[photo by Jenelle Rittenhouse]
I often believe that the music of Cass McCombs is best heard on headphones and his live performances best in intimate venues. Wednesday night’s show at Maxwell’s offered an opportunity to experience this profound songwriter up close. While the Bowery show in May was a coming-out party for his superb new album Wit’s End (Domino Records), last night Cass played just two songs from the new album in a relaxed eleven-song seventy-minute set. The show featured an overview of his catalog along with two new numbers, whose titles I have approximated from a scribbled stage setlist. The Hoboken crowd was quite attentive and there was almost no chatter during the music — adding to the air of reverence for these poignant songs. We’ve chosen to stream one highlight, an intense version of “Don’t Vote”, but there were quite a few during the night. “Aids in Africa” and “Harmonia” received the extended version treatment and allowed the band to shine, while both Wit’s End songs “Lonely Doll” and “County Line” continue to grow in strength.
I recorded this set with the four microphone rig place in a stand in the front corner of the soundboard booth. The excellent house mix and lack of any crowd chatter contribute to the superb sound quality of this recording. Enjoy!
Stream “Don’t Vote”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/C1205Cass1102/08.%20Don%27t%20Vote.mp3]
Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
Cass McCombs
2011-07-20
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ USA
Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded at Front of Soundboard Booth
Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021’s > 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
Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2011-07-21
Setlist:
[Total Time 1:11:59]
01 Prima Donna
02 Pregnant Pause
03 The Lonely Doll
04 Windfall
05 County Line
06 Meet Me Here At Dawn
07 Chimera
08 Don’t Vote
09 Aids in Africa
10 Same Thing
11 Harmonia
If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Cass McCombs, visit his website, and purchase Wit’s End from the Domino website [HERE].
Saw his show in Boston and the extended Harmonia was superb! Wish I had liked Lower Dens’ set as much as I wanted to, but Cass more than made up for it.
I am very pleased! I saw him in Denver on the 29th, great show, glad you recorded this. Thank you
I was pretty close on the new songs:
“To Every Man His Chimera” is track 07
“The Same Thing” is track 10
Cass McCombs is the BEST artist around these days and Wit’s End is an amazing album. Thank you for the show!