nyctaper Recordings

[photo courtesy of Jonny Leather]

We have not seen Awesome Color since their CD release concert in May at Glasslands. The most striking change in the band is the relaxed confidence that they have acquired after four months of touring around the world. Derek’s guitar work at the East Village Radio Fest was outstanding, and the rhythm section was tight and strong. The only drawback of this excellent set was its brevity — a festival-sized chunk of brilliance. Two new songs were featured, and the second one (Track 03) is one of the most powerful songs we have heard Awesome Color perform.

This Music Festival was a celebration of the five year anniversary of East Village Radio, the most diverse and comprehensive radio station on the web. The Festival was perhaps the most organized event we have attended this year, and all aspects were outstanding — from the venue sound, to the availability of information, to the pinpoint scheduling. Kudos to EVR!

We recorded from the front inside the soundboard area. The sound of this set is quite excellent, as the weather was clear and only slightly windy. Enjoy!

Vivian Girls, High Places and John Oliver were also recorded and will be featured on nyctaper in the coming days.

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/AwesomeColor2008-09-07.fob.neumanns.nyctaper

Awesome Color
2008-09-07
East Village Radio Festival
South Street Seaport
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Inside Front of Soundboard Tent
Approximately 50 Feet from Stage

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
2008-09-07

Setlist:
[Total time 20:05]
01 Eyes of Light
02 [new song]
03 [new song]
04 Flyin’
05 Already Down

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Awesome Color, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their latest CD release Electric Aborigines directly from the Ecstatic Peace website.

The story of Starling Electric is one of those tales about how the music industry is supposed to work. An excellent band from a small midwest city produces their own CD and releases it by themselves in 2006. The CD somehow finds its way into the player of an open-minded musical heavyweight (Bob Pollard of Guided By Voices), who spreads the word about the band. A year later, the same band finds themselves signed to a legendary indie label. Bar/None released Clouded Staircase in August and Starling Electric came to NYC for the CD release party at Mercury Lounge on August 19.

The set at Mercury featured eight of the eighteen tracks on Clouded Staircase and four new numbers. The strength of the new songs bodes well for an anticipated new release in 2009.

We recorded this set from the same location as the Hotel Lights and Shannon McArdle recordings from the same night and other than some minor fan-created draft the sound is superb. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/StarlingElectric2008-08-19.fob.neumanns.nyctaper

Starling Electric
2008-08-19
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, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-09-07

Setlist:
[Total time 41:44]
01 The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
02 Lisa and The Devil
03 Clouded Staircase (Part II)
04 Prince of the Puff of Smoke
05 British Boots
06 Black Ghost/Black Girl
07 I Got Scared
08 Black-Collar Crime
09 To Flunker, With Love
10 Bad Blood
11 Camp-Fire
12 Operator

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Starling Electric, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase the new CD Clouded Staircase directly from the Bar/None site [HERE].

[photo credit]

Carla Bozulich has always been well ahead of her time. A decade ago, she led the Geraldine Fibbers, the unique noisy alt-country/goth band that also featured Nels Cline, and a band whose music still sounds fresh today. With Evangelista, Carla has taken her talents to the next level, with songs that touch on free-form jazz, beat poetry, hardcore and experimental. At Bowery Ballroom last Thursday, her band consisted of Ches Smith on various keyboards and effects, a cellist, violinist, bass, drums, trumpet and “screams”. The all-too-brief 40-minute set featured just two songs from the new Evangelista CD Hello, Voyager and three numbers from Carla’s Evangelista CD. The highlight was the 13-minute version of “Hello, Voyager!” where Carla let loose and even jumped into the crowd for several minutes.

We recorded from the exact location as the Xiu Xiu recording and the sound quality is nearly identical. However, the variances in stage volume are striking at times. We avoided any peak level distortion and did not damage the natural dynamics of the performance with normalization. Enjoy!

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

Evangelista
2008-08-28
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB
Dead Center 30 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
2008-09-03

Setlist:
[Total Time 42:32]
01 Evangelista I
02 [band introductions]
03 Smooth Jazz
04 Pissing
05 Prince Of The World
06 Hello, Voyager!

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Evangelista, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases, including the latest CD Hello, Voyager at the Constellation Records website [HERE].

Shannon McArdle has released one of the best out-of-nowhere CDs of the entire year — The Summer of the Whore on Bar/None — and a couple of weeks ago we were at the Mercury Lounge CD Release party to witness the live version of the album. Shannon took the stage to the beating drum of “Poison My Cup”, and worked through the post-divorce work with a variety of emotions, from humor to timidity to pride and ultimately redemption. She wrapped up the terrific set with a cover version of the appropriately sardonic “Naughty Fatalist” from her former Athens Georgia “neighbor” Vic Chesnutt.

We recorded this set from the same location as the Hotel Lights set, and other than some chatter and some slight wind from the fans, its an excellent capture. Enjoy!

There is a fine interview with Shannon McArdle from last week’s Village Voice [here].

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/ShannonMcArdle2008-08-19.fob.neumanns.nyctaper

Shannon McArdle
2008-08-19
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
2008-08-27

Setlist:
[Total time 41:08]
01 Poison My Cup
02 That Night in June
03 Paint the Walls
04 Leave Me For Dead
05 Summer of the Whore
06 He Was Gone
07 This Longing
08 Come, Autumn Breeze
09 C.A. DRL §170
10 Naughty Fatalist (Vic Chesnutt)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Shannon McArdle, visit her website, visit her MySpace page, and purchase the new CD Summer of the Whore directly from the Bar/None site [HERE].

[photo credit]

Xiu Xiu performed a tight fifty-five minute set to a nearly completely reverent crowd at Bowery Ballroom on Thursday night. On tour in support of their latest CD Women as Lovers, Xiu Xiu is anchored by the frenetic and captivating stage presence of leader Jamie Stewart but musically propelled as a trio by the superb percussion work of Ches Smith. Although the set was a nice mix of old and newer material, the brevity of the set and lack of encore left a sense of incompleteness to an otherwise excellent performance.

We recorded from the perfect location in this venue with our best mobile rig and the results are outstanding. Enjoy!

Evangelista was also recorded and will be posted next week.

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

Xiu Xiu
2008-08-28
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB
Dead Center 30 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
2008-08-29

Setlist:
[Total Time 53:32]
01 [introduction]
02 Nieces Pieces
03 20,000 Deaths For Eidelyn Gonzales, 200,000 Deaths For Jamie Peterson
04 The Leash
05 Pox
06 Hello From Eau Claire
07 Sad Pony Guerrilla Girl
08 No Friend Oh
09 Don Diasco
10 F.T.W.
11 Bunny Gamer
12 Fabulous Muscles
13 Boy Soprano
14 Bog People

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Xiu Xiu, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases, including the latest CD Women as Lovers at the Xiu Xiu Store at their Website [HERE].

Darren Jessee has found his own voice — and it is melodic, melancholy, poignant and ultimately hopeful. Eight years after the premature demise of one of the 1990’s greatest alt-pop bands, it has become abundantly clear which member of Ben Folds Five was responsible for the serious and profound songs (i.e. “Brick”), and the intricate vocal harmonies. With Hotel Lights brand new CD Firecracker People, former BFF drummer/songwriter/vocalist Darren Jessee has produced an album of rich melodies, sweet harmonies, and lyrics that speak of the difficulties in finding your own voice. When Jessee sings in “Your Choice” of having “spent years keeping part of yourself down”, its as if Firecracker People is both his coming out party and his long-awaited triumph.

On Tuesday night, Hotel Lights celebrated the release of Firecracker People with a set at Mercury Lounge. The live version of the band is tight and faithful to the recorded songs, and Darren is clearly the focus. He conducts himself with modesty and humor on stage, but when the music begins the songs are voiced with precision and confidence. We expect to see much more of Hotel Lights in the future and expect that the new CD will see many spins in our deck.

This concert was recorded from our standard location at the Mercury Lounge, slightly in front of the board and to the right. This is a recording of fine clarity and the cardioid microphones and the height of the microphone pole avoided much of the moderate chatter in the back of the room. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/HotelLights2008-08-19.fob.neumanns.nyctaper

Hotel Lights
2008-08-19
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

Many thanks to Darren for permission to record and Bar/None for the invite.

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-08-23

Setlist:
[Total time 43:54]
01 [introduction]
02 Blue Always Finds Me
03 Dream State Flying
04 Down
05 Chemical Clouds
06 Flicker in My Eye
07 Amelia Bright
08 Firecracker People
09 Nobody Let You Down
10 Marvelous Truth
11 Norina

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Hotel Lights, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their new CD Firecracker People at the Bar/None Records Website [HERE].

[photo credit]

We generally trust ToddP’s recommendations with bands. So when he sent out a glowing email about the Minneapolis band Best Friends Forever and their first two NYC concerts tonight and tomorrow, we made our best effort to catch this band, despite our previous engagement. We arrived at The Tank several songs into their set, and set up as quickly as possible. We managed to catch the final 20 minutes of the Best Friends Forever set, which was about two-thirds of its total length.

What became quite apparent when we took time to watch the band was that besides the obvious infectious pop songs, Best Friends Forever are also quite excellent musicians. Bri sings and plays both keys and guitar fluently while Joe keeps a frenetic beat. We were particularly impressed with Jess’s fret work on the bass, which is displayed quite prominently on the last track.

We recorded from the rear area of the room, which was only about 30 feet from the stage. The sound quality in this room was quite good and the recording is a very nice capture of this excellent band. Enjoy!

Best Friends Forever perform again tonight (8/20) at Death By Audio — catch them before they go back home!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Partial Recording in FLAC [HERE].

Best Friends Forever
2008-08-19 The Tank
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from 30 Feet

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR Cables Apogee Minime >digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, leveladjustments, dither, downsample) > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2008-08-19

Setlist:
[total time 17:24]
Partial Set
06 Tracks

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].

[photo by Scott Bernstein – the taper not the Hidden Track guy]

Its hard to believe that this moe. show was two months ago. It was nearly a perfect day in all respects. We got to the Ferry at 6 p.m. and took the nice short ride across the harbor after meeting some friends on the boat. Governor’s Island is an untouched classic old military base, and it is perfectly manicured. After a short walk to the concert site, we set up in front of the soundboard and checked in with our old taper friends. What followed was an excellent moe. concert which we experienced as a nice relaxing show on the grass. After over 3 hours of music, the only drawback was the wait for the ferry until after 11:30 p.m.

Our recording is one of the best we’ve ever captured. In the ideal location with our best rig, we were treated to a perfectly mixed concert by moe.’s superb sound crew. Enjoy!

Download and stream from the Live Music Archive Here

https://archive.org/details/moe2008-06-15.FOB_NeumannKM150

More about FLAC

moe.
2008-06-15
Governors Island
New York, NY USA

FOB 16-bit Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Dead Center
Front of Board at Exactly 45 Feet from Stage

Neumann KM-150s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR cables > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level boost, downsample, dither) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
nyctaper@nyctaper.com
2008-08-11

Set 1
[total time 1:00:44]
01 [introduction]
02 Tailspin
03 Darkness
04 Bring You Down
05 Tambourine
06 Rise
07 Happy Hour Hero

Set 2
[total time 1:54:35]
01 [introduction]
02 Head
03 Time Ed
04 Head
05 Four
06 Spaz Medicine
07 Brent Black
08 She
09 Brent Black
10 [encore break/announcements]
11 I Wanna Be Sedated

Information (txt file)
Verification (md5 file)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT moe. and buy their official releases at their website. The new moe. album Sticks and Stones can be purchased directly from the moe. store here.