nyctaper Recordings

[photo (c) 2008 Taryn Looney — more here]

Last night’s performance by Deerhunter at the Music Hall of Williamsburg instantly catapulted into my Top Ten concerts list for 2008. As Deerhunter tours on the heels of their brilliant new CD Microcastle, the band is performing with relaxed confidence assured that their well-deserved rave reviews are reaching the right eyes and ears. We took particular note that on several occasions Bradford stepped back to the let the band shine — Moses drum work and Josh’s bass playing were outstanding. During the encore sequence, Bradford also took time to give Whitney her proper due and praised Lockett. In perfect sync, the band worked through a set heavy on Microcastle material sprinkled with a few rare nuggets, before awarding the crowd with five encores.

The audience at this concert was engaged and attentive, and the sound quality in the venue was as per usual absolutely superb. The sound tech for Deerhunter mixed the band to perfection. We recorded from the prime location in the venue and the sound quality is outstanding — a marked improvement over our September recording of Deerhunter. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/Deerhunter2008-11-07.fob.dpa.nyctaper

Deerhunter
2008-11-07
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB
Dead Center 20 Feet from PA

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
2008-11-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:24:23]
01 Cryptograms
02 Never Stops
03 Dr. Glass
04 Hazel St.
05 Nothing Ever Happened
06 Microcastle
07 Vox Celeste
08 Saved By Old Times
09 Fluorescent Grey
10 Calvary Scars II > Aux Out [encore break]
11 Microcastle Intro
12 Agoraphobia
13 [banter – Whitney blues and headstand]
14 Twilight At Carbon Lake
15 [banter]
16 Heatherwood
17 [banter – Moses come back]
18 Operation

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Deerhunter, visit their MySpace page, visit the band blog, and purchase Microcastle [here], their official releases from the Kranky Records site [here].

[photo by Pop Tarts blog]

It is impossible for me to be objective about this performance. I asked Sharon Van Etten to headline the upstairs stage at the NYCTaper CMJ show, which was a difficult task for a solo performer. In return, Sharon not only delivered the most intense and captivating set we have ever seen her play, but she thanked me several times. It is rare to find an artist of such profound talent, but even more so to find one who matches the talent with such quality of character.

This recording was captured by simply connecting a digital recorder to the small mixer that operating as a “soundboard”. I didn’t monitor it all during the show, and as a result the levels were quite low. A large post-production boost of volume was necessary and resulted in audible hiss in the recording. Additionally, only Sharon’s vocals were amplified in the PA so that her guitar is quite low. Nevertheless, this is a quite listenable recording of a special performance — one we will quite literally never forget. Enjoy!

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

Sharon Van Etten
2008-10-23
NYCTaper CMJ Showcase
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Soundboard Recording

Soundboard > RCA Cables > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16 bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, huge level boost) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
nyctaper@nyctaper.com
2008-11-04

Setlist:
[total time 29:40]
01 I Fold
02 Picking Up Rocks
03 Consolation Prize
04 You Didn’t Really Do That
05 Tornado
06 Damn Right

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, purchase one of her custom-made self-released CDs directly from her website, and purchase her new CD Because I Was In Love when it is released in 2009.

[The Antlers at Pop Tarts CMJ show – photo by Ear Farm]

It was our misfortune to have missed The Antlers performance at the superb opening day Pop Tarts afternoon CMJ showcase at Cake Shop. Their set turned a lot of heads and has appeared on multiple sites on the web. So when the invitation was received to capture The Antlers at a private loft party, we found ourselves trudging through a fairly out-of-the-way industrial area in Fort Greene on Saturday night. However, what lay ahead was worth the work — as the “new” version of the band ripped through an intimate forty-minute set in a parlor-performance atmosphere. We always “got it” with this band, but now we understand the buzz created by their CMJ set. The new songs from the much-anticipated new release Hospice are intense layered motifs that feature the multiple talents of this superb trio.

Future Antlers shows are now must see events. The two upcoming dates in NYC are as follows:
November 07 at Vanishing Point Brooklyn (show canceled 5 minutes after I posted this!)
November 20 at Knitting Factory NYC

We recorded this set next to a couch about 10 feet from the stage. Since this was essentially a concert in a living room, the “PA” was a set of speakers that amplified the vocals. All other instruments were played through amps. The result is an intimate capture of this special event which was subject only to the limitations of the equipment. Enjoy!

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

The Antlers
2008-11-01
Private Loft Party in Fort Greene
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
Approximately 10 Feet from the band

Neumann KM-150’s > Monster Cable > Apogee Mini-Me > digital coax > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample) > CD Wave 1.75 > Flac Frontend (level 7) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-11-03

Setlist:
[Total time 39:29]
01 Kettering
02 East River
03 Sylvia
04 Bear > 13
05 Two
06 Shiva
07 Cold War

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 their official releases at the Fall Records website [here] and at CD Baby [here].

[photo by Soundbites blog]

It was hard to miss the pre-CMJ buzz about Women. It was even harder on Tuesday afternoon to get inside of the downstairs room at Cake Shop to see their performance at the Pop Tarts CMJ show. I managed to work my way down the left side into the area left of the stage and what I saw left my mouth agape. This was astoundingly authentic neo-psychedelia performed by a quartet of extremely talented musicians. The rhythms were precise, the bass notes sharp and perfectly accented, and the guitar work was neat and intricate. With heavily reverbed vocals added for effect, the entire package of Women is just superb.

After the show, we were fortunate to be able to talk to the band. Not only were they familiar with NYCTaper, but happy to be recorded. The next afternoon at the Terrorbird show apparently the buzz had spread, because it was even harder to get into the Cake Shop downstairs and impossible for us to record. Undaunted, we came back to Cake Shop again on Wednesday night for the Subbacultcha Showcase and captured this set. We recorded from the same location as all of our recent Cake Shop recordings, and we are quite pleased at the excellent quality of this recording. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Women
2008-10-22
Subbacultcha CMJ Showcase
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from the PA

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample 16/44) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-27

Setlist:
[Total time 37:37]
01 Flashlights
02 Group Transport Hall
03 Black Rice
04 Upstairs
05 Shaking Hand
06 Jordan
07 Lawncare
08 Woodbine

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Women, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their debut CD at the Flemish Eye Records (Canada) website [HERE] or the Jagjaguwar Records (US) Website [HERE]

[photo credit]

When we saw the car with the Minnesota license plate drive up to Cake Shop, we knew Best Friends Forever has finally navigated their way through the confusing East Village streets to find their way to the NYCTaper CMJ show on Thursday afternoon. After a quick load-in, the energetic trio performed the opening set of the show and quickly filled the downstairs room. This was our second BFF show in the past 18 hours, as we were lucky to catch their set at the excellent After The Jump CMJ Showcase at the Knitting Factory last night. Each of the two sets contained an entertaining run through their intelligent and energetic quirky pop. As we were so impressed with Jess’ fret work on the bass this past August, at these two shows we were drawn to Bri’s acrobatic guitar and keyboard play — all while she works through the wordy lyrics.

Best Friends Forever also made a very big international fan today as Lisa Horton from Bearsuit was so impressed with their set that she bought the BFF CD and asked me for contact information.

This recording is from the excellent Knit set, and was captured with our compact DPA microphones attached to a pole about 10 feet from the stage. After the band fixed the rough mix in the first two minutes, the recording is quite outstanding. Enjoy!

Many many THANKS to Bri, Jess and Joe, and thanks to Jeff at the Knit show.

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/BestFriendsForever2008-10-22.dpa.nyctaper

Best Friends Forever
2008-10-22
After The Jump CMJ Showcase
Knitting Factory (Tap Bar)
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from the PA

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial >M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0(level adjustments, downsample 16/44) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-23

Setlist:
[Total time 27:27]
01 [introduction]
02 HWF
03
04
05 Eisenhower is the Father
06
07 Handpocket
08
09 Twins in Love

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Best Friends Forever, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases at the Plan-It-X Records Website [HERE].

Oxford Collapse in Seattle [photo credit]

Oxford Collapse closed the outstanding Pop Tarts CMJ Afternoon Party yesterday at Cake Shop with a raging set featuring material from their 2008 release on Sub Pop called BITS. As the trio performed their full bodied guitar-bass-drums power pop with equal parts manic energy and irreverence, the enthusiastic crowd voiced their obvious pleasure. Oxford Collapse performs three more CMJ shows, all evening events:
Oct 22 New York, NY @ Crash Mansion
Oct 23 New York, NY @ Red Bull Space (40 Thompson St.)
Oct 24 New York, NY @ Piano’s w/Death Vessel, Ruby Suns (Sub Pop CMJ Show)

We recorded from our standard upfront position at Cake Shop and the sound quality is outstanding. Thanks to Pat and to the band for their courtesies and permission. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/OxfordCollapse2008-10-21dpa.nyctaper

Oxford Collapse
2008-10-21
Pop Tarts CMJ Day Party
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from the PA

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample 16/44) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-22

Setlist:
[Total time 35:07]
01 Young Love Delivers
02 Back of the Yards
03 For The Winter Coats (Kids)
04 A Wedding
05 Lady Lawyers
06 Grasses of Anne
07 The Birthday Wars
08 Search
09 Please Visit Our National Parks
10 John Blood
[setlist from written list, songs may be out of order]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Oxford Collapse, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase BITS and their other official releases from the Sub Pop Records site [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Dianna]

On Friday night, I got to “pal around” with all-around nice guy John Vanderslice at the opening of the new music club at the downtown 92Y Tribeca. Following an excellent opening set from cutting edge comedian Michael Showalter, John played an enjoyable hour-long solo set that included three new songs from his anticipated March 2009 release. John was equally gregarious in his interactions with the audience and in the performance of his intelligent songs. He is set to finish recording his album and will return to touring when the new release hits in March. We will be there then.

This recording was captured with the gracious permission and assistance of the artist who introduced me to the soundboard tech and permitted a digital patch into the mixing desk. The recording is a professional quality capture of an outstanding artist. Enjoy!

The NYCTaper recording of John Vanderslice at Mercury Lounge in March 2008 is still available [here].

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

John Vanderslice
2008-10-18
92Y Tribeca
New York, NY USA

Digital Soundboard Recording

Soundboard > XLR > Apogee Mini-Me > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level boost, set fades, downsample, dither) > CD Wave (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-21

Setlist:
[Total time 1:00:29]
01 [introduction/banter]
02 Trance Manual
03 White Dove
04 Time To Go
05 [banter]
06 Angela
07 [banter]
08 Numbered Lithograph
09 [banter]
10 Too Much Time [new song]
11 White Plains
12 [banter]
13 Greyhound
14 Letter To The East Coast
15 Romanian Names [new song]
16 [banter]
17 Pale Horse
18 [banter]
19 Dear Sarah Shu
20 [encore break/banter]
21 Keep The Dream Alive
22 The Snow Leopard [new song]
23 [banter]
24 Nikki Oh Nikki

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT John Vanderslice, visit his website, visit his MySpace page, and purchase his official releases from the Barsuk Records site [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Nate — More Excellent Photos from this Show here]

We had such a good time when we saw Love Is All twice in June [recording] and [review], that we decided to repeat the experience in almost identical fashion — an intimate show at a tiny venue combined with a larger affair. When Love Is All opened for Of Montreal at Roseland on Friday last, the crowd was only about half full, but from our balcony view we could see about 20 rows of people pogo-jumping to their infectious proto-punk-pop. The setlist was similar to the June show, but as Love Is All is releasing a new album A Hundred Things Keep Me up at Night in November, a couple of new songs were performed.

Five days later, Love Is All played a secret ToddP show at the tiny Monster Island (pictured above). Similar to their Cake Shop show in June, this was an incredible show as the sweaty band and fans packed together with a celebratory energy and intimacy. We were fortunate to have arrived early to set up and had a nice chat with Marcus (drummer) who was so supportive of our work and our previous recording of the band. NYCTaper even got a Love Is All t-shirt for free! Thanks to Marcus, Love Is All, and ToddP for access and permission.

These two recordings are as different as the experiences. The Roseland recording is a full soundstage capture with rich bass and full instrument presence. It was captured from the same location as the Of Montreal recording, and is marred briefly only by a few bursts of static from the stage microphones early in “Wishing Well” and at a few points afterwards. For the Monster Island recording, we set up in the middle of the crowded room about 20 feet from the main speakers. The result is an intimate up-close feel with perhaps a bit less presence than the Roseland show. We are extremely pleased with both recordings and feel that each accurately represents the unique shows that this excellent band performed. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete shows (ROSELAND HERE) (MONSTER ISLAND HERE).

https://archive.org/details/LoveIsAll2008-10-10.neumanns.nyctaper

https://archive.org/details/LoveIsAll2008-10-15.neumanns.nyctaper

Love Is All
2008-10-10
Roseland Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Balcony Rail
Dead Center

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 16bit 44.1kHz wav files > Soundforge (set fades, slight level adjustments, slight EQ) > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2008-10-18

Setlist:
[Total Time 36:23]
01 [introduction]
02 Wishing Well
03 Give it Back
04 Talk Talk Talk Talk
05 Ageing Had Never Been His Friend
06 Last Choice
07 Seasick
08 Turn The Radio Off
09 Scary Business
10 Busy Doing Nothing
11 I Ran (Flock of Seagulls)
12 Make Out Fall Out Make Up

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

Love Is All
2008-10-15
Monster Island
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Center of the Room
20 Feet From Stage

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 16bit 44.1kHz wav files > Soundforge (set fades, slight level adjustments, slight EQ) > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2008-10-18

Setlist:
[Total Time 32:17]
01 Wishing Well
02 Give it Back
03 Talk Talk Talk Talk
04 Ageing Had Never Been His Friend
05 Last Choice
06 Seasick
07 New Beginnings
08 Busy Doing Nothing
09 I Ran (Flock of Seagulls)
10 Make Out Fall Out Make Up

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Love Is All, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and pre-order their album A Hundred Things Keep Me up at Night [HERE].

The most rewarding aspect of operating this blog is watching the growth and success of the bands that we have profiled. In May, when The Loom impressed the heck out of us at the NYCTaper Anniversary concert, we believed it was only a matter of time before they hit. And like clockwork, this year The Loom have gathered an impressive list of credentials — a Jezebel profile, a performance at the Montreal Pop Festival, their first tour, a RCRD-LBL profile, a Hooves On The Turf profile, a full week of CMJ Shows, and of course the release of their terrific new EP At Last Light. So when The Loom accepted our invitation to appear at our CMJ show (in 5 days!) we were thrilled. The Loom will appear at the NYCTaper CMJ Showcase on Thursday October 23 at Cake Shop at 3:30pm (schedule change).

In the meantime, we had a chance to attend and capture The Loom‘s performance at Glasslands Gallery last week. As we had not seen the band since late May, we were pleasantly surprised by the seamless transition of two new members, the band’s obvious growth in their live sound, and the appearance of two new strong numbers. This capture is the same as the Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson recording, and while heavily mixed with vocals, is nevertheless a clear recording of this excellent band. Enjoy!

The Loom CMJ Schedule:
Oct 22 2008 8:00 CMJ – The Bell House
Oct 23 2008 3:30 CMJ – Cake Shop – NYCTaper Showcase
Oct 24 2008 8:00 CMJ – Original Sessions Art House

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/TheLoom2008-10-08.matrix.nyctaper

The Loom
2008-10-08
Glasslands Gallery
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard/Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Front of Board Neumann KM-150s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (set fades, downsample) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-10-18

Setlist:
[total time 40:10]
01 All Your Famous Friends
02 New Blood for Old Hearts
03 Of Vegas and Vanity
04 [banter]
05 Patience for Books
06 Wings
07 Montreal
08 Song for the Winter Sun
09 Red Devil
10 Song of Faint Praise

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 EP At Last Light from The Loom Store [HERE] or digitally from their MySpace page.