Ryley Walker: January 13, 2015 Baby’s All Right

February 5, 2015
By

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[photo from October 2014 Rough Trade show by acidjack]

Ryley Walker will be a breakout star this year, and the reason won’t just be his forthcoming album, Primrose Green. Walker has been touring hard, working out the new material, and consistently wowing audiences. BrooklynVegan brought him to New York for a Red Bull Sound Select event at Baby’s All Right, and we couldn’t have been happier, having seen Walker last in a similar two-man configuration back in October at Rough Trade.

Once Primrose Green hits shelves, those versions of Walker’s songs might well seem polite by comparison. The title track’s single, available on Soundcloud and on other streaming services, is a fine version, but pales when up against Walker’s fierce version on this night, a ten-minute ramble through his mind featuring an elongated intro and a virtuosic guitar playing that mimicked some of the dissociative elements of the alcoholic beverage for which the song is titled. But if I had to pick from among Walker’s post-All Kinds of You material, I think it’s “Summer Dress” that will go down as his signature song, as it begins with its loping guitar line under a vocal turn in which Walker yelps, deploys falsetto, flirts with chaos. Watching Walker, you get the sense that he’s not even trying to play these songs to please you, but he does anyway. There’s a sense of abandon to his work that can’t help but grab you; he’s feral up there, without anchor. He makes many of the greats to whom he’s compared — Bert Jansch, for one — sound like choirboys. As to other distinctions, this set boasted a new song, “Funny Thing She Said”, as well as a cover of Van Morrison’s “Fair Play” from Veedon Fleece, the latter a worthwhile reimagining that again places Walker right up there with the rarefied company that came before him.

This set was recorded by Baby’s engineer Rubes, whose dedication to craft is obvious in his flawless mix of his board feed with the house mics. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Walker will be back at Baby’s All Right on March 15 with another of our favorites, Kevin Morby. Get tickets here.

Download the complete show via the Live Music Archive: [FLAC] | [MP3]

Ryley Walker
2015-01-13
Baby’s All Right (sponsored by BrooklynVegan)
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by Rubes
Produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Rubes) + Audio Technica 4051>digital multitrack>SD card>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down individual tracks, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, compression, exciter)>Audacity 2.0.5 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downwsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Note that two tags of the FLAC and MP3 files need updating]
01 Funny Thing She Said
02 [banter1]
03 Summer Dress
04 [banter2]
05 Primrose Green
06 On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee
07 Fair Play [Van Morrison]
08 [banter3]
09 Sweet Satisfaction

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Ryley Walker, like him on Facebook, and buy Primrose Green from Dead Oceans.

Noveller: January 29, 2015 Cameo Gallery – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

February 4, 2015
By

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The word “cinematic” is an often lazy descriptor employed in order to say something/anything about abstract instrumental music. And yet when discussing Noveller née Sarah Lipstate’s music, it’s exceedingly difficult not to use the word. Performing live, I can’t recall seeing her incorporate video or visuals into her set, despite being well-known as a filmmaker. Perhaps it’s because her music itself is already a visual medium, suggesting and conjuring images in the listener’s imagination, as if environments and topographies are being transported by sound. Her album and song titles are filled with geological and elemental references—glaciers, deserts, dunes, mountains, fire—so listening at home there is often some specific direction for the imagination. But live, without immediate access to song titles, the experience is something maybe a little less directed, left to the listener’s own mind.

I caught Noveller at Cameo Gallery for her Fantastic Planet record release show. Already the album’s title carries filmic connotations—Fantastic Planet (La Planète sauvage) is a French stop motion animated film from the seventies. (Its soundtrack, by Alain Goraguer, has recently been reissued and Ad Hoc’s latest zine has a feature on it.) I haven’t read anything affirming the record’s reference to the film, but the connection, however tenuous, is likely. New songs like “Into the Dunes,” “Rubicon,” and the driving, rhythmic “Pulse Point” sound coincident to that film’s bizarre imagery and stark landscapes. “Growing,” along with album- and set-closer “The Ascent” build towards a resolution to the action of the preceding songs and seem to emphasize some knowledge or understanding gained.

Though this set focuses mostly on the new record, it also integrates three selections from 2013’s No Dreams: the title track, “Purchase,” and “Gathering the Elements.” Thematically, those songs fit in seamlessly with the new material and while there’s definitely a narrative arc to her set, I’d be hard pressed to put it into words. Better to listen with an open mind and let the songs take you where they’re going.

I recorded this set with the mics positioned in front of the board and a feed from Cameo Gallery FOH Gary. The crowd was a little chatty so this mix favors the board feed with the mics adding some room depth. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Noveller plays tonight, February 4th, at The Wick as part of the Tinnitus Music Series. Tickets are still available.

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

Stream the complete show:

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.

Noveller
2015-01-29
Cameo Gallery
Brooklyn, NY

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

Soundboard (engineer: Gary) + AKG C480B/CK61 (FOB, PAS) > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV(24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, mixdown, EQ) > Audacity 2.0.5 (amplify, fades, downsample, dither, tracking, tagging) > FLAC (level 8)

Tracks [40:46]
01. Rubicon
02. Into the Dunes
03. No Unholy Mountain
04. Pulse Point
05. No Dreams
06. Purchase
07. Gathering the Elements
08. The Ascent

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Noveller. Visit her Bandcamp page, like her on Facebook, and buy Fantastic Planet through her website.

Mike Pace and the Child Actors: January 16, 2015 Union Hall – Flac/MP3/Streaming

February 3, 2015
By

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[photo by nyctaper]

Six years between albums is a long time. When we recorded Mike Pace’s old band Oxford Collapse at CMJ 2008, little did we know that the group would disband shortly thereafter and Mike would retreat from the music world for more than half a decade. Oxford Collapse had a fairly successful six-year run, with two albums on Kanine Records and two on Sub Pop but called it quits in early 2009. But in collaboration with the multi-talented Matt LeMay, Mike Pace and the Child Actors released Best Boy in January — an album six years in the making. The album’s collection of eleven songs contains some tracks that sound familiar to fans of Oxford Collapse’s 90s-inspired guitar rock, but also has songs that develop Mike’s other influences. At the album’s release show at Union Hall, the band played much of the new album and a few classic rock covers. Mike rotated from guitar to keyboards to laptop which accentuated the mix of styles evident on the album. After years away from regular performance, Mike has nevertheless maintained his keen wit and ability to summon the spirit for some true moments of unbridled energy. The result was a highly entertaining show to a packed room with many smiles and lots of head bobbing. Unfortunately, Mike Pace will not be returning to full-time live performance in the very near future (he and his wife are having a baby soon) but we’re confident that when he returns to the circuit, the quality of the music will remain.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps cards clamped to the low ceiling about 15 feet from the stage and mixed with a fine board feed provided by house FOH Alex. The mix of the two sources produced an outstanding recording. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream “Cold Calling”:

Stream “Movin’ Out” (Billy Joel cover):

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request, and feel free to repost the Soundcloud links.

Mike Pace and the Child Actors
2015-01-16
Union Hall
Brooklyn NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Alex] + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wavs > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, EQ, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 52:30]
01 Fire Sale
02 [banter – record]
03 Up The Academy
04 Summer Lawns
05 [banter – thanks]
06 Southern Cordial
07 [band introduction]
08 Cold Calling
09 Surrender [Cheap Trick]
10 McKinley
11 [banter – snakes]
12 The King of Corona
13 Blues for Atuk
14 [banter – Best Boy]
15 Kiss and Fly
16 [banter – more thanks]
17 Movin’ Out [Billy Joel]
18 Spirit of the Radio [Rush]

If download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Mike Pace and the Child Actors, visit the website, and purchase Best Boy and their Bandcamp page [HERE].

Viet Cong: January 28, 2015 Union Pool – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

February 1, 2015
By

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[photos courtesy of P Squared Photography]

Sometimes there’s something to the wisdom of crowds. Viet Cong, from Canada’s less-celebrated center (Calgary, to be exact) sold out this Union Pool show long before the not-at-all-catastrophic snowstorm hit New York City this week. Still, it takes something special to pack in almost any room on a slushy, freezing night in January, and Viet Cong had the place well past capacity. Half-composed of former members of the band Women, who we were lucky enough to see in their prime, Viet Cong continues that band’s art-rock mission, if not expands it. What makes the band’s live show flat-out better than their very-well-regarded debut LP is simply that watching them put this music together gives you a clearer sense of how much is going on. The interplay between guitarists isn’t simply your usual rhythm/lead dichotomy; guitarists Scott Munro and Daniel Christiansen’s instruments are almost in opposition to each other at points, at others answering each other note-for-note. Both guitarists double up on keys as well, but don’t think vocalist/bassist Matt Flegel isn’t producing himself. Granted, some of the members have history together, but this is still an incredibly tight unit for a band with only the Cassette EP and the new album to their credit.

The band’s sound mimics the bleak landscape of their hometown at times; the show, and the album closed with a ten-plus minute dirge named “Death”.  But there’s also humor running through Flegel’s lyrics, when you can make them out, and the Cassette songs, especially, have a more straightforward appeal. Ultimately, though, what comes across most about this band is just how effing good they are. The complexity of their work may suggest that this is music for musicians, but what Viet Cong do so well is make that complex music relatable, even fun, to listen to. This show will set a high bar for the rest of 2015, in the best possible way.

I recorded this set at the soundboard with Schoeps MK4V microphones and a stereo feed from Union Pool engineer Doug. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete show/download individual songs: 

Viet Cong
2015-01-28
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schleps MK4V (FOB, DFC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Doug)>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, tape effect, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 49:00]
01 Silhouettes
02 Bunker Buster
03 March of Progress
04 Oxygen Feed
05 Unconscious Melody
06 Pointless Experience
07 Continental Shelf
08 Death

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Viet Cong by buying their albums here, or on Amazon for vinyl.

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Alex Calder: January 11, 2015 Rough Trade – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

January 29, 2015
By

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Alex Calder has done it the classic Captured Tracks way — starting out as a solo artist working on his own, expanding as his songs grew more complex into a full band. Calder took the stage for Rough Trade’s first anniversary with a crack band that, like the re-released version of his latest album Strange Dreams, took his sound to the next level. Calder’s songs, both from his 2015 re-release Strange Dreams to his earlier work, crackled as live versions, waking this early afternoon Rough Trade crowd up immediately. Calder has an obvious love for many generations and styles of popular music, from ’60s surf and garage to the faster-paced punk and softer-edged pop work that appeared in the late ’70s and early ’80s. An added bonus of this set was what appeared to be some new songs, each well in keeping with the quality of Calder’s current output. We hope to see another record from him this year, if we’re lucky.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK41 supercardiod microphones and a soundboard feed from house engineer Kyle. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

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

Stream the complete show:

Alex Calder
2015-01-11
Rough Trade
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK41 (DFC, PAS, at SBD)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Kyle)>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, reverb SBD)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, imaging, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [unknown1]
02 [unknown2]
03 Suki and Me
04 Location
05 Strange Dreams
06 Someone
07 [unknown3]
08 Marcel
09 Time

If you enjoyed this recording, visit Alex Calder’s Facebook page and buy his records from Captured Tracks here.

Spacin’: December 14, 2014 Glasslands – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

January 27, 2015
By

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Spacin‘ were the right kind of band to see in my last time at Glasslands. Live, they’re not a fussy bunch: They take the stage, launch into their thing, and sear your ears without pretense. They’re not guaranteeing an upscale kind of rock show; this lo-fi Philly band is guaranteeing a good time. Likewise, even in its quasi-DIY last incarnation, Glasslands was never trying to be a slick-sheened rock club. Glasslands wanted you to feel welcome as soon as you got in the door, and to have a blast.

Although this was a different formation than the Spacin’/Purling Hiss beast I saw at Hopscotch a few months earlier, Spacin’ played several numbers from that set as well as some others I have come to know well. The band’s cover of MC5’s “American Ruse”, heavily retooled in Spacin’s image, is always a high point. As that eight-minute rocker wound down, the band segued into a psychedelic intro that led into the bread-and-butter mid-set of “Human Condition” followed by “Sunshine No Shoes”. For the band’s moment on the Glasslands stage, they played the appropriate-enough “Empty Mind”, with its heavy-chugging bass line and ample opportunity for exploration.

Even if we won’t be able to visit Glasslands anymore, the spirit of the place will live on elsewhere. Where there are bands and fans in need of a real home, a place where you feel less like a customer and more like a welcome friend, there will be right-minded people there to fill that gap.

I recorded this set with our installed sound system at Glasslands and a soundboard feed by Josh Thiel. The sound quality is quite good and much better than the Spacin’/Hiss set earlier this year, but it’s still gritty enough not to confuse anyone what this is about.

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

Stream the complete set:

Spacin’
2014-12-14
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Soundboard (engineer: Josh Thiel) + Naiant X-R (PAS, DFC)>Roland R-26>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, harmonic exciter, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Over Uneasy
02 American Ruse [MC5]>
03 Human Condition
04 Sunshine No Shoes
05 Empty Mind

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Spacin’, check them out on Facebook, and buy their album Deep Thuds from Midheaven Mailorder.

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