Creep - a rare boot'

The process of readying for new recording sessions, as Allison Crowe and fellow musicians gather next week at various locations on the Pacific coast, has unearthed some live recordings from Allison's earlier rock bands.

As a teenager in the '90s, living in Canada's Pacific Northwest, Allison Crowe gravitated toward the Seattle bands Nirvana, Pearl Jam - along with such other favourite North American musicians as Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos and Counting Crows. Across the pond, from the UK came the sounds of Radiohead.

Crowe and her bandmates, performing in Nanaimo, BC venues such as Katz and The Queens, included, alongside their originals, a pair of Thom Yorke-penned songs in their live repertoire - "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Creep".



This live recording dates to the start of this millenium, by which time Allison, on vocals and piano, was performing in a trio - joined by Dave Baird on bass, and Kevin Clevette on drums. (Thanks to audio archivists Condor and John MacMillan for preserving a rare track.)

"Creep" is a song that Radiohead stopped performing entirely for a few years, and brought back into the band's regular live sets in 2009. In recent times, it has been covered by a wide range of acts - Prince, Amanda Palmer, Brandi Carlile, Damien Rice, Korn, Moby, and Macy Gray among others.