nyctaper Recordings

concert discussion and free flac downloads

The National: December 12, 2011 Beacon Theatre – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 15, 2011
By

[Photos courtesy of Pete Matthews for Feast of Music]

The National are closing out a massive two years of recording and near-constant touring in style here in New York, with a run of sold-out shows at the Beacon Theatre that have featured many of our favorite bands (The War on Drugs, on this night) as openers. Not many years ago, I could not have conceived of a band that makes moody, melodramatic indie rock of their particular variety selling out large NYC venues like the Beacon and Terminal 5; look what else is playing in those spots these days, and it ain’t much like The National.

Indeed, with their style of music – which feels intimate and personal by definition – it has to be a challenge to play a somewhat impersonal big venue, even one as gorgeous as the Beacon. Singer Matt Berninger made a number of self-deprecating references to that during the show – mocking his awkward stage banter, and the band’s lack of “sexy” songs – but all joking aside, he and his bandmates proved every bit that they belonged on that stage. The band also debuted two new songs, “Rylan” (streaming below) and “I Need My Girl”, which we hope will appear on their next record (whenever that is).

But the show’s true story was the encore. While encores many can feel perfunctory, The National turned theirs into a true highlight, upping the intensity and even sending Berninger crowdsurfing through the first several rows at the Beacon during “Terrible Love”. The band closed out the show with an unamplified “Venderlyle Crybaby Geeks” with the members of War on Drugs – a unique way to end night one of what should be one of the most compelling runs for them yet.

I recorded this set with DPA 4021 microphones in a mobile configuration. Recording in a boomy theater without a mic stand is a bit tricky, and there is some analog hiss in quiet parts due to having to boost the levels significantly, but overall I am pleased with this. Enjoy!

Download the MP3 and FLAC files and stream the entire show at the Live Music Archive [HERE]

Stream the entire show

Follow acidjack on Twitter

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. This set will appear on the Live Music Archive after it has been hosted here for a couple of weeks. Please do not upload it to the LMA “for us”. Please respect our requests.  Thanks!

The National
2011-12-12
Beacon Theater
New York, NY USA

Recorded by acidjack
for ncytaper.com

DPA 4021 (FOB, DFC)>Denecke PS/2>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)>24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, EQ, amplify and balance, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Runaway
02 Anyone’s Ghost
03 Mistaken For Strangers
04 Secret Meeting
05 Bloodbuzz Ohio
06 Slow Show
07 Squalor Victoria
08 Afraid of Everyone
09 Conversation 16
10 Rylan
11 [banter]
12 Son
13 Available
14 Cardinal Song
15 Sorrow
16 [banter]
17 Lucky You
18 England
19 Fake Empire
20 [encore break]
21 I Need My Girl
22 Mr. November
23 Terrible Love
24 [banter]
25 Venderlyle Crybaby Geeks [unamplified]

If you enjoyed this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The National, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from The National’s Shop [HERE].

Royal Baths: December 9, 2011 Glasslands – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 15, 2011
By


[Photos by acidjack]

I have wanted to see Royal Baths for over at least a year now, since this site last attempted to cover one of the band’s New York shows. Last year’s ill-fated attempt was a gig at Monster Island Basement that, let’s just say, suffered from some human failings. But I didn’t care – the band’s debut album on Woodsist Records, Litanies, was one of my absolute favorites of last year. Woozy, dark and catchy as hell, the record sounded perfectly like their hometown of San Francisco, evoking that city’s 60s fixation without being trapped by it. Knowing that this Kanine Records (their new label) party at Glasslands would feature a strong lineup of bands and top-notch sound engineering, I calculated that this would be our chance to capture a memorable set.

I was right.  The band that showed up for this show was lightyears beyond the act we saw a year ago – focused, poised, and powering their way through a number of songs that will appear on their forthcoming record on Kanine, Better Luck Next Life. The new tunes continue in the dark vein of Litanies, but feel a bit tighter, with a tad less of the ramshackle feel that characterized Litanies.  They also offered up some of my favorite tunes from that record, including “Sitting In My Room”, and rolled out a truly bizarre cover – Nina Simone’s “Be My Husband” (I had to Google lyrics to figure that one out, and still had it wrong the first time..)  They closed out with a lengthy psychedelic new number that once again highlighted their musical chops. Clearly, moving to New York was good for these guys.  I can’t wait for the new record.

hi and lo and I recorded this set with Schoeps MK5 cardiod microphones and a flawless soundboard feed from Josh, the house engineer at Glasslands.  The sound quality is outstanding.  Enjoy!

Better Luck Next Life will be released on Kanine Records on February 7, 2012.  Pre-order the record [HERE]  Thanks to Kanine Records for granting permission to record.

Stream “Sitting In My Room”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/R9012RoyalBaths2011/06 Sitting In My Room.mp3]

Stream “Be My Husband [Nina Simone]”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/R9012RoyalBaths2011/05 Be My Husband.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct Download of the FLAC files [HERE]

Follow acidjack on Twitter

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.

Royal Baths
2011-12-09
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

Recorded by hi and lo
Produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Schoeps MK5(c)>CMR>PFA>EAA PSP2>Sonic AD2K+ + Soundboard >> Tascam DR-680 (24/48)>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, very light EQ (about -1db cut @ 125Hz and below) tracking, amplify, balance and downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [new song – “Morning Birds”]
02 [new song – “She’s the Hunter and You’re the Prey”]
03 [new song – “Shadow World”]
04 Drudgery
05 Be My Husband [Damien Rice]
06 Sitting In My Room
07 [new song]

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT The Royal Baths, visit their website, and pre-order Better Luck Next Life from Kanine Records [HERE]

The War On Drugs: December 11, 2011 Bowery Ballroom – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 14, 2011
By


[photo courtesy of Mike Benigno and Bowery House List]

It was slightly less than a year ago that an opening set at Bowery Ballroom by The War On Drugs so floored us with its intensity and purpose that we vowed never to miss them again. They have been on NYCTaper four times this year, and have quite literally never disappointed. At Bowery on Sunday night, it was the band’s headlining coming out party and the sold-out crowd were treated to another taste of excellence. War On Drugs latest album Slave Ambient has earned them universal praise, and the set contained 6 of the albums twelve songs. “Baby Missiles” is arguably the strongest track on the record and we’re streaming it below. War On Drugs will be performing the track on Jimmy Fallon on January 10th — their late night tv debut. We are also streaming an interesting cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey”, a song that represents that band’s only certifiable hit, and a cover where the War On Drugs turns the song into their own, never veering too far in the direction of tribute or parody. The War On Drugs will return to NYC for a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 8.

I recorded this wet with the four mic rig from the balcony rail and the sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Baby Missiles”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/W1008WOD2101/10.%20Baby%20Missiles.mp3]

Stream “Touch of Grey” [Grateful Dead cover]:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/W1008WOD2101/09.%20Touch%20of%20Grey%20%5bGrateful%20Dead%5d.mp3]

This show is now available for download in FLAC and MP3 on 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.

War On Drugs
2011-12-11
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Balcony Rail

Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021’s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, EQ, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2011-12-13

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:23:39]
01 Best Night
02 Taking The Farm
03 Coming Through
04 Your Love Is Calling My Name
05 Come To The City
06 I Was There
07 Brothers
08 Arms Like Boulders
09 Touch of Grey [Grateful Dead]
10 Baby Missiles
11 Buenos Aires Beach
12 Black Water Falls
13 A Needle in Your Eye No 16

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The War On Drugs, visit their website,  and purchase their new album Slave Ambient from Secretly Canadian Records [HERE].

Blitzen Trapper: December 9, 2011 Maxwell’s – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 13, 2011
By


[photo courtesy of Christopher Altenburg at Monster Fresh]

Blitzen Trapper are not currently on tour, but as a bonus for their trip East to play Letterman on Thursday night, the band added an intimate show at Maxwell’s on Friday. After spending much of the last three months on tour in support of their sixth album, the September release American Goldwing (Sub Pop), this one-off show gave Blitzen Trapper the opportunity to stretch out and play some rare tracks and a lengthy set. Indeed, the set lasted well over ninety minutes and contained twenty-five songs, including “Silver Moon” and “Not Your Lover”, songs absent from recent setlists. On Letterman on Thursday, the band played “Might Find it Cheap”, so that Friday’s version was tight and energetic — we’re streaming it below. The intimate nature of the venue also created a nice interaction between the band and the diehards who were able to secure tickets to the sold-out show, and that led to some hilarious banter. Blitzen Trapper is a band that seems to really enjoy playing music and on Friday night that was more than evident.

I recorded this set with the standard setup for this venue, with the Neumanns mounted inside the front right corner of the soundboard booth and mixed with a board feed. Blitzen Trapper’s outstanding tour FOH Martin did a superb job on the mix and this recording is one of the best we’ve ever captured at Maxwell’s. Enjoy!

Stream “Might Find It Cheap”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/B2227Blitzen9822/06.%20Might%20Find%20It%20Cheap.mp3]

Stream “Good Times Bad Times” [Led Zeppelin cover]:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/B2227Blitzen9822/29.%20Good%20Times%20Bad%20Times%20%5bZep%5d.mp3]

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

Blitzen Trapper
2011-12-09
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2011-12-10

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:34:54]
01 [intro]
02 American Goldwing
03 God and Suicide
04 My Hometown
05 Furr
06 Might Find It Cheap
07 Love and Hate
08 Fletcher
09 Fire and Fast Bullets
10 Gold For Bread
11 Love The Way You Walk Away
12 Stolen Shoes and A Rifle
13 Black River Killer
14 Silver Moon
15 Talking It Easy Too Long
16 Good Ol Boys [Waylon Jennings]
17 Big Black Bird
18 Evening Star
19 Miss Spiritual Tramp
20 Your Crying Eyes
21 Street Fighting Sun
22 Wild Mountain Nation
23 [encore break]
24 Not Your Lover
25 [banter – thanks to Martin and Sara]
26 Lady on the Water
27 [banter – Summer of 69]
28 Jericho
29 Good Times Bad Times [Zep]

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Blitzen Trapper, visit their website, and purchase American Goldwing from the Store at their site [HERE].

Ian O’Neil (of Deer Tick): December 7, 2011 Glasslands – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 13, 2011
By


[Photo courtesy of MaryAnne Ventrice. See her portfolio [HERE]]

After their recent, raucous performance at Webster Hall, we saw a very different sort of Deer Tick-related performance this past Wednesday night at Glasslands. Ian O’Neil, who has been Deer Tick’s guitarist since 2009, and previously played with Titus Andronicus, gave a relaxed, intimate performance of old standards as well as numbers from Deer Tick’s divisive new album, Divine Providence and new solo numbers (presumably) of his own. Sticking primarily to a more country-folk sound, O’Neil lead off with the Grateful Dead number “I’ve Been All Around This World,” followed by Michael Hurley’s “Be Kind To Me.” He was joined onstage by members of headliners Virgin Forest (that recording coming soon) for the last few songs, including a rousing version of Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline”.

I recorded this set with AKG 414 large-diaphragm microphones in our usual spot in the video plus a nice clean soundboard feed from Josh, the house engineer at Glasslands. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Thanks to Partisan Records for inviting us to this show.

Stream “Walkin’ Out the Door”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/D4545DeerTick3030/03 Walkin’ Out the Door.mp3]

Stream “I’ve Been All Around This World [Grateful Dead]”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/D4545DeerTick3030/01 I’ve Been All Around This World.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct Download of the FLAC files [HERE]

Follow acidjack on Twitter

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.

Ian O’Neil (of Deer Tick)
2011-12-07
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

Recorded and produced by acidjack
for nyctaper.com

Soundboard + AKG C 414 B-XLS (cardiod)>Sound Devices USBPre2>>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, smooth peaks, tracking, amplify, balance and downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 I’ve Been All Around This World [Grateful Dead]
02 Be Kind To Me [Michael Hurley]
03 Walkin’ Out the Door
04 [new – “Is This It?”]
05 [new – “Worth the Pain”]
06 [new – “You’re Not Spanish To Me”]
07 Now It’s Your Turn
08 Maybelline [Chuck Berry]
09 Hope Is Big

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Deer Tick, visit their website, and purchase their official releases including Divine Providence from the Partisan Records Store [HERE].

The Antlers: December 10, 2011 Webster Hall – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 12, 2011
By


[photo courtesy of JeremyEye]

About midway through the Antlers show at Webster Hall last night, I took a stroll around the venue just to try to take it all in. The 1200+ capacity venue was literally packed to the walls — it wasn’t an easy stroll. But the take-away is that this band can fill a venue of this size on a busy Friday night when concert-goers had many other choices. In the Antlers biggest ever show in NYC, the band delivered the goods. It was a ninety-minute set limited only in length by the late-night club that Webster Hall becomes after 11 p.m. We got the feeling that they could have played another half hour. The set consisted of an interesting mix of Burst Apart and Hospice material, including some songs we had not seen in a while. “Sylvia” is streaming below, and the stand-out performance brought back a powerful song that was not played earlier in the year. The Burst Apart material has grown in length and development in the live setting, and in particular “Teeth” (also streaming below) embodies that maturation. Just a few days removed from a 30-plus show tour of Europe, the Antlers were well rehearsed but undoubtedly a little fatigued. Fortunately, the energy of a sold-out triumphant hometown return show invigorated the quartet, so that there wasn’t an ebb moment in the entire ninety-minute set.

I recorded this set with the hyper-cardioid Neumann microphones placed at the front rail of the soundboard booth in the lower balcony, and mixed with a soundboard feed. The difficult room was mixed with precision by the Antlers FOH Dan Seiders, and the sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/A3398Antlers3200/08.%20Every%20Night%20My%20Teeth%20Are%20Falling%20Out%20(2).mp3]

Stream “Sylvia”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/A3398Antlers3200/14.%20Sylvia.mp3]

This recording is now available as a FLAC or MP3 download 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.

The Antlers
2011-12-10
Webster Hall
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, downsample set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2011-12-11

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:33:37]
01 Parentheses
02 No Widows
03 Kettering
04 French Exit
05 Atrophy
06 Corsicana
07 Rolled Together
08 Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
09 [banter]
10 Hounds
11 Putting the Dog To Sleep
12 [encore break]
13 I Don’t Want Love
14 Sylvia
15 Epilogue

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Antlers, visit their website, and purchase Burst Apart from their site [HERE].

Tribes: December 8, 2011 Mercury Lounge – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

December 9, 2011
By


[photo courtesy of Chris at Music Snobbery]

Tribes have hit it big in their native England less than a year since their debut. Its easy to see why. The two EPs the band has released in 2011 are both packed with irresistible power pop, which borrows from Big Star at its most inspired and Cheap Trick at its most polished — and adds a Brit flavor. Tribes arrived on the US shores just a few days ago, and played their first-ever NYC show last night at Mercury Lounge. Apparently, the brit-buzz has followed them as the venue was packed. As the band will release their debut full-length in January (Baby on Island Records UK), the forty-minute set consisted of only four previously released tracks from the EPs and five new ones. We are streaming “Corner of an English Field”, a mid-tempo rocker with hooks aplenty and a driving beat. Its not hard to foresee that Tribes will soon be playing much larger venues than Mercury, especially given the can’t-miss quality of the songs that will hit in January. Tribes plays at Glasslands tonight, before returning to England after a few more US dates.

I recorded this set with the Neumanns positioned at the soundboard booth and mixed with a soundboard feed. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Corner of an English Field”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/T1280Tribes2200/07.%20Corner%20of%20an%20English%20Field.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.

Tribes
2011-12-08
Mercury Lounge
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) > TLH (level 7) > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2011-12-09

Setlist:
[Total Time 37:22]
01 [intro music]
02 Whenever
03 Girlfriend
04 Sappho
05 When My Day Comes
06 Himalaya
07 Corner of an English Field
08 Not So Pretty
09 Nightdriving
10 We Were Children

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Tribes, visit their website, and purchase their two EPs [HERE] and pre-order their debut album Baby (January 16 release) [HERE].

Daniel Wayne: November 17, 2011 Glasslands – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 7, 2011
By


[photo by David Andrako]

If you haven’t heard a truly great voice lately, you might want to check out Daniel Wayne. There’s no doubt that distinguishing yourself as a singer-songwriter can be difficult; it’s a style where it’s easy to be mediocre, difficult to be great. But that voice puts to rest the doubters – sweet through the middle and upper ranges and flawless on the high notes, Wayne is instantly recognizable as well as accessible. A good example can be heard on the haunting, lonely solo number, “Pub’s Crawl”, which also takes an abrupt turn into a religious hymn at the end. Humble and appreciative between songs, the Ohio native comes across likable as well (the Midwestern thing again?). As for his songs, many are tinged with a light country twang, and navigate both indie gloom and homespun folk themes with equal skill.

I will admit that I had not heard of Wayne before I caught this Glasslands Gallery set opening for Jessica Lea Mayfield (that recording here), but apparently I was behind the curve. A sizable crowd showed up to catch his opening set, and by the end, a pretty full house was paying rapt attention. Wayne split the set equally between solo acoustic and full-band electric numbers, and we have served up a streaming example of each below (along with the complete-set download, of course). When the full band comes in during the first chorus of “Birds,” you can tell that Wayne’s big voice is equally if not better suited to the full-band treatment. The full-band songs also give Wayne a broader palette for his arrangements, and he takes full advantage on songs like the countrified “Virgin Saint”, streaming below. Despite being the first opener of the night, Wayne put forth a full 50-minute set that alone was worth the show’s price of admission. As Wayne himself put it in a recent interview on the CBS News website, “Every time I get on the stage, I give it everything I have.” This was only my first Daniel Wayne performance, but that sure seemed to be the case.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK22 “open cardiod” microphones and a flawless soundboard feed provided by Josh Thiel, the house engineer at Glasslands. The sound is outstanding. Enjoy!

Stream “Virgin Saint”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/D1117DanielWayne2011/09 Virgin Saint.mp3]

Stream “Pub’s Crawl”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/D1117DanielWayne2011/04 Pub’s Crawl.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct Download of FLAC files [HERE].

Follow acidjack on Twitter

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.

Daniel Wayne
2011-11-17
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Schoeps MK22 (DFC, POS)>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre + Soundboard >> Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audition (mixdown)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify and balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 The Fool
02 The Dog
03 [banter]
04 Pub’s Crawl
05 Beautiful Day
06 Poseidon’s Drownin’ Son
07 [banter]
08 Birds
09 Virgin Saint
10 Far From Here
11 [banter]
12 My Bed
13 untitled

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Daniel Wayne, visit his website, and purchase his 4-song EP directly from Amazon.

Owen: December 2, 2011 Glasslands – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 6, 2011
By


[Video stills courtesy of Ian Perlman and Oresti Tsonopoulos]

Mike Kinsella has been involved in many a highly-regarded project over the years – in particular, the Illinois native still does time in Joan of Arc with his brother Tim (our recent recording of them [HERE]), and before that, he and Tim were in Cap’n Jazz (our recent recording of them [HERE]). The man’s discography is longer than many artists twice his age – and most of it is quite good.

The latest Kinsella project to receive positive notice is his affecting solo effort, Owen, which he has been releasing albums under since 2001. Let me revise that – a lot of positive notice. I had not seen Glasslands this completely full in a long time, probably since the packed-to-the-rafters Yuck show last winter, or Bear In Heaven’s show there in 2009. Our friends at PopGun Booking knew what they were doing when they booked this for a Friday night.

Packed house or not, Kinsella made the show feel like an intimate evening in a family basement, with a freewheeling set that found him joking with the crowd during and in between songs, chatting with folks in the front row, riffing on fantasy football, hockey, airplane turbulence and (briefly) failed GOP contender Herman Cain, and making the best of some difficult technical issues. Alone onstage with his guitar (with audience members in his face on all sides), Kinsella delivered an hour’s worth of songs that were by turns melancholy, funny and whimsical, all in a trademark sweet voice that, for many of us, typifies the “emo” sound popularized in the 1990s. Even with such distractions as occasional PA buzzing and interference from Mike’s phone, his unadorned set was powerful and moving, and the crowd hung on every word. Much of his 2011 release Ghost Town was covered, but the set spanned the Owen catalog. Even Kinsella’s occasional flubs — a couple of songs ended prematurely — were greeted enthusiastically, to the point that he mocked the crowd for cheering for one aborted number. With some performers, this kind of thing could be annoying, but Kinsella is the type of amiable guy you can’t help but laugh with when things go wrong.  The show ended on that kind of note, when a massive equipment problem during the encore sent waves of static blasting through the PA. “That’s cool,” Kinsella said. “Thanks for coming guys. I’m done. It was fun. Now it’s over.” Mike smiled as he walked off, and the crowd roared its approval. It was that kind of night.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed and Schoeps MK22 “open cardioid” microphones in the usual location I use in the venue.  After extensive post-processing to reduce or eliminate most of the sound issues (which, it should be added, were not the fault of the Glasslands house team), I am quite pleased with the quality of the recording. Hear it for yourself below, and enjoy!

Stream “The Armoire”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/O0212Owen0211/12%20The%20Armoire.mp3]

Stream “No Language”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/O0212Owen0211/24%20No%20Language.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct download of FLAC files [HERE]

Follow acidjack on twitter

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.

Owen
2011-12-02
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Schoeps MK22 (DFC, NOS)>KCY>Naiant littlebox + Soundboard >> Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audition (mixdown, noise reduction, EQ)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify and balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro banter]
02 Too Many Moons
03 [banter]
04 O, Evelyn
05 Abandoned Bridges
06 [banter/tuning]
07 The Sad Waltzes of Pietro Crespi
08 An Animal
09 [banter]
10 The Anthropology Song
11 [banter]
12 The Armoire
13 No Place Like Home
14 [banter]
15 New Leaves
16 [banter]
17 Bad Backs and Hardwood Floors
18 [banter]
19 Bad News
20 A Bird In Hand
21 [banter]
22 Everyone’s Asleep in the House but Me
23 [banter]
24 No Language
25 [banter]
26 Broken Bones
27 [banter]
28 Good Friends Bad Habits

PLEASE SUPPORT Owen by visiting Mike’s MySpace page for the band, and buying the band’s records, including the 2011 release Ghost Town, directly from Polyvinyl [HERE]

The Loom: December 03, 2011 Mercury Lounge – FLAC/MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 5, 2011
By

Photo courtesy of Jill and For the Love of Brooklyn
[photos courtesy of Jill and For the Love of Brooklyn]

It’s been a busy month for Crossbill Record’s The Loom, a band that is no stranger to nyctaper.com. We were fortunate enough to catch them this weekend at Mercury Lounge while the band finishes up their recent tour, along with the band BOBBY, in support of the album Teeth which was released in November. The Loom also completed a Daytrotter session this past month and from what we saw during this Saturday night performance it was very clear that they are in peak form and as comfortable an ensemble as ever. In a superb 45-minute set, we heard much of the new album as well as two unreleased songs including an 8-minute, part a cappella epic, titled “Morning Song, Mountain Song” and the more gentle outro “Caretaker”.

For this recording, I mixed an excellent soundboard feed with a pair of Schoeps hyper-cardioid microphones from the audience. The sound engineers at Mercury Lounge always have it dialed in perfectly and this evening was no different. The resulting mix is a fantastic listen and I hope you enjoy!

Stream “Morning Song, Mountain Song”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/L0505Loom1111/loom2011-12-03.morningsongmountainsong.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

We’ll also be posting the set from BOBBY that was recorded on the same night, but are currently in the process of identifying the setlist. Please check back as we should have the recording up sometime this week!

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.

The Loom
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY, US
2011-12-03

Recordist : hi and lo
Source : Soundboard + Schoeps Mk41 > E.A.A. PSP-2 > Sonic AD2k+ > Tascam DR-680 @ 24 bit / 48 kHz
Position : on-stand, roc by soundboard, DINa, 9′
Mastering : Wavelab 6 (Mixdown/EQ/Fades/resamping/dither) > Flac Level 8 with TLH v2.6.0 (Build 168)

Tracklist:

01. Song for the Winter Sun
02. The Middle Distance
03. For the Hooves That Gallop, and the Heels That March
04. Like Lamp Glow
05. The First Freeze
06. The Curtain Calls
07. Snowed In
08. Morning Song, Mountain Song
09. Caretaker

Running Time: 43:05

Please support The Loom by seeing them on their current tour and by visiting their MySpace. If you’ve enjoyed this recording, you may also purchase a copy of their new album directly from the band’s bandcamp page or from iTunes.

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