Blog Archives

[photo credit]

Last Friday night at Joe’s Pub was a coming out party of sorts for Emanuel and The Fear. The show was sold out to capacity (some were turned away at the door), there were some rock luminaries in attendance (David Byrne and members of TV On The Radio), and the band absolutely charmed the crowd with an outstanding hour long set. Emanuel and The Fear released an acclaimed debut EP this year, but we fully expect that the full-length album to be released in the coming months will propel this band to greater heights. Several of those new songs are featured on this recording. The Fear is a ten-piece “rock orchestra” of tremendous talent and musical instincts and they compliment Emanuel’s voice, guitar, piano, and stage presence to perfection.

We recorded this set from upstairs in the soundboard area, with two microphones attached to the railing and a 2-channel feed from the soundboard. The large number of instrument and voice microphones on the stage required that my board signal be split and the result is that the various sources are split between right and left channels. We suggest that listeners play this recording on speakers as its somewhat distracting to listen to this separation on headphones. With that caveat, enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Emanuel and the Fear
2009-09-04
Joe’s Pub
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2009-09-07

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:02:59]
01 [introduction]
02 Guatemala
03 The Rain Becomes the Clouds
04 Dear Friend
05 [banter]
06 Free Life
07 [“Greek song” interlude]
08 Whatever You Do
09 Comfortable Prison
10 Simple Eyes
11 Song For a Girl
12 Balcony
13 [band introductions]
14 Want to Be
15 [encore break]
16 Jimme’s Song

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Emanuel and The Fear, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their debut EP from Paper Garden Records [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Impose Magazine – many more here]

Its hard to believe that its been almost seven months since we last saw These Are Powers — in February at an art gallery for their CD release show. On Saturday night, the scene was a world away. In a venue that could be best described as coming right out of the rumble scene in West Side Story, These Are Powers played underneath the old Highline railroad, surrounded by chain link fences, graffiti, and the smell of car oil and gasoline. While fortunately no one was knifed, the crowd did move to the stabbing beats propelled by the many gadgets manipulated by tech wizard Bill Salas perfectly syncopated with the thunder bass of Bill Noecker. In the months since we last saw TAP, Anna Barie has become even more animated on stage. Saturday’s show saw Anna hurling large quantities of sugar delights into the crowd during “Candy”, and performing virtually the entire “World Class Peoples” while being held aloft vertically by the crowd.

We recorded this set with microphones set up directly in front of the soundboard/video projection area, about 30 feet from the stage. We received a mono soundboard feed (which begins 5 minutes into the recording) which was mixed with the room mics in post production. The sound quality is quite excellent and represents our best audio capture of this amazing band. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

These Are Powers
2009-09-05
Under The Highline
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2009-09-10

Setlist:
[Total Time 44:31]
01 [introduction]
02 Double Double Yolk
03 Easy Answer
04 Adam’s Turtle
05 Untitled New Song
06 Gutter
07 Life Of Birds
08 Candy
09 World Class Peoples*
10 [encore break]
11 [Mash-Up]*
*with Ryan Sawyer on percussion

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT These Are Powers, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases including their latest CD All Aboard Future from the Dead Oceans site [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Maryanne Ventrice and Prefix Mag – more here]

If there were any irrational ideas that Blood Warrior was merely a vanity project for O’Death’s Greg Jamie, those fears were dispelled within the first minute of Blood Warrior first ever NYC performance at the After The Jump Fest last Sunday at Littlefield. Nevermind that Greg is a modest and nice guy probably incapable of such vanity, but Blood Warrior was conceived equally between Greg and the multi-talented Joey Weiss, with significant contributions from Kristin Kellas. Like O’Death, the music of Blood Warrior is faithful to folk and bluegrass, but unlike O’Death’s dark Appalachian influence, Blood Warrior could be better described as melancholy prairie folk. The harmonies were also quite outstanding — as Jamie’s shakey tenor is complimented well by Kellas’ beautiful soprano and Weiss’s rich baritone and supplemented by Weiss’s melodic guitar lines. Blood Warrior will release their first 7″ (“Darling Eyes” featured as track 06 on this recording) on Ernest Jenning Records in October. Blood Warrior will next perform at the Ernest Jenning CMJ showcase on October 21 at Knitting Factory Brooklyn, and then again on October 25 at Glasslands.

We recorded this set with the Neumann microphones placed at dead center, approximately 30 feet from the stage and combined the room mics with a stereo feed from the soundboard. This is a professional quality recording. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Blood Warrior
2009-08-30
After The Jump Festival
Littlefield
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2009-09-06

Setlist:
[Total Time 38:53]
01 Hummingbird
02 Blood Letting
03 Winters Day
04 King Day
05 Untitled New Song
06 Darling Eyes
07 Choir
08 Snake Seer

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Blood Warrior, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their releases when they become available from the Ernest Jenning Record Co site [HERE].

These United States at Prospect Park earlier this Summer
[photo courtesy of Hooves on the Turf – more here]

Acidjack reports:
“This Kentucky band rolled into New York City with swagger, first selling out the Mercury Lounge on Friday night, and then following that up with an epic show at Union Hall in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The band kicked off the night with an acoustic set, preceded by the folk duo Vandaveer. After a break, Brooklyn standouts Motel Motel played an opening set, followed by These United States and a blistering electric set played to a smaller but very excited crowd. The band played classics from both their current albums as well as new songs from their forthcoming album, Everything Touches Everything. Only one song is repeated out of the two sets. Thanks to These United States, their management, and Union Hall for permitting us to record this fine performance from an optimum spot in the venue.”

This recording was captured from the prime location in this venue and the sound quality is outstanding.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

These United States
2009-08-28
Union Hall
Brooklyn, NY USA

An ACIDJACK master recording

Equipment: DPA 4061 (Coresound HEB)>R-09HR
Placement: Mounted on ceiling pipe, center, 3′ split
Processing: raw WAV>Audacity (tracking, amplify each channel, set fades, downsample to 44.1kHz/16bit)

Set One (acoustic)
17 Tracks (setlist help needed)
Set Two (electric)
15 Tracks (setlist help needed)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT These United States, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from the buy.it link at their site [HERE].

[photo by zenametalz]

The Swedish psychedelic rock band Dungen are currently wrapping up the last few dates of an extensive U.S. tour. Two weeks ago, they performed at Bell House and acidjack was there to capture it. As this show took place while I was on vacation, I will refer our readers to the excellent review of this show by the “Look At Me, I Made a Blog” music blog [here].

Acidjack recorded this set next to the soundboard with his new AKG microphones and the sound is quite excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Dungen
2009-08-14
The Bell House
Brooklyn, NY USA

An ACIDJACK master recording

Recorded and produced by acidjack
Equipment: AKG ck91 cardiod capsules (Busman active mod)>custom battery box>R-09HR (24bit/48kHz)
Location: Mics mounted DIN on custom kwon bar on pole clamped to left corner of SBD cage, 10ft total height
Processing: WAV>Audacity (smooth peaks, tracking, downsample to 16bit/44.1kHz, amplify each channel to -0.1dB)>FLAC ( level 8 )

22 Tracks
(setlist help needed)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Dungen, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from the Shop at their site [HERE].

[photo courtesy of franklin64]

Although we were not previously familiar with the music of Danish band Mew prior to their set opening for NIN at Terminal 5 on Wednesday, like much of the crowd by the end of the epic “Comforting Sounds” we were duly impressed with the band’s excellent mix of prog, 80s synth and Euro-style pop. The musical proficiency was obvious and the song structures were imaginative. Mew took advantage of the crowd’s unfamiliarity with the material to perform five consecutive songs from their brand new release No More Stories, which is said to contain a more pop focus than their previous releases.

The set was recorded from the identical location as the NIN recording, with the identical equipment from the first half of NIN. The crowd was not nearly as packed for this set, and as a result there is less of “din” during the quiet moments. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Mew
2009-08-26
Terminal 5
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Directly in Front of Soundboard
Center Floor

DPA 4021s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2009-08-30

Setlist:
[Total Time 37:37]
01 New Terrain
02 Introducing Palace Players
03 Hawaii
04 Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy
05 Special / Zookeeper’s Boy / Special
06 Comforting Sounds

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Mew, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from the MewShop at their site [HERE].

[all photos on this page by Dave Pecoraro]

Last night was the final NYC show “ever” for Nine Inch Nails. The last song was an appropriate cover of the Pere Ubu classic “Final Solution” where NIN were also joined by Bauhaus’s Peter Murphy for the second straight night. “Final Solution” contains the lyric “guitars gonna sound like a nuclear destruction” which could accurately describe the sonic wall of sound that NIN produced last night. In what was clearly the best sound quality we have ever heard at Terminal 5, NIN vibrated throughout the cavernous venue with unmatched energy and intensity and ignited the oppressively packed and overheated crowd, who sang along in unison to nearly every number. There seemed to be no posers or yappers at this concert, only the diehards. Throughout the over two and a half hour set, the NIN setlist covered all aspects of their catalog from the very early (“Head Like a Hole”, “Terrible Lie”) to the latest (2008’s “1,000,000”) — all performed with the same level of conviction.

This recording is a true NYCTaper.com collaboration. I began recording from the perfect location with prime equipment, about two-thirds of the way back on the floor directly in front of the soundboard. As the heat and pressure of the crowd overwhelmed me halfway through the set, I had to leave for some air. Acidjack was standing next to me also recording, and his superb capture provides the second half of this recording. A seamless crossfade was applied and we challenge any listener to locate the exact point where the two nearly identical outstanding recordings were patched. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Nine Inch Nails
2009-08-26
Terminal 5
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Directly in Front of Soundboard
Center Floor (both recordings)

DPA 4021s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (first half) +
DPA 4061s > Edirol R-09HR (second half)
24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample, crossfade, EQ to first half) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded by nyctaper and acidjack
Produced by nyctaper
2009-08-26

Setlist:
[Total Time 2:34:37]
01 Pinion/Somewhat Damaged
02 Wish
03 Last
04 Sin
05 March of The Pigs
06 Something I Can Never Have
07 Piggy
08 Metal
09 Terrible Lie
10 Head Down
11 Burn
12 Gave Up
13 La Mer
14 The Frail/The Wretched
15 Non-Entity
16 Gone, Still
17 Lights In The Sky
18 The Downward Spiral
19 1,000,000
20 Survivalism
21 The Good Soldier
22 [banter – band introductions]
23 Dead Souls (Joy Division)
24 Hurt
25 [encore break]
26 Suck
27 Down In It
28 The Hand That Feeds
29 Head Like A Hole
30 [second encore break]
31 Reptile
32 [Peter Murphy introduction – banter]
33 A Strange Kind Of Love/Bela Legosi’s Dead (Peter Murphy solo)
34 Final Solution (Pere Ubu) (with Peter Murphy)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Nine Inch Nails, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the NIN Merch page at their site [HERE].