Posts Tagged ‘ nyc ’

Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band: March 19, 2016 Trans-Pecos

March 24, 2016
By

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[photos by Joe Lops]

Chris Forsyth extended a recent run of excellent work with The Rarity of Experience, a double LP that earned plaudits from Pitchfork to The New York Times. Much has been made of the record’s unequivocal commitment to out-and-out riffage, but that has always been Forsyth’s MO with the Solar Motel Band. The side of him that produced The Island, the delicate, mellowed out collaboration with Koen Holtkamp, is still out there, but when he takes the stage with this band, expect an out and out rock show.

That’s what we got at this NYCTaper-sponsored show at Trans-Pecos, which represented the formal NY album release party for the record.  Things kicked into high gear immediately with “High Castle Rock” from the new record, followed by its appropriately-named Anthems I and II, and then its title track. Our only detour to Forsyth’s earlier work came in the form of “The Ballad of Freer Hollow” from 2014’s Intensity Ghost, which nestled in well with the extended two-part jams “Anthem” and “The Rarity of Experience” (notable also for adding vocals to the mix). In a nod to the band who inspired so much of improvisational guitar music (not to mention the practice of fan-based live concert recording), Forsyth and crew gave us their take on the Dead’s “Cold Rain and Snow.” It was a worthwhile reminder that while Forsyth’s name is front and center in the proceedings, part of what makes these performances special is the interplay among a very, very talented group of band members. Forsyth’s delivery wouldn’t be what it is without bassist Peter Kerlin and drummer Ray Kubian doing more than just making a backbeat, nor fellow guitarist Nick Millevoi providing the other half of the guitar attack. You don’t get a sound this all-encompassing with a “solo” artist and some guys; this is truly a band. And, for those of you who missed them this time around, head to Union Pool on May 28, where you can catch the band opening for Heron Oblivion.

I recorded this set with a pair of Schoeps MK22 microphones at the stage lip, another pair of Schoeps MK4V back by the soundboard, and a direct soundboard feed of house engineer Ned’s mix. The sound quality is outstanding, and a perfect representation of the enormity of the Solar Motel Band’s sound. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete set: 

Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band
2016-03-19
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted by nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK22 (stage lip, DFC, ORTF)>Nbob Cables>PFA>Aeta PSP3 + Soundboard (engineer: Ned) + Schoeps MK4V (at SBD, ROC, PAS)>>Zoom
F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, adjust balance of SBD, compress SBD, adjust levels)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ)
>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 High Castle Rock
02 Anthem I
03 Anthem II
04 The Rarity of Experience pt. 1
05 The Rarity of Experience pt. 2
06 The Ballad of Freer Hollow
07 [banter]
08 The First Ten Minutes of Cocksucker Blues
09 Cold Rain and Snow [Grateful Dead]
10 [banter2]
11 Boston Street Lullaby

If you enjoyed this recording, please visit his website and buy The Rarity of Experience from No Quarter Records.

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Ty Segall & the Muggers: February 27, 2016 Webster Hall

March 3, 2016
By

Ty at Webster 2016 Will Oliver
[photo courtesy of Will Oliver at We All Want Someone]

Ty Segall has been all over this site for years, and the reason we keep coming back to his shows is the same reason that he sold out these two nights at Webster Hall last weekend: He’s one of the most exciting live acts around. Here with his latest band, the Muggers, Ty delivered a powerhouse 90-minute set that covered the entirety of the new Emotional Mugger album before delving into some of his best-loved jams from the past few years.

Compared to some of the more intimate Ty shows we’ve covered in the past, this first of the two Webster performances had all the ridiculousness and bombast of a Big Rock Show, with Segall hitting the stage in a mask to the tune of a baby crying. The first few songs felt both true to his garage roots and ridiculously over the top, with Segall barking his lyrics into the microphone, hurling himself into the crowd, and working overtime to try to turn the big room into some kind of facsimile of, say, Death By Audio circa 2012. As time went on though — particular into the lengthy jamming on “Feel” — what stood out most was the quality of the Muggers, who managed to undergird the shambolic moments with accomplished playing. That’s part of the great paradox and joy of Ty Segall, too — you’ve got a prolific performer with a great voice and pop sensibility, but who isn’t afraid to go wild, to get dirty, and to have fun. If you saw any of the New York acoustic shows in 2015 (almost all of which we covered), then you know what I mean. Most garage-rock singers would be lost playing acoustically on a stool — not only would their uneven skills be exposed, but the songs wouldn’t work without the fuzz. Segall doesn’t have that problem. His songs move crowds in any context. The show closed out with a stretched-out, saxophoned-up “The Singer,” both a tribute to the man himself, and his ability to capture a crowd no matter how big the tent.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed and Schoeps MK41V supercardiod microphones. Even though we weren’t in a DIY venue, the sound bears many of those hallmarks: loud, in your face, and raw. The recording is true to that. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [FLAC/MP3]

Stream the complete show:

Ty Segall & the Muggers
2016-02-27
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Ty’s FOH) + Schoeps MK41V (at SBD, DFC, PAS)>>Zoom F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, image)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Squealer
02 Californian Hills
03 Emotional Mugger/Leopard Priestess
04 Breakfast Eggs
05 Diversion
06 Baby Big Man (I Want A Mommy)
07 [jamming]
08 Mandy Cream
09 Candy Sam
10 Squealer Two
11 The Magazine
12 Thank God For Sinners
13 They Told Me Too
14 You’re the Doctor
15 [banter1]
16 Spiders
17 Manipulator
18 Feel
19 [encore break]
20 Finger
21 The Feels
22 The Singer

Visit Ty Segall on the web, and buy Emotional Mugger from Drag City here.

Soldiers of Fortune: January 7, 2016 Bowery Ballroom

January 26, 2016
By

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Soldiers of Fortune have marketed themselves at various points as an “anti-band” — one that never writes music, practices, or records. Of course, given the cast of players (Brad Truax (Interpol, others)), Kid Millions (Man Forever, Oneida), Barry London (Oneida), Matt Sweeney (Chavez, many others), Jesper Eklow (Endless Boogie, others), Mike Bones, and Papa Crazee (Oneida)), that’s hardly a disqualification from being a “band.” These are folks whose improvisational turns regularly outshine their recorded output. This show at Bowery Ballroom comes on the heels of the release in November 2015 of their record Early Risers, a more song-based affair, but of course that didn’t stop the crew from delving in one long, multi-movement sustained jam (which, I confess, may or may not include actual songs from the record). Though Cass McCombs was the night’s headliner, you might not have known it from looking at the packed floor of the venue, where it seemed an entire crew of heads were there just for this set, ultimately being replaced by yet-more people for Cass’s set. As with our excellent recent spate of Oneida shows, this was an experimental music fan’s dream, a can’t-miss experience from an outfit that you don’t see around here too often.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK5 cardiod microphones in our usual spot together with a soundboard feed from Bowery legend Kenny. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Soldiers of Fortune
2016-01-07
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK5c>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard (engineer: Kenny)>>Zoom F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Part I
02 Part II
03 Part III

If you enjoyed this recording, please check out Soldiers of Fortune on bandcamp and buy their latest album, Early Risers, there.

Zachary Cale: October 15, 2015 NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Show, Cake Shop

December 29, 2015
By

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[photo courtesy of Cereal + Sounds]

Zachary Cale is a slow-burn kind of musician. That’s true both of his songs, which tend to unfold at a middle tempo that neither rushes nor inhibits his point, and his musical career, which continues to grow bit by bit, solid album by solid album. Cale is one of those artists you tend to hear about from other fans and musicians, not so much from the PR-driven and mostly corporatized music “press.” Perhaps that’s a fault of his modest approach, but with this year’s Duskland, possibly even more so than 2014’s Blue Rider (released in December 2013), even those outlets have been forced take notice.

Though most of this year’s CMJ New Music Marathon (wisely named, since it bears little resemblance to music events people actually attend for fun) was run by the usual suspects — big name PR and talent agencies, particularly — we were excited that Cale asked to join our annual show at Cake Shop, an unofficial daytime event that, as tends to be the case with day shows, tries to put some of the fun back into the “marathon.” This five-song set doesn’t do justice to the breadth of Cale’s oeuvre, but “Blue Moth,” “Sundowner” and “Evensong” make the case for Duskland as well as any three of its songs could. Possibly as a nod to those who’ve seen him several times before, like we have, Cale offered up a rare nugget to close the set: the b-side “Holes In Everything,” an uptempo country-western affair that punctuated, as well as anything could, that this day show was about fun.

I recorded this set in the same manner as the other CMJ sets, with Schoeps MK4V microphones at the stage lip and a soundboard feed from the day’s engineer Jeff. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]  

Stream the complete show: 

Zachary Cale
2015-10-15
NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Show
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK4V (onstage)>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard (engineer: Jeff)>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ, image)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Blue Moth
02 Sundowner
03 Evensong
04 Hangman Letters
05 Holes In Everything

If you enjoyed this recording, please support Zachary Cale by visiting his website, ordering Duskland from No Quarter, and buying his other records from his online store.

Superchunk: December 3, 2015 Baby’s All Right

December 6, 2015
By

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[photo courtesy of Ellen Qbertplaya]

Superchunk spawned one of the most revered independent labels, revitalized the music scene of two entire towns, and continue to inspire men and women alike to pogo at the stage lip singing every word. Few bands can claim those achievements, but even fewer can claim to have not only kept, but expanded their fans’ loyalty since the early 1990s. Mac McCaughan may well be one of his generation’s few ageless indie stars, as unabashedly confessional, athletic and compelling onstage as he was when he was in his twenties. What separates his songs from those of lesser peers is that those lyrics aren’t just reflections of youthful naiveté — they just say what they need to in the most direct, compelling way. It hurts none that behind Mac is a crack band (sans, sadly, Laura Ballance these days) that has only gotten better over the years; if many drummers are hitting the kit better than Jon Wurster at any age, they ought to count themselves lucky. And that doesn’t even begin to touch the humor of Jim Wilbur (who’s a pretty darn good player, too).

The band came into Baby’s All Right on this Thursday to follow up a performance the night before at Ground Control Touring’s 15th Anniversary, meaning they weren’t here to flog a new record or for any purpose other than to remind their fans exactly why they stick around. They rewarded us with a set that drew from all over their catalog, treating 2013’s I Hate Music and their 1990s canon with equal reverence. The sold out crowd gave as good as they got in terms of energy, as the people in the front didn’t stop moving, or singing, the entire time. The band may have joked before “The Popular Music” (from Indoor Living, 1997) about how they would sit around in front of a Britney Spears poster in their practice room and wonder if a new song they were writing would “make them popular” (Mac’s reply — it didn’t) but the reality is that, in the longer run, their efforts worked. Sometimes it’s quality, and not quantity of “popularity” that counts, and Superchunk has the former in abundance. For a certain group of people, Superchunk were a foundational band, in the same way other giants of the era like Pavement (or further toward the mainstream, Nirvana) inspired countless stints as independent radio DJs, memberships in variously-successful bands, and LP/CD collections that burden many of us to this day. In 2013, we called them “the best working band in America today,” and noted that they “don’t have a bad song in their catalog,” and those sentiments remain true to this day.

To be honest, I’m not really sure if they haven’t played the first encore, “The Breadman” single in more than 20 years as claimed, but I’m not going to be that guy who disputes the band on the Internet (according to said Internet, this was only the second time it’s ever been played). I will say that “Hyper Enough,” still rings true — rocking this night with an energy that belied its twenty years in the rotation, and a song whose central premise still rings true of Mac now as when he wrote it. And “Throwing Things,” which closed the first encore, well, it was as compelling as it was when it first appeared on No Pocky for Kitty in 1991. True to their nature, the band came out for a second encore, and closed with “Slack Motherfucker.” Balance wrote the song back in 1990 and, whoever it was addressed to at the time, Mac has proven to be anything but.

I recorded this set with Superchunk FOH Matthew Barnhart’s soundboard mix, together with Audio Technica 4051 microphones onstage. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show (minus banter tracks and encore breaks):

Superchunk
2015-12-03
Baby’s All Right
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Matthew Barnhart) + Audio Technica 4051 (onstage)>Zoom F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, adjust width, fades, very light compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, image)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 1:24:15]
01 [intro]
02 Like A Fool
03 Cursed Mirror
04 Hello Hawk
05 Good Dreams
06 Me & You & Jackie Mittoo
07 Punch Me Harder
08 On the Mouth
09 [banter1]
10 Rosemarie
11 Kicked In
12 Iron On
13 The Popular Music
14 Low F
15 Crossed Wires
16 Detroit Has A Skyline
17 Driveway to Driveway
18 Digging for Something
19 [encore break]
20 The Breadman
21 Hyper Enough
22 Throwing Things
23 [encore break 2]
24 Slack Motherfucker

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Superchunk, visit their website, and purchase their albums directly from Merge Records [HERE].

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[photo by Lauren Epstein]

Car Seat Headrest: October 15, 2015 NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Show, Cake Shop

December 4, 2015
By

car seat headrest cereal sounds
[Photo courtesy of Cereal + Sounds]

Twenty-two year old Will Toledo, who performs as Car Seat Headrest, is one of those songwriters whose skill actually matches his high level of output and obvious ambition. That’s a clear reason how, at a young age, and after already writing, performing and producing eleven albums (!!!) on his own on bandcamp, he’s found himself signed to Matador Records, where he’s about to release Teens of Style. Lest you dump this music in the category of mumbly lo-fi bedroom recordings that we’ve all seen a hundred times before, I’d point you to the very first song of this set at our NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Show, “The Ending of Dramamine,” which was fourteen minutes of off-kilter pop-inflected rock reminiscent of bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Cars and R.E.M. Or there’s how Toledo, prior to his affiliation with a “big time” label, had already sold 25,000 copies of those bandcamp-only releases. Oh, and those earlier efforts weren’t made in a bedroom — the story goes that the only place Toledo could find peace and quiet to record was the family car, hence the band name.

Toledo’s songs are lyrically dense, at times funny, at times teenage-confessional, unflinchingly honest. We were excited that Matador offered us the chance to have this artist close our show, because Teens of Style has already appeared on many best-of lists since its October 30 release. All of these songs appeared in some form prior to Teens of Style, but expect to hear brand-new versions of the last three — “Times To Die,” “Something Soon” and “Oh! Starving” — on that record. In the meantime, enjoy these right-on live performances, and expect much more to come, including a show on December 5 at Baby’s All Right.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones in front of the stage and a soundboard feed from Cake Shop engineer Jeff. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Catch them at Baby’s All Right on December 5. Get tickets here.

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Car Seat Headrest
2015-10-15
NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Show
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK4V (onstage)>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard (engineer: Jeff)>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ, image)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 30:19]
01 The Ending of Dramamine
02 Times To Die
03 Something Soon
04 Oh! Starving

If you enjoyed this recording, check out Car Seat Headrest’s bandcamp page, and buy Teens of Style from Matador Records.

 

Jennifer Castle: October 4, 2015 Webster Hall

October 20, 2015
By

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[photos courtesy of P Squared Photography]

It’s never an easy task to be a singer-songwriter opening for an eight-piece band in a 1500-capacity venue, but Jennifer Castle pulled off that feat, opening for Destroyer, in a way that let her material shine. I was surprised to discover that we hadn’t checked in with her since a Union Pool show in 2012, which came before the release of her widely-acclaimed 2014 album, Pink City. So, this was our first time getting to engage with much of that material, and I’m glad we had the chance. Accompanied by guitars and keys, but no percussion, Castle spared little time between songs, packing in as much as she could into the thirty-minute slot. What came across, in the big space of Webster Hall, was how strong her voice is, as able to fill this space as the coffee shops and smaller clubs where this music is typically more comfortable. She began with a newer song, “I Don’t Care About Money,” followed by “Powers” from her 2012 album Castlemusic, possibly the strongest track on that offering. From there, the Pink City material began in rapid-fire fashion, beginning with “Working For the Man.” The diaphanous-but-tensile quality of Castle’s voice is especially evident on this song, and the impressive vocal turns continued for many of the new songs. Not that Castle’s a stranger to challenging work — she’s played with everyone from fellow Canadian folkie Doug Paisley to the somewhat more aggro Toronto crews Fucked Up and The Constantines. Even if this setting might not have been the perfect way to be introduced to Jennifer Castle in terms of size, I suspect she earned a lot of new fans here. She continues with Destroyer on the West Coast before heading to Europe with them in November. Make sure to show up early to catch her set.

As with the Destroyer set, I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from the Webster Hall engineer Raphael, with a bit of Schoeps MK41V microphones to add ambiance. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete set: 

Jennifer Castle
2015-10-04
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Thanks to Jennifer Castle for permission

Soundboard (engineers: Raphael) + Schoeps MK41V (at SBD, DFC)>KCY>Z-PFA>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (fades, align, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, compression)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 29:34]
01 I Don’t Care About Money
02 Powers
03 Working For the Man
04 Truth Is the Freshest Fruit
05 How Or Why
06 Sailor’s Blessing
07 Sailing Away
08 Pink City

Band
Jennifer Castle – Vocals, guitar
Mike Smith – Bass
Ryan Driver – Keyboards

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Jennifer Castle, like her on facebook, and buy Pink City from No Quarter Records.

WOMPS: October 15, 2015 NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Show, Cake Shop

October 19, 2015
By

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We couldn’t have been happier to kick off this year’s NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Show at Cake Shop with the band WOMPS. As any CMJ veteran knows, this quasi-festival can be a bit of a slog — tons of shows played at venues all over town in a compressed amount of time, often for no pay. Add to that that you’ve come all the way from Scotland to do it, and well, that’s not a recipe for a good attitude or a good performance. What a delight, then, that straight off the bat these young guys brought great songcraft and the party spirit to launch this day show. You probably haven’t heard of this band, as they’ve just a seven-inch to their name currently, but big things are expected: Right now, they’re considering offers from several labels for their already-recorded debut, for which no less than Steve Albini was behind the boards. It’s not hard to see why, as they’ve got an approachable garage-rock sound that wears its angst well. The highlight of the set for me was “Dreams on Demand,” with its tuneful hook and classic 90s sound (you can easily imagine on the radio on KROQ or the like back in those days). In their short career, they’ve shared stages with the likes of METZ, Cloud Nothings and UK breakouts Royal Blood, and the good folks over at NME are already on the case. So, WOMPS may not be a household word in the U.S. just yet, but get a taste now before we say we told you so.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones at the front of the stage, combined with a soundboard feed of mostly vocals from Cake Shop engineer Jeff. The sound quality is not quite what I’m sure Steve Albini has done on their debut, but it’s still great. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the show [Note: “Live A Little Less” is not included as the track was partially cut]

WOMPS
2015-10-15
NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Show
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK4V (onstage)>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard (engineer: Jeff)>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ, image)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 23:00]
01 Live A Little Less [fades in]
02 Ritalin
03 Cancer of the Bone
04 Another Cell
05 Plasticine
06 Dreams On Demand
07 Three Cheers

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT WOMPS, visit their website, and buy their 7″ here.

Destroyer: October 4, 2015 Webster Hall – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

October 6, 2015
By

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[photos by P Squared Photography]

With the newly-released double LP Poison Season, Dan Bejar, aka Destroyer, has absolutely outdone himself. His finest album to date, Poison Season is a lush exploration of Bejar’s psyche, the melancholia of his words a perfect compliment to the abundance of wistful, purposeful arrangements of strings and brass. But if you talk to long time fans, what impresses them most about Destroyer in 2015 is how incredible the live show has become.

This set at Webster Hall couldn’t have been better timed, coming on a Sunday night the day after Bejar’s birthday. His evident good spirits — buoyed by fans singing “Happy Birthday” in the crowd — elevated what already promised to be a memorable evening in front of a sold out crowd. Destroyer on this tour is a full eight-piece band capable of rendering even the most intricate Poison Season arrangements with beautiful detail, as Bejar swoops about the stage in his loose beige overcoat, microphone in hand. His songs, bathed in the soft rock and smooth jazz sounds of the 70s and 80s, have always existed apart from the current moment. It might be that — and the crystal-clear detail and wit of his lyrics — that makes Destroyer so memorable to fans. Rarely if ever do I see grown men singing along with the passion of teenage girls at a Dashboard Confessional show circa 2004, but that’s what Bejar inspired in more than a few pockets of this crowd. Compared to our last outing with the band, at Webster Hall in 2011, this set felt even more confident, complete and assured, with Bejar firmly in command of his vocals without the assistance of the backup singer he had last time. Poison Season is of course the star of this tour, but each night’s setlists bring gems from all over the catalog. In this case, for example: “Rubies” and “European Oils” from 2006’s Destroyer’s Rubies and of course, “Kaputt,” “Savage Night at the Opera” and “Chinatown” from 2011’s Kaputt, and “Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape)” from the band’s 2008 record Trouble In Dreams.

This was one of those shows where there wasn’t a literal or figurative note out of place, as impressive a technical achievement in the live setting as the production of Poison Season is on the album. It’s hard to pick one or two moment of this over others; what mattered was the cohesion, the progression and the sense of straight-up rightness this set had with it. A band feeling their game, an adoring crowd who knows what they want and is loving getting it, and songs that either revealed new angles or rewarded those who’d studied them for years. Destroyer doesn’t tour often, making each one a treat. This particular outing continues down the East Coast and then on to the West Coast and Europe (check the dates here). However the rest of this goes, it’ll be hard to top this night in New York City.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from Destroyer’s FOH (please send his name if you have it) and the Webster house engineer Raphael, combined with Schoeps MK41V supercardiod microphones. The sound quality is exceptional. Enjoy!

Thanks to Merge Records and Dan Bejar for permitting this recording. 

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Destroyer
2015-10-04
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Thanks to Merge Records and Dan Bejar

Soundboard (engineers: Raphael and [if you have Destroy engineer’s name, please send!]) + Schoeps MK41V (at SBD, DFC)>KCY>Z-PFA>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (fades, align, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, compression)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:12:34]
01 Bangkok
02 Forces From Above
03 Savage Night at the Opera
04 European Oils
05 Sun In the Sky
06 Chinatown
07 Midnight Meet the Rain
08 Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape)
09 Times Square
10 Poor In Love
11 Hell
12 Kaputt
13 Dream Lover
14 [encore break]
15 Girl In A Sling
16 Rubies

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Destroyer, like them on facebook, and buy Poison Season and their other records from Merge Records.

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Antietam: August 21, 2015 Mercury Lounge – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

August 27, 2015
By

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Antietam have had quite a summer around these parts, including a scorcher of a gig opening for Condo Fucks (aka Yo La Tengo) back in May. If you’re seeing them at a show, and they aren’t the headliner, you can almost guarantee that whoever they’re opening for is somebody important. That’s not to say that Antietam doesn’t stand on their own — they do — but they’re one of those long-standing acts whose consistency and goodwill toward others tends to put them among really, really cool friends. In the case of this show, frontwoman Tara Key has collaborated with Rick Rizzo (of headliners Eleventh Dream Day) on two records.

On this night at Mercury Lounge, much like their recent show at Cake Shop, the reformed (as of 2004) Antietam proved themselves to be on top of their game, as they shared material from what should be a new album this year or early next. We heard several of those new songs before they launched into “one you might know” — in this case, “1-2-1” from 2008’s Opus Mixtum. That wasn’t all that was there for the regulars (which were plentiful in this crowd), as the band gave us a fist-pumping “(Keep Me) Satisfied” before closing with another promising new one called “Birdwatching.” The veteran outfit clearly has benefited from studio time and previous workouts with this new material on the road, as this set brought to bear this band’s post-punk urgency as well as their ability to just flat-out play. Here’s to hoping for that new record sooner rather than later.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from Mercury engineer Dave Lefcourt, together with Schoeps MK41V microphones. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete set:

Antietam
2015-08-02
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Dave Lefcourt) + Schoeps MK41V (PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>>Roland R-26>2×44.1kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, limiter, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Sunshine
02 Right Between Your Eyes
03 Automatic
04 Breathe
05 I’m So Tired
06 1-2-1
07 They Don’t Know
08 (Keep Me) Satisfied
09 Birdwatching

If you enjoyed this recording PLEASE SUPPORT Antietam, visit their website, and their blog, and their Facebook page, and purchase their official releases from Carrot Top Records [HERE].

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