nyctaper Recordings

Last Saturday at Bowery Poetry Club, the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Minutemen’s masterpiece Double Nickels on the Dime was a mixed affair of music, spoken word and storytelling. The highlights of the evening were the three excellent bands, all of whom offered their own versions of Minutemen songs with musical dexterity and enthusiasm, and the special guest finale — the appearance of Mike Watt who was genuinely profoundly moved by the spirit of the event.

Watt performed three solo numbers on bass and vocals, and then spoke for approximately twenty minutes. While he read portions of Minutemen lyrics, the complex mix of humor, passion and enthusiasm in the words often overwhelmed him. Although its been nearly 25 years since the tragic death of his best friend D. Boon, the event must have brought back vivid memories. Watt’s hesitant and sometimes-overwhelmed manner during his spoken word indicated the depth and poignancy of the moment. Nevertheless, when the event was over Watt sat on a bench outside the venue and met and greeted fans for a lengthy period of time. His unselfish and gregarious approach towards the fans speaks well for the legacy of the Minutemen and their 25-years-removed masterpiece Double Nickels on the Dime.

The existence of three bands, one each from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey, prepared to travel these distances to perform brief sets of Minutemen music in tribute at this event also speaks well for the influence of the Minutemen. Corndogs offered an energetic and authentic approach to the material, while Tweede Kamer provided intelligence and musical proficiency — particularly the outstanding fret work of their talented bass player. The last of the three bands, Pillow Man from Worcester MA, were striking in their resemblance to the Minutemen, as each member of the band actually looked like their counterpart and the song performances were quite faithful to the original material.

We recorded from very close to the main PA, about 15 feet from the stage. As Bowery Poetry is a small venue with a bar, we attempted to avoid the ambient noise — the bar, its patrons, the air ducts and the sound of a club upstairs. During the musical performance, we were completely successful, but during the spoken word pieces (particularly during off-mic moments) the venue noise is quite distracting. As a result, this post offers only the musical performances, each of which is an absolutely outstanding capture. Enjoy!

Direct download of the Sets from this Show:
Mike Watt [MP3] [FLAC]
Pillowman [MP3] [FLAC]
Tweede Kamer [MP3] [FLAC]
Corndogs [MP3] [FLAC]

Double Nickels on the Dime 25th Anniversary Celebration
2009-07-25
Bowery Poetry Club
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Upfront – 15 Feet from the Stage

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
2009-08-01

Mike Watt Setlist:
[Total Time 7:15]
01 Anxious Mofo
02 Themselves
03 Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Truth

Corndogs Setlist:
[Total Time 4:41]
01 Party With Me Punker
02 #1 Hit Song
03 Cut

Tweede Kamer Setlist:
[Total Time 16:24]
01 Its Expected I’m Gone
02 Maybe Partying Will Help
03 Toadies
04 Corona
05 The Glory of Man
06 Jesus and Tequila
07 West Germany

Pillow Man Setlist:
[Total Time 14:20]
01 [introduction]
02 No Exchange
03 I Felt Like a Gringo
04 Ack Ack Ack Ack (The Urinals)
05 The Anchor
06 Joe McCarthy’s Ghost
07 This Ain’t No Picnic
08 Little Man With A Gun In His Hand

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT these bands, visit their websites, Mike Watt, Tweede Kamer, Pillow Man, and Corndogs, and purchase their official releases where available.

Mekons also played Bell House on Friday – click for full size
[photo courtesy of Alexis Maindrault – more excellent shots here]

The Mekons returned to NYC this weekend after a nearly two year absence and proved that while the band and the fans are older and a little more grey, the sense of humor and musical spirit have not changed. At Mercury Lounge last night, for nearly two hours the between-song banter between Sally Timms and Jon Langford was nearly as entertaining as the multi-decade span of the 24 song setlist. Although the absence of Tom Greenhalgh was noted, his stage presence was compensated by the emergence of multi-talented Lu Edmonds. While the setlist leaned heavily towards 2007’s Natural, the band also reached back for three songs from the classic 1985 release Fear and Whiskey.

I arrived late to the venue without a ticket but was able to get in at the last minute and set up the microphones eight feet up on the wall next to the soundboard. The sound quality in the venue was excellent, but the very vocal and boisterous crowd adds some “local color” to the recording. Enjoy!

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

The Mekons
2009-08-01
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded at Soundboard
40 Feet from the Stage

DPA 4021s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2009-08-02

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:52:48]
01 [introduction]
02 Beaten and Broken
03 Club Mekon
04 Give Me Wine or Money
05 [banter]
06 Tina
07 [banter]
08 Corporal Chalkie
09 [banter]
10 Tempted to Believe
11 Perfect Mirror
12 Fantastic Voyage
13 [banter]
14 Abernant 1984/85
15 [banter]
16 Dickie, Chalkie, and Nobby
17 Diamonds
18 Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem
19 Cockermouth
20 Ghosts of American Astronauts
21 Heaven and Back
22 [banter]
23 Big Zombie
24 Memphis, Egypt
25 [encore break]
26 The Hole in the Elephant’s Bottom
27 The Last Dance
28 Oblivion
29 Hole in the Ground
30 [banter]
31 Powers and Horrors
32 Hard to Be Human
33 Where Were You?

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Mekons, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases through the links at their discography or by visiting the Touch and Go Records site [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Kate Ehle – many more excellent shots here]

Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band opened for Wilco at Dutchess County Stadium last weekend and achieved an uncommon feat — the rapt attention of the majority of the crowd, which by the end of their set was “won over”. Its a difficult task to open for a band of such popularity and reverence, but Conor’s engaging stage presence and the outstanding play of the band members contributed to their success. The setlist consisted primarily of material from the band’s latest release Outer South and from Conor’s self-titled 2008 solo album, and was highlighted by the wild closing “I Don’t Want To Die (In the Hospital)”.

We recorded from the identical location and equipment as the Wilco recording, so that the quality is absolutely superb. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Conor Oberst
2009-07-18
Dutchess County Stadium
Wappingers Falls, NY USA

Digital Master Four-Track Audience Recording
Recorded from Upfront on the Field
40 Feet from the Stage – Dead Center

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
2009-07-26

Setlist:
[Total Time 53:02]
01 Slowly (Oh So Slowly)
02 Sausalito
03 Nikorette
04 Get Well Cards
05 Spoiled
06 Moab
07 Cape Canaveral
08 Air Mattress
09 Danny Callahan
10 NYC – Gone, Gone
11 Souled Out!!!
12 Big Black Nothing
13 I Don’t Want To Die (In the Hospital)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the albums page at their site [here], or directly from our friends over at Merge Records [here].

[photo courtesy of Steve at Baby Stew blog]

We have seen Woods on four prior occasions, but they have never sounded as good as they did Wednesday last at Bowery. While their electric “freak folk” certainly has a distinct lo-fi element that fits well with the DIY shows where we had previously seen them, the superb sound system at the Bowery clarifies the songs and gives us a different light within which to see this excellent group. As their new album Songs of Shame has received very favorable reviews, we expect that Woods will play through high-end systems often in the near future.

Acidjack recorded this set from the center of the floor, where the crowd was significantly more sedate than the Wavves set later in the evening. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Woods
2009-07-15
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Front of Board Center
30 Feet from Stage

DPA 4061 > Edirol R-09HR > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (set fades, slight level adjustments, downsample) > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded by acidjack
Produced by nyctaper
2009-07-23

Setlist:
[Total Time 32:43]
01 Blood Dries Darker
02 Twisted Tongue> The Hold
03 The Hold (continued)
04 The Number
05 To Clean
06 Get Back
07 The Dark
08 The Creeps
09 Rain On

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

These days its a challenge within the “indie/rock/pop” realm to actually produce music that is “original” either in its presentation, production or writing. Miracles of Modern Science have mastered that challenge. The band consists of a cello, violin, stand-up bass, mandolin and drums, and writes and performs songs that sound equally of rock, pop, opera and Broadway. MOMS have in their brief career established a unique identity. On Wednesday at Pianos, MOMS played a forty-minute set of 7 numbers, including three from their debut EP, one single (“Didit”), and three newer songs. The packed room also included another rarity in the fledgling indie band scene — several rows of rabid fans who danced, sang along and demanded an encore that the venue would not permit.

Miracles of Modern Science have two gigs left this Summer in NYC:
Jul 25 2009 Le Poisson Rouge NYC
Aug 8 2009 NYCTaper Presents @ Shea Stadium Brooklyn

We recorded from directly in front of the soundboard where we have set up for all of our Pianos recordings. Other than some distortion on the vocal microphones in the first song, the set was mixed well and this recording is an excellent listen. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Miracles of Modern Science
2009-07-16
Pianos
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Front of Soundboard
30 Feet from the Stage

Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2009-07-20

Setlist:
[Total Time 36:56]
01 Eating Me Alive
02 Luminol
03 Typo Gygo
04 Didit
05 Tensity
06 MR2
07 Bossa Supernova

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Miracles of Modern Science, attend their gigs (listed above), visit their MySpace page, and download their debut EP for free [here].

[photo by Ryan Muir courtesy of Stereogum]

This Wavves concert was already three days ago, which means that the “comeback” story is old news. In the atomic-speed Behind The Music career time of Nathan Williams, he’s undoubtedly moved on to the next chapter of the story. We are not sure whether by now he’s found Jesus, gone country, or written a symphony. What we do know is that on Wednesday at Bowery Ballroom with the reverb at full throttle, Wavves delivered a fifty-minute set of 15 songs, both old and new, to a crowd of bouncing, slamming and crowd-surfing fans all with a cast from a broken wrist on Nathan’s right arm.

Acidjack recorded this set from the middle of the floor, which was crowded and crazy. There’s quite a bit of crowd noise on this recording which rather than distracting the listener, actually adds authenticity to the capture. Enjoy!

Setlist help needed below.
Two previous Wavves recordings on nyctaper [here] and [here].
Woods set from the this was also recorded and will be posted soon.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Wavves
2009-07-15
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Front of Board Center
30 Feet from Stage

SP-CMC-8 (Audio Technica U853 Cardiod Capsules)> SP-SB-8 > Edirol R-09HR > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (set fades, slight level adjustments, downsample) > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded by acidjack
Produced by nyctaper
2009-07-18

Setlist:
[Total Time 49:07]
01 Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag)
02
03 Beach Demon
04 Summer Goth
05
06
07 Side Yr On
08 No Hope Kids
09 California Goth
10 California Goths
11
12 Weed Demon
13 To The Dregs
14 Friends Were Gone
15 Wavves

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wavves, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their available releases through links at the Wavves MySpace page, and at Fat Possum Records site [here].