{"product_id":"michael-beach-live-at-phoenix-central-park-lp","title":"MICHAEL BEACH 'Live at Phoenix Central Park' LP","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e** Please note, this is a preorder and due to ship late July. First \/100 copies hand-numbered and signed. One time only pressing!\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn his debut live LP, '\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLive at Phoenix Central Park\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e', Melbourne-based\/ California-born songwriter and bandleader \u003cstrong\u003eMichael Beach\u003c\/strong\u003e brings together three of Australia’s most well-known improvisers in a mercurial performance that is both contemplative and expansive, focused and fierce. Playing live together for the first time, the band--\u003cstrong\u003eLloyd Swanton (The Necks)\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eJoe Talia (Oren Ambarchi, Ned Collette)\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eMick Turner (Dirty Three, Mess Esque, Venom P. Stinger)\u003c\/strong\u003e—supercharge Beach’s textural songwriting, and tap immediately into a propulsive cosmic pulse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKnown as a deliberate and masterful songwriter, adept in both guitar-based post-punk (recalling \u003cem\u003ePeter Laughner\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePere Ubu\u003c\/em\u003e) and off-kilter piano balladry (\u003cem\u003eBill Fay, Peter Jefferies\u003c\/em\u003e), Beach focuses on the latter as a jumping-off point for Live at Phoenix Central Park.  “\u003cem\u003eMy last couple of records were dotted with more reflective moments, and friends had been encouraging me for a while to put together a whole record of ballads\u003c\/em\u003e,” says Beach.  “\u003cem\u003eWith these players, I feel like this collection of songs can be both introspective and outward-looking – miniature in their parts, but ever-expanding when combined\u003c\/em\u003e.” \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLive at Phoenix Central Park was recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the final date of a busy 2025, during which Beach made festival appearances and headline tours across Australia, Europe, and America in support of his studio album \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eBig Black Plume\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e. In the architecturally and acoustically designed space of Phoenix Central Park, surrounded on all sides by a hushed and reverent audience, the band immediately settles into a meditative mood, with Beach peeling fragments from the grand piano as “Introduction” segues into a dramatic reworking of “Societal Breakdown” (Beach’s one song on guitar), recalling Townes Van Zandt or Rowland S. Howard.  “No One Knows Any Better” ends side A with the record's first crescendo, the Talia\/Swanton rhythm section locked in from repetition to transcendence.  Side B opens with “I’m Gonna Need Ya” (at times Turner could be mistaken for Bill Orcutt), then boils over into a cover of “\u003cem\u003eCalvary Cross\u003c\/em\u003e” by \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Thompson\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e. An eight-minute version of Big Black Plume fan favorite “The Sea” (elevated by the addition of Swanton’s oceanic bass tones) crescendos the record again, and “Only a Memory,” ends the record with the entire band at their most emotive. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the last decade, Beach has called Melbourne home, splitting time between making his own records, engineering records for others (recent credits include albums by Tropical Fuck Storm and Exek), and teaching music (often to people in other Melbourne bands). He worked for years at San Francisco's Hemlock Tavern, a hub in the American musical underground, and is a commonly heard voice on Melbourne independent radio stations RRR and PBS.  For years, Beach has been carefully fostering musical connections - for Live at Phoenix Central Park, it was time to bring those connections together.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLive at Phoenix Central Park is out July 31st, 2026, on vital independent labels Poison City (Australia \/ Rest of World) and 25 Diamonds Records (US).  Beach will support Live at Phoenix Central Park with an Australian tour supporting \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eand a headlining tour of the United States will be announced soon.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Poison City","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46596909236385,"sku":null,"price":40.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0586\/2689\/files\/PCR219_MB_LivePhoenix_BC.jpg?v=1782287741","url":"https:\/\/poisoncityestore.com\/products\/michael-beach-live-at-phoenix-central-park-lp","provider":"POISON CITY RECORDS","version":"1.0","type":"link"}