Posts Tagged ‘ webster hall ’

Cloud Nothings: February 1, 2017 Webster Hall

February 6, 2017
By


[photos by Will Oliver of We All Want Someone blog]

Its been nearly seven years since Cloud Nothings last graced the pages of this site. At that point, eighteen-year old Dylan Baldi’s band played an opening slot on a Northside Festival event at Mercury Lounge and stole the show. Our acidjack foresaw big things for Cloud Nothings back then, and he was prescient. This decade the band has released four outstanding albums, including two “Best New Music” awards from Pitchfork, has toured the world, played most major festivals and generally have remained one of indie rock’s most consistently excellent acts.

In January, Cloud Nothings released Life Without Sound (Carpark Records) which represents a bit of a departure for the group. The band brought in legendary engineer/producer John Goodmanson (Death Cab for Cutie, Sleater-Kinney) and the result is a dense and richer sound — long gone are the days when Cloud Nothings could be called “lo-fi” by lazy reviewers. The new album also represents a maturing the Baldi’s songwriting and throughout the tour in support of this record the band has been all business. This past week at Webster Hall, that approach translated into a full-powered set long on songs and short on banter. Cloud Nothings were non-nonsense as they ripped through a setlist that concentrated on Life Without Sound but was also drew from the previous two albums. Baldi’s crunchy guitar and vocals were out front and the packed-in crowd were treated to a set that never let up in energy until the fans called the band back for two encores, including a noise-propelled extended finale of “Wasted Days”. Cloud Nothings will be on tour throughout February across the US, before they play in Europe in March, all dates [HERE].

I recorded this set with the Schoeps clamped out in front of the soundboard booth in the balcony and mixed with a board feed. The sound is clear and upfront. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Cloud Nothings
2017-02-01
Webster Hall
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, EQ, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:11:46]
01 Up to the Surface
02 Pattern Walks
03 Modern Act
04 Sight Unseen
05 Now Hear In
06 Stay Useless
07 Darkened Rings
08 Enter Entirely
09 Psychic Trauma
10 Things Are Right With You
11 Internal World
12 I’m Not Part of Me
13 Realize My Fate
14 [encore break]
15 Fall In
16 Wasted Days

SUPPORT Cloud Nothings: Website | Facebook | Purchase Life Without Sound

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.

Jennifer Castle: October 4, 2015 Webster Hall

October 20, 2015
By

jennifer-castle-12
[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.

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

October 6, 2015
By

destroyer-7
[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.

destroyer-26

Heartless Bastards: June 15, 2015 Webster Hall – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

June 18, 2015
By

pierfrancescobaccaro
[photo by Pierfrancesco Baccaro from Instagram]

After more than a decade of music, the Heartless Bastards continue to keep things fresh. Erika Wennerstrom, the group’s frontwoman, heart, and soul, continues to refine what has proven to be one of the great rock voices of the early 21st century, defining a sound that is contemporary and classic. Those of us who heard the show’s opening intro now know where it comes from — Erika’s grandmother, who had quite the pipes of her own.

At this juncture, the Bastards are past the point of being either a hot new thing or a flash in the pan. Rolling into their fifth proper album — their second for Partisan Records — the band sounds like the experienced travelers they are, with a honed sound and a stable of fans who follow it. This show at Webster Hall served as the night-before release show for Restless Ones, and became the first exposure to several of the new songs for most of us. This was the band’s longest show we’ve seen yet, and one that let them try on a number of different sonic textures from song to song. The new songs veer a bit further afield from the bluesy barroom sound of the band’s earlier efforts, as on “Gates of Dawn.” That song’s placement at the front of this set, between the very straightforward “Simple Feeling” and “Gotta Have Rock N’ Roll,” underscored the point. As is often the case, the band let things stretch out for its epic, Sabbath-inspired “Down In the Canyon,” which followed the new album’s “Into the Light,” one of several decidedly downbeat songs on the new record. If the printed setlist was to be believed, our encore had “All This Time” planned, but was dropped in favor of “Only For You,” which was followed by one of the new record’s most stylistically adventurous songs yet, the noise-dirge “Tristessa.” Even without one of our all-time favorite Bastards songs, this was easily one of the strongest sets we’ve seen yet from this band.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK41V supercardiod microphones mounted inside the soundboard cage combined with a stereo feed from the band’s touring FOH, Reggie. While most of one encore song (“Only For You”) was lost due to technical problems, the sound of the remainder is outstanding. Enjoy!

Thanks to Partisan Records and Paul from Webster Hall for making this happen on short notice!

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

Stream the complete show:

Heartless Bastards
2015-06-15
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK41V (DFC, PAS)>CMC6 + Soundboard (engineer: Reggie)>Roland R-26>2x24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.5 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:33:39]
01 Simple Feeling
02 Gates of Dawn
03 Gotta Have Rock N Roll
04 Black Cloud
05 Journey
06 Hi-Line
07 Skin and Bone
08 Pocket Full of Thirst
09 The Fool
10 The Mountain
11 Into the Light
12 Down In the Canyon
13 Late In the Night
14 Gray
15 Wind Up Bird
16 Only For You
17 Parted Ways
18 [encore break]
19 Only For You [mostly cut]
20 Tristessa

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT the Heartless Bastards, visit their website, and buy Restless Ones from Partisan Records.

nyctaper Top 10 Concerts of 2014

December 27, 2014
By

taper-larger

NYCTaper (the site) will have our “Top 25 Moments” post later this week, but in the meantime this is the nyctaper (the person) list of my Top 10 concerts of 2014. Since I recorded less than half of the recordings posted on the site this year, its by no means comprehensive but its a personal list I’ve done since the site began in 2007.

1. The War On Drugs: March 19 and 20 2014 Bowery Ballroom
2014 was pretty much the year of the The War On Drugs. Their album has been the consensus number one selection among a vast number of end-of-year lists — appearing at or near the top in every single list we’ve read recently. And we’re proud of the fact that we were there first. In my review of this show, I predicted that Lost In The Dream would be an album of the year candidate and would be in the decade discussion. The band played two flawless shows at Bowery Ballroom, bringing the new album’s material to life with passion and precision.

2. Wussy: October 10, 2014 Knitting Factory / October 11, 2014 Private House Larchmont NY
2014 was also the year of Wussy. As their album Attica continues to show up on virtually every knowledgeable year-end list, it appears that the world at large is finally catching on to a band we’ve been pushing for the last half-decade. In between these two shows — a full band set headlining the CBGB Fest at the Knit, and the following night playing acoustically at a private house show — Wussy filmed a segment with CBS national morning news that recently aired. It was their first national tv appearance, and I’m guessing it won’t be their last. Both of these shows were great for different reasons, but both indicated the strengths of this unconventional but extraordinary band.

3. Wilco: October 29, 2014 Capitol Theatre Port Chester NY
Of the three nights when Wilco celebrated their 20th anniversary and the tour came to the NYC area, this was my favorite night for variety of reasons. The performances on all three nights were top notch, but this night had the extra bonus of some older Wilco material that I had never heard live or hadn’t seen in years.

4. Ty Segall: September 17, 2014 Webster Hall
Ty Segall keeps churning out the records and they keep getting better. The shows are also genuinely the best show in town — crazy talented band, great songs and a crowd that matches the energy from stage top to bottom. This night at Webster was part of two consecutive sold-out shows for Ty and this set was easily one of my best of the year, notable for the force of the crowd causing the photo pit guardrails to be removed because of of the crush.

5. Marah: July 12, 2014 Bowery Electric
The story of Marah is one of redemption and ultimately an extraordinary reinvention. A fairly successful band from the aughts, Marah was dormant for a few years before rising up from the ashes into an eclectic Americana band whose project was to resurrect centuries-old Pennsylvania folk songs into a contemporary format. Add to the band a 10 year old child prodigy on fiddle and a PhD in rural cultures on banjo and you have one of the most unlikely success stories in recent memory. This show at Bowery Electric was a revelation in so many ways, it perhaps best to just listen to the show in its entirety.

6. Woods: November 4, 2014 Death By Audio
This night ended up being my last at Death By Audio. If recording your last show one of your favorite venues ever ends up being one of your favorite bands, then its all good. For this show, Woods reunited with former member Lucas for several songs including the transition jam from his set to the main Woods set that led into “Bend Beyond” — also one of the best single moments of the year.

7. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: October 13, 2014 Baby’s All Right
Their new album came out too late in the year to end up on too many end-of-year lists, but if it had been released in February or March it would be right there. King Gizzard is a band clearly on the rise and their shows are all out ragers. We saw them four times this year but this was the one that really kicked it in and took this band to an entire other level. The opening segue was the one of the best extended pieces of music we heard all year.

8. PUP: February 21, 2014 Cameo Gallery
This is likely the show that I saw this year where the most unbridled energy emanated from the stage. PUP is part of the burgeoning punk scene in Toronto and they toured North America and Europe persistently throughout the year in support of their self-titled debut on Side One Dummy Records. This night at Cameo pre-dated the release of the album and the crowd was a fraction of the fans they’d see before the end of the year, but PUP was simply one full hour of energy, humor and fun and this was one of my favorite nights of the year.

9. The Kickback: October 23, 2014 NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Day Party, Cake Shop
I invited The Kickback to play our CMJ show because of one song in particular — a version of “Rob Our House” at Pianos that we had seen in June. But when the band played their afternoon set in the basement of Cake Shop, I soon learned that this was far from a one-song band as every track was more compelling than the next. Of course, “House” was the number that blew mostly everyone away when it closed the set, but in reality this entire performance was killer.

Read more »

Smashing Pumpkins: December 8, 2014 Webster Hall – Flac/MP3/Streaming

December 11, 2014
By

TSP Gretchen
[photo courtesy of Gretchen Robinette – full set at brooklynvegan]

I think its safe to say that Billy Corgan can be a polarizing figure in the music press. The Smashing Pumpkins are certainly one of rock’s most enduring 90s bands and although Billy has been endlessly criticized for a series of personnel changes in the band, the group as it exists in 2014 is still a pretty damned good unit. The new Smashing Pumpkins album Monuments to an Elegy is a superb record — high quality material with a very strong supporting cast and Billy’s guitar and voice have never sounded better. Its the album you’d hope that the Smashing Pumpkins would make in 2014. But reading the current state of the music press, you wouldn’t necessarily even know that TSP and Billy released such high quality work or that they even have a new album at all. And that’s a shame. The click-driven rags that write about music-related issues are selling headlines and Billy’s various beefs and highly quotable outlandish statements drive the big type and site visits. But credit where credit is due — among those sites, Pitchfork begrudgingly gave Monuments a review that was both fair and pretty accurate.

The Smashing Pumpkins are playing a few small venues in various cities to celebrate the album’s release and as an introduction to the band that will play the much larger album support tour. New York and Webster Hall were fortunate to land one of these intimate events. The band consists of Corgan and longtime TSP guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and newcomers bassist Mark Stoermer (from The Killers) and drummer Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine). Despite having played only a few shows together thus far, this unit of pros is already operating on all cylinders and were about as tight as could be expected. The setlist for this show was of course heavy on Monument material (five of nine songs), but also included a nice selection of older material (“Hummer” was a standout) and one neat cover (Bowie’s “Fame” streaming below), before the main set closed with a tremendous thirteen-minute “Silverfuck” that was both jammed, intense, and included a couple of teases (I heard “Kashmir” while others noticed “She Sells Sanctuary”). The show ended in a forward-looking fashion as TSP closed with the night with a powerful unreleased ballad called “Burnt Orange-Black” which is scheduled to appear on their next album due in 2015. This mini tour concludes on the West coast this week with shows in Las Vegas and LA. Stay tuned for new tour dates in the new year.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps cards mounted on the front center wall of the soundboard cage in the lower balcony. The recording is primarily (75%) room mics because the sound in the room on this night was among the best quality sound I’ve literally ever heard in any venue due in large part to the quality of the crew and Webster’s new upgraded system. We added in a small amount of board feed to boost the vocals and give the recording a bit more “direct” sound. This amazing sounding show was mixed by the band’s current FOH Kevin Lemoine and he deserves all the credit. Enjoy!

Stream “Fame” (David Bowie cover):

While Archive.org is temporarily down due to local power issue – Download [MP3] [FLAC]

This Recording is now available for Download in Flac and MP3 at Archive.org [HERE]

Stream the Entire Show from Archive.org:

Smashing Pumpkins
2014-12-08
Webster Hall
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [Engineer Kevin] + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wavs > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, EQ, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:41:09]
01 One and All
02 Being Beige
03 Hummer
04 Tiberius
05 [banter – bass amp]
06 Tonight Tonight
07 Drum and Fife
08 Glass and the Ghost Children
09 Stand Inside Your Love
10 [banter – adventure]
11 Monuments
12 Drown
13 Disarm
14 Zero
15 Bullet with Butterfly Wings
16 Fame [Bowie]
17 Silverfuck
18 [encore break]
19 Ava Adore
20 Burnt Orange-Black

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Smashing Pumpkins, visit their website, and purchase Monuments to an Elegy from the band’s website [HERE].

Ty Segall: September 17, 2014 Webster Hall – Flac/MP3/Streaming

September 22, 2014
By

ty-segall-7
[photos by PSquared Photography – complete set at brooklynvegan]

I’m not sure there is a currently working musician who produces as consistently excellent music — live or on record — at does Ty Segall. His new album Manipulator is yet another Ty album that shines from start to finish and the tour in support has raged from city to city. Last week Ty Segall came to NYC for two shows at Webster Hall (alas no secret DBA show) and we were there for the first night on Wednesday. Ty’s fans always vociferously exhibit their love for his music and this night was no different. Five songs into the set the venue’s crew had to remove the metal photo pit barrier to avoid crushing people to death. After a quick break, the set continued in earnest and the new space permitted a neverending parade of stage divers and jumpers, including ultimately the artist himself. The setlist was similar to most recent tours in that the band played most of the new album (in this case 13 of 17 tracks) before the second half of the night was dedicated to the older material. But the crowd was with them all the way — old or new — for the full ninety minute set. We’re streaming one of our favorite tracks from the new album “Green Belly”. Ty Segall’s US tour is coming to a close in the next few days, but he’ll then spend six weeks touring through Europe.

I recorded this set from the soundboard perch in the front and center below the balcony with the Schoeps cards mixed with an excellent feed from house FOH Rafael. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “Green Belly”:

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.

Ty Segall
2014-09-17
Webster Hall
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, EQ, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:20:11]
01 Manipulator
02 Its Over
03 The Connection Man
04 Tall Man Skinny Lady
05 Feel
06 [banter – barricade]
07 The Faker
08 The Singer
09 The Clock
10 Green Belly
11 [banter – carry me]
12 Don’t You Want to Know (Sue)
13 Susie Thumb
14 The Crawler
15 The Feels
16 You’re the Doctor
17 Slaughterhouse
18 [Sweater Song tease]
19 I Bought My Eyes
20 [band introductions]
21 Imaginary Person
22 Caesar
23 Wave Goodbye
24 [encore break]
25 Fire on the Mountain [Wand]
26 Thank God for Sinners
27 I Wear Black
28 Girlfriend

If you download this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Ty Segall, visit his website, and purchase Manipulator from the Drag City Records website [HERE].

ty-segall-18

nyctaper Top Ten Concerts of 2013 + Live Mix Tape

December 29, 2013
By

taper large

Another banner year at the site and seeing shows in NYC (and sometimes beyond). This “best of” only encompasses the shows that I, nyctaper, saw. Remember that the site has had nine contributing tapers this year, and I did not even record and post the most shows — that honor goes to the indefagitable acidjack, who we hope will come along soon with his own list.

I’ve also attached an mp3 compilation to this post. Its mostly of a mix of “honorable mentions”, just really cool songs I recall from this year, some new songs, some older songs, but all performed and recorded in 2013. Enjoy!

nyctaper Top 10 Concerts of 2013:

1. Wilco – June 21, 2013 Solid Sound Festival North Adams MA
PSquared and I drove a long way in a short time to see this show, and then drove all the way back almost as soon as it was over. And it was infinitely worth it. Wilco playing an entire two and a half hour show of covers, some popular classics and some fairly obscure, but all in their own style and all requested by fans. This one-off is very unlikely to happen again and we’re so fortunate to not only have been there to but have captured an “event” of this kind. Our recording got us mentioned in Spin Magazine, Paste Magazine, Fuse TV, WXRT radio, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound, The Examiner, Prefix Magazine, Gothamist, and a hundred other smaller sites. 20,000 people have downloaded this recording from our site. There are 24,000 plays on the “Marquee Moon” soundcloud sample (posted below). Its my own personal highlight of the year, and one of the best moments in the history of the site.

2. Yo La Tengo – December 16, 2013 Bell House Brooklyn
Sure, they appeared on the site six times this year, including the final four shows of the year at Bell House and of course the historical final YLT show at Maxwell’s (RIP) in June. But I believe this show was the most fully formed, most inspirationally played, and including some absolute classic selections. I’ve seen this band live about fifty times, and this may be the most completely realized performance of all of them.

3. Thee Oh Sees – October 27, 2013 285 Kent
In a cruel bit of synchronous irony, on the same day this month that word spread that the venue 285 Kent would soon close, Thee Oh Sees announced an “indefinite hiatus”. It was only about six weeks previous that this band played this venue on the day that Lou Reed died and it was a moment in time that anyone in attendance will not soon forget. One of the best live bands around played with an enormous amount of energy and inspiration and the packed crowd responded with equal energy.

4. Deervana (Deer Tick) – September 13, 2013 Brooklyn Bowl
This is another show selected because of its historical signifance. If perhaps the performance wasn’t technically perfect, the spirit and energy that Deer Tick brings to its “Deervana” performances is clear. On the 20th anniversary of the release of In Utero, the album was played from start to finish. It was a celebration, not some mournful exercise, and the love of the music was obvious from both the band and the crowd. In terms of the importance to the site, this recording also saw us get mentioned all over the web, including Spin, Consequence of Sound, The Examiner, MTV, Stereogum and a bunch of other places.

5. Superchunk – September 28, 2013 Bowery Ballroom NYC
They are indie vets both as a band and as a label, but Superchunk continues to produce excellent material. And this year’s new album I Hate Music was one of their best. This show at Bowery, the first of two sold-out shows in NYC was like most Superchunk shows a kinetic and crazy run through material old and new and their was a celebratory and special air in the room. Perhaps the most fun show we saw all year.

6. The Complete Last Waltz – November 27, 2013 Capitol Theatre, Portchester NY
The original Last Waltz was perhaps the greatest concert in the history of rock music, so a complete performance nearly forty years later would have to be a pale comparison, right? Only it wasn’t. We were absolutely stunned at the quality of the performances and the reverence with which the entire ensemble treated the material.

7. Deafheaven – February 22, 2013 Saint Vitus Brooklyn
Yes, I realize that Deafheaven has appeared on virtually every best of 2013 list compiled on the web in the last month or so, but this is different (aren’t we always), this is a concert that we recorded early in the year before their game-changing album Sunbather had even been released. We saw them again in July, which was also a phenomenal show but we’re sticking with the first experience of this “take your breath away” band who are destined for bigger places than the great Saint Vitus in 2014. But we were there then. As it ever was.

8. Kevin Devine – November 22, 2013 Webster Hall NYC
He released two of the best records of the year, and unless you read Paste Magazine every day or saw our post about Kevin in November, you wouldn’t even know it. He is perhaps the best current purveyor of power pop and his prolific songwriting ability is a thing to behold. This concert was the home show after a lengthy US tour and Kevin and band were in a fine form from start to finish.

9. Ty Segall – August 30, 2013 Bowery Ballroom NYC
Ty Segall released a true departure album this year, the somewhat-quiet and contemplative Sleeper. This Bowery show was a seated affair, with the new album performed almost entirely to start the show. Ty is a performer of great proficiency and this show highlighted his maturity and versatility.

10. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – January 26, 2013 Brooklyn Bowl
Easily the best single performance of Grateful Dead material since the demise of the original band nearly twenty years ago. My review was pretty harsh regarding “post-Jerry” projects and that generated a bit of a comment war, but thankfully most people agreed with me — and nearly everyone agreed that this show was immense.

Honorable Mention:
This is a 16-track MP3 mix of songs from other excellent concerts I attended this year. Its by no means a comprehensive list of musical highlights, but consists of tracks that caught our ear this year. We included three tracks from the Top Ten because fit they thematically, but 13 songs are from shows that were certainly important enough to deserve mention. Download [HERE].

Mike Doughty: November 22, 2013 9:30 Club (DC — 2 sets) + November 23, 2013 Webster Hall – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

November 25, 2013
By


IMG_6292
[photos by acidjack]

Mike Doughty promised to reimagine some of the favorites he wrote with Soul Coughing, and with a successful PledgeMusic campaign, he made it happen. The new LP features brand-new arrangements that hew closer to the vibe of Doughty’s solo work, with more straight singing and less of the scatty sing-speak that he popularized as “M Doughty” back in the Soul Coughing days.

Doughty has refused to play Soul Coughing songs live for years; his book documents his animosity toward his former bandmates and his perception of how and why the band ended. When he played an acoustic doubleheader at City Winery earlier this year, it was the first time I had seen Soul Coughing material live since the late ’90s.

You don’t have to buy into, or agree with, Doughty’s perspective on the band’s breakup to enjoy the new-old songs. If you were a fan of the band in its heyday, it won’t take long to remember how infectious and unusual many of these songs were. From their breakout hit “Super Bon Bon” to their big hit “Circles” to Ruby Vroom’s standout “Screenwriter’s Blues”, this sound hasn’t been replicated by anyone. It was Doughty’s, and his bandmates’, alone.

We are offering three shows in this post: First, an exclusive “VIP” acoustic performance of five songs prior to the main set at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC; second, that night’s main set, where Doughty paid a much-deserved and touching tribute to the deceased longtime 9:30 Club fixture Josh Burdette, the kind of person that, if you have ever been to that club, you would remember. Finally, we have a homecoming performance at NYC’s Webster Hall, which due to my failure to charge my preamp, is missing the last few songs. It and the 9:30 Club set are fairly similar.

The acoustic set is the best example of where Doughty is musically today — you hear him deliver some powerful renditions of both his solo stuff and Soul Coughing material in a manner that he grew more comfortable with over the past decade-plus. It’s heartfelt and reflective, more personal than any Soul Coughing performance ever came across.

The Soul Coughing material presents a different challenge. You have a performer who used to be known for spastic, hyperkinetic performances in his 20s, backed by musicians from a variety of disciplines, trying to redefine that material in a newer, more mature image. Soul Coughing shows were just that — shows — and some songs’ delivery covered up some of the original arrangements limitations. In some instances, these “re-imagined” Soul Coughing songs felt the way Doughty said in The Book of Drugs that he wanted them — leaner and meaner, with fewer distractions. “Unmarked Helicopters”, from the X-Files soundtrack, certainly makes that argument, as do, among others, songs like “True Dreams of Wichita” and “Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago”. “St. Louise is Listening” highlights its essential opening lyric when Doughty’s smoother arrangement is deployed.

In other cases, the reimagination becomes more of an adjustment: Without the classic bass line once played by Sebastian Steinberg, a song like “Super Bon-Bon”, with its mad flow and seemingly random lyrics, is no longer what it was. Absent the classic loop credited to Mark De Gli Antoni on “Screenwriter’s Blues”, Doughty’s lyrics have a different cast than they did in the original. That said, that Doughty dared to mess with his original success on this album is a credit to his growth in the past 13 years. As a fan of both his solo work and Soul Coughing, I think I speak for more than myself that we always hoped to hear some of his ’90s work alongside his current material. So, Mike — thank you.

DC-based friend of the site Kubacheck recorded both of his sets with MBHO cardiod microphones. My recording from Webster Hall was made with Schoeps MK4V microphones in a mobile fairly close to the stage. We have streaming tracks and full downloads of each, and all three are excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Fully Retractable” from the 9:30 Club acoustic set: 

Stream “St. Louise Is Listening” from the 9:30 Club

Stream “True Dreams of Wichita”

Download the 9:30 Club acoustic set from the Live Music Archive: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Download the 9:30 Club main set from the Live Music Archive: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Download the Webster Hall set from the Live Music Archive: [MP3] | [FLAC]

IMG_6257

Mike Doughty
2013-11-22
9:30 Club
Washington, DC USA
[VIP acoustic set]

Hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by kubacheck
Produced by acidjack

MBHO KA200N>MBP603a>Naiant adapter>Naiant Tinybox>Roland R-05 (24/48)>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (adjust levels)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, exciter)>>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, additional level adjustments, parallel compression, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 Sunken-Eyed Girl
03 Fully Retractable
04 [tuning/banter]
05 No Misfortune
06 27 Jennifers
07 American Car
________________

Mike Doughty
2013-11-22
9:30 Club
Washington, DC USA
[Main set]

[same info as acoustic set]

Tracks [Total Time: 1:23:11]
01 [intro]
02 Is Chicago Is Not Chicago
03 Sugar Free Jazz
04 Bus to Beelzebub
05 The Idiot Kings
06 Unmarked Helicopters
07 Lazybones
08 Screenwriter’s Blues
09 Uh, Zoom Zip
10 Mr. Bitterness
11 Soft Serve
12 How Many Cans?
13 Monster Man
14 True Dreams of Wichita
15 St. Louise Is Listening
16 [banter]
17 Moon Sammy>So Far I Have Not Found the Science>Moon Sammy
18 Super Bon Bon
19 [encore break]
20 Janine
21 Circles
________________
Mike Doughty
2013-11-23
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK4V (FOB/DFC)>KCY>tinybox v2>Sony PCM-D50>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, additional level adjustments, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 54:11]
01 Is Chicago Is Not Chicago
02 Sugar Free Jazz
03 Bus to Beelzebub
04 The Idiot Kings
05 Unmarked Helicopters
06 Lazybones
07 Screenwriter’s Blues
08 Uh, Zoom Zip
09 Mr. Bitterness
10 Soft Serve
11 Monster Man
12 True Dreams of Wichita
[rest of show cuts]

If you enjoyed these recordings, PLEASE SUPPORT Mike Doughty, visit his website and buy his record of Soul Coughing songs reimagined there.

SUPPORT NYCTaper




Email

Email nyctaper

DISCLAIMER and LEGAL NOTICE

nyctaper.com is a live music blog that offers a new paradigm of music distribution on the web. The recordings are offered for free on this site as are the music posts, reviews and links to artist sites. All recordings are posted with artist permission or artists with an existing pro-taping policy.

All recordings and original content posted on this site are @nyctaper.com as live recordings pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Section 106, et. seq. Redistribution of nyctaper recordings without consent of nyctaper.com is strictly prohibited.

nyctaper.com hereby waives all copyright claims to any and all recordings posted on this site to THE PERFORMERS ONLY. If any artist posted on this site requests that recordings be removed, those recordings will be removed forthwith.