Listening to Tracy Morrow’s last CD, Morning Is the End of the Day, conjured a dramatic impression of eavesdropping. On that record, Morrow’s dissection of old loves, old friends and old troubles so intensely took its subject matter to task that one was left with the overwhelming impression of having listened in on a church confessional, being a fly on the wall at a 12-step support group’s breakthrough meeting or being on the receiving end of a suffering lover’s voicemail lament. In short, Morning Is the End of the Day made Bruce Springsteen’s stark masterpiece Nebraska sound like “Walking on Sunshine.”

In the world of rock music, the rejoinder “But you should/should’ve seen ’em live…” is used far too frequently. The implication is that while a band may sound good on record, the stage is where they really come/came to life. In some cases it’s true, but it’s rarely a helpful statement for those who “missed it.”