Blog Archives

Kevinchino and NYCTaper Present: Caged Animals, Natureboy and Cat Martino – Union Pool Friday March 30 Tomorrow!

March 29, 2012
By

We are teaming up with Kevchino to present an excellent bill at Union Pool tomorrow night. The show will feature 3 excellent bands, all of whom who have appeared on NYCTaper in one form or another.

The show is tomorrow night, Friday March 30, 2012 at Union Pool, located at 484 Union Avenue, near Metropolitan [Google Maps]. Doors are at 8pm, the show starts at 9pm, and its only eight bucks to get in!

Caged Animals is the new project for Vincent Cacchione, whose previous band Soft Black appeared three times on NYCTaper, including their phenomenal set at our 2010 CMJ show (here). Caged Animals have been getting a nice little bit of attention lately, thanks to some brooklynvegan features (here and here) and a nice writeup in the UK Guardian (here). Caged Animals continues Vincent superb ear for melody in a more indie-pop realm than Soft Black’s power folk. Either way, Vincent’s a great guy and we’re really excited to present Caged Animals.

Natureboy is a band led by singer/guitarist Sara Kermanshahi, who rich vocals and intense songwriting have graced the pages of NYCTaper twice, including their set opening the NYCTaper 3rd Anniversary show (here). After a short hiatus when the band wrote new songs and re-grouped, Natureboy is back performing — Sara even made an impromptu trip to SXSW this year.

Cat Martino is familiar to NYCTaper readers for her several appearances on these pages beginning with her vocals for several acts at the Truck America Festival a couple of summers ago. Cat was also the second vocalist for Sharon Van Etten’s touring band in 2010 and 2011. She recently released an excellent solo album entitled Yr Not Alone, which features Sufjan Stevens on the title track.

The Facebook invite page for this show is HERE.

Prince Rama: March 17, 2012 SXSW at Longbranch Inn Impose Party – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

March 28, 2012
By


[photo by Mary Kang – courtesy of Impose Magazine]

Our night-time regular haunt during this year’s SXSW Festival was the series of shows presented by Impose Magazine. The “Austin Imposition” took place this year at Longbranch Inn, a cozy East side venue that had the perfect atmosphere for Impose’s steady stream of outstanding bands.

On Saturday night, the highlight of the final evening of SXSW was the performance by Prince Rama. I had seen Prince Rama a couple of years ago at Glasslands when they were a trio, but the band now consists a duo of sisters Taraka and Nimai Larson and their performance was a revelation. The sisters combined stand-up drums with keyboards and effects to create a hypnotic set that entranced the crowd. One spectator exclaimed “that was a religious experience” at the close of the set. Prince Rama played two songs from their most recent record, Trust Now (Paw Tracks), and three newer numbers. We are streaming “Rest in Peace”, the opening track from Trust Now which was nearly seven minutes of bliss at the Longbranch Inn that night.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser MKH-8040 cardioid microphones mounted on a stand at the front of the stage and combined the mics with a soundboard feed. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “Rest in Peace”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/P1703PrinceRama1211/03.%20Rest%20in%20Peace.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

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.

Prince Rama
2012-03-17
Long Branch Inn – SXSW
Austin, TX USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser MKH-8040 Cardioids > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files &gt Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper 2012-03-25

Setlist:
[Total Time 24:37]
01 Golden Silence
02 Radha Madhava
03 Rest in Peace
04 Receive
05 We Will Fall in Love Again

If you download this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Prince Rama, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from their website and Trust Now from the Paw Tracks Records store [HERE].

Lucero: March 17, 2012 SXSW at Hotel Vegan Austin TX – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

March 25, 2012
By


[photo courtesy of Amanda Hatfield]

As John noted several years ago, Lucero is the quality of band that impresses you the very first time you can a chance to see them live. For John, that was in early 2009 (here) and again for a secret show at Mercury Lounge last Summer (here). So as far as the nyctaper staff goes, I was the newbie to Lucero. But John was right. Within the first song of their set on Saturday’s Hotel Vegan outdoor stage, I knew that this was a band for me. They are no-nonsense honest alt-country and boogie outfit from Memphis whose live performances are exercises in full commitment. Lead singer Ben Nichols noted that he was exhausted for this afternoon show on the final day of SXSW, but that was good because it meant he was “doing his job”. At Hotel Vegan, the Saturday outdoor show was a wealth of music riches, with outstanding bands before and after Lucero — but their set was certainly a highlight. Currently on tour in support of the new album Women & Work, Lucero’s set contained a few of the new numbers but also a nice selection of older songs. We’re streaming “Sixes and Sevens”, the show’s climax before a quiet number closed the set. Lucero will return to NYC for a show at Webster Hall on April 20, 2012.

I recorded this set in a similar manner to the previous Hotel Vegan set (Fanfarlo), by mixing the Sennheiser MKH-8040s with a board feed. For this particular set, the “noisy neighbors” did not have their system cranked, and our location was more centered. The result is a superb recording. Enjoy!

Stream “Sixes and Sevens:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/L2006Lucero9020/10.%20Sixes%20and%20Sevens.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

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.

Lucero
2012-03-17
Hotel Vegan – SXSW
Austin, TX USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser MKH-8040 Cardioids > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper 2012-03-23

Setlist:
[Total Time 36:15]
01 The Devil And Maggie Chascarillo
02 Downtown (Intro)
03 On My Way Downtown
04 Darken My Door
05 Women and Work
06 Raising Hell
07 Chain Link Fence
08 Sounds of the City
09 Summer Song
10 Sixes and Sevens
11 Fistful Of Tears

If you download this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Lucero, visit their website, and purchase their official releases and merchandise [HERE].

Fanfarlo: March 15, 2012 SXSW at Hotel Vegan Austin TX – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

March 21, 2012
By


[photo courtesy of Amanda Hatfield]

NYCTaper went on the road to Austin last week for the annual SXSW Festival. As I tweeted at one point near the end of my trip, SXSW is kind of like CMJ on steroids. There are a ton of corporate-backed “scene” shows downtown that really don’t appeal to me. However, on the East side there was a series of unofficial showcases that featured just about every band you could see downtown, only under much better circumstances — a relaxed atmosphere not overrun by commercialization. That’s where we spent the Fest.

The best of these unofficial shows was the four-day afternoon showcases presented by brooklynvegan at the venue Hotel Vegas, rechristened “Hotel Vegan” for the week. Each afternoon eight or nine band played on an outside stage while inside there was additional bands on two other stages. We camped out on Thursday at noon at the outside stage and that’s where we stayed for the next three days. Each day’s afternoon showcases were recorded, and I’ll be featuring a large amount of those recordings over the next few weeks.

One of the highlights of Thursday’s show was the set by the British-based band Fanfarlo. They are currently in the US on tour to support their new album Rooms Filled With Light and based upon reviews, I expected the Fanfarlo to have a more pronounced electronic feel to their beautiful indie-folk. I had not seen the band since 2009 (here) and while its clear that their sound has changed, I find it more of an evolution than a departure. The focus remains on Simon Balthazar’s vocals and songwriting accompanied by a variety of instrumentations from the talented band. At this Hotel Vegan show, it was the horn playing that cut through the heat, chatter and outdoor sounds to propel the band forward. The set consisted of all but one song from Rooms, and we are streaming “Deconstruction”, a powerful song that builds in intensity to a stunning conclusion.

I recorded all of the Hotel Vegan outdoor sets with the assistance of my new Sennheiser MKH-8040 Cardioid microphones and they certainly proved up to the task. These recordings presented many challenges, the most pronounced of which was the persistent thumping of bass and drums from an adjacent competing stage (unaffiliated with brooklynvegan). Our “neighbors” seemed to feel the need to compensate for the poor attendance at their show by cranking their sound system. Some of this noise can be heard in between songs in many of the Hotel Vegan recordings. There was also the expected constant chatter and movement of the Festival crowd. I was also assisted with an excellent soundboard feed by the superb FOH technicians Toby and Taylor employed at the Festival by Miller Pro Audio. With all of these challenges (and caveats), I still feel that the sound quality of these recordings is excellent under the circumstances. Enjoy!

Stream “Deconstruction”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/F2010Fanfarlo2290/05.%20Deconstruction.mp3]

This recording is now available for download in FLAC or MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].

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.

Fanfarlo
2012-03-15
Hotel Vegan – SXSW
Austin, TX USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser MKH-8040 Cardioids > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper 2012-03-21

Setlist:
[Total Time 32:15]
01 Feathers
02 Tightrope
03 Lenslife
04 Tunguska
05 Deconstruction
06 [banter]
07 Harold T Wilkins
08 Shiny Things

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Fanfarlo, visit their website, and purchase Rooms Filled With Light directly from the Fanfarlo webstore [HERE].

Young Prisms: March 5, 2012 Glasslands – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

March 12, 2012
By


[photo courtesy of Bleary Eyed Brooklyn]

One of the rewarding aspects of witnessing a band live for the first time is the recognition that despite youthfulness, the artists understand what has come before. Young Prisms are aptly named — the band members are in their early 20’s, but could pass for high school kids. But as soon as the instruments are plugged in and the first song is counted in, they age immediately. The San Francisco natives play psych-rock as if they were born in the 60s and they play it with confidence and maturity. The dual guitars and drums are out front, and the heavily reverbed dream-like vocals fit comfortably in the mix. As another excellent signing by Kanine Records, Young Prisms are also productive. Their latest album will be their third full length, and they’ve also released an EP and several split 7″ singles. In Between will be released by Kanine on March 27, and at Glasslands last Monday, Young Prisms played a set heavy with the new material, and the strength of the new songs is readily apparent from first listen. We are streaming “Four Hours (Away)” which closed the set on a high note.

I recorded this set with the new permanently-installed ‘nyctaper’ microphones at Glasslands. The Studio Projects LSD2 is a single-body stereo-microphone configured in the XY cardioid setting and is mounted in the center pole approximately fifteen feet from the stage. The mics are mixed with a soundboard feed and the sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “Four Hours (Away)”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/Y0503YoungPrisms1202/10.%20Four%20Hours%20Away.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE]

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.

Young Prisms
2012-03-05
Glasslands Gallery
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Studio Projects LSD2 (XY Cardioid) > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2012-03-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 44:33]
01 [new song]
02 Midnight’s When
03 Breathless
04 I’m Not Hiding
05 To Touch You
06 Softer
07 Better Days
08 Floating in Blue
09 Dead Flowers
10 Four Hours Away

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Young Prisms, visit their Facebook page, and pre-order In Between directly from Kanine Records [HERE]

Wussy: March 3, 2012 Cake Shop – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

March 8, 2012
By


[photo by nyctaper]

I can’t imagine that Robert Christgau gets out to many shows these days. But last Saturday at Cake Shop, there he was at Wussy‘s first NYC show in almost two years. I suppose its a bit of a novelty that one of the current favorite bands of a legendary music critic is a relatively obscure self-described “midwestern drone” outfit. But Christgau has it right. As the current band of Chuck Cleaver, the leader of 90s underground legends The Ass Ponys, Wussy is a solid guitar-bass-drums quartet with an excellent mix of male and female vocals and tremendous songcraft. For this tour, the band brought along another former Ass Ponys guitarist John Erhardt to play pedal steel. The Cake Shop show was perhaps a tad short because they were the third band in a four band bill (with a late show to follow), but Wussy worked through a mix of older and newer numbers, including songs from their recent release Strawberry. The band did not hold back for the set’s closer, a raging version of “Rigor Mortis” that concluded with a noisy guitar-drenched episode that left the packed crowd asking for more. We’re streaming that song below. Wussy will play several SXSW shows and we’re hoping to catch them, before they play more midwest shows, and then there is an anticipated Summer tour (with more East Coast dates).

I recorded this set in the same manner as the recent Old Monk recording, with the DPA 4021s on a mount on the low ceiling above the stage and the DPA 4061 omnis mounted in front of the PA. The sound quality is excellent except for a crackling (blown amp) sound which persists for several songs in the middle of the set. With that caveat, enjoy!

Stream “Rigor Mortis”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/W1604Wussy2211/11.%20Rigor%20Mortis.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

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.

Wussy
2012-03-03
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master
Upfront Four Channel Audience Recording

DPA 4021s + DPA 4061s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CDWave 1.95(tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2012-03-06

Setlist:
[Total Time 39:14]
01 Waiting Room
02 Pulverized
03 Grand Champion Steer
04 [banter – Wings]
05 Maglite
06 [banter]
07 Happiness Bleeds
08 Pizza King
09 Muscle Cars
10 Airborne
11 Rigor Mortis

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wussy, visit their website, and purchase their official releases including Strawberry directly from the Music section of their website [HERE]

Old Monk: February 22, 2012 Cake Shop – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

March 7, 2012
By


[photo courtesy of Bleary Eyed Brooklyn]

Old Monk is a band from Brooklyn with the perfect self-description — indie-prog. The indie part is easy, as they write energetic and catchy guitar-trio indie-style rock. But the tag of “prog” doesn’t get thrown around much here. The time and signature changes, abrupt turns in melody and tendency to cram three songs into one characterize the progressive elements of pop music. Their debut album Birds of Belize has more “indie” than prog, as the songs are shorter and more straightforward. But live, Old Monk stretches it out a bit and the trio’s tight instrumentation allows for the twists and turns to flow more naturally. At Cake Shop a couple of weeks back, we caught the final night of Old Monk’s month-long February residency. The thirty minute set contain several Belize songs, but also quite a few new songs that indicate that the band isn’t shying away from more complicated material. At the show, I gravitated more towards the songs that I knew (“Warm Moustache” is streaming below), but after multiple listenings to this recording, the stronger material is perhaps the new songs that are challenging but ultimately more accomplished. It remains to be seen whether the fickle NYC indie crowd will exercise enough patience to appreciate Old Monk. If they do, they will be rewarded.

I recorded this show with a new method for this venue. The DPA 4021 cardioids were mounted above the stage for an “onstage” recording of the instruments, and the DPA 4061s were mounted in front of the PA speakers for a vocal-heavy signal. The two sources mixed produce a fine balanced recording. Enjoy!

Stream “Warm Moustache”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/O1202OldMonk1220/02.%20Warm%20Moustache.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE]

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.

Old Monk
2012-02-22
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording

DPA 4021s + DPA 4061s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2012-02-23

Setlist:
[Total Time 30:30]
01 Butter and Toast
02 Warm Moustache
03 Napoleon’s Wife
04 Volcanic Prisons
05 Running Boards/Promethea
06 Art Heist
07 Wimpy Olympians
08 Skullsplitter
09 Attica

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Old Monk, visit their website, and purchase Birds of Belize directly from Eenie Meanie Records [HERE]

Craig Finn: February 29, 2012 Mercury Lounge (Early Show) – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

March 2, 2012
By


[photo courtesy of Geoffrey at According to G]

Craig Finn’s first solo album Clear Heart Full Eyes is a significant departure from his eight years in The Hold Steady. Its a relaxed country album produced in Texas that has a demo feel. Finn’s storyteller style fits well in this genre, and as a result the new record has been well received. For the tour in support, Finn has put together a band of ringers that he has labeled “Some Guns”, after his song of the same title (streaming below). While the band includes a lead guitar and a lap-steel guitar, the live performance has a greater rock feel than the album. At Mercury Lounge on Wednesday night, Craig Finn played two shows and we caught the early one. Late in the tour and back home, the band was both tight and celebratory. As is his live tradition, Finn spoke candidly to the crowd and his between song stories and banter were compelling and entertaining. Also familiarly, the reworked full band rock versions of the Clear Heart songs have a Hold Steady feel to them, although the three-song solo acoustic mini-set was a new experience. Craig Finn has promised a new Hold Steady album later this year, but given the number and quality of the unreleased songs featured in this set, we would venture to say that he has enough strong material for a second solo album. Craig will be touring throughout March. While tour ends in Europe, there is another NYC date coming soon, at Music Hall of Williamsburg next week.

I recorded this set with the new Sennheiser MKH-8040s from the front of the soundboard in the center of the room. The three quiet songs suffer from some ambient noise (door, cups), but overall the sound is crisp and meaty. Enjoy!

Stream “Some Guns”:

[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/H6589HoldSteady1192/09.%20Some%20Guns.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

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.

Craig Finn
2012-02-29
Early Show
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Digital Master
Front of Board Audience Recording

Sennheiser MKH-8040 Cardioids > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper 2012-03-01

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:13:17]
01 [introduction]
02 Apollo Baby
03 Keep On Running
04 Balcony
05 Jackson
06 No Future
07 When No One’s Watching
08 [banter – band theme songs]
09 Some Guns
10 Western Pier
11 New Friend Jesus
12 Sarah, I’m Surrounded
13 Jeremiah’s Blues
14 Dennis and Billy
15 Going To A Show
16 Honolulu Blues
17 Not Much Left

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Craig Finn, visit his website, and purchase Clear Heart Full Eyes directly from Vagrant Records [HERE]

Sharon Van Etten: February 26, 2012 Bowery Ballroom – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

February 28, 2012
By


[photo courtesy of Chris at Fucking Nostalgic]

Tramp is the next stage in the continued ascent of the career of Sharon Van Etten. If 2010’s Epic was the introduction of this immensely talented artist to a wide audience, her new release and first for Jagjaguwar Records is the here-to-stay moment. The album is a mix her strengths — intelligent and heartfelt lyrics and a wide range of vocal approaches. There is a nod to her solo folk past (“Joke or a Lie”), and some straight forward indie-pop (“Serpents”), but the vast majority of the record are superb songs mixed to perfection. The presence of producer Aaron Dessner (from The National) compliments and draws out Sharon’s strengths while enriching the melodies. In particular, “Give Out” (streaming below), which debuted live as a solo acoustic number several years ago, is now a fully formed song with layered vocals and a sparse but effective instrumental accompaniment. At Bowery Ballroom on Sunday, Sharon Van Etten played the final show of three consecutive sold out shows. Her triumphant return to NYC after an extensive tour was met with crowds filled with family and friends, and gave the locals a chance to see the Tramp live band operating on all cylinders. The work of multi-instrumentalists Heather Woods Broderick and Doug Keith is supplemented by the tasteful percussion of Zeke Hutchins, and on this night Aaron Dessner joined for half the set on guitar. The band breathes life into the songs while staying faithful to the recorded versions. The camaraderie among the players was also obvious on this night, as the banter was often hilarious. Sharon worked through a set heavy on Tramp material (10 of the 12 songs), but which also contained much of Epic and one neat cover (streaming below). Sharon Van Etten continues on tour, with a week in Europe followed by a West coast swing, and a trip through the South.

I recorded this set with a new set of Sennheiser microphones supplemented with a soundboard feed. The Sennheiser MKH-8040 is a sleek new cardioid microphones with clarity, warmth and a crisp bottom end that I had not previously experienced prior to this night. At the best sounding room in town, these microphones absolutely shined, and as a result the mix is about 75% room and 25% board, in order to maximize the beauty of the live sound. This is one of the best recordings we’ve ever featured on this site. Enjoy!

Stream “Give Out”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S0606SharonVE8008/08.%20Give%20Out.mp3]

Stream “Loving Her Was Easier” [Kris Kristofferson]:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S0606SharonVE8008/18.%20Loving%20Her%20Was%20Easier%20%5bKris%20Kristofferson%5d.mp3]

This recording is now available for download in FLAC or MP3 from Archive.org [HERE].

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.

Sharon Van Etten
2012-02-26
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser 8040 Cardioids > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper 2012-02-26

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:32:12]
01 Warsaw
02 Peace Signs
03 Save Yourself
04 Kevin’s
05 Magic Chords
06 Don’t Do It
07 [banter – Shearwater message]
08 Give Out
09 [Aaron Dessner intro]
10 In Line
11 Leonard
12 Serpents
13 [band introductions]
14 I’m Wrong
15 Joke Or A Lie
16 [encore break]
17 All I Can
18 Loving Her Was Easier [Kris Kristofferson]
19 [banter – thanks]
20 Love More

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Sharon Van Etten, visit her website, and purchase Tramp directly from Jagjaguwar Records [HERE]

Björk: February 25, 2012 Roseland Ballroom – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

February 27, 2012
By


[Photo by Geoffrey Dicker for According 2 G. See his review of the Queens show here]

From the earliest days of her four-decade career, Björk has consistently pushed the envelope. Through a career as varied as any performer in pop music history, the centerpiece has nevertheless always been her powerful and profoundly unique voice. As a teenager in Tappi Tíkarrass, she sang in one of Iceland’s earliest punk bands. Her career then evolved from art-punk (Kukl), to international success as part of the Sugarcubes. Björk’s solo career has been distinguished by a variety of styles, from brit-pop (Debut) through the bizarre (Drawing Restraint 9), with virtually everything in between. Her triumphant three album run of Post, Homogenic and Vespertine is acknowledged as the apex of her recorded output, and rightfully so. Those three albums are as good as anything released by anyone in that time frame and the tours that accompanied each release established Björk as one of the most powerful and compelling live performers of her generation. The Vespertine tour in particular was a thing of beauty — a two set affair performed in opera houses across the world with an full orchestra, full choir, and innovative instrumental accompaniment. The live DVD that was released from the Vespertine tour (Royal Opera House) is a breathtaking viewing experience. In recent years, however Björk has released a series of thoughtful but inconsistent albums, with 2007’s Volta as perhaps her weakest album to date. So it was with a bit of trepidation that we approached Biophilia, her new release that promised to link nature, music and technology. As far back as 2001 (Vespertine), Björk has been composing music with the aid of her laptop and she has professed a fascination with the effect that technology has had on the presentation of sound. The strength of Biophilia is that it seems to revisit the interesting aspects of Vespertine from the vantage point of a decade hence. And of course the reassurance for fans is that her voice continues to take center stage.

As part of her NYC “residency”, the Biophilia show moved from its triumphant run at the Queens Science Museum to the Roseland Ballroom. My concerns about the show’s presentation at this particular venue were eased upon entry into the main room. The stage was set up in what would normally be the center of the floor, and there was a vantage point from each side of the square stage to experience the concert. The pre-show music included piano and organ transcriptions of a variety of Björk’s material, and screens placed strategically around the hall projected Biophilia-themed images. The live performers who accompanied Björk were interestingly quite similar to the group that performed throughout the Vespertine tour, including harpist Zeena Parkins, an all female choir, and electronic wizards similar to Matmos (who played on both the 2001 Vespertine tour and the 2003 “Greatest Hits” tour). The setlists for these shows have followed a pattern, and all include the complete Biophilia album mixed in with selected classic material. Interestingly, the first older song performed is “Hidden Place”, the opening track from Vespertine. We have chosen to stream three highlights from the evening, including “Mouth’s Cradle” from Medulla, “Cosmogony” from Biophilia, and the newest addition to the setlist and oldest song she performed, a powerful reworking of Post’s “Possibly Maybe”. The good news of course is that while her voice has matured, Björk is still capable of projecting stunning music from her vocal chords and her singing is still a thing of absolute beauty. And while Biophilia is not the perfect album, it contains an intelligent and compelling message among a large number of outstanding songs which are brought to life in an extremely entertaining show. We left Roseland with a full reaffirmation of the power and vitality of perhaps the greatest female singer of our generation.

I recorded this set with my new mobile rig from ten feet in front of the PA speakers at the south side of the stage. The microphones are customized DPA 4061 omnis finished by Dynamic Audio and run through a custom battery box (also Dynamic Audio) to a brand new Edirol R-05. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “Mouth’s Cradle:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/B6591Bjork8793/08.%20Mouth%27s%20Cradle.mp3]

Stream “Cosmogony”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/B6591Bjork8793/15.%20Cosmogony.mp3]

Stream “Possibly Maybe”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/B6591Bjork8793/18.%20Possibly%20Maybe.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Direct download of complete show in FLAC (HERE)

Email nyctaper if there is a problem with either download.

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Björk
2012-02-25
Roseland Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Upfront – Recorded 10 Feet from PA
South Side of Stage

DPA 4061s (Dynamic Audio Custom Mod) > Dynamic Audio Custom Battery Box > Edirol R-05 > 16bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2012-02-26

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:38:45]
01 [introduction]
02 Thunderbolt
03 Moon
04 Crystalline
05 Hollow
06 Dark Matter
07 Hidden Place
08 Mouth’s Cradle
09 Virus
10 Generous Palmstroke
11 Sacrifice
12 Sonnets/Unrealities XI
13 Where Is The Line
14 Mutual Core
15 Cosmogony
16 Solstice
17 [encore break]
18 Possibly Maybe
19 [band introductions]
20 Nattura
21 Declare Independence

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Björk, visit her website, and purchase Biophilia directly from Björk [HERE]

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