nyctaper Recordings

[photo by Michaela Ripl – from Wave Pictures website]

One of the greatest obstacles to the discovery of excellent music is the Atlantic Ocean. Oftentimes, its only when British bands make their way across to play NYC shows, that we “discover” them — Bearsuit, Richard Hawley and The Joy Formidable are recent examples. When a twelve year old band with smart and funny lyrics, excellent musicianship and an entertaining stage presence, who have collaborated with the likes of the Mountain Goats and Daniel Johnston somehow falls under our radar, its easy to blame space rather than our own inefficient personal musical encyclopedia. Thankfully, last night at the Brooklynvegan Pre-SXSW show at the Knitting Factory, all was forgiven. The Wave Pictures managed the rare trifecta of amusing, impressing and entertaining the crowd, which swelled to capacity during their set. Singer/guitarist David Tattersall even managed to make the embarrassing accidental unplugging of his guitar cable in mid-solo a mere prelude to one of the more hilarious stage banter recoveries in recent memory.

The Wave Pictures will perform at one of the many brooklynvegan showcases in Austin, at Club DeVille on Friday March 19. The band returns to NYC on Sunday March 28 for a show at the Mercury Lounge on the last night of their US tour.

This set was recorded with the Neumanns in front of the soundboard mixed with a stereo board feed. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Wave Pictures
2010-03-15
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 16bit 44.1kHz 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
2010-03-16

Setlist:
[Total Time 37:47]
01 Canary Wharf
02 Leave The Scene Behind
03 [banter]
04 Walk The Backstairs Quiet
05 [banter]
06 Friday Night in Loughborough
07 [banter]
08 Sleepy Eye
09 Holding Hands
10 Now You Are Pregnant
11 [banter]
12 I Love You Like A Madman

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Wave Pictures, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the Shop at their website [here].

[Photo courtesy of Chris Becker for greenshoelace.com]

Although I had just caught them earlier in the month at Littlefield, my second Vandelles experience was no less entertaining.   Well-slotted in the coveted “second to last” position on an excellent five-act roster,  the band ripped through a similar set to the Littlefield show.  This set seemed a bit tighter than that one, and fortunately, the Vandelles avoided the fate of the act that followed them, MiniBoone, who shorted out most of the electrical equipment onstage and ended up playing an impromptu semi-acoustic freeform set.

I recorded this set way upfront with the miniature DPA microphones mounted to my hat.  The sound is excellent and there is almost no crowd chatter.  Enjoy!

The Vandelles play Cameo Gallery and Lit Lounge on March 26 and 27, respectively.  Check them out!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Vandelles
2010-02-26
Cake Shop
New York, NY  USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper

Equipment: DPA 4061>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: FOB, DFC, about 5? from stage, HRTF
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, downsample, amplify channels)>FLAC level 8

Tracks:
01 Intro
02 Get Down
03
04 Bomb the Surf
05
06 Dash N Dive
07 California Killer
08
09 Bad Volcano

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Vandelles, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases directly from the SVC Records [here].

[photo courtesy of Frank Siringo]

These days, any attempt to pigeonhole Woods as a “freak folk” band seems trite and wholly inadequate. On Friday night at Music Hall, the unique quartet opened their set with a lengthy psychedelic-style instrumental piece, mixed in a few songs that weren’t folk songs as much as deconstructions of the genre, and ended with two completely divergent covers — Blind Melon’s “No Rain” and Graham Nash’s “Military Madness”. The sheer breadth of the stylistic variations of Woods’ music is not necessarily evident in their albums, the latest of which, At Echo Lake, was announced last week and will be released on May 11. But it is the live Woods which stretches the material to these lengths and Friday’s show was an excellent example. Woods tour continues through the Midwest to SXSW before finishing up through the end of March down South. Woods next plays NYC on May 13 at the Abrons Arts Center.

We recorded this set from the same location as the Real Estate set and the sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Woods
2010-03-12
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from 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
2010-03-14

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:14:32]
01 Creeps
02 Blood Dries Darker > To Clean
03 [banter]
04 Get Back
05 Rain On
06 Suffering Season
07 Down This Road
08 The Hold
09 The Dark
10 Twisted Tongue
11 I Was Gone
12 Death Rattles
13 [crowd]
14 Keep It On
15 [banter – set up]
16 No Rain (Blind Melon)*
17 [encore break]
18 Military Madness (Graham Nash)*
*with Real Estate

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Woods, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from Woodsist Records.

[photo courtesy of Frank Siringo]

My first experience with Real Estate live was as an opening band for Love Is All at Music Hall a mere nine months ago. Last night at the same venue, there was one obvious fact — they have gotten a lot better. In October at Market Hotel, we remarked about their improvement, but last night was another world entirely. The band has coalesced into a tight unit, performing their songs with the same energy but with a clear focus and, dare I say it, professionalism. The guitars were all in tune, the solos were well placed and purposeful and the rhythm section was precise. Coupled with the well-mixed excellent sound system of Music Hall, the bottom line is that last night Real Estate sounded just plain terrific. While they were the third of four bands on the bill for this sold out show, it was also clear that many in the crowd were there to see Real Estate. The band worked through a setlist consisting primarily of their debut album material, but of note was the new opening song performed only for the second time, and the dead-on cover of Ariel Pink’s “My Molly“.

Last night was the first night of the combined Real Estate and Woods tour. The tour travels through the midwest before SXSW and then continues down south to the end of March. In May, Real Estate tours Europe. Find all the tour dates at their MySpace page.

I recorded this set with the four microphone rig at the usual location directly in front of the soundboard. The sound in this venue continues to excel and this entire show was mixed particularly well. As a result the sound quality of this recording is superb. Enjoy!

Woods was also recorded and will be posted tomorrow.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Real Estate
2010-03-12
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from 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
2010-03-13

Setlist:
[Total Time 57:37]
01 [new song – “All Out of Tune”]
02 Beach Comber
03 Pool Swimmers
04 Younger Than Yesterday
05 Art Vandelay
06 Green River
07 Suburban Beverage
08 Suburban Dogs
09 My Molly (Ariel Pink)
10 Basement
11 [banter]
12 Snow
13 Fake Blues
14 [banter]
15 Snow Days

f 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).

At Music Hall last night near the end of their excellent set, Real Estate broke into an excellent cover of a fairly obscure Ariel Pink track “My Molly”. This song was originally recorded by Ariel when he was 19 and eventually was released on an EP in 2006. I did record the entire Real Estate set and plan to post it later today.

Real Estate: My Molly (Ariel Pink cover)
MP3 [HERE]
FLAC [HERE]

[Photo courtesy of Taylor Long / T-Sides.com]

Leeds-based Wild Beasts closed out their highly successful U.S. tour (and 2-night NYC run) with a sold-out performance at Music Hall of Williamsburg.   The band’s second album, Two Dancers, has been earning critical raves and increased notice from fans over the past year, and this tour represented the culmination of Wild Beasts’ efforts to break out stateside.   Although the band garnered a lot of initial attention for lead vocalist/guitarist Hayden Thorpe’s theatrical, otherworldly falsetto, these live shows accentuate the fact that bassist/vocalist Tom Fleming’s more rounded tenor is also key, providing the perfect compliment to Thorpe.  Wild Beasts make challenging music – with poetic, melodramatic lyrics and displays of vocal histrionics that could rival almost anyone in the rock pantheon, quick and dirty chillwave this music is not.  But like nyctaper favorites The Dirty Projectors, the Beasts’ live show rewards the listeners who do “get it.”  Although they did mention being shot at in Detroit(!), the Beasts clearly felt that this tour, and even this NYC run, won them a lot of converts.  Their tour schedule has moved on to the UK and Europe for the time being, but if this show was any indication, New York will gladly welcome them back on the next run.

I recorded this set using a four microphone rig from the usual spot in this venue.   The sound is excellent, with extra clarity and detail added through the use of hypercardiod microphones.   Thanks to the Wild Beasts organization for permitting this recording, and for their mastering suggestions.  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE.

Download the Complete Show in FLAC [HERE].

Wild Beasts
2010-02-28
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Equipment: DPA 4021 + Beyerdynamic MC950>Edirol R-44 (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to left side of SBD cage, mics at 8? (cardiods DIN/hypers pointed at stacks)
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, smooth peaks, EQ, slight compression, adjust channels, set fades, tracking, normalize to 0dB)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Intro
02 The Fun Powder Plot
03 We Still Got the Taste Dancing On Our Tongues
04 Vigil for a Fuddy Duddy
05 This Is Our Lot
06 Two Dancers
07 His Grinning Skull
08 banter
09 Two Dancers II
10 Please Sir
11 Brave Bulging
12 All the King’s Men
13 Hooting and Howling
14
15 The Devil’s Crayon
16 Empty Nest
17 Cheerio Chaps, Cheerio Goodbye

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wild Beasts, visit their web site, and purchase the excellent Two Dancers and their other releases from Domino Records here.

[Dinosaur Feathers at Public Assembly in 2009]
[Photos courtesy of Jessi Bautista]

Brooklyn’s own Dinosaur Feathers celebrated the release of their excellent new album Fantasy Memorial before a more eclectic crowd than usual when they played at The Studio at Webster Hall on a Friday night while the venue was also hosting Neon Indian’s DJ set upstairs, as well as its usual Friday night B&T revelers. The band rewarded both dedicated fans and casual passers-through with a solid run-through of almost every song on Fantasy Memorial as well as “Parallel July” from their Early Morning Risers EP. With a sound that defies categorization (is it surf-pop? Is it rock-a cappella?), and is also eminently catchy, the Feathers seem poised to capture the hearts of the college crowd (if there is a band that looks happier on stage than Dinosaur Feathers, I haven’t seen it) as well as the interest of the indie intelligentsia. We look forward to continuing to follow the development of this exciting young band.

I recorded this set up front in the room, near the right speaker stack, with high-end DPA mobile microphones. This recording gives you a realistic experience of “being there,” but as with any recording made in the crowd, it does contain more chatter than some nyctaper recordings. Give the sample a listen, and enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE). Listen to “Teenage Whore” (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Dinosaur Feathers
2010-03-05
Studio at Webster Hall
New York, NY

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

Equipment: DPA 4061 (Coresound HEB)>Sony PCM-M10 (24bit/44.1kHz)
Position: FOB, about 10? from right stack
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify each channel, light compression of crowd noise, smooth peaks)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Intro
02 I Ni Sogoma
03 Crossing the Cannon
04 Know Your Own Strength
05 Family Waves
06 Sleeping In
07 Teenage Whore
08 crowd/banter
09 History Lessons
10 Vendela Vida
11 crowd/banter
12 Fantasy Memorial
13 Parallel July

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Dinosaur Feathers, visit their web page, and purchase the excellent “Fantasy Memorial” here.

Titus Andronicus played their album release show at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday night (March 6) to a sold out and very raucous crowd. Near the end of the night lead singer Patrick Stickles introduced the band and dedicated a solo performance of “Treatment Bound” by the Replacements to his band. We recorded the entire set and will be posting it tonight (edit: full show is now here), but I thought it would be a treat to post this little ditty now. Enjoy!

Titus Andronicus – Treatment Bound (The Replacements)
MP3 [here]
FLAC [here]