With the addition of the new sidebar music player, we’ll be uploading a slightly longer playlists every few weeks or so for your listening pleasure. This first installment is a mix of live cuts from late-90’s, early-00’s era Wheat.

I’ll be the first to admit that the words “underrated” and “under-appreciated” are bandied about too liberally in music discussions, but I honestly can’t think of many other bands that I would describe in those terms more readily than Wheat. A full explanation of my obsession with their early material (Medieros, Per Second, and especially their masterpiece, Hope And Adams) is probably better saved for another day, but for now suffice to say that I consider that era of their material essential.

What strikes me every time I throw on one of their albums is how easy they make the actual songwriting sound. Tracks ebb and flow in the same easy demeanor as the track before it, each time holding your attention with a subtle break in the norm or an incredibly catchy chorus practically made for a Garden State-esque flick before anyone even knew what a “New Slang” was (just try to listen to “Don’t I Hold You” without asking yourself how it didn’t blow up in some cult indie movie). Not only that, but their sound translates so well to a live setting where songs like “Off The Pedestal” and “Who’s The One” morph from brief 3-minute pop songs to epic 8+ minute rockers (they seriously rival any live cut by Built to Spill or Wilco, who I would consider two of the best live acts today). Even tracks from their somewhat over produced album Per Second — “Breath”, “Do You Really Want Me” — gain an edgier sound outside of the studio. In my opinion, that’s the mark of a great band and it baffles me why a group so capable both in the studio and on tour never gained some sort of massive following (the recording of “Go Get The Cops” with a bar-full of conversations filling the space behind Scott Levesque and co is the perfect summary of their career).

Anyway, in the sidebar is a mix of live tracks from a few bootlegs I found over at thiswheat.com. If you like what you hear, I’d highly recommend downloading the recordings from TT’s The Bear and/or Schuba’s. If nothing else, check out the live version of “Off The Pedestal”. I think Team Slayer would really dig it.

Tracklist:

1. “Soft Polluted Blacks” — Brussels (2000), originally from Medeiros
2. “Kill Death Car” — TT’s The Bear (2002), originally from Medeiros
3. “Do You Really Want Me”– Brussels (2000), originally from Per Second
4. “No One Ever Told Me” — Schuba’s (2000), originally from Hope And Adams
5. “Raised Ranch Revolution”– TT’s The Bear (2002), originally from Hope And Adams
6. “Breath”– TT’s The Bear (2002), originally from Per Second
7. “Tubesoft”– Brussels (2000), originally from Medeiros
8. “Summer”– TT’s The Bear (2002), originally from Medeiros
9. “Body Talk (Part One)”– TT’s The Bear (2002), originally from Hope And Adams
10. “Don’t I Hold You” — Schuba’s (2000), originally from Hope And Adams
11. “Off The Pedestal” — Schuba’s (2000), originally from Hope And Adams
12. “Go Get The Cops” — Schuba’s (2000), originally from Per Second
13. “Who’s The One” — Schuba’s (2000), originally from Hope And Adams