Blog Archives

Naked Hearts at Glasslands Tonight (November 6) + Two More Gigs

November 6, 2008
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Naked Hearts are one of our new favorite bands. The trio was awesome at the NYCTaper CMJ Show and their first show since that performance is tonight (November 6) at Glasslands in Williamsburg. Naked Hearts go on at 9 p.m. We won’t be able to attend this show, having purchased tickets to the Drive-By Truckers / Hold Steady show at Terminal 5 months ago.

Naked Hearts have two more NYC dates to report in the near future, as follows:
Nov 22 2008 Union Hall Brooklyn, NY
Dec 18 2008 Cake Shop

That November 22 appearance is on the same bill with Jeremy Messersmith, which we reported about earlier this week.

Animal Collective at Manhattan Center Ballroom January 20 – Tickets on Sale

November 6, 2008
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This one caught me a bit by surprise as it popped up on the Bowery Presents website today or yesterday. Animal Collective will appear at the Manhattan Center Ballroom on January 20, 2009. Tickets went on sale about a half hour ago. I just got one through ticketmaster, so its not sold out…yet.

This is Animal Collective’s first appearance in a full band show since September 30 / October 1, 2007 at Webster Hall. We recorded both of those sets, along with an Avey Tare / Deakin / Kria Brekkan set in January.

Sharon Van Etten October 23, 2008 Cake Shop – Flac and MP3 Downloads

November 4, 2008
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[photo by Pop Tarts blog]

It is impossible for me to be objective about this performance. I asked Sharon Van Etten to headline the upstairs stage at the NYCTaper CMJ show, which was a difficult task for a solo performer. In return, Sharon not only delivered the most intense and captivating set we have ever seen her play, but she thanked me several times. It is rare to find an artist of such profound talent, but even more so to find one who matches the talent with such quality of character.

This recording was captured by simply connecting a digital recorder to the small mixer that operating as a “soundboard”. I didn’t monitor it all during the show, and as a result the levels were quite low. A large post-production boost of volume was necessary and resulted in audible hiss in the recording. Additionally, only Sharon’s vocals were amplified in the PA so that her guitar is quite low. Nevertheless, this is a quite listenable recording of a special performance — one we will quite literally never forget. Enjoy!

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

Sharon Van Etten
2008-10-23
NYCTaper CMJ Showcase
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Soundboard Recording

Soundboard > RCA Cables > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16 bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, huge level boost) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
nyctaper@nyctaper.com
2008-11-04

Setlist:
[total time 29:40]
01 I Fold
02 Picking Up Rocks
03 Consolation Prize
04 You Didn’t Really Do That
05 Tornado
06 Damn Right

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 in 2009.

The Antlers November 1, 2008 Loft Party in Fort Greene – Flac and MP3 Downloads

November 3, 2008
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[The Antlers at Pop Tarts CMJ show – photo by Ear Farm]

It was our misfortune to have missed The Antlers performance at the superb opening day Pop Tarts afternoon CMJ showcase at Cake Shop. Their set turned a lot of heads and has appeared on multiple sites on the web. So when the invitation was received to capture The Antlers at a private loft party, we found ourselves trudging through a fairly out-of-the-way industrial area in Fort Greene on Saturday night. However, what lay ahead was worth the work — as the “new” version of the band ripped through an intimate forty-minute set in a parlor-performance atmosphere. We always “got it” with this band, but now we understand the buzz created by their CMJ set. The new songs from the much-anticipated new release Hospice are intense layered motifs that feature the multiple talents of this superb trio.

Future Antlers shows are now must see events. The two upcoming dates in NYC are as follows:
November 07 at Vanishing Point Brooklyn (show canceled 5 minutes after I posted this!)
November 20 at Knitting Factory NYC

We recorded this set next to a couch about 10 feet from the stage. Since this was essentially a concert in a living room, the “PA” was a set of speakers that amplified the vocals. All other instruments were played through amps. The result is an intimate capture of this special event which was subject only to the limitations of the equipment. Enjoy!

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

The Antlers
2008-11-01
Private Loft Party in Fort Greene
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
Approximately 10 Feet from the band

Neumann KM-150’s > Monster Cable > Apogee Mini-Me > digital coax > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample) > CD Wave 1.75 > Flac Frontend (level 7) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-11-03

Setlist:
[Total time 39:29]
01 Kettering
02 East River
03 Sylvia
04 Bear > 13
05 Two
06 Shiva
07 Cold War

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Antlers, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases at the Fall Records website [here] and at CD Baby [here].

Jeremy Messersmith Coming to NYC for Two Shows

November 2, 2008
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Jeremy Messersmith is an outstanding singer-songwriter from Minneapolis with a sweet voice and lilting melodies. His new album The Silver City is an ode to his hometown and contains a cover of “Skyway” by the Twin Cities greatest band, The Replacements. The CD was produced by Dan Wilson of Semisonic.

Jeremy begins a tour this week that begins in St. Paul and comes East. The tour includes stops at World Cafe and a session with Daytrotter.

The two NYC dates are a follows:
November 21 Pianos NYC
November 22 Union Hall Brooklyn

NYCTaper will be there to capture audio of one of the two NYC shows.

Sample a track from Jeremy Messersmith’s new CD The Silver City:
Virginia MP3 [here]

NYCTaper Week in Preview

October 28, 2008
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[image by Songbirdnest]

We are taking a deep breath after CMJ and catching up with the backlog. NYCTaper will resume recording shows on Thursday, with a two-for in Brooklyn. After that, its back to multiple shows a week.

Here are the shows for this week:

Thursday October 30:
Sharon Van Etten 9 p.m. at Spike Hill
O’Death 11 p.m. at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Friday October 31:
ToddP Halloween Bash at Danbro Studios, Brooklyn

Saturday November 1:
The Loom 6:30 p.m. at Mercury Lounge

And next week we’ll be attending The Hold Steady and Drive-By Truckers at Terminal 5 (two nights), The Mountain Goats and Kaki King at Webster Hall and Music Hall (two nights) and Steve Wynn & Miracle 3 at Lakeside Lounge.

And the best news of all…A NEW SERVER is coming. Stay tuned.

Women October 22, 2008 Cake Shop – Flac and MP3 Downloads

October 27, 2008
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[photo by Soundbites blog]

It was hard to miss the pre-CMJ buzz about Women. It was even harder on Tuesday afternoon to get inside of the downstairs room at Cake Shop to see their performance at the Pop Tarts CMJ show. I managed to work my way down the left side into the area left of the stage and what I saw left my mouth agape. This was astoundingly authentic neo-psychedelia performed by a quartet of extremely talented musicians. The rhythms were precise, the bass notes sharp and perfectly accented, and the guitar work was neat and intricate. With heavily reverbed vocals added for effect, the entire package of Women is just superb.

After the show, we were fortunate to be able to talk to the band. Not only were they familiar with NYCTaper, but happy to be recorded. The next afternoon at the Terrorbird show apparently the buzz had spread, because it was even harder to get into the Cake Shop downstairs and impossible for us to record. Undaunted, we came back to Cake Shop again on Wednesday night for the Subbacultcha Showcase and captured this set. We recorded from the same location as all of our recent Cake Shop recordings, and we are quite pleased at the excellent quality of this recording. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Women
2008-10-22
Subbacultcha CMJ Showcase
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from the PA

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample 16/44) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-27

Setlist:
[Total time 37:37]
01 Flashlights
02 Group Transport Hall
03 Black Rice
04 Upstairs
05 Shaking Hand
06 Jordan
07 Lawncare
08 Woodbine

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Women, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their debut CD at the Flemish Eye Records (Canada) website [HERE] or the Jagjaguwar Records (US) Website [HERE]

NYCTaper CMJ Show in Pictures

October 24, 2008
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We don’t do photos here, just recordings. For the photos we rely on the generosity of others. On many occasions that generosity has been extended by Bryan of the excellent Subinev blog. Yesterday we had pleasure of meeting and chatting with him and bonding over our mutual admiration of one Ms. Van Etten. Bryan took some amazing photos at our show as you can see below:


Sharon Van Etten headlines the Upstairs room at Cake Shop with an entrancing and captivating set. The room was packed and the audience was quite vocal in their support. This was one of the best sets we’ve ever seen from Sharon, and was the highlight of CMJ for NYCTaper. Punkcast captured audio and video of this performance.


Bearsuit performs to an extremely vocal crowd of dancing bloggers. Perhaps the nicest and most loyal group of people we’ve ever met in the music industry, Bearsuit watched every act of the entire show and spent 4 hours of being fans before wowing everyone as performers.

More Photos at Bryan’s Flickr Page [here].

The Music Slut have become our friends since we partied together at the After The Jump Fest in June. After their excellent CMJ Show on Tuesday, Matt spent a lot of time at our show and captured some excellent photos.


Bridges and Powerlines perform their infectious melodic pop downstairs. We overheard “I loved that last song” (it was Uncalibrated) as the crowd filtered upstairs after the set.

Check out more of Matt’s CMJ Day 3 Photos [here] and [here].

MUCH MORE TO COME.

Best Friends Forever August 22, 2008 Knitting Factory – Flac and MP3 Downloads and CMJ Review

October 23, 2008
By


[photo credit]

When we saw the car with the Minnesota license plate drive up to Cake Shop, we knew Best Friends Forever has finally navigated their way through the confusing East Village streets to find their way to the NYCTaper CMJ show on Thursday afternoon. After a quick load-in, the energetic trio performed the opening set of the show and quickly filled the downstairs room. This was our second BFF show in the past 18 hours, as we were lucky to catch their set at the excellent After The Jump CMJ Showcase at the Knitting Factory last night. Each of the two sets contained an entertaining run through their intelligent and energetic quirky pop. As we were so impressed with Jess’ fret work on the bass this past August, at these two shows we were drawn to Bri’s acrobatic guitar and keyboard play — all while she works through the wordy lyrics.

Best Friends Forever also made a very big international fan today as Lisa Horton from Bearsuit was so impressed with their set that she bought the BFF CD and asked me for contact information.

This recording is from the excellent Knit set, and was captured with our compact DPA microphones attached to a pole about 10 feet from the stage. After the band fixed the rough mix in the first two minutes, the recording is quite outstanding. Enjoy!

Many many THANKS to Bri, Jess and Joe, and thanks to Jeff at the Knit show.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Best Friends Forever
2008-10-22
After The Jump CMJ Showcase
Knitting Factory (Tap Bar)
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from the PA

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial >M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0(level adjustments, downsample 16/44) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-23

Setlist:
[Total time 27:27]
01 [introduction]
02 HWF
03
04
05 Eisenhower is the Father
06
07 Handpocket
08
09 Twins in Love

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Best Friends Forever, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases at the Plan-It-X Records Website [HERE].

The Bloodsugars – NYCTaper Interview and CMJ Preview

October 22, 2008
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Paul Simon imparts wisdom to Jason from The Bloodsugars

“Pop Masterpiece” elicits forty-nine thousand hits in a google search. One of rock criticisms’ most tired, overused and cliched phrases can be the signifier of a complete lack of imagination in the writer’s method. Or, in the case of my attempt to define The Bloodsugars BQEP release, its just an instance where the phrase truly applies. Listen to “Purpose Was Again” streaming on either The Bloodsugars website or MySpace page, and hear for yourself.

The Bloodsugars will perform on the Downstairs stage of the NYCTaper CMJ Show at Cake Shop tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m. We spoke to Jason via email earlier this week about their next release, influences and mortality.

NYCTaper:
One of the enjoyable things about listening to your music is hearing the influences in the songs. There are the obvious Beatles/Kinks/Who Brit Invasion overtones, but I also hear that early 80’s music — Squeeze, Joe Jackson, Nick Lowe, The Shoes, Fischer Z — the “skinny tie” power-pop. Can you talk about what music you grew up listening to, and your influences generally?

Jason Rabinowitz:
I’d say a large part of our influence is drawn from vintage ’80s synth-pop the band grew up on. Trying to put a new twist on stuff like Prince, Hall and Oates, Eurythmics, Cindy Lauper and sort of do our own thing with it. As for the skinny tie stuff, I went through a huge Elvis Costello phase, huge.. We have a LOT of influences though.. The Coasters are my favorite band of all time. They had it all.

NYCT:
You’ve been working on new songs, and in fact when we featured a recording of your performance from After the Jump Fest in June, the setlist was primarily new material. I understand there is a new album in the works — at what stage are you in the recording process?

JR:
There is a new album in the works. We are about to pick a producer.. We go on tour in Nov with The Lisps and when we come back we’ll be recording it.

NYCT:
I guess you must get tired of talking about this, but I’m going to approach it from a different direction — the band name and your medical condition. One might think that someone like yourself with a heightened awareness of mortality and the fragility of life might write more morose and fatalistic songs. And yet, the songs are for the most part upbeat with a positive perspective. Any thoughts on this?

JR:
We all walk around with the illusion of immortality. I think it’s hardwired into psyches to allow us to cope with the day to day. We don’t constantly realize we will all die someday. But to confront that fact even rarely is kind of a treat cause you can realize you’re not dead yet.. (I just saw Fight Club for the first time) (yeah I know.. where have I been!?!)

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