nyctaper Recordings

[photo credit]

Twenty years seems to be the magic number. Last night at Maxwell’s, The Feelies became the latest in a long of line of bands to stretch out over two decades and reclaim old magic. The band was tight as always, and performed two sets of nearly two hours of flawless music which included 5 encores. We last saw the Feelies at the old Ritz in 1988 when interestingly Big Dipper was the opener. In the last year, we have experienced Dinosaur Jr., Mission of Burma, Was Not Was, and of course Big Dipper turn back the hands of time, but for The Feelies this show had the added dimension of taking place at their old regular stomping grounds — the equally legendary Maxwell’s.

The crowd (which included such local luminaries at Yo La Tengo‘s Ira Kaplan) were almost reverential. Between each number, after the audience cheered there was an eerie silence as The Feelies tuned for their next number. When a rowdy patron near the bar was chatting too loud he was actually shushed by members of the audience. In the end, the church of the Feelies would not be denied after three encores, and called the band back for a second two-song encore.

The setlist was quite comprehensive as the band worked through much of their recorded material and sprinkled in some standard covers (two Velvet Underground staples) along with one interesting Neil Young number (“Barstool Blues”).

We arrived during the first song, so that we were not able to set up and record the first set. In between sets we assumed our usual location in this venue and recorded a matrix with the Neumanns and a soundboard feed of the entire second half and encores. The sound quality in the venue was absolutely superb and The Feelies crew did an outstanding job. We were fortunate to capture that quality. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete 2nd Set recording [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/TheFeelies2008-07-01.set2.matrix.nyctaper

Feelies
2008-07-01
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
2008-07-02

Setlist:
[First Set was Not Recorded]
Second Set:
[Total Time 51:21]
01 Dancing Barefoot (Patti Smith)
02 Original Love
03 Deep Fascination
04 Outdoor Miner (Wire)
05 The Final Word
06 Sooner Or Later
07 Too Far Gone
08 Time is Right
09 Fa Cé-La
10 [encore break]
11 She Said (Beatles)
12 Barstool Blues (Neil Young)
13 We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together (VU)
14 [second encore break]
15 Fun To Be Happy (Love Tractor)
16 What Goes On (VU)

CD Cover Art [HERE] (Thanks Mark!)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Feelies and visit their official MySpace page, and purchase their official releases at various commercial outlets. While all Feelies albums are out of print, and there are no plans to tour beyond this week of shows, they are working on new songs. Purchase their new CD when it is released!

[photo by gregpphoto]

When we last saw this amazing trio, it was at Sullivan Hall and they played all night — or at least until after 2 a.m. Last Tuesday at Le Poisson Rouge, Marco Benevento Trio were under a tighter schedule. There were no 23-minute songs, but what the trio packed into an 80-minute set was tight, focused and aggressive. We were happy to have been wrong when we previewed this show, as Reed Mathis did appear on bass.

This was our first trip to Le Poisson Rouge. The venue is indeed impressive and has implemented an excellent sound system, with PA speakers strategically placed around the venue to create a room with literally no dead spots. We recorded from inside the soundboard booth, which was unfortunately not a prime location as it sat elevated in the back of the room. The result is a boomy recording, which does not accurately reflect the excellent sound in the room that night. When we next visit this excellent venue, the microphones will be more strategically placed.

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

Marco Benevento Trio
2008-06-24
Le Poisson Rouge
New York NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Inside Soundboard Booth
Rear of Venue

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level boost, resample 16/44) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Band:
Marco Benevento: piano, keyboards, effects
Reed Mathis: bass guitar
Andrew Barr: drums

Recorded and Produced
nyctaper
2008-06-30

Setlist
[total time 1:16:57]
01 [introduction]
02 Atari
03 Bus Ride
04 Record Book
05 Twin Killers (Deerhoof)
06 Are You The Favorite Person Of Anybody
07 You Must Be A Lion
08 The Real Morning Party
09 Golden (MMJ)
10 Fearless (Pink Floyd)
11 Kissing The Lipless (The Shins)
12

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Marco Benevento and visit his website, where you can purchase his new CD Invisible Baby and purchase all of his official releases (here).

On June 16, at the appropriately named Grand Ballroom, a room full of awed people witnessed an absolutely amazing display of musicianship, spectacle and performance. Sigur Ros were joined by their friends Amiina and an Icelandic horn section, and for two full hours presented a flawless rendition of their material. This was not just a concert, it was an event, and from the very first notes the energy in the room was electric. In the last two weeks, the glowing reviews have accumulated with nary a negative word — truly an accomplishment in these days of opinion overload.

We sat in the 5th row for this concert, close enough to see all the stage interactions, but far enough back to feel the depth of the outstanding sound quality at this concert. We did not record, but rather relied on our correspondent “oneforthegooddays” to capture this event. By happenstance, he sat about 10 seats to our left.

This recording was made with a modest Sony stereo microphone and the rockbox upgraded i-River and is true to the sound in the venue — this is a flawless superb capture. Thank you oneforthegooddays!

This download is going to be available simultaneously on nyctaper and oneforthegooddays site [HERE], and in celebration of this amazing event, we will return to direct flac download and also offer direct mp3 download for this recording!

Download and stream the complete Concert [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/SigurRos2008-06-16.ecm.nyctaper

Sigur Ros
2008-06-16
Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB
Row E, Seat 3

Sony ECM DS70P > i-River (Rockbox) > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge (set fades, slight level adjustment) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded by oneforthegooddays
Produced by nyctaper
2008-06-28

Setlist
[total time 1:36:19]
01 Svefn-g-Englar
02 Glósóli
03 Sé Lest
04 Ny Batteri
05 Við Spilum Endalaust
06 Hoppipola/Með Blóðnasir
07 Heysatan
08 Viõrar Vel Til Loftárasa
09 Sæglópur
10 Olsen Olsen
11 Hafsol
12 Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur
13 Gobbledigook
Encore:Popplagið (not recorded)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Sigur Rós, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their new CD Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust directly from their website.

[photo credit]

Last night at McCarren Pool, Devo performed every song a fan could want to hear — except “Beautiful World” which was to be the third encore when the curfew ended the show. In the preceding 65 minutes, Devo played a tight set of their classic material and given the technological expertise of the band, it was not surprising that the sound quality in the venue was superb. This was perhaps the best that the Pool has ever sounded.

We recorded from the “sweet spot” with our best mobile unit. Under the perfect circumstances, the result is one of the best captures we’ve ever recorded. Enjoy!

Tom Tom Club was also recorded and will be posted in the near future.

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/Devo2008-06-26.fob.dpa.nyctaper

Devo
2008-06-26
McCarren Park Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from FOB Dead Center
50 Feet from Stage

DPA 4021s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge (level adjustments, slight EQ, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries)> flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2008-06-27

Setlist
[total time 1:04:34]
01 [introduction]
02 That’s Good
03 Going Under
04 Girl U Want
05 Whip It
06 Secret Agent Man
07 Satisfaction
08 Uncontrollable Urge
09 Mongoloid
10 Blockhead
11 Jocko Homo
12 Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA
13 Gates of Steel
14 [encore break- Devo Corporate Anthem]
15 Freedom of Choice
16 Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy
17 [crowd outro]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Devo, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their CDs and Merch directly from the Club Devo Store at their website.

[photo credit]

I would like to write about the live experience of Brilliant Sweaters, but to be honest with all the stages and multiple recording locations at the After the Jump Fest, I actually didn’t witness any of this 23 minute set. However, one of the nice parts of going back to review 12 hours of live material is the discovery of some pretty excellent music — and the Brilliant Sweaters were one of the sets that jumped out at me. They write catchy power-pop tunes and have a wicked sense of humor. We will certainly (actually) see them live this summer! Brilliant Sweaters perform at SEALAB744 tomorrow night (June 27) and also have a midnight gig at Cake Shop on August 15 that we will likely attend.

This recording is a superb capture, as the soundboard feed and Neumann microphone mix was balanced perfectly. The only flaw from this set seems to be a loose guitar cable that created some intermittent pops in the feed. 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.

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/BrilliantSweaters2008-06-21.matrix.nyctaper

Brilliant Sweaters
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
2008-06-26

Setlist:
[total time 23:10]
01 Are You My Mother
02 I Dropped Out of High School
03 Sexy Genius
04 Black Toxic River
05 Pick Up the Phone
06 I Love You But You’re Worthless
07 Uncomfortable Places
08 Any Other Way
09 Mixed Up in the Business of Pleasure
10 Do It Again

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Brilliant Sweaters, visit their myspace page.

[photo courtesy of Bob Sanderson]

As with all the bands that were to appear at the amazing After the Jump Festival on Saturday in Williamsburg, we researched Ponytail listening to their songs and reading some reviews. Absolutely nothing we heard or saw could have prepared us for the live experience. This quartet from Baltimore present a truly original and undefinable approach to modern music.

My best comparison would be the early 80’s version of Pere Ubu — except that the singer is a 22-year old women named Mollie Siegel who looks about fourteen, instead of an obese savant. Each of the three musicians were quite proficient but we were particularly impressed with Dustin Wong who plays a frenetic mix of lead and rhythm guitars along with keyboards and backing vocals.

Ponytail are touring extensively in support of their brand new CD Ice Cream Spiritual. These dates include the July 12 ToddP show at the Yard, July 13 at Mercury Lounge, and July and August dates at the Knitting Factory. Visit their MySpace page for more tour dates and details.

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.

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/Ponytail2008-06-21.dpa.nyctaper

Ponytail
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
2008-06-23

Setlist:
[Total time 33:21]
01 Late For School
02 G Shock
03 7 Souls
04 Music Tunes
05 Music Tunes Part 2
06 Beg Waves
07 Die Allman Bruder
08 Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From an Angel)

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].

[photo credit]

I did not recognize John McCauley standing by the soundboard booth as I set up to record the Deer Tick performance at tonight’s Rooftop Films concert. He has shaved his mustache and looks younger — a reminder that this enormously talented and poised performer with the world-weary voice is merely twenty-four years old. On the roof, Deer Tick performed the standard 30-minute pre-film set. Despite the inattentive movie crowd John managed to pull in quite a few of the restless throng with the opening Faron Young cover, the Deer Tick “MySpace hit” (“Art Isn’t Real”), and a strong “Baltimore Blues” closer.

We recorded from 10 feet in front of the PA and as a result there is no crowd noise or wind on this recording. The basic sound system has some over-modulated vocals, but overall we are extremely happy with this recording. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/DeerTick2008-03-30.fob.nyctaper

Deer Tick
2008-06-20
Rooftop Films Concert Series
New Design High Rooftop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from PA Stacks

Neumann KM-150’s > Monster Cable > Marantz PMD-600 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, set fades) > CD Wave 1.75 > Flac Frontend (level 7) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-06-21

Setlist:
[Total time 30:12]
01 [introduction]
02 Live Fast Love Hard Die Young
03 Ashamed
04 Art Isn’t Real
05 Spend The Night
06 Straight Into A Storm
07 Little White Lies
08 Dirty Dishes
09 Diamond Rings 2007
10 Baltimore Blues No. 1

Deer Tick at Mercury Lounge March 30, 2008 is still available on nyctaper [HERE].

Deer Tick perform again tonight (June 21) at Silent Barn, and again on June 30 at Southpaw.

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 by soundbites blog]

Oh! Custer is one of those rare bands who immediately caught our ear when we first heard them in a promotional email. Their CDs are released in the US through an independent label called Series Two Records. When we learned that Oh! Custer would play the NYC Popfest, we reached out to Series Two and the Popfest and received permission to record the performance.

The duo play a unique lo-fi guitar-oriented Swedish pop with Josef providing melodic electric guitar lines to Esbjörn’s vocals and rhythm guitar, and backed by laptop beats and ambient sounds. As the middle band in a 5-band bill on the opening night of the NYC Popfest, Oh! Custer had the unenviable task of keeping the momentum. With a persistent beat, strong songs and funny/friendly banter, Oh! Custer kept the crowd into the show and earned some new fans.

We recorded from the identical location as the Love Is All recording from later in the evening, but during Oh! Custer we moved the microphones to avoid the draft from the air conditioning duct. There is a some rumble from the air in the first 3 songs, but that is greatly decreased when the mics were moved. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/OhCuster2008-06-12.dpa.nyctaper

Oh! Custer
2008-06-12
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
2008-06-19

Setlist:
[Total time 41:09]
01 Others
02 Keep it Coming
03 Late
04 Secrets
05 So Much Better
06 States
07 October
08 Post
09 Fields of Autumn
10 Spoiler
11 Your Name
12 Be Mine (Robyn cover)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Oh! Custer, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their CDs directly from the Series Two Records site.

[photo credit]

As we reported a couple of weeks ago, on May 31 Antietam played in a library with a special guest and a setlist organized by the Dewey Decimal System. Our intrepid nyctaper correspondent Neil d was there to witness the event and recorded it for the site. As we learned that night, due to thunderstorms the show was moved inside at the last moment, and the bands (Ladybug Transistor opened) performed in the Brooklyn Public Library‘s new auditorium.

The multi-generational and multi-ethnic crowd witnessed the “expanded five-piece Antietam,” with Josh Clark on second guitar and Ira Kaplan on keyboards. Guests also included Mark Howell on trumpet and Ladybug bassist Julia Rydholm on violin. The unique setlist idea featured a sketch pad mounted on the stage that included the name of each song, where to find its topic in the Dewey Decimal System, and a couple of Brooklyn neighborhoods for which each song was dedicated.

Neil recorded from upfront with a stereo Griffin I-Talk microphone into an I-Pod at lossless 16-bit. The quality of this recording is surprisingly good considering the basic nature of the equipment and the acoustics of a library auditorium not built for post-punk rock music. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/Antietam2008-05-31

Antietam
(with Ira Kaplan)
2008-05-31
Brooklyn Public Library Auditorium
Brooklyn NY USA

Digital Master Recording

Griffin I-Talk Stereo Microphone > I-Pod > 16bit 44.1 kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, level adjustments) > CD Wave (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded by neil d
with permission from Antietam (thanks Tara!)
Produced by nyctaper
2008-06-17

Setlist:
[total time 1:31:30]
01 [introduction]
02 RPM
03 Time Creeps
04 Shipshape
05 Pennants and Flags
06 Turn It On Me
07 Miss Me Bliss
08 Needle and the Eye
09 1-2-1
10 The Moor
11 [instrumental]
12 Hasten
13 I Swear
14 Tranquility Base
15 The Gate Closed
16 New Parade
17 V.O.B.
18 That’s the Way It Is
19
20 You/I
21 Arrowhead Syrup
22

The nyctaper recording of Antietam in April at Southpaw is still available [HERE]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Antietam, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase the new release Opus Mixtum directly from the Carrot Top Records website.

[photo by soundbites blog]

On one of the busiest calendar days in the history of NYC live music, the closing night of the NYC Popfest at Music Hall of Williamsburg was understandably under capacity. Thematically, the attendance fit well with one of the most under-appreciated bands in music today. The Ladybug Transistor has released a series of excellent CDs over a 10 year career and yet their catalog has basically gone under the radar. Gary Olson crafts intelligent pop songs, and the live execution of the material is tight and focused. The band has performed infrequently this year, after an extensive tour in the Fall in support of the superb 2007 release Can’t Wait Another Day on Merge Records. The performance on Saturday night drew heavily from the Can’t Wait release, and the band’s relaxed energy and playfulness served the material well.

We are again indebted to our friends at Merge for the existence of this recording. Arrangements were made through Merge, and ultimately we received friendly emails with permission from Gary. This recording was captured from the prime location in this venue with our best mobile rig and we are very pleased with the results. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Ladybug Transistor
2008-06-14
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, 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
2008-06-16

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:05:53]
01 Lord, Don’t Pass Me By
02 Song For Ending
03 Like A Summer Rain
04 I’m Not Mad Enough
05 Nico Norte
06 Gospel
07 The Reclusive Hero
08 A Burial At Sea
09 NY-San Anton
10 In-Between
11 Terry
12 Three Days From Now
13 Always On The Telephone
14 Rushes Of Pure Spring
15 [encore break]
16 Please Don’t Be Long
17 Different Drummer

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Ladybug Transistor, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their CDs directly from their website or from the store at Merge Records.