Posts Tagged ‘ Chris Forsyth ’

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: April 23, 2023 Union Pool

May 13, 2023
By
Photo by Jesse Jarnow

It’s hard to remember the last time I saw Chris Forsyth and crew tear it up. Before the pandemic? Time blurs! I do know that this was my first in-person experience of the most recent Solar Motel Band lineup with Tom Malach (Garcia Peoples) on guitar, Doug McCombs (Tortoise, Brokeback, etc.) on bass, and of course Ryan Jewell, who somehow manages to be everywhere at once, on drums. This set is mostly songs off of Forsyth’s latest burner, Evolution Here We Come, including the Richard and Linda Thompson song “You’re Going to Need Somebody.” Forsyth is ever-reliable in his choice of covers, here capping off the night (and not to mention the triple-threat Garcia Peoples/Purling Hiss/Motel Band tour) with his take on Neil Young’s “Powderfinger.” But it’s the Evolution-closer “Robot Energy Machine” that really let’s the group stretch out, McCombs and Jewell providing the motorik backing rhythms for Forsyth and Malach to trade lines over. Maybe next tour Forsyth and co. will be doing a Neu! cover. You never know!

I recorded this from our usual spot at Union Pool. Thanks to all the folks there and sound engineer Jase Hottenroth for making this happen. Enjoy!

Stream and Download at the Live Music Archive

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
2023-04-23
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard (engineer: Jase Hottenroth) + MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [56:56]
01. Tomorrow Might As Well Be Today
02. Experimental & Professional
03. Heaven For a Few
04. Bad Moon Risen
05. [banter]
06. You're Going to Need Somebody [Richard & Linda Thompson]
07. Robot Energy Machine
08. Powderfinger [Neil Young]

Chris Forsyth: August 4, 2021 Sultan Room

August 15, 2021
By
Photo by nyctaper

Chris Forsyth returned to live performance in the most exactly perfect way possible. Like most performers, he hasn’t played a proper show in more than a year, but for his two-show return last week, Chris compiled an incendiary quartet of top notch musicians, all of whom are quite familiar to these pages. Tom Malach is a founder and lead guitarist of site favorites Garcia Peoples, Ryan Jewell has appeared here about a dozen different formats, mainly with Ryley Walker, and Doug McCombs has appeared here with the seminal Tortoise and with his Brokeback project. Forsyth himself has appeared many times on this site, and always brings the goods. But this show was an entirely different animal.

If this performance was an indication, Chris Forsyth emerged from lockdown with well honed new material and having maintained the precision of his playing. The quartet that performed at Sultan Room last week (and Philly the following night) were tight, focused, and thoroughly in sync. The four new songs (and new cover) were presented in almost completed form (except for the working titles) and as if these four musicians had been playing the compositions regularly. That is to say that this show flowed from start to finish and left the boisterous and rapt crowd frankly stunned at the quality of the performance.

I recorded this set with the outdoor-friendly large diaphragm Neumann microphones set up front and center of the stage and mixed with a soundboard feed provided by the most excellent Imoni Cole Palmer. I’m extremely pleased with the quality of this recording and hope you enjoy as much as the sold out crowd and I did that night.

Chris Forsyth is returning to the West Coast for a show on October 9, 2021 at the Crystal Cavern in Oakland. The band will include Doug McCombs and Ryan Jewell. This is Chris’s first show in California since 2014. Tickets are available [here].

Download the Complete Show in MP3 and FLAC at Archive.org [HERE]

Stream the Complete Show:

Chris Forsyth
2021-08-04
Sultan Room
Brooklyn NY

Digital Master Recording
On Stage Audience + Soundboard

Neumann TLM-102 Large Diaphragm Cardioids + Soundboard > Sound Devices 744t > 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:
Set 1
[Total Time 57:19]
01 You’re Going to Need Somebody [Richard Thompson]
02 Tomorrow Might as Well Be Today
03 Mystic Mountain
04 Blackbird Jungle*
05 Experimental Professional

Set 2
[Total Time 1:02:48]
06 Dreaming in the Non-Dream
07 [band introductions]
08 Dream Song
09 Evolution Here I Come*
10 Robot Energy Machine*

*working title

Band:
Chris Forsyth: guitar
Tom Malach: guitar
Doug McCombs: bass
Ryan Jewell: percussion

PLEASE SUPPORT This Artist: Chris Forsyth

Chris Forsyth: September 27, 2019 Nublu

October 8, 2019
By

May 2020 Update: Chris Forsyth has released a multitracked recording of “Techno Top” from this show on Bandcamp. Please do head over there to purchase!

For the final night of his Nublu residency, Chris Forsyth held nothing back. The Solar Motel Band (Peter Kerlin and Ryan Jewell) are joined by Daniel Carter, Brent Cordero, Tom Malach (set one), and Ryley Walker (set two) in what is most assuredly one of the greatest Forsyth shows I’ve ever seen. For the first set Forsyth and Malach share guitar lines over tracks from All Time Present and Dreaming in the Non-Dream while Carter trades off between saxophone and horns throughout and Cordero’s keyboard pulses. Kerlin and Jewell are ever-sturdy as the rhythm section. For the second set Walker joins in on second guitar for a forty-five minute jam that begins as “The First Ten Minutes of Cocksucker Blues” and ends in outer space.

I recorded this from our usual location at Nublu. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Downloads and Stream of the audience recording available at the Live Music Archive

Chris Forsyth
2019-09-27
Nublu
New York, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 2.0.5 > FLAC

Set 1:
01. Techno Top
02. Tomorrow Might as Well Be Today
03. Mystic Mountain
04. Dreaming in the Non-Dream

Set 2:
05. The First Ten Minutes of Cocksucker Blues > Jam

Chris Forsyth: Guitar, Vocals
Peter Kerlin: Bass
Ryan Jewell: Drums

Daniel Carter: Saxophone and Horns on 1-2, 4-5
Brent Cordero: Keys on 1-2, 4-5
Tom Malach: Guitar on 1-4
Ryley Walker: Guitar on 5

Chris Forsyth: September 13, 2019 Nublu

September 24, 2019
By
Photo by Brianna Digioia

Hey, ok, we’re sorry. We didn’t attend and record the third week of the epic Chris Forsyth residency at Nublu, but hey we did the first night, and here my friends is the quite remarkable second Friday. This show featured a first set with Forsyth in a trio with bassist Peter Kerlin and percussionist Ryan Jewel, in an opening set that would have satisfied all comers if that had been the entire night. The trio was as crisp as one would expect from seasoned musicians quite intimately familiar with each other. The setlist included some new material, but also reached back into the old catalog for some Forsyth classics. The final two numbers added keyboardist extraordinaire Brent Cordero (King Missile, Psychic Ills, The Occasion) whose psychedelic styled organ colored these songs in brilliant fashion.

As if that wasn’t enough, the special bonus on this night was a full second set that brought back Kerlin on bass, but added Linda Pitmon on drums and Steve Wynn on guitar and vocals. This unique quartet gave us an hour of music that traded songs from the catalogs of the protagonists with expertly selected covers — Wynn as Lou Reed protégé and super-fan was a natural to play “Rock & Roll”, and Forsyth as former Richard Lloyd student expertly handled “Friction”. But for the curfew, one got the impression that this special band could have played all night. We wish they had.

This historical Chris Forsyth residency at Nublu concludes this coming Friday at 8pm when Chris is joined by Ryley Walker and Daniel Carter. Don’t miss it.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps cards from a very advantageous location in the venue and the sound is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show at Archive.org [HERE].

Stream the Complete show:

Chris Forsyth
2019-09-13
Nublu
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Upfront Audience

Schoeps CCM4u’s > Sound Devices 744t > 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:
Set 1
[Total Time 1:01:51]
01 Tomorrow Might As Well Be Today
02 Mystic Mountain
03 High Castle
04 [Brent Cordero intro]
05 The First Ten Minutes of Cocksucker Blues
06 Dreaming in The Non-Dream
Set 2
[Total Time 56:27]
07 Melting in the Dark [Steve Wynn]
08 Dream Song
09 Rock and Roll [VU]
10 Night Comes In [Richard Thompson]
11 Effigy [Creedence]
12 [banter]
13 Fricton [Television]
14 Amphetamine [Steve Wynn]

*Set 1 with Ryan Jewel, Peter Kerlin, Brent Cordero (4-6)
*Set 2 with Peter Kerlin, Linda Pitmon, Steve Wynn

PLEASE SUPPORT These Artists: Chris Forsyth | Steve Wynn

Chris Forsyth: September 6, 2019 Nublu

September 13, 2019
By
Photo courtesy of Sasha

The Chris Forsyth residency at Nublu throughout this month got off to a great start last Friday, as Chris was joined by the most excellent Garcia Peoples for the third time in NYC this year. It was back at Nublu in March when this magic combination saw its first incarnation and the results were incendiary. The group later collaborated on a magic night at Market Hotel in July. This night offered a final local hook-up and the performance of all parties was unsurprisingly also en fuego.

Chris Forsyth released perhaps his most comprehensive work in April, and All Time Present material comprised the entire main set before the band reached back a few years for the non-encore track. But as was joked during the set, Garcia Peoples seemed to have rehearsed this material maybe even more than Forsyth, and the quintet was ready for every twist and turn and peak that their protagonist led.

Chris Forsyth returns every Friday this month to Nublu for what promises to be an historic residency. This week will feature Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate) and Linda Pitmon (Minus 5) in a two-set affair that will deliver some never-before-heard iterations of band material and covers.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps cards mounted back about 20 feet from the stage and pointed at the stacks. The sound quality (other than some chatter) is quite excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Set at Archive.org [HERE].

Stream the Complete Set:

Chris Forsyth
2019-09-06
Nublu
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Upfront Audience

Schoeps CCM4u’s > Sound Devices 744t > 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 1:16:20]
01 Dream Song
02 Mystic Mountain
03 Tomorrow Might As Well Be Today
04 The Past Ain’t Passed
05 Techno Top
06 [no-encore break]
07 Dreaming in The Non-Dream

*entire show with Garcia Peoples

PLEASE SUPPORT These Artists: Chris Forsyth | Garcia Peoples

Garcia Peoples: August 7, 2019 Brooklyn Bowl & July 27, 2019 Market Hotel

September 5, 2019
By
Photos from Brooklyn Bowl by Christopher Bruno

In case you’ve been hibernating for the summer, you should know that Garcia Peoples have a new album out on October 18, One Step Behind. It’s a two song deal, with the title track being a newly-recorded 32-minute version of the song that’s been a staple in their live sets for a while now. You can preorder that for October delivery and get an 8-minute radio edit immediately. Can’t wait to hear the whole thing! The second song on the record is a new one, “Heart and Soul,” that you can preview here from their recent Brooklyn Bowl gig opening up for Howlin’ Rain and Ryley Walker. A couple other songs make their first appearance on one of our recordings: “Gliding Through” and “One at a Time,” plus a jam I’m pretty sure we’ve heard before in some form.

Then travel back to July when the Garcias played with Chris Forsyth at Market Hotel. We’ve already posted their set backing Forsyth, but here finally is the proper Garcia Peoples set. And by the way, you can see the Garcia Peoples backing Chris Forsyth again this Friday September 6 at Nublu. Do not miss that!

For more of that very necessary Garcia Peoples fix they’re playing Philadelphia on Sept 14 with Chris Forsyth and Sept 29 in Asbury Park with Real Estate. Then in October, they’ll be doing a residency at Nublu every Thursday night. Wow!

I recorded this with a pair of MBHO hypercardioid mics positioned at our usual spot at Brooklyn Bowl. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Downloads available at the Live Music Archive:
August 7 Show | July 27 Show

August 7 Brooklyn Bowl stream:

July 27 Market Hotel stream:

Garcia Peoples
2019-08-07
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com
Photos by Christopher Bruno

MBHO KA500/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (compression, normalize, fades) + Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, imaging, compression) > Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, tagging) > FLAC (24/48, level 8)

Tracks [42:37]
01. Gliding Through
02. The Spiraling
03. Jam
04. Heart and Soul
05. Dishpan Boogie > One at a Time
06. Show Your Troubles Out



Garcia Peoples
2019-07-27
Market Hotel
Brooklyn, NY USA

Presented by NYCTaper

Recorded and produced by acidjack

Neumann KM150 + Soundboard (Engineer: RL)>Zoom F8>2x24bit WAV>Adobe Audition CC>Izotope Ozone 5>Audacity 2.3.1>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 50:31]
01 Canvas
02 Feel So Great
03 One Step Behind
04 Weathered Mountains
05 Rolling Tides>
06 High Noon Violence
07 Break Me Down

Chris Forsyth: April 29, 2019 Rough Trade NYC

April 30, 2019
By

A few weeks ago, the internet buzzed with discussion of “indie jam,” the term coined by Steven Hyden at Uproxx and referring, as many noted in response, to a constellation of bands advanced largely by Jeff Conklin on The Avant Ghetto. (We at NYCTaper are acknowledged by Hyden too, I’m obliged to mention.) In the article, musicians like Chris Forsyth (along with Garcia Peoples, Sunwatchers, Ryley Walker, William Tyler, and many others) are credited with “an inclination to meld all kinds of music — including indie, post-rock, folk, country, jazz fusion, and, yes, punk — and take it in adventurous and often improvised directions.”

“Indie jam”—or whatever you want to call it—surely wasn’t born in an out-of-the-way amphitheater in Raleigh, NC. But in September 2013, when we were first introduced to Forsyth’s far-out jams that were clearly referencing the Grateful Dead and Television, something was afoot. Is it time for us shrug off the legacy of Kurt Cobain’s distaste for the Dead and acknowledge the ongoing intersections of indie rock and jambands? Across the aisle, jamband fans are approaching the same questions, as the podcast Beyond the Pond seeks to introduce Phish fans to music outside the jamband ecosystem.

In the meantime, while the heads have been catching up to him, Chris Forsyth has released a series of increasingly great albums. The latest is All Time Present, in which Forsyth’s singular guitar playing weaves effortlessly between varied genres, from psych rock to, yes, even dance.

On Monday night we caught Forsyth’s Brooklyn record release show, appropriately opening for Träd, Gräs och Stenar. Joined by the latest edition of the Solar Motel Band, Peter Kerlin on bass and Ryan Jewell on drums, the trio play “Tomorrow Might as Well Be Today” and “Mystic Mountain” before being joined by Pat Gubler (P.G. Six/Wet Tuna) on keys for “Dream Song” and an absolutely epic performance of “Dreaming in the Non-Dream.” Returning the favor from last month’s Garcia Peoples record release show, the Solar Moteliers are joined by Tom Malach, Danny Arakaki, and Cesar Arakaki to complete the circle with “Techno Top.”

Chris Forsyth, Garcia Peoples, Dire Wolves, and Weak Signal play Market Hotel on July 27. You can find out what magic is in store from this insanely great lineup by grabbing a ticket.

Downloads available at the Live Music Archive

Chris Forsyth
2019-04-29
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard (engineer: Terry) + MBHO KA200N/603A (DIN) > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (mixdown, compression, normalize, fades) + Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, compression) > Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, tagging) > FLAC (24/48, level 8)

Tracks [59:36]
01. Tomorrow Might as Well Be Today
02. Mystic Mountain
03. Dream Song
04. Dreaming in the Non-Dream
05. Techno Top

Solar Motel Band:
Chris Forsyth
Peter Kerlin
Ryan Jewell

3-5 with Pat Gubler
5 with Tom Malach, Danny Arakaki, and Cesar Arakaki of Garcia Peoples

Website | Facebook | Buy All Time Present via Bandamp

Garcia Peoples: March 29, 2019 Nublu NYC (with Chris Forsyth)

April 1, 2019
By
photo courtesy of Jeff Conklin

This Nublu night was ostensibly organized as the release party for Garcia Peoples new album Natural Facts with good friend of the site Ryley Walker as special guest. When Ryley decided to take some time off for personal reasons, the band invited another friend of this site Chris Forsyth, and Chris came north from Philadelphia on very short notice. The result was one of the more memorable shows in recent memory. The first set was a solid run through GP material, but it was the second set where the magic was revealed in an incredible hour-long jam sequence that approached legendary status. With Forsyth surrounded by the GP guitar section, the band added percussionist Ryan Jewell, and the double-drummer attack propelled the action through a 32-minute jam on a new Forsyth composition “Techno Top”. What followed were two covers that took the jam-packed crowd into another stratosphere. Of particular note is the tasty 1968-style high-energy “The Other One” which started on a buzz that never wavered through 19 minutes of pure bliss.

If you live in the Philadelphia area, Garcia Peoples is returning the release show favor to Chris Forsyth, as the two will perform together at Jerry’s On Front on April 27 when Forsyth releases his new record All Time Present. Our sincere recommendation is that anyone within any reasonable distance of that show on that night should not miss another magic night.

Eric and I recorded this set from an upfront location in the venue directly behind the DJ booth. The positioning did not permit a board feed, but the fortuitously placed high-end mics have yielded recordings of superb quality. We offer both for your enjoyment!

Download the Complete Recording at Archive.org

NYCTaper version [HERE]

Eric PH version [HERE]

Stream the Complete Set:

Garcia Peoples
2019-03-29
Nublu
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Upfront Audience

Schoeps CCM4u’s > Sound Devices 744t > 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:
Set 1
[Total Time 40:07]
01 Rolling Tides
02 Feel So Great
03 Break Me Down
04 Total Yang
05 High Noon Violence
06 The Spiraling
Set 2
[Total Time 1:04:44]
07 Techno Top
08 The Calvary Cross [Richard Thompson]
09 The Other One [GD]

PLEASE SUPPORT These Artists: Garcia Peoples | Chris Forsyth

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: July 28, 2018 Union Pool (Summer Thunder)

August 13, 2018
By

After playing as a trio for the last couple-ish years, the Solar Motel Band is back to a quartet, having debuted their new dual-drummer lineup last month with shows at Monty Hall and Union Pool. Ryan Jewell (re-)joins the so-called “Sunwatchers Motel Band” lineup of Forsyth, Peter Kerlin, and Jason Robira. We caught the daytime set at Union Pool’s Summer Thunder outdoor stage, where the band played three new songs and more to a good-size crowd of folks willing to brave the heat. I’m never one to scoff at new Solar Motel tunes, but the real gem here is this ripping, sixteen-minute performance of “Dreaming in the Non-Dream.” Can’t wait to hear more from this lineup!

Downloads available at the Live Music Archive.

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
2018-07-28
Union Pool (Summer Thunder)
Brooklyn, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

Soundboard (engineer: Doug) + MBHO KA100N/603A (on stage) > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (mixdown, compression, normalize, fades) + Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ) > Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, tagging) > FLAC (24/48, level 8)

Tracks: [46:40]
01. Techno Top
02. The Past Ain’t Passed
03. Paranoid Cat
04. Tomorrow Might As Well Be Today
05. Dreaming in the Non-Dream

Band:
Chris Forsyth: guitar
Peter Kerlin: bass
Jason Robira: drums
Ryan Jewell: drums

Website | Facebook | Buy Dreaming in the Non-Dream from No Quarter

Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band: September 21, 2017 Union Pool

October 9, 2017
By

No matter how many times we see Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band, we always have something new to look forward to. This set celebrated the official release on No Quarter records of Dreaming In the Non-Dream, whose material we had heard live in various stages of completion over the past year. The outstanding final album versions are a can’t miss, so it was interesting for us to see how they’ve evolved live since the album’s release. This show at Union Pool covered three quarters of the album (meaning, three out of four songs) as well as two favorites from The Rarity of Experience, “High Castle Rock” and set-closer “The First Ten Minutes of Cocksucker Blues.” Forsyth broke this show into three parts, which he characterized as the “high-impact instrumental section, the singing section, and the long section.” As Forsyth regulars, we were jazzed to get a rare cover — Neil Young’s “Don’t Be Denied” as part of the vocal portion. But really, any appointment with Chris and his excellent band is one worth keeping. Catch them out on the road stateside for a few November shows, including November 18 at Brooklyn Steel with Luna.

I recorded this set with MBHO cardiod microphones, together with Doug’s house. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band
2017-09-21
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

MBHO MBP603/KA200N (at SBD, PAS) + Soundboard (engineer: Doug)>Sound Devices MixPre6 (24bit/48kHz WAV)>Adobe Audition CC (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 History & Science Fiction
02 High Castle Rock
03 Have We Mistaken the Bottle for the Whiskey Inside
04 Don’t Be Denied [Neil Young]
05 Dreaming In the Non-Dream
06 The First Ten Minutes of Cocksucker Blues

SUPPORT Chris Forsyth: Website | Bandcamp

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