nyctaper Recordings

[many thanks to Thom for photo permission — more here]

If Saturday night’s Mountain Goats concert in Brooklyn was a serious exercise in musical precision, Sunday night’s tour-closing show at Webster Hall was a joyous celebration of a wonderful month of music and friendship. The show began much like Saturday, but it soon became apparent that this would be a special Mountain Goats night when John Darnielle revealed that his solo set would include only songs from 1997’s Full Force Galesburg — including “New Britain” which had only been performed once previously. Of the twenty-four songs in the nearly two-hour show, a full twelve were different from the previous night, and included such rare gems as “Going to Georgia”, “Minnesota”, and “Game Shows Touch Our Lives”. After two encore segments of six songs, at the close of the night, John spoke eloquently and genuinely when he thanked the audience for their support. We thank John, Kaki and the bands for two very special evenings of music.

This concert was recorded from the prime location in this venue, in the center of the floor, equidistant from the two large PA stacks. While the mix was perhaps a bit too bass heavy (we EQ’d slightly in post-production), this recording is another excellent capture of a superb band. Enjoy!

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

The Mountain Goats
2008-11-09
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB
Dead Center 20 Feet from Stage

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > Soundforge (set fades, level boost, slight eq) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2008-11-10

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:50:55]
01 [introduction]
02 Have to Explode
03 Heretic Pride
04 The House That Dripped Blood
05 Moon Over Goldsboro
06 Slow West Vultures
07 New Zion
08 [banter]
09 New Britain
10 It’s All Here In Brownsville
11 Minnesota
12 [banter]
13 Black Pear Tree
14 Bring Our Curses Home
15 Mosquito Repellent
16 Suedehead (Morrissey)
17 Supergenesis
18 San Bernadino
19 Sept 15 1983
20 Game Shows Touch Our Lives
21 This Year
22 [encore break]
23 Houseguest
24 Going To Georgia
25 No Children
26 [second encore break]
27 Palmcoder Yajna
28 The Sign (Ace of Base)
29 The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Mountain Goats, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Mountain Goats official releases from their website.

[photo by Thom – more here]

Sometimes its a charmed life to be nyctaper. Less than 24 hours after an amazing Deerhunter concert, we were back inside Music Hall of Williamsburg for a show we had been anticipating for months — The Mountain Goats return to NYC. When Brooklyn last saw John Darnielle, he performed an outstanding solo set at the Masonic Temple that included one brand new song. That song, “Wizard Buys a Hat” would later appear on the new Satanic Messiah EP, which along with the Kaki King-collaboration Black Pear Tree comprise the two new EPs released this Fall.

Last night’s set included five of the six songs from Black Pear Tree, but unfortunately none of the four Satanic Messiah tracks. Nevertheless, the setlist was democratically distributed among The Mountain Goats catalog and was performed with precision and much energy. John was perhaps less manic and chatty than previous appearances, but that focus served us well — the hundred-minute set was packed with twenty songs and four encores. When we attend the Webster Hall show tonight, a different setlist is expected which will complete a thoroughly enjoyable two-night Mountain Goats experience.

We recorded from the identical prime location from previous events at this venue, and the sound quality is truly superb. You have not heard, nor may you ever again hear another unofficial live recording of The Mountain Goats of this quality. We are proud to present this exceptional capture of this particular artist. Enjoy!

Read the NYCTaper Interview of John Darnielle [here].

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

The Mountain Goats
2008-11-08
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB
Dead Center 30 Feet from PA

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > Soundforge (set fades, level boost, slight eq) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2008-11-09

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:33:42]
01 [introduction]
02 Have to Explode
03 Heretic Pride
04 Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into The Water, Triumph Of
05 Moon over Goldsboro
06 Quito
07 How To Embrace A Swamp Creature
08 The Recognition Scene
09 [Mario introduction]
10 Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle
11 Black Pear Tree
12 Bring Our Curses Home
13 Mosquito Repellent
14 Suedehead (Morrissey)
15 Supergenesis
16 Sept 15 1983
17 No Children
18 This Year
19 [encore break]
20 Hast Thou Considered The Tetrapod
21 Dance Music
22 The Mess Inside
23 [second encore break]
24 Palmcoder Yajna

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Mountain Goats, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Mountain Goats official releases from their website.

[photo (c) 2008 Taryn Looney — more here]

Last night’s performance by Deerhunter at the Music Hall of Williamsburg instantly catapulted into my Top Ten concerts list for 2008. As Deerhunter tours on the heels of their brilliant new CD Microcastle, the band is performing with relaxed confidence assured that their well-deserved rave reviews are reaching the right eyes and ears. We took particular note that on several occasions Bradford stepped back to the let the band shine — Moses drum work and Josh’s bass playing were outstanding. During the encore sequence, Bradford also took time to give Whitney her proper due and praised Lockett. In perfect sync, the band worked through a set heavy on Microcastle material sprinkled with a few rare nuggets, before awarding the crowd with five encores.

The audience at this concert was engaged and attentive, and the sound quality in the venue was as per usual absolutely superb. The sound tech for Deerhunter mixed the band to perfection. We recorded from the prime location in the venue and the sound quality is outstanding — a marked improvement over our September recording of Deerhunter. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Deerhunter
2008-11-07
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB
Dead Center 20 Feet from PA

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > Soundforge (set fades, level boost, slight eq) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2008-11-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:24:23]
01 Cryptograms
02 Never Stops
03 Dr. Glass
04 Hazel St.
05 Nothing Ever Happened
06 Microcastle
07 Vox Celeste
08 Saved By Old Times
09 Fluorescent Grey
10 Calvary Scars II > Aux Out [encore break]
11 Microcastle Intro
12 Agoraphobia
13 [banter – Whitney blues and headstand]
14 Twilight At Carbon Lake
15 [banter]
16 Heatherwood
17 [banter – Moses come back]
18 Operation

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Deerhunter, visit their MySpace page, visit the band blog, and purchase Microcastle [here], their official releases from the Kranky Records site [here].

[photo by Pop Tarts blog]

It is impossible for me to be objective about this performance. I asked Sharon Van Etten to headline the upstairs stage at the NYCTaper CMJ show, which was a difficult task for a solo performer. In return, Sharon not only delivered the most intense and captivating set we have ever seen her play, but she thanked me several times. It is rare to find an artist of such profound talent, but even more so to find one who matches the talent with such quality of character.

This recording was captured by simply connecting a digital recorder to the small mixer that operating as a “soundboard”. I didn’t monitor it all during the show, and as a result the levels were quite low. A large post-production boost of volume was necessary and resulted in audible hiss in the recording. Additionally, only Sharon’s vocals were amplified in the PA so that her guitar is quite low. Nevertheless, this is a quite listenable recording of a special performance — one we will quite literally never forget. Enjoy!

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

Sharon Van Etten
2008-10-23
NYCTaper CMJ Showcase
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Soundboard Recording

Soundboard > RCA Cables > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16 bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, huge level boost) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
nyctaper@nyctaper.com
2008-11-04

Setlist:
[total time 29:40]
01 I Fold
02 Picking Up Rocks
03 Consolation Prize
04 You Didn’t Really Do That
05 Tornado
06 Damn Right

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Sharon Van Etten, visit her website, visit her MySpace page, purchase one of her custom-made self-released CDs directly from her website, and purchase her new CD Because I Was In Love when it is released in 2009.

[The Antlers at Pop Tarts CMJ show – photo by Ear Farm]

It was our misfortune to have missed The Antlers performance at the superb opening day Pop Tarts afternoon CMJ showcase at Cake Shop. Their set turned a lot of heads and has appeared on multiple sites on the web. So when the invitation was received to capture The Antlers at a private loft party, we found ourselves trudging through a fairly out-of-the-way industrial area in Fort Greene on Saturday night. However, what lay ahead was worth the work — as the “new” version of the band ripped through an intimate forty-minute set in a parlor-performance atmosphere. We always “got it” with this band, but now we understand the buzz created by their CMJ set. The new songs from the much-anticipated new release Hospice are intense layered motifs that feature the multiple talents of this superb trio.

Future Antlers shows are now must see events. The two upcoming dates in NYC are as follows:
November 07 at Vanishing Point Brooklyn (show canceled 5 minutes after I posted this!)
November 20 at Knitting Factory NYC

We recorded this set next to a couch about 10 feet from the stage. Since this was essentially a concert in a living room, the “PA” was a set of speakers that amplified the vocals. All other instruments were played through amps. The result is an intimate capture of this special event which was subject only to the limitations of the equipment. Enjoy!

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

The Antlers
2008-11-01
Private Loft Party in Fort Greene
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
Approximately 10 Feet from the band

Neumann KM-150’s > Monster Cable > Apogee Mini-Me > digital coax > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample) > CD Wave 1.75 > Flac Frontend (level 7) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-11-03

Setlist:
[Total time 39:29]
01 Kettering
02 East River
03 Sylvia
04 Bear > 13
05 Two
06 Shiva
07 Cold War

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 their official releases at the Fall Records website [here] and at CD Baby [here].

[photo by Soundbites blog]

It was hard to miss the pre-CMJ buzz about Women. It was even harder on Tuesday afternoon to get inside of the downstairs room at Cake Shop to see their performance at the Pop Tarts CMJ show. I managed to work my way down the left side into the area left of the stage and what I saw left my mouth agape. This was astoundingly authentic neo-psychedelia performed by a quartet of extremely talented musicians. The rhythms were precise, the bass notes sharp and perfectly accented, and the guitar work was neat and intricate. With heavily reverbed vocals added for effect, the entire package of Women is just superb.

After the show, we were fortunate to be able to talk to the band. Not only were they familiar with NYCTaper, but happy to be recorded. The next afternoon at the Terrorbird show apparently the buzz had spread, because it was even harder to get into the Cake Shop downstairs and impossible for us to record. Undaunted, we came back to Cake Shop again on Wednesday night for the Subbacultcha Showcase and captured this set. We recorded from the same location as all of our recent Cake Shop recordings, and we are quite pleased at the excellent quality of this recording. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Women
2008-10-22
Subbacultcha CMJ Showcase
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from the PA

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample 16/44) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-27

Setlist:
[Total time 37:37]
01 Flashlights
02 Group Transport Hall
03 Black Rice
04 Upstairs
05 Shaking Hand
06 Jordan
07 Lawncare
08 Woodbine

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Women, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their debut CD at the Flemish Eye Records (Canada) website [HERE] or the Jagjaguwar Records (US) Website [HERE]

[photo credit]

When we saw the car with the Minnesota license plate drive up to Cake Shop, we knew Best Friends Forever has finally navigated their way through the confusing East Village streets to find their way to the NYCTaper CMJ show on Thursday afternoon. After a quick load-in, the energetic trio performed the opening set of the show and quickly filled the downstairs room. This was our second BFF show in the past 18 hours, as we were lucky to catch their set at the excellent After The Jump CMJ Showcase at the Knitting Factory last night. Each of the two sets contained an entertaining run through their intelligent and energetic quirky pop. As we were so impressed with Jess’ fret work on the bass this past August, at these two shows we were drawn to Bri’s acrobatic guitar and keyboard play — all while she works through the wordy lyrics.

Best Friends Forever also made a very big international fan today as Lisa Horton from Bearsuit was so impressed with their set that she bought the BFF CD and asked me for contact information.

This recording is from the excellent Knit set, and was captured with our compact DPA microphones attached to a pole about 10 feet from the stage. After the band fixed the rough mix in the first two minutes, the recording is quite outstanding. Enjoy!

Many many THANKS to Bri, Jess and Joe, and thanks to Jeff at the Knit show.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Best Friends Forever
2008-10-22
After The Jump CMJ Showcase
Knitting Factory (Tap Bar)
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from the PA

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial >M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0(level adjustments, downsample 16/44) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-23

Setlist:
[Total time 27:27]
01 [introduction]
02 HWF
03
04
05 Eisenhower is the Father
06
07 Handpocket
08
09 Twins in Love

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Best Friends Forever, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases at the Plan-It-X Records Website [HERE].

Oxford Collapse in Seattle [photo credit]

Oxford Collapse closed the outstanding Pop Tarts CMJ Afternoon Party yesterday at Cake Shop with a raging set featuring material from their 2008 release on Sub Pop called BITS. As the trio performed their full bodied guitar-bass-drums power pop with equal parts manic energy and irreverence, the enthusiastic crowd voiced their obvious pleasure. Oxford Collapse performs three more CMJ shows, all evening events:
Oct 22 New York, NY @ Crash Mansion
Oct 23 New York, NY @ Red Bull Space (40 Thompson St.)
Oct 24 New York, NY @ Piano’s w/Death Vessel, Ruby Suns (Sub Pop CMJ Show)

We recorded from our standard upfront position at Cake Shop and the sound quality is outstanding. Thanks to Pat and to the band for their courtesies and permission. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Oxford Collapse
2008-10-21
Pop Tarts CMJ Day Party
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from the PA

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample 16/44) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-22

Setlist:
[Total time 35:07]
01 Young Love Delivers
02 Back of the Yards
03 For The Winter Coats (Kids)
04 A Wedding
05 Lady Lawyers
06 Grasses of Anne
07 The Birthday Wars
08 Search
09 Please Visit Our National Parks
10 John Blood
[setlist from written list, songs may be out of order]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Oxford Collapse, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase BITS and their other official releases from the Sub Pop Records site [HERE].