Posts Tagged ‘ blues ’

Phil Cook: September 23, 2015 Rough Trade NYC + September 10, 2015 Hopscotch Music Festival (Raleigh, NC) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

October 7, 2015
By

hopscotch-festival-2015-31kennethbachor
[Hopscotch photo courtesy of Kenneth Bachor]

Phil Cook is a very easy person to like. If there’s a musician — or heck, a human in general — who is more affable, good-hearted and filled with positivity, I have yet to see them. Cook has been the dutiful bassist, the cheerful sidekick, the go-to-guy for a slew of bands, including Megafaun, with his brother Brad, Hiss Golden Messenger, Akron/Family, Gayngs, and DeYarmond Edison. As Phil pointed out himself, he’s had a long career of doing what other people told him — showing up on time, hitting the right notes, being a get-along guy. The new album Southland Mission represents his first foray into the world of the frontman. The microphone is his now, and the shots are his to call. So he’s assembled an eight-piece band, complete with backup singers, bass, second guitar, and keys, and he’s the one who decides when practice is, where to go, what to do. Suffice it say, most of us would be lucky to have such a genial boss. Southland Mission wears its influences on its sleeve — much as Cook literally wore a Staples Singers shirt this night — and Cook’s devotion to the gospel, soul, R&B and blues music of an earlier era is both obvious and genuine. “Lowly Road” offers a gospel-style chorus, while the loping blues of “Sitting On A Fence” could’ve come from Chicago in the 1960s.

These sets followed a relatively similar course, though with somewhat different vibes. The first, at Hopscotch, came on the day before the release of Southland Mission, and was the first time that Cook played the material in public, together with his band The Guitarheels. Staged in the grand Fletcher Opera Theater, with a band banner at his back (along with an inappropriately large ad for festival sponsor Mini), the setting felt appropriate to the moment. Packed with a fawning hometown crowd, Cook’s material was greeted at every step with roars and encouraging shouts from people he probably sees at the same shows every night (I had to reduce between-song volume to account for it, but trust me). When the band kicked off with one of the album’s most direct and best tunes, “Ain’t It Sweet,” the easy answer had to be yes — and the applause showed it. All of Southland Mission was played, not quite in album order, and the band chose to close with a country song, Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Northeast Texas Women.” As he would in New York, Cook complimented the band profusely, calling them a collection of the finest musicians he had worked with. It being the insular Triangle scene, it’s a reasonable guess that many of the people in the crowd knew them, too. Appropriate to the location, the show’s pace was leisurely and relaxed, with long breaks between songs that felt like Phil having a chat with friends. Both “Great Tide” and “Sitting on a Fence” proved to be opportunities for the band to stretch its legs, with guitar breakdowns that took them into longer territory than the tight album versions.

In New York, Phil and the Guitarheels could still welcome a crowd of friends from previous work, though in the club-like, intimate atmosphere of Rough Trade NYC. Phil may have had to exhort this crowd to stop standing so still (clearly he hasn’t seen as many shows in New York as I have), but against the odds, he got what he asked for. It remained an intimate and chatty show, and Phil’s own speech about getting to finally “be the frontman” was a touching one. Similarly, true to the album’s roots, Cook also talked a good bit about his love for the Staples singers (even wearing the T-shirt), and that’s another influence you can feel throughout these songs. For ease of listening, most of the banter tracks aren’t on the streaming versions below, but I’d urge you to download the full sets to get a better flavor of what Cook is about. While there are only so many ways to mix up the tracks on a single album, we got two brand-new covers this time: first, the Blind Boys of Alabama’s “Take Your Burden To the Lord and Leave It There,” and then Curtis Mayfield’s “Talking About My Baby.” Throughout this show, as in North Carolina, you couldn’t have forced the broad smile off of Phil Cook’s face at gunpoint. If there’s a world where nice guys finish first, well, Phil Cook is in pole position, folks.

I recorded the NYC set with a soundboard feed from Rough Trade engineer Danielle DePalma and Schoeps MK4V microphones; the Hopscotch set was recorded by our friend Larry Tucker with Peluso wide-cardiod microphones. The sound quality of both recordings is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Rough Trade NYC set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Download the Hopscotch set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the Rough Trade NYC set:

Stream the Hopscotch set: 

Phil Cook
2015-06-26
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Danielle DePalma) + Schoeps MK4V (FOB, DFC, PAS)>KC5>CMC6>Edirol R-44>24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, fades, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, dither, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 1:10:38]
01 Ain’t It Sweet
02 [banter1]
03 1922
04 [banter2]
05 Belong
06 Sitting On A Fence
07 [banter3-band intros]
08 Time To Wake
09 Anybody Else
10 [banter4]
11 Gone
12 [banter5–speech]
13 Lowly Road
14 [banter6]
15 Great Tide
16 [encore break]
17 Take Your Burden To The Lord and Leave It There [Blind Boys of Alabama]
18 Talking About My Baby [Curtis Mayfield]

________________________________________________
Phil Cook
2015-09-10
Hopscotch Music Festival
Fletcher Opera Theater
Raleigh, NC USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by Larry Tucker
Produced by acidjack

Peluso CEMC6-CK21 (subcardiod) (Room center hung from balcony rail)>Fostex FR2-LE>24bit/48kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Ain’t It Sweet
02 1922
03 Belong
04 [banter1]
05 Sitting On A Fence
06 [banter2]
07 Lowly Road
08 [banter3]
09 Time To Wake
10 Anybody Else
11 [banter4]
12 Gone
13 [banter5]
14 Great Tide
15 [banter6]
16 Northeast Texas Women [Jerry Jeff Walker]

If you enjoyed these recordings, PLEASE SUPPORT Phil Cook, visit his website, and buy Southland Mission from his online store.

IMG_3195

The Wood Brothers: March 1, 2013 Bowery Ballroom – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

March 5, 2013
By

woodbros2013-03-01-1
[Photos by acidjack]

The surge in interest of late in traditional American roots music has generated new heat for a number of acts, some more worthy and authentic than others.  The Wood Brothers fall solidly into the former camp, being the project of brothers Oliver and Chris  Wood, who pursued separate music interests (Chris with the legendary NYC jazz unit Medeski, Martin & Wood, Oliver as a guitarist for bluesman Tinsley Ellis and later with the band King Johnson) before coming together to perform the music they grew up with.  After playing to an audience of 900 the night before in Boston, the Brothers hit the cozier Bowery Ballroom here in New York on a Friday night for a very, very sold out show so packed that folks were three- or four-deep on the balcony.  This nearly two-hour show, played as a single set, showed what makes The Wood Brothers so special – stylistic range, a flair for entertainment, skill at their instruments, and a sound that respects its source material.  Indeed, the Brothers’ vision for this band hasn’t been to slavishly clone one genre, but to create a sound that shows their deep knowledge across American music of the last two centuries.  Thus, songs like “Atlas” have a gospel-country feel, while songs like “Spirit” and “Twisted” marry that country twang with electric blues.  Then there are the rockers – especially popular on a Friday night – like “Honey Spoon”.  The Brothers also paused mid-set for a quiet pair of songs performed in the old bluegrass tradition, with the performers surrounding a single onstage microphone.  Even with the amount of money Bowery was making at the bar that night, the crowd paused the revelry long enough to respect a lovely rendition of “Muse” and another new song I did not know.

Fittingly, the band was touring to support their 2012 live record, available now as a two-volume LP package entitled Vol. 1: Sky High and Vol. 2: Nail and Tooth.  We saw many of those songs played here, along with several numbers that should be on their way for the band’s next LP (if you can identify some of the titles I didn’t know, please assist).  This set arguably peaked with three songs that are on the live record, when they followed their classic “Luckiest Man” with an extended jam on “One More Day”, and went into “Glad”.  After that, just before the encore, we got a duo of “sweet” songs in “Chocolate On My Tongue” and “Shoo Fly Pie”.  The set easily could have ended there, but the Brothers went ahead and treated us to a double encore anyway, in the form of a cover of the country classic “Fox On the Run” and the defiant closer, a cover of Allen Touissant’s “Get Out of My Life Woman”.  The band left the stage and headed down to the Bowery Ballroom bar to chat with fans and sign newly-bought copies of their records. The Wood Brothers are that type of band.

Download the complete show on the Live Music Archive: [MP3] | [FLAC]

The Wood Brothers
2013-03-01
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK41 (DINa, balcony, ROC)>KCY>Z-PFA>Roland R-26>24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (pan R channel slightly)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, additional EQ, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 1:49:56]
01 [intro]
02 Sing
03 Keep Me Around
04 Atlas
05 [banter1]
06 Mary Anna
07 Smoke Ring Halo
08 [banter2]
09 Spirit
10 Twisted
11 [banter3]
12 Postcards From Hell
13 [unknown1]
14 Honey Spoon
15 [banter4]
16 Muse
17 [banter5]
18 [unknown2]
19 Little Liza Jane
20 [banter6]
21 Luckiest Man
22 One More Day>jam>One More Day
23 Glad
24 [banter7]
25 Chocolate On My Tongue
26 Shoo Fly Pie
27 [encore break 1]
28 Fox On the Run [Allen Touissant]
29 [encore break 2]
30 Get Out of My Life Woman

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT The Wood Brothers, visit their website, and buy their records and merchandise from their official store [HERE]

North Mississippi Allstars: September 28, 2012 Irving Plaza – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

October 1, 2012
By


[Photos by acidjack]

North Mississippi Allstars frontman Luther Dickinson noted early on during this show at Irving Plaza that NMAS hasn’t been to Manhattan in awhile. While we checked in with NMAS-related projects like Luther’s The Wandering at Joe’s Pub this year and the stripped-down NMAS Duo at Iridium Jazz Club last year, it has seemed that the full band has more or less dedicated its NYC performances to Brooklyn Bowl of late. Besides the venue change, this show represented a return to NYC without a key member of the NMAS crew, as band member Chris Chew is still recovering from a diabetic coma he suffered earlier this summer. While the band has announced that Chew will return to the stage with the band in Milwaukee and Chicago in a few days, this show found the Allstars joined by the legendary blues guitarist Lightnin’ Malcom in Chew’s stead. Several songs also saw appearances from JoJo Hermann, who was in tow with the night’s opening act Missing Cats but is better known as keyboardist of Widespread Panic. Among others, JoJo joined the band for a banging rendition of the RL Burnside classic and NMAS favorite “Po Black Maddie” with an extended bit of jamming, as well as a sick sequence of “Mississippi Boll Weevi” into “Shake ‘Em” that has been a staple on the current tour. Although the band’s set was cut a bit short by the club’s 12 a.m. curfew (combined with a longer Missing Cats’ set due to some very special guests), what this set lacked in length was made up for in quality.

With the full nyctaper crew in attendance, Johnny Fried Chicken Boy and I recorded this set using his Milab VM-44 Links into a Sound Devices MixPre with high-end Lundahl transformers, combined with my Schoeps MK22 “open cardiod” mics in the “NOS” configuration to add spaciousness and depth. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Shake ‘Em”

This Recording is now available to Download in FLAC and MP3 and to Stream at Archive.org [HERE].

Follow acidjack on twitter

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.  The show will be archived on the Live Music Archive after it has appeared on this site.

North Mississippi Allstars
2012-09-28
Irving Plaza
New York, NY USA

Hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by acidjack and Johnny Fried Chicken Boy
Produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK22 (FOB, DFC, NOS)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Milab VM44 Links (cardioid, FOB, DFC, PAS)>Sound Devices MixPre >> Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mixdown)>Izotope Ozone 5 (light EQ and exciter)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 1:49:35]
01 Shimmy She Wobble>My Babe>Sittin’ On Top of the World
02 Hear the Hills
03 Shake What Your Mama Gave You>Chris Chew Tribute>Shake What Your Mama Gave You
04 Meet Me In the City
05 Mississippi Boll Weevil>
06 Shake ‘Em
07 [intro]
08 Po’ Black Maddie [RL Burnside]
09 Ho Down>jam
10 So Much Trouble
11 I Have A Good Woman Waiting At Home
12 K.C. Jones (On the Road Again)
13 ML
14 Up Over Yonder
15 I’m Leaving
16 This A’ Way
17 Eaglebird>
18 Lord Have Mercy>
19 All Night Long [Junior Kimbrough]
20 [encore break]
21 Rollin’ and Tumblin’

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT North Mississippi Allstars, visit their website, and purchase Keys to the Kingdom and their other available releases through The Store at their website [HERE].

The Word: June 2, 2012 Mountain Jam – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

June 30, 2012
By


[Photo from the Mountain Jam Facebook Page]

With its all-star lineup of sacred steel/modern jazz/blues musicians, you can’t help but call The Word a supergroup.  Featuring Robert Randolph (pedal steel guitar), John Medeski (keyboards), and all three members of North Mississippi Allstars – Luther Dickinson (electric guitar), Cody Dickinson (drumswashboard), and Chris Chew (bass guitar), The Word don’t generally get to tour together often (although they’ve done some festival dates this summer), but when these players share a stage, it’s an event. This year’s Mountain Jam was one such moment, as the players gave us 75 minutes of classic religiously-themed pedal steel compositions, including many from their sole album, 2001’sThe Word.  The combination of the lovingly rendered compositions served up by these hypertalented musicians against the backdrop of the Catskills could fairly be called a religious experience of its own.

I recorded this set with AKG 414 large diaphragm mics set to wide cardiod mode.  The excellent house mix for this set, coupled with some post-processing, makes this my favorite of my Mountain Jam recordings (you can also download Ben Folds Five, Gov’t Mule and Givers).

Stream “Blood On That Rock”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/W0062Word0212/10%20Blood%20On%20That%20Rock.mp3]

Stream “I’ll Fly Away”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/W0062Word0212/12%20I%27ll%20Fly%20Away.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Download the FLAC files [HERE]
If the FLAC link is not working, Email nyctaper for the FLAC files

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.

The Word
2012-06-02
Mountain Jam
Hunter, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

AKG C 414 B-XLS (wide cardiod, 11ft, A-B)>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify and balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:18:12]
01 [intro]
02 You Haven’t Done Nothin’ [Stevie Wonder]
03 Without God
04 At The Cross
05 [unknown 1]
06 I Shall Not Be Moved
07 New Word Order
08 [unknown 2]
09 Joyful Sounds>
10 Blood On That Rock
11. Waiting On My Wings>electric washboard jam*
12 I’ll Fly Away

* = w/Cody Dickinson on Electric Washboard and Luther & Robert both on Drums

Robert Randolph – pedal steel guitar
John Medeski – keys
Luther Dickinson – guitar
Cody Dickinson – keys
Pierre Wells – bass

If you enjoyed this recording, please support these musicians by supporting and visiting the websites of Robert Randolph, The North Mississippi Allstars, and Medeski, Martin & Wood.

Luther Dickinson & The Wandering: May 14, 2012 Joe’s Pub – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

May 22, 2012
By


[Photos by acidjack]

North Mississippi Allstars guitarist/vocalist Luther Dickinson has made a life mission of keeping Delta blues alive while continuing to expand the genre through his own new efforts. His latest project, The Wandering, finds him teaming up with four exceptional female musicians – Amy LaVere, Shannon McNally, Valerie June, and Sharde Thomas – to honor the richness and diversity of the blues with a new record that combines new tracks and well-loved standards.  This show at the grown ups’ music paradise Joe’s Pub was a perfect platform to showcase the members’ individual and collective talents. Dickinson, as ringleader of the proceedings, gave a solo set before the band went on, which included several favorites from the NMAS catalog like RL Burnside’s “Po’ Black Maddie”.  When The Wandering took the stage, the dynamic shifted, with the four women sharing and trading the spotlight as Dickinson provided the strings. The quintet’s devotion to and love for their material is obvious; aside from the luxe surroundings and high-end sound system, you could have been in a balmy Delta club a hundred years ago. The band gave an inspired and different take on Leadbelly’s “In the Pines” (most recently popularized by Nirvana), the old standard “Glory, Glory”, and a somewhat more recent rock classic, The Byrds’ “Hey Mr. Spaceman”, among others. While each of the performers shined, one of our newest favorites, Amy LaVere, fresh off of a performance with Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes at Bowery Ballroom, particularly shined on the vocals and upright bass. Although the just-over-an-hour set was too short by half in my opinion, it established The Wandering as a formidable new entry in the modern blues arena.

Johnny Fried Chicken Boy and I faced some challenges setting up for this show, but we ended up with our mics situated in an ideal location in the center of the venue. This recording is from my Schoeps MK5 cardiods, and boasts a full, rich sound that reflects the venue’s excellent acoustics. Enjoy!

Note: The Luther Dickinson solo set and The Wandering set MP3s are offered together in a single download. The FLACs are separate direct downloads.  

Stream “Po’ Black Maddie” [Luther Dickinson Solo]
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/N0409NMAS9002/08 Po’ Black Maddie.mp3]

Stream “Hey Mr. Spaceman” [The Byrds]
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/N0409NMAS9002/13 Hey Mr Spaceman.mp3]

Stream “In the Pines”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/N0409NMAS9002/07 In the Pines.mp3]

Luther Set and Wandering Set MP3 files [HERE] | The Wandering FLAC files [HERE] | Luther Dickinson FLAC files [HERE]

If the FLAC links are no longer working, email nyctaper for the FLAC files

Follow acidjack on twitter

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense.  The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.

Luther Dickinson
2012-05-14
Joe’s Pub
New York, NY USA

Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Schoeps MK5 [cardiod]>KCY>Z-PFA>Aerco MP-2>Sony PCM-M10>24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, envelope crowd noise, amplify and balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [unknown]
02 Blind Lemon and the Hook Man
03 [banter]
04 [unknown 2]
05 Let It Roll
06 Breckenridge Blues
07 [banter]
08 Po’ Black Maddie [RL Burnside]
______________________________________________________

The Wandering
2012-05-14
Joe’s Pub
New York, NY USA

Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Schoeps MK5 [cardiod]>KCY>Z-PFA>Aerco MP-2>Sony PCM-M10>24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, envelope crowd noise, amplify and balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 Sittin’ On Top of the World [Doc Watson]
03 Love, Life and Money [Marianne Faithfull]
04 If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day [Robert Johnson]
05 [unknown]
06 Loving Her Was Easier [Kris Kristofferson]
07 In the Pines [Leadbelly]
08 [unknown]
09 You Are My Sunshine
10 Glory, Glory
11 [encore break]
12 Working Woman Blues
13 Mr. Spaceman [The Byrds]
14 Drinking Muddy Water
15 My Babe [Little Walter]

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT The Wandering, like them on Facebook, and purchase their record Go On Now, You Can’t Stay Here from Amazon or your favorite retailer.

North Mississippi Allstars: October 28, 2011 Brooklyn Bowl – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

October 31, 2011
By

After hearing this site’s incredible capture of brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars back in June, I knew I needed to see what this Mississippi blues act was all about for myself.  Brooklyn Bowl – now the obvious heir to Wetlands in terms of this type of programming – was the perfect place for the introduction.  As is the norm for a Friday night, a lot of the drunken suburban crowd was mostly there to party, but those paying more attention were rewarded with some incredible guitar work from Luther, percussion from Cody, and bass from Chris Chew.  The band gave us a veritable education in the blues, mixing in their own favorites with classic covers like Bob Dylan’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again”, which appears on their latest record, Keys to the Kingdom.  The record’s title is an homage to the brothers’ father, the blues legend Jim Dickinson, but it could as easily be a reference to their own place in the blues pantheon.  NMAS are the honest heirs of this centuries-old American tradition, and they will no doubt do their best to make the genre as alive, fresh, and relevant as it was a hundred years ago.

The entire nyctaper crew was on-hand for this event with a slew of mics at full height above the crowd.  This particular recording is a combination of AKG large-diaphragm mics to give “air” at the top end and edge to the guitar, combined with Schoeps supercardiods to add the direct sound.  While there is no mistaking that it’s a Friday night crowd, the sound quality of the music is outstanding.  Please help out with any setlist corrections – it was my first time seeing the band live and there were a a few songs I did not recognize or couldn’t figure out.  Enjoy!

Stream “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again [Bob Dylan]”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/N0409NMAS9002/09 Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again.mp3]

Stream “Rollin’ and Tumblin'”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/N0409NMAS9002/20 Drinkin’ Muddy Water.mp3]

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

North Mississippi Allstars
2011-10-28
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY USA

Recorded for nyctaper.com by acidjack, hi and lo, nyctaper and Johnny Fried Chicken Boy
Produced by acidjack

AKG C 414 B-XLS (cardiod)>Sound Devices USBpre2 + Schoeps MK41>NBox+ >> Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audition (mixdown)>Audacity (tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 1:51:29]
01 Sitting On Top of the World
02 Across the Great Divide
03 Let It Roll
04 Shake What Your Momma Gave You
05 People Get Ready
06 Mean Ol’ Wind Died Down
07 Shake ‘Em On Down
08 [guitar jam]
09 Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again [Bob Dylan]
10 Meet Me In the City
11 Po Black Maddie>
12 Drum Solo/jam>
13 Jellyrollin’ All Over Heaven
14 New Orleans Walkin’ Dead
15 Harlem River Blues [Justin Townes Earle]
16 Sugar Hill
17 Teasin’ Brown
18 I’d Love To Be A Hippie
19 Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky (From Now On)
20 Rollin’ and Tumblin’
21 [encore break]
22 Lordy Lord>
23 [unknown?]
24 All Night Long

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT North Mississippi Allstars, visit their website, and purchase Keys to the Kingdom and their other available releases through The Store at their website [HERE].

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper: October 9, 2011 Backyard Brunch Sessions – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

October 11, 2011
By

backyard_brunch-22
[Photo by Dominick Mastrangelo]

When I first heard Aly Spaltro, aka Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, I flat-out couldn’t believe a girl so small (the band’s Facebook page cheekily describes her as 6’2″) – and so young (early 20s) – could make such a large, mature sound. Her “band” is no more than her and her guitar, but Aly never sounded intimidated or lonely on that empty stage. She cold-opened with an a cappella number – “Up In the Rafters” – that gave me chills. Stripped bare, the song is a sustained cry of longing, at once sultry, dangerous and sweet, and it’s delivered fearlessly. She closes out “Rafters” and moves straight into “Mezzanine”, this time accompanied by her guitar. Her playing is the equal of that lovely gravel in her voice, taking abrupt and unexpected twists in time and tempo. Both songs appear on LLTB’s current release Mammoth Swoon, a collection of unreleased, rare, and bedroom tracks that Aly released at the end of last year. You may be asking yourself how a young artist like Aly manages to have a rarities comp already, and that would be a good question. But head to LLTB’s bandcamp page, and you’ll see that she is already three releases deep. This set of six songs was culled from several of her records other than Mammoth, and each song showcased her unique songwriting ability. It’s hard for the word “precocious” not to come to mind, but LLTB would be an act of striking talent and depth at any age.

Backyard Brunch Sessions work best with artists who have the confidence to let their music stand unadorned. In a simple East Village backyard surrounded by a garden, new friends (and some delicious French Toast Grilled Cheese Sandwiches), Aly Spaltro fit this show’s aesthetic perfectly. She’s been playing alone on that empty stage since day one.

I recorded this set with a combination of high-end microphones, including the DPA 4021 that you can see miking Aly’s vocals. The sound quality is excellent, other than a two-second spot during “Up In the Rafters” where her guitar hit the mic stand. Enjoy!

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper’s next show will be a Windish Agency CMJ Showcase at Rockwood Music Hall on October 21.  More info here.

Stream “Up in the Rafters”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/L1009LLTB0211/Rafters.mp3]

Stream “Southernfly”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/L1009LLTB0211/Southernfly.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct Download of the FLAC files [HERE]

Follow acidjack on twitter | visit the backyard brunch sessions homepage

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper
2011-10-09
Backyard Brunch Sessions
New York, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

AKG C 414 B-XLS (cardiod pair, on guitar amp)+DPA 4021 (on vocals)>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)>Audition (studio effects, mixdown)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 Up In the Rafters
03 Mezzanine
04 Between Two Trees
05 Florence Berlin
06 Southernfly
07 [banter]
08 Crane Your Neck
09 [outro]

PLEASE SUPPORT Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, like her on Facebook, visit her website, and purchase her releases from her bandcamp page.

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DISCLAIMER and LEGAL NOTICE

nyctaper.com is a live music blog that offers a new paradigm of music distribution on the web. The recordings are offered for free on this site as are the music posts, reviews and links to artist sites. All recordings are posted with artist permission or artists with an existing pro-taping policy.

All recordings and original content posted on this site are @nyctaper.com as live recordings pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Section 106, et. seq. Redistribution of nyctaper recordings without consent of nyctaper.com is strictly prohibited.

nyctaper.com hereby waives all copyright claims to any and all recordings posted on this site to THE PERFORMERS ONLY. If any artist posted on this site requests that recordings be removed, those recordings will be removed forthwith.