nyctaper

[photo by kata rokkar]

She is perhaps best known as the vocalist for Moby on Wait for Me and his most recent tours, but Kelli Scarr is an accomplished artist in her own right. In the afternoon following the release party for her debut album Piece, Kelli performed a brief set at the fifth installment of the Backyard Brunch series. The band adapted well to the acoustic setting, as Kelli remained seated with an acoustic guitar and bassist Andrew Southern moved to second guitar. The format was also quite an excellent showcase for multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Lam, whose mandolin work was superb, and for Jo Schornikov’s sweet harmonies and keyboards. Kelli’s set was relaxed and fit well within the informal atmosphere, and her humor was particularly required for the persistent fly-over airplanes (slightly audible on the recording). Kelli’s next NYC show will be at Joe’s Pub on Thursday October 7.

This set was recorded with four microphones placed strategically around the band. Other than the airplanes, the sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Stream “Driftwood”:

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Kelli Scarr
2010-08-21
Backyard Brunch Sessions
Brooklyn, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Onstage

Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021’s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) >
2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2010-09-01

Setlist:
[Total Time 22:10]
01 [introduction]
02 Salt to the Sea
03 Anything
04 [banter]
05 Break Up
06 Driftwood
07 [banter]
08 Baby Boom
09 [outro]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Kelli Scarr, visit her website, and purchase Piece from the store at her website [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Greg Aiello]

The only Benevento Russo Duo concert of the entire calendar year 2010 took place on Friday night at Highline Ballroom and it was truly a special event. We’ve seen quite a bit of Marco Benevento playing with his trio over the last couple of years, and Joe Russo has played with several units including the Gene Ween Band. But, despite the Duo’s divergent career paths over the last two years, Marco took time out to give the crowd good news — The Duo are still a team and intend to record new music this year. As Joe has also become the full-time drummer for Furthur with former members of the Grateful Dead, it was perhaps appropriate that the longest and spaciest song of the evening was a twenty-minute trip through “Blues For Allah”. Other eclectic takes on some mainstream covers were mixed in with Duo staples (including “Becky” steaming below) for a 100-minute set of outstanding material. As the satisfied crowd slowly left the Highline, it was clear to all that the Duo are indeed very much still alive.

I recorded this set with a feed from the soundboard mixed with the DPA’s in the room. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Many thanks to Highline’s excellent FOH sound engineer Peter for his generous assistance and his superb mix, to Lauren for the arrangements, and to Highline for their hospitality.

Stream “Becky”:

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Benevento Russo Duo
2010-08-27
Highline Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + DPA 4021s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) >
2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown,
set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-08-29

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:41:18]
01 Tartan & Sabia
02 Are You The Favorite Person of Anybody?
03 Sunny’s Song
04 Awards
05 [banter]
06 Walking, Running, Viking
07 Purple Jr.
08 Blues For Allah (Grateful Dead)
09 Best Reason To Buy The Sun
10 Words (Neil Young)
11 Sabbath (Brad Mehldau)
12 Play, Pause, Stop
13 [encore break]
14 One Rainy Wish (Jimi Hendrix)
15 Becky

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Benevento Russo Duo, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the Store at their website [HERE].

[Photo by acidjack]

Motel Motel have been a popular act on this site since we first posted about them in April of last year.  Since then, we have avidly followed their shows, and for good reason - they are an outstanding live act.  When I caught their show at Union Pool back in January, the band debuted six new songs that they had been working on.  This event represented the culmination of those efforts, as the band put this show on to celebrate the release of their new record The Big Island. A beautifully recorded, conceptual release that follows on the place-oriented theme of their previous effort, New Denver, The Big Island is a more cohesive work, the kind of record that, in a bit of a throwback, is intended to be listened to straight through.  Having become familiar with the new songs in the live setting, when I finally listened to the album itself, I was blown away - the production elevates what are already excellent songs, to the point that this record has quickly become one of my top five favorites of the year.

This 50-minute set showcased six of the new songs, plus the classics “Harlem” and the encore “Coffee.”  This show sold out the Union Pool show room and packed the rest of the bar with revelers well into the night.

I recorded this set from my usual spot in this venue, with mics up on the balcony and a soundboard feed.  Although the quality cannot match the near-flawless Gaza Benefit recording from earlier this month, and the acoustics of Union Pool can be challenging from the balcony, with some digital TLC I think the quality of this recording is still very, very strong, especially the latter half.  Enjoy!

Motel Motel have another NYC gig coming up, on September 23 at Littlefield.

Stream “Ocean”:

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Motel Motel
2010-08-24
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: DPA 4021+mono soundboard feed>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to left side of SBD cage with extension pole into audience, DIN
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (double mono SBD channel, EQ/compress SBD, EQ audience, mixdown, set fades, additional EQ, volume adjustments)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 51:17]
01 Thunderhead
02 [banter]
03 Keauhou
04 [banter]
05 Kaimanu>
06 Ocean
07 Wolf Road
08 [banter]
09 Helena, MT
10 Harlem
11 [encore break]
12 Coffee

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Motel Motel, visit their website, and purchase The Big Island from the band’s store here.

[Photo by acidjack]

Charles Burst began his set with most of us imagining we were in for a beautiful evening of DIY rooftop music that benefited a good cause, specifically UNWRA and the Free Gaza Movement.  Indeed, Burst’s laid-back country and blues inspired songs provided a perfect backdrop to a breezy summer evening on the 210 Cook St rooftop… until the NYPD decided to shut down the party.  Fortunately, Burst managed to finish most of his set of finely crafted, timeless American rock n’ roll.  Burst is an accomplished producer/engineer and general music guru, having worked with artists such as The New Pornographers and Gang Gang Dance, among many others.  His second record The Famous Patient (released last month), is as strong as many of the other artists’ work he has helped along, and it is always a pleasure to see a talented soul step out from behind the console to show us his or or her own creative vision.  This concert’s ultimate survival would not have been possible without Burst’s contribution of his gear, which he graciously allowed to be moved to the second location of the show.  We hope to come out for many more of his local performances in the future.

I recorded this set in the same manner as the Shark? and other sets.  The sound quality is outstanding other than some occasional noise caused by the high winds up on the roof.  Most of these flaws have been toned down, but there are still a few points in the recording where the wind noise is perceptible.  With that caveat, enjoy!

Stream “Bars”:

Download the MP3 files [HERE]

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More about FLAC

Charles Burst
2010-08-07
Gaza Benefit Show
210 Cook St Rooftop
Brooklyn, NY  USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: DPA 4021 + stereo soundboard feed>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Mics “onstage”, ORTF
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (compress board track, mixdown, set fades, compress wind noise, amplify and balance channels, tracking, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC (level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time ]
01 Eureka
02 I Came Back For the Children
03 The Famous Patient
04 Some Things You Need To Know
05 Girl On the Rocks
06 [banter]
07 Bars
08 Idiot Song
…cops shut down the show.  The end.

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Charles Burst, visit his website, and purchase The Famous Patient either directly on vinyl from Ernest Jenning records here, or in digital format from your favorite retailer.

[photos courtesy of Jonny Leather]

The Loom headlined the latest in the excellent Jonny Leather concert series at Rock Shop on Friday last. The band has completed their debut full length album and performed many of the numbers from this outstanding package. The puzzling aspect is that the album has yet to be picked up by a label. The Loom are a band of superb musicians who write intelligent songs. They are all also quite together people — the kind of artists that should be overwhelmed with suitors. One can only hope that its just a matter of time until a smart indie label works with this band to allow it to reach the wider audience it deserves. At Rock Shop, the Loom’s performance was perhaps tighter than we have ever seen, and John’s vocal harmonies with new member Sarah were in perfect unison. The Loom will return to Rock Shop for a show on Monday September 27.

We recorded this set under the same conditions as the Common Prayer recording and the sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “True Believers All”:

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Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

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The Loom
2010-08-13
The Rock Shop
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-08-20

Setlist:
[Total Time 56:22]
01 With Legs
02 The Middle Distance
03 Doldrums
04 True Believers All
05 [banter]
06 A Song of Faint Praise
07 [banter]
08 The First Freeze
09 Song for the Winter Sun
10 Curtain Calls
11 For the Hooves that Gallop
12 Snowed In
13 Helen
14 [encore break]
15 [new song]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Loom, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their debut EP At Last Light from the links on their MySpace page.

[The Royal Chains.  All photos courtesy of Jonny Leather]

Jonny Leather’s excellent bill at Littlefield last month brought back a favorite band from one of his previous shows, the Brooklyn/Nashville duo The Royal Chains, as well as a band I had not seen, NYC’s The Sanctuaries.  As with their excellent performance that I recorded at one of Jonny’s earlier shows, The Royal Chains did not disappoint, trying out some new material that showed off their more melodic and mellow side, such as on “Sea Level/Black City.”

The Sanctuaries have one of those challenging names to Google, but they will give you reasons to find them, with immediate hooks and a wry sense of humor to boot.  The catchy “House of Noise,” which this relatively new band has released on a 7″, promises to be a regular favorite at their shows.  Catch the Sanctuaries this month at Union Pool on August 31, and in Fredonia, NY at The Foxhole.

Please support Jonny Leather and the shows he promotes.  Two ways to learn more are to be his friend on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.

I recorded this set in the same manner as the Medications recording, with a stereo board feed and the Schoeps hypercardiod mics.  Other than some occasional flaws in the board mix, the sound is excellent.  Enjoy!

Stream The Royal Chains’ “Sea Level/Black City”:

Stream The Sanctuaries’ “House of Noise”:

Direct download of The Royal Chains MP3 files [HERE]

Direct download of The Sanctuaries MP3 files [HERE]

PLEASE RESPECT THE LIMITS OF THE NYCTAPER SERVER AND DO NOT REPOST THE DIRECT LINK.

Email nyctaper with a request for the download location of the FLAC files.

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The Royal Chains
2010-07-23
Littlefield
Brooklyn, NY  USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Schoeps CMC641+Stereo Soundboard Feed>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: ROC, at left side of sound booth, mics at 7.5′, pointed at stacks
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, compression of peaks, set fades, volume adjustments, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 46:18]
01 Major Seven Blues
02 Lucy Takes the Dare
03 [banter]
04 Sea Level/Black City
05 Wolf
06 [banter]
07 Pioneer
08 Stay In Control
09 A Million Fires

Visit The Royal Chains website here.
Purchase their music and merch here.

The Sanctuaries
2010-07-23
Littlefield
Brooklyn, NY  USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Schoeps CMC641+Stereo Soundboard Feed>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: ROC, at left side of sound booth, mics at 7.5′, pointed at stacks
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, compression of peaks, set fades, volume adjustments, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 46:18]
01 Queen’s Gambit Declined
02 Brief Encounter
03 House of Noise
04 Hey Brooke
05 Judgin’ You is Easy ‘Cause You’re Easy
06 Young Big Brother
07 Heaven is a Mountain
08 Fooled by Youth
09 I’m Dead Already

Visit The Sanctuaries MySpace page here.
To buy their shirts and 7″, email the band here.

[photo courtesy of Jason House]

At a packed Rock Shop on Friday night, it all came back to O’Death. For a band that has only played literally a handful of shows in the last year, their performance was incredibly energetic and inspired. As the band drew from their entire catalog, the frenzied crowd fully participated in the exchange. A series of obscure request calls resulted in a b-side Pixies cover (”Nimrod’s Son”) and a song (Track 20) that we have never heard. The O’Death standards (including “Down To Rest” streaming below) were all played, and when the band announced the end of the show and traditional “Yonder Christian” set closer was performed, the crowd left with full appreciation that a band almost left for dead was still very much alive and kicking.

I recorded this set with the Neumanns set up in front of the booth and mixed with a feed from the board. The sound in the room and the crowd energy was superb, so that the mix relies more (about 60/40) on the audience feed. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Down To Rest”:

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Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

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O’Death
2010-08-20
The Rock Shop
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-08-22

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:10:25]
01 Adelita
02 Only Daughter
03 On An Aching Sea
04 Underwater Nightmare
05 [equipment break]
06 Angeline
07 Spider Home
08 Home
09 Fire On Peshtigo
10 Mountain Shifts
11 Legs To Sin
12 Grey Sun
13 Spitfire
14 [banter]
15 Lowtide
16 [banter/birthday]
17 Down To Rest
18 [banter]
19 Nimrod’s Son (Pixies)
20
21 [banter]
22 Allie Mae Reynolds
23 [banter]
24 Yonder Christian

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT O’Death, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their latest CD from the Kemado Records website [HERE], or from the Store at the O’Death website [HERE]

[photo courtesy of Greg Aiello]

Its been almost three years since we last saw MGMT. That night they opened up for Fiery Furnaces at Music Hall, and MGMT was soon to sign with a major label and release their outstanding debut Oracular Spectacular (we bought a pre-release copy at their merch table that night). We recorded that 2007 show and passed along a copy to their management with good vibes all around. When the CD was released, accolades and popularity soon followed and the band ultimately received a grammy nomination earlier this year. I’ll admit to losing track of MGMT when they blew up, but a recent post on their Facebook page drew us back in — “we are not restricting audio recording all current shows”. Upon reading that invitation I couldn’t help but hope that their positive experience with our taping three years ago helped open their eyes to the positives of a pro-taping policy. As the band is now on tour to support their new release Congratulations, so I bought a ticket for last night’s show at Radio City. The most striking aspect of the night before the lights went down was the age (or lack thereof) of a large portion of the audience — many early teens and pre-teens with their parents. While I guess this is a sign of mass popularity — two sold-out shows at Radio City nothwithstanding — MGMT didn’t pander to the youth. In particular, “Siberian Breaks” is an eight minute song with downbeat lyrics and it appeared in the setlist immediately preceding their most popular number “Kids”. MGMT also took time to explore their psychedelic side as “The Handshake” contained a lengthy dissonant jam. In between, the band did serve up the songs to satisify the crowd, as “Electric Feel” (sampled below) was the third song of the set. We left with the feeling that although MGMT is probably more popular than even they might have imagined, the band has not lost their focus nor do they cater to the mainstream.

I recorded this set from an excellent location in the venue with my best mobile rig. We are a bit disappointed in the level of the vocals in the house mix, but overall the sound is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “Electric Feel”:

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Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

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MGMT
2010-08-17
Radio City Music Hall
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Orchestra Section Row C

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > Soundforge (set fades, level adjustment, slight eq) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper 2010-08-18

Setlist:
[total time 1:40:54]
01 Pieces Of What
02 Brian Eno
03 Electric Feel
04 [banter]
05 Destrokk
06 Flash Delirium
07 Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
08 It’s Working
09 The Youth
10 Weekend Wars
11 Song For Dan Treacy
12 Time to Pretend
13 Siberian Breaks
14 Kids
15 Congratulations
16 [encore break]
17 Future Reflections
18 Someone’s Missing
19 The Handshake
20 I Found A Whistle

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT MGMT, visit their website, and purchase their CDs from the links at their website (HERE).

[photo courtesy of Devyn Manibo]

In the next few weeks, Real Estate will release a single that will again point their career arc upwards. “Reservoir” b/w “Out of Tune” will be released on True Panther Records and based upon the live performances of both songs we have heard, this single will be huge. In June at Music Hall, “Reservoir” was the untitled “new song” that we streamed and raved about. Now with a title, “Reservoir” is an irresistible upbeat number with a melodic guitar line and a relaxed vocals. “Out of Tune” has been the opening song for the last two Real Estate recordings we captured, and its slower with more of a 70’s vibe than its flipside. At Pier 54 on Thursday, both songs were on display, along with a completely new debut performance of a song preliminarily called “All The Same” during a nice forty-five minute opening set. The band continues to get tighter live and with this high quality new material on the horizon, Real Estate is going places. Those places include a tour with Deerhunter in October with a local date of Webster Hall on October 15.

I recorded this set under the same conditions as the Deerhunter recording, but the sound in the venue was clearer and more well-balanced during this set. Enjoy!

Stream “Reservoir”:

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Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

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Real Estate
2010-08-12
Pier 54
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front Row
15 Feet From Left Stack

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > Soundforge (set fades, level adjustment, slight eq) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper 2010-08-16

Setlist:
[total time 47:28]
01 Younger Than Yesterday
02 Beach Comber
03 Pool Swimmers
04 Green River
05 Suburban Beverage
06 Reservoir
07 Out Of Tune
08 Art Fandelet
09 Suburban Dogs
10 [new song - "All The Same" debut]
11 Fake Blues

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Real Estate, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their releases from Woodist Records, Half Machine Records, and Underwater Peoples (currently sold out).

[photo by Anika]

Common Prayer released their debut album There is a Mountain on June 1 on Big Potato Records and have received rave reviews from diverse sources such as the BBC and Other Music. While the album is regarded as a superb “under the radar” release, Common Prayer is simply the latest project in the musical career of Jason Russo — founder and leader of psychedelic alt-rockers Hopewell, and one-time/sometime touring member of Mercury Rev. Russo and partner Alexandra Marvar recorded the album in England with help from the Bennett Brothers (of Truck Festival) and brother Justin Russo (Silent League) and the album maintains a friends and family appeal — Americana with a British countryside flavor. The live band includes Russo and Marvar with three additional players on drums, keys and vocals. At Rock Shop on Friday night, Common Prayer played a thirty-minute set of songs from album, along with one excellent cover. Jason is clearly the focus of the band, but all players were in unison throughout the relaxed set which captured the feel of the album while also adding a little live muscle to the material. Common Prayer will perform again at Union Pool on September 3, and then again at Glasslands on September 16.

I recorded this set as I had the two Rock Shop sets from last week (Sharon Van Etten and Tune-Yards) — a nice soundboard feed mixed with high-end microphones. This time I used the Neumanns. The sound quality is quite exceptional. Enjoy!

Stream “Us vs. Them”:

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Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

PLEASE RESPECT THE LIMITS OF THE NYCTAPER SERVER AND DO NOT REPOST THE DIRECT LINK.

Email nyctaper with a request for the download location of the FLAC files.

Firefox users can retrieve all files at once by installing the “Down Them All” add-on (here).

Common Prayer
2010-08-13
The Rock Shop
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-08-15

Setlist:
[Total Time 32:44]
01 commonprayer
02 Marriage Song
03 Hopewell
04 Us vs. Them
05 Sara G
06 Of Saints
07 Free Air
08 Everything & More
09 Love –> Building on Fire (Talking Heads)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Common Prayer, visit their website, and purchase There is a Mountain from the links at their website.