nyctaper Recordings

[photo credit]

It should always be so easy to wipe out 20 years in a single night. On our way to see Big Dipper at Southpaw in Brooklyn, we read the 20th Anniversary issue of New York Press on the subway, and then entered the club to see an Homestead reunion of sorts, as Great Plains and Antietam performed strong solid sets. When Big Dipper took the stage, the band dispelled any doubts or fears of rust as they ripped through a 90-minute 21-song set that covered their entirely too-brief career.

Merge Records decision to compile the recorded output of this all-but-forgotten great late 80’s post-punk pop band is one of those record company decisions that makes you shake your head at its sheer brilliance. Merge was also responsible for prodding the band to reform for these concerts, and based upon the stunning success and clear musical inspiration exhibited last night, Big Dipper may become the 2008 version of Dinosaur Jr. or Mission of Burma, 80’s reunions turned-working-bands.

Merge Records is also primarily responsible for the existence of this recording. With their forward-looking and web-friendly approach, Merge representatives were extremely courteous to nyctaper, secured permission from the band, and gave us list access. As a result, we arrived early at the venue and set up in the ideal location at Southpaw — in the dead center of the rail area with a 30 foot direct line to the PA and above the crowd. This recording reflects that excellent position, and we are proud of its superior quality. Enjoy!

Antietam was also recorded and will be posted on nyctaper in the near future.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Big Dipper
2008-04-25
Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Dead Center
Front of Board — Front Railing at 30 Feet

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR cables > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level boost, resample 16/44) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
nyctaper
[email protected]
2008-04-26

Setlist:
[total time 1:25:53]
01 Guitar Named Desire
02 Faith Healer
03 Hey! Mr. Lincoln
04 She’s Fetching
05 Easter Eve
06 Lou Gehrig’s Disease
07 San Quentin, CA
08 Meet the Witch
09 Life Inside the Cemetery
10 Lunar Module
11 Bonnie
12 All Going Out Together
13 Making Plans For Bison
14 Bells of Love
15 What in Sam Hill…?
16 The Beast
17 Younger Bums
18 Ron Klaus Wrecked His House
19 Mr. Woods
20 [encore break]
21 Edith
22 A Song to Be Beautiful

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Big Dipper, visit their MySpace page, and purchase the Supercluster Anthology directly from Merge Records (which also offers FLAC downloads).

[photo credit]

mum was well served by the change of venue to Brooklyn on Wednesday night. The loose and festive atmosphere of the Masonic Temple gave the set a playful feel.  Orvar in particular was having quite a bit of fun with the banter and indeed at one point broke out into a goofy verse of Kiss’ “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” at the end of the set. The setlist contained a few changes from Tuesday’s show and the show was 10 minutes longer. In particular, the beautiful version of “Ghosts You Draw On My Back” was breathtaking in its poignant simplicity.

I took a different approach to recording this concert than the Tuesday night outing. Since the “sweet spot” at 30 feet back dead center is inaccessible as its right in the middle of the aisle for seating at Masonic Temple, I decided to get right up front at the PA speakers. This recording was captured from the 4th row, only a few feet from the large right side speakers. The result is a very clear recording, which was perhaps a bit bass and drum heavy — imperfections that were remedied in post-production with a little gentle EQ. The final product is quite excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

mum
2008-04-22
Brooklyn Masonic Temple
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from 4th Row
15 Feet from Right PA Stack

DPA 4021s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge (level adjustments, modify close clapping, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries)> flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2008-04-24

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:30:26]
01 I Was Her Horse
02 Moon Pulls
03 Oh, How the Boat Drifts
04 Winter (What We Never Were After All)
05 Sit Down
06 Guilty Rocks
07 Marmalade Fires
08 Blessed Brambles
09 A Little Bit, Sometimes
10 I’m 9 Today
11 Kostrzyn
12 These Eyes are Berries
13 Dancing Behind My Eyelids
14 They Made Frogs Smoke ‘Til They Exploded
15 [encore break]
16 The Ghosts You Draw On My Back
17 We Have a Map of the Piano

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT mum, visit their website, and purchase their official releases at the mum store.

mum returned to NYC last night for the first of two local shows. At the shows last November, it was clear that the “new” lineup had improved since their Icelandic debut at the Sugarcubes reunion. On Tuesday, the band proved that it has truly matured into a superb coordinated musical unit. The new members were more confident and quite comfortable on stage, and while the setlist was quite similar to the November performances, the execution was just simply stronger and more focused.

This recording was captured from the “sweet spot” of the Gramercy Theatre — a venue with an excellent sound system. Additionally, the house sound was mixed quite well so that all the multiple and unique instrumental arrangements were audible. We’re extremely pleased with the quality of this recording. Enjoy!

This recording will be the first to be offered on this site in two formats. 256kb MP3s are available as a direct download below (in a zip folder), as well as FLAC files.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

mum
2008-04-22
Blender Theatre at Gramercy
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Center of Floor
30 Feet from Stage

DPA 4021s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge (level adjustments, modify close clapping, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries)> flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2008-04-23

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:22:06]
01 Winter (What We Never Were After All)
02 Moon Pulls
03 Oh, How the Boat Drifts
04 Sit Down
05 Marmalade Fires
06 We Have a Map of the Piano
07 Guilty Rocks
08 Blessed Brambles
09 A Little Bit, Sometimes
10 Kostrzyn
11 These Eyes are Berries
12 Dancing Behind My Eyelids
13 They Made Frogs Smoke ‘Til They Exploded
14 [encore break]
15 Smell Memory

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT mum, visit their website, and purchase their official releases at the mum store.

[photo credit]

Hot Buttered Rum are a 5-piece bluegrass (“newgrass”) band from the SF-Bay Area. They performed a 75-minute opening set for Tea Leaf Green at Highline Ballroom on Friday night. An opening set of such length could be seen as indulgent with some bands, but with Hot Buttered Rum the set was well-conceived, expertly performed and ultimately received full crowd support. The five musicians in this group are superb multi-talented craftsman whose approach to bluegrass is both faithful to the genre and also offers a new approach to traditional Americana music.

We were given the taper guest list spot for this show by Hot Buttered Rum, and offer our sincere gratitude to the band and Josh. We set up in the perfect location, clamped to the railing of the upper area (about 10 feet above the soundboard booth) at dead center. This location sits directly in between the main PA speakers and the auxiliary PA for the upper seating area. We arranged the microphones at 110 degrees, which captured output from all four speakers and gives this recording almost a “surround” feel. Please enjoy this excellent recording of an outstanding performance!

This recording is offered as a direct download as the files are hosted on the Internet Archive server. Right click and “save file as” or “save target as” to download individual tracks.

This recording is available on the Internet Archive (here)

Hot Buttered Rum
2008-04-18
Highline Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Dead Center
Balcony Railing

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR cables > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level boost, resample 16/44) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
nyctaper
[email protected]
2008-04-19

Setlist:
[total time 1:17:48]
01 Busted In Utah
02 Lighten Up Your Load
03 Firefly
04 Golden Days
05 Song In A Can
06 Beneath The Blossoms
07 Evolution > Molly Put The Kettle On > Evolution
08 Desert Rat
09 Angeline The Baker > Cindy
10 Queen Elizabeth
11 Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Dylan)
12 Summertime Gal

**Tracks 11 and 12 with Trevor Garrod from
Tea Leaf Green on keyboards/vocals

If you download this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Hot Buttered Rum and visit their website, where you can purchase their official releases and merch (here).

[photo credit]

On Friday night, Marco Benevento led a cross-genre and cross-generational all-star quartet through two hours of thoroughly entrancing jazz improvisation. As downtown art-jazz drummer extraordinaire Bobby Previte provided the stop and start beats and Briggan Krauss squonked and bleated the alto sax, multi-keyboardist Marco and Curtis Fowlkes provided thematic structure and a plethora of melodic flourishes. The result was a breathtaking display of superb jazz excellence.

This recording was made from the exact same location at Marco Benevento’s final night of his January residency at Sullivan Hall. The sound quality is quite excellent, marred only by several points where the quiet music is disturbed by a handful of loud chattering audience members who carried on extensive conversations seemingly oblivious to the jazz brilliance unfolding in front of them. Ultimately each instrument was mixed to perfection, and the recording breathes life into this outstanding performance. Enjoy!

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

Marco Benevento
2008-04-11
Sullivan Hall
New York NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront Table Area
15 Feet from Left PA Stack

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level boost, resample 16/44) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Band:
Marco Benevento: piano, keyboards, effects
Bobby Previte: Drums
Briggan Krauss: alto sax
Curtis Fowlkes: trombone
[on last track:]
Sam Kininger: sax
Nikki Glaspie: drums

Recorded and Produced
nyctaper
[email protected]

Set 1
[total time 56:53]
01 Improvisation

Set 2
[total time 1:14:54]
01 Improvisation
02 Big Whopper

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Marco Benevento and visit his website, where you can purchase his new CD Invisible Baby and purchase all of his official releases (here).

[photo credit]

Dirty on Purpose compose more than just “shoe-gaze” or “indie” music. The straightforward beats combined with intelligent lyrics and frequent off-beat hooks remind the listener of early Yo La Tengo, or the melodic songs of Sonic Youth. Last Friday at Mercury Lounge they performed a short but impressive set that featured several new songs from their digital-only free release Dead Volcanoes.

Unfortunately, the Friday night crowd was maddeningly inattentive, and there was persistent chatter throughout the set — in large part in celebration of the birthdays of a band member (bassist DJ Boudreau) and a band friend. Singer/Guitarist Joseph Jurewicz actually makes mention during the banter on Track 07 below (“over this way people”, “shhh”). This chatter interferes with the quality of this recording, and led in part to the delay in releasing this show on nyctaper. We considered whether this outstanding band deserved to be exposed to our listeners with a recording that is nearly ruined by a rude crowd. However, when we listened again to the recording it became apparent that the louder moments of music do rise above the chatter, and its only the quieter songs and song-segments that suffer. With that caveat in mind, please enjoy this superb band and their excellent set.

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Dirty on Purpose
2008-04-04
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Board

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

Many thanks to Joe for permission to record.

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-04-13

Setlist:
[Total time 54:37]
01 [banter]
02 These Days Were for Us
03 Audience
04 Light Pollution
05 Hard to Tell You
06 Leaving
07 [banter]
08 Always Looking
09 Marfa Lights
10 The Thing about Getaways
11 Ways to Drown
12 Canned Fumes
13 [banter – happy birthdays]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Dirty on Purpose, visit their website, and purchase the their official releases directly from their site, or the NorthStreet records site.

[photo credit]

The last time we saw Kimya in January at Southpaw, she was just beginning to ride the wave of Juno-created popularity. At that show, she expressed some trepidation about the sudden burst of exposure, but still managed to maintain her unique genuine persona. Less than three months later, after an appearance on The View and the Academy Awards performance, Kimya sold out Webster Hall — a venue roughly 5 times the size of Southpaw. Long-time fans approached this appearance with some concerns that such rapid success had effected Kimya.

Any lingering doubts about the integrity of this performer were gone within minutes of the beginning of Sunday night’s performance. As she took the stage, Kimya slipped and nearly fell over, and as she giggled, any tension or pressure was broken for the night. What followed was perhaps the greatest performance of her decade-long career — a nearly two-hour display of humor, charm and powerful songs. Kimya worked through a vast majority of her material, including the now-familiar mini-set of new children’s songs. She performed most of the set with the accompaniment of Matt and Erin Tobey on an assortment of instruments and backing vocals. For this concert, the array of “Loose Lips” stage dancers was actually an organized costumed and choreographed troupe of Kimya’s friends. The night came to fitting close with the mock-finale of “Tomorrow” — the performer’s future as bright as ever.

We recorded from an excellent location in this venue, but unfortunately the sound levels were just far too low. The sound technicians were apparently not able to provide the proper volume without guitar distortion, and did not provide a clean signal. There was a noticeable hiss in the main speakers. As a result, this recording is a genuine low-fi capture of this concert, albeit one true to the sound of the room. Enjoy this superb and unique performer in her low-fi glory!

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

Kimya Dawson
2008-04-06
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Digital Audience Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Board on Floor
30 Feet from Right PA Stack

DPA 4021s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge (level adjustments, modify close clapping, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries)> flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2008-04-07

Setlist:
[total time 1:44:26]
01 Eleventeen
02 Rocks With Holes
03 Fire
04 Chemistry
05 Lullaby For The Taken
06 My Mom
07 Underground
08 Viva La Persistence
09 My Heroes
10 Singing Machine
11 Secret Letters (Erin Tobey solo)
12 Little Monster Babies
13 Bobby-O
14 Seven Hungry Tigers
15 Alpha Butt
16 I Like Bears
17 I’m an Animal
18 Weatherman
19 [Matt Tobey solo]
20 [Matt Tobey solo]
21 Being Cool
22 It’s Been Raining
23 Beer
24 Loose Lips (with a verse of “Private Dancer”)
25 The Greatest Love of All (acapella)
26 My Rollercoaster
27 Tire Swing
28 I Have Changed
29 Little Panda Bear
30 I Like Giants
31 [encore break]
32 Tomorrow (“Annie”)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Kimya Dawson, visit her website, visit her livejournal page, and purchase the her official releases directly from her site, or the K Records site.

[photo credit]

Spanish Prisoners celebrated the official release of their CD Songs to Forget at Union Hall last night. The performing and recording project of singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Leo Maymind, last night Spanish Prisoners featured a complete band, including keyboards, stand-up and electric bass, drums, and a brass section. The set consisted of all songs from the new CD, including an absolutely blistering version of “Some Among Them Are Killers”, and a spry opening of the clever number “A Thousand Zimmermans”.

This recording is possibly the single most outstanding one ever offered on this site. As Leo had given my complete access to record, and based on the experience of our last recording at Union Hall (the Diggs), we set-up the DPA 4021 microphones in strategic locations to fully capture this performance. The right channel microphone was placed on the front and center stage lip pointed at 45 degrees to reflect the atmosphere from the stage, while the left channel was placed approximately 10 feet from PA stacks pointed toward the center. The result is a true stereo recording with a “surround” feel, and has almost a perfect mix of voice and instruments. As a result, this excellent performance is recorded in the best possible light. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Spanish Prisoners
2008-04-05
Union Hall
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront & On Stage
Left Channel 10 Feet from the PA, Right Channel on Stage Lip

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

Many thanks to Leo for permission to recording

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-04-06

Setlist:
[Total time 39:07]
01 A Thousand Zimmermans
02 Song for the Weary
03 Periwinkle Blues
04 Dear Just Curious
05 Ballad of an Unfolding
06 Some Among Them are Killers
07 Mantequilla
08 How the Fallen Fell

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Spanish Prisoners, visit their website, visit their myspace page, and purchase the new release Songs to Forget directly from their site.

[photo credit]

Athens-based The Whigs opened for the Drive-By Truckers last week, and were permitted a set of exactly twenty-nine minutes. Normally a set of such brevity denies the opener a chance to make an impression on fans waiting for the headliner, but The Whigs managed to energize the late-arriving crowd with their frenetic garage-pop, including highlights “Technology” and the closer “Half the World Away”. Five of the seven songs performed are featured on the new album Mission Control, which was released in January to excellent reviews, and led to an appearance by The Whigs on David Letterman.

This recording was captured from nearly the same location as the Drive-By Truckers, approximately 20 feet further forward than the DBT recording. The venue was about half-empty at this point in the night, so that the boominess is fairly apparent. I applied a gentle reduction of the mids in an equalization in post-production to remove some of the boom. Otherwise, this is a fine recording of a brief but superb set. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Whigs
2008-03-26
Terminal 5
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Front of Board Dead Center

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 16/44) > CD Wave 1.75 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-04-04

Setlist:
[total time 29:00]
01 Like a Vibration
02 Technology
03 Already Young
04 Sleep Sunshine
05 Hot Bed
06 Right Hand on My Heart
07 Half the World Away

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Whigs, visit their website, and purchase the new release Mission Control directly from their site.

[photo credit]

Deer Tick‘s John McCauley is certainly an artist dedicated to his craft. At Mercury Lounge on Sunday night, McCauley fought his way through a full opening set despite having suffered the last two weeks with strep throat. The strain in his voice was evident, but nevertheless John worked Deer Tick through a strong set of material from their outstanding debut release War Elephant, along with several new songs and two appropriate covers. When Deer Tick performed John Prine‘s semi-obscure classic “Mexican Home”, it made perfect sense. As McCauley has been compared with everyone from Dylan to Tweedy, it seems that subtle influences of a underrated performer like Prine are actually more accurate — a poignant lyricist and dedicated performer without pretense or artifice.

We received advance permission to record the Deer Tick set from John. The equipment was set up in the perfect location from when we saw the Vanderslice soundcheck. This recording is perhaps a bit heavy on the drums as a result of the house mix, but is otherwise a fine representation of this outstanding artist. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Deer Tick
2008-03-30
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Board

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 16/44) > CD Wave 1.75 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Many thanks to John for permission to record.

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-04-02

Setlist:
01 [introduction]
02 Art Isn’t Real
03 [banter]
04 Baltimore Blues No. 1
05 Mexican Home (John Prine)
06 Ashamed
07 Little White Lies
08 [banter]
09 Straight Into A Storm*
10 [banter]
11 Spend the Night
12 You Don’t Know How We Did It*
13 [banter]
14 The Ghost
15 Dirty Dishes
16 LaBamba (Blue Moon introduction)

*song title approximations

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Deer Tick, visit their website, visit their myspace page, and purchase War Elephant from Itunes, or emusic, or order it directly from Feow Records when its back in stock.

Deer Tick return to NYC later this month for two dates:
Apr 12 2008 8:00pm Union Hall Brooklyn
Apr 13 2008 8:00pm Knitting Factory NYC