Posts Tagged ‘ schoeps ’

Melvins: June 6, 2011 Music Hall of Williamsburg – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

June 10, 2011
By


[Photos by Greg Cristman.  Used with permission.  All rights reserved]

My last Melvins show had nothing on the epic 25th anniversary show that we also recorded (both recordings available here), where the band did a full run-through of their most famous album, Houdini, and a gaggle of other songs in a two and a half hour set.  So naturally, I was anxious to see them again at these shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg, where the band promised run-throughs of multiple albums per night.  On this first of the two nights, the band played material from three of their records, the classic Lysol, the somewhat less-known Eggnog, and finally, Houdini.  The venue’s sound system – arguably the best in tri-state area – was a highlight in and of itself as it pumped out the bone-rattling levels of sound from the band.  Unlike the 25th anniversary show, this show was all business, with the band doing a first set consisting of a mix of Eggnog and Lysol tracks that closed with an epic “Sacrifice” without a single second of banter.  This set of longer, sludgier songs set a (relatively) mellow tone to preface the blistering second set, consisting entirely of tracks from Houdini.  By the end of the kickoff track of the second set, “Hag Me,” the floor was a sea of bodies, and it stayed that way through the very last song, “Spread Eagle Beagle,” which closed out, appropriately, with the band’s dual drummers pounding the skins alone onstage.  Once again, the Melvins brought the epic noise… leaving us hungry for night two.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps microphones on the center of the balcony, running into a custom analog preamp to provide more detail and warmth to the recording.  The results are outstanding and reflect the incredible sound in the room.

Night two was also recorded and will be posted soon.

Stream “Second Coming>The Ballad of Dwight Frye [Alice Cooper]”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/M1806Melvins0210/09 Second Coming_The Ballad of Dwight Frye.mp3]

Stream “Going Blind”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/M1806Melvins0210/18 Going Blind.mp3]

Direct download of the MP3 files: [MP3]

Direct download of the lossless FLAC files: [FLAC]
PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THE DIRECT LINKS TO EITHER FILESET – IT WILL CRASH OUR SERVER

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Melvins
2011-06-06
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Schoeps Mk41>CMC6>Oade M248>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)
Position: Balcony, DFC, mics on extension arm aimed down PAS
Mastering: 24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, light EQ on set II only (-1dB below ~250Hz)

SET I: Eggnog and Lysol [57:44]
01 [Set I Intro]
02 Charmicarmicat: Bastards
03 Lysol (aka Hung Bunny)>
04 Roman Dog Bird
05 Hog Leg: Like Stee, Moanin Ludlow
06 Antioxidote: Pigs Don’t Let It
07 Wispy: I Don’t Know But I Don’t Feel So Good
08 With Teeth
09 Second Coming>The Ballad of Dwight Frye [Alice Cooper]
10 Sacrifice

SET II: Houdini [56:27]
11 [Set II Intro]
12 Hag Me
13 Pearl Bomb
14 Hooch
15 Honey Bucket
16 Night Goat
17 Lizzy
18 Goin’ Blind
19 Joan of Arc
20 Set Me Straight
21 Sky Pup
22 Teet
23 Copache
24 Spread Eagle Beagle

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Melvins, visit their website, and buy their records from Ipecac records here.

Grails: April 24, 2011 The Knitting Factory – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

June 6, 2011
By

grails
[Grails at the Knitting Factory in 2008. Photos courtesy of davebgimp. See his Flickr stream here]

Portland’s Grails have been making genre-defying, intense, experimental and satisfying instrumental music for the better part of the last decade, but with 2011’s Deep Politics, their recent release on Temporary Residence Limited, they have hit the top of their game. Many of their past records have a deep psychedelic groove to them, drawing clear Eastern inspiration, but Deep Politics is an entirely different beast, focusing a bit more on pianist/bassist Bill Slater’s keyboard work and working with more varied textures. In the live setting, the band’s sound comes across as a good bit jazzier than one would expect, especially compared to some of the other bands they probably share a fan base with. This set at the Knitting Factory was one of the best performances I have seen this year and easily the strongest display of pure musicianship. This show was a special treat, as Grails’ tours tend to focus more heavily on Europe, and the band members have a variety of commitments. In fact, the members of Grails play in several other bands from time to time, and they also trade in-show duties depending on the demands of the specific song. Their technical virtuosity never falters, and they absolutely fill the room with sound. This set drew on a range of the band’s records, not drawing too heavily from Deep Politics but still showing off its live charms, including the epic show opener, “Almost Grew My Hair.” In fact, the set was so compelling that the Knit’s sound engineer Rob – who sees an awful lot of shows in a month from behind the board – was prompted to exclaim “Wow, I sure hope you got a good recording of that. Those guys were amazing.” I have to agree, and I hope he and everyone else is satisfied with the recording!

I recorded this set from our usual location in the Knit, using a combination of Schoeps Mk41 supercardiods pointed at the stacks and AKG 414 large diaphragm microphones in wide cardiod mode to capture the full feel of the room. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Thanks to the commenters to the corrections to three of the tracks.

Stream “Almost Grew My Hair”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/G0424Grails2011/02 Almost Grew My Hair.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Follow acidjack on Twitter

Grails
2011-04-24
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY  USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced for nyctaper.com by acidjack

Equipment: Schoeps Mk41>CMC6 +AKG C414 B-XLS (wide cardiod)>Oade M248 >> Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/44.1)
Position: At soundboard, slightly ROC, mics at 8.5 ft
Mastering: 2x24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (EQ AKGs, mixdown, EQ combined source, tracking, set fades, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:03:31]
01 [intro]
02 Almost Grew My Hair
03 [tuning]
04 All the Colors of the Dark
05 Immediate Mate
06 Back to the Monastery
07 Acid Rain
08 Take Refuge
09 Burning Off Impurities
10 [encore break]
11 Reincarnation Blues

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Grails, visit their website, and purchase Deep Politics directly from Temporary Residence Limited [HERE]

Thurston Moore: May 20, 2011 Music Hall of Williamsburg – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

May 25, 2011
By


[photo by Bryan Bruchman]

Thurston Moore has a sweeping, almost uncontainable musical vision. He is an artist who I have personally seen, just in the past year, perform everything from a chaotic, sprawling noise collage to Sonic Youth’s classic postpunk to these, his somnolent, captivating acoustic meditations. He is in many ways the archetype of the modern New York musician to which almost anyone, in any genre, aspires, and he and his bandmates in Sonic Youth almost single-handedly revitalized and redefined the scene in the 80s and 90s. If you are trying to describe, using one person, everything that is honest and right and excellent and so very New York about modern New York rock musicians, look no further than Thurston Moore.

This Friday night show at Music Hall of Williamsburg celebrated the release of Moore’s most recent solo record, the Beck-produced Demolished Thoughts, which picks up on the quieter end of where his 2007 solo release Trees Outside the Academy left off. The set concentrated heavily on that record, as well as some songs from Trees Outside the Academy, and finished with the title track from Moore’s first proper solo outing, Psychic Hearts. While the songs in this set fall within the more conventional range of Moore’s spectrum, there was nothing banal about them, as each track demonstrated his virtuosity on the guitar – witness the back end of “Orchard Street” and his amazing consistency at writing catchy, interesting songs (“In Silver Rain With A Paper Key” being one). Moore was backed by a crack band of hyper-cool indie luminaries that included Keith Wood from Hush Arbors on guitar and John Moloney of Sunburned Hand of the Man, and they did the songs ample justice. Unlike most gigs Thurston Moore is involved in, this one never required earplugs – but it didn’t need the noise to be noticed.

I recorded this set from the left balcony of the venue with the Schoeps microphones on an extension arm pointed directly at the stacks, with tiny DPA omnidirectional microphones providing the room warmth and ambiance that usually lack from up-close recordings of this type. Both mics ran through quiet preamps that minimized hiss from this more quiet show. The results are excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “In Silver Rain With A Paper Key”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/S2111SonicYouth2222/13 In Silver Rain With A Paper Key.mp3]

Stream “Orchard Street”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/S2111SonicYouth2222/08 Orchard Street.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Direct download of lossless FLAC files [HERE]

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THE DIRECT LINKS TO THESE FILES. IF YOU DO, WE WILL HAVE TO CHANGE THE LINKS, AND THEY WILL BE DEAD FOR  A PERIOD OF TIME.

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Thurston Moore
2011-05-20
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY  USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Schoeps Mk41>CMC6>Sound Devices USBpre2 + DPA 4061>Church Audio CA9200 >> Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)
Position: Left balcony, about 15′ from stack, mics on extension arm split A/B
Mastering: 2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (smooth peaks, hard limit and de-amplify applause, mixdown, downsample to 44.1kHz, set fades, tracking, amplify and balance, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 intro
02 Mina Loy
03 Blood Never Lies
04 Never Day
05 [banter]
06 January
07 Space
08 Orchard Street
09 [banter]
10 Benediction
11 Illuminine
12 [banter]
13 In Silver Rain With A Paper Key
14 Circulation
15 [encore break]
16 Psychic Hearts

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Thurston Moore, visit his MySpace page, and purchase his official releases directly from his label, Ecstatic Peace, [HERE]

Yo La Tengo: May 11, 2011 Bell House – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

May 15, 2011
By


[Photo from the 5/10 show courtesy of Chris Gerbeck at fucking nostalgic]

After an epic Tuesday night “Spin the Wheel” show that found Yo La Tengo playing a special “Name Game” first set, the second night kicked off with “I’d Like To Buy A Vowel,” a new wheel item that requires the band to play only songs of theirs that begin in vowels. In other words, the fans got some great music, but compared to having to, say, perform a classic sitcom, it was a fairly lucky and safe choice for the band. The safe moves ended after that, though, as they kicked off with the punked-up “Artificial Heart” that transitioned seamlessly into their more mellow classic, “Autumn Sweater.” From there the band played through the low-key trio of “If It’s True,” “I’m On My Way” and “Alyda” before kicking the tempo back up with the explosive (and rarely played) “86-Second Blowout” from 1992’s May I Sing With Me. After an inspired, noise-drenched “Outsmartener”, the band launched into an insane 14-minute version of “I Heard You Looking” that left it all on the stage. It was hard to imagine a band not finishing an entire show, let alone a set, after such a monster performance, but this being Yo La Tengo, they let us come down easy, wrapping up set one with the subdued Lou Reed cover, “It’s Alright (The Way That You Live).”

In general, I felt like the sequencing of this show was a slight improvement over the previous night, though we have seen so many Yo La Tengo shows in the past 12 months, it is hard to play favorites. Still, the second set of this show felt incredibly cohesive, kicking off with “Walking Away From You,” a 12-minute “More Stars Than There Are In Heaven” and “False Alarm” all presented as a virtually seamless composition. The noisy side of Yo La Tengo has always been my favorite, so this trifecta pushed all the right buttons for me. Set 2 ended with another awesome 23-minute three-song series, of a monster “Big Day Coming” that found Ira in top form on guitar, jamming straight into “Tom Courtenay” and ending with the band’s reimagined version of Beach Boys’ “Little Honda”.

Perhaps feeling sheepish that they hadn’t been forced to play anything ridiculously out-of-the-box during their two Brooklyn shows, for the encore, the band decided to play a mini-set of three songs in their alter ego cover band mode, Condo Fucks. As with the first set, the encore ended on a quiet note, with another May I Sing With Me number, “Detouring America With Horns.” Few bands get the chance to do truly do whatever the want night after night in front of sell-out crowds, and Yo La Tengo have done everything possible to earn it. No matter how many shows you see, there are always new dimensions, new twists, new laughs, and new songs to be impressed and surprised by, and these two nights exemplified that perfectly.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps microphones running into an ultraquiet digital preamp, combined with an excellent soundboard feed. The results are outstanding. Enjoy!

Stream “86-Second Blowout”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/Y6644YLT9879/08 86 Second Blowout.mp3]

Stream “It’s Alright (The Way That You Live) [Lou Reed]”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/Y6644YLT9879/11 It’s Alright (The Way That You Live).mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Yo La Tengo
2011-05-11
The Bell House
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: SBD+Schoeps Mk41>CMC6>Sound Devices USBpre2>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)
Position: At soundboard, DFC, mics pointed at stacks
Mastering: 2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, smooth peaks, amplify and balance, downsample to 16bit/44.1kHz)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
Set I: I’d Like To Buy A Vowel
01 Game Show Intro
02 Artificial Heart>
03 Autumn Sweater
04 If It’s True
05 I’m On My Way
06 [banter]
07 Alyda
08 86 Second Blowout
09 Outsmartener
10 I Heard You Looking
11 It’s Alright (The Way That You Live) [Lou Reed]

Set II
12 Walking Away From You>
13 More Stars Than There Are In Heaven>
14 False Alarm
15 [banter]
16 The Weakest Part
17 [banter]
18 Mr. Tough
19 Satellite>Big Day Coming>
20 Tom Courtenay
21 Little Honda [Beach Boys]
22 [encore break]

Encore: (Mostly) Condo Fucks Set
23 Whatcha Gonna Do [Small Faces]
24 Come On Baby [Young Rascals]
25 Dog Meat [Flamin’ Groovies]
26 Detouring America With Horns

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Yo La Tengo, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from the store at their website [HERE].

Local H: April 21, 2011 Mercury Lounge – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

April 26, 2011
By


[Local H live at The Riot Room, Kansas City, MO in 2008.  Photos courtesy of Todd Zimmer.  See his Flickr stream [HERE]]

The Chicago power duo Local H are a bit of a rock n’ roll time capsule.  Although they formed in 1987, the band first hit the mainstream in the the post-Cobain years with their 1996 FM smash “Bound for the Floor”, which couldn’t help but remind alt-rock fans of their departed hero. The album that featured the single, As Good As Dead, generated several more radio classics, including “Eddie Vedder” and “High-Fiving MF”.  Back in those days – when the major labels still controlled all the levers of artistic success – the only upward route was successful radio singles, big debut record, land the followup.  Like a lot of bands in the late 90s, Local H found themselves caught in the drama of the devolution of the record industry, and their followup to As Good As Dead – Pack Up the Cats – languished more as a result of big-label intrigue than of artistic decline.  Unlike many of their peers, Local H didn’t give up, and went on to have a career that has been marked by legendary live shows.  This set at Mercury Lounge, part of a “Singles Tour” celebrating The Island Years, a forthcoming “best-of” of sorts from their 90s output on Island Records, read like a career retrospective, from early songs like “Mayonnaise & Malaise” to the forthcoming single “Cold Matter.”

As to the “time capsule” comment, it was striking, from the band’s earlier material, how different the concerns of artists were in the 90s versus today.  Lyrically, many of these numbers could easily be touchstones of the era from which they came.  Songs that confront issues like the struggle for authenticity, the worry that your shows are being overrun by meatheads (“High Fiving MF”), and the “one-hit wonder” phenomenon seem quaint in today’s car-commercial-driven era, where even one FM radio hit is an unthinkable luxury and most bands are happy to give away their records to fans on bandcamp, let alone worry about what happens to their follow-up on a major label.  Local H may be of an earlier time, but as this show demonstrated, they still have plenty to say.  The night ended with a searing tribute, a cover of TV on the Radio‘s “Wolf Like Me,” in honor of the recently departed Gerard Smith, who died of lung cancer.

Clearly, Local H have some singles left in them.

hi and lo and I recorded this set with a combination of four Schoeps microphones from our usual spot in the venue. Because the band does not permit soundboard recordings, we used only the audience mics, but Kyle’s excellent mix comes through nicely.  There are some rowdier moments of crowd noise, but they only serve to add to the experience.  Enjoy!

Stream “Eddie Vedder”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/L2014LocalH2110/13 Eddie Vedder.mp3]

Stream “Wolf Like Me”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/L2014LocalH2110/21 Wolf Like Me.mp3]

This recording is now available for download in FLAC or MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].

Follow acidjack on Twitter

Local H
2011-04-21
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY  USA

Four Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded by acidjack and hi and lo for nyctaper.com
Produced by acidjack

Equipment: Schoeps Mk5 (cardiod)>CMBi+Schoeps Mk41>CMC6>>Tascam DR-680 (24/44.1)
Position: At soundboard, slightly ROC, pointed at stacks, mics at approx 7ft.
Mastering: 2x24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (adjust levels, mixdown, set fades, EQ, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:28:41]
01 Fritz’s Corner
02 All The Kids Are Right
03 Cynic
04 Half-Life
05 Tag Along
06 Twenty-Four Breakup Session
07 All Right Oh Yeah
08 Another February
09 High-Fiving MF
10 [banter]
11 Everyone Alive
12 Michelle (Again)
13 Eddie Vedder
14 Mayonnaise & Malaise
15 Hands on the Bible
16 California Songs
17 [banter]
18 Cold Matter
19 Joey [Concrete Blonde]
20 Bound For the Floor
21 Wolf Like Me [TV On the Radio]

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Local H, visit their website, and pre-order The Island Years from Amazon [HERE]

Maps & Atlases: April 19, 2011 Bowery Ballroom – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

April 25, 2011
By


[Photo by Megan Barron.  See her Flickr stream here]

It is a not-uncommon trope on this site that bands tend to give it their absolute best when playing their first Bowery Ballroom show – it’s a big moment for any band, and the venue itself is nearly perfect – spacious yet intimate, welcoming, and outfitted with an excellent sound system. Maps & Atlases took full advantage of their breakout moment this Tuesday night, as they played an outstanding set to a welcoming 16+ crowd fueled more by the band’s incredible music than the typical NYC crowd’s favorite combo of alcohol and smartphones. In note-perfect form the band covered the best material from their first full-length, Perch Patchwork, as well as classics from their EPs like “Ted Zancha,” “Artichokes” and “Everyplace Is A House.” Maps don’t sound like any other band out there today; vocalist/guitarist Dave Davison’s voice remains in a class by itself, and their unique, polyrhythmic rock could probably wow a class of music students as easily as it did this young Bowery crowd. That uniqueness may have been an impediment at first, but people are clearly “getting it” now. It doesn’t hurt that their live show is a bit of a contrast from their more lo-fi sounding albums; turned up loud, their music is more celebratory than it seems on a scratchy EP, and more importantly, live, you just cannot miss how dialed-in these guys are as musicians. That was best in evidence during an epic seven-minute version of “Daily News” from the You Me & the Mountain EP, a mostly-instrumental track that was perhaps the strongest song of the night. The band also gave us a rare treat by doing a cover song (not part of their usual repertoire, other than their cover of Cast Spells’ “Glamorous Glowing”), a short, faithful rendition of Elvis Costello’s “Radio Radio”. While there was no post-show acoustic set from the floor like there was at the intimate Mercury Lounge show last year, this set still outshone that one. It kind of had to – it was their “Bowery moment.”

Kenny, the regular sound engineer at Bowery Ballroom, truly outdid himself this evening with a flawless mix. While the Mercury show also included a soundboard feed, the sound quality of this set, with the Schoeps microphones running into a custom built analog preamp, is better than that one, in my opinion. Enjoy!

Stream “Daily News”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/M2180M&A0210/16 Daily News.mp3]

Stream “Radio Radio”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/M2180M&A0210/20 Radio Radio.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Follow acidjack on Twitter

Maps & Atlases
2011-04-19
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Schoeps Mk41>CMC6>Oade M248>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: Balcony, LOC, mics on clamp extended toward soundboard, DIN
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:01:25]
01 Pigeon
02 The Sounds They Make
03 Artichokes
04 [tuning]
05 Israeli Caves
06 [banter]
07 Ted Zancha
08 [banter]
09 Will>
10 The Charm
11 [banter]
12 Witch
13 Everyplace Is A House
14 Living Decorations
15 Glamorous Glowing [Cast Spells]
16 Daily News
17 [banter]
18 Solid Ground
19 [encore break]
20 Radio Radio [Elvis Costello]
21 If This Is>
22 Was

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Maps & Atlases, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Perch Patchwork from their official store here.

PS I Love You: March 30, 2011 Mercury Lounge – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

April 13, 2011
By

PSILY
[Photos courtesy of Geoffrey Dicker for According to G]

I don’t know what’s in the water up in Ontario, Canada these days, but a serious music scene is percolating in Toronto that is fresh, exciting and varied. PS I Love You are from the college town of Kingston, about three hours from Toronto, but they belong with their Toronto-based brethren when it comes to being part of this burgeoning Canadian scene. This set, opening for NYCTaper favorites Diamond Rings, showed off the chops of guitarist/vocals Paul Saulnier and drummer Benjamin Nelson admirably, as they delivered a tight set that consisted primarily of songs from their rave-reviewed 2010 effort, Meet Me At the Muster Station, as well as a couple of new songs. The set closer, “Leftovers,” off of a recent 7″ with Diamond Rings, spanned nearly twice the time of the rest of Saulnier’s focused tunes, and found John O’Regan himself joining the band in the effort. Saulnier, who began the band as a solo project, gives voice to his angst live even more palpably than on the band’s studio outings, and he and Nelson can shred with the best of them. Beneath Saulnier’s pitched yowl and the squalls of feedback, it’s not hard to hear the real musicianship of PS I Love You; they may be a two-man band, but I would not call them a “garage rock duo.” We were sorry to miss the second post-midnight set that the band performed after Diamond Rings’ performance, but this 40-minute set was an excellent introduction to another talented new act. Montreal had an incredible run of acts coming up in the late 90s and early 2000s, but they’d better watch out – their brethren to the west are the trailblazers these days.

hi and lo recorded this set with the Schoeps microphones and a soundboard feed from Kevin at Mercury Lounge. Other than a few glitches in a connection during the first song and occasional spots of chatter toward the end of the set, this recording is flawless. Thanks to PS I Love You and Paper Bag Records for permitting us to make and share this recording. Enjoy!

The Diamond Rings set was also recorded and will be posted once approval is received from their management.

Stream “Facelove”:

[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/P0330PSILoveYou2011/10 Facelove.mp3]

Stream “Leftovers [feat. Diamond Rings]”
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/P0330PSILoveYou2011/12 Leftovers.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Follow acidjack on Twitter

PS I Love You
2011-03-30
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Premiere download offered at www.nyctaper.com
Recorded by hi and lo
Produced by acidjack

Equipment: Schoeps Mk5 (cardiod)>Schoeps CMBI>EAA PSP2+Soundboard>>Tascam DR-680 (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to soundboard, slightly ROC
Mastering: 2x24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 39:30]
01 Meet Me At the Muster Station
02 Breadends
03 2012
04 Little Spoon
05 CBEZ
06 [unknown]
07 Starfield
08 [new song]
09 [unknown]
10 Facelove
11 [banter]
12 Leftovers [with Diamond Rings]

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT PS I Love You, visit them on Facebook, and purchase their music directly from Paper Bag Records [HERE]

Destroyer: April 3, 2011 Webster Hall – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

April 6, 2011
By

destroyer
[Photo by acidjack]

At the end of a weekend where a certain other “band’s” “farewell” show sucked up a lot of the oxygen, this set by the multi-talented Dan Bejar, aka Destroyer, was the perfect coda. As brilliant and distinct as Bejar’s musical vision is – and his 2011 release, Kaputt, is already on the “album of the year” shortlist, if the Twitter-ing masses can be believed – Bejar’s music is almost radically foreign to what else is going on in American music today. Which is to say, Kaputt isn’t really dance music, nor can it be considered “rock” of most common varieties, and neither is it some fist-pumping, amped-up hybrid of the two. Bejar’s edges are soft, his choruses delivered on a silky train of trumpet and sax trills in a moderate, almost diffident tone. If the common mode for today’s bands is a marriage of post-punk and hard dance music, 2011’s Destroyer could be, well… indie rock and smooth jazz (which I in no way mean as an insult). In front of an audience that I am guessing included a lot of people coming down from the high (emotional or otherwise) of the previous night, I imagined that giving a memorable performance would be a challenge. But Bejar has wisely outfitted himself with an eight-person band that is more than up to the challenge of turning his proggish, cerebral songs into an outstanding live performance – one that had women throwing underwear at the stage and plenty of fans screaming. The fact is, at this point, Bejar’s fans appreciate his lush, intellectual songs, and that is to their credit. This is music that rewards patience and contemplation, not slam-dancing.

As a key part of the “supergroup” The New Pornographers, Bejar is of course a master of the pop song, even in this less-obvious context; “Painter In Your Pocket” and “Song For America” could (and probably did) inspire singalongs. My favorite numbers of the night came at the end: “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker” and its beautiful intro, with a distortion squall leading into a patient flute passage before the song’s main dance beat kicked in, as well as the epic “Bay of Pigs,” which BrooklynVegan rightly identified not only as the source of the loudest singalong, but also the aforementioned underwear-tossing. Bejar seemed as relaxed throughout the set as his record’s sound implies, and why not? He has the right musicians to execute his vision, songs that are refreshingly out of place, and fans that want what he has to offer. I hope he won’t be saying “farewell” to this project any time soon.

Our new contributor hi and lo I recorded this set from the balcony immediately to the left of the soundboard with four Schoeps mics. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Special thanks to Merge Records and Dan Bejar for granting us permission to record.

Stream the complete set

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

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Destroyer
2011-04-03
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded by acidjack and hi and lo
Produced by acidjack

Equipment: Schoeps CMC6U/mk41>Sound Devices USBpre2+Schoeps mk4v>NBox>>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)
Position: Balcony, immediate left of soundboard, on clamps pointing at stacks
Mastering: 2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, light EQ (less than -1dB cut at 160, 200, and 250Hz), amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:14:38]
01 Intro
02 Chinatown
03 Blue Eyes
04 It’s Gonna Take An Airplane
05 [banter]
06 Downtown
07 My Favorite Year
08 Kaputt
09 3000 Flowers
10 Painter In Your Pocket
11 Suicide Demo for Kara Walker
12 [banter]
13 Song for America
14 Bay of Pigs

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Destroyer, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Kaputt and their other fine releases directly from Merge Records [HERE].

Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour: March 21, 2011 Knitting Factory – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

March 25, 2011
By


[Photo courtesy of EardrumNYC]

The Elephant 6 Collective is a unique force in modern American music, a merry band of collaborators whose psychedelic, Beatles-inspired songs continue to resonate with indie aficionados across the globe. If you aren’t up for seeing more than 10 bands in one place at one time, you should skip the E6 Holiday Surprise extravaganzas, because over their usual three sets in a given night, they will illuminate and educate you, as well as wear down the unready. This gig at the Knitting Factory was night one of three here in New York, and it gave immediate notice to the untutored that life in Elephant 6 land can be a little loopy. This loose-knit group of Athens, GA-based musicians has formed and splintered off into numerous bands, and the sets find the players rotating on and off stage, constituting a different band at each song. This show was a veritable psych-rock circus, with a giant self-playing organ, a trippy cartoon video interlude, a “coming of spring” game that consisted of various audience members trying to pierce a paper target with a tossed fake snowball, a giant snowman, and intense, unusual sounds. The various E6 bands – some of the better-known being Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System, and Elf Power, to name a few (oh, and of course, Neutral Milk Hotel whose reclusive frontman could be seen in the audience, but not onstage) – vary in their degree of pop sensibility versus psychedelic experimentation, but even the tamer E6 bands play with sound collages, obscure instruments like the theremin, and a playful, childlike sense of wonder.

For three full sets lasting almost three hours, the players treated us with some of the collective’s best-known songs: Olivia Tremor Control’s “Define A Transparent Dream,” Circulatory System’s “Yesterday’s World,” and Elf Power’s “The Well.” But there were more obscure numbers from lesser-known bands like the Gerbils and the late b.p. helium, as well as some new songs as well. It was an evening of the unexpected, a huge range of songs that is difficult to summarize. What was clear was that this collective whole is greater than any individual part. As they closed with a mammoth thirteen-minute version of Sun Ra Arkestra’s “Enlightenment” (most of which was played in the crowd directly under my mics), I couldn’t help but notice that these guys had put on a three-hour set and still seemed to be be having so much fun – and probably had another three hours left in them. As I said, Elephant 6 land is a loopy place.

I recorded this set with a four-microphone rig from our usual spot in the venue. Although the band’s engineer was a bit dissatisfied with the house mix, I think he was being a little hard on himself. With some of the room’s natural characteristics removed, the recording is excellent. Enjoy!

Special thanks to the Knitting Factory for their hospitality. Also, thanks to Southern Shelter (who recorded the Atlanta show) for their assistance with the setlist.

Stream “The Well”:
[audio:http://www.acidjack.com/E6Holiday/03 The Well.mp3]

Stream “Sail Beyond the Sunset”:
[audio:http://www.acidjack.com/E6Holiday/17 Sail Beyond the Sunset.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour
2011-03-21
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: DPA 4021+Schoeps CMC6/mk41>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)
Position: Slightly ROC, at soundboard, DPAs ORTF, Schoeps 1ft split, pointed at stacks, approx 7.5ft
Mastering: 2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (EQ both sources, mixdown, set fades, tracking, smooth peaks, amplify and balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks

Set I [1:07:37]
01 When Father Was Away on Business [Major Organ and the Adding Machine]
02 Nothing’s Gonna Happen [Elf Power]
03 The Well [Elf Power]
04 Yesterday’s World [Circulatory System]
05 Karaoke Free [Elephant 6 Orchestra]
06 [banter]
07 Life Form (Transmission Received) [Major Organ and the Adding Machine]
08 Hideaway [Olivia Tremor Control]
09 Spiral Stairs [Elf Power]
10 [banter]
11 As Time Passed [The Gerbils]
12 [banter]
13 Lucky Girl [The Gerbils]
14 [banter]
15 Define A Transparent Dream [Olivia Tremor Control]
16 Hide In the Light> [Elephant 6 Orchestra]
17 Sail Beyond the Sunset [Elephant 6 Orchestra]
18 [banter]
19 organ instrumental
20 [banter]
21 [unknown – Music Tapes]
22 [banter]
23 Party With Me Punker [The Minutemen]
24 Temporary Arm [Elf Power]
25 The Opera House [Olivia Tremor Control]

Set II [1:04:42]
26 They Broke the Speed of Light [The Late B.P. Helium]
27 The Rabbit’s Ear [The Late B.P. Helium]
28 Out of the Water [M Coast]
29 Can You Come Down With Us? [Olivia Tremor Control]
30 [banter]
31 To All Who Say Goodnight [Elephant 6 Orchestra]
32 [banter]
33 Days Remain [Elephant 6 Orchestra]
34 The Lovely Universe [Circulatory System]
35 An Old Familiar Scene [Elf Power]
36 [banter]
37 Nothing For Sunday [Elephant 6 Orchestra]
38 instrumental
39 Majesty [The Music Tapes]
40 Glue [The Gerbils]
41 A White Sky [The Gerbils]
42 [set break]

Set III [44:00:00]
43 I Have Been Floated [Olivia Tremor Control]
44 Round [Olivia Tremor Control]
45 This Morning (We Remembered Everything) [Circulatory System]
46 [banter]
47 Two Skies [The Gerbils]
48 [banter]
49 Alcohol [The Kinks]
50 [banter]
51 Candy For Everyone [The Late B.P. Helium]
52 [banter]
53 Green Typewriters [Olivia Tremor Control]
54 [banter]
55 Enlightenment [Sun Ra Arkestra]

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Elephant 6 Records, visit their website, and support the many fine acts on their label by purchasing official releases (including at the Elephant 6 Store, coming soon).

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: March 16, 2011 Brooklyn Masonic Temple – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

March 20, 2011
By


[photo courtesy of Adam B]

Acidjack reports:
“After Tuesday’s Godspeed You! Black Emperor show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple, I could not imagine the band being able to top itself the following night. But GYBE are far from an ordinary band, and Wednesday’s show was the type of extraordinary tour de force that humbled even their awe-inspiring Tuesday show. This show built on all of the elements that made Tuesday special — the hypnotic, narrative visuals, the seamless two-plus hours of music that ebbed and flowed, and twinkled and roared, but somehow combined them even more successfully. The set never had a moment of pure calm; instead, it was a masterful sequence of classic and new material that only continued to raise the tension. Watching the band for the second time in a row, I was struck by how quickly I became immersed in the music and images, absorbed by their creative vision. This set was slightly shorter than Tuesday’s, but tighter, with what felt like a more focused narrative. As the best performances do, it left me wanting more — and a new album, in particular.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps microphones, and the results are even better than the previous evening. Enjoy!

Thanks to Ronen and the Wordless Music Series for their generosity and support!

Both of the St. Paul’s concerts were recorded and will be posted in the coming days.

Stream “Monheim”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/G3015GYBE0121/02.%20Monheim.mp3]

Direct Download of this show is now available in either FLAC or MP3 at Archive.org [HERE]

Godspeed You! Black Emperor
2011-03-16
Brooklyn Masonic Temple
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded by acidjack
Produced by nyctaper

Equipment: Schoeps CMC6/mk41>Sound Devices USBpre2>Edirol R-44 [Oade Mod] (24/48)
Position: Slightly ROC, mics at 12ft, roughly DIN

Mastering: 24bit/48kHz WAV> Soundforge (set fades, level adjustments, downsample)> CD Wave (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > FLAC

Tracks [Total Time 2:10:04]
01 Gathering Storm
02 Monheim
03 Albanian
04 World Police and Friendly Fire
05 Tazer Floyd
06 Gorecki
07 BBF III

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Godspeed You! Black Emperor, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from Constellation Records [HERE].

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