[photo credit]

The Fiery Furnaces threw another curveball at Southpaw last night. The touring band has changed, the arrangements for the Widow City material have changed, and some fairly obscure older songs have returned to the repertoire. All of these new developments are welcome adjustments to Furnaces live act — as they continue to offer interesting and fresh approaches to their recorded material. Jason Lowenstein, who played guitar on the Bitter Tea tour and bass on the Widow City tour has been replaced by Kyle Hollingsworth — the multi-talented keyboardist of the now-defunct jamband String Cheese Incident. The move to a two-keyboard approach added interesting prog-like elements to the material, and opened a slot for Eleanor to return to guitar — an instrument that she has not played live in several years.

Although the multiple format and arrangement changes offer a challenge to the listener, upon listening back to this recording each makes abundant sense. Eleanor is clearly proficient at guitar and the many effects of Matt and Kyle add dimensions to these songs that we have not heard before. The result was a 90 minute set of intelligent and uniquely satisfying Fiery Furnaces live material.

This recording was captured from the identical location and equipment as the previous night’s Big Dipper set. The quality is superb. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Fiery Furnaces
2008-04-26
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]
2008-04-27

Setlist:
[total time 1:25:27]
01 Single Again
02 Smelling Cigarettes
03 My Dog Was Lost But Now He’s Found
04 Whistle Rhapsody
05 Evergreen
06 Duplexes of the Dead
07 Automatic Husband
08 Ex-Guru
09 Navy Nurse
10 Pricked in the Heart
11 Up in the North
12 Straight Street
13 Japanese Slippers
14 Benton Harbor Blues
15 Philadelphia Grand Jury
16 Clear Signal From Cairo
17 Police Sweater Blood Vow**
18 South Is Only a Home
19 Oh Sweet Woods
20 Slavin’ Away
21 Chief Inspector Blancheflower
22 Rub-Alcohol Blues
23 In My Little Thatched Hut
24 I’m In No Mood to Comb My Hair
25 Teach Me Sweetheart
26 In My Little Thatched Hut
27 [encore break]
28 Right By Conquest

**Matt on vocals and Eleanor on drums, only one verse

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Fiery Furnaces, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from The Fiery Furnaces Store.

[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.