[photos for nyctaper by David Andrako]
We’ve seen The War On Drugs twice recently and each time they were mighty impressive. In August at Knitting Factory, their set was far superior to the headlining Black Mountain, as their aggressive performance showed more psych-rock muscle than their contemporaries. On Saturday night at Bowery opening for Sharon Van Etten, the mood and setting required a more refined approach. Whether intentional or due to the excellent clarity of the room mix at Bowery, The War On Drugs delivered a stunning forty minute set that was less Zep-influenced and more Dylan and The Band-sounding. The opening song “Arms Like Boulders” (streaming below) set the tone with a jangly lyric-laden Blonde On Blonde-ish melodic romp that would sustain for the entire set. The band is currently working on a full length album due for release later this year and several of those songs were featured, along with tracks from the 2010 Future Weather EP, and their debut album Wagonwheel Blues on Secretly Canadian Records. The War On Drugs will perform again in NYC on April 3 at Webster Hall (opening for Destroyer).
We recorded this set with the same rig and location at the SVE set, and the sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!
Stream “Arms Like Boulders”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/W1008WOD2101/Arms%20like%20Boulders.mp3]
This Recording is now available for Download in FLAC and MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].
War On Drugs
2011-01-08
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA
Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded Balcony Railing
Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021’s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, EQ, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac
Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2011-01-13
Setlist:
[Total Time 43:34]
01 [introduction]
02 Arms like Boulders
03 Baby Missiles
04 Comin Through
05 I Was There
06 Brothers
07 Buenos Aires Beach
08 [banter]
09 Black Water Falls
10 Taking The Farm
If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The War On Drugs, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from Secretly Canadian Records [HERE].
Nice! I had been waiting for this one. Sound is excellent, too.
sounds amazing!