 hours before the show and was pretty bummed. Natalie Merchant walked by me and asked why I was there. I told her the story and she said, “You can interview me after soundcheck.” I got to watch the 10,000 Maniacs rip through 2-3 songs with just me and the sound crew and I will never forget it ever. She even did a song with no mic and sounded amazing. She was so kind and supportive and gave a great interview. Years later, I would kiss my eventual wife for the first time during one of the last 10,000 Maniacs show before Natalie went solo on a magical summer evening outside under the stars. My favorite song of theirs is “Stockton Gala Days.”

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• DM

  @dmitryowens · 5 months ago (edited)

  Wonder and Carnival from Natalie&apos;s first solo album Tigerlily are incredible songs. And I say this as a longtime hard rock/metal fan and musician. Her voice is so smooth, soulful and otherworldly. Jennifer Turner&apos;s guitar work is outstanding as well.

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• MS

  @MST3KNJ · 5 months ago

  Oh, man, Natalie Merchant is a rabbit hole you NEED to do down, Elizabeth!

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• SP

  @Spencer_Beard · 5 months ago

  &quot;Because the Night&quot; from their Unplugged set is a must follow-up

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• TM

  @tmcmurdo826 · 5 months ago

  Natalie is one of the finest human beings of our generation. A wonderful singer, social conscience, and stage dervish. We are lucky that she continues to grace us.

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• BG

  @bgfundy · 5 months ago (edited)

  One of my favorite entertainment industry &quot;behind the scenes&quot; stories revolves Natalie. In the fall of 1995 she headlined a solo tour concert at Elliott Hall of Music at Purdue University in Indiana. &nbsp;I was a frequent part-time audio tech/stagehand there, and was on the changeover crew for her show (changing band setups between openers and headliner). &nbsp;I was still a smoker at the time, and while the first opener was playing, I was standing on the loading dock smoking. &nbsp;There was no one on the dock with me, and the street/sidewalk right there was also empty. &nbsp;Natalie came out of the stage door alone, down the steps, and across the sidewalk to her tour bus. &nbsp;She was almost walking in little bounces, barefoot in jeans and a t-shirt, with giant rollers in her hair. &nbsp;She got to the bus and tugged on the door a couple times but it was locked. &nbsp;She leaned backwards, extending her arm fully, with her hand still on the door handle...and turned to me up on the dock, contorted her face and said, &quot;Waaaaah.&quot; &nbsp;I smiled and chuckled wordlessly. &nbsp;Then she bounced back across the sidewalk, up the steps, and into the stage door. &nbsp;In the meantime, a student was passing by, facing her as she passed. &nbsp;He did a double take, and after she went in the door he turned to me and said, &quot;Was that...?&quot; &nbsp;I said, &quot;Yup.&quot; &nbsp;He said &quot;Cool,&quot; and kept walking.<br><br>Later, I was backstage waiting in the corner behind the monitor console for the second opener to finish so we could change over to Natalie&apos;s set. &nbsp;Natalie came in from the green room, all show-ready, and was meandering around backstage, again by herself. &nbsp;No manager, no entourage, no one flashlighting the floor for her. &nbsp;She didn&apos;t seem to need that ego trip or attention, unlike a lot of artists. &nbsp;Well, in the dimly lit space she passed in front of me and tripped over one of the yellow &amp; black rubber cable ramps, there to keep people from tripping over the giant power cables. &nbsp;She turns to me (clearly recognizing me from before), laughed at herself, shook her head, and said to me, &quot;I&apos;m such a dumbass,&quot; and breezed back into the green room. &nbsp;So delightful. &nbsp;So lovely. &nbsp;So self-deprecating and lacking in ego. &nbsp;She then went on to put on a helluva show. &nbsp;My favorite show biz memory.

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• AY

  @AymA-S · 5 months ago

  Back in the day this was considered College Radio Music more so than alternative rock.

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• CT

  @ctsilva45 · 5 months ago

  Shocked you didn&apos;t mention her outstanding ability to harmonize with herself with overdubs. &nbsp;It&apos;s haunting the sounds she can create when she does. &nbsp;&quot;Trouble Me&quot; being a prime example.

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• ST

  @stevec9693 · 5 months ago (edited)

  “Like the Weather” is one of my favorite songs. Natalie has such a wonderful warm singing voice!

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