nyctaper Recordings

[photo credit]

For good or bad, Brooklyn Bowl is the perfect venue for a Les Claypool show in NYC. First, the good. The superior sound system at The Bowl presented all the intricacies of the band — bass, electric cello, xylophone, drums — with superb clarity. Every plucked and slapped note on Claypool’s bass was pristine. The venue’s odd juxtaposition of music and sport also provided Les with comedic fodder. Finally, the room seemed to be the perfect size for this crowd. While the show was sold out, it was also not so packed as to be uncomfortable. Then, there was the bad. Brooklyn Bowl has an outstanding beer selection, primarily from their neighbors the Brooklyn Brewery and Red Hook’s craft beer wizards at Six Point. The potency of some of these fine beers though was too much for a good portion of the crowd. The end result was puddles of beer and broken glass on the floor and some seriously strange behavior (somewhat noticeable on the recording). Les actually stopped playing in the middle of “Duchess” to chide “Mr. Bald Headed Guy” who was harassing women up front. However, the set itself was a seriously outstanding Claypool show, which touched on his Primus work and his various solo incarnations. “Makalaster > Pachyderm > Makalaster” was an extended exercise in true collaborative improvisation, and the “One Better” medley featured Les at his best. Ever the cut-up, he introduced the Rush cover encore as a “Sly and the Family Stone tune” that takes him back to the “Oakland soul” citing as his “only true source of information” — Wikipedia.

I recorded this set with the Neumann microphones pointed directly up at the stacks at about 30 feet from the stage. The sound quality in the venue was superb and this recording reflects that quality, along with the boisterous crowd. Enjoy!

Stream Les Claypool’s cover of “The Spirit Of Radio” (Rush) Live at Brooklyn Bowl:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/C1006Claypool2110/14%20LesClaypool2010-06-08_nyctaper_t14.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Les Claypool
2010-06-08
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded Upfront 30 Feet from Stage

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

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-06-09

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:45:04]
01 Highball with the Devil
02 Duchess And The Proverbial Mind Spread
03 Amanitas
04 David Makalaster I
05 Southbound Pachyderm
06 David Makalaster I
07 Red State Girl
08 Precipitation
09 Jam/Drums
10 Booneville Stomp
11 One Better / The Awakening / One Better
12 Riddles Are Abound Tonight
13 [encore break]
14 The Spirit Of Radio (Rush)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Les Claypool, visit his website, and purchase his official releases directly from Club Bastardo [HERE].

[Ghastly City Sleep. All photos courtesy of Jonny Leather]

Our good friend Jonny Leather has been going above and beyond to give the already-teeming Brooklyn scene access to exciting new music through his semi-regular concert series.  We were fortunate enough to capture this excellent bill, featuring Brooklyn’s Ghastly City Sleep, garage rock duo Royal Chains and Austin’s Royal Forest (along with Brick + Mortar, whose set we unfortunately missed) at Glasslands, which is a perfect place to absorb yourself in some new music.  Each act was striking in it own way, but perhaps none so much as Ghastly City Sleep, whose music takes a sharp turn from current trends with dark, sometimes lengthy songs that are not afraid to challenge listeners’ expectations.  Jonny Leather compares them to Radiohead, and I can see the resemblance in the rhythmic variations,  sharp, angular vocals, and the aforementioned dark overall tone. For a young band, these guys have a fully developed sound that is poised for bigger things. Check out their debut album at Robotic Empire Records and see for yourself.

[Royal Forest]

Royal Forest could be called “The Band Formerly Known As Loxsly”, but they probably made the right choice with the wholesale name change to avoid any association with the somewhat weak act by a very similar former name.  Apparently in their former incarnation the band earned a lot of comparisons to Grandaddy, which I still hear echoes of, along with occasional hints of my favorites Polvo.  Currently the band is promoting a self-titled EP, with a full-length on the way.

[Royal Chains]

Being a garage-rock duo, Royal Chains needed to do everything right to impress me – and they did.  Too often, I find these setups aren’t musical enough (or are just too wasted), or seem to treat the whole thing as a joke.  Royal Chains came out and played their asses off.  With two EPs under their belt, these guys have shown they are serious about songwriting, and they seem determined not to fall into the lame “we’re two drunk guys playing half-assed songs” trap at all.  Instead, band members Adam and Dan bring real musicianship and feeling.  And, in a perfect ending, they managed to show they don’t take themselves too seriously by playing a cover of Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down.”

Please support Jonny Leather and the shows he promotes.  One good way to learn more is to be his friend on Facebook. Thanks to Jonny for inviting us to this excellent show.  It took us a month to get it posted, but I think it will be worth the wait!

I recorded this set from the balcony with the DPA microphones in an “XY” pattern.  The recordings are generally excellent, with a small caveat – during Royal Forest’s set, the mics were clamped to the balcony rail, which was vibrating due to a fan clamped to it nearby.  Therefore, during quiet parts of the music, you can hear these vibrations.  The band thought it sounded good despite this flaw, so I think it is still very worth your time.  For listeners’ convenience, and to provide maximum exposure to all three bands, the music of all three bands is included in one ZIP file of MP3s.  The MP3s are properly tagged for easy importing into iTunes, including artwork!

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete shows in FLAC [GHASTLY CITY SLEEP] / [ROYAL FOREST] / [ROYAL CHAINS]

Ghastly City Sleep
2010-05-03
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Equipment: DPA 4021>Naiant littlebox>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to balcony rail, XY
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, EQ, tracking, amplify)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 I Never Left My Head
02 Farewell My Friend
03 [banter]
04 Foreboding Shapes
05 1994 (it’s a weird world)
06 Subtle Disaster

Royal Forest
(same source info)
Tracks
1. Civilwarland
2. Battalions
3. Spines Came Unglued
4. Anagrams
5. The Manual That You Wrote
6. Save the Ghost
7. Courtesy in Decline
8. Borrowed Tune (Neil Young)

Royal Chains
(same source info)
Tracks (please help with the setlist)
01
02 Feedback
03 Lucy Takes the Dare
04 [banter]
05
06
07
08
09 Won’t Back Down [Tom Petty]

Please support all of these excellent bands by visiting their websites and buying their music and merchandise (or in some cases, downloading it for free), as follows:
Websites/MySpace:
Ghastly City Sleep
Royal Forest
Royal Chains

Records/Merchandise:
Ghastly City Sleep
Royal Forest Bandcamp Site (Free Download)
The Royal Chains (EPs are $5)

[Galactic at Roseland in November 2007.  Photos courtesy of Andrew J Fischler]

Galactic made a recent appearance in the HBO series Treme, producer David Simon’s love letter to the culture and resilience of the band’s native neighborhood and their home city of New Orleans.  The episode goes out of its way to point out that although Galactic is a funk band with white members, they are 100% legit.  Spend a night with them, like their kickoff of a three-day run this weekend at Brooklyn Bowl, and you won’t need a TV show to make the case that great music, of any genre, is neither black nor white.  Just ask guest vocalist Corey Glover, who is best known for his work in late-80s/early-90s phenomenon Living Colour, a band that reminded those who had forgotten that rock music is not “white” any more than funk, R&B and soul are “black.”  Along with Glover, the band was joined at various points by NOLA legend Cyril Neville, Corey Henry of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and the night’s DJ, Questlove.  Among many high points during the roughly two hour set, the band ripped through some classic rock covers, including Hendrix’s “Fire” and the night’s encore, a bombastic, funked-up version of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” and showed off some new material from their NOLA-all-star collaboration, Ya-Ka-May.  The final show of this run is tonight, so get your tickets while you can.

I recorded this set from along the right side wall, about halfway between the stage and the soundboard, with the mics up high to avoid crowd chatter, with my new Schoeps supercardiod microphones.  The result is an excellent capture despite the somewhat challenging placement in the venue.

I would appreciate help with the setlist – although I don’t want to make this a habit, I am still trying to process a long backlog of shows, and getting setlist assistance is a huge help.  The fileset is otherwise properly tagged (both the FLACs and MP3s).  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Galactic
2010-06-03
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY  USA

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

Equipment: Schoeps CMC6/mk41>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: FOB, ROC, ~11ft up
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify channels, downsample)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 [venue intro banter]
02
03 [banter]
04
05
06
07
08
09 [banter]
10
11
12 Fire [Jimi Hendrix]
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21 [encore break]
22 Whole Lotta Love [Led Zeppelin]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Galactic, visit their website, and purchase Ya-Ka-May and their other releases [HERE].

[The Depreciation Guild at the After the Jump Fest, 2009.  Photo courtesy of Bryan Bruchman]

The Depreciation Guild kicked off Wednesday night at the Knitting Factory – in a week with the NYC Popfest recently completed, and a number of strong shows happening in a holiday week – to celebrate the release of their new record, Spirit Youth. Frontman Kurt Feldman and guitarist Christoph Hoccheim may now be better known for their roles in Slumberland darlings The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (as drummer and touring guitarist), but The Depreciation Guild are much more than a side project, with a more shoegaze-driven sound that has been further refined on Spirit Youth (as compared with their acclaimed first album, In Her Gentle Jaws).  The live show and the new record show what I view as a positive departure from the almost antiseptic gloss of Jaws; though it may sound messier at times, the music, I think has much more heart.

I recorded this set from our standard position at the soundboard cage with the DPA microphones.  Other than a few spots of chatter from disrespectful audience members, the capture is spot on.  Unfortunately, a battery failure mid-set also caused the recorder to lose part of two songs.  With those minor caveats, enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Depreciation Guild
2010-05-25
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY  USA

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

Equipment: DPA 4021>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to right side of SBD cage, 8′ up, DIN
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, slight EQ, amplify)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks (thanks to The Depreciation Guild’s management for the setlist help!)
01. My Chariot
02. Crucify You
03. Blue Lily
04. November
05. Trace
06. A Key Turns
07. Spirit Youth [fades out]
08. Through the Snow [fades in]
09. White Moth
10. (banter)
11. Dream About Me

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Depreciation Guild, visit their website, and purchase their excellent new album, Spirit Youth, from your favorite retailer.

[photos taken for nyctaper by David Andrako]

Natureboy was fresh off their well-received Truck America Festival appearance when they returned to NYC to play the NYCTaper 3rd Anniversary show a couple of weeks ago. While the late-arriving crowd meant the band played half their set to a handful of people, by the time Sara Kerminshahi grabbed the acoustic guitar for a superb solo rendition of the Dylan-via-Nico classic “I’ll Keep It With Mine”, the room was packed. And lucky for them. Sara’s intense performance was one of the highlights of the evening. The entire Natureboy set was a strong run through a mix of material from their excellent self-titled 2009 debut and two promising new numbers. Natureboy will play a couple of shows in Brooklyn this month, at Zebulon on June 13, and another Kevchino show at Knitting Factory on June 16.

We recorded this set with the same mix as the Dinosaur Feathers set from this night and the sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Natureboy
2010-05-15
NYCTaper 3rd Anniversary Concert
Pianos
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
2010-05-30

Setlist:
[Total Time 32:22]
01 A Flame
02 Ode to Merry Maid
03 Dither
04 Don’t Worry
05 [new song]
06 Pariah
07 [new song]
08 I’ll Keep It With Mine (Dylan/Nico)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Natureboy, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Sara’s self-released debut album by following the links to amazon.com mp3s and Itunes at the Natureboy MySpace page.

[Photos from the March 27, 2010 Slumberland Anniversary Party in San Francisco, CA courtesy of Opurt2007]

Los Angeles-based (by way of Glasgow) Neverever defy the stereotype of the dowdy indiepop band – or at least, lead vocalist Jihae Meek does, donning a gold bodysuit that stood out more than a little among the sea of cardigans (and one Spongebob Squarepants skirt) in the audience at the final day/night of NYC Popfest 2010.  The band’s flouncy, fun sound melds mid-20th century pop with a hint of post-punk.  Their songs cover the usual topics – puppy love, break-ups and romantic obsessions – rendered in Meek’s dramatic vocal style.  Playing to an enthusiastic mid-day crowd, the band (and let’s face it, the gold bodysuit) kept the attention squarely front and center.  The band released their new album, Angelic Swells, yesterday, and like almost all Slumberland Records releases, we can attest that it is a treat.

I recorded this set in the same manner as The Secret History recording, with the DPA mics and a top-quality soundboard feed.  This recording emphasizes the soundboard feed a bit more to bring out the strength of the vocals.  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE].

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Neverever
2010-05-23
NYC Popfest 2010
Littlefield
Brooklyn, NY

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

Equipment: Stereo soundboard feed + DPA 4021>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: ROC, to left side of SBD cage, mics at 8? pointed at stacks
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify channels)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Here Is Always Somewhere Else
02 Blue Genes
03 [unknown -please help]
04 Teardrop Tattoo
05 Young Runaways
06 Cowboys and Indians
07 Young and Dumb
08 Coconut Shampoo

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Neverever, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their newly-released Angelic Swells from Slumberland Records [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Camey Scott]

I love these break-out Bowery nights. We first got to know Holly Miranda back in October, when we recorded her set opening for the Antlers, and I then got drunk with both bands after the show. Holly’s obvious and immense talents are perhaps eclipsed only by her personality — she is genuinely a fun and nice person. It was an extra treat when the nyctaper recording of Holly’s Pink Floyd cover from that night went viral on the web. Following the February release of her new album The Magician’s Private Library on XL Recordings, the world at large caught on, critical praise and new fans followed. At the conclusion of her first major headlining tour, Holly returned home last night to a packed Bowery Ballroom and delivered a performance of stunning quality and depth. The strong Magician’s material we expected, along with the promised horn section and special guests (Kyp Malone). What we did not expect were two eclectic covers, including her jaw-dropping take on the Etta James classic “I’d Rather Go Blind”. It doesn’t get much better than that, and to have it happen at her Bowery break-out is even more rewarding.

We recorded this set with the Neumann microphones at the balcony rail. The sound mix at Bowery on this night was quite exceptional, and we are quite pleased with the excellent quality of this recording. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Holly Miranda
2010-05-26
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded at Balcony Rail

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

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-05-27

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:08:40]
01 No One Just Is
02 Waves
03 Mark My Words [new song]
04 No One Can See Me Like You Do (Yoko Ono)
05 High Tide
06 Forest Green, Oh Forest Green
07 Everytime I Go To Sleep
08 Joints
09 I’d Rather Go Blind (Etta James)
10 Slow Burn Treason
11 Sleep on Fire
12 [banter]
13 Pelican Rapids
14 [encore break]
15 Singular Acceptance
16 Secret Identity
17 Hymnal

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Holly Miranda, visit her website, visit her blog, and purchase The Magician’s Private Library directly from the Beggar’s Group website [HERE].

[Photos of The Secret History’s performance last year at NYC Popfest 2009 courtesy of F Yang at chromewaves.net]

Despite some hefty competition from the season finale of a certain fan-beloved TV show, real indiepop fans knew that the only place to be this past Sunday was sharing the cozy and welcoming Littlefield with luminaries of the genre from across the U.S. and Sweden at an all-day event. The Secret History, the penultimate act of the night and the only NYC-based band on the bill, were probably the strongest of the fourth and final night of the NYC Popfest 2010.

I recorded this set with the DPA mics and a top-quality soundboard feed. This recording emphasizes the soundboard feed a bit more to bring out the strength of the vocals. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE].

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Secret History
2010-05-23
NYC Popfest 2010
Littlefield
Brooklyn, NY

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

Equipment: Stereo soundboard feed + DPA 4021>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: ROC, to left side of SBD cage, mics at 8′ pointed at stacks
Mastering: 2x24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify channels)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 intro
02 Johnny Anorak
03 banter
04 Our Lady of Stalingrad
05 Its Not the End of the World, Jonah
06 God Save The Runaways
07 banter
08 Love Theme
09 Johnny Nightmare
10 Our Lady of Pompeii
11 Count Backwards
12 Sister Rose

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Secret History, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from their site [HERE].

[photo by nyctaper]

Neil Halstead is such a modest and unassuming fellow, that I was not even sure it was him setting up to play at the Truck America Festival earlier this month. As we set up the nyctaper DPA microphones as the stage mics for guitar and violin for his set, Neil was quietly tuning his guitar. He began his set in a similar fashion, mumbling hello before the first number. The moment the music began, it was as if a switch was turned on and his immense talent shone through. As a key figure in the influential 90’s band Slowdive and later with the excellent Mojave3, Neil Halstead’s solo work is almost a third career, and his two albums stand up to the best of his early bands’ catalog. His Truck set drew from those two releases and included some new numbers, before Neil was joined by Joe Bennett on violin for a couple of Mojave3 songs. While the crowded tent was eerily quiet during his set, at times the only sound was the voice of Neil’s young son calling out to his dad — which was entirely appropriate given the family nature of the excellent Truck America Festival.

We recorded this same in the same location and with the same equipment as the Gary Louris set and the sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

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

Neil Halstead
2010-05-01
Truck America Festival
Big Indian, 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
2010-05-23

Setlist: (setlist help requested)
[Total Time 49:17]
01 Driving With Bert
02
03 Queen Bee
04
05 See You On Rooftops
06
07 [banter]
08
09 Yer Feet
10
11 Some Kinda Angel
12
13
14 [banter]
15 Sometimes The Wheels

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Neil Halstead, visit his website, visit his MySpace page, and purchase his latest album from the Brushfire Records website [HERE].

[Photo courtesy of lowerwestside]

It was refreshing, for once, to see an exciting, emerging American band that wasn’t from Brooklyn.  The electronic rock duo Phantogram hail from the rural college town of Saratoga Springs, NY – so far from Brooklyn it might as well be in Virginia.  But geography aside, Phantogram’s sound is very of the moment, a smooth, approachable style they call “street beat, psych pop.”  The closest reference, by far, would be the also-booming UK band The xx, who have been reviving some of the better elements of the mid-90s sound once known as “trip-hop” without letting the style devolve into a bunch of faceless Starbucks jams.  Phantogram’s style occupies a solid middle ground between the somber and the bombastic, with songs that are instantly memorable.

For Phantogram, this show represented a crucial milestone familiar to every New York band: their first sellout of the Bowery Ballroom.  Playing live can be a challenge for a band whose sound relies so heavily on pre-programmed loops and sampled beats, as the “press play” aspect can make the show feel less immediate and exciting, but Phantogram solved that problem with Josh Carter’s live guitars and Sarah Barthel’s spot-on lead vocals.  The generosity and gratitude of the band was evident, as they repeatedly thanked the audience for their support.  Selling out Bowery, clearly, will not be the end of this duo’s journey.  I just hope they don’t feel too much pressure to move to Brooklyn.

I recorded this set from the balcony with the hypercardiod microphones at eye level with the sound staff, and the omnidirectional microphones taped to the soundboard cage, providing a clear and balanced blend of sound.  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE].

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Phantogram
2010-05-19
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY  USA

Equipment: Beyerdynamic MC950+DPA 4061>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: MC950s LOC at SBD cage, pointed at stacks, 4061s in boundary mounts, 2? split
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, EQ, set fades, tracking, amplify)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks [51:48]
01 As Far As I Can See
02 Let Me Go
03 Mouthful of Diamonds
04 Running From the Cops
05 You Are the Ocean
06 Make A Fist
07 Turn It Off
08 When I’m Small
09 [encore break]
10 All Dried Up
11 Futuristic Casket

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Phantogram, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their excellent album Eyelid Movies from Barsuk Records [HERE].