David Bazan (playing Pedro the Lion’s “Control”): November 15, 2012 Music Hall of Williamsburg – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

December 4, 2012
By


[Photos courtesy of flávio oota]

David Bazan’s 2002 album Control marked what became his second concept album as a recording artist. His first full-length effort as Pedro the Lion, 2000’s Winners Never Quit, told the story of the corruption and redemption of a politician, and was a favorite of mine at the time. Despite its intensely personal lyrics, capable songwriting and obvious ambivalence toward Christianity, a particularly agenda-laden Pitchfork review savaged the record and derisively called Bazan a “Christian rocker”. Control is a dark, brooding album that tells the tale of the dissolution of a modern marriage that ends, ultimately, in murder, the downward spiral all rendered in Bazan’s mournful tones. Control did well with critics and fans. But, ten years later, how has it worn?

David Bazan is a different artist today. His struggles with alcohol – and Christianity – are in the rearview, and as he told the crowd this night at Music Hall of Williamsburg, he is a better musician.  After abandoning the Pedro moniker in 2006, he has produced two excellent solo albums under his own name that stand in their own right. This tour was designed to promote the high-quality vinyl reissues of the Pedro the Lion catalog, including Control, and tonight found David and his band (Alex Westcoat and Andy Fitts, who play on both Bazan “solo” albums) playing each of the LP’s sides with a mix of Pedro and Bazan solo tracks sandwiched in the middle. Along with getting to enjoy Control classics like “Penetration” and “Rejoice” (introduced, to close out the set, as “a bummer”), Bazan played some other favorites mid-set, including “Eating Paper” from his latest solo record, Strange Negotiations, and “When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run” from Pedro’s first album, It’s Hard to Find A Friend.  So how did Control sound ten years on?  It may be a “bummer” emotionally, but it continues to stand as a musical success.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK41 supercardiod microphones inside the soundboard cage, with an excellent soundboard feed mixed by the band’s touring engineer Brad Lightfoot.  The sound is excellent.  Enjoy!

Special thanks to Bob Andrews and Caleb Palma at Undertow Music for permitting the making and sharing of this recording, and Ryan and Nick of MHOW for their kind assistance.

Stream “Penetration”

Stream “Eating Paper”

Download the MP3 files [HERE] | Download the FLAC files [HERE]

If the FLAC link is no longer working, email nyctaper for the FLAC files

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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.

David Bazan
2012-11-15
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK41 (DFC, SBD cage, PAS)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Brad Lightfoot)>> Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, align, adjust levels)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, exciter tube effect)>Audacity 3.0 (set fades, tracking, amplify, balance)>FLAC (level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 1:11:59]
Side A of “Control”
01 Options
02 Rapture
03 Penetration
04 Indian Summer
05 Progress

Mid-Set Other Songs
06 [banter/band intro (Q&A portion deleted at artist request]
07 Gas & Matches
08 The Devil Is Beating His Wife
09 Transcontinental
10 People
11 How I Remember
12 Eating Paper
13 When They Really Get To Know You

Side B of “Control”
14 Magazine
15 Rehearsal
16 [banter]
17 Second Best
18 Priests & Paramedics
19 Rejoice

Players:
David Bazan – Guitar, Vocals
Alex Westcoat – Drums
Andy Fitts – Bass

If you enjoyed this recording, please support David Bazan, visit davidbazan.com, and buy his records from Undertow Music [HERE]

Rhyton: November 27, 2012 Union Pool – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

December 4, 2012
By


[Photos by acidjack]

After their thrilling performance at the NYCTaper Northside Festival Showcase back in June, I couldn’t wait for Rhyton to hit Union Pool last week so I could see them perform songs from their latest, The Emerald Tablet.  Or at least, I assumed that would be the case, seeing that the record just dropped in September. But frontman/guitarist/other instrumentalist Dave Shuford, bassist Jimy Seitang and drummer Spencer Herbst aren’t the sort of musicians to “tour an album” or pause their creative process. So, instead of Emerald tracks, the band gave us a completely new pair of free-flowing compositions that are so new they only have working titles. These compositions are more of a piece stylistically with the band’s previous record, Rhyton, with a noisier, less Eastern-influenced feel than The Emerald Tablet. But, when you are dealing with a trio of improvisers like the Rhyton gang, it’s never correct to say anything is exactly like the past.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK5 cardiod microphones from the center of the balcony, augmented by a soundboard feed from the house engineer, Doug.  The sound is excellent.  Enjoy!

Stream “Spirit Gum”

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct download of FLAC files [HERE]

If the FLAC link is no longer working, email nyctaper for the FLAC files

Follow acidjack on twitter

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.

Rhyton
2012-11-27
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK5 (DFC, at SBD, DIN)>KCY>Z-PFA + Soundboard (engineer: Doug)>>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, adjust levels)>Izotope Ozone 5 (light EQ, exciter)>Audacity 3.0 (set fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Grokked in the Alleyway
02 Spirit Gum

If you enjoyed this recording, please support Rhyton, visit their page on Thrill Jockey Records, and purchase The Emerald Tablet LP directly from Three Lobed/Divide By Zero [HERE].

The Gourds: August 29, 2012 Mercury Lounge – FLAC / MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

December 3, 2012
By


[Photos courtesty of Mammacass4demsgudbeebles at We Are Cucurbs Wiki.]

Johnny reports:
“I don’t care what kind of mood you happen to be in, there’s something about going to see The Gourds that pretty much guarantees a good time. Between the upbeat vibe the band exudes and the raucous, fun-lovin’ fans they attract (no doubt infused with copious amounts of alcohol) it’s like being at a great party. The expert musicianship, great songcraft and interesting choice of covers they perform definitely help support that atmosphere. We caught our first Gourds concert last year, had a blast and were very happy to see them come back to town this summer. And, as expected, we sure weren’t disappointed with a show that may have surpassed the last one. We’ve become big fans of The Gourds ourselves and can’t recommend strongly enough that you get out and see them when you have the chance and need to put a big smile on your face.

At the great-sounding Mercury Lounge the audio was perfectly dialed in, as usual, on this night and the mix sounded sublime. With kudos going to the superbly combined efforts of The Gourds’ engineer, Mark, and the venue’s engineer, Kevin, the quality of hi and lo’s recording is excellent. Enjoy!”

Stream “Cracklins”: [audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/G1012Gourds0101/The_Gourds_-_Cracklins.mp3]

Stream “Werewolves of London”: [audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/G1012Gourds0101/The_Gourds_-_Werewolves_of_London.mp3]

Download the FLAC/MP3 files and stream this entire show on the Live Music Archive [HERE]

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 Gourds
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY
2012-08-29

Recordist : hi and lo
Source : MBHO KA200/603 > Custom Preamp + Soundboard >> Tascam DR-680 @ 24 bit / 48 kHz
Edit : WaveLab V6 (mixdown/eq/gain/fades/dither/resampling)
Encoding : FLAC v1.2.1 ( Level 8 ) with TLH v2.6.0 (Build 168)

Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. Everybody’s Missin’ the Sun [Grin / Nils Lofgren]
03. Pickles
04. Tomb of Nefertari
05. Lament
06. Pine Island Bayou
07. Illegal Oyster
08. Cracklins
09. Jenny Brown > I Can’t Stand It [Lou Reed]
10. Your Benefit
11. Blankets
12. Eyes of a Child
13. Honduras
14. All the Labor
15. Haunted
16. Drop What I’m Doing
17. Two Sparrows
18. All in the Pack > Sheena Is a Punk Rocker [Ramones]
19. Lower 48
20. (Encore Call)
21. Mister Betty
22. Pill Bug Blues
23. Caledonia
24. Werewolves of London [Warren Zevon]
25. Ants on the Melon
26. Maria
27. Michoacan [Atwood Allen / Kim Fowley / Doug Sahm / The Sir Douglas Quintet]
28. Take Me Back to Tulsa [Bob Wills / Tommy Duncan]
29. The Waxies’ Dargle [traditional]

Running Time: 2:15:49

If you download this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Gourds, visit their website, visit their Facebook and MySpace pages, and purchase their official releases and merchandise [HERE], at Amazon and at iTunes.

Starring: November 9, 2012 Knitting Factory – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

December 3, 2012
By


[Photos by acidjack]

The Brooklyn band Starring, fairly new darlings of the avant garde Northern Spy label,  have made significant sonic evolutions since their 2010 release Wife of God.  With the addition of Matt Mehlan – best known for his work as Skeletons – to the already-talented roster of players, the band’s sound has moved away from their more kraut and punk-leaning earlier material toward the type of longer-form prog-psych compositions that Mehlan is known for. This year’s ABCDEFG-HIJKLMNOP-QRSTUV-WXYZ (a keyboard’s worth of an album title), which was played almost in its entirety at this show at the Knitting Factory, places Starring most closely in tradition of great current New York bands like Oneida and Black Dice and classic acts like Neu! and Sun Ra.  You can hear the range of ideas and influences at work in the song “best”, where a driving backbeat and accompanying violin build blends with trippy organ, guitar and flute parts, and frontwoman Clara Hunter’s most obvious lyric is the borrower chorus of the Tina Turner classic, “Simply the Best”. There is a lot going on in this and most of the band’s other songs, and for fans of post-structuralism, there is almost as much to like about the mere attempt as there is about the result. That said, the night’s most accessible number, “aphonia”, which reminded me a bit of late period Battles, may have been more straightforward, but well might have been a stronger demonstration of the band’s chops. Starring is the type of band that refuses to remain static, and I’m sure by the next time I see them, there will be yet more dimensions to explore.

I recorded this set with MBHO KA200N microphones and an excellent soundboard feed by the Knit engineer, Rob.  The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Stream “aphonia”

Download the MP3 files [HERE] | Download the FLAC files [HERE]

If the FLAC link is no longer working, email nyctaper for the FLAC files

Follow acidjack on twitter

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.

Starring
2012-11-09
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

MBHO KA200N>MBP603>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Rob) >> Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audition (mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ)>Audacity 3.0 (set fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 ———-oooooooooooooo
03 best
04 ie
05 aphonia
06 …7…

If you enjoyed this recording, please support Starring, like them on facebook, and buy ABCDEFG-HIJKLMNOP-QRSTUV-WXYZ directly from Northern Spy Records [HERE]

Magrudergrind: November 27, 2012 St. Vitus – Flac/MP3/Streaming

November 29, 2012
By


[screen shot from unArtigNYC video here]

When our old friend unArtigNYC saw me setting up at St. Vitus on Tuesday, he gave me one of those “what are you doing here” looks. And rightfully so. The site has been to St. Vitus once, and that was acidjack’s recording of Liturgy from earlier this year. And we’ve never actually covered a real metal show. The question is really why the hell not. St. Vitus is the premiere venue for metal in NYC and its a great place — a well-equipped show room, an excellent bar and terrific staff. When I saw that New Orleans metal vets EyeHateGod were coming to Brooklyn for two shows, I figured it was time to break the ice. Good choice. This show had four excellent bands, each offering a slightly different variation on the metal theme. The third band on the bill immediately before the headliners was the Washington DC/Brooklyn grindcore trio Magrudergrind. This was a high-octane politically-themed amalgamation of speed, metal and what we used to call “hardcore” back in the day. And it was 15 songs in 22 minutes of awesome. Magrudergrind is playing again in December out in Copiague on Long Island, and after that their next official date is in 2013. See them if you can.

I recorded this set with the Sennheisers mounted very high back near the soundboard corner. The room was heavy in guitar, but when mixed with a vocal and drum heavy soundboard, the balance is just right. This is a superb recording, and we give much credit to the excellent FOH at St. Vitus. Enjoy!

Stream “The Protocols of Anti-Music”:

Download 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.

Magrudergrind
2012-11-27
St. Vitus
Brooklyn, NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser 8040 Cardioids > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert 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 2012-11-28

Setlist:
[Total Time 22:41]
01 Heretics
02 Conditioned Minds
03 Pulverized Hate Mongers
04 Lyrical Ammunition for Scene Warfare
05 Stagnant
06 Rise and Fall of Empires Past
07 Fuck Nazi Sympathy [Aus Rotten]
08 Leech
09 The Price of Living By Delinquent Ideals
10 Burden
11 Rehashed
12 Heaviest Bombing
13 Layer of Waste
14 Excommunicated
15 The Protocols of Anti-Sound

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Magrudergrind, visit their Facebook page, and purchase their self-titled album from Willowtip Records [HERE].

METZ: November 20, 2012 Knitting Factory – Flac/MP3/Streaming

November 28, 2012
By


[photo courtesy of Fred Pessaro, complete set at brooklynvegan]

About six months ago, acidjack arranged to record METZ‘ first trip to NYC as an opener in a small venue. Unfortunately, that recording never came to fruition, but the band remembered us. Here they are a short time later signed to Sup Pop, a big hit at CMJ last month, and in NYC last week where they sold out two consecutive weekday shows. We saw the second of the two shows, at the Knitting Factory last Tuesday. And what a show it was. METZ came out with an abundant amount of energy and kept it going for the entire set. The band played virtually their entire new self-titled record, and what I believe was one new song. Their music has been described as post-punk, grunge and noise-rock, but of all their name-an-influence bands, I hear Mission of Burma the most. And of all of the post-punk trios with which to be compared, you can’t get much better than MOB. And METZ deserves it, they’re that good.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser Cards mixed with an excellent board feed provided by Knit engineer Devin. The sound quality of this recording is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “The Mule”:

Download the Complete show in [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.

METZ
2012-11-20
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser 8040 Cardioids > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert 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 2012-11-27

Setlist:
[Total Time 36:08]
01 Knife in the Water
02 Negative Space
03 [banter]
04 Get Off
05 [new song]
06 Wasted
07 Sad Pricks
08 Headache
09 Rats
10 The Mule
11 [banter – thanks]
12 Wet Blanket

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT METZ, visit their Sub Pop page, and purchase their self-titled debut album from Sub Pop Records [HERE].

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