Weird Owl make bad-ass stoner rock for the modern era, and this show at Union Pool found them rocking the living hell out of an expectant crowd that was about to see headliner White Hills. It is hard to hear a songs like the reverb-heavy monster “Stral Proj” or the space rock of “Mind Mountain” and not imagine them being played to a crowd of feathered haircuts, bell bottoms and tie-dye rather than modern-day BK hipsters. Weird Owl’s music has a deep, satisfying heaviness to it, with the rich roar of classic analog amps and wah-wah pedals. Their new record, Build Your Beast A Fire, just released on Tee Pee Records, is a fifteen-song monster that finds the band tightening up their songwriting a bit, crafting slightly more approachable songs that deliver on the promise suggested by their 2009 debut, Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed. Though short, this set gave expectant fans a dose of the new songs’ greatness. Make Weird Owl and Build Your Beast A Fire part of your summer, now. Because we told you so.
hi and lo and I recorded this set with four microphones and a soundboard feed. The split wide cardiod microphones, in particular, give the recording a huge, detailed sound. Enjoy!
Stream “Straj Proj”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/W1407WeirdOwl1120/04 Straj Proj.mp3]
Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
Follow acidjack on Twitter
Weird Owl
2011-07-14
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA
Recorded by acidjack and hi and lo for nyctaper.com
Produced by acidjack
Equipment: AKG C414 B-XLS (wide cardiod mode)>Oade M248 + Schoeps mk41>CMR>tinybox + Soundboard >> Tascam DR-680 (24/48)
Position: AKGs split 6′ on balcony, Schoeps DINa on balcony, DFC
Mastering: 24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )
01 Saucer-Shaped Shadow>
02 Skin the Dawn
03 Up From the Root
04 Stral Proj
05 Parallax Eyes
06 Mind Mountain
07 Mountains On Top of Buried Stars
If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Weird Owl, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their records from Tee Pee Records [HERE]
thanks a lot for this one. will you guys be there for the album release show on the 5th?
I don’t think we will, unfortunately.
Amazing, thanks for this!
did you get white hills set too?
Yes, but they did not approve it to be posted, unfortunately. I have recorded them twice and had the same result both times. Too bad as they are a great live band.
is dime an option?
I really could not do that. I asked the band for permission both to record and to post; they gave me permission to record with the understanding that the recording would only get posted if they approved it. The point of asking for permission is doing what the band wants – the reason we are allowed to record a lot of things that other people aren’t is that we keep our word. While I thought the recording and performance were outstanding, they didn’t. It would only damage our goodwill with them and other bands if I then turned around and shared the recording against their wishes after I said I would not.
White Hills is very particular. A taper friend contacted them about recording an upcoming show and this was the response he got..
[deleted]
Yes, White Hills do not maintain an open taping policy, but do allow certain shows that they approve of to be recorded and shared. The one recording of White Hills shared elsewhere on this site was approved by the band. Also, they are playing our Northside Festival show on June 14!