Stars: March 09, 2013 Music Hall of Williamsburg – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

April 2, 2013
By

stars second night-1[photos courtesy of Jill Harrison and For the Love of Brooklyn]

The Music Hall of Williamsburg recently hosted the two-night sold-out “Evenings of Sex and Death” tour featuring Canadian indie group Stars. A cheeky theme, yet one the band has continually explored throughout their long-running career. While the first night’s performance focused on the carnal, the second show paid tribute to their darker material.

Though the theme of the night was DEATH, the band was rested and in great spirits after such a warm reception the previous night. Highlights of this show included “Dead Hearts,” which was preceded by a onstage seance to summon the ghosts of Williamsburg, and the over-the-top melodramatics of “Do You Want to Die Together?” – a raucous duet about suicide from their latest album. Ever paying it forward for their longtime fans, Stars also played many of the hits from their classic LP “Set Yourself on Fire”, including the title track and “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”, featured below.

I recorded the Stars with an excellent soundboard feed again provided by the band’s engineer and good friend, Marty, and for the second I decided to use a pair of MBHO cardioid microphones which are among my favorite indoor microphones. Their slightly brighter tone and ability to cut through the natural reverb of the room produces an incredibly clean sound which I think is even better than the previous night.

Our thanks goes to the Stars and their management for allowing us to record both nights from their recent run and we hope you enjoy!

Stream “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S1110Stars1102/stars2013-03-09.yourexloverisdead.mp3]

Stream “Fixed”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S1110Stars1102/stars2013-03-09.fixed.mp3]

Direct download of the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

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.

stars second night-2

Stars
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY
2013-03-09

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and Produced by hi and lo

Recordist : hi and lo
Source: MBHO KA200/603 (PAS) > PSP-2 + Soundboard >> Tascam DR-680 @ 24 bit / 48 kHz

01. Intro
02. The Theory of Relativity
03. Elevator Love Letter
04. A Song is a Weapon
05. Death to Death
06. Ageless Beauty
07. The North
08. Backlines
09. The Light
10. Do You Want To Die Together?
11. Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
12. Set Yourself on Fire
13. Going, Going, Gone
14. Lights Changing Colour
15. Dead Hearts
16. Tru
17. Fixed
18. Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It
19. Take Me to the Riot
20. Walls
21. (Encore Call)
22. My Favourite Book
23. What the Snowman Learned About Love
24. Reunion
25. Barricade

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Stars, visit their website, and purchase any of their CDs or Vinyls from their online store [HERE].

ACME String Quartet: March 20, 2013 Society for Ethical Culture – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

April 1, 2013
By

ACME2013-03-20-1
[Photos by acidjack]

One of the missions of the Wordless Music Series is to help bring classical and contemporary music together by pairing rock and electronic artists with more conventionally classical  acts.  On this night at the Society for Ethical Culture, the ACME String Quartet joined Low (that recording here) for an incredible evening of music that began with a set of ACME performing a series of contemporary string pieces.  The group is well-known for avoiding the typical cloistered classical environments that are the province of their peers (they play Le Poisson Rouge with some frequency), nor do they hem themselves in to one genre, movement or style.  On this night, for example, the group performed two pieces by the modern American composer Ingram Marshall, followed by a piece from English composer Gavin Bryars involving a repeating blues vocal loop.  The set closed with “White Man Sleeps”, a fast-paced number by the post-minimalist South African composer Kevin Volans.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK5 microphones from the third row in the audience, in the center. As with the Low recording, there is a bit of analog hiss in the mix, which was reduced in post-production.  Enjoy!

Stream “White Man Sleeps”:

Direct download of the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

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.

ACME2013-03-20-2

ACME String Quartet
2013-03-20
Society for Ethical Culture
New York, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK5 (3rd row, DFC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Aerco MP-2>Roland R-26>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition 3.0 (noise reduction, smooth peaks)>Audacity 3.0 (set fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Entrada [Ingram Marshall]
02 Fog Tropes II [Ingram Marshall]
03 [banter- band intro]
04 Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet [Gavin Bryars]
05 White Man Sleeps (excerpt) [Kevin Volans]

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT ACME String Quartet, visit their website, and buy their records [HERE] 

Stars: March 08, 2013 Music Hall of Williamsburg – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

March 29, 2013
By

stars-1[photos courtesy of Jill and For the Love of Brooklyn]

The Canadian indie pop group Stars recorded their first album in NYC in 1999 and although they’ve since moved away, they always manage to make each return feel like a homecoming party. Band frontman and founder Torquil Campbell recently gave an interview in which he elaborates on his love-hate relationship with this city:

To this day, my wife still says that, even though I was born in England and I grew up in Canada, I act like a New Yorker. That was where my personality came into full fruition, where I found 11 million assholes just like me. [Laughs] I feel very at home there. On the other hand, I hate New York. Like everybody does. New York is a reflection of you. It’s whatever you imagine yourself to be.

The whole interview is highly entertaining, just like their recent sold-out two-night stop at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. The crowd had a blast as Stars dusted off a few fan favorites and mixed them up with a selection of new tracks from “The North”, their newest album released last September. Streaming below are two of my favorite songs from the night, but other surprises in the setlist included 2001’s “Krush” and a new unreleased song called “Wishful.”

I recorded this night’s performance using a pair of Schoeps MK41 microphones and an excellent soundboard feed graciously provided to us by the band and expertly mixed by their long-time engineer, Marty. The mix is an even balance of the two sources and the results are nothing short of outstanding!

We also recorded Stars the following night at Music Hall of Williamsburg and will be posting that performance very soon.

Stream “Midnight Coward”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S1110Stars1102/stars2013-03-08.midnightcoward.mp3]

Stream “Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S1110Stars1102/stars2013-03-08.holdon.mp3]

Direct download of the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

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.

stars 2-1

Stars
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY
2013-03-08

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and Produced by hi and lo

Recordist : hi and lo
Source 1 : Schoeps MK41 (DINa) > PSP-2 > AD2k + Soundboard >> Tascam DR-680 @ 24 bit / 48 kHz

01. Intro
02. The Theory of Relativity
03. Fixed
04. A Song is a Weapon
05. The North
06. We Don’t Want Your Body
07. Backlines
08. Personal
09. Do You Want To Die Together?
10. Wishful
11. Soft Revolution
12. (Banter)
13. Krush
14. The Loose Ends Will Make Knots
15. Life Effect
16. Midnight Coward
17. What I’m Trying to Say
18. One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead)
19. Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It
20. Take Me to the Riot
21. Walls
22. (Encore Call)
23. My Favourite Book
24. Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
25. The 400

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Stars, visit their website, and purchase any of their CDs or Vinyls from their online store [HERE].

The Habit: March 26, 2013 Knitting Factory – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

March 27, 2013
By

habit2013-03-26-3
[Photos by acidjack]

The Habit are members of the new cohort of bands seeking to re-examine the possibilities of traditional American rock music.  With one record under their belt (Lincoln Has Won) and another coming very soon, this show at the Knitting Factory gave them a chance to debut their new stuff in front of an appreciative crowd. While Brooklyn may not seem like the obvious hometown for an act whose sound leans heavily on traditional country as well as American rock, The Habit tacitly acknowledge their Northeastern present with some punked-up arrangements that give a nod to Yankee bands like the Dropkick Murphys. The result is a live show that serves up both high energy and high variety, with dual vocalists Brian Mendes and Siobhan Glennon giving them range for both heartfelt country ballads and honky-tonked-up punk. The band, founded by Mendes and guitarist Willie Croxton, arose out of their mutual respect for the original folk recordings of famous archivist Alan Lomax, followed by later influences like Alan Parsons and Jimmie Rogers.  They have done an excellent job of respecting those influences while creating their own personality — and most importantly, a fun live show — at the same time.

hi and lo recorded this set with my Schoeps MK5 microphones and a soundboard feed from Rubes, the Knitting Factory FOH.  The sound is excellent.  Enjoy!

Stream “Break Down the Walls”

Direct download of the full show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

If there are any issues with the links, please email NYCTaper.

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.

The Habit
2013-03-26
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by hi and lo
Produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK5 (cardiod, slightly ROC, DIN)>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard (engineer: Rubes)>>Tascam DR-680>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, adjust levels, mix down, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (exciter, EQ)>Audacity 3.0 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 39:03]
01 Tell Me How From Love To Fly
02 Demons
03 Evol
04 Leave Her, Johnny
05 Boat On A River
06 For You
07 You Will Miss Me When I’m Gone
08 From Seat 9
09 Break Down the Walls
10 [banter]
11 War Is Done

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT The Habit, visit their website, and buy Lincoln Has Won and their first EP in their online store [HERE].

Low: March 20, 2013 Society For Ethical Culture – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

March 24, 2013
By

low2013-03-20-1
[Photos by P Squared Photography]

Seeing Low inside a non-denominational church (the Society For Ethical Culture, a favorite spot of the Wordless Music Series) seems appropriate. The by-now-legendary Duluth, MN band, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has a sound that demands reverence. This audience of superfans gave it to the band, too, as the church stayed as pin-drop quiet during the mellowest parts of the band’s catalog as it filled with applause after every number. I was blown away by the Low show I saw at Bowery Ballroom two years ago, and this show may have bettered that one.  The band played the bulk of their current Sub Pop release, The Invisible Way, but delved into some rarities, too, such as “I Hear… Goodnight” from their In the Fishtank EP with The Dirty Three.  While the current record is a less full-on rock affair than 2011’s, C’Mon, it is still a comparatively noisy outing for the band who gave birth to the “slowcore” genre. Some of the noisier new songs were among the night’s best, particularly Alan Sparhawk’s squalling guitar freakout during “On My Own”.  The band was joined for the final quarter of the set by the night’s opener, the ACME String Quartet, and the added strings gave added depth to Low’s spare arrangements. The ACME players seemed as honored and gratified to be sharing the stage with Low as we were to be sharing the evening with all of them. During a pause in their playing during “So Blue”, I noticed one of the ACME players gently nodding, a huge smile on her face. The smile just about said it all.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK5 microphones at head height from the third row, center, in the audience.  That position, while great for watching a show, is not ideal for recording, especially as the PA stacks were placed outside the edges of the stage. Further, the large variations in volume mean that quiet portions of the program were especially quiet, which introduced some hiss from the analog signal chain.  I have done considerable editing to this recording to tame the hiss and raise the vocals and overall sound levels without ruining the dynamics of the band’s sound. After a lot of work, I am pleased with the results, even if it falls a little short of my usual standards. Enjoy!

Stream “On My Own”

This NYCTaper recording is being hosted on the Live Music Archive.  You can stream the entire show by clicking the song titles below.

Download: MP3s are [HERE], 16-bit FLACs are [HERE] 

low2013-03-20-4

Low
2013-03-20
Society For Ethical Culture
New York, NY USA

Hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK5 (cardiod, 3rd row, DFC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Aerco MP-2>Roland R-26>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition (noise reduction, parallel compression, smooth peaks)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 3.0 (tracking, fades, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:44:28]
01 Waiting
02 Witches
03 [tuning]
04 Holy Ghost
05 Monkey
06 Clarence White
07 Mother
08 Words
09 Murderer
10 Shame
11 Pissing
12 Plastic Cup
13 July
14 [banter1]
15 Dinosaur Act
16 I Hear… Goodnight
17 Especially Me
18 [Intro Acme String Quartet]
19 So Blue
20 On My Own
21 Last Snowstorm of the Year
22 Soon
23 [encore break]
24 When I Go Deaf
25 To Our Knees
26 Just Make It Stop

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Low, like them on Facebook, and purchase The Invisible Way and their other releases directly from SubPop Records [HERE]

low2013-03-20-3

Alexandra Stewart: March 15, 2013 Glasslands – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

March 20, 2013
By



8563125280_1c38039d75_z
[Photos courtesy of Oresti Tsonopoulos]

While thousands of young artists chose to ply their wares in the marketing-drenched trenches of Austin last Friday, Alexandra Stewart played her first full-band show at Glasslands.  There were no junk food ads or cell-phone chattering PR flacks on hand, no distractions or status-obsessed bullshit. People were there to celebrate music, rather than exploit it. Stewart has a brand-new, well-produced record (Wàbà) to preview.  She chose to do it here, in a place that feels like home, in front of people who actually cared.  In some ways, an artist’s choices can matter as much as their art.

As for her performance, Stewart and the band (Chris Pattishall on keys, Austin Vaughn on drums, Jack Hill on bass and Russ Flynn on guitar) evinced none of the first-show jitters that derail early shows, starting this eight-song set as strongly as they finished it.  The focused, effortless groove Stewart lays down with her vocals reminded me at points of artists like Feist and Laetitia Sadier, and her full-band arrangements gave those vocals a lush, engaging backdrop.  Wàbà is named for the little village in Ontario, Canada where Stewart grew up, and her hometown and country figure prominently in her style. If you look at the Pinterest page where she assembled inspirational images for the record, several are the kind of wintry, grey-washed photos one might associate with our colder, less populated neighbor land to the north. But the images aren’t bleak; they can inspire hope, or pensive reflection. Stewart’s music is much the same, drawing on darkness and light.  Her songs can range from the playful-sounding pop of “Pow Wow” (whose subject matter is shade darker than the song’s sound) to the somber “Graveyard”, which starts with a spare vocals and keys arrangement until it crests on waves of guitar.  On this night, these and other songs arrived fully formed, delivered with an understated grace and poise that is hard to come by for a first show. Stewart will continue playing more live shows through the year as she looks for a home for the record, and I suspect that if she and the band continue to perform at this level, she will find some takers.

I recorded this set with MBHO microphones placed directly in front of the band to capture the sense of being up front, combined with an excellent soundboard feed of the house mix by engineer Josh Thiel.  The sound is excellent.  Enjoy!

Direct download of the full show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream “Pow Wow”:

Stream “Graveyard”:

Watch “Soul Like A Ghost” (shot by Oresti Tsonopoulos):

If there are any issues with the links, please email NYCTaper.

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.

Alexandra Stewart
2013-03-15
Glasslands
Brooklyn NY USA

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

MBHO KA200N (onstage, NOS)>Z-PFA>Aerco MP-2 + Soundboard (engineer: Josh Thiel)>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHZ WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (effects on soundboard, align, mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (light EQ, exciter)>Audacity 3.0 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Lone Wolf
02 Pow Wow
03 You Don’t Know How
04 Indian Summer [Victor Herbert]
05 Soul Like A Ghost
06 Lullabye
07 Lovesick
08 [band intros]
09 Graveyard

Band:
Alexandra Stewart – Vocals
Chris Pattishall – Keys
Austin Vaughn – Drums
Jack Hill – Bass
Russ Flynn – Guitar

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Alexandra Stewart, like her on Facebook and visit her bandcamp page where you can preview the first five tracks of Wàbà for free.

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