I’ve spent the last two weeks or so digging into Revelation Skirts, the new album from VT ex-pat Dean Wells, otherwise known as the Capstan Shafts. The album, his first proper studio release and first with another musician, hits stores on August 24. So I have a short feature on Wells and his new musical partner Matt Lemay — who, incidentally, was the critic who first reviewed Wells’ music for Pitchfork back in 2007 — in this week’s paper.

Anyway, in doing some poking around for the piece, I stumbled across this video from Wells’ first-ever live show, an acoustic performance at the Stannard Church, shot by Brian Murphy of late, great False 45th renown. It’s a good one and, especially in light of the polished brilliance of Revelation, provides a fascinating contrast and a glimpse at just how far Wells has come. Enjoy.

Dan Bolles is a culture coeditor at Seven Days. He joined the paper in 2007 as its music editor, covering Vermont's robust music, comedy and nightlife scenes for a decade before deciding he was too old to be going to the Monkey House on weeknights to see rock shows for a living. He became assistant arts editor in 2017 and culture coeditor in 2021. Bolles has received numerous local and national awards for his writing on Vermont arts, sports and the occasional celebrity canine murder mystery. He loves...

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