Posts Tagged ‘ Trans Pecos ’

Hans Chew: July 23, 2016 Trans-Pecos

July 27, 2016
By

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We’ve been following Hans Chew for a while now, since he first played our CMJ show in 2012. Back then, Hans spent the set behind the piano, playing his boogie-driven tunes like modern madcap Jerry Lee Lewis. By the time Hans showed up for this Trans-Pecos show in 2016, he was preparing to release a stellar new album, Unknown Sire, with our friends Divide By Zero records. But when we talked to Hans before this show, he explained to us that he had been so motivated by reading a recent biography of Neil Young that he decided to take an entirely different approach this time — and that for this show, he had an entire new album to draw from. As a result, Hans played the role of guitar lead this time, and he shared three new jams that take clear inspiration from Young’s most daring guitar efforts. As he led off with the sprawling “Cruikshanks,” we could tell this was a very different Hans Chew indeed, one who reveled in extended guitar solos and longer narratives. If any of the three songs fit most closely with Chew’s previous efforts, it was probably the upbeat, honky-tonk inspired “Open Sea,” which itself clocked in at over six minutes, and led into “Freely,” which began as a midtempo rocker before exploding into a fiery solo at the end. Though we’re thrilled for the upcoming record, one has to hope this latest material doesn’t have to sit in the hopper for too long, either.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK22 microphones close to the stage, Naiant X-X omnis split wide on stage, and a soundboard feed. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete set:

Hans Chew
2016-07-23
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY

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

Schoeps MK22 (FOB, ROC)>KCY>Z-PFA + Soundboard + Naiant X-X (3’ split, onstage)>>Zoom F8>3x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (image, EQ, exciter)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Cruikshanks
02 Open Sea
03 Freely

Band:
Hans Chew – Vocals, Guitar
Dave Cavallo – Guitar
Rob Smith – Drums
Jimy SeiTang – Bass

Support Hans Chew: Website | Facebook | Divide By Zero Records

Horse Lords: July 23, 2016 Trans-Pecos

July 26, 2016
By

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For most of its nearly ten-year history, this website has been a collaboration, reflecting the individual tastes and contributions of those who contribute to it. In the past two years, it’s hard to overstate the contribution that Eric PH has made to the team, introducing not only a number of great recordings, but a slew of new bands to the mix. Horse Lords, of Baltimore, are one of his very best finds, and since he first saw them in 2015, we’ve been hoping to do something with them directly. The band headlined a stacked bill this past Saturday at Trans-Pecos, which felt like a welcome, air-conditioned respite from the steaming heat outside. But more important than the change in temperature was the change in perspective, as each of the forward-thinking acts on the bill reminded us of how powerful experimental music can be. While too many bands of their ilk toil in obscurity, Horse Lords have received their due of late, in the form of stellar reviews for their latest album, Interventions (released by NYC label Northern Spy). 

The band’s heady combination of guitar, bass, drums, and at-times keys, sax, and second percussion isn’t the easiest to describe; it has a tinge of desert blues to it, the controlled chaos of free jazz, the music-school time shifts of math rock and the propulsiveness of, well, rock. The band brought all of that complexity to the stage and didn’t miss a beat, holding our attention through the latest album’s first single, “Truthers” straight through to the album’s centerpiece, “Toward the Omega Point,” at the end. As Eric PH pointed out in his review of the 2015 show, the band members know how to fill the spaces in the music when they need to, but also know when to leave some open air. We were floored by the band’s musicianship, their control, and their ability to craft a setlist that hung together through a diverse range of sounds. For anyone who cares about where music is going next, be sure to put Horse Lords on your list of things to see.

I recorded this set with a set of Schoeps MK22 open cardioids near the front of the room, a pair of Naiant X-X omnis split onstage, and a soundboard feed from the night’s engineer. The sound quality is phenomenal. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC/ALAC]

Stream the complete show:

Horse Lords
2016-07-23
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY

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

Schoeps MK22 (FOB, ROC)>KCY>Z-PFA + Soundboard + Naiant X-X (3’ split, onstage)>>Zoom F8>3x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (image, EQ, exciter)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Truthers
02 Intervention III
03 Bending to the Lash
04 Untitled
05 Toward the Omega Point

Please support Horse Lords: Facebook | Bandcamp | Tumblr

Journalism: May 21, 2016 Trans-Pecos

June 7, 2016
By

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You can’t always be sure that a band that sounds good in the studio — and Journalism sounds great on their debut, Faces — will measure up live. We’re extra-excited to report that Journalism are one of those bands, and then some, and we were grateful to host them at Trans-Pecos on a recent Saturday night. Lead singer/guitarist Kegan Zema is a savvy live performer, one who works to look and act the part, and the crack band of Mike Greene (guitar), Owen Keiter (bass) and Brendan Mehan (drums) has a well-oiled and well-practiced sound. Sound-wise, I hear a little bit of Television and Ride in them, as well as some later younger bands like DIIV and Cloud Nothings. This show led off with a new song, “Passenger,” before taking us through most of Faces. The band saved their best song (so far) for last, the propulsive, engaging “Faces I,” a rather dark take on the business of rock n’ roll itself, especially coming from a young band. In this day and age I wouldn’t disagree with Zema’s cynicism, but for his sake and ours, I hope Journalism keep on finding this ride to be worth it.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK22 microphones at the stage lip, plus Schoeps MK41V supercardiod mics on the room and a stereo soundboard feed. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Stream Faces (then buy it!):
Journalism
2016-05-21
Trans-Pecos
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK22>NBob Cables>PFA> + Soundboard + Schoeps MK41V (at SBD, ROC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Zoom F8>6x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, adjust levels)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, compression, tube effect)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Passenger
02 Watching & Waiting
03 Faces II
04 Time Being
05 Night of Knife
06 Denim Jesus
07 Faces I

SUPPORT Journalism: Facebook | bandcamp

Ancient Ocean: March 29, 2016 Trans-Pecos & Bohannon/Dusenbury/Fox: March 30, 2016 Market Hotel

June 1, 2016
By

Ancient Ocean and Chuck Johnson

 

Today it’s a double dose of improvised and drone guitar collaborations from J.R. Bohannon/Ancient Ocean. I caught up with Bohannon last year playing under his Ancient Ocean moniker, and though that recording didn’t work out for technical issues, I was on a mission to catch another set. Finally, March presented us with two opportunities, two nights in a row. The first sees Ancient Ocean joined by Chuck Johnson on pedal steel at Trans-Pecos for long southern-tinged, drone-y guitar workout. Rumor has it this performance will lead to future collaborations between Bohannon and Johnson, so keep an eye out.

The second performance captured here finds Bohannon joined by Liturgy’s rhythm section—Tyler Dusenbury on bass and Greg Fox on drums. This one starts out with some droning guitar from Bohannon, but the trio quickly finds its groove and the rest of the set is a shifting neo-Krautrock jam that won over Faust’s packed Market Hotel crowd rather quickly. It’s not quite what you’ve come to expect from Bohannon, nor from two former members of Liturgy, but the trio stake out some interesting new territory in their first collaboration. I hope there’s more to come from these three!

Acidjack recorded the Trans-Pecos set with a pair of stage mics capturing the performance up close. I recorded the Market Hotel set with our built-in Audio Technica mics plus a board feed from Market FOH, Jason. As goes without saying, the sound here is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Trans-Pecos set: [MP3/FLAC]

Download the Market Hotel set: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream:

Ancient Ocean (ft. Chuck Johnson on steel guitar)
2016-03-29
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK4V (stage lip)>NBob Cables>PFA>Zoom F8>24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC (level 8)

01. Live at Trans-Pecos [23:21]


Bohannon/Dusenbury/Fox
2016-03-30
Market Hotel
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Jason) + AT4051 > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, compression, mixdown, normalize, fades) + Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ) > Audacity 2.0.5 (downsample, dither, tagging) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

01. Live at Market Hotel [21:47]

Support Music:
Buy Ancient Ocean’s Blood Moon via Bandcamp

• • Visit Ancient Ocean at Facebook
• • • Connect with Greg Fox at his website
• • • • Visit Chuck Johnson at his website
• • • • • Buy Chuck Johson’s Velvet Arc via Trouble in Mind

 

Spacin’: April 30, 2016 Trans-Pecos

May 12, 2016
By

Spacin Pecos
[photo by rubinbooty]

Our readers may have noticed that we’ve been producing and promoting a lot of shows this year. In the past we dabbled with showcases and occasional nights, but with our involvement in Market Hotel and its sister venue Trans-Pecos, we will be presenting roughly one or two shows a month for the foreseeable future. This past month, our guests were the phenomenally underappreciated Philly psych/garage outfit Spacin’. The nice part of producing your own shows is the ability to select the bands — and we were extremely pleased that Spacin’ accepted our invitation. We’ve been fans of the band for quite some time, going all the way back to a magical night at 285 Kent in 2013, and then again at Hopscotch later that year. And Spacin’ was everything that we’d hoped at Pecos. The set was a mix of material old and new, including two songs from the band’s 2016 album Total Freedom, the live debut performance of brand new “I Don’t Know What to Do About It”, and a cover of the 90s punk band Dead Moon. But details and descriptions aside, the best evidence of the phenomenal performance of Spacin’ is to just listen to this recording — its crackling with energy and authenticity. We said back in 2013 that we were never going to miss another Spacin’ show in NYC. And in 2016 we had to make it happen ourselves, and will hopefully get that chance again.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps cards at the front of the stage picking up the live sound from the band’s amps and mixed that with a fine board feed provided by house FOH Chris. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Spacin’
2016-04-30
Trans Pecos
Queens NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + On Stage Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Chris] + Schoeps CCM4’s > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wavs > Soundforge (mixing) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3/tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 52:51]
01 Half the Time
02 Human Condition
03 [tuning]
04 Over the Edge [Dead Moon]
05 Sunshine No Shoes
06 I Don’t Know What to Do About it
07 Ego-Go
08 Empty Mind
09 Total Freedom

SUPPORT Spacin’: Bandcamp | Website | Facebook | Twitter

Chuck Johnson: March 24, 2016 Union Pool and March 29, 2016 Trans-Pecos

April 29, 2016
By

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We saw a lot of our friend Chuck Johnson lately, between his one-of-a-kind full band performance at the Three Lobed Sweet Sixteen Spectacular, to these two NYC shows, the latter of which we sponsored. Both of these performances — the first at Union Pool, the second at Trans-Pecos — showcased Chuck’s recent album on Trouble In Mind Records, Velvet Arc. It’s a more electric-focused project than some of his other recent work, but continues with their strong sense of narrative, and Chuck’s refreshing, ingenious phrasing. We were grateful that Chuck was able to make time for two New York performances — and that we were able to sponsor one of them. Chuck is back out west and off the tour trail for a bit, but we’ll be waiting for his return.

The Union Pool set was recorded by EricPH in our usual manner in the venue, with engineer Doug’s soundboard feed and AKG microphones. The Trans-Pecos show was recorded with Schoeps MK4V microphones at the stage lip only. The sound quality of both is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Union Pool show: [MP3/FLAC]

Download the Trans-Pecos show: [MP3/FLAC/ALAC]

Stream the complete shows:

Chuck Johnson
2016-03-24
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Doug) + AKG C480B/CK63 > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, compression, mixdown, normalize, fades) + Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ) > Audacity 2.0.5 (downsample, dither, tracking, tagging) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

Tracks [37:43]
01. Florets
02. [tuning]
03. Sail Away Ladies
04. [tuning]
05. Anamet
06. Middle Water
07. [tuning]
08. Velvet Arc

________________________

Chuck Johnson
2016-03-29
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK4V (stage lip)>NBob Cables>PFA>Zoom F8>24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Florets [fades in]
02 [tuning]
03 Sailaway Ladies
04 [tuning2]
05 Anamet
06 Middle Water
07 Velvet Arc

Support Chuck Johnson: Website | bandcamp | Trouble In Mind Records 

Lee Ranaldo: March 29, 2016 Trans-Pecos

April 28, 2016
By

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One of those only-in-New York things: you’re out in Ridgewood on a Tuesday night to see a solo guitar player (Chuck Johnson), and the opening act is freaking Lee Ranaldo. Since the demise of Sonic Youth, Lee has been a busy man, putting out two well-received solo records. If these new songs are any guide, there’s going to be a lot more where that came from. What’s striking about seeing Ranaldo in the many settings where we’ve seen him — from the Sonic Youth days to a mind-bending improv performance with Tim Barnes at the opening of Market Hotel, to this solo acoustic performance at Trans-Pecos — is the assuredness with which he plays, the singular dedication and quality that comes through in every single thing he does. The decades under his belt as a professional musician serve not to weigh him down, but as with the finest artists, to free him to do exactly what he chooses, when he chooses, and do it well. These new songs show Lee’s continuing development during the post-Sonic Youth Between the Times & the Tides and Last Night On Earth era, when Ranaldo first embraced more straight-ahead songwriting in the solo realm versus his previous experimental efforts. While we’ve heard “Let’s Start Again” before, at last year’s Trans-Pecos show, the rest of these songs were new numbers, some of which Lee has tried out sporadically at other appearances. Even in their stripped-down form, the complexity and strength of these songs was obvious, and Ranaldo’s vocals have never sounded better. This was a welcome burst of energy from a master of his craft; we can’t wait to see what comes next.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones at the stage lip near Lee and his guitar, coupled with a soundboard feed and Audio Technica 853 microphones in the audience to capture the ambiance of the room. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete set: 

Lee Ranaldo
2016-03-29
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY USA

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

Soundboard + Schoeps MK4V (stage lip, DFC) + Audio Technica 853c>PFA (ROC, at SBD)>>Zoom F8>3x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 31:11]
01 [intro]
02 Let’s Start Again
03 Circular
04 Electric Trim
05 Last Looks
06 Thrown Over the Wall

SUPPORT Lee Ranaldo: Website | Store

Courtesy Tier: March 30, 2016 Trans-Pecos

April 22, 2016
By

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It took an impromptu interview with two of us and the band Courtesy Tier for me to realize that we had been following them for six years. Having first impressed at a Backyard Brunch Session, then at our CMJ show, we were struck early on by the easy interplay between Layton Weedeman and Omer Leibovitz who, being a duo who play blues-driven rock n’ roll, earn easy comparisons to The Black Keys. But at the 2015 Rough Trade show we wrote about recently, the band had expanded to a three piece, and with Alex Picca on bass, the three became more than the sum of their parts. The band is promoting their Little Rock EP, in anticipation of a full-length album they are hard at work on, and we were thrilled to have them join us to preview some of that material such as their new single, “When You Were Young.”

While they may share a gulf in years with Wussy, for whom they opened this Trans-Pecos show, Courtesy Tier share many good qualities with their stagemates that night: an unpretentious, quality-based approach to music; an ability to write distinct, memorable songs around a cohesive sound; and a general ability to grab control of a room. I’d hazard that much of the audience at this show was new to Courtesy Tier, so we knew we’d made the right pick for an opener as we watched the crowd grow throughout their set, rather than the all-too-common flight for the bar. But then, you’d have had to be crazy to bolt during any of these songs, from the propulsive kickoff track and longtime band favorite “Cold” to the lighters-in-the-air closeout singalong, “Home.”

As with the Wussy set, I recorded this with Schoeps MK4Vs at the stage lip, Neumann KM150s on the room, and a soundboard feed from David Fine. The quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show: 

Courtesy Tier
2016-03-30
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK4V>NBob Cables>PFA>Aeta PSP3 + Soundboard (engineer: David Fine) + Neumann KM150 (at SBD, ROC, PAS)>>Zoom F8>6x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, adjust levels)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, compression, tube effect)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Cold
02 [removed]
03 [banter1]
04 Childish Blues
05 And We Don’t Know
06 [banter2]
07 When You Were Young
08 Jackson
09 Roll On
10 [banter3]
11 Home

SUPPORT Courtesy Tier: Website | Facebook | Get “When You Were Young”

Wussy: March 30, 2016 Trans-Pecos

April 4, 2016
By

wussy-tarbell-2
[photos by Rich Tarbell]

How unlikely, really, that a band that represents its frontman’s second act (Chuck Cleaver was in Ass Ponys), that’s several albums into its career (Forever Sounds is the band’s sixth; Attica, its fifth, could be called its breakout), that comes from a city (Cincinnati) that nobody accuses of being a cultural or media hub, and that seems delightfully uninterested in the posing, PR machine and gimmicks that tend to attract notice, would end up at a career peak here in New York, on a Wednesday night, in Ridgewood, Queens, and a lot of people would show up.

Whether you think of Wussy as a band that defies odds or that is the picture of what hardworking, road-hardened rock musicianship ought to look like probably depends on some combination of your generation and your cynicism level. You don’t have to fall into one camp or the other to admire the 100-minute set on display here, which shot like a cannon from the oddly-lit but accommodating stage of Trans-Pecos last Wednesday. This site has flogged this band incessantly since 2010, and we relished the chance to come full circle and serve as promoters of the show. And, true to Cleaver’s observation when we caught them in 2015, they “suddenly” had a crowd.

It’d be hard to cherry pick all the specific things that were exceptional about this set, but one quick glance at the 100-minute run time should give an idea of where we’re headed. Unbothered by the pesky time limits you find at corporate venues, the band stretched into a set that spanned their career, from 2005’s Funeral Dress to their 2016 album, Forever Sounds. Rarely-played gems like the opener, “Little Paper Birds” from their self-titled 2009 record merged perfectly with regular rotation winners like “Pizza King” and new, shoegaze-leaning favorites like “Dropping Houses” and “Donny’s Death Scene.” We got one but not two encores, the first of which included a rare cover of New Order’s “Ceremony.”

If the setlist came as a welcome surprise, what was on usual display was the band’s hardworking, crowd-pleasing mojo, including Cleaver and Lisa Walker’s wry onstage banter. She was the one, after all, who refused to leave the stage for the pretend “encore break,” preferring instead to use it as an opportunity to play another song. And if that first encore, with “Ceremony” went well, it still wasn’t clear that the band were going to convince themselves to throw it back in for a second, but the crowd wouldn’t let them leave. Two more songs later, and well past midnight, the band finally closed things out for real, and everyone left happy. In the band’s fine tradition, they once again got more than their money’s worth.

nyctaper and I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones at the stage lip, Neumann KM150s capturing the room sound, and a soundboard feed from engineer David Fine. The sound quality s excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [FLAC/ALAC/MP3]

Stream the complete show (less banter tracks):

Wussy
2016-03-30
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK4V>NBob Cables>PFA>Aeta PSP3 + Soundboard (engineer: David Fine) + Neumann KM150 (at SBD, ROC, PAS)>>Zoom F8>6x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, adjust levels)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, compression, tube effect)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:38:03]
01 Little Paper Birds
02 She’s Killed Hundreds
03 Gone
04 Donny’s Death Scene
05 [banter – Dangerbird]
06 Teenage Wasteland
07 [banter – Ed Ames]
08 In The Tall Weeds
09 Pulverized
10 Pizza King
11 Better Days
12 [banter – thanks]
13 Hello, I’m a Ghost
14 Sidewalk Sale
15 To The Lightning
16 [banter – Job’s Daughter’s Club]
17 Dropping Houses
18 Aliens In Our Midst [The Twinkeyz]
19 I Give You All
20 Beautiful
21 [encore break]
22 Majestic-12
23 [banter]
24 Ceremony [New Order]
25 Airborne
26 [second encore break]
27 Gene, I Dream
28 Rigor Mortis

SUPPORT Wussy: Website | Buy Forever Sounds | Bandcamp

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

March 24, 2016
By

DSC_0098
[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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