Blog Archives

Chris Brokaw: April 8, 2022 Tubby’s (Kingston, NY)

May 16, 2023
By

Yes, you’ve read that date right! Sometimes life gets in the way and recordings linger. But this one’s been on my mind for a while and even more so recently, with Come ending a short US tour tonight in DC. More tour dates are scheduled this year for Come, Lupa Citta, and Codeine (go see them at the Bowery Ballroom November 9th). Chris Brokaw does not rest!

Last year we got to see him playing solo at Tubby’s supporting his solo LP, Puritan, and a new one from The Martha’s Vineyard Ferries, his band with Elisha Wiesner and Bob Weston which had been dormant since 2013. One of the great things about seeing Brokaw solo is that you get to focus on his lyrics which feature vivid juxtapositions of imagery, like in “She’s a Fucking Angel (From Fucking Heaven)” and “Betty Ford James.” I hear rumors we may get another opportunity to see Brokaw locally this fall, so keep an eye out. Meanwhile, catch up with tour dates, releases (including this recent live tape and a long-lost Codeine album!), and more at his website.

I recorded this set with the mics clamped to the soundboard booth, combined with a board feed from FOH Will. I mixed those down and then Sohrab Habibion of SAVAK provided some additional mastering. The results are excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

nyctaper · Chris Brokaw – Live at Tubby’s 2022

Chris Brokaw
2022-04-08
Tubby’s
Kingston, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard (engineer: Will) + MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [48:07]

  1. Into the Woods
  2. The Heart of Human Trafficking
  3. Depending
  4. She’s a Fucking Angel (From Fucking Heaven)
  5. Trade Winds
  6. Periscope Kids
  7. Puritan
  8. I Belong to You
  9. Betty Ford James
  10. [Encore Break]
  11. Blues For the Moon

• Buy Puritan via Bandcamp
• • Check out other recent releases and tour dates at ChrisBrokaw.com

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: April 23, 2023 Union Pool

May 13, 2023
By
Photo by Jesse Jarnow

It’s hard to remember the last time I saw Chris Forsyth and crew tear it up. Before the pandemic? Time blurs! I do know that this was my first in-person experience of the most recent Solar Motel Band lineup with Tom Malach (Garcia Peoples) on guitar, Doug McCombs (Tortoise, Brokeback, etc.) on bass, and of course Ryan Jewell, who somehow manages to be everywhere at once, on drums. This set is mostly songs off of Forsyth’s latest burner, Evolution Here We Come, including the Richard and Linda Thompson song “You’re Going to Need Somebody.” Forsyth is ever-reliable in his choice of covers, here capping off the night (and not to mention the triple-threat Garcia Peoples/Purling Hiss/Motel Band tour) with his take on Neil Young’s “Powderfinger.” But it’s the Evolution-closer “Robot Energy Machine” that really let’s the group stretch out, McCombs and Jewell providing the motorik backing rhythms for Forsyth and Malach to trade lines over. Maybe next tour Forsyth and co. will be doing a Neu! cover. You never know!

I recorded this from our usual spot at Union Pool. Thanks to all the folks there and sound engineer Jase Hottenroth for making this happen. Enjoy!

Stream and Download at the Live Music Archive

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
2023-04-23
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard (engineer: Jase Hottenroth) + MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [56:56]
01. Tomorrow Might As Well Be Today
02. Experimental & Professional
03. Heaven For a Few
04. Bad Moon Risen
05. [banter]
06. You're Going to Need Somebody [Richard & Linda Thompson]
07. Robot Energy Machine
08. Powderfinger [Neil Young]

Dominick & The Family Band: April 20, 2023 Tubby’s

May 3, 2023
By

If you forgot to wear your tie-dye shirt out to Tubby’s 4/20 show—no problem, they were dyeing ’em out back. Meanwhile, local Kingston jammers Dominick and the Family Band were inside playing “I Wanna Get High” and “Just Smoke” to a packed Thursday evening crowd. Those songs are off last year’s tape Body Wave Heat Whatever, but the band has a new album nearly in the can and treated us to the new ones “All I Do,” “Heather,” and “Backwards.” More than a few ears perked up as the band transitioned from “Lights Out” into “I Know You Rider,” ensuring that we’d all get a bit of Dead in our 4/20.

I recorded this from our usual spot at Tubby’s, the MBHO’s combined with a board feed from enginner Nick. The sound is excellent. Dig in!

Download and Stream at the Live Music Archive

Dominick & the Family Band
2023-04-20
Tubby's
Kingston, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard (engineer: Nick) + MBHO KA200N/603A (DIN) > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [41:37]
01. I Wanna Get High
02. All I Do
03. Blue Morning Light
04. Just Smoke
05. Heather
06. Backwards
07. Lights Out > I Know You Rider

Joan Shelley: September 23, 2022 The Colony (Woodstock, NY)

September 28, 2022
By

Back in April 2020 when we didn’t know when or if we were going to see live music again, Joan Shelley released Live at the Bomhard, the hometown tour finale recorded live in 2019 with the Best Hands Band and a special appearance by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. It was both a comfort to all of us stuck at home and a reminder of what we were missing out on.

I have to admit I was only mildly familiar with Joan Shelley before that Bandcamp Friday release, but felt compelled that day to support as many musicians as I could to make sure music would still be there when we returned to normalcy. The added draw of hearing new, live music meant Live at the Bomhard would be in constant rotation ever since. These songs all became familiar in their live and studio arrangements as I added her records to my collection.

This past June, Shelley released her latest album, The Spur, a collection of songs that sound like they are grappling with comfort and safety—songs like “Home,” “Forever Blues,” and “Fawn.” And here I’ve finally gotten to see Joan Shelley live in person. Live music did return after all, though it must be added not without its difficulties.

Whether you’ve heard these songs on Live at the Bomhard, or the studio versions on The Spur, Shelley’s set at The Colony in Woodstock added new textures and arrangements with her current touring band of Nathan Salsburg, Jim Elkington, and Nick Macri, all who played on The Spur and other Joan Shelley albums. Between songs Shelley and her band are affable and engaging with their story telling and the added context for these songs. On a cold night in Woodstock at the beginning of Fall, it sure felt warm inside.

Download FLAC and MP3

nyctaper · Joan Shelley – Live at The Colony 2022
Joan Shelley
2022-09-23
The Colony
Woodstock, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard + MBHO KA500/603A (DIN) > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [1:10:45]
01. Stay All Night
02. Forever Blues
03. [Fawn intro]
04. Fawn
05. If the Storms Never Come
06. [Fall in the mountains]
07. Home
08. [Favorite room in the world]
09. The Fading
10. [Storms]
11. Like the Thunder
12. Wild Indifference
13. [The Spur intro]
14. The Spur
15. Completely
16. Stay on My Shore
17. [The last show of all time]
18. Why Not Live Here
19. Coming Down For You
20. [The merch table]
21. When the Light is Dying
22. Not Over by Half

The band:
Joan Shelley
Nathan Salsburg
James Elkington
Nick Macri

Joseph Allred: August 20, 2022 Deep in the Valley

September 20, 2022
By

Welcome to our coverage of the 2022 Deep in the Valley festival and special deep valley thanks to Raven Sings the Blues and From the Ground Brewery for hosting!

Of all the musicians at Deep in the Valley, it was perhaps Joseph Allred who was most appropriate for the farm and creek-side setting. Allred has been releasing a steady stream of records for about 10 years now and the only constant between them is how consistently excellent and varied they are. From fingerpicked guitar to Lute Music and just about everything in between, his catalog is a multitude of pastoral excursions with varying instrumentation and voice. Allred first came to my attention with 2019’s Branches and Leaves which was released on the always-reliable Feeding Tube Records. Lo and behold, the first song from his Deep in the Valley set was the title track from that album, which like “Scoudrel,” played later in his set, is composed of harmonium and vocals. “Dance of the Fairfolk” and “March of the True Bugs” (great song title!) are both off the The Rambles & Rags of Shiloh, an album which thematically links Biblical and Southern geographies through guitar and banjo instrumentals. And “Lilly Valley Suite” is a medley of a few newer instrumentals. If any one of our recordings from Deep in the Valley can best give you a feel for the day, let this one take you to the country.

Download FLAC and MP3

nyctaper · Joseph Allred – Deep in the Valley 2022
Joseph Allred
2022-08-20
Deep in the Valley
From the Ground Brewery
Red Hook, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard + MBHO KA200N/603A (DIN, stage lip) > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [34:24]
01. Branches and Leaves
02. Dance of the Fair Folk
03. Ditch Lilly Suite
04. Scoundrel
05. Tuning
06. March of the True Bugs

Dominick & the Family Band: August 20, 2022 Deep in the Valley

August 30, 2022
By

Welcome to our coverage of the 2022 Deep in the Valley festival and special deep valley thanks to Raven Sings the Blues and From the Ground Brewery for hosting!

Really I can’t think of a music festival I’ve been to that was as inviting and relaxed as Deep in the Valley. The very first band of the day, local Kingston quartet Dominick and the Family Band, perfectly inaugurated the day’s good vibes and laid back atmosphere with their hazy country-rock. Festival goers newly arriving paused setting up their chairs to take in the sounds as they played songs off last year’s aptly-titled tape, Body Wave Heat Whatever, plus the new songs “Heather” and “Backwards.” But they saved the best for last, blasting off with a heady, ten-minute version of “Lights Out.” If you didn’t know any better you’d think these guys were headlining the festival. I highly recommend heading over to Bandcamp to grab their tape (as well as bandleader Dominick Anfiteatro’s solo stuff). I’m sure there will be opportunities to catch these locals again in the Hudson Valley. I’ll be there for sure!

Download and Stream at the Live Music Archive

Dominick and the Family Band
2022-08-20
Deep in the Valley
From the Ground Brewery
Red Hook, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard + MBHO KA200N/603A (DIN, stage lip) > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [34:06]
01. I Wanna Get High
02. Blue Morning Light
03. Just Smoke
04. Their Aim
05. Heather
06. Backwards
07. Lights Out

Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders: August 20, 2022 Deep in the Valley

August 23, 2022
By

Welcome to our coverage of the 2022 Deep in the Valley festival and special deep valley thanks to Raven Sings the Blues and From the Ground Brewery for hosting!

They didn’t kick off the festival but kicking off our coverage of Deep in the Valley is this astounding set from Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders. We’re big fans of course of his other band, Dire Wolves, but this is the first time we’ve gotten to see him with the Heavy Lidders. The group includes Elkhorn-ers Drew Gardner on guitar and Jesse Shepherd on bass, Scott Verrastro of Kohoutek on drums, and a guest appearance from Ashley Paul on saxophone. Opening with the loose, Tolkien-referencing “Bombadil Bop” couldn’t have been more appropriate for the pastoral setting as folks got up out of their chairs to boogie, while others sought umbrellas as the midday heat came out in full force. The band slides further into the literary references with “Beowulf’s Trip” from the ‘Lidders recent self-titled LP featuring the same lineup that we saw at Deep in the Valley. (Heads take note: that record also boasts appearances from Marissa Nadler on the Dead’s “Black Peter,” Rosali Middleman, PG Six, and Ryan Jewell. Wow!) After playing her own solo set, Ashley Paul joined in on saxophone for “Hidden Treasure.” She and Jeffrey Alexander collaborated remotely last year and released a super limited 7″—nice to see them jamming in person. Finally the band choogles into their deepest grooves of the day with Willie Dixon’s classic “Spoonful,” which they also put out on Elixer of Life. Their set was truly a physical manifestation of the good vibes and collaborative atmosphere at Deep in the Valley and I hope you enjoy this as much as we all did—get into it below!

Stream and download at the Live Music Archive

Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders
2022-08-20
Deep in the Valley
From the Ground Brewery
Red Hook, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard + MBHO KA200N/603A (DIN, stage lip) > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [49:29]
01. Bombadil Bop
02. Beowulf's Trip
03. Hidden Treasure
04. Spoonful [Willie Dixon]

Jeffrey Alexander - guitar, vocal
Drew Gardner - guitar
Jesse Sheppard - bass
Scott Verrastro - drums
with - Ashley Paul - saxophone on 3

Taper’s Choice: April 24, 2022 The Sultan Room Rooftop

June 6, 2022
By
Photos by Jefe

Billing themselves as “Not the Jam Band We Need But the Jam Band We Deserve,” Taper’s Choice are somewhat mysterious newcomers to the scene—and they’re sure having fun with it. Here’s what we know: the band is a jam supergroup comprised of Dave Harrington (Darkside), Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend), Alex Bleeker (Real Estate), and Zach Tenorio (Arc Iris). Beyond that scant info, it wasn’t until recently that tunes have emerged. Previously available only at merch tables at the band’s few California shows earlier this year, the cassette-only Choice Tapes Vol. 1 circulated word-of-mouth for a while before finally landing on Bandcamp along with Choice Tapes Vol. 2. (I hear Vol. 3 is in the works.) Songs on the tapes are titled only with single or double curly quotes on both volumes but if you listen hard maybe you’ll hear some similarities to jams circulating in “trader” circles on the Live Music Archive.

We were fortunate to get invited out to the band’s exclusive (and sold out) first show in New York (or Jam Hollywood to those in the know). Two sets under the stars at Brooklyn’s Sultan Room (one of the premier destinations for jams in the borough) and we were sold 100% on Taper’s Choice. These guys even have their own festival! Take that Phish. And go buy some tickets to Choice Fest.

Stream and download at the Live Music Archive

Taper's Choice
2022-04-24
The Sultan Room Rooftop
Brooklyn, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Set 1:
01. Running From the Rain
02. Lick the Toad 
03. The Dave Test (Yes) >
04. Walkin’ Around 
05. Darkness on the Edge of Midtown*

Set 2:
06. Above the Timberline  
07. Every Bubble >
08. Born to Burst*
09. Lilac Palace 
10. Low Era*^
11. Döner Wrap

*with Stuart Bogie - sax
^Geese cover with Cameron Winter (lead singer of Geese)
Kenny Wollesen - percussion on all of second set

Taper's Choice is:
Dave Harrington, Alex Bleeker, Chris Tomson, Zach Tenorio-Miller

Vapour Theories: June 24, 2021 Sunflower Philly (Philadelphia, PA)

May 31, 2022
By

It’s been far too long since we’ve heard from the mighty Bardo Pond. (Though they’ve been quietly reissuing their 90’s albums.) But the Gibbons brothers—John and Michael—have kept busy with their Vapour Theories side project, releasing the aptly-titled Celestial Scuzz last year. It might not come as a surprise that Vapour Theories sounds a lot like Bardo Pond stripped of everything but the guitars.

Last year we caught the brothers opening for Birds of Maya in their hometown Philadelphia, outdoors on a beautiful early Summer day, and here (finally!) is that recording. Besides a little ambient noise from the outdoor setting, the sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream and download the full show at the Live Music Archive.

Vapour Theories
2021-06-24
Sunflower Philly
Philadelphia, PA

Vapour Theories is John and Michael Gibbons of Bardo Pond

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks
01. Part 1
02. Part 2

Buy Celestial Scuzz via Bandcamp
Buy Bardo Pond records via Bandcamp

SAVAK: April 8, 2022 Tubby’s (Kingston, NY)

April 12, 2022
By

SAVAK released their last LP, Rotting Teeth in the Horse’s Mouth, on April 10, 2020. To say that was a weird time would be an understatement. I vividly recall exploring my former neighborhoods of Ditmas Park and Midwood, frequently soundtracked by that new LP in those early days.

Now it’s two years later and… here we are. SAVAK’s latest record, Human Error / Human Delight arrives on Friday and I even got to see them play live for the first time in probably three years. Too long! But like those early days, SAVAK’s set from last Friday is a much needed salve. There’s nothing quite like live music and SAVAK’s energy is infectious as ever. This was my first chance to hear some of the new songs, like the standout album-opener “No Blues No Jazz,” “Dealers,” “Cold Ocean,” and a riotous, closing “Set Apart.” SAVAK steer full-throttle towards delight!

SAVAK have a few upcoming dates around NYC, including one at The P.I.T. on May 12, plus opening slots for Jawbox (!) in July and June of 44 (!!) in October, both at Le Poisson Rouge.

I recorded this set with the mics clamped to the soundboard booth, combined with a board feed from FOH Will. I mixed those down and then Sohrab provided some additional mastering. The results are excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

nyctaper · SAVAK – Live at Tubby's 2022

SAVAK
2022-04-08
Tubby’s
Kingston, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard (engineer: Will) + MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [40:15]

  1. Early Western Traders
  2. Vis-a-Vis
  3. How Many Duchesses
  4. Dealers
  5. I Don’t Want To Be Defended
  6. Cold Ocean
  7. No Blues No Jazz
  8. Door Deals & Debt
  9. They Are Not Like Us
  10. Set Apart

• Buy Human Error / Human Delight via Bandcamp
• • Connect with the band at their Website and on Facebook

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