WLUW Record Fair

(photo from www.diytrunkshow.com)

Download: Andrew Bird - "Trimmed and Burning" (Live on WLUW)
Download: Call Me Lightning - "We Be Dragons" (Live on WLUW)

This past weekend, I attended the WLUW Record Fair for the first time. WLUW is a community-run radio station which broadcasts from Loyola University, located in Rogers Park, IL. As you can guess, they play an eclectic array of music, and this is why the station needs to be supported. And how do they raise funds in order to maintain their fabulous independence in the face of the bland corporatization of mainstream radio? If you said "hold a record fair," you are muy correct. If only I could give you a prize.

This is the fair's fifth year, and the goods were aplenty. Local labels such as Minty Fresh, Flameshovel, SickRoom, and the legendary Touch and Go, all had booths, as did many other local record stores selling vintage albums. I saw a underground compliation from the sixties featuring the likes of Jimi Hendrix and the Velvet Underground going for 100 bucks.

I foolishly didn't bring enough cash to buy all of the vinyl goodies that I wanted, but I did manage to pick up a few excellent items. One such purchase was the double-disc "Live at WLUW," which features local and national independent artists playing live in the WLUW studio. The compliation itself is three years old, but man, oh, man there is some amazing stuff on it. Namely, the tracks of Mr. Andrew Bird playing "Trimmed and Burning" and MFR favorite Call Me Lightning playing "We Be Dragons," both of which are posted above.

Click here to listen to WLUW over the web.

(Jonathan Graef)