Flickerstick: Live from Atlanta: Two Nights At Tree Sound Studios

Let's face it: one of the reasons why rock bootlegs, despite their illegality, exist (and will no doubt continue to exist for many years to come) is because so many rockers never record live albums. A rocker's truly hardcore fans cannot be satisfied having studio recordings alone, and in many cases, bootlegs are the only place to hear recordings of the artist performing live. But an absence of legal, commercially available live recordings is not a problem for Flickerstick, who came out with Causing a Catastrophe — Live in 2002 and Live from Atlanta in 2007. Longtime fans have been debating the merits of the two live albums; both have their charms, and while Live from Atlanta isn't perfect (neither was Causing a Catastrophe — Live), it is still a generally respectable document of Flickerstick on-stage. The surprising thing about Live from Atlanta is the fact that it isn't just a "play the hits for the fans"-type affair. Sure, there are inspired performances of Flickerstick favorites such as the melancholy "Sorry...Wrong Trajectory" and the dark-humored yet poignant "Chloroform the One You Love." But many of the songs are previously unreleased. Instead of using the studio to unveil new material, Flickerstick use a live album to do it — which is rare but not unprecedented — and most of the new songs are well-crafted examples of their melodic, introspective approach to alternative pop/rock. Live from Atlanta also contains a new studio recording: a likable, catchy Beatlesque rocker titled "Helicopter." But the live performances are, of course, the main reason to obtain this 60-minute CD, which serious Flickerstick aficionados will enjoy, imperfections and all.