Blog Archives

Honey: January 28, 2015 Union Pool – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

February 12, 2015
By

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[photos courtesy of P Squared Photography]

Honey are a relatively new band who showed up hungry as the openers for Viet Cong at Union Pool recently. Composed of Cory Feierman on bass/vocals, Dan Wise on guitar/vocals and Will Schmiechen on drums, these guys showed up ready to play, putting even the very talented headliners on notice that mediocrity would not be accepted. The band members’ skill reflects some their resumes; one or more of them have been part of Amen Dunes, Psychic Ills and Stupid Party. Likewise, early invites to play with the likes of J Mascis, King Tuff, Endless Boogie, Crystal Stilts and Destruction Unit tell us that other bands are taking notice.

The band plays hard-charging rock n’ roll with a punk edge, reminiscent of an early, less self-serious Soundgarden.  After choosing the bold leadoff of a cover of Can’s “Connection”, the highlights of this set for me were “Monk”, a pounding number that made a fine lead-in to “Motherfucker Longhair”. Wise got his best showcase on “Enough”, where he was left plenty of room to solo despite the abbreviated set time. Honey expects to have a new LP release in the next couple of months, which should only continue to raise their profile in 2015.

I recorded the set with Schoeps MK4V cardiod microphones and a soundboard feed from house engineer Doug. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete set:

Honey
2015-01-28
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK4V (FOB, DFC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Doug)>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, tape effect, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

01 Connection [Can]
02 Monk
03 Motherfucker Longhair
04 Enough
05 Comes Down
06 Drive

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Honey, like them on facebook, and visit their bandcamp page to buy their album.

Parquet Courts: February 9, 2015 Palisades – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

February 10, 2015
By

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[screen capture from this recent YouTube video. Other photos on this page are acidjack’s shots from the show]

Each succeeding year that we’ve seen Parquet Courts, they’ve become more and more assured and impressive. The Brooklyn band — who are now “big” enough to have headlined Webster Hall at the end of last year — decided to end their latest stint on the road in the best possible way. The foursome landed this time at Bushwick’s Palisades, a resolutely scrappy DIY venue where the room is spare, the drinks are cheap and the vibe is warm (even if the temperature is not) for a two-night stint. This level of ticket sell-out reminded me of the best days of 285 Kent (also, not coincidentally, booked by legend-in-the-making Ric Leichtung‘s Ad Hoc), with wall-to-wall bodies flooding the front, each step closer to the stage a squeeze you just might not be able to make.

Parquet Courts inspires that kind of loyalty, and deserves to. Their style may be rooted in garage and punk, but they play like serious musicians, shredding their way through material from both of their 2014 records, Sunbathing Animal and the newer Content Nausea (released under the name “Parkay Quarts”). Besides Andrew Savage’s lead vocals that are easy to actually make out (and display his obvious sense of humor), the band’s most notable calling card is their ability to construct earworm riffs that make you remember songs of theirs even if you’ve only heard them once. This set did a fine job of mixing up short masterpieces of the band’s like “Light Up Gold II” and “Careers In Combat” with pieces that give Savage, guitarist Austin Brown, bassist Sean Yeaton and drummer Max Savage a chance to stretch out and show their chops, especially the “Instant Disassembly” that came earlier in the set. At times it felt like the band wasn’t even taking a breath between songs, with the riff of the next number cranking up at the last downbeat of the one before. It made for a kind of momentum that reminded me of Parquet Courts’ current career.

Befitting their love for the hometown crowd, the set we got here was longer than than other recent shows, and included a new song mix, including a cover. At first, the Monday night crowd felt a little sedate, to the point that you can hear a fan screaming “Wake the fuck up!” at least once on this recording. But the only blame for that can go to how densely packed it was in there — sardines can’t dance, either. By mid-set, the true believers had assumed their rightful places up front, and the pogoing and pit were in effect. The band kept joking with the crowd about how any of us got tickets in the first place. But that’s one advantage of having your tour-ending shows at Palisades on a Monday and Tuesday night — you can make a pretty educated guess that the people who choose to be there are the ones that actually give a shit.

The band is off to Australia and New Zealand, and then the festival circuit, in March. At their current pace, they may as well have another album done by summer. Until then, we wish them well. Success sits well with them.

I recorded this set with spaced DPA 4061 omnidirectional microphones on a post right at the front of the venue (see the photo below), plus a soundboard feed set up by Ben of Palisades, with the mix created by Parquet Courts’ touring engineer (whose name I would appreciate having). The sound quality is in-your-face excellent. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete show: 

Parquet Courts
2015-02-09
Palisades
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

DPA 4061 (FOB, spaced on pole, slightly ROC)>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: [Parquet Courts FOH — please share his name if you have it])>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (compression on SBD and AUD sources, channel adjustments, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, tape exciter, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:08:31]
01 You’ve Got Me Wonderin’ Now
02 Bodies Made Of
03 Black and White
04 Instant Disassembly
05 Always Back in Town
06 Ducking and Dodging
07 New Age [Blitz]
08 [banter1]
09 Everyday It Starts
10 Master of My Craft
11 Borrowed Time
12 Careers In Combat
13 Dear Ramona
14 [banter2]
15 What Color Is Blood
16 No Ideas
17 Pretty Machines
18 Psycho Structures
19 Content Nausea
20 Light Up Gold II
21 Sunbathing Animal

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Parquet Courts, visit their website, and buy their albums here.

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Ryley Walker: January 13, 2015 Baby’s All Right

February 5, 2015
By

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[photo from October 2014 Rough Trade show by acidjack]

Ryley Walker will be a breakout star this year, and the reason won’t just be his forthcoming album, Primrose Green. Walker has been touring hard, working out the new material, and consistently wowing audiences. BrooklynVegan brought him to New York for a Red Bull Sound Select event at Baby’s All Right, and we couldn’t have been happier, having seen Walker last in a similar two-man configuration back in October at Rough Trade.

Once Primrose Green hits shelves, those versions of Walker’s songs might well seem polite by comparison. The title track’s single, available on Soundcloud and on other streaming services, is a fine version, but pales when up against Walker’s fierce version on this night, a ten-minute ramble through his mind featuring an elongated intro and a virtuosic guitar playing that mimicked some of the dissociative elements of the alcoholic beverage for which the song is titled. But if I had to pick from among Walker’s post-All Kinds of You material, I think it’s “Summer Dress” that will go down as his signature song, as it begins with its loping guitar line under a vocal turn in which Walker yelps, deploys falsetto, flirts with chaos. Watching Walker, you get the sense that he’s not even trying to play these songs to please you, but he does anyway. There’s a sense of abandon to his work that can’t help but grab you; he’s feral up there, without anchor. He makes many of the greats to whom he’s compared — Bert Jansch, for one — sound like choirboys. As to other distinctions, this set boasted a new song, “Funny Thing She Said”, as well as a cover of Van Morrison’s “Fair Play” from Veedon Fleece, the latter a worthwhile reimagining that again places Walker right up there with the rarefied company that came before him.

This set was recorded by Baby’s engineer Rubes, whose dedication to craft is obvious in his flawless mix of his board feed with the house mics. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Walker will be back at Baby’s All Right on March 15 with another of our favorites, Kevin Morby. Get tickets here.

Download the complete show via the Live Music Archive: [FLAC] | [MP3]

Ryley Walker
2015-01-13
Baby’s All Right (sponsored by BrooklynVegan)
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Soundboard (engineer: Rubes) + Audio Technica 4051>digital multitrack>SD card>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down individual tracks, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, compression, exciter)>Audacity 2.0.5 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downwsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Note that two tags of the FLAC and MP3 files need updating]
01 Funny Thing She Said
02 [banter1]
03 Summer Dress
04 [banter2]
05 Primrose Green
06 On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee
07 Fair Play [Van Morrison]
08 [banter3]
09 Sweet Satisfaction

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Ryley Walker, like him on Facebook, and buy Primrose Green from Dead Oceans.

Viet Cong: January 28, 2015 Union Pool – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

February 1, 2015
By

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[photos courtesy of P Squared Photography]

Sometimes there’s something to the wisdom of crowds. Viet Cong, from Canada’s less-celebrated center (Calgary, to be exact) sold out this Union Pool show long before the not-at-all-catastrophic snowstorm hit New York City this week. Still, it takes something special to pack in almost any room on a slushy, freezing night in January, and Viet Cong had the place well past capacity. Half-composed of former members of the band Women, who we were lucky enough to see in their prime, Viet Cong continues that band’s art-rock mission, if not expands it. What makes the band’s live show flat-out better than their very-well-regarded debut LP is simply that watching them put this music together gives you a clearer sense of how much is going on. The interplay between guitarists isn’t simply your usual rhythm/lead dichotomy; guitarists Scott Munro and Daniel Christiansen’s instruments are almost in opposition to each other at points, at others answering each other note-for-note. Both guitarists double up on keys as well, but don’t think vocalist/bassist Matt Flegel isn’t producing himself. Granted, some of the members have history together, but this is still an incredibly tight unit for a band with only the Cassette EP and the new album to their credit.

The band’s sound mimics the bleak landscape of their hometown at times; the show, and the album closed with a ten-plus minute dirge named “Death”.  But there’s also humor running through Flegel’s lyrics, when you can make them out, and the Cassette songs, especially, have a more straightforward appeal. Ultimately, though, what comes across most about this band is just how effing good they are. The complexity of their work may suggest that this is music for musicians, but what Viet Cong do so well is make that complex music relatable, even fun, to listen to. This show will set a high bar for the rest of 2015, in the best possible way.

I recorded this set at the soundboard with Schoeps MK4V microphones and a stereo feed from Union Pool engineer Doug. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete show/download individual songs: 

Viet Cong
2015-01-28
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schleps MK4V (FOB, DFC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Doug)>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, tape effect, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 49:00]
01 Silhouettes
02 Bunker Buster
03 March of Progress
04 Oxygen Feed
05 Unconscious Melody
06 Pointless Experience
07 Continental Shelf
08 Death

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Viet Cong by buying their albums here, or on Amazon for vinyl.

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Alex Calder: January 11, 2015 Rough Trade – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

January 29, 2015
By

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Alex Calder has done it the classic Captured Tracks way — starting out as a solo artist working on his own, expanding as his songs grew more complex into a full band. Calder took the stage for Rough Trade’s first anniversary with a crack band that, like the re-released version of his latest album Strange Dreams, took his sound to the next level. Calder’s songs, both from his 2015 re-release Strange Dreams to his earlier work, crackled as live versions, waking this early afternoon Rough Trade crowd up immediately. Calder has an obvious love for many generations and styles of popular music, from ’60s surf and garage to the faster-paced punk and softer-edged pop work that appeared in the late ’70s and early ’80s. An added bonus of this set was what appeared to be some new songs, each well in keeping with the quality of Calder’s current output. We hope to see another record from him this year, if we’re lucky.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK41 supercardiod microphones and a soundboard feed from house engineer Kyle. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete show:

Alex Calder
2015-01-11
Rough Trade
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK41 (DFC, PAS, at SBD)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Kyle)>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, reverb SBD)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, imaging, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [unknown1]
02 [unknown2]
03 Suki and Me
04 Location
05 Strange Dreams
06 Someone
07 [unknown3]
08 Marcel
09 Time

If you enjoyed this recording, visit Alex Calder’s Facebook page and buy his records from Captured Tracks here.

Spacin’: December 14, 2014 Glasslands – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

January 27, 2015
By

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Spacin‘ were the right kind of band to see in my last time at Glasslands. Live, they’re not a fussy bunch: They take the stage, launch into their thing, and sear your ears without pretense. They’re not guaranteeing an upscale kind of rock show; this lo-fi Philly band is guaranteeing a good time. Likewise, even in its quasi-DIY last incarnation, Glasslands was never trying to be a slick-sheened rock club. Glasslands wanted you to feel welcome as soon as you got in the door, and to have a blast.

Although this was a different formation than the Spacin’/Purling Hiss beast I saw at Hopscotch a few months earlier, Spacin’ played several numbers from that set as well as some others I have come to know well. The band’s cover of MC5’s “American Ruse”, heavily retooled in Spacin’s image, is always a high point. As that eight-minute rocker wound down, the band segued into a psychedelic intro that led into the bread-and-butter mid-set of “Human Condition” followed by “Sunshine No Shoes”. For the band’s moment on the Glasslands stage, they played the appropriate-enough “Empty Mind”, with its heavy-chugging bass line and ample opportunity for exploration.

Even if we won’t be able to visit Glasslands anymore, the spirit of the place will live on elsewhere. Where there are bands and fans in need of a real home, a place where you feel less like a customer and more like a welcome friend, there will be right-minded people there to fill that gap.

I recorded this set with our installed sound system at Glasslands and a soundboard feed by Josh Thiel. The sound quality is quite good and much better than the Spacin’/Hiss set earlier this year, but it’s still gritty enough not to confuse anyone what this is about.

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

Stream the complete set:

Spacin’
2014-12-14
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Soundboard (engineer: Josh Thiel) + Naiant X-R (PAS, DFC)>Roland R-26>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, harmonic exciter, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Over Uneasy
02 American Ruse [MC5]>
03 Human Condition
04 Sunshine No Shoes
05 Empty Mind

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Spacin’, check them out on Facebook, and buy their album Deep Thuds from Midheaven Mailorder.

Rhyton: December 10, 2014 Union Pool – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

January 22, 2015
By

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The other times we’ve seen Rhyton, the sets have tended toward new or unreleased material. That made this outing at Union Pool all the more of a treat, as we were introduced to three selections of brand-new material from their third record, Kykeon. The show kicked off with the Mediterranean flavor of “Topkapi” which featured frontman/guitarist Dave Shuford rocking the bouzouki, a Greek folk instrument that Shuford demonstrated his mastery of on his album Arghiledes. Kykeon means “to mix” in Greek, we’re told on Thrill Jockey‘s page, and that’s exactly what these songs felt like, as we got to hear “Siren in Byblos” and the “disco mix” of “Pannychis”, which built on some of “Topkapi’s” themes but expanded to surf and even vaguely pop (by Rhyton’s standards) motifs. Judging one piece of the Rhyton work against another is difficult, as the crew’s material is so varied, but this set represented some of the band’s most accessible work to date, and arguably some of their very best.

You can catch Rhyton tomorrow night at Trans-Pecos at 8 p.m. Be there.

I recorded this set in our usual manner for the venue, with Schoeps MK4V microphones and a soundboard feed by the house engineer, Robb. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete show:

Rhyton
2014-12-10
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Soundboard + Schoeps MK4V>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, exciter, stereo image)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Topkapi
02 Siren in Byblos
03 Pannychis (Disco Mix)

If you enjoyed this set, PLEASE SUPPORT Rhyton, visit their website, and buy Kykeon and their other records from Thrill Jockey Records.

Obits: November 22, 2014 Brooklyn Night Bazaar – FLAC/MP3/Full Set Streaming

January 22, 2015
By

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[photos by acidjack]

We pointed out in a review of Obits four years ago that “there is something universal about Obits’ gritty garage guitar roots-rock, and when its delivered by four pros with impressive veteran resumes” and indeed, that was brought home at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar as the band closed, rather than opened (as in that old review), a show stacked with impressive bands (three of which have been posted so far). Obits do promise the musicianship of grizzled vets while maintaining the devil-may-care attitude that defines their genre. This show surveyed all of the band’s recent catalog, capping with an absolutely awesome cover of Willie Nelson’s “Milk Cow Blues”. Lucky for everyone involved, the bazaar’s attendees knew that artisanal scarves and handmade jewelry were the wrong thing to focus on during this set. A rock show like this demands attention, and it earned it.

I recorded this set in the same manner as the Survival Knife recording. While the room presented some challenges, the sound is still quite good. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete show:

Obits
2014-11-22
Brooklyn Night Bazaar
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Soundboard w/ onstage mics (engineer: Kenny) + Schoeps MK41 (LOC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, exciter, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.5 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [inro]
02 One Cross Apiece
03 No Fly List
04 Run
05 Everything Looks Better In the Sun
06 It’s Sick
07 Operation Bikini
08 Two-Headed Coin
09 Killer
10 Lilies In the Street
11 Spun Out
12 Refund
13 Widow of My Dreams
14 [banter]
15 Milk Cow Blues [Willie Nelson]

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Obits, visit their website, and buy their records at their online repository.

Steve Gunn: January 11, 2015 Rough Trade – FLAC/MP3/Streaming Full Set

January 15, 2015
By


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[photos by Jill Harrison]

One of the very best songs on Steve Gunn‘s Way Out Weather is a song inspired by Steve’s former noisy neighbor. In lesser hands, such banal subject matter might result in a bit of a dud. But Gunn turns the humble beginnings of “Milly’s Garden” into something wonderful and universal, a meditation on unease and the desire to move on. We last saw Gunn at Rough Trade in October, with his full band in tow, so this was a very different, but equally special kind of performance. Celebrating the first anniversary of the once-troubled (by noise complaints, at least) venue, Gunn played this gig solo but left the songs’ guitar explorations. Again, in lesser hands, a ten-plus minute “Old Strange” as a solo opener might not work — but Gunn’s kickoff to the night was magical. Poking fun at his trademark relaxed demeanor, Steve warned the Sunday afternoon crowd at the outset that they might fall asleep, but the house gave him their rapt attention, hanging on words shorn of everything surrounding them but his lone guitar. Gunn was in fine form, making us laugh in between songs that he played with dead-serious intent. To put an exclamation mark on the evening, Gunn closed with “Lurker”, which first debuted on the Three Lobed Recordings boxed set and was a treat as a full-band version back in October.

Since its inception, Rough Trade has been a valuable add to a neighborhood whose venues are depleting rapidly. Even if its surroundings may be fancier than the DIY spots that came before it, hosting an artist like Steve Gunn for your anniversary show proves that the Rough Trade folks intend to remain a credit to what this neighborhood was.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK41 microphones and a soundboard feed from house engineer Kyle Lawrence. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete show: 

Steve Gunn
2015-01-11
Rough Trade (1st Year Anniversary)
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK41 (FOB/DFC/PAS)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Kyle Lawrence)>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, harmonic exciter)>Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 57:47]
01 [intro banter]
02 Old Strange
03 Shadow Bros
04 Water Wheel
05 [banter2]
06 Wildwood
07 [banter3]
08 Way Out Weather
09 [banter4]
10 Milly’s Garden
11 [banter5]
12 Lurker

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Steve Gunn, visit his website, and buy his albums, all of which have “buy” links here.

2015-01-Rough_Trade-Steve_Gunn-2

Deer Tick (performing Devo’s “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!”): December 29, 2014 Brooklyn Bowl – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

January 12, 2015
By



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[photos by acidjack]

Deer Tick celebrated their tenth anniversary as a band this year. In that ten-year span, they’ve pursued a musical vision that’s almost proudly unpopular, serving up Replacements-inspired traditional rock n’ roll during a time when the sampler became king. Not quite retro enough to attract that crowd, nor cutting-edge enough to make the critics swoon, the middle ground they pursued turned out to be a hit with one group that did matter — fans. They showed up in droves, on freezing weekday nights during a busy part of the year, to watch the band play a series of anniversary shows at Brooklyn Bowl that promised a new cover album each night, and slews of special guests. The band’s prowess as a cover band has been well-known for a while, popularized by their Nirvana-covering in particular.

Kurt Cobain loved the New Wave greats Devo, so it felt fitting to join Deer Tick for their cover of the band’s landmark album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! on the Monday night before New Year’s Eve. Joined at times by opener The Districts and former guitarist Ian O’Neill, the appropriately dressed “Deervo” didn’t let us down, giving renditions that hewed closely to the originals while adding John McCauley’s signature vocal grit. After burning through that 38-minute record, the band took a quick breather until returning as themselves for a second set that also leaned heavily on covers, from NRBQ’s “I Got A Rocket In My Pocket” to the closing medley of Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues” and the unavoidable 80s classic “La Bamba”. McCauley’s wife Vanessa Carlton was in tow, joining the band on its own “In Our Time”. Deer Tick’s onstage antics may have mellowed some, probably for the better, but their music is still showing all the energy that drew those crowds in the first place. Here’s to another ten years.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from the band’s engineer Justin Ripley, with a mild amount of audience microphones from my Schoeps supercardiods thrown in. The house mix was highly compressed, as evidence on the recording, but the sound is overall quite good. Enjoy!

This recording is now on the Live Music Archive.
Download the complete set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete set: 

Deer Tick (performing as Deervo for Devo’s “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!”
2014-12-29
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Soundboard (engineer: Justin Ripley) + Schoeps MK41 (directly right of SBD, PAS)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2 >> Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, exciter, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.3 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
Set 1: performing as “Deervo” on Devo’s “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!”
Set Time [38:02]
01 Uncontrollable Urge
02 (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction [feat. The Districts]
03 Praying Hands
04 Space Junk
05 Mongoloid
06 Jocko Homo
07 Too Much Paranoias
08 Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy)
09 Come Back Jonee
10 Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin’)
11 Shrivel Up

Set 2 [Set Time 53:36]
12 Easy
13 Born At Zero
14 The Curtain
15 The Dream’s In the Ditch
16 I Got A Rocket In My Pocket [NRBQ]
17 Twenty Miles
18 Something to Brag About
19 [banter1]
20 She’s Not Spanish
21 In Our Time [w/ Vanessa Carlton]
22 [banter2]
23 Mr. Sticks
24 [banter3]
25 Ashamed
26 White Freightliner Blues [Townes Van Zandt]
27 La Bamba [Ritchie Valens]

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Deer Tick, visit their website, and buy their records in their online store.

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