nyctaper Recordings

[Photos by acidjack]

Split Single is the latest effort from guitarist Jason Narducy, best-known for his bands Verboten and Verbow before kicking off a second career as a sideman in various acts including Bob Mould, Superchunk, and Robert Pollard. Narducy’s long career inspired a whole generation of artists, most notably Dave Grohl, and his new album Fragmented World suggests that he best belongs front and center. You might’ve heard of Narducy’s own sidemen in this effort before, too — that’d be Spoon’s Britt Daniel and drummer Jon Wurster, who’s played with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, Bob Pollard and many others.

This show at Glasslands was, if anything, proof positive of the power of experience. Narducy and his companions played the Fragmented World material with precision, one song after another delivering on the promise of carefree, infectious power pop without losing momentum. These are songs that feel good to listen to, and that makes them work all the better in the live setting. Appropriately, Narducy was joined for the album’s title track by another player whose recent career was defined by side man work — Doug Gillard (who we saw recently) — who added his guitar work to that sweet short burst of pop perfection. We’re glad Narducy’s back in the spotlight again.

I recorded this set with our installed rig in the venue, featuring Naiant X-R cardiod microphones and a soundboard feed by the night’s engineer Chris Madden. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Fragmented World” (with Doug Gillard)

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

Split Single
2014-05-21
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Naiant X-R (FOB, DFC, PAS)+Soundboard (engineer: Chris Madden)>Roland R-26>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ, compression)>Audacity 2.0.3 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 44:07]
01 Made for Breaking
02 Never Look Back
03 Cold
04 [banter]
05 Gloria
06 Monolith
07 Love Is You
08 Waiting for the Sun
09 My Heart Is Your Shadow
10 Last Goodbye
11 [banter2]
12 Fragmented World [w/ Doug Gillard]
13 [banter3]
14 Searches
15 Broken Spines

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Split Single, visit their website, and buy Fragmented World from the band’s store here.

Phil and Friends: May 28, 2014 Central Park Rumsey Playfield – FLAC/MP3/Streaming Song

May 30, 2014

We’ve had plenty of opinions aired on this site about the various incarnations of post-Grateful Dead bands — including praise for Joe Russo’s Almost Dead last year at Brooklyn Bowl and Phil Lesh and Friends at last year’s Mountain Jam. What we got here at Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield this past Wednesday was a kind of turbocharged version of the last Phil and Friends set we saw, with this one featuring Warren Haynes, Joe Russo, John Medeski, Ross James, Jordan Levine and John Scofield. With this kind of monster lineup, even by Phil and Friends standards, it was kind of hard to go wrong. This set featured a sweet lineup Grateful Dead classics and other people’s songs they liked to play, fully realized in these musicians’ own unique style. Vocal duties were shared among the group, with Haynes a welcome addition on that front. The park was packed for the sold-out event, and despite the unpredictable and chilly weather, the band had the crowd dancing in no time. By the time the 10PM curfew arrived, cutting short what could have been a longer “Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad”, we had already been treated to three and a half hours of music, making for a memorable night that we still didn’t want to end.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones in the official tapers’ section, which was behind the soundboard. While it should be as good or better than any other tape from that location, I’ll admit it’s nothing special. The Rumsey Playfield sound system isn’t loud, there was a walkway in front of us, and the section itself wasn’t exactly the most attentive portion of the crowd, either. That said, it’s an accurate reflection of the night, and if you weren’t there, it’s worth hearing what you missed.

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC (16-BIT)] | [FLAC (24-BIT)]
(Note: 24-bit FLAC files cannot be used for CD burning)

Stream “Not Fade Away”

Phil and Friends
2014-05-28
Central Park Rumsey Playfield
New York, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK4V (BOB, PAS)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2>Sony PCM-D50>24bit/48kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Set One
01 Jam>
02 Not Fade Away [The Crickets]
03 Sunshine of Your Love [Cream]>
04 Sweet Jane [Velvet Underground]
05 Bird Song [Jerry Garcia]
06 Just A Little Light [Grateful Dead]
07 West L.A. Fadeaway [Grateful Dead]
08 Sugaree [Jerry Garcia]

Set Two
01 Shakedown Street [Grateful Dead]
02 El Paso [Marty Robbins]
03 Uncle John’s Band [Grateful Dead]
04 Stella Blue [Grateful Dead]
05 I Know You Rider [Tossi Aaron]
06 Unbroken Chain [Grateful Dead]
07 The Other One [Grateful Dead]
08 Terrapin Station [Grateful Dead]
09 [encore break]

Encore
10 Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad [traditional]

If you enjoyed this recording, please support Phil Lesh, visit the website, and purchase the official releases at the dead.net Store [HERE]

The Everymen: May 19, 2014 Baby’s All Right – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

May 27, 2014

Follow @acidjacknyc

[photos by acidjack]

In this day and age, a band like The Everymen represents a deceptively audacious move. In a rock n’ roll universe ruled by microgenres and pressured commercially by laptop geeks, EDM, hip-hop and every manner of crossover in between, The Everymen are, more or less, a really good Jersey Shore bar band. Now, there are still many of those bands out there — the show must go on, down the Shore and elsewhere — but if you limit it to ones with the Everymen’s ambitions, well, there’s just one. Like a baby version of the E Street Band, this is old-style, big-tent, big-band rock that’s proud of its roots but seeking to plant its seed elsewhere. How many bands with this aesthetic play venues like Baby’s All Right, in still-musically-relevant Williamsburg? More importantly, how many of them could ever claim to actually pull it off?

Much of the credit for The Everymen’s broad appeal goes to frontman Mike V, an affable dude whose big heart and natural charisma make him a fit in any bar serving High Life and Narragansett, whether ironically or otherwise. He’s a born entertainer, an easy jokester with the crowd, and, judging by this show, a maker of excellent setlists. Any band who kicks off their record release show (for the band’s second full-length, Givin’ Up on Free Jazz) with a cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” is clearly playing for keeps. From there, the band took us through all of Free Jazz, which adds stronger songwriting to the style of their 2012 LP New Jersey Hardcore, and takes further advantage of the band’s deep roster of players. The album’s leadoff single, “Spain” is as good an example as any, with Mike V and Catherine Herrick sharing lead vocals, the horns blaring, and the keys lighting a fire under some blazing guitars. But The Everymen weren’t content to just begin with a bang; after the album was done, we were treated to covers of Def Leppard, Billy Ocean and INXS, plus some of the best-loved of the band’s older numbers including the always-massive set closer “Boss Johnny and the Get Lucky”. The Everymen may have broad appeal, but not everyone can do it like they do it.

This recording was made by lead Baby’s All Right engineer Devin Foley using the house multitrack system, including Audio Technica 4041 microphones capturing the feel of the room. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Stream “Spain”

Stream “When the Going Gets Tough [Billy Ocean]”

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

The Everymen
2014-05-19
Baby’s All Right
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by Devin Foley
Produced by acidjack

Digital Multitrack (22 tracks)>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, other effects)>Izotope Ozone 5 (other effects, compression)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, fades, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:13:35]
01 War Pigs [Black Sabbath] (fades in)
02 Bl’ast Off!
03 A Girl Named Lou Pt. 2
04 Spain
05 [banter]
06 Fingers Crossed
07 Another Thing to Lose
08 All I Need Is You
09 NJHC
10 Ain’t Good Enough For You
11 Ballad of Sarin
12 A Thousand Miles
13 Izzy
14 Dance Only (Only Dance)
15 Bringing On the Heartbreak [Def Leppard]
16 When the Going Gets Tough [Billy Ocean]
17 Coney Island High
18 Don’t Change [INXS]
19 Boss Johnny & The Get Lucky

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT The Everymen, like them on Facebook, and buy Givin’ Up on Free Jazz from their bandcamp page.

Pujol: May 23, 2014 Death By Audio – Flac/MP3/Streaming

May 26, 2014

[photo by nyctaper]

The last time we checked in with Pujol, it was more than two years ago at an impressive introduction to the band at the Impose SXSW show. At that point, Daniel and the band were previewing songs from the upcoming album UNITED STATES OF BEING, which was released a couple of months after SXSW. On Friday night at Death By Audio, Pujol returned to NYC to support the new album KLUDGE which was released a week ago. The album stretches the boundaries of Pujol’s punk/garage sound and adds a number of new ideas and influences. But the live set is a straightforward and energetic run through his catalog. At DBA, we heard about half the new album (“Circles” is streaming below), a democratic selection of older material, and even a few deep cuts. The takeaway from this show however is that Pujol continues to impress and given the evolution of his music we expect greater things for our next visit, which we hope doesn’t take another two years. The band’s tour continues into the Midwest and West coast throughout May and June, dates here.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser cards on a stand at the front and center of the stage and mixed it with a fine board feed mixed by Edan. The sound is superb, enjoy!

Stream “Circles”:

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Pujol
2014-05-23
Death By Audio
Brooklyn NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Upfront Audience

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 47:07]
01 Too Safe
02 Manufactured Crisis Control
03 Mayday
04 Post Grad
05 Psychic Pain
06 Circles
07 [banter – Ithaca]
08 Point of View
09 Pitch Black
10 Dark Haired Suitor
11 Chuggin Love
12 [tuning – thanks]
13 No Words
14 Black Rabbit
15 Youniverse
16 [encore break]
17 Angelbaby

If you download this recording from NYCTaper PLEASE SUPPORT Pujol, visit their website, and purchase Kludge from the Saddle Creek Records website [HERE].

Built to Spill: May 20, 2014 Music Hall of Williamsburg – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

May 22, 2014

[photos by Johnny Fried Chicken Boy and acidjack]

There was a period in this site’s history during the 2009-2010 range where we collectively saw Built to Spill more than ten times in a short span (four shows in October 2009 alone). Most bands seen that often that close together would burn you out for good, but we have continued to follow Doug Martsch and his outstanding band since then. The reason Martsch feels he can continue playing New York with such frequency — even when he doesn’t have new material on offer — is that the show doesn’t just go on, its gets better every time. This performance at Music Hall of Williamsburg was easily the best BTS performance I have seen in all of the many times I have experienced this band.

Without the burden of promoting a new album, Martsch felt free to let he and the band’s whimsies roam, playing classic BTS songs like “Stab” from There’s Nothing Wrong With Love alongside newer favorites like “Planting Seeds”. We got songs that were great, short bursts; we also got a nearly ten-minute “Goin’ Against Your Mind” straight into “Carry the Zero” to close out the main set. But what set this show apart were its four cover songs. If you haven’t heard Martsch do his best J. Mascis impersonation, now you can, on this epic cover of Dinosaur Jr.‘s “Sludgefeast”. Or if classic rock is more your thing, you couldn’t go wrong with this phenomenal note-for-note rendition of Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, or BTS’ take on The Byrds’ “Eight Miles High”. The night ended, as did the Brooklyn Bowl show, with the craziest cover of all — a seventeen-minute free-for-all to the tune of “Genius of Love” by Tom Tom Club, which found the audience joining the band on stage for an epic, old-style Brooklyn dance party. It was the kind of thing a band with two fewer decades’ experience might have done, a lark to put a punctuation mark on the night. But that’s the genius of Built to Spill — whether the songs are new or old, the show never stays the same.

I recorded this set along with Johnny Fried Chicken Boy from our usual spot in the balcony directly over the soundboard cage, using Schoeps MK5 cardiod microphones. With some careful editing to mitigate the boomy nature of the house mix, this recording is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Eight Miles High [The Byrds]”

Stream “Sludgefeast [Dinosaur Jr.]”

Stream “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper [Blue Oyster Cult]”

Stream “Genius of Love [Tom Tom Club]”

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC] (faster offsite link) | [FLAC] (permanent link – please use if temporary link is no longer working)

Built to Spill
2014-05-20
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK5 (Balcony, PAS bar)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2>Sony PCM-D50>24bit/48kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, exciter, multiband compression)>Audacity 2.0.3 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 1:57:32]
01 Revolution
02 The Plan
03 Stab
04 Conventional Wisdom
05 Kicked It in the Sun
06 Mess With Time
07 Liar
08 Eight Miles High [The Byrds]
09 Reasons
10 [tuning]
11 Planting Seeds
12 Sludgefeast [Dinosaur Jr.]
13 [tuning2]
14 Goin’ Against Your Mind
15 Carry the Zero
16 [encore break]
17 (Don’t Fear) The Reaper [Blue Öyster Cult]
18 Big Dipper
19 [tuning3]
20 Genius of Love [Tom Tom Club]

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Built To Spill, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the Official Store at their website [HERE].

Woods: May 16, 2014 Bowery Ballroom – Flac/MP3/Streaming

May 21, 2014

[photos by Sachyn Mital]

The conventional and somewhat lazy take on the new Woods album With Light and with Love is that its a radical departure for the band — a more refined and pop-oriented record. The reality is that With Light is the natural progression of a band that’s been growing and evolving since we first saw them back in 2008. With the exit of excellent bassist (and all around good guy) Kevin Morby to pursue his solo career, Woods is now down to two original members. Original drummer Jarvis Taveniere moved to guitar several years ago and his signature is all over the new album with universally positive results. The lead guitar work on With Light has both melodic structure and experimental elements when appropriate. “Moving to the Left” begins with a wah-wah lead line that propels the song until the band opens up the song for an extended instrumental passage. Its perhaps the signature Woods song on the album, and the live version (streaming below) was equally strong. At the center of the band remains Jeremy Earl whose songwriting chops continue to grow. The album contains some truly beautiful songs and the lyrical content shows great maturity. Jeremy lives upstate, owns his own record label and runs his own festival every year — he has adult responsibilities and the music reflects that kind of wisdom. At Bowery Ballroom on Friday night, Woods returned to Manhattan for the first time since last summer and the new album clearly dominated the setlist. In fact, the band played 8 of the album’s ten tracks, three songs from the previous album (2012’s Bend Beyond), one song from 2011’s Sun and Shade and one phenomenal Pink Floyd cover (streaming below). As this show comes a few weeks into the tour, the band’s new additions (organ and bass) have become truly integrated and as a result the set was tight and well structured but left plenty of room to jam — much like all of the excellent Woods shows we’ve recorded over the years.

I recorded this set from our usual balcony spot at this venue and mixed with an excellent feed from Bowery legend Kenny. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “Moving to the Left”:

Stream “Green Is The Colour” (Pink Floyd cover):

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Woods
2014-05-16
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Kenny] + Sennheiser MKH-8040s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Mod) > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:06:02]
01 [intro]
02 Leaves Like Glass
03 Full Moon
04 Cali In A Cup
05 Shining
06 Bend Beyond
07 Size Meets The Sound
08 Shepherd
09 [banter – Chuck]
10 Only the Lonely
11 Moving to the Left
12 Twin Steps
13 With Light and With Love
14 [encore break]
15 Green Is The Colour [Pink Floyd]
16 Be All Be Easy

If you download this recording from NYCTaper PLEASE SUPPORT Woods, visit their website, and purchase With Light and with Love from the Woodsist Records website [HERE].

Owen Pallett: May 13, 2014 Glasslands – Flac/MP3/Streaming

May 19, 2014

[photo courtesy of Tiana Feng – full set here]

Owen Pallett‘s career is roughly analogous to his music itself — multi-layered, complex and abundantly talented. In recent years, he’s concentrated mostly on his arrangement and film score work, which culminated earlier this year in an Oscar nomination for the soundtrack of the film Her. This level of accolade will undoubtedly lead to more well-deserved opportunities for Owen. But his solo career has taken a bit of a back seat over the last four years. Owen’s last album Heartland was released in January of 2010, and his last tour was that Spring, when we experienced an outstanding show at Webster Hall (recording here). But on May 27, Owen Pallett will release his first new album in over four years In Conflict (Domino Records) and on Tuesday his current tour reached Glasslands. Owen has added a percussionist and a bass player to the live band, but as always the focus is completely on his center position where he mans the keyboard, violin and loop petals to create his own orchestra for each song. The set began with some older material before visiting some of the In Conflict songs, including the title track. Mid-set the band took a break, Owen asked for requests and played three tracks alone. The band returned for the balance of the show, a mix of old an new material. We’re streaming the night’s final song, a power version of “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” that led to extended and vociferous applause. I left a little extra crowd noise at the end of the show for the listener to understand the enthusiasm of the fans. Owen’s tour has moved on to Europe, but we expect he will be back for Summer or Fall dates in NYC.

I recorded this set with our venue-installed Naiant cardioids mixed with an excellent soundboard feed, and the sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt”:

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Owen Pallett
2014-05-13
Glasslands Gallery
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Naiant X-R Cardioid > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (mixdown, level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper

Setlist
[Total Time 1:25:41]
01 Midnight Directives
02 Scandal At The Parkdale
03 Keep The Dog Quiet
04 Soldier’s Rock
05 In Conflict
06 The Secret Seven
07 Tryst With Mephistopheles
08 E Is For Estranged
09 Arctic Circle
10 This Lamb Sells Condos
11 This is the Dream of Win and Regine
12 The Great Elsewhere
13 Infernal Fantasy
14 The Riverbed
15 [encore break]
16 Song for Five and Six
17 Lewis Takes Off His Shirt

If you download this recording from NYCTaper PLEASE SUPPORT Owen Pallett, visit his website, and purchase In Conflict from the Domino Records website [HERE].

Deleted Scenes: March 13, 2014 DC Against the World SXSW Party, New Movement Theater (Austin, TX) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

May 19, 2014

[photos by acidjack]

We hadn’t seen Deleted Scenes since a showcase in Brooklyn at the start of this decade, so the excellent unofficial DC Against The World SXSW day show put on at the New Movement Theater improv club proved a great way to catch up. The dark interior of the New Movement provided the perfect mood space to take in the new songs from the band’s latest effort, Lithium Burn, released this April, which has proven a worthy follow-up to the band’s well-received two previous full-lengths. In keeping with their DC-based roots, Deleted Scenes’ off-kilter art rock defies categorization in the same way their predecessors Dismemberment Plan, Q and Not U and others did, blending elements of that scene’s post-Fugazi punk with a kind of big-but-broken hearted confessional lyrical style. Despite the dark environs and material (culled exclusively from Lithium Burn), this was a band obviously thrilled to be here, ready to get back on the horse and share their new work with the wider world. They’ll be doing just that this Wednesday at Baby’s All Right in NYC, so if you’re in NYC, check it out!

I recorded this set in the same manner as the other recordings from this show, with Schoeps MK4V microphones and a soundboard feed. The sound quality is limited by the humble PA setup and the sound of the room, but it is overall a good listen. Enjoy!

Buy tickets to the Baby’s All Right show here.

Stream “Landfall”

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

Deleted Scenes
2014-03-13
DC Against the World SXSW Day Party
New Movement Theater
Austin, TX USA

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

Schoeps MK4V (FOB/DFC/PAS)>KC5>PFA + Soundboard (engineer: Mike)>>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, de-esser)>Audacity 2.0.3 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Haircuts/Uniforms
02 Stutter
03 Caught In the Brights
04 Landfall
05 House of Dust
06 Let’s Not Try to Fix Everything at Once
07 You Get to Say Whatever You Want

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Deleted Scenes, visit their website, and buy Lithium Burn and their other records directly from them in their web store.

Palehound: May 9, 2014 Death By Audio – Flac/MP3/Streaming

May 15, 2014