Radiohead. Somehow you knew it had to be them. The band to ultimately drive the last nail into the coffin of the old-model record companies. The brilliant simplicity of the promotion model for In Rainbows is something to behold. The user can buy the digital download for any price the user believes to be appropriate. I decided to order last night, and paid what amounted to $11 US. There is also a deluxe box set with extra songs, a double vinyl disc, a book, eight bonus tracks and two CDs which requires purchase and will be delivered in December.

Oh yes, and there is no record company or any other entity involved in the download. Its Radiohead and us. The ramifications of this grand experiment are huge. Here at nyctaper, we believe that Radiohead’s model represents a validation of the mission of this site–free downloads as a means to promote a positive relationship directly between artists and fans. A new paradigm indeed.

Bob Lefsetz blog contains an excellent discussion of In Rainbows.

The download will be available on October 10. Pre-Order In Rainbows here.

In 2006, Radiohead toured and performed several songs that will appear on In Rainbows. I recorded one of the Theatre at Madison Square Garden shows. This is a nice clear recording, and is the last recording I made with my old condenser microphones before upgrading the Neumann rig and the DPA rig. Enjoy!

The photograph above is courtesy of the drinkatwork blog.

This recording is no longer available on nyctaper.com. If you search the web, I’m sure you’ll find a copy.

Radiohead
2006-06-14
The Theatre at Madison Square Garden
New York, NY USA

Recorder1
Master Audience Recording
Section 202 Row R, Seat 19
approximately 100 feet directly in front of stage-left PA speaker

Core Sound Cardiods > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 >
16 bit 44.1 wav file > Soundforge > CDWave (tracking) > Flac
Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

recorded and edited by
nyctaper 2006-06-14

This recording is dedicated to the people of the Radiohub, a
wonderfully generous and dedicated group of Radiohead fans.
Visit radioheadlive.no-ip.org in the direct connect network (DC++) or
http://www.radiohub.net/index.php/Main_Page on the web

Tracklist:
01 Intro/The Gloaming
02 The National Anthem
03 15 Step
04 Arpeggi
05 Kid A
06 Dollars And Cents
07 Videotape
08 Nude
09 I Might Be Wrong
10 Paranoid Android
11 Bangers ‘n Mash
12 Pyramid Song
13 My Iron Lung
14 Bodysnatchers
15 Myxomatosis
16 No Surprises
17 Everything In Its Right Place

Encore 1
18 A Wolf At The Door
19 Down Is The New Up
20 Like Spinning Plates
21 Spooks
22 Idioteque

Encore 2
23 Just
24 The Tourist

I can not express how important it is to SUPPORT RADIOHEAD and this grand experiment. PLEASE visit the Radiohead site and purchase In Rainbows. Don’t just grab it for free and run. Its important that the artist prove that this is a new and effective business model.

The new Fiery Furnaces CD Widow City is due for general release on October 9. Sound Fix Records in Brooklyn offered it for sale exclusively on Saturday night, and the Fiery Furnaces were there to celebrate and performed a 35-minute live set featuring 9 of the Widow City songs.

The band is rehearsing for their upcoming tour, and the new material has already taken a life of its own. In particular, the 3-song medley of Duplexes>Husband>Ex-Guru was tight and focused, with “Ex-Guru” having already morphed into a power-pop number.

The experienced readers of this site have had the opportunity to witness the evolution of my interest in the Fiery Furnaces, from a curiosity to rabid fan. In June, when Morrissey canceled, I took advantage of an open night and recorded (here) a band I had only experienced through an Of Montreal cover of one Fiery Furnaces song. Thereafter, thoroughly impressed with the band, I bought Bitter Tea, recorded them again in August (here), and have not looked back.

Last night I had the pleasure of chatting with Matt after the performance. He was pleasant, showed appreciation for my recordings and my site, and thanked me for coming to the shows. When an artist of this talent proves to be modest and appreciative, it becomes truly a pleasure to thank and support them at my site.

The recording offered for download below was captured from 10 feet in front of the PA, and is crystal clear. Although the crowd was packed into the small cafe in the rear of Sound Fix, it was a group of true fans who were respectful of the performance. There’s no chatter on this recording, only support. Enjoy!

Download the complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Fiery Furnaces
2007-10-06
Sound Fix Records
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Dead Center
Approximately 10 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

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-10-07

Setlist:
[Total Time 33:46]
01 The Philadelphia Grand Jury
02 Navy Nurse
03 My Egyptian Grammar
04 Evergreen
05 Duplexes of the Dead
06 More Automatic Husband
07 Ex-Guru
08 Japanese Slippers
09 Restorative Beer
10 Right by Conquest

As with all artists featured at this site, if you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT The Fiery Furnaces, visit their site, and purchase Widow City:

Sigur Ros are set to release Heima, the documentary about their 2006 tour through all of Iceland. Advanced screenings have been available in half-dozen cities worldwide, and last night New York was treated to 2 screenings, a 7pm and a Midnight show. I was fortunate to get a ticket to the late show, which was announced just a few days ago. The bonus for all the screenings has been a brief 3-song live acoustic set by Sigur Ros.

The documentary contains a stunning visual portrayal of Iceland–a unique magical land–with a soundtrack of powerful live performances by Sigur Ros. The majority of the film follows Sigur Ros through the unpopulated upper regions of Iceland, where they perform in locales such as an open field, a town square, and an abandoned fish factory. The band discusses their experiences with detail, humor, and true appreciation for their homeland. This film is due to be released on DVD in November and is undoubtedly a must buy for even the most casual fan of Sigur Ros or Iceland in general. Watch the trailer here.

I recorded the 3-song acoustic set, and offer it for download below. Unfortunately, I did a below average job of capturing this performance. I did not re-set my levels from the Fiery Furnaces concert I had recorded hours ago (from 10 feet in front of the PA), and as a result the master recording has extremely low levels. When I raised levels significantly in post-production, obvious hiss was present. Caveat listener.

Download the complete performance in FLAC [HERE].

Sigur Ros
2007-10-06
Midnight Show
Florence Gould Hall
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from 15th Row Center

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 .wav > Soundforge (level boosts and balance, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-10-07

Setlist
[Total Time 17:40]
01 Ágætis Byrjun
02 Heima
03 Njósnavélin

As with all artists featured at this site, if you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT Sigur Ros and purchase the DVD in November.

The Mekons 30th Anniversary tour rolled into New York on Wednesday with a rousing and lengthy concert by the British legends. While the set did feature several numbers from their new album Natural, the set also was fine retrospective of their material. The set was punctuated with the standard Mekons oeuvre — extensive stage banter, some alcohol, and much humor.

The Mekons permit fan recording. As a result I was able to position myself in the identical location as the Bjorkestra / Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey recordings from last week, and use my best equipment. The results are outstanding, and a fine representation of this entertaining and enjoyable performance.

The photograph posted above is courtesy of twi-ny. There are more excellent high-resolution photos from this concert here. Thanks also to Club Mekon for advice and assistance. Visit Club Mekon here.

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

Mekons
2007-10-03
Blender Theatre at Gramercy
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from 1st Row of Seating Area
Directly Behind Soundboard

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

Please support the Mekons
http://www.mekons.de/mekonhom.htm

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2007-10-05

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:57:52]
01 [introduction]
02 Beaten and Broken
03 Dickie Chalkie and Nobby
04 [banter]
05 Wine or Money
06 Fletcher Christian
07 Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem
08 The Hope and The Anchor
09 [banter]
10 Tina
11 [banter]
12 Diamonds
13 [banter]
14 Hey! Susan
15 [banter]
16 Cockermouth
17 Dark Dark Dark
18 Ghosts Of American Astronauts
19 Last Dance
20 Lonely and Wet
21 Lost Highway
22 Perfect Mirror
23 Curse of the Mekons
Encores
24 [banter]
25 Heaven and Back
26 The Letter
27 Hard to be Human
28 [banter]
[last encore Wild and Blue not recorded]

As with all artists featured at this site, if you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT The Mekons and purchase their latest release:

What a difference a day makes. Animal Collective’s Monday night show at Webster Hall was consistently focused, mixed well, and was 30 minutes longer than Sunday’s “disaster” (Avey’s word). The highlight was the powerful 14-minute Fireworks/Essplode/Fireworks, the exact location in the set where Sunday’s show went wrong.

My recording location was about 5 feet to the left of Sunday’s night’s spot. The same equipment was used, but this recording is even better simply because the sound in the venue was much improved.

This recording is now available for download in FLAC or MP3 format [HERE].

Animal Collective
2007-10-01
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Balcony First Row Center
Directly Behind Soundboard

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 .wav >
Soundforge (level boosts and balance, softening and some removal
of audience noise, EQ, set fades) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-10-02

Setlist:
[total time 1:44:39]
01 Dancer
02 Material Things
03 Peacebone
04 Leaf House
05 Bearhug
06 Song for Ariel
07 Unsolved Mysteries
08 Daily Routine
09 Fireworks/Essplode/Fireworks
10 Brother Sport
11 Grace
12 Chores
13 We Tigers
14 [encore break]
15 No More Running
16 Derek

As with all artists featured on this site, if you download this recording, please support Animal Collective and the Paw Tracks website.

The Animal Collective tour in support of their new release Strawberry Jam came to New York tonight for the first of two shows at Webster Hall. This was an off night. The band seemed somewhat out of sync, and the show came to a screeching halt when Avey Tare stopped “Fireworks” in the middle because it was “too bass-y”. Three truncated songs later, no encore, and the show was over in a little over 70 minutes. We hope tomorrow will be better.

The recording offered for download below has superior sound quality. Avey was right about the bass, and as a result I equalized the low-end in post-production. I had an excellent place for recording, and used DPA microphones that can handle the booming bass of this concert without distortion or saturation.

This recording is now available as a direct download in FLAC or MP3 [HERE].

Animal Collective
2007-09-30
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Balcony First Row Center
Directly Behind Soundboard

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 .wav >
Soundforge > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-09-30

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
[email protected]

Setlist:
[total time 1:14:11]
01 #1
02 Bearhug
03 Song for Ariel
04 Peacebone
05 Who Could Win a Rabbit
06 Daily Routine
07 Unsolved Mysteries
08 Dreamer
09 Firewords/Essplode
10 Brother Sport
11 Grace
12 Leaf House

As with all artists featured on this site, if you download this recording, please support Animal Collective and the Paw Tracks website.