nyctaper Recordings

[photo by nyctaper]

On their return home after another extensive and triumphant tour, last night The Antlers continued their evolution at Maxwell’s. As a headline band, they packed the legendary Hoboken club and performed a sixty-five minute set of Hospice material — with several reworked numbers. Opening with a quiet rendition of “Bear”, the band immediately turned up the energy as the song growled to a intense conclusion. “Thirteen” followed, with Sharon Van Etten’s vocals from the album filled in admirably by set opener Holly Miranda. Holly and her guitarist Tim returned and contributed to the set’s highlight — a thoroughly entrancing version of “Wake”.

The Antlers have only one more local appearance this year — at the brooklynvegan opening night CMJ show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Tuesday October 20 — before they depart for an extensive tour on the West coast, and then a return trip to England.

We recorded this set with a stereo feed from the board mixed with two strategically placed room microphones and the sound is professional quality. Enjoy!

Holly Miranda’s set was also recorded and will be posted very soon.

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

Antlers
2009-10-03
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
2009-10-04

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:03:59]
01 [introduction]
02 Bear
03 Thirteen
04 Sylvia
05 Atrophy
06 Shiva
07 Two
08 [banter]
09 Wake
10 Epilogue

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Antlers, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Hospice directly from Frenchkiss Records [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Konstantin Sergeyev – more here]

If there was a ideal career trajectory for an “underground” or “cult” band, New Model Army would be the perfect example. In their nearly 30 years of existence, NMA have been noteworthy for their “artist control” approach to management, the adaptation and growth of their personnel, and the consistently excellent recorded output. Last night at Mercury Lounge, New Model Army performed a superb and energetic ninety-minute set to a rowdy and packed house. In what has quickly been described among fans as the show of the tour, NMA worked through a set which truly encapsulated their entire career, from their best known number “Vagabonds”, to selected tracks from their thirteen albums, to a half-dozen tracks from the excellent new release Today Is A Good Day. Justin Sullivan was engaging, focused and intense and the band was tight. We were particularly impressed with the guitar work of Marshall Gill, who shined bright in “Chosen” and “States Radio” and the three-song segue that closed the show.

We recorded this set with the four-microphone rig next to the soundboard. The recording has excellent depth and clarity but despite maximum lift of the mic pole, is unfortunately marred slightly by the chatter on our left. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

New Model Army
2009-10-01
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Digital Audience Master Recording
Recorded from Soundboard Area

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
2009-10-02

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:33:14]
01 Here Comes The War
02 Stranger
03 Mambo Queen Of The Sandstone City
04 Peace Is Only
05 Today Is A Good Day
06 Disappeared
07 High
08 One Of The Chosen
09 La Push
10 States Radio
11 Autumn
12 White Coats
13 Vagabonds
14 Wired
15 Wonderful Way To Go
16 [encore break]
17 Purity
18 Green And Grey
19 225

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT New Model Army, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the New Model Army Shop at their website [HERE].

[Jay at Stuyesant Town in July]
[photo courtesy of Pat at Pop Tarts Suck Toasted blog]

Acidjack reports:
“Jay Reatard led a group of like-minded bands from his Shattered Records imprint to Le Poisson Rouge for a late-night show that kicked off at 11:30pm and continued the relentless energy until the early hours of the morning. As expected, Jay’s set included highlights from his classic Blood Visions, his latest, Watch Me Fall and some of his older singles. Much of the Watch Me Fall material which, on record, seemed to be a drastic, poppy departure from Reatard’s earlier work, was better realized in the live context when placed alongside earlier rockers. Regardless of one’s feelings about the record (and particularly, the production), this set showed those songs to be as much classic Reatard as anything in his catalog. While not riot-crowded, Le Poisson Rouge was comfortably packed with fans who didn’t mind the late start time and threw themselves into the music, sometimes literally. You will hear Jay, during “Watching You,” heckle a fan down in the pit who got a little too enthusiastic (and apparently, was waving a really gross sweater over his head). The set may have only been 35 minutes long, but this was another 35 minutes (and 15 songs!) of pure southern punk gold.”

Read the brooklynvegan interview with Jay Reatard [HERE].

Thanks to Jay Reatard for permitting this recording, and thank you to Le Poisson Rouge for their continued support of NYCTaper and their diverse and excellent programming.

This set was recorded with cardioid microphones attached to a pole close to the stage and the sound quality is exceptional. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Jay Reatard
2009-10-01
Le Poisson Rouge
New York, NY USA

An ACIDJACK master recording

Equipment: Audio Technica U853 hypercardiods (low sens mod)>SPSB-10>R-09HR (24/48)
Position: Mics mounted 10′ up on center pole, 90 degree angle
Mastering: WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, downsample, slight EQ)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Setlist:
01 An Ugly Death
02 Nightmares
03 Fading All Away
04 Drop Dead
05 Greed, Money, Useless Children
06 All Over Again
07 I’m Watching You
08 You Mean Nothing To Me
09 Not A Substitute
10 My Shadow
11 Oh It’s Such A Shame
12 See/Saw
13 Faking It
14 There Is No Sun
15 Let It All Go

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Jay Reatard, visit his website, visit his MySpace page, and purchase his official releases from the Shattered Records links at Jay’s website [here].

[photo from The Rest MySpace page]

When we last saw Ontario’s The Rest, they were blowing our minds at the NYCTaper Presents show at Monster Island in June. Three months later, the band is hot and things are happening rapidly. The Rest have signed with British label SIC, and their brilliant release Everyone All at Once is being distributed in Great Britain by Rough Trade. Later this month, The Rest will head over to England for a week-long tour. Before all the excitement overseas takes place, the excellent boutique label that has signed The Rest brought them back to NYC for a night at the Cameo in Williamsburg. The On Another Note showcase saw The Rest perform a tight forty-minute set of their best material, noteworthy for their new cover version of Robyn’s “With Every Heartbeat”.

We recorded this set with a stereo feed from the soundboard mixed with two microphones at the stage. The mix accentuates the positives of both mixes — strong vocals on the board and strong instruments on the mics to create an excellent listening experience. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Rest
2009-09-26
Cameo Gallery
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + On Stage Microphones

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
2009-09-30

Setlist:
[Total Time 37:01]
01 …Blossom Babies
02 The Close Western
03 Apples & Allergies
04 Coughing Blood
05 Modern Time Travel
06 [banter]
07 Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing
08 With Every Heartbeat (Robyn)
09 Walk on Water

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Rest, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Everyone All At Once directly from the Auteur Records website [HERE] or digitally from Amie Street [HERE] or Preorder from Rough Trade [HERE].

[still from this video]

Acidjack reports:
“Athens, GA’s Maserati came to the Bowery Ballroom with the unenviable task of opening for epic Japanese instrumental rockers Mono, on a rainy Monday evening following Yom Kippur. Though not exactly one of the busiest nights of the year in New York City, this crowd knew what was up, packing most of the floor for Maserati’s set. Their 45-minute set, culled from several of their albums including their latest, the odds-and-ends collection Passages, demonstrated why their popularity has continued to surge as a live band, with drummer Jerry Fuchs leading the way with his propulsive work on the kit. Unlike Mono, whose set thrived on tension and release, Maserati’s set remained almost completely in high gear, perhaps owing to the shorter time slot.”

Acidjack recorded this set from an optimal spot in the venue, with the mics mounted on a pole clamped to the balcony post and extended almost directly in front of the soundboard. The house mix was excellent, and that is reflected in this recording. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete Show in FLAC [HERE].

Maserati
2009-09-28
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY

An ACIDJACK master recording

Equipment: Audio Technica U853 cardiods (low sens mod)>SPSB-10>R-09HR (24/48)
Position: Clamp to balcony post, pole extended in front of SBD, ORTF
Mastering: WAV>Audacity (tracking, amplify each channel, slight EQ, set fades)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks (setlist via)
01. We Got the System to Fight the System
02. 12/16
03. Show Me the Season
04. Chug
05. The World Outside
06. Monoliths

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Maserati, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases directly from the BUY link at their website [HERE].

[photo by nyctaper]

For ardent baseball fans and a long time followers of the music of R.E.M., Dream Syndicate, Young Fresh Fellows, Minus 5, Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3, the all-star group that performed on Wednesday at the Bowery Ballroom was the best of all worlds. The foursome of Steve, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Linda Pitmon performed over two and a half hours of music which encompassed far more material than their 2008 collaboration on The Baseball Project. While the concert did include 11 of the 13 tracks from Frozen Ropes, the two full sets and thirty-seven songs performed also drew from the lengthy catalogs of the group’s members, including some Dream Syndicate classics, material from the several Minus 5 albums, songs from the new Young Fresh Fellows release, and even three new songs from the anticipated second Baseball Project album. Now well into this current tour, the band was tight and stretched out quite a few of the numbers. As always, Scott’s banter was highly entertaining and gave a true irreverence to the evening.

We recorded from our standard position at the Bowery with the four microphone rig and the sound quality in the venue was quite exceptional. This is an excellent recording with no flaws whatsoever. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Baseball Project / Minus 5 / Steve Wynn IV
2009-09-23
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Balcony Rail
Next to the 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
2009-09-26

Set 1
Setlist:
[Total Time 1:04:30]
01 Past Time
02 Ted F*cking Williams
03 Out There on the Maroon
04 I’m Not Bitter
05 Broken Man
06 Love Me Anyway
07 The Yankee Flipper
08 That’s What You Always Say
09 Long Before My Time
10 Vintage Violet
11 The Lurking Barrister
12 Dark Hand of Contagion
13 Tell Me When Its Over
14 Manhattan Fault Line
15 Ichiro Goes To The Moon
16 Lies of the Living Dead
17 Amphetamine

Set 2
Setlist:
[Total Time 1:30:29]
01 [banter]
02 Buckner’s Bolero
03 Jackie’s Lament
04 Gratitude (For Curt Flood)
05 The Death Of Big Ed Delahanty
06 Cindy, It Was Always You
07 Satchel Paige Said
08 Ambulance Dancehall
09 Cigarettes Coffee and Booze
10 [Gold and Silver tease]
11 Medicine Show
12 Trial Separation Blues
13 Twilight Distillery
14 Harvey Haddix
15 Revolution Blues
16 The Days of Wine and Booze
17 The Days of Wine and Roses
18 Aw Shit Man
19 [encore break]
20 The Closer
21 Let the Good Times Crawl
22 The Straw That Stirs The Drink
23 [banter]
24 Strychnine

[photo by nyctaper]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Baseball Project, visit their website, and purchase Frozen Ropes directly from the Yep Roc Records site [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Dani Jordan]

I will admit that I am addicted to the Of Montreal concert experience. Every show is a multi-media entertainment extravaganza. For recent experiences, the stage show has often trumped my true appreciation of the song craft and the musicianship. Last night at Terminal 5, while the stage show had its usual assortment of wild play-acting — crucifixions, animal costumes, and feathers everywhere — I made a conscious decision to concentrate on the musicians, and I was rewarded as the band absolutely shined. In particular, BP’s outstanding guitar work in “Rejecter” and Davey Pierce’s sharp bass playing in “Bunny” were highlights. While the show began with five consecutive numbers from Skeletal Lamping, the setlist was dominated by Hissing Fauna material including nine of the twelve songs on that album. As per usual, the encore segment featured one memorable cover song, this time “Love Hangover” from the disco-era Diana Ross.

We recorded from the standard location in this venue, dead center of the rear of the floor with a direct line towards the huge stacks. The sound quality in this venue can often be muddy, but overall we were pleased with the sound on this evening, and the recording is a fine listening experience. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Of Montreal
2009-09-18
Terminal 5
New York, NY USA

Digital Audience Master Recording
Recorded from Floor – 50 Feet from Stage

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

Many Thanks to BP!

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2009-09-19

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:32:20]
01 [introduction]
02 Mingusings
03 Id Engager
04 For Our Elegant Caste*
05 Touched Something’s Hollow
06 An Eluardian Instance
07 Requiem for O.M.M.2
08 The Party’s Crashing Us
09 Suffer For Fashion
10 Sink the Seine
11 Cato As A Pun
12 Forecast Fascist Future
13 My British Tour Diary
14 She’s a Rejecter
15 Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider
16 Faberge Falls For Shuggie
17 I Was Never Young
18 Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse
19 The Past Is A Grotesque Animal
20 [encore break]
21 Love Hangover (Diana Ross)*
22 A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger
*with Janelle Monae

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Of Montreal, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their new CD Skeletal Lamping at the Polyvinyl website [HERE].

Son Volt also played Washington DC on Tuesday
[photo by Steve from Baby Stew Blog]

Last night at Irving Plaza, Son Volt proved once again why they are the virtual mantle-carriers of the “no depression” movement of the 1990s. Fueled by the emergence of a superb new album American Central Dust, the band played an outstanding non-stop two-hour set which featured ten of the twelve tracks from the album along with material from the balance of their catalog (except no Straightaways material). The touring band features James Walbourne (Pernice Brothers, Pretenders) on guitar and pedal steel (he does not appear on the album), and his fervent guitar work provided multiple excellent solos during the evening. Of the new numbers, “Cocaine and Ashes” was a particularly strong performance, and along with the fan favorite “Windfall” and the old Waylon Jennings “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” were the highlights of the show. Despite his stoic stage reputation, Jay Farrar was engaging and talked to the crowd several times, including the dedication of “Big Sur” to ZZ Top.

We recorded this set with the four microphones from the middle of the floor in the sweet spot for sound in this venue. Other than some annoying chatter near the microphones, this is an outstanding capture. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Son Volt
2009-09-17
Irving Plaza
New York, NY USA

Digital Audience 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
2009-09-18

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:52:43]
01 The Picture
02 Feel Free
03 Underground Dream
04 Down to the Wire
05 Dust of Daylight
06 Highways and Cigarettes
07 Cocaine and Ashes
08 When the Wheels Don’t Move
09 Ten Second News
10 Dynamite
11 Pushed Too Far
12 Jukebox of Steel
13 [banter]
14 Big Sur
15 Methamphetamine
16 [band introductions]
17 Tear Stained Eye
18 Strength and Doubt
19 No Turning Back
20 Hard Times
21 Medication
22 Damn Shame
23 The Search
24 Buzz & Grind
25 Bandages & Scars
26 Afterglow 61
27 [encore break]
28 Action
29 Roll On
30 Windfall
31 Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way (Waylon Jennings)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Son Volt, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases directly from the Jay Farrar Official Store [HERE].

[photo by nyctaper]

On the week that Bar None Records reissued both Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth, the Feelies played a weekend of shows in the New York area. On Friday, they played Crazy Rhythms from start to finish at All Tomorrow’s Parties (acidjack’s recording is here). Saturday’s show was a performance at the beautiful Bearsville Theatre in Woodstock. Last night, the celebratory weekend was completed with an absolutely monumental Feelies show at Southpaw. The band performed two sets that consisted of over two hours of music, but the most amazing aspect of the show was the encore set — the band returned on five separate occasions to perform a total of ten encores. Included in the show were the usual plethora of covers — the raging second set opener of Neil Young’s “Barstool Blues” and the Beatles “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide” (from Crazy Rhythms) among them — but there were also a few surprises including a teacher-mimics-student version of R.E.M.’s “Carnival of Sorts”.

The band was again well-served by the presence of long time sound pro Andy Peters, who navigated through a limited sound system to provide outstanding listening quality. We set up the four mics at the front of the railing above the floor which provided a direct line to the stacks. The resulting sound quality of this recording is quite excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Feelies
2009-09-13
Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Front and Center at Railing
20 Feet from the Stage

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
2009-09-14

Setlist:
Set 1:
[Total Time 32:54]
01 When Company Comes
02 Egyptian Reggae (Jonathan Richman)
03 [new song]
04 The Undertow
05 Sunday Morning (Velvet Underground)
06 Invitation
07 Nobody Knows
08 The High Road
09 On The Roof
10 Let’s Go

Set 2:
[Total Time 1:27:47]
01 Barstool Blues (Neil Young)
02 Deep Fascination
03 Higher Ground
04 The Final Word
05 Slipping (Into Something)
06 Time is Right
07 Away
08 Original Love
09 Too Far Gone
10 Raised Eyebrows
11 Crazy Rhythms
12 [encore break]
13 Doin’ It Again
14 Carnival of Sorts (R.E.M.)
15 [second encore break]
16 Moscow Nights
17 I Wanna Sleep In Your Arms (Modern Lovers)
18 [third encore break]
19 Take It As It Comes (Doors)
20 Paint it Black (Rolling Stones)
21 [fourth encore break]
22 Fa Ce-La
23 Everybody’s Got Something To Hide (Except For Me And My Monkey) (Beatles)
24 [fifth encore break]
25 Outdoor Miner (Wire)
26 She Said She Said (Beatles)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Feelies, visit their MySpace page, and purchase the new reissues of Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth directly from the Bar None website [HERE].

[photo courtesy of John Kendelhardt]

Acidjack reports:
“This show, commemorating the one-year anniversary of Le Poisson Rouge, showcased a significant portion of the membership of the newly resurgent Elephant 6 collective. The opener, Pipes You See, Pipes You Don’t, features former Olivia Tremor Control keyboardist Pete Erchick and other members of Circulatory System, and even managed to sneak in an old OTC cover. The second opener, Circulatory System guitarist Nesey Gallons, performed a haunting solo set. Circulatory System, OTC founder Will Cullen Hart’s latest band, has itself risen from the ashes after Hart has battled multiple sclerosis over the past few years. Circulatory System refines the more experimental Olivia Tremor Control aesthetic, with tighter songs still heavily informed by the psychedelia and found sounds that permeated OTC’s records. This set showed off some new songs from Circulatory’s forthcoming album, Signal Morning as well as classics from their self-titled 2001 debut, including the rousing closer “Yesterday’s World.”

Since all three acts are intimately related, we are offering the complete sets of all three bands as a single download. Enjoy!”

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Circulatory System and Friends
2009-09-09
Le Poisson Rouge
New York, NY USA

An ACIDJACK master recording

Equipment: DPA 4061 (Coresound HEB)>R-09HR (24/48)
Position: Center, mics mounted A-B with 1.5′ split on center pole, 10′ up
Mastering: WAV>Audacity (downsample to 16bit/44.1kHz, amplify each channel, tracking)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Recorded and produced by acidjack. Hosted at nyctaper.com

Pipes You See, Pipes You Don’t
11 Tracks (setlist help needed)

Nesey Gallons
06 Tracks (setlist help needed)

Circulatory System
01 Lovely Universe
02 Round Again
03 Cloud Replace
04 Overjoyed
05 Signal Morning
06 Frozen Lake
07 I You We
08 Woodpecker
09 A Peek
10 The Pillow
11 Outside Blasts
12 This Morning
13 Particle Parades
14 [encore break]
15 Yesterday’s World

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Circulatory System and the Elephant 6 Collective, visit their MySpace page, and purchase all the official releases directly from the Elephant 6 Records site [HERE].