Posts Tagged ‘ bowery ballroom ’

Luna: October 20, 2019 Bowery Ballroom

October 23, 2019
By

The Luna tour that just completed was a big one. The band played seventeen shows in twenty days, and played a complete album every night, alternating between Lunapark, Bewitched, and Penthouse. The added bonus was the appearance of original bassist Justin Harwood, who shared duties with Britta Phillips throughout the shows and also allowed Britta to provide some vocal harmonies when Justin performed.

Now five years into their reunion, we’ve already noted that Luna seems poised to stick around as a working band and their performances have been revelations of consistency and excellence. And the fans seem to agree — both Bowery shows were sold out and it was actually a bit of a chore to score a ticket (thanks generous friend!). We did get one at the last minute for Sunday night’s show, and were fortunate to have captured this show.

Sunday night at Bowery was a Penthouse night and the band’s first set was a meticulous performance of the album, with personal favorite “23 Minutes in Brussels” as my highlight. After a brief intermission, the band returned to play the bonus or hidden track of “Bonnie and Clyde”, followed by a neat set of favorites, oddities, and a couple of covers. The final encore was “IHOP”, the lead track from the Pup Tent album that is virtually never played live — it was a personal request from a band superfan who despite travelling all over the country and indeed internationally to see Luna had never experienced this song live. This tour was like that — tricks and treats for the superfans and just plain great music for the rest of us.

Luna returns to performance in February, with two West coast shows announced thus far. We’d expect some New York dates to be added.

I recorded this set from our usual spot with the Neumann hypers this time, and mixed with a feed mixed expertly by the band’s sound man Paul. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete show (minus banter):

Luna
2019-10-20
Bowery Ballroom
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:44:43]
First Set (Penthouse)
01 [intro]
02 Chinatown
03 Sideshow by the Seashore
04 Moon Palace
05 Double Feature
06 Twenty-Three Minutes in Brussels
07 Lost In Space
08 Rhythm King
09 Kalamazoo
10 [banter – Tolstoy]
11 Hedgehog
12 Freakin’ and Peakin’
Second Set
13 Bonnie and Clyde [Serge Gainsbourg]
14 California Blue [Roy Orbison]
15 Still at Home
16 Inside Your Heart [The Monochrome Set]
17 Eggnog
18 Slide
19 Superfreaky Memories
20 [encore break]
21 Pup Tent
22 Season of the Witch [Donovan]
23 IHOP

SUPPORT Luna:  Website | Bandcamp

Ty Segall and the Freedom Band: October 2, 2019 Bowery Ballroom

October 7, 2019
By
Photos courtesy of Will from We All Want Someone blog

Ty Segall is really good at music. I mean seriously, this guy has the most prolific catalog in recent memory, but is also a master at a litany of genres, and consistently releases high quality material. There’s an argument that Ty Segall is the most accomplished rock musician of this century. No, really, just take a look at his enormous body of work and its hard to argue against its superior quality.

We have been there for many of his NYC performances, going all the way back to the early years in the tiny DIY rooms but also conversely for two of his Webster Hall appearances. I’m not sure exactly why its been a few years since we last saw Ty, but within about 10 minutes of experiencing this magical night at Bowery Ballroom we immediately remembered why we’ve sought out this artist’s shows for many years. He’s simply a kinetic bundle of talent and energy, and now he’s surrounded himself with an all-star team of virtuoso friends that has become the “Freedom Band” for the last three albums.

Ty Segall’s most recent album, First Take, features the Freedom Band but reportedly has no guitars. The newest band member Shannon Lay plays a bouzouki, a Greek stringed instrument that resembles a guitar, so the idea that one of the world’s most prominent garage rock icons would forsake the guitar is a good cover story, but the reality is that the album doesn’t need guitars. The variety of instruments played by the Freedom Band more than fills the gaps on an album of great imagination and songcraft. As with Ty’s 2018 release Freedom’s Goblin, the artist’s moving away from restrictive genres is in its way his own statement about the evolution of his career — his freedom from labels if you will.

At Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday night, First Taste was played start to finish as the first half of the show. Spoiler alert, Ty did play guitar during quite a few of the tracks, but stepped behind a front-of-stage drum kit for about half the numbers. Often accompanied by two bass guitars and two keyboardists, the new songs feature heavy rhythms, dense melodies, and often harmonized vocals. Sure, there’s some good old punk rock in the mix, but by the time the final number “Lone Cowboys” was performed, it was clear that 2019 Ty Segall is a very different and far more diverse artist than a decade before.

So, what did he do with the rest of the show — surprise! The band stepped back almost a decade for a straight-through performance of 2010’s Melted, Ty’s third album and the first of his many many releases to really stretch its wings beyond straightforward garage punk. But other than not sitting behind the drum kit again, Ty’s approach to this music was not so radically different from the “first set”. The Freedom Band put its stamp on this music and in a way proved that even 2010 Ty Segall was ahead of his time.

Its not often when a musician can play a two-hour show with literally no gaps of energy or interest, but that is exactly what Ty Segall is doing these days. By compiling a band of maestros to compliment his newest and most ambitious material, this artist is maturing into a true composer. As the show both looks forward and nods with respect to the past, its is clear that Ty Segall is an all-timer and we are fortunate that an artist of this caliber is sharing these moments. The Bowery show was very clearly the best concert I’ve seen this year, and one of the best I’ve seen this decade and yes, I was lucky to be there and to capture it.

This set was recorded as we always do at this venue, with Schoeps mounted at the front of the balcony and mixed with a very fine board feed. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Set [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Set:

Ty Segall
2019-10-02
Bowery Ballroom
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:46:27]
01 Taste
02 Whatever
03 Ice Plant
04 The Fall
05 I Worship the Dog
06 The Arms
07 When I Met My Parents Part 1
08 I Sing Them
09 When I Met My Parents Part 2
10 Radio
11 When I Met My Parents Part 3
12 Self Esteem
13 Lone Cowboys
14 Finger
15 Caesar
16 Girlfriend
17 Sad Fuzz
18 Melted
19 Mike D’s Coke
20 Imaginary Person
21 My Sunshine
22 Bees
23 Mrs.
24 Alone
25 [encore break]
26 Fanny Dog
27 The Hand
28 She

Freedom Band: Mikal Cronin, Shannon Lay, Charles Moothart, Emmett Kelly, and Ben Boye

SUPPORT Ty Segall: website | buy official releases

Guerilla Toss: September 7, 2019 Bowery Ballroom

September 19, 2019
By

It was last Halloween when our long-time fave space rock pranksters blasted off into Market Hotel, sold out the joint, and presided over perhaps the party of the year. It would be hard to match that epic night in NYC, and for almost a year Guerilla Toss didn’t even try. That is to say, this Bowery Ballroom night is their first proper local headlining gig since last Hallows Eve.

This Saturday night gig may not have been the pure rager that Market experienced, but as GT shows go, this was a real keeper. The band has developed a full-set style of playing distinct “parts” or segments where three or four songs flow naturally from one to the other, and as the band continues to master its live presentation, these segues have become nearly seamless. The Bowery show has not only a tremendous flow, but also a killer setlist, highlights including the Betty>Polly couplet, a Dose Rate that lived up to its name, and a guitar-heavy jammy Meteorological. Things bode well for the November release of the band’s latest EP, What Would The Odd Do? and we can’t wait.

The current Guerilla Toss Northeast Tour comes to a close with two shows, Friday in Boston and Saturday in Holyoke, dates here.

I recorded this set from our old balcony perch and mixed with an excellent feed from FOH Danielle. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show at Archive.org [HERE]

Stream the Complete Show:

Guerilla Toss
2019-09-07
Bowery Ballroom
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:22:42]
01 Plants
02 Can I Get The Real Stuff
03 Realistic Rabbit
04 Spider Heard
05 [tuning]
06 Magic Is Easy
07 Betty Dreams Of Green Men
08 Polly’s Crystal
09 Jesus Rabbit
10 [part three]
11 Future Doesn’t Know [debut]
12 Grass Shack
13 367 Equalizer
14 Dose Rate
15 Dog In The Mirror
16 [thanks]
17 Meteorological [Jane La Onda]
18 Diamond Girls
19 Green Apple
20 [non-Encore break]
21 Come Up With Me

PLEASE SUPPORT Guerilla Toss: Bandcamp | Facebook | DFA Records Page

Big Ups: January 18, 2019 The Bowery Ballroom (Final Show!)

January 30, 2019
By
Photo courtesy of Edwina Hay

Big Ups began its life as a band in 2010 and ended on this very night in 2019. In a scene with hundreds of bands, many vying for attention in the same overall lane, Big Ups always stood out. I first saw them hot off the release of their first LP, Eighteen Hours of Static, at the now-defunct DIY venue Shea Stadium, and the experience stuck with me long after the feedback, and even the venue, faded. A DIY scene is ephemeral by definition–dozens of venues opened and closed during this band’s run, not to mention the number of bands who did the same. Big Ups persisted through it all, and they deserved to. Up through this very last night, at the very un-DIY Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan, they made better music, played better shows, and earned better fans.

No matter what type of Big Ups fan you were, this show offered something. The setlist served as a ready-made career retrospective, spanning the band’s earliest EPs through their final, and most intricate, release, Two Parts Together. If you’d never seen Joe Galarraga, Brendan Finn, Amar Lal, and Carlos Salguero Jr. play together before, well, now you got it (if too late). For the rest of us, we were reminded why this band was a can’t-miss on any night of the week. Their particular flavor of “post-hardcore” music, steeped in the soft/loud dynamic, relied on precision as well as Galarraga’s hyperkinetic stage presence. No matter how many times you’d seen and heard them perform something, it landed hard, straight in the gut. The words were direct, the music was explosive, and the crowd was always, always with them. Tonight, it was no different, with a teeming pit that gave the Bowery Ballroom floor more resemblance to a place like Shea Stadium that it seems possible to have.

A band’s last show has a nasty habit of inviting too much nostalgia, both about them, and about the scene from whence they came. It’s without dispute that the scene “isn’t what it used to be” — because it isn’t supposed to be. A music community is an organism that thrives on change, and this is one of them. Bands like Big Ups, and the places they play, set the tone, and then, eventually, the hand off the torch. Keeping that sentiment as literal as possible, the band ended their set with “Not Over Yet” (ironically, from one of their early EPs). “Even if I never sing this song again / you know I won’t forget” Galarraga sings — and I believe it.

I recorded this set with a feed of RJ Gordon’s house mix, together with Schoeps MK4V microphones mounted at the soundboard. The sound quality is outstanding. Thanks to RJ for the feed, and best of luck to everyone in Big Ups on the next chapter.

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC/Apple Lossless]

Big Ups
2019-01-18 [Final Show]
The Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: RJ Gordon) + Schoeps MK4V (at SBD, slightly LOC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>>Sound Devices MixPre 6>24/48 polyWAV>Adobe Audition CC>Izotope Ozone 5>Audacity 2.3>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:05:38]
01 Body Parts
02 Justice
03 Not Today
04 In the Shade
05 Hard To Care
06 Meet Where We Are
07 Grin
08 Knight
09 Goes Black
10 Hope For Someone
11 National Parks
12 Dogs
13 T.M.I.
14 [banter]
15 Wool
16 [encore break]
17 Fear
18 Stressed/Pressed
19 No Plan
20 Not Over Yet

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Big Ups, visit their websitelike them on Facebook and buy their records from Exploding In Sound. Also, support your local music scene!

Ryley Walker: April 29, 2018 The Bowery Ballroom

May 2, 2018
By

Ryley Walker arrived on The Bowery Ballroom stage as the opening act. For many bands, the opening 45 minutes means an opportunity to deliver a tight-but-denuded set that gives the untutored fan a reason to seek more. Well, Ryley and this night’s crack band — longtime compatriot Ryan Jewell, fellow guitarist Bill MacKay, and Calexico (the headliner) bassist Scott Colberg — did the latter but not the former. Which is to say, their version of a “short” set consisted of four songs, but one of them was 18 minutes long. And instead of “the hits,” as it were, those four were, save one, all tracks from his forthcoming album, Deafman Glance, which promises to extend Walker’s renown as a musician’s musician, who follows his instincts where they take him and isn’t afraid to challenge the listener.

If for years the understanding among Walker and his fans is that there’s about as little relationship between the reasonably straightforward sound of his records and his expansive, jazz-influenced live shows as there is between the seriousness of Walker’s music and the lightheartedness of his stage banter, the Deafman Glance material seems poised to narrow that gap. The proggy, dense, album sound carries over well into Walker’s chosen live milieu, making (for example) the “Telluride Speed” that closed this set a thrill but, unlike the eighteen-minute “Halfwit In Me” that opened it, not a totally radical departure from the album version.

Ryley’s stated goal was for Deafman Glance to be his anti-folk record, and indeed, this felt like the least folk-driven Ryley Walker show I’ve seen. With his vocals turned relatively low in the mix, and a song selection that was relatively short on opportunities for vocal pyrotechnics, Walker seemed intent on letting his electric guitar guide his sound (listen to that “Halfwit in Me” – it did). Walker’s full-band shows have always de-prioritized vocals to some degree in favor of extended jamming, but if I hadn’t seen Walker before and someone told me this was a guy who also does a mean cover of Van Morrison, I’m not sure I’d have believed them. That’s one of the joys of seeing this artist — by the time I see him again (expect a headlining tour in the U.S. in the fall), he’ll almost surely have evolved yet again.

I recorded this set with a beautiful stereo soundboard feed and Schoeps MK5 cardiod microphones. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

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

Ryley Walker
2018-04-29
The Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

An nyctaper recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard + Schoeps MK5c (PAS, at SBD, slightly LOC)>KC5>CMC6>>Sound Devices MixPre 6>24/48 polyWAV>Adobe Audition CC (align, mix down, compression, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro banter]
02 The Halfwit in Me
03 [banter2]
04 Spoil With the Rest
05 22 Days
06 [banter3]
07 Telluride Speed

Band:
Ryley Walker – guitar, vocals
Ryan Jewell – drums
Bill MacKay – guitar
Scott Colberg – bass

PLEASE SUPPORT RYLEY WALKER: Bandcamp | Dead Oceans

Hiss Golden Messenger: December 8, 2017 The Bowery Ballroom

December 12, 2017
By


Hiss Golden Messenger’s second night at The Bowery Ballroom not only picked up where the first two-hour show left off, but gathered steam. If the first night–in front of a slew of friends and local musicians–felt like a more intimate, freewheeling affair, this show situated the current version of the band as the confident rock n’ roll outfit they are, playing about fifty percent different material from the first show, improving on several of the repeats, and delivering crowd-pleasing covers that are red meat to a weekend crowd. After opening with the contemplative “When the Wall Comes Down” from Hallelujah Anyhow, the tempo picked up and stayed hot through the first hour. I was moved by this version of “Blue Country Mystic,” which hewed closer in tempo and style to the Poor Moon original than some of the recent versions I’ve seen, and likewise, the “Red Rose Nantahala” we saw both tonight and the night before felt closer to the version from Haw than some of the recent versions we’ve heard. The new songs haven’t given the band as many chances at new arrangements, but it’s safe to say that “Like A Mirror Loves A Hammer,” shows great potential as a mid-set jam song.

After a heartfelt mid-set version of “Caledonia, My Love” — introduced by Phil Cook as his favorite HGM song — it was back to the rock, with the band letting loose with a fine cover of “I Won’t Back Down” followed by “Lost Out In the Darkness” and the party jam “I’m A Raven (Shake Children).” This is a band that knows their crowd, and the upbeat rockers matched the mood in the room, as the weekend warriors and the repeat customers from last night both had come ready to celebrate the weekend and the band’s success. Instead of last night’s heartfelt retelling of the band’s origin story, we got some hilarious riffs about the band’s long night out last night, including an encounter with some pretzel chips. But if they were physically running on fumes, HGM didn’t show it. If anything, I found most versions of what they played even sharper and more emphatic than the previous show. In lieu of an encore break, the band accepted some pretzel chips from a fan and passed them around the crowd, ending the night with Pops Staples’ “Friendship” followed by “Drum.” This wasn’t quite the end of HGM year — they headed to Philly the following night, and D.C. after that — but it felt valedictory nonetheless, an exclamation point on a year well spent.

I recorded this set in the same manner as the previous night, with a soundboard feed from the band’s engineer Tim and Schoeps MK22 microphones. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC/ALAC]

Hiss Golden Messenger
2017-12-08
The Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK22 (at SBD, PAS bar)>KCY>Z-PFA + Soundboard (engineer: Tim)>Sound Devices MixPre 6>24/48 WAV>Adobe Audition CC (align, mix down, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 2:02:30]
01 When the Wall Comes Down
02 Saturday’s Song
03 Jenny of the Roses
04 [banter1]
05 Biloxi
06 Gulfport You’ve Been On My Mind
07 Blue Country Mystic
08 Mahogany Dread
09 Don’t Let Me Down [Beatles]
10 Like A Mirror Loves A Hammer
11 Red Rose Nantahala
12 [banter2]
13 Highland Grace
14 [banter3]
15 Caledonia, My Love
16 Domino
17 I Won’t Back Down [Tom Petty]
18 Lost Out In the Darkness
19 I’m A Raven (Shake Children)
20 I Am the Song
21 [banter4-band intros]
22 Southern Grammar
23 [banter5]
24 John the Gun
25 [pretzel break]
26 Friendship [Pops Staples]
27 Drum

Band:
M.C. Taylor – vocals, guitar
Phil Cook – keyboards, harmonica
Mike Lewis – saxophone
Skylar Gudasz – vocals
James Wallace – organ, percussion
Ryan Gustafson – guitar
Michael Libramento – bass
Darren Jesse – drums

PLEASE SUPPORT Hiss Golden Messenger: WebsiteTwitter | Buy Hallelujah Anyhow

Hiss Golden Messenger: December 7, 2017 The Bowery Ballroom

December 10, 2017
By

Children are essential to the origin story of Hiss Golden Messenger, and they’ve been a recurring theme in Mike “M.C.” Taylor’s songs since the beginning. Taylor introduced “Drum” on this night by telling the story in full, of a loser (his words) washed up from music, left out of life, sitting in a cabin next to a newborn, wondering about the future. Contemplating his life as he sat next to his newborn son Elijah, Taylor started to make music again. For him that child wasn’t just a literal birth; it was his personal rebirth, too. It was there that he wrote my favorite of all his songs, “Call Him Daylight,” which tackles the ambiguity of forces greater than us (some would view that as “God,” though I don’t think you have to). To that entity he says at one point, “Some call you destroyer, some Daylight.” It’s a fundamental paradox of many world religions — you’re asked to revere god as your creator, but also your ultimate destroyer. Which kept me thinking about children, and this band’s particular choices in 2017.

The righteous anger of musicians (not to mention the rest of us) toward the current regime is hardly news at this point, and it’s been reflected in many, many albums this year. If you follow the man on Twitter, you might expect the same from Taylor. But the latest Hiss Golden Messenger album does perhaps the braver thing, certainly the rarer thing. It’s announced by the title, Hallelujah Anyhow. A child who wakes up alive for the first time tomorrow here in America won’t know the name of anyone in the current administration, won’t harbor rage toward the rich or the indecent or the greedy, won’t know about hate, won’t worry about global warming, won’t fear misogyny or racism, won’t know war. In a child’s eyes the world is all beauty. In a child’s eyes this world is all they’ve known.

Taylor and a stacked band of Triangle locals (Phil Cook, Skylar Gudasz, Darren Jesse, Ryan Gustafson, Mike Lewis, James Wallace, Michael Libramento) brought that ethos to the Bowery Ballroom for this first of two nights, giving us two hours of inclusive, upbeat Hallelujah songs as well as a well-chosen selection of favorites. The past two years have seen this band release not less than three complete albums — the band hit another high point with 2016’s Heart Like A Levee and companion album Vestapol — which has stacked the catalog with new material. If you missed the outstanding Music Hall of Williamsburg show the band did in 2016 (which I unfortunately did) this could well have been your first time hearing many of these songs live. It’s striking how cohesive the Merge-era, bigger-room-oriented material is with itself, but there’s also that constant thread that reaches all the way back to Bad Debt. Compare the two songs that Taylor played as a duo with Cook —  “Drum” (a very old one) and “Caledonia, My Love” (a new one) — and it’s clear that Taylor’s heart remains where it has been, in a purgatory between light and darkness. Each of those songs may have been an outlier on their respective albums, but side by side, they make sense.

Still, this was a positive night, a two-hour “evening with,” and there was plenty of party music to celebrate with, including the band’s semi-regular cover of Sam Cooke’s “Having A Party” and the main set closers “Domino” followed by the already-classic “Southern Grammar.” Having seen these songs performed many times now, by a variety of personnel, I’ve come to appreciate the variations in Taylor’s performances of his work. Songs, too, are a kind of offspring, an evolving gift to a wider world, and Taylor has continued to help these songs grow into new and different entities than what they were. Taylor’s restless tinkering with this music seems almost calculated to keep you in that state, able to see his music as brand-new even if you’ve seen him a dozen or more times before. If you’re lucky you’ll listen long enough that you find yourself, however briefly, like that open-hearted child again, able to say that simple word, hallelujah. You stand there inside the Bowery Ballroom, and it’s the holiday season, it’s New York City, and you’re alive. So hallelujah, anyhow.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK22 open cardiod microphones mounted at the soundboard, with a feed of the PA mix from the band’s dapper sound engineer Tim. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Thanks, as always, to Mike Taylor and to Merge Records. 

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC/ALAC]

Hiss Golden Messenger
2017-12-07
The Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK22 (at SBD, ORTF)>KCY>Z-PFA + Soundboard (engineer: Tim)>Sound Devices MixPre 6>24/48 WAV>Adobe Audition CC (align, mix down, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 Call Him Daylight
03 Biloxi
04 Jenny of the Roses
05 I Am the Song
06 Gulfport You’ve Been On My Mind
07 Say It Like You Mean It
08 Lost Out In the Darkness
09 Tell Her I’m Just Dancing
10 Red Rose Nantahala
11 Heart Like A Levee
12 [banter-the story of HGM]
13 Drum*
14 [banter2]
15 Caledonia, My Love*
16 I’ve Got A Name for the Newborn Child
17 Like A Mirror Loves A Hammer
18 I’m A Raven (Shake Children)
19 Lucia
20 Having A Party [Sam Cooke]
21 Harder Rain
22 Domino
23 [banter3–band intros]
24 Southern Grammar
25 [encore break]
26 Friendship [Pops Staples]

Band:
M.C. Taylor – vocals, guitar
Phil Cook – keyboards, harmonica
Mike Lewis – saxophone
Skylar Gudasz – vocals
James Wallace – organ, percussion
Ryan Gustafson – guitar
Michael Libramento – bass
Darren Jesse – drums

*M.C. Taylor/Phil Cook Duo

PLEASE SUPPORT Hiss Golden Messenger: WebsiteTwitter | Buy Hallelujah Anyhow

Dream Syndicate: December 2, 2017 Bowery Ballroom

December 7, 2017
By


[photo by Marcus Slade]

There was a point early during Saturday night’s Dream Syndicate show at Bowery Ballroom when I thought to myself, I can not believe that is only the second show of the band’s current tour. The amazement was based on the fact that the band was just so damned tight. Its true that Steve Wynn and guitarist Jason Victor have played together regularly for more than a decade, but Dream Syndicate was not that long ago a “reunion” band. A band coming back together after years apart isn’t supposed to sound this in-sync. But over the last couple of years the band started recording again, and the result was an excellent new album called How Did I Find Myself Here (Anti).

The Dream Syndicate is currently on an extensive tour to support the new record, and if the Bowery show is any indication, this tour is destined for legendary status. The set mixed in material old and new and was clearly high energy from the start. The band didn’t take many breaks between songs to banter, but just rolled on one ripping track after another. Its says a lot about the new record that the show-stopping number was a twelve-minute version of the title track that was absolutely shredded. But the classic material was also on display and an all-timer version of “Days Of Wine and Roses” ended the main set in furious fashion before the band returned for three encores. Don’t miss this tour. All dates are (here).

I recorded this set in our usual fashion in this venue mixing the strategically placed Schoeps with an excellent soundboard feed from the band’s touring FOH. Unfortunately, I inexplicably lost power for about thirty seconds during the second song, which now contains a noticeable splice. Otherwise, the quality is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Dream Syndicate
2017-12-02
Bowery Ballroom
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:39:36]
01 [introduction]
02 Halloween
03 The Circle
04 80 West
05 Armed With An Empty Gun
06 Like Mary
07 Out of My Head
08 [banter – NYC]
09 Filter Me Through You
10 Burn
11 Whatever You Please
12 The Medicine Show
13 How Did I Find Myself Here
14 [band introductions]
15 Forest for the Trees
16 That’s What You Always Say
17 The Days of Wine and Roses
18 [encore break]
19 When You Smile
20 Tell Me When It’s Over
21 [banter – thanks]
22 Glide

SUPPORT The Dream Syndicate: Website | Anti Records Site | Buy How Did I Find Myself Here?

Jeremy Hyman: October 23, 2017 The Bowery Ballroom

November 20, 2017
By


[photo by Will Oliver and We All Want Someone blog]

When I saw that former Ponytail and Slasher Flicks drummer Jeremy Hyman was opening for Avey Tare at the Bowery Ballroom, I half expected to see a solo drum performance. Instead, we were treated to a twitchy, beat-heavy electronic performance with Hyman processing loops through a laptop. Though all the material he played is yet-to-be-released, it’s in the style of last year’s Couch EP released on Future Times, which finds the drummer exploring new compositional territory while still employing his knack for complex rhythms.

We recorded this set with the Schoeps mk22’s set up at our usual balcony location at Bowery, combined with a board feed from FOH Danielle. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Download: [MP3/FLAC]

Jeremy Hyman
2017-10-23
The Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com
Photo by Will Oliver

Soundboard (engineer: Danielle) + Schoeps mk22 > Zoom F8 > 2xWAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, mixdown, compression, normalize, fades) + Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ) > xAct > FLAC (24/48, level 8)

Tracks [30:12]
01. Cut
02. 10000pcpuzzle
03. Mirror
04. Shade
05. Day

Buy the Couch EP via Bandcamp

AJJ: November 7, 2017 Bowery Ballroom

November 12, 2017
By


[photos by Ash Craiig]

This year is the tenth anniversary of AJJ’s (then known as Andrew Jackson Jihad) second release, their breakout album People Who Can Eat People Are the Luckiest People in the World. In celebration, the band’s founders Sean Bonnette and Ben Gallaty are touring as a duo and opening the shows by playing the album straight through. The second half of the show is a selection of material from this post-People period of their career. The tour reached Bowery Ballroom last week for an inspired and intimate show that permitted AJJ’s rabid fans an up close and personal experience of this duo show.

Sean and Ben were up for the challenge, as the acoustic guitar and stand-up bass/cello filled the room while Sean’s fervent vocals delivered the personal material with the commitment that made the album such an important step in the evolution of the anti-folk movement ten years ago. The sold out Bowery crowd sang along with every word and you can hear them clearly on the recording — not as hindrance but as a true part of the performance. AJJ also talked and joked with the crowd about a variety of experiences and random thoughts, so that it almost felt, as Ben quipped, like a session of “AJJ Storytellers”. There were a few positive wrinkles in the setlist for this show including a fan request honored for the Todd Snider cover “Just Like Old Times” that contained a very special introduction for us. AJJ also called a few audibles, the most notable being what appears to be the first tour appearance of “Small Red Boy”, the emotional center of the band’s most recent album The Bible 2. We are not sure when AJJ will return to NYC — likely on the cycle of a new album tour — but we’ll of course be there. The current tour continues throughout November and into December, all dates here. The band will also return East for what I believe is a full band show at the Front Bottoms Champagne Jam in Asbury Park NJ in December.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps mounted in our standard place at the front of the balcony and mixed with a perfect feed from house FOH Danielle. The mix captures both the clear sound of the feed and the audience participation of the room mics for a superbly balanced recording. We’re really happy with this one. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

AJJ
2017-11-07
Bowery Ballroom
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [Engineer: Danielle] + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:19:36]
01 [introduction]
02 Rejoice
03 Brave as a Noun
04 Survival Song
05 Bad Bad Things
06 No More Tears
07 Bells and Whistles
08 Randy’s House
09 [banter – Apple Kore]
10 A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit
11 People II The Reckoning
12 [banter – Creepy]
13 Personal Space Invader
14 People
15 American Body Rentals
16 Jesus Saves
17 American Tune
18 Fuckboi
19 Fucc The Devil
20 [banter – shoutout]
21 Just Like Old Times [Todd Snider]
22 All The Dead Kids
23 Unicron
24 Coffin Dance
25 [banter – yelling]
26 Growing Up
27 Sense and Sensibility
28 Small Red Boy
29 Linda Ronstadt
30 Little Prince
31 [banter – philharmonic]
32 Big Bird
33 [encore break]
34 American Body Rentals (again)

SUPPORT AJJ: Website | Facebook | Purchase The Bible 2 from SideOneDummy Records [HERE].

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