Posts Tagged ‘ bowery presents ’

Alone & Together: December 15, 2017 Music Hall of Williamsburg

December 20, 2017
By


[photos courtesy of Andrew Scott Blackstein]

The concept of an all-star band can be a hit or miss prospect, but the people at Golden Gate Presents have pretty much been all hits. The organization that brought together an impressive amalgam of talent to perform the Complete Last Waltz, has now produced four “Alone & Together” tours, and the latest version was on display at Music Hall of Williamsburg this past weekend and it too was a resounding success.

This year’s A&T tour included old favorites Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats), Elvis Perkins, and Sam Cohen (Yellowbirds) sharing various instruments and the vocal duties, and accompanied by a rhythm section of Joe Russo (JRAD, The Duo), and Josh Kaufman (Yellowbirds). This particular night also saw the return of last year’s participant Kevin Morby as a guest for two numbers. The quintet performed their own material, performed each other’s songs, and sprinkled in a few tasty covers. If this band seemed to naturally gravitate towards each other, its of course from their rich talents as ensemble players but also because the various members have performed in a variety of configurations in the past (including the Last Waltz). So when it came time for Sam Cohen to sing an Elvis Perkins song for example, the performance seemed both familiar and natural but also instinctively a tribute. This was one of those shows that was so comfortable and enjoyable for the listener that a two-hour set seemed to fly by. Undoubtedly, we’ll be seeing these individual players in the near future in their other projects, but this Music Hall performance makes me hope there’s a fifth edition of the Alone & Together series.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps cards mounted inside the soundboard booth and mixed with an extraordinarily well balanced feed from FOH Pete Costello. The blend of sources is about 50/50 because the room mix was so strong and our advantageous position yielded excellent results. The sound quality of this recording is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream Two Tracks:

Alone & Together
2017-12-15
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [Engineer: Pete Costello] + 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 1:59:18]
01 I Must Be in a Good Place Now [Bobby Charles]
02 Mean Maybe
03 So Long
04 Let the Mountain Come to You
05 All The Night Without Love
06 All Today
07 Absolute Loser
08 Doomsday
09 [banter – Clockwork intro]
10 Clockwork
11 Humbug Mountain Song
12 One Day At A Time [Willie Nelson]
13 And Eveline
14 Dead Rider
15 Destroyer
16 Beautiful Strangers
17 There Go The Nightmericans
18 When U Love Somebody
19 [encore break]
20 There is a War [Leonard Cohen]
21 Duncan [Paul Simon]
22 Awaiting On You All [George Harrison]

PLEASE SUPPORT Alone & Together: Website

Chad VanGaalen: December 6, 2017 Rough Trade BK

December 13, 2017
By


[screenshot from this video]

Chad VanGaalen is a modern day Rennaisance man. He’s a Juno nominee, Polaris prize nominee, music producer, artist, composer (for Adult Swim TV Series Dream Corp LLC) — the Calgary native is an all around talented guy. One wonders where the man gets time to write, record and release his own albums, but this year he did just that. Light Information (Sub Pop / Flemish Eye) is VanGaalen’s first record in three years, and of course he played all of the instruments and recorded it in his own studio.

Chad VanGaalen just completed an extensive tour in support of Light Information and the near-end of the tour reached NYC last week. We were fortunate to finally get to see this superb artist at Rough Trade after several near misses over the last decade or so. And it was well worth the wait. This performance by Chad and his four piece band was a rip-roaring post-punk trek through much of the new album and some VanGaalen classics. The show also featured some hilarious and downright weird banter, but it all fit with the proceedings. Chad is a unique artist with a very specific sound and vision and the opportunity to see him at the top of his game touring on an A+ album was truly a treat. I hope he comes back to NYC soon.

I recorded this set in our usual manner in this venue, which our Schoeps cards mounted centered at the soundboard booth and mixed with an outstanding feed provided by house FOH Dustin. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Chad VanGaalen
2017-12-06
Rough Trade
Brooklyn NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Dustin Myers] + 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 1:15:03]
01 Mind Hijacker’s Curse
02 Locked in the Phase
03 [banter – arcade]
04 Host Body
05 Mystery Elementals
06 Old Heads
07 Golden Oceans
08 Faces Lit
09 You Fool
10 [banter – Dogs]
11 Pine and Clover
12 [band introductions]
13 Clinically Dead
14 Release This High
15 Heavy Stones
16 Static Shape
17 Peace on the Rise
18 [encore break]
19 City of Electric Light
20 Weird Love
21 Rabid Bits of Time
22 [outro]

SUPPORT Chad VanGaalen: Bandcamp | Flemish Eye Records Page | Buy Light Information from Flemish Eye or Sub Pop

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?

Luna: November 18, 2017 Brooklyn Steel

November 27, 2017
By


[photos by Will from We All Want Someone blog]

At some point in the last three years, Luna transitioned from a “reunion” to an actively recording and touring band. This year saw two new Luna releases, a full album of eclectic covers (A Sentimental Education) and an all-instrumental EP (A Place Of Greater Safety). For A Sentimental Education, the band placed their own unique stamp on an interesting selection of covers. It was the first new Luna album in 13 years and it hit all the right buttons — 70s and 80s influences and one 90s contemporary. The selection of songs are for the connoisseur, no obvious tracks to be found.

The final night of Luna’s most recent tour reached Brooklyn Steel two Saturdays ago. This was the largest venue the band had played in NYC maybe ever, and a healthy crowd showed up in support. The band began the night with opening track from Greater Safety and proceeded to treat the fans to a nice selection of classic material mixed with the new versions of memorable tracks from Sentimental. Indeed the set ended with an inspired performance of Mercury Rev’s “Car Wash Hair” followed by a series of encores. On this night, the rarity was an infrequent appearance of the Galaxie 500 classic “Tugboat”.

I recorded this set with the Neumann hypercards mounted at the soundboard and mixed with a superb feed mixed by the band’s outstanding FOH Paul. The blend of the two sources produced perhaps the best of our many recordings of Luna to appear on this site. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Luna
2017-11-18
Brooklyn Steel
Brooklyn NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [Engineer: Paul] + 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 1:31:50]
01 GTX3
02 Gin [Willy Loco Alexander]
03 Sideshow by the Seashore
04 Bobby Peru
05 Fire in Cairo [Cure]
06 Malibu Love Nest
07 Tracy I Love You
08 Still at Home
09 Freakin and Peakin
10 One Fine Summer Morning [Evie Sands]
11 Chinatown
12 Friendly Advice
13 I Want Everything
14 Car Wash Hair [Mercury Rev]
15 [encore break]
16 Tugboat
17 23 Minutes in Brussels
18 [second encore break]
19 Moon Palace

SUPPORT Luna:  Website | Bandcamp | Buy A Sentimental Education

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].

Nicole Atkins: September 9, 2017 Mercury Lounge

September 25, 2017
By


[photos by Will Oliver and We All Want Someone To Shout For blog]

Its hard to believe that the last time we checked in with Nicole Atkins, it was three years ago. Our extended review of her album Slow Phaser and the Bowery Ballroom show that we recorded concentrated mostly on the record’s clear 1970s AM radio influences. For that album, Nicole put her stamp on the diverse styles prevalent in that decade’s pop. Three years later, several major events in Nicole’s life have guided her approach to the new album Goodnight Rhonda Lee, including her move to Nashville, dedication to sobriety, and marriage.

Goodnight Rhonda Lee is clearly an album faithful to its surroundings — both in the existence of multiple regional session players, and in the distinct sound of the record. Similarly to Slow Phaser, Goodnight Rhonda Lee is clearly influenced by the 1970s, perhaps not AM radio but more from that unique time in Nashville when the permissiveness of the 60s finally seeped into the old music town and brought a freedom to the country music capital that it had never experienced before. For about three or four years, the long hairs finally reached the mainstream — perhaps personified best through the career of Kris Kristofferson. When legend Johnny Cash recorded Kristofferson’s “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” in 1970 and took the song to Number 1, it represented the triumph of the new. And on the other side of Tennessee, Elvis welcomed new bloods Eddie Rabbit and Ronnie Milsap in the recording of his 1970 hit “Kentucky Rain”. Both songs communicate a drop-out melancholy that seemed to permeate the best of the new country during this time frame. But the melancholy also represented a distinctively different feel to the sound in the studio itself. The newly available technologies offered greater multi-tracking and effects not standard to country music that permitted the use of rock-styled guitars, reverbed piano, horns, and strings. Its that identifiable early 70s new Nashville sound that Nicole Atkins captured with stunning authenticity on Goodnight Rhonda Lee. Sure, there’s the album opener co-penned with Chris Isaak that could have been written for Patsy Cline or the neo-soul of “Listen Up” that would sound great covered by Aretha. But for the most part, the album really feels like a Nashville record and the songs themselves — struggles with alcohol, love, and a life in the music world feel at home in the country capital. And ultimately though its remarkable that the album itself wasn’t even recorded in Nashville, but rather at Niles City Sound in Fort Worth Texas.

The tour in support of Goodnight Rhonda Lee finds Nicole Atkins fronting a five piece band performing stripped down versions of the album material. There are no horns or strings but the album’s piano is present and guitarist Steven Cooper fills up the rest of the sound with tremendous tone and technique. Cooper is a young Nashville guitar wiz who seems destined for a long and productive career. At a packed Mercury Lounge last week, Nicole and the band performed a 75-minute set with much of the Rhonda Lee material and a few surprises. The set opened with a nice tribute to the recently passed Holger Czukay as Nicole brought back her cover of Can’s “Vitamin C”. Another major moment came when guest Tommy Stinson joined the band to perform a world premiere of his duet with Nicole called “Too Late”. The song was actually released this week. And the Slow Phaser track “Who Killed The Moonlight” took a detour through the Rolling Stones “Miss You” (remember that 70s pop influence). But the focus of this show was the fantastic material from the new album and it was clear that not only the massive talent of the singer but also a crack band were able to pull off the songs live. This show was that good.

Nicole Atkins has one more show on this tour, Friday night in Virgina. But she’ll be back with a bunch of shows in November, all dates [here].

I recorded this set with the Schoeps cards mounted at the soundboard and mixed with a perfect feed from house FOH Alex. This recording is absolutely superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Nicole Atkins
2017-09-09
Mercury Lounge
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Alex] + 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 1:10:16]
01 Vitamin C [Can]
02 Darkness Falls so Quiet
03 Brokedown Luck
04 [banter – sinkhole]
05 A Little Crazy
06 Listen Up
07 Maybe Tonight
08 Cry Cry Cry
09 [banter – Louise Goffin]
10 If I Could
11 Goodnight Rhonda Lee
12 Who Killed The Moonlight/Miss You
13 [banter – Tommy intro]
14 Too Late [with Tommy Stinson]
15 [banter – so horny]
16 Sleepwalking
17 A Night Of Serious Drinking
18 A Dream Without Pain
19 [encore break]
20 The Way It Is

PLEASE SUPPORT Nicole Atkins: Website | Pledge Music | Single Lock Records

Diet Cig: September 8, 2017 Bowery Ballroom

September 14, 2017
By


[photos by Joe Saturday]

Its hard for me to imagine that someone exists who actually doesn’t like Diet Cig. The duo exudes such positive energy and real enthusiasm for their music that it’s infectious in a live setting. This is not world-changing music, but two-minute pop song relatable slices of life. When Pitchfork assigned an intern whose last piece was likely in an Annandale creative writing class to review Diet Cig’s most recent album, the result was a tragically misdirected hit piece that managed to be both tone-deaf and indicative of a wider problem with publications like Pitchfork. Sometimes music doesn’t have to have a larger meaning and when the writer savages the musicians for failing to meet a false standard, it says more about the writer’s inadequacies than anything the music set out to achieve. To paraphrase Billy Bragg, Diet Cig don’t want to change the world, they’re just looking to sing some pop songs.

At Bowery Ballroom on Friday night, the band played to a sold-out crowd and all of the good vibes coming from the stage were returned all night. This was a crowd in love with the band for all the right reasons. Sure, lead singer Alex Luciano opened the set by declaring that all of the band’s show are safe spaces and later she gently chided the dancers in front to keep it fun and not too physical, but it was more than that. Luciano played a wireless guitar on a nearly bare stage — drummer Noah Bowman was set up to the far left — in order to be able to dance, run, jump and literally never stop moving throughout the set. Her unbridled ebullience drove the hour-long set from start to finish, to the point where the briefest of breaks were only to catch her breath. Diet Cig performed just about every song they’ve ever recorded — from their debut EP and a double-sided single on Father/Daughter Records, and all but one song from their first album I Swear I’m Good At This released this year on Frenchkiss. The show also featured the debut performance of the song the band wrote for the Amazon tv show “American Girl” called “Together We Can Conquer Whatever”. When the band returned to play their very first recorded track “Harvard” as an encore, it brought me back to the initial time I heard a pre-release promo of that very track. The song made me smile that day and a few years later, this Bowery show did it again many times over.

Diet Cig has a handful of US dates remaining before they spend much of the Fall touring throughout Europe, all dates here.

I recorded this set in our usual manner in this venue, Schoeps from the front of the balcony mixed with a board feed. Other than a few bits of static from Alex’s wireless guitar, the sound quality is very representative of the set with bundles of energy and non-stop movement. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Diet Cig
2017-09-08
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 51:00]
01 [introduction]
02 Sixteen
03 Bite Back
04 Leo
05 Dinner Date
06 [banter – slumber party]
07 Cardboard
08 Sleep Talk
09 Breathless
10 [banter – rollercoaster]
11 Scene Sick
12 Pool Boyz
13 Apricots
14 Maid of the Mist
15 [Tummy intro]
16 Tummy Ache
17 Blob Zombie
18 [Conquer intro]
19 Together We Can Conquer Whatever
20 Link in Bio
21 Bath Bomb
22 Barf Day
23 [encore break]
24 Harvard

PLEASE SUPPORT Diet Cig: Website | Frenchkiss Records Page | Father/Daughter Records Page | Bandcamp

Creeper Lagoon: August 10, 2017 Mercury Lounge

August 15, 2017
By


[photo from Chris Quartly twitter]

The relative enjoyability quotient of a band reunion almost always depends upon the reason for the get together. When long-departed groups decide to get together and play shows for the simple fun of it, count us in. Creeper Lagoon had a brief but productive career that petered out in 2004. After being named Spin’s Best New Artist in 1998, the band went on to produce a couple of major label releases before splitting up after a difficult European tour. The 2001 release Take Back the Universe and Give Me Yesterday remains the peak of the Creeper Lagoon catalog and the music sounds as vibrant now as it did nearly two decades ago. After the split, all of the band members went on to successful careers and happy lives outside of the music industry. This excellent interview of band founder Sharky Laguana gives all the details, but suffice to say that all of the band member were in a good place when this reunion was contemplated and then announced late last year. After a couple of shows at the Noise Pop Fest’s 25th Anniversary in San Francisco in February, Creeper came to NYC for their first show in 16 years, a one-off at Mercury Lounge with no plans to return.

The excitement of the event was evident in the crowd from the outset as the band interactions will attest. Mercury was quite sold out and Creeper Lagoon’s energy reflected that fact throughout the night. The setlist was a lengthy run through the band’s back catalog with a nice cross-section of material. Universe was well represented as expected. The reality is that this night was exactly the reunion show you would have hoped for if you’re a Creeper Lagoon fan — fun, interactive, energetic, and well paced. If the reactions of the many fans who approached me after the show asking about the recording is any evidence, this document should also be exactly what the fans want.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps cards mounted in front of the Soundboard and mixed with a superb feed provided by the band’s FOH Kim Griess. This was a rambunctious and happy crowd, although there was a near-fight audible to my left during the encore break. Other than that and some other obvious chatter, the sound quality is quite excellent. Enjoy!

Download and Stream the Complete Show from our Bandcamp Page:

Creeper Lagoon
2017-08-10
Mercury Lounge
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Kim Griess] + 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 1:32:34]
01 Chance of a Lifetime
02 Claustrophobia
03 Under the Tracks
04 Dead Man Saloon
05 Second Chance
06 [Tracy false start]
07 Tracy
08 [Patrick intro]
09 Dreaming Again
10 Sylvia
11 Empty Ships
12 Motor Away [Guided By Voices]
13 [banter – lawyer shit]
14 Hey Sister
15 Roman Hearts
16 Wrecking Ball
17 Bloodbuzz Ohio [National]
18 Sunfair
19 Keep from Moving
20 [encore break]
21 [Tonight long intro]
22 Tonight Was Fun
23 Wonderful Love
24 Dear Deadly

SUPPORT Creeper Lagoon: Website | Facebook

Ween: June 6, 2017 Brooklyn Steel

June 11, 2017
By

Our friend Chris Davis from “Team Dirty South” came north to capture this show for NYCTaper, and he reports:

Ween @ Brooklyn Steel on June 6, 2017 – A Team Dirty South/NYCTaper Joint

After some mild subway misdirection, an uber dropped me off at Brooklyn Steel exactly at 7:00. I was surprised to find a long line well around the corner. In Charleston, music fans show up an hour late for everything. This was my first indication that this Brooklyn Ween crowd was hungry and eagerly anticipating this two-night run following the band’s reuniting just last year. Conversation around me in line was entirely Ween focused: a spirited Brooklyn Bowl-Las Vegas February run discussion, Sunday’s Baltimore setlist review and expectations for the evening. Clearly, this crowd was excited and ready for a rock show.

The line moved quickly and in about 10 minutes I was getting patted down at the entrance. My recording gear seemed to be understood; however the microphone stand was a source of confusion. Luckily, the NYCTaper crew had rolled out the red carpet and I knew exactly who to ask for. Another taper and I waited patiently until Anthony, the venue manager came over. Anthony had seen the likes of us before; and quickly instructed us on how Brooklyn Steel wants it done. No worries, Anthony was very accommodating and friendly, and instantly we were inside hoisting mics and pressing buttons.

Wow. This crowd was ravenous. Fans started screaming around 8:00 and didn’t stop. The place erupted when Ween took the stage around 8:30. Meandering slowly into “The Stallion”, then launching into “You Fucked Up”; this crowd knew the gloves were off and we were all in for a serious “all ages” Ween show! The set was richly scattered with Ween favorites (or classics if you can say that about the Ween catalog): “Transdermal”, “Push the Daisies”, “Roses are Free”, things were moving on and the Ween crowd was fully engaged. I heard very little crowd chatter and the recording reflects it. The band continued on through a twisty “HIV Song” and a rocking “Spinal Meningitis”. About halfway through the set, Gene pulled out the acoustic and announced “this is the first time we’ve ever played this”, and tuned into the opening chords of “Among His Tribe” off the 2003 Quebec album. What a surprise! As if not to take themselves or the moment too seriously, Ween followed quickly with “Piss Up a Rope”. The room would erupt again when the band announced a “nice party jam” and led us through David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”; a cover recently performed in Baltimore after a 6 year absence since New Years 2011. Immediately following, we were treated to the first live version of “Seconds” since summer 2002. The band lit the room up again with a super-funky “Going Gets Tough”, then winded things down with “Someday”. After a nearly 5-minute encore break; Ween gave us a Gene-less “Fiesta”, with Gene returning to the stage to shut things down with “The Mollusk”. The band left the stage at 10:42, following a few mentions of “tomorrow night”. Ween certainly left this crowd engaged and primed for another show!

I was a quick Uber back to Manhattan by 11:15, with a Shake Shack burger and a bottle of cabernet delivered to my hotel room, only in NYC for this Team Dirty South taper!

Download this Recording from Archive.org [MP3] / [FLAC-24] [FLAC-16] and stream below:

Ween
Brooklyn Steel
Brooklyn, NY
June 6, 2017 [Tuesday]

****Team Dirty South Recording****

source: Peluso cecm6/ck41 [pas] -> Sound Devices MP-2 -> Tascam DR-680 [24/48]
location: dfc / light booth railing / stand @ 9′
transfer: DR-680 -> Wavelab 6.1 [matrix/fades] -> CD Wave 1.98 -> Wavelab 6.1 [Crystal/UV22HR] -> TLH [flac/8] -> FooBar

One Set:
01 – intro
02 – The Stallion Pt 1
03 – You Fucked Up
04 – Transdermal Celebration
05 – I Gots A Weasel
06 – Golden Eel
07 – The Argus
08 – Push th’ Little Daisies
09 – Big Jilm
10 – Roses are Free
11 – Did You See Me?
12 – Exactly Where I’m At
13 – Mutilated Lips
14 – The HIV Song
15 – Spinal Meningitis
16 – Among His Tribe*
17 – Piss Up A Rope
18 – Pork Roll Egg And Cheese
19 – Dr. Rock
20 – Object
21 – Buckingham Green
22 – Happy Colored Marbles
23 – Mister Richard Smoker
24 – Let’s Dance
25 – Seconds**
26 – The Goin’ Gets Tough From The Getgo
27 – It’s Gonna Be A Long Night
28 – Someday
29 – crowd

Encore:
30 – Fiesta
31 – The Mollusk

*first time played
**first time since 8/22/2002

#descorchados2017!

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Ween: June 7, 2017 Brooklyn Steel

June 9, 2017
By

For the second night of Ween‘s run at shiny new venue Brooklyn Steel, the band continued to reiterate what has made them such a cult favorite. As a newcomer to the band, I can’t claim to be any kind of expert in the ins and outs of the setlists, but if you’re curious what has made them one of the more welcome “reunions” of recent years, I can offer some thoughts. First, the musical diversity of the band’s sound has long been well-known, mixing bar-room rock, punk, psychedelia, country, new wave, funk and more. Though the recent accumulation of Phish fans to their ranks has been talked about, the more logical touch points for understanding this band are willfully-weird bands like the Butthole Surfers and the Meat Puppets, who similarly can’t be pigeonholed into a genre so much as a vibe. Second, in Ween’s case, there’s a brand of outrageous humor at work in many of their songs, of a kind that prompts debate on the Internet over the funniest Ween songs. Whether or not songs like “Deez Nutz” or “Bananas and Blow” are your thing doesn’t necessarily determine whether you have to like or dislike the live show, just as some Phish get more turned on by the Gamehendge element than others. Personally, I was more fired up about songs like the sprawling 1994 jam “A Tear for Eddie,” or 1990’s Butthole Surfers-esque “Licking the Palm for Guava” (also dedicated here to Gibby Haynes).

Since I know fairly little about the band, I decided to consult a long time fan on the show to get his take. In his read, compared to the previous Brooklyn Steel show, this was a relatively sedate affair, focusing more on the band’s country sound and skipping some of what this fan deemed “essential” Ween songs such as a classic cover, or any of “Dr. Rock,” “Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down),” “Push the Little Daisies,” “You Fucked Up,” “Golden Eel,” and “Buckinham Green” — all of which made it into the first night setlist.  Along with the “A Tear For Eddie” that I did, he pointed out that “Mushroom Festival In Hell” and “I’ll Be Your Johnny On the Spot” as highlights.

Wherever you are in your Ween fandom, you can’t deny that they’re as hard working a band as they come. When they promised “an evening” with them, we got one, a full two hours and ten minutes of mostly uninterrupted playing that fired up the slam-packed Brooklyn Steel floor. I have no doubt that the show was ten times more engaging for those better acquainted with the inside jokes and the general band lore, but based on this performance, I’d be up for finding out more.

Finally, if you haven’t been to Brooklyn Steel yet, know that longtime sufferers of its predecessor will finally have a mid-large venue for more popular bands that offers a full view of the stage from almost every place in the room. We’ve already enjoyed a few shows here so far, and look forward to many more. As always thanks to the professional staff of Bowery Presents for making our presence there feel both safe and welcome.

I recorded this set from the “taper’s section” with Schoeps MK41V microphones. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Night one was also recorded and will be posted soon.

Download the complete set from its home on the Live Music Archive: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Ween
2017-06-07
Brooklyn Steel
Brooklyn, NY USA

Hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK41V (at SBD, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Zoom F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CC (fades, compression, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)
>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 2:10:07]
01 Chocolate Town
02 Tried and True
03 Birthday Boy
04 Help Me Scrape the Mucus off My Brain
05 [banter1]
06 Take Me Away
07 Fat Lenny
08 Cold & Wet
09 Boys Club
10 [banter2]
11 Nan
12 Gabrielle
13 Bananas and Blow
14 My Own Bare Hands
15 A Tear for Eddie
16 [banter3]
17 Licking the Palm for Guava
18 Mushroom Festival in Hell
19 I Can’t Put My Finger on It
20 [banter4]
21 Baby Bitch
22 Flutes of Chi
23 [banter5]
24 I Saw Gener Cryin’ in His Sleep
25 I’ll Be Your Jonny on the Spot
26 [banter6]
27 Learnin’ to Love
28 Deez Nutz
29 Polka Dot Tail
30 [tuning]
31 Drifter in the Dark
32 Powder Blue
33 Hey There Fancypants
34 [encore break]
35 Don’t Shit Where You Eat
36 What Deaner Was Talkin’ About

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