nyctaper Recordings

[photo credit]

This week has been an anniversary of sorts for Neil Young and I. It was 30 years ago — Christmas of 1977 — when I became a Neil Young fan for life. I received the three-l.p. vinyl Decade as a gift, and wore holes through the grooves playing it so often. When Neil toured the following year with a batch of new songs that would later become Rust Never Sleeps, I was at the Nassau Coliseum show:

Neil Young has been a constant through those entire 30 years, through my passing fads of fanship in punk, post-punk, anti-folk, jamband, et. al. When Neil suffered a serious aneurysm in 2005, it looked as if the career of rock’s most diverse and yet consistently excellent performer would either be curtailed or come to an end. Fortunately, the post-aneurysm Neil was as productive as ever, producing Prairie Wind, appearing in Jonathan Demme’s Heart of Gold, and producing an new album (Living With War) and a full tour with old friends CSNY (a recording of the Jones Beach CSNY 2006 concert is in the nyctaper archives).

The current tour, which ended its US leg on Wednesday night at the United Palace Theatre, has been a complete triumph in support of another superb Neil release Chrome Dreams II. Neil has performed the standard Acoustic/Electric set split, with the appearance of some rare chestnuts mixed in with consistent classics, and new numbers. Wednesday’s show featured the tour’s star revival “Out on the Weekend” as the first set closer. Other highlights included “Journey Through the Past”, “Winterlong”, “Cowgirl in the Sand”, and completely shredded 26-minute “No Hidden Path” as the second set closer.

Some readers may have followed my efforts to attend one of these concerts, which ultimately came to a happy ending when I found a cancellation ticket on ticketmaster on the morning of the 19th. My seat was in Row N, slightly left of center, about 10 rows behind the Soundboard and under the overhang. This is not an optimal recording position, and the problems were exacerbated by the low volume of the PA during the acoustic set and a couple of clowns in the audience around me. The final disaster was my batteries running out during the last few notes of No Hidden Path. After a significant amount of post-production (removing idiotic yelling is excruciatingly difficult), and the very generous offer of the balance of the concert from an alternate recorder thanks to “zuma11”, nyctaper is finally pleased to present a really excellent version of this concert. Enjoy!

This recording is no longer available at nyctaper. If you look around the web, you’ll likely find a copy.

Neil Young
2007-12-19
United Palace Theatre
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Row N
Left Center, 10 Rows Behind Soundboard

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > Soundforge (set fades, level boosts, close clapping and crowd noise edits, slight eq, crossfade patch material) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Premiere Download offered at
https://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-12-22

Setlist:
Acoustic Set
[total time 1:04:36]
01 From Hank to Hendrix
02 Ambulance Blues
03 Sad Movies
04 A Man Needs a Maid
05 No One Seems To Know
06 Harvest
07 Try
08 Journey Through the Past
09 Mellow My Mind
10 Love Art Blues
11 Cowgirl In the Sand
12 Out On the Weekend

Electric Set
[total time 1:29:01]
01 Mr. Soul
02 Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
03 Dirty Old Man
04 Spirit Road
05 Bad Fog of Loneliness
06 Winterlong
07 Oh, Lonesome Me
08 The Believer
09 No Hidden Path**
Encores
10 [encore break]**
11 Cinnamon Girl**
12 Cortez the Killer**
13 The Sultan**
[**patch material — thanks zuma 11]

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Neil Young and visit his website.

The 1997 and 1998 Fleadh Festivals on Randall’s Island were the greatest live musical experiences of my life. I volunteered to work on the crew for Pierce Turner, and as a result was able to witness a plethora of great music from stage-side, including Patti Smith, Wilco (twice), Van Morrison, X, Shane McGowan, Suzanne Vega, Black ’47, John Prine, Steve Earle, Billy Bragg, Freedy Johnston, and a host of others.

I recorded several of the acts with a small set of core-sound microphones and a portable DAT. Of these recordings, this Richard Thompson is the best sounding and greatest performance. Thompson performed a solo acoustic set of numbers typical from this era, including his classics “Beeswing” and “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” with subtle power and poignancy.

This recording is no longer available at nyctaper. If you look around the web, you’ll likely find a copy.

Richard Thompson
1997-06-15
Fleadh Festival
Randall’s Island
New York, NY USA

Audience Master Recording
Recorded 20 feet in front of left PA speaker

Core Sound Cardiods > Sony D-7 DAT
DAT Master > Panasonic SV-3800 > digital coaxial > Audigy 2 ZS
Platinum > Soundforge > 16 bit 44.1 wav > CD Wave (tracking) >
Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
https://www.nyctaper.com
nyctaper@nyctaper.com
2005-12-12

(Total Time 49:42)
Setlist:
01 Turning of the Tide
02 The Ghost of You Walks
03 I Feel So Good
04 Galway to Graceland
05 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
06 Lottery Land
07 Razor Dance
08 Beeswing
09 Hamlet
10 Wall of Death
11 Dimming of the Day
12 Keep That Wheel A-Turning

Information:
txt file

Verification:
md5 file

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT this outstanding artist and visit his website.

[photo credit]

The Fiery Furnaces performed their 8th and final NYC-area concert of 2007 on Saturday in Williamsburg. This was the 5th time nyctaper has seen and recorded the Furnaces this year — and this performance was the most consistently excellent of all. The band seemed to be having quite a bit of fun, and Eleanor was energetic, confident, and strong of voice. A fine detailed review can be found at the Fluxblog (here).

Fiery Furnaces will be touring in January and February with Super Furry Animals for a handful of dates. There are also as-yet-unofficial local dates in January with the Furnaces as headliners (January 17 at Maxwell’s has been confirmed).

This concert was recorded from the best location in this venue. Quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Fiery Furnaces
2007-12-08
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
2007-12-09

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:19:35]
01 The Philadelphia Grand Jury
02 Navy Nurse
03 My Egyptian Grammar
04 Evergreen
05 Duplexes of the Dead
06 More Automatic Husband
07 Ex-Guru
08 Black-hearted Boy
09 Bitter Tea
10 Right by Conquest
11 The Garfield El
12 A Candymaker’s Knife in My Handbag
13 Forty-Eight Twenty-Three Twenty-Second Street
14 Seven Silver Curses
15 Slavin’ Away
16 Don’t Dance Her Down
17 Single Again/Smelling Cigarettes/Single Again
18 Don’t Dance Her Down
19 Japanese Slippers
20 Widow City
21 Restorative Beer
22 Clear Signal From Cairo
23 [encore break]
24 Tropical Ice-Land
25 Police Sweater Blood Vow
26 Bright Blue Tie
27 Waiting to Know You
28 Blueberry Boat

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Fiery Furnaces and visit their website

[photo credit]

MGMT has been selected to open concerts by two of my favorite bands in the last 2 months. Unfortunately, I missed their set opening for of Montreal at Roseland, but last night experienced this excellent new band at the Music Hall complimenting Fiery Furnaces. MGMT write smart psychedelic pop songs, with obvious older influences (Syd Barrett, Bowie), and some interesting contemporary comparisons (Flaming Lips, of Montreal). Their 45-minute set was well received by a sold-out crowd, and featured exclusively tracks from an upcoming release.

The MGMT debut album Oracular Spectacular is due for release on CD on January 22, 2008. Its currently available for purchase at I-Tunes. Fortunately, hard copies of the CD were available at the merch table last night (for only six dollars!). My Old Kentucky Blog had a nice feature on MGMT a couple of weeks ago (here), where you can also sample a few of the tracks from the album.

This concert was recorded from the ideal location, and the sound quality is excellent.
Fiery Furnaces were also recorded and will be posted soon.

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE] or [HERE].

MGMT
2007-12-08
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
2007-12-09

Setlist:
[Total Time 42:15]
01 The Handshake
02 Time to Pretend
03 Weekend Wars
04 Future Reflections
05 4th Dimensional Transition
06 Pieces of What
07 Electric Feel
08 Of Moons, Birds and Monsters
09 The Youth

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT MGMT and visit their MySpace page.

[photo credit]

Yo La Tengo‘s annual 8 Nights of Hanukkah concert series at Maxwell’s has been a joyous success once again this year. Thursday night was the third show, and featured an opening set by the legendary original dBs. But not to be outdone by their early-career mentors, Yo La Tengo performed an absolutely stunning set — Ira in particular was in rare form, shredding nearly every number with precision and intensity. The unique setlist contained a diverse spectrum of cover songs, which included an rare Dylan treat, Sun Ra, and Neil Diamond. The guests included three of the dBs, and also Jim James from My Morning Jacket.

All of these 8 shows are benefits for a particular charity each night. Thursday night was a benefit for Day One, an organization dedicated to the prevention of domestic violence among youth. If you download this recording, please donate (click here to donate) to this important program.

Once again we left Maxwell’s with the firm belief that this is perhaps the most fan-friendly venue in the entire Metropolitan area. The sound quality in the venue was superb, aided in large part by the talents of YLT’s soundboard technician. The concert experience was not impeded by aggressive security, venue politics, or seen-and-be-seen concert-goers. Of the 70 concerts that nyctaper has attended in 2007, this was the best time we’ve had.

The recording experience was also a pleasure. There were two tapers this night, and both of us were treated royally by the sound techs. I was able to attach my DPA microphones to a stand located inside of the soundboard booth, in the ideal location in this venue. The results are quite excellent. Enjoy!

Many thanks to many people: YLT, Maxwell’s, YLT’s sound crew, Chris, Neil, and Bob for the drinks and kind words about the site.

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Yo La Tengo
2007-12-06
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ USA

Digital Audience Master Recording
Recorded from Inside the Soundboard Booth
Dead Center, approximately 30 feet from the PA

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > Soundforge (set fades, level adjustment, edit close clapping, slight EQ) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-12-07

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:44:27]
01 Nuclear War
02 Five Cornered Drone
03 The Race Is On Again
04 Autumn Sweater
05 The Weakest Part
06 Mr. Tough
07 No Water
08 I Wanna Be Your Lover
09 Cast A Shadow
10 Don’t Have To Be So Sad
11 Tom Courtenay
12 Styles of the Times
13 Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
14 I Heard You Looking
15 [encore break]
16 Heart Full of Soul
17 The Question
18 Solitary Man
19 Secret Agent Man
20 Hard Luck Woman

If you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT Yo La Tengo. Visit their excellent website.

[photo credit]

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are going on a two-year hiatus when their current tour ends this week. In their last show in NYC Wednesday night in Brooklyn, Ted and company ripped through two hours of a high-energy career retrospective. The 2007 release Living With The Living is one of the best albums of the year, but it did not dominate the setlist. Rather, Ted and the Pharmacists drew from all the releases, and included several covers including a dead-on solo version of Graham Parker and The Rumour’s “Passion is No Ordinary World”.

I recorded from the perfect location, and was unimpeded by any significant crowd disruptions (there were several upfront). nyctaper is quite pleased with the quality of this recording. Enjoy!

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

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
2007-12-05
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
2007-12-06

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:49:24]
01 [reggae jam]
02 The Sons of Cain
03 Me and Mia
04 Army Bound
05 The Angel’s Share
06 Old Souls Know
07 Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone
08 I’m a Ghost
09 Annunciation Day
10 Born On Christmas Day
11 Bomb.Repeat.Bomb
12 [banter]
13 Counting Down The Hours
14 Little Dawn
15 Colleen
16 [banter]
17 A Bottle Of Buckie
18 [banter]
19 Parallel Or Together?
20 Who Do You Love?
21 The Unwanted Things
22 C.I.A.
23 [banter]
24 Loyal To My Sorrowful Country
25 [encore break]
26 Rave On (Buddy Holly)
27 Passion is No Ordinary Word (Graham Parker)
28 Timorous Me
29 Biomusicology
30 Rappaport’s Testament: I Never Gave Up (Chumbawamba)

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Ted Leo and visit his website.

[photo credit]

2007 has been an excellent year for Richard Hawley. His outstanding new release Lady’s Bridge has appeared on nearly every Best of 2007 list, and last night he began a triumphant return to the US with a sold-out concert at Bowery Ballroom. Hawley worked through a tight set of primarily Lady’s Bridge and Coles Corner material with confidence, and he entertained with quite humorous between-song banter. The closing number, “The Ocean”, reached a remarkable crescendo and featured some outstanding Hawley lead guitar work. The US tour continues through December with dates in Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, LA, and San Francisco, with a British tour planned for February of 2008.

This recording was made from the ideal location at this venue, in the center of the floor. While there is a minor amount of chatter from the sold-out crowd, the results are superb.

Hawley’s management responded to a pre-show email request to record. While permission was not granted, the response said “its your choice if you bring it [a recorder] or not”, which indicated a resigned ambivalence to the idea of a fan recording. nyctaper posts this recording in the spirit of fostering a positive relationship between Hawley and his fans, and also with the intent of exposing this amazing talent to readers of this site who may not be familiar with his work. As our disclaimer states, any recording will be removed immediately at the request of an artist. We hope that Richard Hawley will allow this recording to remain at nyctaper when the good intentions and positive mission of this site are understood.

Direct Download of the complete show in FLAC [here] and MP3 [here].

Richard Hawley
2007-12-01
Bowery Ballroom
New York, 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
2007-12-01

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:27:22]
01 [introduction]
02 Valentine
03 Roll River Roll
04 Just Like the Rain
05 Dark Road
06 Coles Corner
07 Tonight The Streets Are Ours
08 Lady’s Bridge
09 Hotel Room
10 Serious
11 Darlin’ Wait For Me
12 Our Darkness
13 The Sea Calls
14 Born Under A Bad Sign
15 Something Is…!
16 I’m Looking For Someone To Find Me
17 [encore break]
18 Tonight
19 The Ocean

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Richard Hawley and visit his website.

[photo credit]

The quartet So Percussion performed a free concert in the Wintergarden at the World Financial Center on Tuesday night. The troupe performed three distinct pieces, a US premiere of an Arvo Part piece, a world premiere of Martin Bresnick’s newest work, and the NYC premiere of Paul Lansky’s Threads. Each piece utilized the many and unique talents of So to create a rich layered texture of beats that communicated a variety of emotions.

It was quite a challenge to record this concert. The Wintergarden is a enclave in the western corner of the World Financial Center, and is essentially in the midst of a shopping center. The extraneous noise of foot traffic, shoppers, workers, and general commotion created a significantly less than ideal sonic setting. Additionally, the PA volume was quite low, as to not disturb the other inhabitants of WFC. As a result, this recording has many flaws which have been reduced but not removed through post-production. If the listener can focus on the magic of So Percussion, enjoyment is within reach.

This recording is no longer available at nyctaper. The sound quality does not meet our current standards.

So Percussion
2007-11-20
Wintergarden
World Financial Center
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Inside Soundboard Booth
at Rear of Venue

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

A venue with terrible acoustics, extraneous noise, low PA levels, and recorded
from the rear. Caveat Listener.

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2007-11-21

Many thanks to So Percussion (Adam) for permission to record.

Setlist:
[total time 1:32:29]
01 Fratres for Percussion Quartet (Arvo Part)
02 [interview with Martin Bresnick]
03 Caprichos Enfáticos (Martin Bresnick)
04 [interview with Paul Lansky]
05 Threads (Paul Lansky)

Information:
txt file

Verification:
md5 file

If you download this recording, please support So Percussion and visit their website.

[photo credit]

Yo La Tengo appeared Friday night at the Music Hall for the final night of their “Freewheeling Tour”. The band fielded questions, requests and general banter from the audience, and responded with humor and some interesting song selections and performed a primarily acoustic concert. The highlights included Georgia’s beautiful cover of Dylan’s 4th Time Around, and the humorously persistent audience member’s request for Blue Line Swinger–which was eventually granted (Ira: “Is that Fred Armisen?”).

The recording of this concert was a difficult affair. This was my first event at the Music Hall, and I gravitated towards the balcony for a better view and more direct line to the PA speakers. Unfortunately, the acoustic nature of the concert, drastic variations in volume, and the inattentive nature of the balcony crowd created certain impediments to a clear recording. At times, this recording can be outstanding, at other times, the stage volume is too low and the ambient noise too great. Overall, its a nice listen of an interesting concert, and the apparently the only circulated recording of this mini-tour. Enjoy!

Yo La Tengo
2007-11-16
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Balcony Railing Left
15 Feet from Left PA Speaker

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-11-17

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:56:04]
01 Introduction
02 The Weakest Part
03 Moby Octopad
04 [questions and banter]
05 Sometimes I Don’t Get You
06 Deeper Into Movies
07 [questions and banter]
08 I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party
09 Tom Courtenay
10 [questions and banter]
11 Magnet
12 The Summer
13 [questions and banter]
14 4th Time Around
15 [questions and banter]
16 Looney Tunes
17 [questions and banter]
18 Black Flowers
19 [questions and banter]
20 Dreaming
21 [questions and banter]
22 Blue Line Swinger
23 [questions and banter]
24 Hanky Panky Nohow
25 [questions and banter]
26 Somebody’s Baby
27 Griselda
28 The Story of Yo La Tango
29 You Can Have it All
30 [encore break]
31 Stockholm Syndrome
32 Big Day Coming
33 Flowers of the Forest

If you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT Yo La Tengo. Visit their excellent website.

[photo credit]

mum performed another outstanding set on Saturday night at the Concert Hall of the Society for Ethical Culture. The venue was a classic structure with superb acoustics that fit the layered sound structure of mum perfectly. As this was the last night of the U.S. tour, the band was in good spirits, playful, and clearly enjoying themselves.

The other “star” of the excellent 2-night stand was the Wordless Music Series itself. Wordless had the foresight to book mum for two concerts in two very distinct but appropriate venues. The brainchild of Ronen Givony, Wordless presents diverse and yet inter-related musical genres and performers. The Series is well-researched and presented with meticulous attention to detail.

I recorded this concert, again with kind permission from Gunni (and Wordless), from the 5th row of the balcony, far right. This is not an ideal location, but the venue’s acoustics transcended space limitations, and delivered a fine recording. Again the PA speakers had some hiss, but this is only noticeable during quiet passages. Enjoy!

Download the complete show in FLAC [HERE].

mum
2007-11-10
The Wordless Music Series
Concert Hall at the Society for Ethical Culture
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Balcony
5th Row far Right

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2007-11-11

Many thanks to Gunni for permission to record.

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:27:14]
01 Winter (What We Never Were After All)
02 Moon Pulls
03 Oh, How the Boat Drifts
04 I Was Her Horse
05 Sit Down
06 Guilty Rocks
07 Blessed Brambles
08 I’m 9 Today
09 Marmalade Fires
10 A Little Bit, Sometimes
11 Kostrzyn
12 These Eyes are Berries
13 Dancing Behind My Eyelids
14 They Made Frogs Smoke ‘Til They Exploded
Encores:
15 The Ghosts You Draw On My Back
16 Smell Memory

If you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT mum. Visit their myspace page, the mumweb fansite, mumweb forum, and buy mum official releases