Elliott Smith Acoustic Live - Black Cat, Washington DC - 1998 [audio only]

4/17/1998
setlist:
angeles
division day
clementine
waltz #2 (xo)
between the bars
southern belle
jealous guy
say yes
oh well, okay
no name #4
rose parade
alameda
pictures of me
some song
biggest lie
st ides heaven
care of cell 44
speed trials
thirteen
no name #3

[@EmotionallyFitYogi]

I was at the this concert and got in for free! His show was sold out. Unfortunately, I learned about it too late. So right after work that Friday night, I drove alone without any of my friends to see if there was anyone outside the club selling tickets. Thankfully, I caught him arriving, hugged him and said, "I came early hoping to find a ticket to see you play." Flattered, he smiled like a new artist who wasn't very big yet. I told him that we'd met before, at the 9:30 Club, the year before. That time, my friends and I waited after the show to see if he'd come out. I hugged him then, and my friends said I totally weirded him out by doing that. He asked a woman who was with him, "Do we have space on the guest list?" In the end, I gave my name at the door and got in. There were no selfies those days or else I'd post a picture.

[@dithirambos]

Tantra Thoughts I wish I were you! :))

[@cornwaytitty1525]

Thank you for this story. What is Elliott like in person?

[@alienapple010x5]

that's fucking beautiful

[@tarynbethesaurusvexed4206]

Omg thank you. I love this story. I grew up @ the Black Cat, who aim to be known for being awesome to both artists and audiences like that. It was all ages for a long time.

[@ebbtide4233]

I wanna hug elliott smith

[@beefhouse9229]

"i already played that song..." lmao i love this man and wish he was still alive.

[@pavilionend8637]

Top of his game here, stunning masterpiece

[@JonShade-fy2gm]

So true. Almost preternatural.

[@spacealienjesus709]

Amen to that... And when he was..no one could touch him..

[@MoonAlongMyHead]

"Everyone's gone home to oblivion".. Thanks, Elliott, I was missing that today.

[@gregorymichaelidis9639]

I was at this and it's burned in my mind. Can't believe it's been 20 years since he's gone.

[@OlSchoolGamr]

Pure beauty.. Thx for the music Elliott.. Hope you found peace..

[@aplus1080]

Man. Live Elliott shows break my f'ing heart. Every f'ing time.

[@rb919]

Beautiful No Name #3 *~*

[@user-ob9zo9cr4c]

this dude deserve to be alive.. incredible basic music,

[@dithirambos]

so beautiful! so soft! so sweet! so powerful! it always makes me cry.

[@patrick4833]

awesome vocals on pictures of me

[@amaradusumilli5802]

Fantastic. The cover of 'Care of Cell 44' was something I would have never expected, he kills it.

[@sagapopapagalos]

a few months before i was born 😩😭 wish i was around to see elliott at the black cat ❤️

[@t.abby02]

I love how he interacts with the audience

[@knuckle12356]

50:52 Oh, Elliott. 🫂

[@lj28583]

0:07 - Angeles 3:04 - Division Day 6:12 - Clementine 9:00 - Waltz #2 13:34 - Between The Bars 16:15 - Southern Belle 20:16 - Jealous Guy 24:05 - Say Yes 26:44 - Oh Well, Okay 29:33 - No Name #4 33:08 - Rose Parade 36:40 - Alameda 40:50 - Pictures Of Me 45:00 - Some Song 47:23 - The Biggest Lie 51:11 - St. Ides Heaven 54:58 - Care Of Cell 44 59:17 - Speed Trials 1:02:25 - Thirteen 1:05:22 - No Name #3

[@Seanlundy1]

+Luke Jordan Thanks for your post, just wanted to let you know the last song is No Name #3 though, not No Name #4

[@lj28583]

Cheers man!

[@benny742]

Living legend. Thank you 💖

[@terencestephenmoss2159]

What a fantastic set of songs 🎵 👌 😍

[@eitheror2905]

Thank you so much!

[@StephenAndrew777]

His guitar sure sounded good that night.

[@ipsurvivor]

StephenAndrew777 - I agree... Very articulate guitar playing... Some shows I’ve seen on KZbin he had to stop and figure out what was next week n the song or would just stop and say something like “I can’t do this tonight”... Some of the “scrambled” shows were really good in their own way...

[@moxfulder5303]

My grandfather had an old Yamaha that, when he passed away, left to me since I played. I’ve had it all this time and just realized that it’s the exact same model that Elliott played.

[@tunedime]

@@moxfulder5303 no way

[@knuckle12356]

He just finished killing the Southern Belle on my speakers. That live blues/jazzy guitar with like Appalachian twang (maybe..?) I don't even know what I would call it. Maybe a musician could help me out, but anyway; THAT GUITAR WORK is SO FUCKING TIGHT & WILD, and @ the same time; SOOooooolid. OOOOooweeee! Might be my favorite version of southern Belle that I've encountered on KZbin.

[@marktaylor23]

Downloaded this years ago and listened so many times. What a show, peak

[@arm0532]

this is an amazing show! i love the deep sound on this when you turn it up.

[@lorenzoroy1545]

I want this live on vinyl right now.

[@quietringaudio]

Gawd Pictures Of Me is like the earth opening up

[@janetwebster5099]

Just what I needed - am currently embroiled in a massive bullshit battle with CPP Disability.....Every time I send some info in and think I'm good they want something else........Elliott always makes even the darkest shit better.......

[@nen7736]

jANET wEBSTER yes. He got it. He gets what blindly happy people, neurotypical people do not understand.

[@charleywesting5774]

A zombies cover by Elliott!!??? Awesome!

[@Kamatzu]

Love this one! Thanks.

[@mizzomiz]

This is a good one!

[@Leva_Eu]

Great setlist *.*

[@heatheraudet9808]

Thanks so much for posting this. I never got to see him and this sounds like it was a great show.

[@jackielegs8010]

“This is the last one” plays seven more lol

[@richardrovell428]

thanks

[@bradforddawson3632]

Thanks

[@mrmanning6098]

"Hey, some people like to, you know,pay to go somewhere and talk" ... "It SUCKS. But that's the way it is" What a painful existence it must have been to perform for posers when you're up there being vulnerable.

[@letravaildegodard7537]

Where did he said this, I’m really curious.

[@Cassyels]

It's at ~32:20, but I don't get it, is he angry because people are talking while he plays ? We can't hear them on the record though

[@Gino_Core]

So nice

[@peterfernandez5173]

xo best song ever

[@wispynomercy]

I was at this show. I remember that it looked like he hadn't washed his hair in a couple weeks. = )

[@hazelhumor]

I guess that used to be the normal thing during the 90's.

[@realexkav]

Heroin, in 1998? No comment. Just an Elliott quote: "I tried to wash my hair, but then it looked funny!"

[@itsgonnbeok7249]

@@vonclohk507 this is just flat out incorrect. Elliott had been a habitual drug user for years at this point.

[@itsgonnbeok7249]

@@vonclohk507 Yeah he definitely got worse near the end. But it was always a bone of contention with him. I mean, Needle in the hay and his whole self titled was recorded in 94 and thats about as dark as it gets with him. He was doing a lot of crack near the end of his life, but he had definitely been a habitual speed user for years prior to that point though. Just look at the lyrics to St Ides Heaven or even just Speed Trials.He was diagnosed with ADHD at some point. The crack definitely gave way for more psychotic behavior though. His hallucinations got very bad at the end there.

[@thomasdap8659]

@@vonclohk507 what book was this?

[@polheje3033]

El mejor carajo!

[@shoegaze3750]

very good sound quality

[@ipsurvivor]

The music CDs that I bought initially when I first started getting into Elliott Smith were Either/Or and New Moon 🌝... which is similar in the type of songs and the specific songs in this set...

[@Oriolesfun]

Congrats

[@oliviapetrowski4553]

Probably his best performance of Waltz #2

[@patrick4833]

i love no name 4

[@mglenwright09]

always been one of my favorites too. he paints a fucking beautiful picture with his words. stellar shit.

[@zacharymontoto9646]

I just love the first album it’s so stripped down but beautiful

[@MrDrainyou]

great

[@truefunksoul8638]

Excellent recording from the Black Cat in 2000 available: archive.org/details/esmith2000-02-20.flacf

[@josee4283]

wow

[@quietringaudio]

Lena K thank you so much for everything and all your time uploading these. Yet, I have more to ask...Do you know of or have you a recording of "Dancing on the Highway" live? I am hoping to one day hear a recording of it played live. Best to ya

[@mms5868]

there seems to be one on her channel, 2nd or 3rd newest vid

[@neotu]

02:26 oh, he sang "broken arms" instead of "poison arms" here

[@douglasdavis60]

THA ELLIOT -JELOUS GUY :0000000

[@jg5887]

0:15 "SHUT UP" HAAHAHAHA

[@beefhouse9229]

not all heroes wear caps... actually, idk that dude coulda been wearing a cape. this is audio only.

[@beefhouse9229]

*CAPES FUCK!

[@timothybuth9781]

Too Funny, got to stop that behavior before it gets worse throughout the show.

[@Versatile880]

Hello, hello, hello, hello, this is a rock song Now I'm singing quiet, now I'm singing loud, loud, loud It's a junkie dream, makes you so uptight Yeah, it's Halloween tonight and every night (See it on your skin) Hear you scratch your skin, your sandpaper throat You're a symphony, man, with one fucking note Charlie beat you up week after week And when you grow up, you're gonna be a freak Want a violent girl who's not scared of anything Help me kill my time 'Cause I'll never be fine Help me kill my time You went down to look at old Dallas town Where you must be sick just to hang around Seen it on T.V., how to kill your man Then like Gacy's scene, a canvas in your hand Better call your mom, she's out looking for you In the jail and the Army and the hospital, too But those people there couldn't do anything for you Help me kill my time 'Cause I'll never be fine Help me kill my time Help me kill my time Help me kill my time 'Cause I'll never be fine Help me kill my time

[@Versatile880]

Start stop and start Stupid acting smart Flirting with the flicks You say it's just for kicks You'll be the victim of your own dirty tricks You got yourself to tease and displease Doors swinging wide You walked in to hide Looking at your feet Failure's complete Saw you and me on the coin-op tv Frozen in fear every time we appear I'm not surprised and really, why should I be? See nothing wrong See nothing wrong So sick and tired of all these pictures of me Completely wrong Totally wrong Go walking by Here come another guy Jailer who sells personal hells Who'd like to see me down on my fucking knees Everybody's dying just to get the disease Hey hey hey hey I'm not surprised and really, why should I be? See nothing wrong See nothing wrong So sick and tired of all these pictures of me Completely wrong Totally wrong I'm not surprised and really, why should I be? See nothing wrong See nothing wrong So sick and tired of all these pictures of me Oh everybody's dying just to get the disease Everybody's dying just to get the disease Everybody's dying just to get the disease

[@jmpsthrufyre]

Care of cell 44. Hmmm. I have every release but can't place it. Is it a cover? I could Google it but finding out from a Smith fsn would be better. For some reason.

[@Frusherful]

By the Zombies :)

[@ipsurvivor]

29:11

[@ipsurvivor]

44:54 Was screwing with my head... I prefer to not focus on that day in September 2003 and I don’t know what happened but this is pretty creepy and chilling based on what we know and can speculate on... Any thoughts 💭 anyone?

[@kitpalmer1583]

"based on what we know" all we know is that his death was never fully explained. you weren't there and didn't know him, so anything beyond that is just fuelling your own morbid interest in his death.

[@ipsurvivor]

Kit Palmer - Normally I’m not “morbidly” obsessed with his death but I found these lyrics creepy. I’m against making every comments section an RIP or Elliott Worship thing... and I usually don’t throw up shit about it... but it is a free country. So if I want to be morose for a while that’s what I’ll do. And I don’t give a shit if you did know him and were the guy mopping the fucking floor at the Coroner’s office...

[@kitpalmer1583]

That's fine, as long as you admit it's empty speculation. The problem is morons thinking they actually have anything to contribute to his death investigation, playing Cluedo with people's lives. It's gross and unnecessary

[@kitpalmer1583]

also I didn't know Elliott but if I had, that last remark would be pretty vile. Like... if you'd talk that way to someone who knew him don't pretend you give a shit about anything other than conspiracy theories

[@ipsurvivor]

Kit Palmer - Bra, you came in on my ribs first... But Elliott probably wouldn’t want us arguing so I’m willing to cool it and I am sorry I offended you.

[@user-ob9zo9cr4c]

weird crowd, tho