Howdy guitar-heads, and just-plain-old-heads! One of our favorite travelers, William Tyler, Goes West on his new LP, out now on Merge. He’s currently touring the U.S. into March and Europe in April, so do check out his full tour dates for your local gig. Here in NYC, Tyler appears at (Le) Poisson Rouge on February 26. It’s a sure bet he’ll be slinging some tunes old and new, so grab your tickets.
We got a lucky chance to hear Tyler preview the new album at Rough Trade NYC last month, as well as play some songs from Modern Country. In typical fashion he was nice and chatty, sharing some anecdotes between songs and being an all around positive guy. Meanwhile, Tyler also penned an essay about Cosmic Pastoral music for Aquarium Drunkard—more evidence that he’s one of the most interesting and thoughtful voices on instrumental guitar.
I recorded this set with the MBHO cardioids set up in stereo DIN configuration, combined with a board feed courtesy of Rough Trade FOH Jeremy Rychard Snyder. The sound is outstanding thanks to Jeremy and a quiet crowd. Enjoy!
Tracks [34:26]
01. Man in a Hurry
02. Call Me When I’m Breathing Again
03. Eventual Surrender
04. Virginia is For Loners Intro
05. Virginia is For Loners
06. Gone Clear Intro
07. Gone Clear
08. Not in Our Stars
09. Rebecca
10. Sunken Garden
San Francisco’s Dire Wolves don’t come around too often, but when they do they bring the heat. This one features the Wolves’ Jeffrey Alexander backed by what he calls a “strange” version of the band: Jesse Sheppard (Elkhorn) on bass, Jeff Tobias (Sunwatchers) on sax, and Scott Verrastro (Bardo Pond) on drums. What results is the Wolves’ shaggy psych mixed with jazzy excursions.
Speaking of which, it’s Excursions to Cloudland, released on Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records, that hipped me to Dire Wolves. And then there’s also this fantastic split with Headroom that I’ve gravitated towards when looking for a fix. Dire Wolves will have another one out with BBiB sometime soon so stay tuned to find out what new lands they’ve got in store.
Thanks to Jeff Conklin for putting on this awesome bill. Tune in to The Avant Ghetto on WFMU for more of the goods!
I recorded this set with our usual setup for Union Pool: a board feed from FOH extraordinaire Doug combined with the MBHOs in DIN configuration at the board. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!
Big Ups began its life as a band in 2010 and ended on this very night in 2019. In a scene with hundreds of bands, many vying for attention in the same overall lane, Big Ups always stood out. I first saw them hot off the release of their first LP, Eighteen Hours of Static, at the now-defunct DIY venue Shea Stadium, and the experience stuck with me long after the feedback, and even the venue, faded. A DIY scene is ephemeral by definition–dozens of venues opened and closed during this band’s run, not to mention the number of bands who did the same. Big Ups persisted through it all, and they deserved to. Up through this very last night, at the very un-DIY Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan, they made better music, played better shows, and earned better fans.
No matter what type of Big Ups fan you were, this show offered something. The setlist served as a ready-made career retrospective, spanning the band’s earliest EPs through their final, and most intricate, release, Two Parts Together. If you’d never seen Joe Galarraga, Brendan Finn, Amar Lal, and Carlos Salguero Jr. play together before, well, now you got it (if too late). For the rest of us, we were reminded why this band was a can’t-miss on any night of the week. Their particular flavor of “post-hardcore” music, steeped in the soft/loud dynamic, relied on precision as well as Galarraga’s hyperkinetic stage presence. No matter how many times you’d seen and heard them perform something, it landed hard, straight in the gut. The words were direct, the music was explosive, and the crowd was always, always with them. Tonight, it was no different, with a teeming pit that gave the Bowery Ballroom floor more resemblance to a place like Shea Stadium that it seems possible to have.
A band’s last show has a nasty habit of inviting too much nostalgia, both about them, and about the scene from whence they came. It’s without dispute that the scene “isn’t what it used to be” — because it isn’t supposed to be. A music community is an organism that thrives on change, and this is one of them. Bands like Big Ups, and the places they play, set the tone, and then, eventually, the hand off the torch. Keeping that sentiment as literal as possible, the band ended their set with “Not Over Yet” (ironically, from one of their early EPs). “Even if I never sing this song again / you know I won’t forget” Galarraga sings — and I believe it.
I recorded this set with a feed of RJ Gordon’s house mix, together with Schoeps MK4V microphones mounted at the soundboard. The sound quality is outstanding. Thanks to RJ for the feed, and best of luck to everyone in Big Ups on the next chapter.
Tracks [Total Time 1:05:38] 01 Body Parts 02 Justice 03 Not Today 04 In the Shade 05 Hard To Care 06 Meet Where We Are 07 Grin 08 Knight 09 Goes Black 10 Hope For Someone 11 National Parks 12 Dogs 13 T.M.I. 14 [banter] 15 Wool 16 [encore break] 17 Fear 18 Stressed/Pressed 19 No Plan 20 Not Over Yet
If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Big Ups, visit their website, like them on Facebook and buy their records from Exploding In Sound. Also, support your local music scene!
Last weekend I braved the frigid NYC temperatures—and that wind! and that fearsome moon!—for January’s traditional Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven tour. This was my first time seeing either band, unlikely to be my last. I wasn’t super familiar with Camper Van beforehand, but songs like “Too High for the Love-In” and their cover of Status Quo’s “Picture of Matchstick Men” are pretty irresistible.
Cracker played second, which was perfect because the crowd got good and loose during the set break. Anyone who was teenager in 1993/1994 has Cracker’s “Low” seared into their brains, and I really don’t want to out myself as a poser but seeing them play it live was the highlight for me. Don’t @ me. Lots of other great songs in this set, particular highlights for me being “How Can I Live Without You,” “Almond Grove,” and “Teen Angst.” Hopefully the tradition continues and I’ll see you there in January 2020.
I recorded this set with the MBHO cardoids run high, from a little right of the soundboard where the venue staff set me up in a nice booth. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!
Tracks: [1:18:32]
01. Been Around the World
02. Mr. Wrong
03. Seven Days
04. How Can I Live Without You
05. Get Off This
06. The Good Life
07. Sweet Thistle Pie
08. California Country Boy
09. King of Bakersfield
10. Low
11. Almond Grove
12. One Fine Day
13. Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)
14. I See the Light
15. El Comandante
16. Beautiful
Camper Van Beethoven
2019-01-20
Sony Hall
New York, NY
Tracks: [58:07]
01. Northern California Girls
02. Pictures of Matchstick Men
03. Tania
04. Eye of Fatima
05. All Her Favorite Fruit
06. Good Guys & Bad Guys
07. Take the Skinheads Bowling
08. Sad Lovers Waltz
09. Summer Days
10. S.P. 37957 Medley
11. Too High For the Love-In
Last month, the East Coast got a rare dose of live Heron Oblivion action in which Brooklyn lucked into this soaring seventy-minute set that includes five new songs. Holy cow! Hard to believe it’s been nearly three years since Heron Oblivion released their self-titled record. Since then they put out The Chapel, a live album recorded in January 2017 with a new, untitled song (the same one we heard back in 2016 at Union Pool) and a cover of Doug Sahm’s “At the Crossroads.” More recently, they’ve been quietly touring a set full of new songs that hopefully will see the light of day on LP2. All signs point to more greatness to come!
I recorded this set with a pair of MBHO omnidirectional mics on stage, plus a board feed from the Baby’s crew. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!
Plenty of new Sunwatchers action out there for the years old and new. First up there’s the killer collab with Eugene Chadbourne, 3 Characters, out on Amish Records last year. The gang cover a bunch of Minutemen tunes on the first disc, followed by some Doug Sahm and Henry Flynt tunes on the second. It’s a trip! Then there’s Sunwatchers’ third LP, Illegal Moves, which is gonna blow some minds—just check out that cover! We’ve heard many of the new tunes live this past year and there’s no doubt this is going to be stratospheric.
Speaking of seeing Sunwatchers live, here’s a nice set from last month at Baby’s All Right. The foursome break out a still-untitled new tune along with previewing some tracks from Illegal Moves.
I recorded this with the MBHO omniderectional mics on stage, combined with a board feed from the Baby’s crew. The sound is outstanding. Enjoy!
West Coasters! Garcia Peoples hit the road with Howlin’ Rain starting this Thursday, January 10th, in Bellingham, Washington and continuing through Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California. The full listing of dates with ticket links can be found at Howlin’ Rain’s website. Do go out and see both bands!
In other exciting Garcia Peoples news, they recently announced their second LP, Natural Facts, and it’s up for preorder from Beyond Beyond is Beyond. The Garcias played a couple of songs from the album in Brooklyn last month, “High Noon Violence” and “Break Me Down.” Unexpectedly, the band also played a pair of covers to celebrate Jeff Conklin’s birthday, “Laila Pt. 2” by Agitation Free and “Easy Ride” by Relatively Clean Rivers. If you listen to The Avant Ghetto on WFMU (and you should) you’ll likely recognize these two bands as a couple of Jeff’s favorites.
I recorded this set from our usual location at the soundboard, with a feed courtesy of Union Pool FOH Jase Hottenroth. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!
Tracks: [40:52]
01. Hangin’ On >
02. Break Me Down
03. Laila Pt. 2 [Agitation Free] >
04. High Noon Violence
05. World’s Illusion >
06. Easy Ride [Relatively Clean Rivers]
07. [banter]
08. Show Your Troubles Out
Straight from the ever-expanding Tunaverse, here’s a double header of shows from last year. The first finds the duo traveling down to Raleigh, North Carolina for the “Three Lobed / WXDU Annual Ritual of Sommoning,” the yearly Hopscotch day party that’s become one of the festival’s biggest draws. Next is another duo set from last month at Jeff Conklin’s birthday party. Fun was had by all and here’s the documentation to prove it.
While you’re enjoying these live Wet Tuna dispatches, head over to their blog to order Mountain Busted, a 7-CD set of multitracked live shows. I’ve been lost in these recordings for a couple weeks now and the sound is absolutely phenomenal—more than enough reason to dive in head first. The set gets a little sweeter thanks to a trio of Root Cellar gigs with special guest spots from J Mascis, John Moloney, Jim Bliss, and more, that hail from another plane of existence.
I recorded the Union Pool gig from our usual spot at the soundboard, combined with a feed courtesy of Jase Hottenroth. Acidjack recorded the Raleigh show with his usual six track rig at King’s. Both sound excellent. Enjoy!
Union Pool Download: [FLAC/MP3] Three Lobed / WXDU Annual Ritual of Summoning Download: [FLAC/MP3]
I keep thinking about headspace and headroom, in the context of Headroom, a band that opens both inward and outward. Kryssi Battalene splits her time churning out shoegazey riffs for the immeasurable Mountain Movers, Headroom being her side gig that distills her soloing into the main event. In 2017 she put out Head in the Clouds, a particularly spaced-out affair that’s as soaring in its scope as her other band. With Movers’ Rick Omonte on bass and Ross Menze on drums, Headroom doesn’t stray too far from the mold, blowing up new spaces to get lost in. Last month we finally got to see Headroom in action at Baby’s All Right, where the band played three tracks from Head in the Clouds, plus the new “Skyliner.” I don’t think I’m the only person in attendance who suggested Headroom visit us more often.
I recorded this set with a pair of MBHO omnidirectional mics onstage combined with a board feed from the Baby’s crew. The sound is outstanding. Enjoy!
The genre-bending shamanistic space-rock collective Guerilla Toss have been a must-see live act for several years now. We caught them in a daytime slot in the Out In the Streets Festival in 2016 and then later in a support slot at Secret Project Robot when the band played literally among the crowd (and our mics) on the floor of the venue.
For this majestic set on Halloween at Market Hotel, Guerilla Toss sold out the venue that fit their aesthetic to a tee. This show definitely had an event feel throughout the night and the band certainly lived up to the atmosphere. Performing in front of an imported, elaborate, but appropriately spacey lighting rig, Guerilla Toss delivered a meaty ninety-minute set to their vocally devoted followers. Personally, the highlight of the set was the seamless segue into a haunting version of Nico’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties” which seemed an appropriate cover for GT and fit right into their oeuvre. But ultimately this show was more about the ability of this band to perfectly sync all of their classically trained abilities into a unique and compelling amalgam of modern music. Guerilla Toss remains a must see band and this show, their biggest in the NYC market thus far, is proof that they will continue to grow their reach.
I recorded this set with the installed AT mics and a fine soundboard feed. The sound quality is quite excellent. Enjoy!
Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Upfront Audience
Soundboard [Engineer: Eric Lemke] + Audio Technica 4051 > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)
Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
Setlist:
[Total Time 1:19:21]
01 Jam
02 Eraser Stargazer Forever
03 Jesus Rabbit
04 Betty Dreams of Green Men
05 Realistic Rabbit
06 [crowd]
07 Meteorological [Jane La Onda]
08 Diamond Girls
09 King’s Lead Hat [Eno]
10 Spider Heard
11 [thanks]
12 Magic Is Easy
13 Grass Shack
14 367 Equalizer
15 All Tomorrow’s Parties [Velvets]
16 Dose Rate
17 Retreat
18 Chronophobia
19 Come Up With Me
20 [encore break]
21 Operate
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