Hans Chew also playing the NYCTaper CMJ Day Party at Cake Shop (Thursday Oct 18)

September 25, 2012
By

Yesterday we posted about our first CMJ show of 2012, the day party on Thursday October 18, 2012 at Cake Shop. We revealed two artists for this amazing bill, with clues about the other five acts. Today, we’re filling in another name — the inimitable Hans Chew. A little bio about Hans:
“Hans Chew’s 2010 debut album, Tennessee and Other Stories…, received four-stars from Rolling Stone Magazine who called it “fantastic… timeless…”. Uncut Magazine included the record in their Top 50 Albums of the Year and their list of the 20 Best Americana Albums, while also nominating Hans for their highest honor, The Uncut Music Award. Hans Chew is alive and kicking in New York City. He is currently working on his next record, due in 2012.”

Yesterday, Hans revealed his appearance at our show with this tumblr post:

We’re all set to play the @nyctaper @cmj 2012 day party at @cakeshopnyc !!! This show is sure to be a highlight of CMJ 2012 in October…our band is like a bunch of rabid thoroughbreds kicking in their stalls raring to rock and roll a New York City crowd after a long local hiatus…not to be missed… Also on the bill are New Orleans’ own Hurray For the Riff Raff, who recently appeared on HBO’s Treme, and have been touring Europe extensively, and recently played a spectacular show in Brighton, UK promoted by our European management company Brighthelmstone Promotions. Plus Merge Records’ act Mount Moriah, and more TBA… https://www.nyctaper.com/2012/09/nyctaper-at-cmj-2012-first-show-thursday-october-18-day-party-at-cake-shop/

We’re all set to play the @nyctaper @cmj 2012 day party at @cakeshopnyc !!!

This show is sure to be a highlight of CMJ 2012 in October…our band is like a bunch of rabid thoroughbreds kicking in their stalls raring to rock and roll a New York City crowd after a long local hiatus…not to be missed…
Also on the bill are New Orleans’ own Hurray For the Riff Raff, who recently appeared on HBO’s Treme, and have been touring Europe extensively, and recently played a spectacular show in Brighton, UK promoted by our European management company Brighthelmstone Promotions. Plus Merge Records’ act Mount Moriah, and more TBA…

So now the bill looks like this:
6:00 – Hurray For The Riff Raff
5:15 – [awesome all female quartet]
4:30 – Hans Chew
3:45 – [female folk singer extraordinaire – after year playing keys for BK indie vets]
3:00 – Mount Moriah
2:15 – [talent-rich songscape creator – childhood friend of nyctaper faves]
1:30 – [irresistable Michigan-based pop trio]

Wooden Wand: September 7, 2012 Three Lobed/WXDU Day Show and Berkeley Cafe (2 shows! Hopscotch Festival (Raleigh, NC) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 25, 2012
By


[Photos by acidjack]

Back when he was in law school, my college buddy Cory Rayborn decided to put out a 10″ record for the band Bardo Pond, on a new imprint he called Three Lobed Recordings. Cory didn’t have any grand cred-building mission or even a firm direction in mind; he just wanted to give wider exposure to the outsider music he held dear. So after the Bardo Pond release came another, then another, then many others, until the tiny North Carolina label that my friend founded as a hobby suddenly found itself compiling a tenth anniversary vinyl-only box set – which sold out in a matter of days. And at this year’s Hopscotch Music Festival, Three Lobed and the Durham, NC-based WXDU (nominally Duke’s college radio station, but staffed almost completely by locals) brought together an incredible lineup of artists who have released records on Three Lobed, together with other artists who are friends and admirers.

James Jackson Toth, aka Wooden Wand, first joined the Three Lobed family on the label’s 14th release, with the Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice album l’un marquee contre la moissoneuse. Toth has a staggering catalog of releases to his name, including everything from homemade tapes and CD-Rs to the recent deluxe version of his current record Briarwood (which, if you Kickstarter funded enough money, included a USB drive filled with over 100 demos, live recordings, alternate mixes, and outtakes). While Briarwood and Toth’s other most recent material could be best described as country-driven rock, Toth’s work has taken many twists and turns, with deep dives into free jazz, noise and acid folk. Toth has a new album on the way by the name of Blood Oaths of the New Blues, which promises to continue in the extremely accessible (and well-produced) vein of Briarwood. Here at the WXDU/Three Lobed Day Show at Raleigh’s King’s Barcade, we had the pleasure of seeing Toth take the stage to perform a short-but-satisfying set that included several of the new Blood Oaths tunes.

After a heartfelt thank you to Rayborn and his accomplishments with Three Lobed, Toth dug right in with “Mother Midnight”, from his 2006 record Second Attention, a mid tempo rocker that showcases the deep soul in Toth’s voice. You’d never know, from listening, that he is originally from upstate New York. From there, the new material began with the brooding “Southern Colorado Song”, one of several of Toth’s new songs that demonstrates the further refinement to his songwriting even as it stays true to his essential aesthetic.  Perhaps the most moving song of the set was the new “Dungeon of Irons”, whose lyrics were culled by Toth from a compilation of the actual last words of death row prisoners. In Toth’s hands, these scattered musings become a profound statement about mortality and the essential unfairness that plagues both life and death. As this set wound down with the new song “Jhonn Balance” (in tribute to the lead singer of the experimental band Coil), Toth’s day was just beginning; Wooden Wand played Berkeley Cafe down the street later that night.

For this post we are offering both the Three Lobed/WXDU Day Show set that I recorded, as well as a partial recording of the Berkeley Cafe set that was recorded by a local taper Evan Lamb. While the Berkeley recording was done with less complicated equipment, Toth felt that this was the better of the two performances, and this recording adds an extra song not played at the earlier show.

Thanks to James Toth for allowing us to post these sets.

Stream “Dungeon of Irons” from the Three Lobed/WXDU Day Show:

Stream “Eagle Claw” from Berkeley Cafe:

Download the WXDU/Three Lobed set [MP3] | [FLAC]

Download the Berkeley Cafe set [MP3] | [FLAC]

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

Follow acidjack on twitter

Check out all of NYCTaper’s Hopscotch Festival recordings

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.

Wooden Wand
2012-09-07
WXDU/Three Lobed Hopscotch Day Party
Kings Barcade
Raleigh, NC USA

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

Soundboard + Schoeps MK5 (omni, onstage)>KC5>CMC6>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audition (mixdown)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 3.0 (set fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 Mother Midnight
03 Southern Colorado Song
04 Winter In Kentucky
05 [banter]
06 Dungeon of Irons
07 Days This Long
08 Jhonn Balance
______________________

Wooden Wand
2012-09-07
Hopscotch Music Festival
Berkeley Cafe
Raleigh, NC USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by Evan Lamb
Produced by Dan Schram and acidjack

AKG Perception 170>unknown recorder + soundboard>unknown recorder>unknown processing>WAV>Audacity (tracking, set fades, amplify)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 22:53]
[set cuts in]
01 Days This Long
02 [banter]
03 Mother Midnight
04 [banter]
05 Winter In Kentucky
06 [banter]
07 Eagle Claw
08 Jhonn Balance

If you enjoyed these recordings, PLEASE SUPPORT Wooden Wand, visit his website, and buy Briarwood and the forthcoming Blood Oaths of the New Blues from Fire Records [HERE]

The Soft Moon: September 20, 2012 Glasslands – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 24, 2012
By


[Photos courtesy of Eric Groom Photography]

The tastemaking label Captured Tracks has developed a unique ability to find bedroom recording projects and other oddball solo visions that are capable of being something more. The Bay Area band The Soft Moon was originally such a project from frontman/guitarist Luis Vasquez, and that was the genesis of the band’s breakout debut LP, The Soft Moon. Seeing the band live at Glasslands this past Thursday, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s hard to see how Vasquez could not have pictured those songs as vital live tunes. This was easily among the most slam-packed, sold-out Glasslands shows I have been to, and the energy of this night was unmistakable; music fans lined the entire Kent Ave. block of Williamsburg that featured three completely full venues. With driving synths and an electronically-augmented backbeat, these darkwave revivalists had little difficulty getting this crowd dancing. The twelve-song set covered a solid portion of the Soft Moon material, as well as some numbers from the band’s 2011 Total Decay EP and at least one track, “Die Life”, that will appear on their forthcoming album, Zeros, which drops in a little over a month.

Vasquez was enjoying the attention and lighthearted between songs. After only five songs he  said “we’ve got one more song” – followed by groans of disappointment from the sardines in the audience.

“I’m just fucking with you” he continued, before launching into a fiery version of the gothic midtempo number “Total Decay” – a relatively mellow midpoint to a set that stayed on fire for the remaining six songs. What began with one guy in his bedroom is now quite clearly a band to be reckoned with. Best of all, New Yorkers can get a second shot at seeing The Soft Moon live when they return to Bowery Ballroom on October 30 to celebrate the release of Zeros.  Tickets are on sale now.

I recorded this set with a pair of Audio Technica 3031 microphones right at the stage lip, plus a soundboard feed from the night’s engineer, Chris. This recording method gives you the feeling of standing right at the front of the crowd, and you can hear some semi-funny comments from audience members in between songs as a result. Enjoy!

Stream “Die Life”

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.

The Soft Moon
2012-09-20
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Soundboard + Audio Technica 3031 (onstage, ORTF)>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mixdown)>Izotope Ozone 5 (tape effects and EQ)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 We Are We
02 Circles
03 Dead Love
04 Into the Depths
05 [tuning]
06 Breathe the Fire
07 Total Decay
08 Alive
09 Die Life
10 Insides
11 Parallels
12 [non-encore break]
13 When It’s Over
14 Tiny Spiders

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT The Soft Moon, like them on Facebook, and purchase their releases, including Zeros when it is available October 30, from Captured Tracks [HERE]

NYCTaper at CMJ 2012: First Show Thursday October 18 — Day Party at Cake Shop

September 24, 2012
By

The success of a dogged pursuit can be sweet. In the case of our first 2012 CMJ lineup, its sweet several times over. As our longtime readers are aware, we’ve been fans of Hurray For The Riff Raff since 2008, but its been their recent album Look Out Mama that put it over the top. After the two outstanding concerts they played at Mercury Lounge this Summer, we pursued them heavily for CMJ. HFTRR is currently on tour in Europe, which will take them literally to the day before our show at Cake Shop on Thursday October 18. They fly from Europe over night, and land in NYC in the early afternoon of the 18th. We are sending a car service to take them directly from the airport to Cake Shop, where they’ll play the final set of our CMJ party. Quite an amazing set of circumstances, and one that we’ll not soon forget.

In another nice bit of coincidence, Hurray For The Riff Raff appeared on last night’s season premiere of Treme, HBO’s series about post-Katrina New Orleans. The band is playing outside of the coffee shop where the character Sofia works, and Sofia’s new boyfriend sings with the band. We hope HFTRR will be making regular appearances this season on Treme.

Another one of our dogged pursuits for CMJ was Mount Moriah. Last Fall, they played a set at Bowery Ballroom that was both impressive and moving. I’ve burned my recording of that performance to CD and play it in my vehicle more than literally any other CD that I own. The music is now burned into my brain. When we invited the band to play our CMJ show, it was admittedly a bit of a long shot. Mount Moriah is from North Carolina and have played multiple US tours. There was another fact in their development we did not know at the time — they’ve signed to Merge Records. But in another beautiful bit of synchronicty, Merge Records is hosting their first CMJ show since 2008 on Thursday night at Mercury Lounge, and Mount Moriah is on the bill. Shortly after the announcement of their Merge gig, the band agreed to play our show, and we could not be more excited.

NYCTaper CMJ 2012 Day Party
at Cake Shop
Thursday October 18, 2012
Doors 12 Noon
Music begins at 1:30pm

More musical guest to be announced this week. We’ll fill in the set times as we go along (see if you can guess!) …

6:00 – Hurray For The Riff Raff
5:15 – [awesome all female quartet]
4:30 – [Brooklyn-via-Tennessee ragtime piano genius]
3:45 – Jo Schornikow
3:00 – Mount Moriah
2:15 – Port St. Willow
1:30 – [irresistible Michigan-based pop trio]

Lambchop: September 8, 2012 Hopscotch Festival, Fletcher Opera Theater (Raleigh, NC) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 21, 2012
By


[Photo courtesy of Kevin Norris at Triangle Music Blog.  Many other Hopscotch Festival photos can be found there]

While Sunn O))) were blowing minds and eardrums next door in Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium, the Nashville band Lambchop gave this year’s Hopscotch Music Festival a more quiet but no less satisfying valedictory. Responsible for what is widely hailed as a career-defining record this year (Mr. M) Lambchop have little left to prove after a 20-year career, but clearly much left to give. Frontman Kurt Wagner and the band kept the volume in this moderately-sized opera house low for almost their entire set, and a rapt and respectful crowd set the tone for a performance that leaned heavily on Mr. M.  Subtlety and grace are Lambchop’s calling cards, and that was no different on this night, as Wagner and the band gave a classic performance. Having missed their NYC show at the Bell House this spring, I for one am thrilled to have this document as an introduction to the new material in the live setting.

This set was recorded by the North Carolina taper “bryonsos” with 3 Zigma CHI custom American-made microphones. While the low volume in the house and a low-end-heavy mix presented some challenges, after careful editing, this is an excellent recording. Enjoy!

Stream “2B2”

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

Check out all of NYCTaper’s Hopscotch Festival recordings

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.

Lambchop
2012-09-08
Hopscotch Festival
Fletcher Opera Theater
Raleigh, NC USA

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

3 Zigma CHI microphones (cardiod, DFC, DIN)>Sound Devices MixPre>Sony PCM-M10>24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, tube effects)>Audacity 3.0 (set fades, envelope crowd noise, light DR compression, adjust volume, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:17:29]
01 Betty’s Overture
02 Gone Tomorrow
03 Sharing A Gibson With Martin Luther King
04 If Not I’ll Just Die
05 The New Cobweb
06 Mr. Met
07 Nashville Parent
08 [banter]
09 The Book I Haven’t Read (Fearless)
10 Prepared
11 The Good Life (Is Wasted)
12 Women Help to Create the Kind of Men They Despise
13 [banter]
14 Nice Without Mercy
15 New Cobweb Summer
16 [banter]
17 2B2
18 Never My Love

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Lambchop, visit their website, and buy their official releases directly from Merge Records [HERE]

Death Blues: September 4, 2012 Glasslands – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 20, 2012
By


[Photos by acidjack]

Death Blues is the new project from the hypertalented drummer and percussionist Jon Mueller, who has joined a new cast of players to make some seriously inspired math/post-rock. Mueller’s bio includes work with members of Swans, Wilco, and Bon Iver; helping to found the bands Pele, Collections of Colonies of Bees and Volcano Choir; and work with Rhys Chatham, James Plotkin and many others. The level of output represented by his discography would be humbling to most musicians.

So enter Death Blues and their inaugural NYC show, which took place at Glasslands, possibly the best place in this city for such things. Death Blues incorporates Mueller’s relentless percussion with hammered guitars, a trio of vocalists, an upright bass, and additional percussion. The result is a melodic but gripping live experience, with the throat-singing of the vocalists carrying over Mueller’s polyrhythmic drumming. The nearest guidepost sound-wise here is probably late 80s/early 90s acts like Slint and June of 44, but with less commitment to traditional song structure. This five-song set of mostly-extended numbers (including the 14+ minute centerpiece, “Death Blues”) gave the Glasslands crowd a preview of what this group will be delivering with its forthcoming Hometapes debut, Death Blues. We can’t wait to see what else Mueller has in store.

We saw Death Blues play the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina a few days later, and we hope to have a recording of that set from the person who recorded it available to share as well soon.

I recorded this set with Naiant X-X omnidirectional mics at the lip of the stage, plus a flawless soundboard feed by Josh, the house engineer.  The sound is outstanding, and one of my finest recordings of the year. Enjoy!

Stream “Impatience:

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.

 

Death Blues
2012-09-04
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Naiant X-X (3ft split onstage A-B) + Soundboard>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify, balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Impatience
02 [tuning]
03 Death Blues
04 Acceptance
05 Impermanence
06 Iron String

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Death Blues, visit their website, follow them on Twitter, and purchase Death Blues when it becomes available from Hometapes later this year.

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