New Wet Kojak: December 1, 2023 Tubby’s

January 10, 2024
By

Back in the 90s I don’t think New Wet Kojak played all that often, but whenever they played in NYC it was 21+ and I was left—literally, in one instance—standing outside. Fortunately for their reunion after fifteen or so years of dormancy (theirs, not mine) I’m well past drinking age so here we are with the first of three dates the band did in December. In case you’re not familiar, New Wet Kojak is the louche-rock side-project/supergroup of Girls Against Boys‘ Scott McCloud (vocals/guitar) and Johnny Temple (bass) with Geoff Turner of Gray Matter (guitar), Nick Pellicciotto of Edsel (drums), and Charles Bennington of High Back Chairs (sax/keyboards). If you recognize all those bands, you probably own a bunch of Dischord CDs and we should hang out sometime. Anyway, before they (thought they) were cool, Pitchfork really liked New Wet Kojak’s Nasty International, their second album on Touch & Go, and gave it a nine-point-something before later scrubbing that from their site.

Now, 25+ years later, with McCloud and Temple also having revived their 80s post-hardcore band Soulside in addition to sporadic tours with Girls Against Boys, it seems most appropriate to reactivate New Wet Kojak. (Side note: it’s not too late for Little Baby to play their third show!) Never as high profile as their main act, a nice size, enthusiastic crowd at Tubby’s made it clear New Wet Kojak weren’t forgotten. Most of the songs played at Tubby’s are off the band’s two Touch & Go records with a couple from the later Do Things on Beggar’s Banquet. No songs here from their final album This is the Glamorous which I can only guess is a strategy to leave us wanting more—let’s not wait so long for next time.

I recorded this from our usual location at Tubby’s with a board feed from FOH engineer Will. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Download FLAC/MP3

nyctaper · New Wet Kojak – Live at Tubby's 2023
New Wet Kojak
2023-12-01
Tubby's
Kingston, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard (engineer: Will) + MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 2.4.2 > FLAC

Tracks [54:59]
01. Code Windham
02. Sticky 2 Me
03. Stereo Explosive
04. Kick Some Life
05. You Got Some Dog
06. Thought You Were
07. Sophia Loren
08. Shake You Down
09. Freak Now
10. Unbuckled
11. Stick Out Your Tongue
12. Punx Not Dead
13. Sexy Postcard

Support this excellent artist!
https://newwetkojak.bandcamp.com/

Support the venues bringing you interesting music!
https://www.tubbyskingston.com/music-calendar

Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band: December 8, 2023 Tubby’s

December 21, 2023
By

When you know, you know: after a friend recommended it, I made it a mere 30 seconds into Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band’s album Dancing on the Edge before hitting the buy button. I also didn’t wait for Dancing on the Edge to arrive in the mail before buying Send Flowers from Davis’s other (previous?) band, State Champion. The arrival of Dancing on the Edge carried with it a flyer with tour dates, leading me to wind up at this show you’re about to listen to. The perfect digital/analog progression of discovery. And what a discovery it’s been: I’ve probably listened this album more than anything else I bought this year and it’s only been out for two months. I’d lose my music-blog bona fides if I didn’t draw the inevitable comparisons to esteemed names like Berman, Callahan, Oldham. Davis’s characters practically walk out of the stereo as vivid and tangible as anyone in your local bar. If you’re going to bother learning the lyrics to any record released this year, here’s the one. And lucky for you: Dancing on the Edge is available again in its second pressing.

I recorded this from our usual spot at Tubby’s with a board feed provided by FOH engineer Will who mixed this set perfect: each instrument is separately audible, making this a real you-are-there treat. Enjoy!

Download FLAC and MP3

nyctaper · Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band – Tubby's 2023
Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band
2023-12-08
Tubby's
Kingston, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard (engineer: Will) + MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 2.4.2 > FLAC

Tracks [55:55]
01. Bluebirds in a Fight
02. A Suitable Exit
03. Junk Drawer Heart
04. Flashes of Orange
05. Learn 2 Re-Luv
06. Free From the Guillotine
07. Bluebirds Revisited

Primitive Air: December 08, 2023 Tubby’s (Kingston, NY)

December 18, 2023
By

I first became aware of Primitive Air’s Drew Piraino sometime in 2016. He had recently moved to the same weird, obscure, little suburb of Kingston, NY that I had been living in for the past ten or so years. This “town” is so small you cannot get mail delivered to your house. Everything must be picked up from the post office, which is a converted porch attached to someone’s home. Seriously. One day I went to pick up some records I had been waiting for and while the post lady gathered them up, I noticed another stack off to the side. I asked about them and she said, “Yeah, some other guy gets lots of records too.” Inevitably, we became friends. 

I remember when the original Primitive Air tape was released on Beyond Beyond is Beyond (RIP). I popped into the bar where he was working to talk about it. I am fairly sure my eloquent assessment was “It sounds like German commune music in a good way.” He hugged me and bought me a round. He was good enough to see through my clumsy review and realize I was holding it to a very grand standard. These songs do not aim for hooks or anything that might be misconstrued as “pop sensibilities.” They exist to get the listener outside of their head or, maybe, much deeper inside their head. 

For this performance, Drew (bass and guitar) was joined by Jeff Mercel on drums, Jared Ashdown and Alex Kulick on guitars. The short but very sweet set is comprised of one tune from that 2018 BBiB tape and one new composition. Both tunes were great, but it was a joy to hear “Samadhi” stretched out with some impressive guitar interplay between Jarrod and Alex. 

Primitive Air was the first band I ever record at Tubby’s way back in 2019. I’ve seen and recorded a lot of music in that room since so it was a pleasure to close out this year right where I started, in my spot in the back by the soundboard. It was doubly sweet as this was the first show I saw since the building was purchased by the employees. Tubby’s is now truly an independent venue. Enjoying interesting music in a supportive environment is the name of the game, and I hope we all get to keep playing for years to come. 

Download in Flac or MP3!

Primitive Air
2023-12-08
Tubby’s
Kingston, NY

Source: MBHO440 > SD MixPre 3 > SD (24/48) > Adobe Audition/Izotope 9 > Audacity FLAC (lvl 8) > Mp3Tag

Recorded and produced by Kliked

Thanks to Tubby’s FOH engineer Brian for the mix!

  1. Resurrection at Eleusis
  2. Samadhi

Support this excellent artist!
https://primitiveair.bandcamp.com/album/creation-hymn

Support the venues bringing you interesting music!
https://www.tubbyskingston.com/music-calendar

Seawind of Battery & ragenap: October 27, 2023 Troost

December 4, 2023
By

Our friend and fellow taper noah_s caught Seawind of Battery and ragenap live at Troost a few weeks back. We were excited to to post his recording and in the meantime Mike and Joel were similarly excited—so much so that they released this recording on Eiderdown Records as Chaos LIVE Preserver which you can grab at Bandcamp. Here’s the review and recording from noah_s:

Full Disclosure: I have been one of ragenap’s (Joel Berk) beta listeners since he began putting his jams into recorded form. I would listen to demos & rough mixes he recorded the night before early in the morning while I had my coffee. I once described his music as feeling as if a can of Coke had been opened in my head and I could feel the bubbles fizzing through my brain as I woke up while listening. 

On Friday 10/27/23 at Troost in Greenpoint I finally got to see the live version. Paired up with Seawind of Battery (Mike Horn) – and celebrating the release of their tape Chaos Life Preserver on Eiderdown Records – the duo gave us 35 minutes of droney spacey improvised bliss.They built their set up from a looped riff started by Horn to a joyous and bright section that reminded me of staying up all night to watch a sunrise. Layers of guitar and bass VI worked through an array of never-ending delays and reverbs filled the small bar that was packed with friends, family and Halloween weekenders alike. They built this zone up for about half the set and then spent the other half slowly devolving it while also adding flourishes and delay whips before sticking the landing like a moon lander floating down into low gravity. I know I’m not alone in hoping these two make a lot more music together both in the studio and live.

For this recording I used my CA-11 cardioid mics for the first time and I’m extremely happy with how it came out. I was set up on a tripod near the bar about 15 feet back from where the band set up and as centered as I could be without blocking people from walking in/out.

Black Duck: September 9, 2023 Tubby’s (Kingston, NY)

November 10, 2023
By

Since the late 90’s Chicago’s music scene has been a constant source of excitement for me. It seems like every year some new gem comes out of the city’s endless pool of independent, creative, and adventurous musicians and labels. Old favorites like Tortoise, and their label, Thrill Jockey, continue to push boundaries while new favorites like International Anthem and Glyders demand my attention. 

Black Duck is a trio of Douglas McCombs, Charles Rumback, and Bill MacKay; all veterans of Chicago’s fertile improv scene. Their self-titled Thrill Jockey debut has its roots in their collective improvisation experience with the bulk of the material being created in the studio. The Tubby’s faithful were lucky enough to be given does of both improv and arranged material. 

The set started with one of two fully improvised pieces allowing the band to find their footing before moving into “The Trees Are Dancing” giving us a chance to hear a live treatment of the recorded material. It’s always interesting to see how musicians approach established songs that are rooted in improvisation. In Black Duck’s case, all the album material was stretched out. The evening ended with a nearly ten-minute version “Lemon Treasure” before heading into another impro piece based loosely on the album track “Light’s New Measure”. 

I recorded this from my usual spot by the soundboard with the MBHO’s. The low end was a touch boomy early on, but things settled in rather nicely and I’m very happy with the quality. Enjoy! 

Download in FLAC or MP3!

mr_kliked · Black Duck 20223-09-09 Tubby's

Black Duck
2023-09-09
Tubby’s
Kingston, NY

Source: MBHO440 > SD MixPre 3 > SD (24/48) > Adobe Audition/Izotope 9 > Audacity FLAC (lvl 8) > Mp3Tag

Recorded and produced by Kliked

1: Improvisation #1
2: The Trees Are Dancing
3: Improvisation #2
4: Of The Lit Backyards
5: Delivery
6: Lemon Treasure
7: Improvisation #3

Black Duck is:
Douglas McCombs – Guitar/Bass
Charles Rhumback – Drums
Bill MacKay – Guitar

Support this excellent artist!
https://blackduck.bandcamp.com/album/black-duck

Support the venues bringing you interesting music!
https://www.tubbyskingston.com/music-calendar

Tengger: October 1, 2023 Tubby’s Fifth Anniversary

October 31, 2023
By

Today begins our coverage of Tubby’s Fifth Anniversary party with deep Kosmische zones courtesy of Tengger. 

The Pan-Asian traveling family came to town on day 3 of the event to play at the outdoor stage the Tubby’s team put together by turning Field Court into a block party.  It’s hard to express how emotional this set was to see and hear.  When I first moved to Kingston, nearly 20 years ago, the idea that I would spend a Sunday afternoon in a dead-end street off Broadway doing anything other than being mugged would have been an impossibility. Instead, several hundred people stood still and quiet and let Tengger’s sound fill their hearts and souls. The zones were so deep that at least two people were laid out across the ground; staring into the sky and probably much further while RAAI walked through the crowd chiming bells. It’s this exact spirit of adventurous acceptance that I’ve come to love and expect of Tubby’s crowds. 

Tengger’s sonic makeup is an interesting dichotomy.  In constructing their drones and soundscapes they often rely on making the very quiet seem very huge.  This is a complicated issue from a sound and production stance because there is A LOT of gain involved and that often means a lot of feedback. A touch of that is evident during the first track, Water, but Tubby’s super team of Will on house mix and Kyle on monitors tamed the beast quickly.  I recorded this from the Soundboard with my MBHO’s and the FOH team’s superb mix.  The sound is excellent, and I truly hope it was heard throughout the entire town. 

Special thanks to friend of the site Mike Newman for facilitating things with the band and getting the ok to post this! 

Download in FLAC and MP3

mr_kliked · Tengger2023-10-1

Tennger
2023-10-1
Field Court Stage
Kingston, NY
Tubby’s 5th Anniversary

Source: MBHO 440 (at Soundboard) + SDB > Zoom F8 > Adobe Audition/Izotope 9 > Audacity Flac (lvl8) > Mp3Tag

Thanks to Tubby’s FOH Engineer Will for the patch!

  1. Water
  2. Achime
  3. EUNHASU
  4. Beautiful Ocean
  5. PANAPTU
  6. High

Please this excellent artist!
https://tengger.bandcamp.com

Please support the venues that bring you interesting music!
https://www.tubbyskingston.com/music-calendar

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