[Photos courtesy of Bleary Eyed Brooklyn]
There is a certain atmosphere that Glasslands has when the show you are attending has become a happening. The stage is swarmed by cameras; the AC unit is chugging to keep the room cool. The bar is slammed; the room is so packed there are people watching from the bathroom stairs. The anticipation is palpable; the night is electric. If there is something that can answer the question for you of why you are in this city, or why you “do this”, these nights are it. They don’t happen in other places; don’t feel the same, don’t smell the same, don’t sound the same. You know that as long as there are places like this in this city, as long as there are nights like this, you ought to be there. This Lotus Plaza show, following on the heels of the release of their critically-acclaimed second record, was one of those nights.
In terms of popularity, Lotus Plaza has the built-in advantage of being in an already-famous band – Lockett Pundt is the second half of the brilliant songwriting team that makes up Deerhunter – the McCartney to Bradford Cox’s Lennon (or is it the other way around?). Still, Lotus Plaza’s second record, Spooky Action at a Distance, stands on its own. While the hilarious Pitchfork review included sentences like this gem – “Moreover, along the lines of Real Estate and especially the War On Drugs, Pundt embodies a wakeful, meditative state associated with various forms of transit: your physical being stays relatively still while being in motion, a symbiosis between human and mechanical effort” – fundamentally the site got it right in anointing the record with “Best New Music” status. The songwriting is sharper than on The Floodlight Collective; where that album felt more like a solo album, Spooky Action is loaded with standout tracks. “Eveningness” was a highlight in the live setting just as it is on the album, as was the set opener of “Untitled” into “Strangers”. But just so you won’t completely forget Pundt’s connection to Deerhunter, Pundt threw in a sprawling nine-minute track mid-set, “Come Back” from the band’s recent split 10″ single. Pundt may not be known for stage antics the way Cox is, but he more than holds his own as a frontman, not least because his music creates such immediate and powerful connections with his listeners. Most shows by recently-hyped bands draw a listless “see and be seen” crowd that ignores most of the music; Lotus Plaza held us all in thrall.
I recorded this set with Schoeps MK5 cardiod mics and a soundboard feed from Josh, the head FOH at Glasslands. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!
This show was also recorded by Pitchfork.tv, and you should be able to see clips of it on Pitchfork soon. Thanks to the Pitchfork crew for their hospitality and sharing the recording area with us.
Stream “Eveningness”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/L4019LotusPlaza2012/07 Eveningness.mp3]
Stream “Come Back”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/L4019LotusPlaza2012/04 Come Back.mp3]
Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct download of FLAC files [HERE]
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Lotus Plaza
2012-04-19
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA
Exclusive download hosted at NYCTaper.com
Recorded by acidjack and nyctaper
Produced by acidjack
Schoeps MK5c (DFC, STC22g, 8ft)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard >> Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mixdown, balance, compression on SBD)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, harmonic exciter (crisp rock), hard limit)>Audacity 2.0 (set fades, tracking, additional EQ, amplify)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks
01 Untitled
02 Strangers
03 White Galactic One
04 Come Back
05 [unknown 1]
06 [unknown 2]
07 Eveningness
08 Remember Our Days
09 Jet Out of the Tundra
If you enjoyed this recording, please support Lotus Plaza by liking them on Facebook and purchasing Spooky Action at a Distance directly from Kranky [HERE].
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