It should always be so easy to wipe out 20 years in a single night. On our way to see Big Dipper at Southpaw in Brooklyn, we read the 20th Anniversary issue of New York Press on the subway, and then entered the club to see an Homestead reunion of sorts, as Great Plains and Antietam performed strong solid sets. When Big Dipper took the stage, the band dispelled any doubts or fears of rust as they ripped through a 90-minute 21-song set that covered their entirely too-brief career.
Merge Records decision to compile the recorded output of this all-but-forgotten great late 80’s post-punk pop band is one of those record company decisions that makes you shake your head at its sheer brilliance. Merge was also responsible for prodding the band to reform for these concerts, and based upon the stunning success and clear musical inspiration exhibited last night, Big Dipper may become the 2008 version of Dinosaur Jr. or Mission of Burma, 80’s reunions turned-working-bands.
Merge Records is also primarily responsible for the existence of this recording. With their forward-looking and web-friendly approach, Merge representatives were extremely courteous to nyctaper, secured permission from the band, and gave us list access. As a result, we arrived early at the venue and set up in the ideal location at Southpaw — in the dead center of the rail area with a 30 foot direct line to the PA and above the crowd. This recording reflects that excellent position, and we are proud of its superior quality. Enjoy!
Antietam was also recorded and will be posted on nyctaper in the near future.
Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
Big Dipper
2008-04-25
Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY USA
Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Dead Center
Front of Board — Front Railing at 30 Feet
Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR cables > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level boost, resample 16/44) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac
Recorded and Produced
nyctaper
[email protected]
2008-04-26
Setlist:
[total time 1:25:53]
01 Guitar Named Desire
02 Faith Healer
03 Hey! Mr. Lincoln
04 She’s Fetching
05 Easter Eve
06 Lou Gehrig’s Disease
07 San Quentin, CA
08 Meet the Witch
09 Life Inside the Cemetery
10 Lunar Module
11 Bonnie
12 All Going Out Together
13 Making Plans For Bison
14 Bells of Love
15 What in Sam Hill…?
16 The Beast
17 Younger Bums
18 Ron Klaus Wrecked His House
19 Mr. Woods
20 [encore break]
21 Edith
22 A Song to Be Beautiful
If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Big Dipper, visit their MySpace page, and purchase the Supercluster Anthology directly from Merge Records (which also offers FLAC downloads).
The cover song was “Making Plans For Bison” by Shonen Knife. It was Big Dipper’s contribution to the Every Band Has a Shonen Knife Who Loves Them covers album that Giant records put out in 1989.
Excellent show!
Thanks for the info, this post and the txt file have been changed.
thanks…………
Thanks so much for taping this show, and for making it available. I’m listening to it right now – sounds great.
This was one of my favorite shows of the year. I couldn’t stop listening to the anthology the days leading up to it. Thanks so much for being there to document it.
Great job! I saw the Dipper in Cambridge the following night – another fun show. The sound quality of your recording is amazing. Thank you.
Wow. My friends and I traveled up from Philly to the Maxwell’s show. After smiling and singing along all night, I immediately ordered the Supercluster anthology at 3 AM when I got home (3 CDs…what a bargain for us). Thanks so much for posting this. It feels like a bonus CD. Excellent quality.
Thanks for Bill to pointing out this link. There are a ton of nice pictures from this show here:
http://slowshutter.org/bigdipper/042508/
Hey nyctaper–thanks for making this available and for your interest in the band. We had a great time. Can’t wait to listen to all my mistakes over and over and over…
steve
Ha! Thank you guys for doing this and for permitting a “permanent record”. I had a great time at this show.
Not to be anal, but the Shonen Knife cover is actually called “Bear Up Bison”. It was on SK’s contribution to the ol’ Sub Pop singles club, way back when. I don’t know if it was ever released anywhere else.
Glad to have found you. Thanks so much for this wonderful recording. I remember buying “Craps” back in the late 80s. Still including “Meet the Witch” and “Ron Klaus” on my CD compilations. So many great songs.