mike haggith and the din - despite the insects...

     Recorded live at a private event celebrating Canada Day on 01 July 2013, Mike Haggith And The Din's only full-length live album was encompassed the majority of the group's headlining performance. Taped with the help of PaperClip Productions' mobile recording equipment, the record itself captures an energetic performance despite technical difficulties.

     The stage, powered my a mobile generator, briefly lost electrical power during the group's rendition of The Plumber, from their debut album Perpetual Musings, and when it was finally restored, the group resumed the track's performance under the name The Electrician. CD pressings of the album feature a slightly altered audio, which patches over the power outage and flows the fourth track seamlessly into the fifth, without a gap. 

     Unfortunately for the band and its listeners, the electrical mishap was not the only technical malfunction of the evening; while setting up to record the appearance, recording levels were not verified by the label or group beforehand, and because the concert was recorded onto one single-track tape, erroneous levels couldn't be corrected afterward. As such, the record's final form features highly-mixed bass guitar and vocal tracks, and the drums and guitar are severely buried in the mix. Although Despite The Insects.. is listenable, it's difficult to hear the entire group in its proper form.

     Apart from the aforementioned technical mishaps, the band found themselves fighting numerous swarms of insects, as the performance took place during sunset under a warm, bright light rig. In light of the issues mentioned, it's somewhat remarkable that the group was able to record and release a live tape at all, though it's by far the weakest addition to the discography of Mike Haggith And The Din. While CD pressings were manufactured and sold, they have since sold out, and this record is currently not available in physical print, and continues to be available for streamed listening only.