nyctaper Recordings

[photo credit]

As the old adage says, without the rain, there would be no rainbow. When we canceled our outing to see Mark Knopfler in Central Park on Wednesday, the forecast called for the skies to open and at least an inch of rain to fall. Two tapers with more courage than I did attend the show and report that the rain held off almost exactly for the period of the concert. Knopfler went on a little early (before 8 p.m.), and the skies literally opened five minutes after his performance was over.

While we are extremely disappointed to have missed this show, we are quite fortunate to have a recording to offer our readers — the legendary taper Scott Brown has generously offered to permit nyctaper to host the 16-bit flac files of his superb recording. Odds are that if you have collected the highest quality unofficial live recordings offered in the NYC area in the last 10 years, you have more than one Scott Brown recording in your collection.

Scott’s mobile recording rig contains the same microphones as nyctaper (DPA 402X series) but his recorder is superior, as he captured with the pro-quality Sound Devices 722 digital recorder. He recorded Knopfler from the prime location and the quality of this recording is absolutely phenomenal. Enjoy!

There will be NO MP3 files for this Recording. Grab the FLACS!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Mark Knopfler
7/23/2008
Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
New York, NY

Recorded by: Scott Brown
Source: DPA (B&K) 4023s (in hat) > Sound Devices 722 @ 24 bit, 96khz
722 > Apple MacBook Pro > Spark Xl 2.8.2 (tracking, normalize, resample to 44.1khz) > Sample Manager 3.1.2 (dither to 16 bit using MBIT+) > xACT 1.65 > flac
Location: about 20-30 feet from stage, dead center

Disc 1

01 Intro 00:42.11
02 Cannibals 05:16.52
03 Why Aye Man 06:47.71
04 What It Is 05:16.00
05 Sailing To Philadelphia 06:57.19
06 True Love Will Never Fade 05:06.73
07 Fish and The Bird 04:24.14
08 Hill Farmer’s Blues 05:02.43
09 Romeo and Juliet 08:49.37
10 Sultans Of Swing 08:52.74
11 Song For Sonny Liston 07:08.01

Disc 1 Total: 64:24.20

Disc 2

01 Band Introductions 04:25.18
02 Marbletown 10:12.05
03 Speedway At Nazareth 06:47.29
04 Telegraph Road 16:00.61
Encore:
05 Brothers In Arms 07:14.19
06 So Far Way 04:57.55
07 Going Home 05:27.67

Disc 2 Total: 55:05.29

notes:
-Mark went on a few minutes before 8PM, and I missed the first minute of Cannibals. I spliced in Dan Molda’s Audio Technica U853-C > Nady CBM-40T > Denecke PS-2 > Edirol R-09HR (24/96) source for the Intro track and the first minute or so of Cannibals.
-This is a 16 bit, 44.1khz recording for CD. The original 24 bit, 96khz recording exists in flac format.

compiled by scott brown on 7/27/2008

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Mark Knopfler, visit his website, and purchase his official releases from the Mark Knopfler Store at his website.

The Dream Syndicate

“Welcome to 1983!” was Steve Wynn‘s facetious introduction last night before he and his current band The Miracle 3 performed the entire classic album The Days of Wine and Roses from Steve’s previous band The Dream Syndicate. Ultimately, the return to 1983 was not entirely accurate. The twenty-five years have given Wynn the maturity and perspective to perform the album — the title of which refers to the fleeting nature of time — with a sense of purpose and direction. Technically the performance was top notch, with all instruments tight and focused at the proper moments and loose and relaxed when the band opened up to flesh out the songs. Of particular note was the jam in “Halloween” that reached an energetic crescendo, and the closing title track where Steve brought the band down to silence before ending the song with a fury. We anticipated that this performance would be special, but Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 exceeded all of our expectations.

We recorded with the matrix mix we have used for each of our recordings at Maxwell’s this year. The Neumann microphones were mounted at the front of the soundboard booth and raised to eight feet, and were mixed with a feed from the board. The results are absolutely outstanding. We are extremely pleased to have captured this historical performance with a special recording. Enjoy!

Many thanks to Steve Wynn for permission to record this performance and for his invitation to the soundcheck. The quality of this recording is a tribute to this artist.

This recording is available for download as FLAC or MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].

Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3
2008-07-25
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ 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, slight level boost, downsample, dither) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2008-07-26

Setlist:
[Total Time 55:28]
The Days of Wine and Roses
01 [introduction]
02 Tell Me When Its Over
03 Definitely Clean
04 That’s What You Always Say
05 Then She Remembers
06 Halloween
07 When You Smile
08 Until Lately
09 Too Little, Too Late
10 The Days of Wine and Roses
11 [encore break]
12 Season of the Witch (Donovan)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Steve Wynn, visit his website, visit his MySpace page, and purchase his official releases from the Steve Wynn Store at his website.

Read more »

[photo by Matt, links to full resolution photos below]
[photo 1] [photo 2] [photo 3] [photo 4] [photo 5] [photo 6] [photo 7]

When we posted yesterday about the Dirty on Purpose gig at the McCarren Pool Afterparty, the day time pool bands were TBA for August 10. We did not realize that just a few hours later the bands would be confirmed for that date. Felice Brothers are the headliners, and our old friends Deer Tick are also on the bill.

We figure this is good time to offer a download of Deer Tick‘s (John solo) performance from the Bowery opening for Jaymay in June. This recording was captured by Matt from brooklynvibes, and he reports that John was very well received by the crowd who also included Jaymay in the audience for this set. To bring this post full circle, Jaymay also supported her friends in Dirty on Purpose with a guest vocal on “Like Bees” earlier this year.

Matt recorded this with his high end AKG microphones and the sound is spectacular. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

John McCauley of Deer Tick (Solo)
New York, NY
Bowery Ballroom
June 10, 2008

Taper: Matt Casey
Source: AKG 414’s> Sound Devices 702
Conversion: Matt Casey
Source: CF> USB> Wavelab (normalizing)> CDWAV (tracking) >FLAC

Setlist:
01 [introduction]
02 Straight Into A Storm > Spend The Night
03 Live Fast Love Hard Die Young (Faron Young)
04 Art Isn’t Real
05 Mexican Home (John Prine)
06 Baltimore Blues No. 1
07 The Ghost
08 Dirty Dishes
09 Little White Lies
10 Ashamed
11 Poor Poor Pitiful Me (Warren Zevon)
12 These Old Shoes

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Deer Tick, visit their website, visit their myspace page, and purchase the War Elephant release from Itunes, or emusic, or order it directly from Feow Records when its back in stock.

[photo credit]

Twelve hours after Bell opened the After The Jump Fest with a noon performance at Galapagos, Health tolled the midnight bell as the last band to perform at the Festival. Health’s percussive experimental noise rock ignited the exhausted crowd and closed the long day with an appropriate bang.

We recorded this set from inside the soundboard booth with our DPA microphones mounted to the soundproofed wall above the booth. The sound in this venue is always outstanding and this recording reflects that quality. Enjoy!

After The Jump is a charitable organization of NYC music bloggers who donate all proceeds of their events to the advancement of music in NYC schools. nyctaper requests that if you download this recording, that you support this cause. Selected tracks from the recordings to be featured on this site from the ATJ Festival will be produced into a compilation, with all proceeds being donated to the music programs in NYC schools. When the compilation becomes available, all nyctaper readers who downloaded ATJ sets will be expected to purchase the release.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Health
2008-06-21
After the Jump Festival
Music Hall of Williamsburg
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Inside Soundboard Booth

DPA 4021s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, set fades) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-07-20

Setlist:
[Total time 31:11]
01 Zoothorns
02 Crimewave
03 Heaven
04 Tabloid Sores
05 Party Zone
06 Death+
07 Triceratops
08 Perfect Skin
09 Girl Attorney
10 Courtship

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.

[photo courtesy of Dese’Rae L. Stage] [more of Dese’Rae’s excellent photos here]

If there’s anything predictable about The Fiery Furnaces, its their unpredictability. The touring band continues to morph and the arrangements of the songs continue to evolve. We knew this would be another interesting Furnaces show when the nearly eight-minute opening “Navy Nurse” began with two minutes of Eleanor’s new improv lyrics, followed by a brief Mozart interlude from Annabelle, before proceeding to the song proper.

Annabelle’s multitude of melodic percussion added a nice touch to the band’s sound, perhaps a bit more appropriate than the strong presence of Kyle Hollingsworth’s brief time with the Furnaces. The other band changes were the return of Michael Goodman on percussion and Jason Loewentein‘s absence (he’s literally on summer vacation). Additionally, Matt played guitar on about half the songs — the first time he’s played guitar live in several years.

The renovated East River Park Bandshell had a great atmosphere, with an LES vibe mixed with the river surroundings. The acoustics of the shell were quite good and the amphitheatre seating offered a fine view for all in attendance. We recorded from the front rail next to the soundboard and captured an excellent recording, compromised only by the hum of the generator during quiet moments. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Fiery Furnaces
2008-07-17
East River Park Bandshell
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Dead Center
Front of Board — Front Railing at 50 Feet

Neumann KM-150s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR cables > Edirol UA-5 (Oade digimod) > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level boost, resample 16/44) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-07-19

Setlist:
[total time 1:25:27]
01 Navy Nurse
02 Up in the North
03 Duplexes of the Dead
04 Automatic Husband
05 Ex-Guru
06 Single Again
07 I’m In No Mood to Comb My Hair
08 Evergreen
09 Japanese Slippers
10 I’m Waiting To Know You
11 Chris Michaels
12 Straight Street
13 Slavin’ Away
14 Philadelphia Grand Jury
15 Tropical Ice-land
16 Pricked in the Heart
17 Blueberry Boat
18 In My Little Thatched Hut
19 [encore break]
20 Benton Harbor Blues

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Fiery Furnaces, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from The Fiery Furnaces Store.

[photo credit]

Olga Bell opened the After the Jump Fest in very appropriate fashion — starting a few minutes late because she was welcoming fans and friends with the donuts she brought to the show. Shortly thereafter, the sugar buzz was replaced by the buzz of a performer whose unique and entrancing songs captivated the daytime crowd. Bell’s self-released EP has received positive reviews in all the right places, including Spin Magazine, on the cover of Tripwire, and our friends at the Ear Farm blog — with more attention certain to follow.

This recording is from the Galapagos main stage matrix rig. The quality is superb. Enjoy!

After The Jump is a charitable organization of NYC music bloggers who donate all proceeds of their events to the advancement of music in NYC schools. nyctaper requests that if you download this recording, that you support this cause. Selected tracks from the recordings to be featured on this site from the ATJ Festival will be produced into a compilation, with all proceeds being donated to the music programs in NYC schools. When the compilation becomes available, all nyctaper readers who downloaded ATJ sets will be expected to purchase the release.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Bell
2008-06-21
Galapagos Main Stage
After The Jump Festival
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 > 16bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge (set fades, level adjustments) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-07-17

Setlist:
[total time 30:38]
01 Hero
02 Miner
03 Brown Bear
04 House Fire
05 Echinacea
06 Suerte Loca

Olga Bell performs again at Joe’s Pub on Friday July 25th.

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Olga Bell, visit her MySpace page, and purchase her EP directly from her website.

[photo by Bob Sanderson]

Pela‘s set at After the Jump Fest in June was inspirational for all the right reasons — perseverance, tenacity and positive energy — in a year when the band was in the news for all the wrong reasons. In March, vocalist/guitarist Billy McCarthy had a terrible accident at a show in Chicago that left him without use of his left hand and which required surgery. The medical bills were so overwhelming that a fund was set up to help out Billy.

On the main street stage in Williamsburg redemption was at hand. Pela performed the longest set of the Festival based primarily on songs from their excellent 2007 release Anytown Graffiti. After a rousing “Cavalry”, the standard set closer and the song during which he was injured in Chicago, Billy thanked the fans for their generous support and well-wishes. It was a moment of poignant sincerity that spoke well for the grassroots appeal of this superb band.

We recorded from in front of the soundboard booth at the outdoor stage. The location and sound were quite good, except for some wind noise, crowd noise and the humming sound of a generator behind the stage. Overall this is an excellent capture under the circumstances, and we’re happy with the results. Enjoy!

After The Jump is a charitable organization of NYC music bloggers who donate all proceeds of their events to the advancement of music in NYC schools. nyctaper requests that if you download this recording, that you support this cause. Selected tracks from the recordings to be featured on this site from the ATJ Festival will be produced into a compilation, with all proceeds being donated to the music programs in NYC schools. When the compilation becomes available, all nyctaper readers who downloaded ATJ sets will be expected to purchase the release.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Pela
2008-06-21
After the Jump Festival
Main Stage (on N. 6th Street)
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from in Front of Soundboard Booth

Neumann KM-150s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR cables > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 16bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level adjustments) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-07-16

Setlist:
[Total time 1:03:52]
01 [soundcheck]
02 Waiting On The Stairs
03 Lost To The Lonesome
04 Drop Me Off
05 The Trouble With River Cities
06 Song Writes Itself
07 California’s Son
08 Your Desert’s Not a Desert at All
09 Philadelphia
10
11
12 Tenement Teeth
13 Cavalry
14 [banter]
15 Juarez

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Pela, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from links at their website and MySpace page.

[photo credit]

After Ponytail‘s excellent set at Mercury Lounge on Sunday night, we experienced a first for nyctaper — our own personal handwritten setlist. We spoke at length with guitarist Ken Seeno, who was so refreshingly enthusiastic about our recordings and our support of the band that he grabbed a cocktail napkin and a pen and wrote out a setlist (see below) and left us with huge smile. This is the kind of positive energy that emanates from the stage when Ponytail unleashes its sonic overdrive and all four instruments coalesce as one, as Sunday night’s set was thirty-four minutes of pure musical exuberance.

We recorded from our standard location in this venue, at the right and slightly in front of the soundboard booth. The sound quality in the venue was outstanding as the Mercury board was manned by an experienced pro technician. We raised the pole to maximum length and avoided all crowd noise with a direct line to the speakers. We are extremely pleased with the quality of this recording. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Ponytail
2008-07-13
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Board

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
2008-07-15

Setlist:
[Total time 33:41]
01 Sky Drool
02 Small Wevs
03 G Shock
04 Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From an Angel)
05 Music Tunes
06 7 Souls
07 Beg Waves

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Ponytail, visit their myspace page, and purchase their official releases [HERE] and [HERE].