nyctaper Recordings

[Joy Formidable at Union Hall the night before Pianos]
[photo courtesy of Erin Friedmann]

I had been aware of the excellent Welsh trio The Joy Formidable for more than a year — following their growth in part through the meticulous documentation of their live shows by some excellent UK tapers. When we learned through an email that the band would make their first trip stateside for three gigs in NYC, I knew that we would have to take in at least one show, and the excellent and intimate Pianos gig was chosen. With the band’s blessing, at last night’s show we set up a four channel mix directly in front of the soundboard and were immediately crushed by the wall to wall crowd. From the very first notes of their set, we were absolutely floored by the intensity, tightness and superb musicality of The Joy Formidable. By the time the band reached the crescendo of the third number “The Last Drop”, repeating the hook “how come its all around me” over sheets of guitar and thundering bass, I was thoroughly addicted to TJF. When the forty-minute set concluded with a wild “Whirring” featuring a full noise and feedback cacophony session, we realized the obvious. The Joy Formidable will be huge. This is a forgone conclusion. The other obvious fact is that the next time the band returns to NYC (guitarist/vocalist Ritzy Bryan promised “later in the year”), the venues will be much larger than Pianos. Last night will be one of those “we saw them back then” nights, and we were lucky to be there.

This set was recorded under the perfect conditions. The main room at Pianos has never sounded better. The location of the microphones and the well balanced feed were mixed in perfect compliment. We are proud to present a recording of this superb quality. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Joy Formidable
2010-01-12
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
2010-01-13

Setlist:
[Total Time 41:22]
01 The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade
02 Cradle
03 The Last Drop
04 Austere
05 Ostrich
06 Magnifying Glass
07 Anemone
08 [band thanks]
09 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 album A Balloon Called Moaning from Shop link at their website [here].

[photos taken for nyctaper by Kate Ehle – more here]

We will be seeing The Loom again tonight, Saturday January 9 at Mercury Lounge at the late show opening for Rural Alberta Advantage. I remembered that we had not yet posted the recording of their excellent set from the NYCTaper CMJ show at Bruar Falls. It was a busy CMJ week for the Loom, who followed this excellent Thursday afternoon appearance with a gig at brooklynvegan’s loft party on Friday night that earned The Loom some nice buzz. Following CMJ, the band went into the studio to record for their second release and first full length album, which will be released later this year. This CMJ set features all new material, four songs of which we had never seen the band play live before.

The Loom have four more local gigs in January and February before they head to Austin and SXSW in March:
Jan 16 2010 Pianos
Feb 12 2010 The Studio @ Webster Hall
Feb 13 2010 Glasslands
Feb 28 2010 Pianos

This set was recorded with two microphones directly in front of the stage mixed with a soundboard feed. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Loom
2009-10-22
Bruar Falls
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 16bit 44.1kHz 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
2010-01-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 25:05]
01 Middle Distance
02 A Song of Faint Praise
03 For the Hooves that Gallop
04 First Freeze
05 [banter]
06 Helen Marie

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Loom, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their debut EP At Last Light from the links on their MySpace page.

[photo by nyctaper]

Beach Fossils began as a solo recording project of Dustin Payseur but has evolved into a terrific band. At Glasslands on Wednesday, the band performed to an ecstatic crowd of fans who danced with abandon to each of the eight songs performed. This was one of most fun shows we’ve seen in a while, and the band seemed to be having as much fun as the crowd as they bounced joyfully around the stage. Beach Fossils will release their debut album later this year on the excellent Captured Tracks and Woodist Records, with 7″ singles due soon. We expect to see much more of this band in the near future, as this show was a total blast.

We recorded in the same location as the Babies set, and the sound quality is again excellent. Enjoy!

Beach Fossils perform again in NYC at Cake Shop on February 9.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Beach Fossils
2010-01-06
Glasslands Gallery
Brooklyn, 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
2010-01-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 27:58]
01 Youth
02 Daydream
03 Sometimes
04 Lazy Day
05 Golden Age
06 [banter/tuning]
07 Vacation
08 The Horse
09 Twelve Roses

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Beach Fossils, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their 7″ and full album releases when they are released soon by Captured Tracks and Woodist Records.

[photo by nyctaper]

Babies is the new band formed by Cassie Ramone of the Vivian Girls and Kevin Morby of Woods. The band’s sound however bears very little stylistic resemblance to either. Last night at Glasslands, the quartet performed a nine-song twenty-seven minute set of straightforward girl-boy vocal guitar rock with an electric stage energy sometimes not seen from their more sedate day job bands. The result was one of the more rambunctious crowds in the many times we have been to this Brooklyn art space venue. While the band’s MySpace page features the two recorded tracks from Babies thus far, last night’s set contained enough solid material for a full length album that we anticipate will see release this year.

We recorded this set from directly in front of the soundboard area and mixed two microphones with a two-channel feed from the board. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Babies
2010-01-06
Glasslands Gallery
Brooklyn, 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
2010-01-07

Setlist:
[Total Time 26:03]
01 My Name
02 No War
03 All Things Come to Pass
04 Meet Me in the City
05 Sick Kid in the Distance
06 Downtown
07 Somebody Else
08 Breakin’ the Law
09 Caroline

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Babies, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official release when it appears later this year.

[photo by nyctaper]

After more than a decade of work as a band, at the end of 2007 The Slip went on hiatus. Two years later, they are back. At Sullivan Hall on Saturday night, guitarist/vocalist Brad Barr announced in the middle of their longest show in two years that the band was actively recording new material and would play many shows in 2010. Throughout the two-set show The Slip performed several of these newer songs, but satisfied the packed crowd with best-ever quality versions of the classic material — “Children of December”, “Wolof” and the thirteen-minute “Paper Birds” in particular. If this epic show is any indication, 2010 will be a banner year for The Slip.

We recorded this set from the left side elevated seating area fifteen feet from the PA. While the raised area gave us a direct line to the stacks, albeit off-center, there is persistent crowd chatter on this recording. With that caveat, enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files: (Set 1 HERE) (Set 2 HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Slip
2010-01-02
Sullivan Hall
New York, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront Left Side – 15 Feet from PA

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
2010-01-04

Setlist:
Set 1:
[Total Time 1:09:26]
01 [introduction]
02 Aurora
03 Broke The Promise Land
04 Gaunt Debutante
05 Give the Devil Back His Heart
06 If You Knew
07 The Soft Machine
08 Happy Snails
09 All I Saw Was You
10 Children of December

Set 2:
[Total Time 1:23:13]
01 [introduction]
02 Paper Birds
03 Motherwolf*
04 [banter]
05 Airplane/Primitive
06 Wolof
07 Suffication Keep
08 [encore break]
09 Let There Be Horses
10 [second encore break]
11 Pass It On
12 Heartbreaker (Zep)*
*with Marco Benevento

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Slip, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from “The Goods” link at their website [here].

[photo by kittykowalski]

After more than a decade of inactivity, in 2008 That Petrol Emotion returned to live performance with several Festival appearances. In 2009, the band continued their return and played their first NYC show in fifteen years at the Bell House in December. While the fifteen-song setlist consisted primarily of material from their final two albums, Chemicrazy and Fireproof, TPE did reach back for two numbers from their 1986 debut Manic Pop Thrill. The performance was remarkable not only for the tight musical play, but also the energy the band brought to the stage — lead singer Steve Mack in particular exhibited the physical energy of a man half his age. The set closed with a manic version of “Scumsurfin'” which the band stretched out to an intense seven minutes.

This set was recorded with a soundboard feed mixed with the Neumann microphones from our usual location in this venue. The sound quality is quite good. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

That Petrol Emotion
2009-12-12
Bell House
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 16bit 44.1kHz 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
2009-12-31

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:14:33]
01 [introduction]
02 Blue to Black
03 Last of the True Believers
04 Gnaw Mark
05 Big Decision
06 [banter]
07 Its A Good Thing
08 Catch A Fire
09 Tingle
10 Hey Venus
11 Infinite Thrill
12 Sensitize
13 Lifeblood
14 Abandon
15 Too Late Blues
16 [encore break]
17 Mouth Crazy
18 [banter]
19 Scumsurfin’

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT That Petrol Emotion, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from links at the music link at their website [here].

[still from this video]

Acidjack Reports:
“After bursting onto the scene in 2004 with their first full-length, Now Here is Nowhere, things quieted down somewhat for The Secret Machines in the latter part of the aughts, with their stellar-but-underappreciated Ten Silver Drops failing to garner the critical attention of their first record. In 2007, guitarist Benjamin Curtis left the band to focus full-time on his new project, School of Seven Bells. Since Curtis’ departure, TSM have carried on, bringing on new guitarist Phil Karnats and releasing their self-titled album Secret Machines in 2008, which they have been touring on ever since.

This night at the Knitting Factory found the band responding to another kind of personnel change – due to heavy snow in the Midwest, Karnats could not make his flight to the gig. Drummer Josh Garza and vocalist/bassist Brandon Curtis responded by giving fans an hour-long set of TSM songs with Curtis playing guitar and singing backed only by Garza’s on the kit. Several songs such as the epic “First Wave Intact” were reworked to the new two-man format, and the band performed an even-more extended version of “The Fire Is Waiting” from their latest record. Ultimately, the two-man setup accentuated how huge this band can sound with only a handful of members; even stripped back from an already-scant three band members to two, TSM’s music carries the room-filling weight of a five-piece, thanks in no small part to Garza’s intensity on the drums.

I recorded this set from a raised pole clamped to the center of the soundboard cage. Some post-production was done to raise the volume level of the vocals, which are still a bit low in the mix due to the house sound and the enormity of the drum sound. There is also a bit of distracting crowd chatter during the two quieter songs.

Thanks to The Secret Machines and the Knitting Factory for permitting this recording. Enjoy!”

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

Secret Machines
2009-12-23
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY

An ACIDJACK master recording

Recorded and produced by acidjack
Hosted by nyctaper

Equipment: DPA 4021>Marantz PMD660 (Oade Concert Mod)
Position: Clamp to SBD cage, center, 9′ pole
Mastering: 16bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, slight EQ, tracking, amplify each channel)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Vocals: Brandon Curtis (and guitar)
Drums: Josh Garza

Tracks
01 Dreaming of Dreaming
02 Terrible Light
03 Atomic Heels
04 The Fire is Waiting
05 I Never Thought To Ask
06 The Leaves Are Gone
07 Like I Can
08 First Wave Intact
09 The Road Leads Where It’s Led

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Secret Machines, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase the latest TSM self-released CD by visiting the links at their website [here].

[photo by nyctaper]

Larkin Grimm is the subject of one of my favorite artist descriptions. Michael Gira, founder of The Swans, and with whose Young God Records Larkin is signed, described her as follows: “Larkin is a magic woman. She lives in the mountains in north Georgia. She collects bones, smooth stones, & she casts spells. She worships the moon. She is very beautiful, & her voice is like the passionate cry of a beast heard echoing across the mountains just after a tremendous thunder storm, when the air is alive with electricity. I don’t consider her folk though – she is pre folk, even pre- music. She is the sound of the eternal mother & the wrath of all women. She wears jewels, glitter, & glistening insects in her hair.”

Last night at Knitting Factory, Larkin was just a singer, albeit a special one. The Sunday night crowd was larger than expected for an early post-holiday off-night, and Larkin entertained us with stories and songs anchored by her deeply rich voice. The band included the legendary producer Tony Visconti (Bowie, TRex, Morrissey) on bass guitar. Larkin performed primarily new songs, and just one number from her most recent release Parplar.

We recorded this set with the four-microphone rig set up directly in front of the soundboard, and other than some venue sounds during quieter moments of the recording, the sound quality is quite excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Larkin Grimm
2009-12-27
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Soundboard Booth

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
2009-12-28

Setlist:
[Total Time 46:08]
01 [introduction]
02 Paradise
03 Blond and Golden Johns
04 [banter]
05 Pool of Milk
06 [tuning/banter]
07 Paved With Leaves
08 [tuning/intro]
09 Flash and Thunder
10 [banter]
11 The Butcher
12 Dirty Mind
13 The Burglar
14 [outro/band]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Larkin Grimm, visit her website, visit her MySpace page, and purchase her latest CD Parplar directly from the Young God Records website [here].

[photos taken for nyctaper by Kate Ehle – more here]

In her set opening for the Antlers at Bowery Ballroom, Sharon Van Etten exhibited her playful side. As she becomes more comfortable playing before larger crowds, Sharon has allowed her charming personality to amplify the quality of her songs. At Bowery, the fan gift of a tiny paper crane became the object of a wonderful performer-audience interplay that Sharon then incorporated into her terrific brand new song “Heart in the Ground”.

This set was recorded from the same location as the Antlers and Uninhabitable Mansions sets and the sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

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

Sharon Van Etten
2009-12-15
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded Behind Soundboard Booth

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 by nyctaper and acidjack
Produced by nyctaper
2009-12-26

Setlist:
[Total Time 35:30]
01 Give Out
02 Much More Than That
03 Oooh Love (Blaze Foley)
04 Consolation Prize
05 [banter – paper crane]
06 Heart in the Ground
07 Call It A Joke
08 [new song]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Sharon Van Etten, visit her website, visit her MySpace page, and purchase her new CD Because I Was In Love from InSound [here] or Amazon [here] or directly from the Language of Stone website [here].

[photo courtesy of Jessica Amaya and Stereogum]

Twice in a two-week period this Fall, we saw Crystal Stilts in two very varied venues. On Halloween, the band was part of an excellent bill at 171 Lombardy co-produced by ToddP and Sacred Bones Records that included the psychedelic sludge of Wooden Ships in a classic Todd-style DIY venue. Two Saturdays later, Crystal Stilts was the final band in the marathon Slumberland Records anniversary show at the excellent Bell House. Three of the bands members backed Amy Linton’s return to performance, and then Stilts began their set at 2 a.m. and worked through thirty minutes of their deeply reverbed psych-garage before all parties collapsed in exhaustion.

We recorded both of these set with a soundboard feed mixed together with the Neumann room microphones. The Bell House is a better recording in large part because of the superior sound system (beware of track 02 on the Halloween recording), but both shows are excellent listening experiences. Enjoy!

Direct download of Halloween MP3 files (HERE) and Bell House (HERE).

Download the Complete shows in FLAC: [Halloween] / [Bell House].

Crystal Stilts
2009-10-31
171 Lombardy
Brooklyn, 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
2009-12-24

Setlist:
[Total Time 30:26]
01 12 String
02
03 Black Hole
04 Seeds
05
06 For The Love Of Ivy (Gun Club)
07 Love Is A Wave
08 New Grave

************

Crystal Stilts
2009-11-14
Slumberland Records 20th Anniversary Concert
Bell House
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 16bit 44.1kHz 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
2009-12-24

Setlist:
[Total Time 27:22]
01 Love Is A Wave
02 [tuning – banter]
03 Black Hole
04 Shattered Shine
05 Seeds
06 Prismatic Room
07 New Grave
08 Through the Floor

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].