[photo credit]

It was nearly 19 years ago when I last saw Natalie Merchant perform live. She was then the strong-voiced and charismatic singer of 10,000 Maniacs who was a bit quirky if not a little cold. After nearly two decades of success, including Maniacs charting singles, and a solo career that eclipsed her prior band, Natalie stopped touring and had a child.

Her announcement of six New York City dates — her first NYC concerts in 4 years — at the intimate Hiro Ballroom were a pleasant surprise, if not a complete shock. 2008 finds Natalie’s voice and charisma as strong and sharp as ever, but the years have added stage comfort, wit, and charming storytelling abilities that were a true pleasure to behold. Natalie’s interaction with the crowd throughout the night was warm and playful. Tuesday night’s show, at a Springsteen-like 2 hours and 20 minutes long, featured a series of new numbers from a pair of upcoming releases, including original adaptations of children’s poetry, along with the solo career standards.

This recording has been removed from the site at the request of the artist. nyctaper respects the artists wishes. Please do not email the site about this recording, it is not available.

Natalie Merchant
2008-01-08
Hiro Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Setlist:
[total time 2:16:54]
01 Carnival
02 Build a Levee
03 Break Your Heart
04 Too Long At The Fair
05 Shakespeare’s 73rd Sonnet
06 Equestrienne
07 The Janitor’s Boy
08 If No one Marries Me
09 The Man In The Wilderness
10 Texas
11 Life is Sweet
12 Wonder
13 Golden Boy
14 Go Down Moses
15 Giving Up Everything
16 The End
17 [encore break]
18 Village Green Preservation Society
19 Sweet Lady Genevieve (partial – Natalie acappella)
20 Tell Yourself
21 I Need Love
22 Kind & Generous
23 [second encore break]
24 Which Side are You On?
25 Butterfly Song
26 I’m Not Gonna Beg

Despite the removal of this recording, nyctaper encourages our readers to PLEASE SUPPORT Natalie Merchant and visit her website.

[photo credit]

moe.’s annual New Year’s warm-up gig was an intimate affair at a packed Irving Plaza. The special surprise guest was the (former) Allman Brothers legend Dicky Betts, who guided the band through an epic In Memory of Elizabeth Reed before joining in during Al Schnier’s Allmans-like Mexico.

This recording was made from the perfect location in this venue, and should be better than it is. In December, I sent my Neumann microphones to be serviced, and have used the DPA microphones exclusively. The quality of the two sets is fairly similar, but the Neumann’s have a -10db pad for situations like this concert. The sound in the venue was quite powerful and overwhelmed the DPA > Apogee system. I used the “soft-limiter” to prevent distortion, but during louder moments the sound is still “crunchy”. The problem was significantly reduced during the 2nd set. During quieter passages, particularly in Set 2, this recording is absolutely superb. Enjoy!

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

moe.
2007-12-30
Irving Plaza
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Front of Board
Dead Center approximately 40 feet from the stage

DPA 4021s (9 ft Stand) > Apogee Mini-Me > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (set fades, balance levels, dither, downsample, patch) > CDWave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

*crossfade 1 minute and 10 seconds of patch material from an alternate recorder in the middle of Buster (thanks Eric)

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2008-01-05

Setlist:
Set 1
[total time 1:02:44]
01 Stranger Than Fiction
02 Runaway Overlude
03 Captain America
04 Seat Of My Pants
05 Sensory Deprivation Bank
06 Timmy Tucker

Set 2
[total time 2:05:25]
01 Opium
02 In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed
03 St. Augustine
04 Where Does the Time Go?
05 Mexico
06 [encore break]
07 Spaz Medicine
08 Buster
09 Spaz Medicine

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT moe. and visit their website.
and purchase their latest official release:

The New York Dolls reunion is another one of those unlikely-but-true rock stories with a bittersweet happy ending. The band performed two nights at Irving this week, and while Syl Sylvain and David Johansen look fit and sang and played with focus, its hard to watch this band without realizing that its rhythm section and lead guitarist are no longer with us. The Dolls paid a fine tribute to Johnny Thunders when Syl pointed out Johnny’s daughter in the balcony before the dedication of Johnny’s classic “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory” segued neatly into his Dolls composition “Lonely Planet Boy”. David also dedicated “Private World” to the late bassist Arthur Kane. While the “new” band members are unfamiliar, their instrumental backing was superb. All the classics were performed along with some of the numbers from their excellent new release.

The recording was made from the ideal location at this venue, and the sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

This recording has been removed from nyctaper. Although we have not been contacted by NY Dolls or their representatives, it was announced on January 17, 2008 that portions of these two nights would appear on a live release (here). Please support NY Dolls and purchase the official version of these outstanding concerts.

New York Dolls
2007-12-29
Irving Plaza
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB Center
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

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-12-30

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:31:28]
01 Looking For a Kiss
02 Puss ‘N’ Boots
03 We’re All In Love
04 Piece of My Heart
05 Pills
06 Dancing on the Lip of a Volcano
07 Private World
08 I Aint Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore
09 Rainbow Store
10 Babylon
11 Plenty of Music
12 Human Being
13 You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory
14 Lonely Planet Boy
15 Who Are the Mystery Girls?
16 Dance Like A Monkey
17 Trash
18 Jet Boy
19 [encore break]
20 Personality Crisis
21 Gotta Get Away From Tommy

CD Cover Artwork (Thanks JohnE!):
coverart

Information:
txt file

Verification:
md5 file

If you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT New York Dolls and visit their website.

[photo credit]

Friday night was the opening show of Gov’t Mule’s annual New Year’s run at the Beacon — and it was a barn-burner. Warren and company ripped through the usual Mule standards, and added a few inspired covers including Bob Marley, Van Morrison, Beatles, and Buffalo Springfield. The crowd was in a celebratory mood, and good will flowed all around. We were treated royally by security, fellow fans, and ultimately the band.

This recording was made from Row G, about 20 feet directly in front of the right PA stacks. The sound is crystal clear, and has a surprisingly deep soundstage, given our uncentered locale. We are extremely pleased with this recording. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Govt Mule
2007-12-28
Beacon Theatre
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording

Recorded Front of Board
Right Side, Row G Seat 20
20 Feet in Front of Right PA Speakers

DPA 4021s (7 ft Stand) > Apogee Mini-Me > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (set fades, balance levels, dither, downsample) > CDWave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-12-29

Setlist:
Set 1
[Total Time 1:14:57]
01 Brighter Days
02 32-20 Blues
03 No Need To Suffer
04 Have Mercy On The Criminal
05 Lively Up Yourself
06 Beautifully Broken*
07 Slackjaw Jezebel
08 He Ain’t Give You None
09 For What Its Worth

Set 2
[Total Time 1:29:08]
01 Child Of The Earth
02 Painted Silver Light
03 She Said, She Said
04 Tomorrow Never Knows
05 Streamline Woman
06 Drums
07 Unring The Bell
08 Bad Little Doggie
09 How Many More Years**
10 [encore break]
11 Long Distance Call
12 30 Days in the Hole

*With “When Doves Cry” verses
**With “Wang Dang Doodle” verses

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Gov’t Mule and visit their website. At their site you can purchase soundboard recordings of their concerts via Mule Tracks.