Mates of State have been at this since 1997 — an eternity in music career terms, even more so when you consider how au courant their synthpop sound remains in 2015. Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel being married themselves, it’s no surprise that they’re an inspiration to their fellow couples, who comprised most of this Friday-night crowd at Bowery Ballroom. The band’s euphoric sound made a good match for the summer night, as they sailed around their catalog. The set hit its stride about three songs in, with “Staring Contest” from the newly-released You’re Going to Make It EP. After that, things didn’t slow down as the pair demonstrated why they’ve remained relevant for this long. If this live show didn’t quite have the polish of their albums, where the dual-sung verses can be synced and tone-aligned after the fact, it burst with the natural exuberance of the style and setting. Gardner and Hammer didn’t take many pauses as they ripped off this 19-song, 77-minute set rapid fire. My favorite of the numbers was probably “Get Better” from 2008’s Re-Arrange Us. The tempered hope of its conclusion (“Everything’s gonna get lighter / even if it never gets better”) is good advice for anyone.
I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from longtime Bowery engineer Kenny and Schoeps MK4V microphones. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!
Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]
Stream the complete show:
Mates of State
2015-07-10
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA
Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Thanks to Martin Barna for the setlist
Soundboard (engineer: Kenny) + Schoeps MK4V>KCY>Z-PFA>>Roland R-26>2x24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks [Total Time: 1:17:08]
01 So Many Ways
02 Palomino
03 Staring Contest
04 My Only Offer
05 The Re-Arranger
06 Gonna Get It
07 Whiner’s Bio
08 Parachutes (Funeral Song)
09 Now
10 Sides of Boxes
11 Get Better
12 Ha Ha
13 You Are Free
14 Like U Crazy
15 [banter]
16 Punchlines
17 Beautiful Kids
18 [encore break]
19 Hoarding It For Home [w/ Good Graeff]
20 Someone Like You
21 True Love Will Find You In the End
If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Mates of State, visit their website, and buy their records from Barsuk Records.
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