nyctaper Recordings

[She Keeps Bees at the Green Man Festival, August 2009.  Photo courtesy of Rachel Lipsitz at littletrousers.com]

She Keeps Bees vocalist Jessica Larrabee can claim an impressive line of predecessors and contemporaries, the most obvious of the former being Janis Joplin, and the closest of the latter being Heartless Bastards‘ Erika Wennerstrom.  That Larrabee elicits such comparisons is not an accusation of plagiarism, but a testament to the power of her delivery.  Together with drummer Andy LaPlant, She Keeps Bees play unpretentious, raw blues rock without apology or extra bullshit.  The band’s spare production – evident on their records, particularly the excellent Nests, as well as in their stripped-down live show – provides the perfect vehicle for that voice, cracking with heartbreak in one song, exhorting a lover in another, wailing in exultation the next.  This band isn’t out to win awards for changing the game, but they are playing it at a hell of a high level.

Although they hail from Brooklyn, I first discovered She Keeps Bees through a British taper friend who had caught them opening for another band in the UK.  Perhaps it was fitting then, that my live introduction to them came as they opened for nyctaper favorites The Joy Formidable (whose set will be posted soon) at the Mercury Lounge.  Catch their free show this Wednesday, May 12, with the excellent band Papa at Brooklyn Bowl and see for yourself.

I recorded this set from the usual spot in the venue with the DPA microphones combined with a stereo soundboard feed.  The combination produced a recording of exceptional clarity and high quality.  Hear it for yourself on the posted sample, “Ribbon.”  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE).  Listen to “Ribbon” (HERE).

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

She Keeps Bees
2010-05-10
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY  USA

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

Equipment: Soundboard+DPA 4021>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to right side of SBD cage, 8ft total height)
Mastering: 2×24bit WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, downsample, tracking)>FLAC Level 8

01 Pile Up
02 Release
03 banter
04 Gimme
05 “I Don’t Believe You”
06 Wear Red
07 Get Gone
08 [unknown]
09 Ribbon
10 Cold Eye

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT She Keeps Bees, visit their website, and purchase their excellent records from your favorite retailer.  Amazon link here.

[amazing photos taken for nyctaper by David Andrako]

Local Natives are on the speed-of-light upwards artistic trajectory. As a group of friends from Orange County California, the band was two short years ago barely out of school, known by another name, and self-recording in a house they shared. Two months ago, their debut album Gorilla Manor was released stateside by Frenchkiss Records, and the band is currently on a whirlwind tour of sold out venues, popular success, and critical raves. On Thursday and again on Friday, Local Natives sold out Bowery Ballroom. We saw the band on Friday, where in the middle of their set they performed the Talking Heads cover that appears on their album (“Warning Sign”) while David Byrne himself peered down approvingly from the Bowery balcony. In what must have been an heady and surreal moment for a band of early 20’s Cali-kids, Local Natives seem to have taken it all in stride. With only one album under their belt, the band’s set was a tad short on length, but it was certainly long on hooky west coast indie folk-rock harmony, and the screaming crowd offered their unceasing and unqualified approval.

Local Natives return to NYC for a Saturday August 7 show on Governor’s Island.

We recorded this set from the balcony rail with the four microphone rig and the sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Local Natives
2010-05-07
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master
Recorded from Balcony Rail

Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021’s > 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
2010-05-07

Setlist:
[Total Time 56:29]
01 Camera Talk
02 World News
03 Wide Eyes
04 Cards & Quarters
05 Shape Shifter
06 Warning Sign (Talking Heads)
07 Cubism Dream
08 Airplanes
09 Who Knows Who Cares
10 [encore break]
11 Stranger Things
12 Sun Hands

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Local Natives, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Gorilla Manor directly from Frenchkiss Records [here].

[photo by nyctaper]

Its hard to distinguish between the multitude of “garage” bands these days, as the genre has reached its critical mass. The proliferation of three and four-piece guitar-bass-drums lo-fi two-minute-song band can be dizzying, especially when it seems that a new one is championed every day by Pitchfork. What separates Harlem from the rest, and what likely resulted in their signing to Matador, is the obvious songwriting ability and vocal talents. Harlem can be screamers, but the band can also harmonize — making them less Nuggets-style garage and more British Invasion-esque (“Someday Soon” sounds like a Beatles Vee-Jay Records outtake). Although some of their contemporaries can be somewhat hard on the ears, Harlem’s new album Hippies (released in April, 2010) is a delectable collection of fine pop songs dressed up in youthful recklessness. That style was on display as Harlem opened for Titus Andronicus a couple of weeks ago at Maxwell’s. As the band worked from an improvised setlist, the show picked randomly among songs from their two albums, but the energy was positive and the interplay with the crowd was good-natured and humorous. The band dedicated their final song “Beautiful & Very Smart” to a couple in the crowd who had just gotten married that day.

We recorded this set as a four-track soundboard/audience matrix from out usual location in this venue and the sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Harlem
2010-04-24
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ 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
2010-05-07

Setlist:
[Total Time 30:50]
01 Witchgreens
02 Someday Soon
03 Gay Human Bones
04 South of France
05 Be Your Baby
06 Friendly Ghost
07 Number One
08 Caroline
09 Scare You
10 [banter]
11 Beautiful & Very Smart

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Harlem, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Hippies directly from Matador Records [here].

[photo by nyctaper]

Twenty years ago, Jonathan Donohue was a member of both The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev. Although his tenure with the Lips lasted just two albums, echoes of the humanistic psychedelic indie folk-rock that both bands helped create still reside in Donohue’s songs. And while both bands reached their critical and artistic peaks in the late 90’s, the Lips with The Soft Bulletin and Mercury Rev with Deserter’s Songs, in recent years their parallel paths have diverged. The Flaming Lips of recent vintage concentrate more on the theatrical and marginally bombastic elements of their music, and seem to be content to deliver the same prop-heavy performances year after year. Donohue has maintained a lower profile and has delivered a series of excellent albums, the most recent of which, Snowflake Midnight, contains what is arguably his most heartfelt lyrical work. On Saturday night at the Truck America Festival, Mercury Rev headlined the main stage with a new wrinkle — a string section conducted by Joe Bennett. Additionally, Mercury Rev alums Justin and Jason Russo joined the band for this special show.  From the outset it was abundantly clear that this was no ordinary set, but rather was more a career-celebrating retrospective.  Jonathan acknowledged his long time fans, referenced the twenty year old self-released cassettes that he brought along to the festival, and delivered a set that included a song from those old cassettes (“Car Wash Hair”), a moving Nico cover (the Jackson Browne penned “These Days”), and indeed one of his Flaming Lips contributions (“There You Are: Jesus Song No. 7”). The string section did not just work well, it was almost as if each song demanded the contributions of these outstanding musicians and the seamless scoring of Joe Bennett. Of particular note, the guitar and clarinet work of Sean “Grasshopper” Mackowiak was sublime and superb. At the close of the set, “Isn’t It A Pity” was such a strong emotional number that although the stage was set to close for the night, Mercury Rev was called back for an encore. It was the only encore we saw all weekend.

I recorded this set in the same location and with the same rig as The Joy Formidable set from the previous night. However, the mix for this set was quite excellent, and as a result the sound quality of this recording is outstanding. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Mercury Rev
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
2010-05-05

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:02:35]
01 Endlessly
02 [banter]
03 First-Time Mother’s Joy (Flying)
04 Car Wash Hair
05 Blue Clouds (Daniel Johnston)
06 Tonight It Shows
07 Runaway Raindrop
08 [banter]
09 Opus 40
10 There You Are: Jesus Song No. 7
11 Holes
12 These Days (Jackson Browne)
13 Isn’t It A Pity
14 [encore break]
15 Goddess On A Hiway

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Mercury Rev, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the store at the Mercury Rev website [here].

[photo by nyctaper]

The real test of the quality of a band is whether their music translates in different settings with varying audiences. When we saw The Joy Formidable in a packed Pianos in January, the energy in the room was palpable and their set was quite powerful. Our conclusion was that the band was absolutely destined for greater success. In the intervening couple of months, our prescience has proved correct — The Joy Formidable returned to NYC on Saturday to play before a sold-out and over capacity Mercury Lounge. But the set that again proved the abundant worth of this Welsh trio was their performance headlining the main stage on Friday night at the Truck America Festival. In the spacious outdoors and cool night Catskills air, TJF powered the entire main stage tent with their abundant energy. From the opening notes of “Greatest Light”, Ritzy and Rhydian attacked their instruments and pranced around the stage while Matt mashed the drums relentlessly. At one point, Ritzy got a bit carried away and nearly smashed into the entire drum kit. Order restored, the band whipped through their standard setlist (we had hoped for “Popinjay”, which they saved for Mercury), and closed the set and the main stage day with eight minutes of relentless “Whirring”, as the kneeling Ritzy ravaged her pedals and amp.

This set was recorded with the R-44 four track, with two Neumann microphones on a stand at the soundboard mixed with a stereo board feed. The sound quality is quite good, and subject to only the limitations of recording music in a tent. Enjoy!

The Joy Formidable have added a special show at the end of the current tour in which they return to Mercury Lounge on May 10.

Today (May 4), The Joy Formidable release their new EP A Balloon Called Moaning on Black Bell Records.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Joy Formidable
2010-04-30
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
2010-05-03

Setlist:
[Total Time 41:02]
01 The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade
02 Cradle
03 The Last Drop
04 Austere
05 Ostrich
06 Magnifying Glass
07 Anemone
08 Whirring

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Joy Formidable, visit their website, and purchase their debut EP A Balloon Called Moaning from the Black Bell Records website [here] or from the store at the TJF website [here].

[Photos courtesy of Charles from TheMusic.FM]

Twin Sister’s sound has a European feel to me – the first reference that came to mind was Stereolab – and that was borne out by their live set, which combined synth-driven pop like the set closer “All Around and Away We Go” with more shoegazy pieces like “Milk and Honey”.   Opening for the Morning Benders, Twin Sister packed the room despite their “opening band” status.  Lead vocalist Andrea Estella also adds to their Euro aesthetic, with her breathy, hypnotic delivery that sharpens and smooths at unexpected intervals.   The band’s excellent new EP, Color Your Life, garnered raves on Pitchfork, and we expect enthusiasm for them to only increase as they go out on a summer tour this July with Bear In Heaven (though sadly, there are no NYC dates).

I recorded this set upfront with the DPA 4021 microphones in a mobile setup.  This method captured the sound from the stage and the room perfectly.  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE).  Listen to “Lady Daydream” (HERE).

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Twin Sister
2010-04-28
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY  USA

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

Equipment:  DPA 4021>Denecke PS/2>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position:  Mobile rig, FOB, DFC
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify, smooth peaks)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 I Want A House [fades in]
02 Eastern Green
03 Lady Daydream
04 Milk & Honey
05 Saturday Sunday
06 banter
07 Daniel
08 All Around and Away We Go

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Twin Sister, visit their website, and order Color Your Life direct from Infinite Best Recordings here.

[photo by nyctaper]

When acidjack last captured Mon Khmer for NYCTaper, the band’s debut album had not yet been released. In the intervening months, the band’s debut has garnered some well deserved glowing reviews. Last week at Mercury Lounge, Mon Khmer’s distinctive take on prog-style indie rock was on display and the results were impressive. On stage the band is tight and while the focus is clearly on bandleader Hammarsing, we were also particularly impressed with drum and pedal steel work. On this night, they worked through several of the album tracks and also introduced a few unreleased numbers.

Mon Khmer has two upcoming local shows, May 3 at Santos Party House, and May 13 at Brooklyn Bowl.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Mon Khmer
2010-04-21
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded at Soundboard Booth

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
2010-04-28

Setlist:
[Total Time 40:02]
01 Birthplace
02 Chinoi
03 When To Let Go
04 You Don’t Know
05 Folk
06 Anniversary
07 George
08 Passwords

If you email nyctaper for access to these recordings, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Mon Khmer, visit their MySpace page, and purchase the debut Mon Khmer LP direct from their website [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Matt at The Music Slut]

This Health gig was announced less than twenty-four hours before it happened. Solar One is a “green energy arts and entertainment center” that is literally located at the East River, on the pier at 23rd Street. As a result, this may be the most spur of the moment recording in the history of this site. I read about the show a few hours before it took place, found myself with some time before heading over to Hoboken for Titus, and got wired and walked 10 minutes to the park in time to capture the gig. Health is not much different stylistically from when we last saw them two years ago — high energy noise rock with a lot of action on stage — but the music is more mature and the band has clearly grown into their sound. Although this set was played through a modest system with city noise all around (the river, the FDR Drive above us, and some nasty wind), the band’s sound pierced through the distractions and their set was short but solid. Highlights included “We Are Water” from Health’s 2009 release Get Color, and an excellent throbbing-beat new song “USA Boys”, which is the only new track on their forthcoming (June release) Disco2 Remix album.

I recorded this set with the DPAs in a mobile rig, but the sound quality is definitely limited by the system and the elements. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Health
2010-04-24
Solar One
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded Fifteen Feet from PA

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

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-04-25

Setlist: (help via)
[Total Time 28:41]
01 Death +
02 Before Tigers
03 Heaven
04 Die Slow
05 We Are Water
06 In Violet
07 USA Boys
08 [encore break]
09 Girl Attorney

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Health, visit their myspace page, and purchase their official releases from the links at their website, or at the Health Cartel Store.

[Quasi performing in St. Paul, MN, April 15, 2010.  Photos courtesy of Adam Bubolz.  See his Flickr stream here.]

Drummer Janet Weiss’ kit was about the only piece of equipment that Quasi brought to the Bowery Ballroom show that didn’t malfunction.  First to go was Joanna Bolme’s bass amp, which she replaced with a loaner from NYC openers Blair.  She continued to have problems with her bass, the bass amp, and the mix all night.  Guitarist/”Rocksichordist”/vocalist Sam Coomes’ guitar pedals, and the aforementioned Rocksichord (looks like a piano, sounds like a piano crossed with a guitar) didn’t fully cooperate either.  Luckily, the members of Quasi are accustomed to being flexible, and (in Coomes and Weiss’ case), they have played together for over 15 years, so they made what other bands would easily have made a stage-walkoff, hissy-fit disaster of an evening into a classic rock n’ roll show.  Despite their evident frustration with their gear, Coomes thrashed about the stage like a kid 20 years his junior, at points standing atop Weiss’ kick drum, and crashing/throwing himself into the aforementioned Rocksichord (hilariously labeled “Fragile Musical Instrument” on its back) several times.  I did consider, for a moment, that some of that abuse might not have been helpful to the gear malfunction issues.  Weiss, now retired from Sleater-Kinney, but still on the roster (along with Bolme) for Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, took the gig like the seasoned professional she is, joking with members of a fired-up crowd as well as playing her ass off through a 17-song set that covered new material from the Pitchfork-approved American Gong as well as older classics like “You Fucked Yourself” and a magnificent rendition of “Sea Shanty”.  The American Gong material oozed stylistic diversity, with the band equally at home with the countrified twang of “Rockabilly Party”, the ballad “Laissez les bons temps rouler” (”Let the Good Times Roll”) and the straight-up rocker that opened the show,  “Repulsion”.  Perhaps my favorite of the new songs was the 8+ minute “Bye Bye Blackbird” that closed out the main set, which (free of gear issues) showed off Quasi at their best, playing off of each other perfectly.

“You’re not like other cities.  You’re very different, you’re very unique, and we appreciate it.  You had some very unique heckling, and we liked it,” Weiss said, smiling, underscoring what a strange night it had been.  Sometimes you learn more about a band when they’re really in the weeds.  The members of Quasi showed why their fans love them (and why so many other bands hire them) – they gave us a great rock show, circumstances be damned.

I recorded this set from the left side of the soundboard cage, with the DPA 4021 mics positioned at eye level with the sound engineers in the cage.  The result is a recording of excellent clarity, balance and definition.  Enjoy!

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

Quasi
2010-04-22
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY  USA

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

Equipment: DPA 4021>Naiant littlebox>Sony PCM-M10
Position: Clamp to left of SBD cage, extended right toward SBD cage, mics pointed at stacks
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, +2dB boost 10kHz+ range, downsample)>FLAC Level 8

01 Intro
02 Repulsion>
03 Nothing From Nothing
04 tuning/banter
05 Rockabilly Party
06 You Fucked Yourself
07 Sea Shanty
08 Little White Horse
09 tuning/banter/false starts
10 Master & Dog>
11 Death Culture Blues
12 banter
13 Everything and Nothing at All
14 Birds
15 Laissez les bons temps rouler
16 false start/banter
17 intro jam
18 The Rhino
19 Good Time Rock & Roll
20 Bye Bye Blackbird
21 encore break/banter
22 Bad, Bad Leroy Brown jam
23 It’s Raining
24 banter
25 Heaven and Hell

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Quasi, visit their website, and purchase American Gong and their other excellent releases directly from Kill Rock Stars here.