The indie-soul crossover movement of the last decade that included the likes of Sharon Jones and Raphael Saadiq was admirable but would only be truly meaningful if it led to young bands taking up the mantle. This is where The Rooks come in. The band was formed at Wesleyan College in Connecticut. The Rooks moved to NYC in 2013 and began to play gigs that were immediately lauded — their residency at Pianos in January of 2014 is on record as one of the most highly-attended runs that venue has produced. We caught the band during those shows and acidjack noted the band’s obvious talent, appeal and predicted future success. We’re still sticking with that story. In December, I captured The Rooks in a double bill with their friends Lawrence, and the packed sold-out Mercury Lounge confirmed that we’d been right. The band is bigger than ever and with the crowds bursting at the seams, they are poised to move up the ladder to bigger venues and more high profile gigs. The band’s set included tracks from their 2015 EP Wires, a couple of unreleased songs, and three neat covers, including the closing song from an unmentionable artist that tore down the house. Catch The Rooks on tour this Spring including a show at Rough Trade BK on February 27.
I recorded this set with the Schoeps mounted next to the soundboard and mixed with an excellent feed from Mercury’s FOH Alex. Other than a boisterous crowd somewhat noticeable during quieter moments, the sound quality is superb. Enjoy!
Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]
Stream the Complete Show:
The Rooks
2015-12-05
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 45:47]
01 Intermission (Wires)
02 Doubt
03 Nothing Wrong
04 [Lawrence intro]
05 Gin and Juice [Snoop Dogg]
06 Secrets
07 You’re the One
08 Kiss From a Rose [Seal]
09 May Care
10 Bury Me Deep
11 Purple Reign [Prints]
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