The true measure of the quality of a singer-songwriter is the ability of the performer to get inside the song — those moments when the singer and song become one. Last night at Pianos, Sharon Van Etten realized a series of those poignant moments in a stunning fifty-minute performance of her intimate and powerful songs. That a modest and unassuming young woman can suddenly transform from awkward banter to confident and meaningful songstress at the moment she steps up to the microphone is a true indication of the talent of this artist. In the third number “Much More Than That”, a song of Sharon’s we had not heard before, she stepped back slightly from the microphone and projected in her sweet voice the crescendo of a simple yet transcendent song about the power of human touch — all the while truly touching each listener.
Sharon thanked the audience and noted the fleeting nature of such powerful evenings. The irony is that Sharon unwittingly has predicted her own future. There will not be many more opportunities to experience this performer with 50 people in a club the size of Pianos, as larger venues and audiences soon await this uniquely talented artist. Her debut CD will be released this summer, and she will tour the east coast in July. Prior to her tour, there are a few more chances to experience what the Pianos crowd was fortunate to hear last night.
Sharon’s other upcoming NYC dates include:
June 10 2008 8:00 Union Hall Brooklyn
June 14 2008 8:00 Union Pool Brooklyn
June 21 2008 8:00 Rooftop Films Concert Series Brooklyn
June 25 2008 9:00 Zebulon Brooklyn
Check Sharon’s MySpace page for more details.
We again recorded from the prime location directly in front of the soundboard at Pianos. However, given the quiet nature of this performance and the excessive Friday night noise from the front room of the venue, there are quite a number of moments when the extraneous noise leaks into the recording. Overall though we are pleased with this capture. Enjoy!
This recording is now available to Download in FLAC and MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].
Sharon Van Etten
2008-06-06
Pianos
New York, NY USA
Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Board
30 Feet from Stage
Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR cables > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level boost, resample) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac
Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
[email protected]
2008-06-07
Setlist:
[total time 47:27]
01 I Wish I Knew
02 Have You Seen
03 Much More Than That
04 You Didn’t Really Do That
05 I Fold
06 For You
07 Tornado
08 Its Not Like
09 Holding Out
If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Sharon Van Etten, visit her website, visit her MySpace page, purchase one of her custom-made self-released CDs directly from her website, and purchase her new CD Because I Was In Love when it is released this summer.
Thanks for this….
Sharon is new to me – thanks for the intro, and for your time & effort to share this.