nyctaper Recordings

[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!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/health-2010-04-24.nyctaper

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.

[Owen at Webster Hall in December photo by Kate Ehle]

While I watched Owen Pallett perform his magic from the front of the crowd at Webster Hall last night, I puzzled with an attempt to remember a performer who is capable of creating such a beautiful depth of sound with so few instruments. “This is harder than it looks”, he joked with the crowd after hitting a rare off-note. And indeed, while Owen makes it seem so effortless — as he sings, plays violin and keyboard over quad-layered samples in perfect sync — I could think of no other artist with such gifts capable of making such complicated music so accessible. The outstanding new album on Domino Records, Heartland, is one of the year’s best releases, but Owen performed just five of the twelve songs from the album last night. Instead, supported by multi-instrumentalist Thomas Gill for about half the set, he drew from all three full-lengths, from several singles/EPs, and one new song to compile a representative setlist. The show closed with a goofy Mariah Carey cover which proved that even this most serious artist retains his sense of humor.

I recorded this set from upfront in the crowd with my best mobile rig and the sound is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/owen-pallett-2010-04-22.nyctaper

Owen Pallett
2010-04-22
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront, 20 Feet from Stacks

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > Soundforge (set fades, level boost, slight eq) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2010-04-22

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:10:07]
01 E Is for Estranged
02 This is the Dream of Win & Regine
03 Scandal in the Parkade
04 [banter]
05 That’s When The Audience Died
06 Midnight Directives
07 Keep the Dog Quiet
08 The Great Elsewhere
09 Lewis Takes Action
10 Don’t Stop the Party on My Account [new song]
11 He Poos Clouds
12 Flare Gun
13 The Butcher
14 Many Lives -> 49 MP
15 [banter]
16 Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
17 [encore break]
18 The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead
19 Fantasy (Mariah Carey)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Owen Pallett, visit his website, and purchase his new album Heartland from the Domino Records website [HERE].

[photo by nyctaper]

I saw the Ass Ponys thirteen or fourteen years ago play at the late lamented club Brownie’s on Avenue A. The most lasting memory of the night was the hilarious between-song banter, primarily from Chuck Cleaver. When the Ass Ponys just sort of stopped playing in 2005-6, Chuck took up full time with his latest band Wussy. And while Wussy plays a similar intelligent americana-rock as Ass Ponys, and have inherited the gift of entertaining banter, what separates the two bands is Chuck’s new co-frontperson. Lisa Walker writes lyrics as compelling as Chuck’s and on stage, she is a tighly-wound bundle of energy uncoiling to deliver three-minute bursts of sonic goodness. At Cake Shop last night, we saw up close why the followers of this puzzlingly-obscure Cincinnati quartet are so dedicated — one fan came all the way from Canada for the show. In their seventy-five minute set, the band drew from their three excellent albums, played one new song and an Eddie Hinton cover, and returned twice for four encores.

I recorded this set from upfront, six feet from the PA. The sound quality of the recording is rich in clarity and limited sonically only by the modest system in the venue. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/wussy-2010-04-16.nyctaper

Wussy
2010-04-16
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded Upfront
6 Feet from Right PA

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
2010-04-17

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:14:23]
01 Funeral Dress [false start]
02 Funeral Dress
03 Happiness Bleeds
04 [banter]
05 Crooked
06 [banter]
07 Sun Giant Says Hey
08 Do Do Do Do
09 [banter]
10 Breakfast in Bed (Hinton/Fritts)
11 [banter/monitors]
12 Death By Misadventure
13 Muscle Cars
14 Airborne
15 Yellow Cotton Dress
16 Fly Fly Fly
17 Rigor Mortis
18 [encore break/banter]
19 Soak It Up
20 [banter]
21 Jonah
22 [banter]
23 Maglite
24 [second encore break]
25 Don’t Leave Just Now

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wussy, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from the Shake It Records website [HERE].

[Photos by Lauren Colchamiro]

Caspian are America’s answer to Mogwai.   I hate to use that kind of shorthand when talking about an instrumental rock band – it is already too easy to lump disparate bands with a very loosely defined common theme together.  After all, Explosions in the Sky (who we have recorded before) and God is an Astronaut don’t sound that much alike, and neither do Caspian and many other bands.  But having seen this Boston-based band live, I do think mine is an apt comparison, or at least, it describes the band’s set at The Studio at Webster Hall accurately.  Like the well-loved Scotsmen I compared them to, Caspian’s music thrives on the loud-soft dynamic, with the ability to shift from calm to storm in a split second.   In Caspian’s particular case, their live sound this night tended toward the heavier, more blunt-force end of the spectrum, toning down some of the textural richness found on their records.  Part of this is probably because the fans like it that way.

The band seemed gratified by the enthusiastic turnout, pointing out that NYC was the closest date they were doing to their home in Boston, and that we felt almost like a “hometown crowd.”   For their last song, the band was joined for “Sycamore” by members of the opening acts for a massive, multi-drummer blowout on a scale I haven’t seen since my last Boredoms show!  Caspian are touring the U.S. right now in support of their most recent album, Tertia.  They have a few East Coast dates left before their swing takes them through the midwest and west coast, and then Europe.  Don’t miss them – this music is best experienced live.

I recorded this set way up front with the DPA 4061 miniature omnidirectional microphones.  The result is a very “in your face” recording that captures the awesome power of this band perfectly.  Although there is some annoying crowd chatter audible during the opening 2 minutes, and some chatter from the bar that you can hear during quiet passages, it is generally smooth sailing for the most part (it’s not like you could hear anything over the band anyway).  Enjoy!

Album art by Michael Ricci is available here.

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

Caspian
2010-04-15
The Studio at Webster Hall
New York, NY  USA

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

Equipment: DPA 4061 (Coresound “HEB”)>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: FOB, DFC, about 10? from stage, HRTF
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, EQ, amplify each channel, downsample)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks (65min runtime) (thank you to the first commenter for the setlist corrections)
1. Intro/annoying girl talking
2. La Cerva
3. Malacoda
4. Interlude
5. Of Foam and Wave
6. banter
7. Concrescence
8. Moksha
9. Quovis / Further Up / Further In
10. encore break
11. Brombie
12. banter
13. Sycamore

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Caspian, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Tertia and their other excellent releases here.

[photo by nyctaper]

Members of Crystal Stilts have finished recording an album, Cinema Red & Blue, on which several of the band members joined with David Feck of Comet Gain. This project is due for a Spring release. In the meantime, Slumberland Records recording artists Crystal Stilts continue to work on the band’s new record. Several of those new songs poised for inclusion on the new record are captured during this set opening at Maxwell’s a few weeks back.

Crystal Stilts play Bell House a week from today.

I recorded this set in the same location as the Love Is All recording and the sound is superb. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/crystal-stilts-2010-03-27.nyctaper

Crystal Stilts
2010-03-27
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
2010-04-09

Setlist:
[Total Time 39:10]
01 Invisible City
02 Sugar Baby
03 12 String
04 Graveyard Orbit
05 Sycamore Tree
06 Missing
07 Crippled Croon
08 [banter]
09 [untitled new song]
10 Departure
11 Love Is A Wave

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Crystal Stilts, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their latest album Alight of Night and other releases directly from Slumberland Records [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Alexis Maindrault]

You can tell much about the quality of a band by their ability to play different sizes of venues with equal success. Back in February, we saw Obits at the tiny basement-like Cake Shop — a show that featured much new material and a very intimate vibe. At Irving Plaza on Friday, Obits faced a more difficult task as the band performed middle-bill to a decidedly Jersey-centric weekend crowd there primarily to see Ted Leo’s homecoming. But there is something universal about Obits’ gritty garage guitar roots-rock, and when its delivered by four pros with impressive veteran resumes, its irresistible. And with the exception of one loud buffoon, Obits managed to convert the crowd with a set that steered mostly clear of the new material played in February and stuck to the bulk of their 2009 Subpop debut, I Blame You.

I recorded this same from the same location as the Ted Leo set and the sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/obits-2010-04-09.nyctaper

Obits
2010-04-09
Irving Plaza
New York, NY USA

Digital Audience Four-Track Master Recording
Recorded from Center of the Floor

Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021s > 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
2010-04-13

Setlist:
[Total Time 44:11]
01 SUD
02 One Cross Apiece
03 New August
04 Put It In Writing
05 [Sohrab humiliates heckler]
06 Light Sweet Crude
07 Widow Of My Dreams
08 Run
09 [banter]
10 Two-Headed Coin
11 Back And Forth
12 Lilies In The Street

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Obits, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase I Blame You from the Subpop Records website [HERE].

[Not very good iPhone photo by acidjack]

In the Great Recession (or whatever you wish to call it), only a handful of states could claim to having taken the beating that Florida did. The Sunshine State, once a land of promise and (mostly) fulfilled retirement fantasies, was laid waste to by the crisis, its optimism shattered to its core. But, sometimes, turmoil is a boon to art. Call it coincidence, but it seems that around the time that Florida busted out, the state also started to crank out quality music. As we mentioned in our preview of this show, Lil Daggers are one of the bands that have emerged from the Sunshine State. At Glasslands on Sunday, Lil Daggers brought their garage-rock to NYC for the first time and showed why they have been hailed as the next big thing from Florida.

This show was recorded with a combination of DPA omnis and Beyer cards and the sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/lildaggers2010-04-11.acidjack

Lil Daggers
2010-04-11
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY

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

Equipment: DPA 4061 + Beyerdynamic MC950>Edirol R-44 (24/44.1)
Position: Balcony, center, MC950s clamped and pointed at stacks, 4061s in PZM mounts, 3′ split on balcony front
Mastering: 2x24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, adjust levels, tracking, amplify each channel, downsample)

Tracks (please help to fill in the missing tracks)
01
02 Y Tu Sabe
03 Hungry
04 King Korpze
05 banter/tuning
06
07 U.S. Leather

Please Support Lil Daggers if you download this show, and visit their Bandcamp Page to purchase their official releases.

[photo by Alexis Maindrault – courtesy of The Music Slut]

Ted Leo has momentum. After two years of infrequent performances and no new releases, in December Ted played a powerful show at Bowery Ballroom that previewed many of the new songs that now appear on his outstanding new release Brutalist Bricks, released in March on Matador. The first tour in support of the album has been an unqualified success as each show features Ted’s unbridled energy, the tight backing of the Pharmacists, and Leo classics sprinkled liberally into a setlist heavy on the outstanding new material — 9 of the album’s 13 songs were played here. Last night at Irving Plaza was a homecoming of sorts, as Ted welcomed a large contingent of bridge and tunnel fans from New Jersey who came to support their Bloomfield boy. From the opening raging “The Mighty Sparrow” through the five-song encore segment, Ted never let go of the momentum and delivered one of the best performances we’ve seen this year.

We recorded this set with the four-microphone rig from the center of the floor and the sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

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

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
2010-04-09
Irving Plaza
New York, NY USA

Digital Audience Four-Track Master Recording
Recorded from Center of the Floor

Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021s > 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
2010-04-10

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:32:38]
01 [introduction]
02 The Mighty Sparrow
03 Heart Problems
04 Mourning In America
05 Me and Mia
06 Under The Hedge
07 Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone
08 Even Heroes Have To Die
09 Ativan Eyes
10 The Stick
11 [banter]
12 The High Party
13 One Polaroid A Day
14 Counting Down The Hours
15 Where Was My Brain?
16 Little Dawn
17 Bottled In Cork
18 Colleen
19 [banter]
20 A Bottle Of Buckie
21 Gimme The Wire
22 Biomusicology
23 [encore break/banter]
24 Bleeding Powers
25 Fisherman’s Blues (The Waterboys)
26 Timorous Me
27 Parallel Or Together?
28 Angelfuck (The Misfits)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, visit their website, and purchase Brutalist Bricks from the Matador Records website [HERE].