nyctaper Recordings

If Wooden Shjips had until this weekend completely sailed under my radar, it could be explained by the fact that in their several years of existence, the San Francisco quartet had not played a proper NYC concert. On tour to support their latest release Dos, the band played a 92Y show on Friday, and headlined the Sacred Bones Records-curated and ToddP-produced show at 171 Lombardy on Halloween Saturday. At first blush, Wooden Shjips reminded me very much of the psychedelic acid rock of Black Mountain, but quickly veered towards a more trance and experimental take on the genre. The fuzzed guitars mixed equally with a Floydian organ are the centerpiece of the sound, and the tribal drums and chanted vocals are accompaniments. I was extremely impressed with Wooden Shjips and their too-brief forty minute set left us wanting more.

This set was recorded with the four-track R-44, and mixed two Neumann microphones set up at thirty feet with a stereo feed from the soundboard. Other than a brief segment of minor keyboard distortion in the early section of the first song, this is a fine recording. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Direct download of FLAC files [HERE].

Wooden Shjips
2009-10-31
171 Lombardy
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > 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
2009-11-02

Setlist:
[Total Time 38:50]
01 I Hear The Vibrations
02 We Ask You To Ride
03 Loose Lips
04 Motorbike
05 For So Long
06 Death’s Not Your Friend
07 Vampire Blues

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wooden Shjips, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from the Holy Mountain Records website [HERE].

[photo by Rez Avissar – courtesy of Pitchfork]

Cymbals Eat Guitars headlined the Showpaper/ToddP/Pitchfork benefit at Market Hotel last Saturday and delivered a set of their indie power-pop with the same tension-release style that propels their outstanding debut album Why There Are Mountains. The band dealt effortlessly and with good humor to a series of technical problems, and performed the songs with the same intensity that has gathered them a plethora of rave reviews in this last year. CEG opened the set with highlight and song of the year contender “And The Hazy Sea”, which features lead singer/guitarist Joseph D’Agostino’s spine-tingling scream near the song’s end.

We recorded this set in the same location as the previous two sets from this show, and worked through the technical problems throughout. The sound quality is exceptional under the circumstances. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Cymbals Eat Guitars
2009-10-24
Market Hotel
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
2009-10-31

Setlist:
01 And The Hazy Sea
02 Some Trees
03 Cold Spring
04 Plainclothes
05 The Living North
06 Wind Phoenix

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Cymbals Eat Guitars, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Why There are Mountains from the links at their website [HERE].

[these amazing photos were taken for nyctaper by Kate Ehle — many more here]

The Chicago psychedelic garage-rock quartet Unicycle Loves You opened the NYCTaper CMJ show last Thursday at Bruar Falls in the middle of the afternoon. The band attracted a crowd of fans and friends and displayed during their too-brief twenty-minute set why they were booked for CMJ, completely independently, by nyctaper and Jonny Leather for the same day. That evening they performed at Union Hall as part Jonny’s show. The Bruar Falls set was highlighted by the as-yet-unreleased but destined-to-be-a-hit song “Justine”.

We recorded this set in the same location as the Kittens Ablaze set, but this recording has better balance. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Unicycle Loves You
2009-10-22
Bruar Falls
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 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
2009-10-30

Setlist:
[Total Time 20:32]
01 Magnetic Horses
02 Highway Robbery
03 Golden Girls
04 Gateway Drugs
05 Justine

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Unicycle Loves You, visit their website, and purchase their debut CD at the Shop on their website [HERE].

[photo by Rez Avissar – courtesy of Pitchfork]

Surfer Blood made a quite a splash this past week at CMJ. From the very first afternoon at the packed-to-the-rafters Pop Tarts show at Cake Shop, all the way through about a dozen shows in the week, Surfer Blood attracted loads of attention to their infectious garage/surf-rock. On Saturday, they played the very first set of the Showpaper/ToddP/Pitchfork benefit at Market Hotel early in the afternoon. Although their set was merely a tease — clocking in at eighteen minutes — Surfer Blood performed long enough to substantiate the praise and raise expectations for the January release of their debut album Astro Coast.

This set was recorded under the same conditions at the Real Estate set, except that the soundboard feed signal did not begin until about two minutes into the set. The mix is rough, but quite listenable. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Surfer Blood
2009-10-24
Market Hotel
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
2009-10-28

Setlist:
[Total Time 17:40]
01 Floating Vibes
02 Swim (to reach the end)
03 Harmonix
04 Twin Peaks
05 Catholic Pagans

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Surfer Blood, visit their MySpace page, and purchase or pre-order their upcoming debut release Astro Coast on Kanine Records (due in January).

[these amazing photos were taken for nyctaper by Kate Ehle — many more here]

We liked the Kittens Ablaze 2009 release The Monstrous Vanguard so much that we booked the band twice last Thursday. Kittens headlined the NYCTaper CMJ show at Bruar Falls, and also played the After The Jump showcase at Cake Shop later that evening. While the album is structured and melodic with a definite resemblance to early Death Cab, the live version of Kittens Ablaze is a completely different animal. While lead singer Tim Spellman is anchored to his drummer seat, the other five members of the band move boisterously about the stage in celebration of the music. What separates the band from their contemporaries — the interesting mix of violin, cello, synthesizer and guitars — also adds to the unique presentation of the live performance. Highlights of the show included the sing-along number “This Machine is Dying”, and the opening track on the album and perhaps the band’s strongest number “Gloom Doom Buttercups”.

We recorded this set with two microphones near the stage lip and a feed from the board. In a room of this small size some of the instruments were not sent through the system so there is a slight bit of unbalance to the recording. Otherwise, we are pleased with this capture. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Kittens Ablaze
2009-10-22
Bruar Falls
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > 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
2009-10-27

Setlist:
[Total Time 37:01]
01 Strobelight
02 This Machine is Dying
03 Gloom Doom Buttercups
04 Rabbit is a Livewire
05 Hotel Room
06 Evangeline
07 Branches (new song)
08 Wandering Song

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Kittens Ablaze, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase The Monstrous Vanguard from the links at their website [HERE].

[photo by Rez Avissar – courtesy of Pitchfork]

The Showpaper benefit at Market Hotel, produced by ToddP and curated by Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork, was a marathon musical event but was infinitely worth the time and effort. One of the true revelations of the night, and indeed all of CMJ, was the performance by Real Estate. I had seen the band last summer opening for Love Is All at Music Hall, which was an unmemorable performance where the band suffered through some technical problems. On Saturday, Real Estate was in its element and brought a substantial fan base to the event. The band’s mix of freak folk-rock and psychedelia is rich in guitar band influences and punk ethos, but the most compelling element was the authenticity and the fun-without-self-consciousness in the performance. After a week of seeing far too many bands striking a pose, I welcomed the sounds of a band that seemed to like each other, like themselves, and like the music they were playing.

We recorded this set with the four-track recorder and captured a stereo feed from the board mixed with two Neumann mics in the room. As has been reported elsewhere, there were some significant issues with the sound system during the evening, but fortunately not during this set. The sound quality on this recording is quite clear but somewhat “raw” and unbalanced. With that caveat, enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Real Estate
2009-10-24
Market Hotel
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > 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
2009-10-26

Setlist:
[Total Time 31:05]
01 Pool Swimmers
02 Basement
03 Beach Comber
04 Younger Than Yesterday
05 Suburban Beverage
06 The Mall (Ducktails)
07 Fake Blues

If 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 (currently sold out, new release on November 17), Half Machine Records, and Underwater Peoples (currently sold out).

[photo by Oliver Lopena]

What a difference a year can make in the music world. Eleven months ago, I went with The Antlers to a loft party in Fort Greene, where they basically played through someone’s home stereo. I was the only person there to see the Antlers. A couple of weeks later, they played before a crowd of six people in the Tap Room at the old Knitting Factory. At that point, Hospice was finished, the band had little success shopping it to the various record companies and the decision was made to self-release the album. Even the March CD release show, one of my favorite nights of the entire year, was an intimate crowd of family, friends and supporters at Union Hall.

Six months later, on the opening Tuesday night of CMJ at the brooklynvegan showcase, the band played to a sold out Music Hall — the type of big event I predicted for this band a year and a half ago. The packed crowd was there to see the Antlers — many departed after their set — and the band did not disappoint. In a validation for all of us who have followed and championed this band since the early days, the trio delivered a phenomenal performance of intensity and magnitude and wowed the many in attendance.

The Antlers left the U.S. today for an extensive west coast and European tour. Hospice will be released in Europe in November. On December 15, they return to NYC to headline Bowery Ballroom, with Sharon Van Etten as the opener.

We recorded this set with the four-microphone rig from a position in front of the soundboard. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

This Recording is now available to Download in FLAC and MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].

The Antlers
2009-10-20
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
2009-10-22

Setlist:
[Total Time 48:13]
01 Kettering
02 Sylvia
03 Bear
04 Thirteen
05 Atrophy
06 Two
07 Epilogue

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Antlers, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Hospice directly from Frenchkiss Records [HERE].

[photo by nyctaper]

In a week where they played at the fancy Le Poisson Rouge, at MoMA, and at the architectural wonder The New Museum, on Saturday night No Age returned to their lo-fi roots and their longtime friend ToddP and played a venue that was essentially a warehouse and parking garage in Bushwick. The forty-minute set was a non-stop bundle of power and energy, and excited the frantic crowd to the point of a near riot. The set featured a couple of numbers from their new EP Losing Feeling which was released last week. While the band calmly requested that the non-stop crowd jumpers and surfers avoid crashing into the equipment and not hurt themselves, the show came to a halt when one over-ambitious jumper hit the stage and began bleeding at the end of the song — and you can’t make this stuff up — called “Get Hurt”. The band responded to a strong call to return and finished the show at 2 am with a two-song encore.

ToddP brought in an excellent sound system for this show and the sound in the venue, considering the horrendous acoustics in the warehouse, was actually quite good. We recorded with a stereo feed from the board mixed with the Neumann’s lifted to maximum height at the soundboard area. The result is a really superb capture of this classic DIY event. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

No Age
2009-10-17
Above The Auto Parts Store
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > 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
2009-10-18

Setlist:
[Total Time 42:37]
01 Teen Creeps
02 You’re A Target
03 Here Should Be My Home
04 [new song]
05 Cappo
06 [new song]
07 Every Artist Needs A Tragedy
08 Genie
09 Sleeper Hold
10 Eraser
11 Brain Burner
12 Get Hurt
13 Ripped Knees
14 Boy Void

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT No Age, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from the Sub Pop Records website [HERE].