nyctaper Recordings

concert discussion and free flac downloads

Dan Friel: January 9, 2016 Palisades

January 28, 2016
By

Dan Friel
[photo by Rocketman]

Sure, you can call Dan Friel an electronic musician and you wouldn’t be wrong. But to do so would be to describe his instrumentation and the way he makes music, rather than to describe the actual music he makes. Friel got his start with Parts & Labor, a band that epitomized the late 2000s era of Brooklyn indie and noise rock, and his solo work sounds more like a continuation of that aesthetic than a departure from it, even if he is dispensing with the more traditional rock instrumentation. That’s all to say that if you’re a fan of Parts & Labor, Friel’s solo work is going to be a welcome addition to your record collection. Friel’s latest album for Thrill Jockey, last year’s Life, is his most engaging yet, and his set from Palisades a few weeks ago showcases those tracks nicely. The final song, “Thumper” from 2013’s Total Folklore, perfectly encapsulates Friel’s music: a pulsing, distorted beat is overlaid with intertwining keyboard melodies that dis- and re-integrate through the course of the song. Be sure to mark your calendars for March 6, when Dan Friel will return to Palisades for a show with jazz-psych rockers and NYCTaper favorites, Sunwatchers.

I recorded this set with the AKG’s set up at the stage lip, combined with board feed from Palisades FOH Leeor. The results are excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Dan Friel
2016-01-09
Palisades
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Leeor) + AKG C480B/CK61 (stage lip) > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, mixdown, balance, compression, normalize, fades) > Audacity 2.0.5 (downsample, dither, tracking, tagging) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

Tracks [29:15]
01. Bender
02. Life Part 2
03. Lungs
04. Rattler
05. Life Part 1
06. Pink Helicopters
07. Thumper

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Dan Friel. Visit his website, like him on Facebook, and buy Life from Thrill Jockey.

Lawrence: December 5, 2015 Mercury Lounge

January 28, 2016
By

Lawrence Facebook photo
[photo from Lawrence Facebook page]

Lawrence the band is co-led by a brother and sister duo, Clyde Lawrence and Gracie Lawrence. In a true display of the idea that talent is genetic, both Lawrence siblings have been accomplished performers for the majority of their short lives. Clyde Lawrence is on record as the youngest member ever of the Songwriters Guild (SGA), having written a song for a major motion picture at the ripe age of six. Clyde continued to write songs for movies throughout his teens and indeed wrote the complete score for the 2014 film The Rewrite, starring Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei. Gracie Lawrence has been in several movies and indeed appeared on Broadway in Brighton Beach Memoirs. She has pages on the Playbill Vault, Wikipedia and IMDb and she is only eighteen years old.

At Mercury Lounge in December, the band previewed much of their upcoming debut album. The record was produced by Eric Krasno of Soulive and is expected to be released in February. Lawrence is going on tour throughout February (dates here), which culminates in the record release show at Webster Hall’s Marlin Room on February 18.

I recorded this set in our usual manner at Mercury — Schoeps on a stand at the board and mixed with an excellent feed provided by house FOH Alex. The crowd was a bit boisterous on this late weekend night but overall it just adds some authenticity to the recording, which otherwise sounds quite excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Lawrence
2015-12-05
Mercury Lounge
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Alex] + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:09:01]
01 High Road
02 Wake Up
03 Alibi
04 [banter – Justin Ryan intro]
05 So Damn Fast
06 Me and You
07 Where It Started From
08 Superficial
09 [untitled new song – Missing You]
10 Get Busy [Sean Paul]
11 Cold
12 Play Around
13 [new song – Shine]
14 Say My Name [Destiny’s Child]
15 [band introductions]
16 Do You Want To Do Nothing With Me
17 [encore break]
18 Wash Away
19 Hot In Herre [Nelly]

Support Lawrence:  Facebook | Twitter

Creepoid: January 14, 2016 Trans-Pecos

January 27, 2016
By

Creepoid

Soaked in reverb and haze, Creepoid satisfy that itch for nineties-influenced shoegaze like not many bands can. But this is no genre exercise—Creepoid is for real. The strength of last year’s Cemetery Highrise Slum was more than enough to draw us out to Ridgewood for a weeknight show, and our efforts were rewarded with this killer set. For a young band, Creepoid have already built a significant body of work. Most of these songs here are off of Cemetery Highrise Slum, including “Eating Dirt,” “Tell the Man,” “American Smile,” and “Shaking.” “Old Tree” hails from 2014’s self-titled record, while “Truth” is off the same year’s Wet. “Dream Out” and “Enabler” harken way back to 2011’s Horse Heaven. That latter song gets stretched into a breathless, staggering finale.

If you missed out on their Trans-Pecos gig, Creepoid will be touring the U.S. in March. Head over to their website for a full listing of dates. They’ll return to New York on March 25th at Rough Trade NYC.

I recorded this set with the mics set up at the stage lip, combined with a board feed from Trans-Pecos FOH, Ned. The results are excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Creepoid
2016-01-14
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Ned) + AKG C480B/CK61 (stage lip) > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, mixdown, balance, compression, normalize, fades) > Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ) > Audacity 2.0.5 (downsample, dither, tracking, tagging) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

Tracks [45:29]
01. Eating Dirt
02. Staircase
03. Truth
04. Tell the Man
05. American Smile
06. Baptism
07. Shaking
08. Old Tree
09. Dream Out
10. Enabler

Support Creepoid: Buy Cemetery Highrise Slum via Bandcamp | Facebook | Website

Soldiers of Fortune: January 7, 2016 Bowery Ballroom

January 26, 2016
By

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Soldiers of Fortune have marketed themselves at various points as an “anti-band” — one that never writes music, practices, or records. Of course, given the cast of players (Brad Truax (Interpol, others)), Kid Millions (Man Forever, Oneida), Barry London (Oneida), Matt Sweeney (Chavez, many others), Jesper Eklow (Endless Boogie, others), Mike Bones, and Papa Crazee (Oneida)), that’s hardly a disqualification from being a “band.” These are folks whose improvisational turns regularly outshine their recorded output. This show at Bowery Ballroom comes on the heels of the release in November 2015 of their record Early Risers, a more song-based affair, but of course that didn’t stop the crew from delving in one long, multi-movement sustained jam (which, I confess, may or may not include actual songs from the record). Though Cass McCombs was the night’s headliner, you might not have known it from looking at the packed floor of the venue, where it seemed an entire crew of heads were there just for this set, ultimately being replaced by yet-more people for Cass’s set. As with our excellent recent spate of Oneida shows, this was an experimental music fan’s dream, a can’t-miss experience from an outfit that you don’t see around here too often.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK5 cardiod microphones in our usual spot together with a soundboard feed from Bowery legend Kenny. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Soldiers of Fortune
2016-01-07
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK5c>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard (engineer: Kenny)>>Zoom F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Part I
02 Part II
03 Part III

If you enjoyed this recording, please check out Soldiers of Fortune on bandcamp and buy their latest album, Early Risers, there.

Infinity Girl: January 16, 2016 Muchmore’s

January 22, 2016
By

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Infinity Girl don’t seem afraid of the “shoegaze” tag, and while it’s a bit of a lazy one, it’s an accurate description of this Brooklyn band’s tuneful, feedback-drenched sound. What drew me to the band — and this free show they headlined at Muchmore’s, a trendy coffee shop/restaurant/bar/venue at the northern end of Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg — was the quality of the songs behind the noise. While the band has been kicking around for a few years now, their second full-length album, Harm, released in August of 2015, is a leap forward. With its thoughtful guitar work and pleasantly retro production that might make Kevin Shields proud, it’s a strong listen throughout its 15 songs. On the venue’s low stage in front of an animated, moshing crowd, they proved more than equal to their work in the live setting. After this first show of 2016, we’re looking forward to seeing this tight unit some more times this year.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones near the front of the stage to capture both the guitar amps and the (limited) sound from the PA. While the vocals are somewhat buried in the recording — owing mostly to the limits of the Muchmore’s sound system versus the band’s amps and drums — this is remains a fine recording and a taste of more to come. Enjoy!

Infinity Girl has another show on Jan 30 at Palisades, followed by a scheduled date at Rough Trade in March with our friends Dead Stars.

Download the complete set: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete set:

Check out Infinity Girl’s latest album, Harm:

Infinity Girl
2016-01-16
Muchmore’s
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK4V (in front of stage)>KC5>CMC6>Roland R-26>24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (multiband compression, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Void
02 Hesse
03 Dirty Sun
04 Hold
05 Please Forget
06 Blood and Dirt
07 By Now

If you enjoyed this recording, please like Infinity Girl on facebook and buy their music on bandcamp. 

Oneida: January 9, 2016 Palisades

January 20, 2016
By

Oneida
[photos by Rocketman]

Way back in 2013, in a prehistoric Williamsburg where you could still catch a show on Kent Ave., we called Oneida shows “a standing appointment.” To drive that point home, and proof that we’ve lived up to our end of the bargain, we’ve since then posted a whopping seven Oneida shows in the past two years. 2015 brought not only an increase in activity from the band but also a return to more song-based sets, compared to the lengthy jamming typical of Oneida sets in 2012 and 2013. Some old favorites have even entered the rotation, including “People of the North” from 2001’s Anthem of the Moon, “Caesar’s Column” from 2003’s Secret Wars, and most surprising, “Happy New Year” from, well, Happy New Year. Of all the many, many Oneida shows I’ve seen, this was the first time I’ve seen them do “Happy New Year,” making this recording something special indeed. The set rounds out those classics with some newer tunes: two from Oneida’s next album, “Reputation” and “Cock Fight,” plus two from their recent Positions EP, covers of This Heat’s “S.P.Q.R.” and Chrome’s “All Data Lost.”

If you’re just dying to see Oneida break out some classics new and old, you’re in luck. They’ll tour six cities in March, and we’ll see you at Shea Stadium March 11.

I recorded this set with the AKG’s set up at the stage lip, combined with board feed from Palisades FOH Leeor. The results are excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Oneida

Oneida
2016-01-09
Palisades
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Leeor) + AKG C480B/CK61 (stage lip) > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, mixdown, balance, compression, normalize, fades) > Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ) > Audacity 2.0.5 (downsample, dither, tracking, tagging) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

Tracks [01:09:24]
01. [Intro]
02. I Will Haunt You
03. Economy Travel
04. Caesar’s Column
05. People of the North
06. Happy New Year
07. Reputation
08. S.P.Q.R. [This Heat]
09. Cock Fight
10. [Untitled]
11. All Data Lost [Chrome]

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Oneida. Visit their website, like them on Facebook, and buy the Positions EP from Rocket Recordings.

Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk: January 9, 2016 Palisades

January 19, 2016
By

DSC_0202
[photos by Rocketman]

Odd name aside, the band called Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk is really just a bunch of regular guys playing some compelling drone-ish electric folk. The band is originally from Lawrence Kansas and has existed for ten years (minus a bit of a hiatus). This year finds a new release, a full length due in March called Burritos (Fire Talk Records). But for this Palisades show opening for Oneida, the band concentrated mostly on last year’s “mini-LP” release Kill The Fuzz with four of the six songs performed culled from that 2015 release. The thirty-five minute set offered a bunch of different looks at Baby Birds, including the quiet intro, some noisy segments, some folk harmonies and ultimately a little bit of psych. There was even a little drum solo. But the takeaway is that this band is very easy to like, and they will be showing up on these pages in the future.

Eric recorded this set with the AKGs mounted on a stand at the front of the stage. I mixed that with the fine soundboard recording and the results are quite excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk
2016-01-09
Palisades
Brooklyn, NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Stage Lip Audience Matrix

Soundboard (engineer: Leeor) + AKG C480B/CK61 (stage lip) > Roland R-26 > 2×24/48 wav > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3/tagging via Foobar)

Recorded by EricPH
Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 35:31]
01 D Roar -> Randy’s Video Game Box
02 Zebra Boy
03 Okay Mr Pancake
04 I Ain’t Been Working -> Jam
05 Bombchu Girl
06 Wizard Sleeve

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, PLEASE SUPPORT Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the Fire Talk Records website [HERE].

DSC_0232

Alan Licht: January 6, 2016 Union Pool

January 13, 2016
By

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For my first recording of 2016, I got to witness the album debut of a New York music veteran, among a room of like-minded souls. We saw Alan Licht live debut many of the tracks that would make up his latest release, Currents, back in August, but he arrived at Union Pool this time with copies of the finished product in hand, and the ideas on it more tightly wound. Relative to some of his peers, Licht’s songs feel like they ride less on fingerpicking prowess (though that’s considerable) than on the strength of his melodies, which give the thrilling jolt of a good rock song even without the lyrics or band that typically accompanies such things. Like the previous show, this one began with the immediate appeal of “Riding On the S’s” followed by “First Lover, Haleema” from Currents, as well as serving up at least one track that didn’t make the record simply because it wouldn’t squeeze onto a side of vinyl. January shows are always a joy for the true music fan, as the cold weather tends to draw only those who really care, and that was evident in the pin-drop quiet room during these engaging, minimalist tunes. From the delicate “Uncertainty” to the melancholy and final “Seventh Song,” Licht showed off the strength of this latest cycle of creativity. Make a date for his next NYC visit, or wherever you might be able to see him.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed by Kevin Mazzarelli and Schoeps MK4V microphones. The sound quality is excellent, far superior to the previous recording. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete show (minus banter tracks):

Alan Licht
2016-01-06
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Kevin Mazzarelli) + Schoeps MK4V>KC5>CMC6>>Zoom F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, exciter)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 44:17]
01 [intro]
02 Riding on the S’s
03 First Love, Haleema
04 [untitled]
05 [banter]
06 Uncertainty
07 [untitled 2]
08 Currents
09 Raw Deal
10 Seventh Song

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Alan Licht by visiting VDSQ Records and buying Currents there.

Cass McCombs: January 7, 2016 Bowery Ballroom

January 11, 2016
By

IMG_0433
[photos by Will Oliver]

The timing was excellent. My first show of the new year took place at the legendary Bowery Ballroom and featured one of my favorite artists. And did Cass McCombs ever deliver. We’ve seen Cass perform intense shows, fun shows, and even split shows with the Meat Puppets. But what Cass and his band did on Thursday night was one for the ages — an over two-hour epic night that featured a nice cross-section of material from his healthy catalog. Ostensibly Cass is on tour in support of his new album A Folk Set Apart: Rarities, B-Sides & Space Junk, Etc., which as its title makes clear, is a compilation. But the band only played a couple of songs from the new album, instead treating us to some inspired versions of older Cass material. Of note were the last two songs played — a huge thirteen-minute version of “County Line” and the finale, a fourteen minute take on “Dreams Come True Girl”, which also included a dual drum solo. The band this time out included the addition of two drummers (Jesse Lee and Ryan Sawyer) to replace Joe Russo (currently on tour with JRAD), and Cass regulars Dan Iead on guitar and Jon Shaw on bass. With several years together, the unit was both tight when necessary and also capable of letting loose for extended segments (see above) which ultimately provided us with a lengthy show that literally never lagged and was chock full of highlights.

I recorded this set from our usual location in this venue and the sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show [minus banter tracks]:

Cass McCombs
2016-01-07
Bowery Ballroom
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 2:02:28]
01 [intro]
02 Night Of The World
03 Big Wheel
04 [new song – River of Blood]
05 Brighter
06 [band introductions]
07 Name Written In Water
08 My Sister My Spouse
09 [new song – I Want to Know]
10 Robin Egg Blue
11 Aeon of Aquarius Blues
12 I Cannot Lie
13 Morning Star
14 Prima Donna
15 [new song – Why Does it Rain]
16 Home on the Range
17 County Line
18 [band intro – encore break]
19 Dreams Come True Girl

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, PLEASE SUPPORT Cass McCombs, visit his website, and purchase A Folk Set Apart: Rarities, B-Sides & Space Junk, Etc. from the Domino Records website [HERE].

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Alex Bleeker & the Freaks “Play Dead”: December 30, 2015 Rough Trade NYC

January 6, 2016
By

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If you were a fan of the Grateful Dead, and you saw the actual band live, then you’ve probably got more than your share of opinions about the various combinations of the remaining parts of it who’ve tried to transact on the original’s greatness. As someone who never saw the actual band (but has seen some successful and less-than-successful related projects), I’m not here to convince you. But for my money, there’s something rewarding, something essential, about watching much-younger musicians, with full careers filled with their own original material in front of them, paying tribute to one of rock music’s foundational bands.

I  loved the Brooklyn Bowl show that we posted by Alex Bleeker and The Freaks — that one a combo run through their new album and some other originals, followed by a “Play Dead” set that’s become a staple of many of their live shows. This one flipped that script, with Bleeker and pals offering up a 100-minute set consisting almost entirely of Dead covers. This — my final show of the year — was billed as the afterparty to Phish’s 12/30 Madison Square Garden show, and the celebratory air from that event (an especially strong performance from this year’s MSG run) carried over into the more intimate confines of Rough Trade NYC.

Overall, this “Play Dead” was a looser, better and arguably truer performance to the spirit of the original band. While the Brooklyn Bowl set consisted mainly of discrete run-throughs of each song, you’ll notice that this set was filled with segues, kicking off with “China Cat Sunflower” into a surging “I Know You Rider” before venturing into  cosmic territory with “Eyes to the World” into “He’s Gone” into “The Other One,” taking a short detour through “Dark Star” and ending up, improbably, with a Bleeker original, “Sealong Hair,” from their latest record, Country Agenda. After that came three more non-Dead tunes (two more originals, plus their regular-rotation cover of Mountain Man’s “Animal Tracks,” a fierce jam in its own right. Where Bleeker was joined last time by Real Estate’s Martin Courtney, here we had another cameo by one of his Ridgewood, NJ pals, Julian Lynch and multi-talented Dave Harrington (of many bands, but perhaps best-known for his work in Darkside). The band managed to deliver a little birthday salutation to Harringon in between “Tennessee Jed” and “St. Stephen,” which closed the set. By that point it was 2 a.m. and the club’s neighbors weren’t going to tolerate any more. For those of us inside, though, this was an afterparty that we’d have been happy to continue all night.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from Rough Trade engineer Leah, together with Schoeps MK4V microphones. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [FLAC] | [MP3]

Stream the complete set: 

Alex Bleeker & The Freaks “Play Dead”
2015-12-30
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard [engineer: Leah] + Schoeps MK4V (PAS)>KC5>CMC6>>Zoom F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 1:43:00]
All songs by the Grateful Dead unless noted

01 tuning>China Cat Sunflower>
02 I Know You Rider
03 Eyes of the World>
04 He’s Gone>
05 The Other One>
06 Dark Star Jam>
07 Sealong Hair [Alex Bleeker & the Freaks]
08 Downright Stinson [Alex Bleeker & the Freaks]
09 Animal Tracks [Mountain Man]
10 U.H.M. [Alex Bleeker & the Freaks]
11 Shakedown Street>
12 The Wheel>
13 Tennessee Jed>
14 [Happy bday to Dave]>
15 St. Stephen
16 [outro]

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, PLEASE SUPPORT Alex Bleeker & the Freaks, visit their Facebook page, and purchase their new album Country Agenda from Sinderlyn Records [HERE].

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