19 search results for "dire wolves"

[photo courtesy of David Wells]

J. Tillman was interviewed by Jarrod Dicker for nyctaper (see above), so we will defer to Jarrod’s excellent interview for the biographical data regarding the artist. On this November Monday night at Bell House, Josh was backed by a band of Pacific Northwestern “best friends”, including brother Zach. The setlist drew almost exclusively from his two 2009 albums Vacilando Territory Blues and Year In The Kingdom. While the quieter numbers focused on Josh’s authentic and almost mystical rich vocal skills, the band numbers highlighted the tight structure of a country-folk unit well versed in the genre and with each other.

We recorded this set with a four channel feed from the audience and soundboard. The sound quality is quite excellent during the band numbers, but almost too quiet during the solo songs. A large enhancement of volume during the solo numbers did bring out some ambient noise from the room, which does not significantly detract from the listening experience. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

J. Tillman
2009-11-16
Bell House
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
2009-12-10

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:35:59]
01 All You See
02 When I Light Your Darkened Door
03 No Occasion
04 Firstborn
05 With Wolves
06 Vacilando Territory
07 [banter – tech problem]
08 Vessels
09 Howling Light
10 Crosswinds
11 Though I Have Wronged You
12 Barter Blues
13 Master’s House
14 [banter]
15 There Is No Good In Me
16 New Imperial Grand Blues
17 [encore break]
18 James Blues
19 The Last Black Sea
20 Year in the Kingdom

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT J. Tillman, visit his MySpace page, and purchase his official releases from the Bella Union Records website [HERE] and the Yer Bird Records website [HERE].

[photo from The Rest MySpace page]

When we last saw Ontario’s The Rest, they were blowing our minds at the NYCTaper Presents show at Monster Island in June. Three months later, the band is hot and things are happening rapidly. The Rest have signed with British label SIC, and their brilliant release Everyone All at Once is being distributed in Great Britain by Rough Trade. Later this month, The Rest will head over to England for a week-long tour. Before all the excitement overseas takes place, the excellent boutique label that has signed The Rest brought them back to NYC for a night at the Cameo in Williamsburg. The On Another Note showcase saw The Rest perform a tight forty-minute set of their best material, noteworthy for their new cover version of Robyn’s “With Every Heartbeat”.

We recorded this set with a stereo feed from the soundboard mixed with two microphones at the stage. The mix accentuates the positives of both mixes — strong vocals on the board and strong instruments on the mics to create an excellent listening experience. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Rest
2009-09-26
Cameo Gallery
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + On Stage Microphones

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
2009-09-30

Setlist:
[Total Time 37:01]
01 …Blossom Babies
02 The Close Western
03 Apples & Allergies
04 Coughing Blood
05 Modern Time Travel
06 [banter]
07 Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing
08 With Every Heartbeat (Robyn)
09 Walk on Water

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Rest, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Everyone All At Once directly from the Auteur Records website [HERE] or digitally from Amie Street [HERE] or Preorder from Rough Trade [HERE].

[The Rest at Monster Island – photo courtesy of frankd – many more here]

Our consistent readers may have noticed over the last couple of years that we do not often criticize the artists we record — that often our reviews are quite positive. We feel this is the result of our research and show selection — we are not going to record a band that we do not believe is worth the time and effort. What follows is undoubtedly our most positive review, but one earned with much work and many hours of research.

For the NYCTaper Presents show this past Friday at Monster Island Basement, we spent months in careful selection of the artists who would perform that night. We literally began working on this show in March, which coincidentally was the first time we heard new material from the Ontario band The Rest and their new CD Everyone All At Once. We were familiar with the band and their first CD, which we liked quite a bit. But this new CD, as we reported back in March was an whole different ballgame — this material had the x-factor, the kind of release that would change the careers and lives of the artists that produced it. We were fortunate enough to have recognized this early, and had enough foresight to ask The Rest to play our early-stages-of-planning next show. They accepted and the details were worked out.

In the meantime, Everyone All At Once began to gather a heap of praise far and wide. The Rest received positive words and “song of the day” status at NPR, and glowing reviews from Herohill Blog, MP3 Hugger, Indiecater, Quick Before It Melts, Baby Stew, Rawkblog, AW Music, Music Under Fire, Whale in a Cubicle, Indie Music Database, Pop Wreckoning, I Am The Crime, Tympanogram, Swear I’m Not Paul, Mojophenia, Stereo Cupcake, Laughing Evergreens, Eldur Og Is, Eaten By Monsters, Captain Obvious, Pirates of the Bargain Bin, The Needle Drop, Hypeful, The Blah Blah, The Overcast, Leonard’s Lair, Indie Rock Cafe, Sound Proof Magazine, and The Musicologists. There isn’t a single negative review to be found about this album.

So it was with much anticipation that we geared up to see The Rest live at Monster Island Basement on Friday. And now we are prepared to go out on a limb. The Rest are absolutely destined to become a huge band. The one and only time I’ve made a prediction of this magnitude was in February of 2008 when I saw the Antlers and wrote about their “can’t miss” talent. In that post, I predicted the Antlers would sign to a major indie label (they did — Frenchkiss signed them in May), and would play mid-major venues (the have played Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg twice). In another parallel with The Antlers (and Hospice), The Rest have also produced an album of such magnitude, that although is not currently distributed by a label in the US, is destined to be picked up by a major indie on its superior quality alone.

On Friday in the intimate downstairs venue, The Rest performed a stunning 35 minute set of seven numbers, with six from Everyone All At Once and one from the first CD Atlantis Oh Our Saviour. The septet were each proficient at their instruments and despite the small sound system, all fit well within the mix. However, it was the breadth of creative energy at the apex of each song that was truly stunning — seven talented musicians in a perfect unison performing expertly crafted and complex songs. It was truly breathtaking experience to witness this set from ten feet in front of the stage.

Of course we recorded audio of this set. And sadly, among the nearly three hundred concerts we’ve recorded for this site, it is perhaps the one recording that least captures the experience of the moment. We are not disappointed in the sound quality, as its quite good. We used the fine DPA cardioids from close range and captured a clear and faithful audio recording of this set, audio system limitations and all. However, even the highest quality audio rig can not grab the magic from the air — we’ll leave it to our readers to listen and imagine the joy in the basement that night. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Rest
2009-06-19
Monster Island Basement
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded 10 Feet from Main 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
2009-06-21

Setlist:
[Total Time 33:28]
01 Coughing Blood
02 Modern Time Travel
03 Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing
04 The Close Western
05 The Lady Vanishes
06 Blossom Babies Part Two
07 Walk on Water

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Rest, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Everyone All At Once directly from the Auteur Records website [HERE] or digitally from Amie Street [HERE].

[photo credit]

The Mountain Goats stepped back in time last night at the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn. In 90s fashion, John Darnielle performed solo as bassist Peter Hughes and drummer Jon Wurster did not make the trip to NYC for this Aids Walk Benefit. John performed no songs from the Mountain Goats 2008 release Heretic Pride, dipping into the older catalog for such early chestnuts as “Young Caesar 2000”, “Going to Scotland” “The Last Day of Jimi Hendrix’s Life” and “Baboon”. The result was an extraordinary and unique Mountain Goats concert for the year 2008.

We recorded from literally 10 feet in front of the right PA stacks with the hyper-directional DPA microphones. The recording is very clear and contains almost no crowd noise during songs. The only “flaws” are the two songs where John sang in the front of the crowd and away from the vocal microphone and we were able to capture very little vocal audio. Other than those two numbers, this is a recording of outstanding clarity and balance. Enjoy!

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

Mountain Goats
2008-05-16
Brooklyn Masonic Temple
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded 10 Feet from Right PA Stacks

DPA 4021’s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (level boost, set fades, resample) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-05-17

Setlist
[Total Time 1:10:10]
01 [introduction]
02 Transjordanian Blues
03 Dinu Lipatti’s Bones
04 Up The Wolves*
05 Balance
06 [banter]
07 Wizard Buys a Hat
08 Cotton
09 Young Caesar 2000
10 The Last Day of Jimi Hendrix’s Life
11 [banter]
12 Alibi
13 Song For an Old Friend
14 Wild Sage**
15 Going to Scotland
16 Song for Dennis Brown**
17 Baboon
18 Best Ever Death Metal Band
19 [encore break]
20 This Year

*Including “the thing where he forgets the first line”
**Vocals off microphone

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 courtesy of Jason Bergman Photography]

There has been so much written about Justin Vernon’s outstanding Bon Iver project and the story behind For Emma, Forever Ago, that I have no intent to repeat. Last night, Justin provided a live glimpse into what makes these basic songs so compelling — his ability to capture the simple aspects of life with poignant humor and charm, and present it within a basic band structure.

This week, Emma was released on the Jagjaguwar label, and one would expect the beginning of the blogger backlash. This might be the fate of an artist whose hype exceeds the talent, but Bon Iver heartily deserves the last six months of praise. If a live performance is the ultimate expression of a musician’s artistic value, then Glasslands was the proof positive that Justin is the real deal. He handled the huge crowd, some technical problems, and the weight of expectations with grace and fortitude.

At nyctaper, we consider ourselves quite fortunate to see live performances of such quality. We are doubled blessed when the artist and the management afford us authorization and guest list access. Bon Iver gave us all three, and we offer much thanks for this courtesy, and as well we thank the staff of Glasslands.

We placed our microphones in the same location as our last Glasslands recordings (Avey Tare/Deakin/Kria [here] and Rings [here]), and in order to avoid the persistent crowd chatter and bar noise, we brought along hyper uni-directional microphones. We were also given access to the main mix of the soundboard to capture a “matrix” recording. Unfortunately, we didn’t trust our room equipment enough, and relied a bit too heavily on the board mix. As a result, the mix is not properly balanced, and there is quite a bit more kick-drum in the mix particularly during louder moments. We do believe this is still an excellent recording, but offer it to our readers with the knowledge that should have done better. Enjoy!

Black Mountain was also recorded and will be offered in the coming days.

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Bon Iver
2008-02-23
Glasslands Gallery
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard/Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Front of Board Neumann KM-150s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (set fades, downsample) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2008-02-24

Setlist:
[total time 37:33]
01 [introduction]
02 Flume
03 Lump Sum
04 [banter]
05 The Wolves (Act I and II)
06 Blindsided
07 For Emma

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Bon Iver, visit his myspace page, and purchase Emma directly from the label.