The Bangles - Catch a Rising Star, New York City, 10-22-1986

I really like the Bangles. I still think it's strange that they never released an official live album. I tried to fill that gap by posting a 1986 concert bootleg, which you can find here:

https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-bangles-loft-berlin-germany-2-10.html

I thought that was the best live recording of the band from their 1980s heyday, but now I think this one is. This bootleg had a big flaw in that the vocals were low in the mix. But nowadays, we have the technology to fix that, and I did. I used the UVR5 audio editing program on all the songs.

Both shows are very good, and if you're a fan, you'll want both. There are some song selection differences. For instance, that one includes the cover "I'm Not Talking" and the great early track "I Want You," while this one includes the cover "Pushin' Too Hard" and the non-album track "I Got Nothing." That one had some holes I had to fill in with bits from another 1986 concert, whereas this one is complete. This one is also somewhat longer.

The reason this one sounds so good is because it was broadcast live on the radio. In the banter between songs, they kept referring to the concert as a "soundcheck." I'm guessing what they mean is it was a relatively short concert for the radio, and they played a longer concert later in the evening in the same city. Also, one nice thing about it is they played at a small club (with the unusual name "Catch a Rising Star"), despite the fact that they already had two huge hits earlier in the year with "Manic Monday" and "Walk like an Egyptian." I'm guessing that was done specially to help with the sound quality for the radio broadcast.

Note that there are conflicting dates about when this concert took place, with May and August being cited. But I looked into it and I'm convinced this is the correct date.

This album is an hour and eight minutes long.

01 talk (Bangles)
02 Intro (Bangles)
03 Let It Go (Bangles)
04 talk (Bangles)
05 Restless (Bangles)
06 talk (Bangles)
07 Live (Bangles)
08 Walking Down Your Street (Bangles)
09 James (Bangles)
10 I Got Nothing (Bangles)
11 talk (Bangles)
12 He's Got the Secret (Bangles)
13 talk (Bangles)
14 September Gurls (Bangles)
15 If She Knew What She Wants (Bangles)
16 talk (Bangles)
17 Return Post (Bangles)
18 In a Different Light (Bangles)
19 Going Down to Liverpool (Bangles)
20 Angel Don't Fall in Love (Bangles)
21 Hero Takes a Fall (Bangles)
22 talk (Bangles)
23 Manic Monday (Bangles)
24 talk (Bangles)
25 Walk like an Egyptian (Bangles)
26 talk (Bangles)
27 Dover Beach (Bangles)
28 Pushin' Too Hard (Bangles)
29 talk (Bangles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16505975/TBANGLS1986cCtchaRsingStrNwYrkC__10-22-1986_atse.zip.html

I had a surprisingly difficult time finding a good color photo of the band in concert in 1986. I do like this one and it is in color, but I'm not sure when or where it's from exactly. But I'd guess that it's from 1986 or thereabouts.