Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra: October 2, 2011 ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

October 12, 2011
By

Mt Zion
[Photo by Jason Persse. Used with permission]

The final day of this year’s ATP “I’ll Be Your Mirror” festival in Asbury Park, NJ found the festival split between a hip-hop dominated Convention Hall (Ultramagnetic MCs and Public Enemy), and the Paramount Theatre across the concourse hosting (along with Jeff Mangum’s second set of the weekend) some incredible post-rock performances, including Earth (which we posted recently) and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra. SMZ (to use the favored shorthand) were the final act that I saw at the festival, and their grandiose, challenging performance sent me home on a high note. SMZ is anchored by guitarist/vocalist Efrim Menuck, who plays guitar in Godspeed You Black Emperor! along with SMZ bandmates and co-founders Thierry Amar and Sophie Trudeau.

SMZ’s similarities to GYBE are about as numerous as its contrasts from it. The contrasts are obvious, starting with Menuck’s bombastic, harsh vocals, which he sing/speaks in a punk rock style. Like GYBE, SMZ compositions are lengthy and follow a classical, narrative structure rather than pop’s verse/chorus/verse style. The use of string instruments also gives SMZ a classical feel that echoes GYBE, but SMZ’s storytelling is distinct. Where GYBE relies on symbolism and found sounds to tell their story, Menuck’s overtly political vocals make SMZ’s approach more direct. Menuck engaged the audience repeatedly between songs, decrying the right-wing (for Canada, anyway) regime of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and giving a shout-out to the 99% whose Occupy Wall Street movement continues to grow. True to form, this 90-minute set consisted of just six compositions, primarily drawn from 2008’s 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons rather than the band’s current effort, Kollaps Tradixionales, from which they played only “There Is A Light”. A new number, “What We Loved Was Not Enough”, was also performed, but my personal highlight was “Black Waters Blowed/Engine Broke Blues” from Thirteen Moons, a huge two-part number with strong vocal harmonies between Menuck and Trudeau, excellent stringwork, and a cataclysmic crescendo worthy of these Montreal artists’ unique style.

I recorded this set with the DPA microphones from an ideal spot in the venue. Other than some rustling noises and an evident volume adjustment during the first four minutes of “BlindBlindBlind”, the sound quality is quite good (though not as good as the Earth set from almost the same spot). Enjoy!

Stream “What We Loved Was Not Enough”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S0012SilverMtZion2011/08 What We Loved Was Not Enough.mp3]

Stream “Black Waters Blowed/Engine Broke Blues”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S0012SilverMtZion2011/07 Black Waters Blowed_Engine Broke Blues.mp3]

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

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.

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra
2011-10-02
ATP presents I’ll Be Your Mirror
Paramount Theatre
Asbury Park, NJ USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

DPA 4021 (FOB, DFC)>Denecke PS/2>PCM-M10 (24/44.1)>24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, EQ, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 BlindBlindBlind
03 [banter]
04 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
05 [banter]
06 There Is A Light
07 Black Waters Blowed/Engine Broke Blues
08 What We Loved Was Not Enough
09 [banter]
10 Horses in the Sky

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, visit their website, and purchase SMZ, Godspeed Your Black Emperor!, and Efrim’s official releases from Constellation Records [HERE]

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper: October 9, 2011 Backyard Brunch Sessions – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

October 11, 2011
By

backyard_brunch-22
[Photo by Dominick Mastrangelo]

When I first heard Aly Spaltro, aka Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, I flat-out couldn’t believe a girl so small (the band’s Facebook page cheekily describes her as 6’2″) – and so young (early 20s) – could make such a large, mature sound. Her “band” is no more than her and her guitar, but Aly never sounded intimidated or lonely on that empty stage. She cold-opened with an a cappella number – “Up In the Rafters” – that gave me chills. Stripped bare, the song is a sustained cry of longing, at once sultry, dangerous and sweet, and it’s delivered fearlessly. She closes out “Rafters” and moves straight into “Mezzanine”, this time accompanied by her guitar. Her playing is the equal of that lovely gravel in her voice, taking abrupt and unexpected twists in time and tempo. Both songs appear on LLTB’s current release Mammoth Swoon, a collection of unreleased, rare, and bedroom tracks that Aly released at the end of last year. You may be asking yourself how a young artist like Aly manages to have a rarities comp already, and that would be a good question. But head to LLTB’s bandcamp page, and you’ll see that she is already three releases deep. This set of six songs was culled from several of her records other than Mammoth, and each song showcased her unique songwriting ability. It’s hard for the word “precocious” not to come to mind, but LLTB would be an act of striking talent and depth at any age.

Backyard Brunch Sessions work best with artists who have the confidence to let their music stand unadorned. In a simple East Village backyard surrounded by a garden, new friends (and some delicious French Toast Grilled Cheese Sandwiches), Aly Spaltro fit this show’s aesthetic perfectly. She’s been playing alone on that empty stage since day one.

I recorded this set with a combination of high-end microphones, including the DPA 4021 that you can see miking Aly’s vocals. The sound quality is excellent, other than a two-second spot during “Up In the Rafters” where her guitar hit the mic stand. Enjoy!

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper’s next show will be a Windish Agency CMJ Showcase at Rockwood Music Hall on October 21.  More info here.

Stream “Up in the Rafters”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/L1009LLTB0211/Rafters.mp3]

Stream “Southernfly”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/L1009LLTB0211/Southernfly.mp3]

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

Follow acidjack on twitter | visit the backyard brunch sessions homepage

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper
2011-10-09
Backyard Brunch Sessions
New York, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

AKG C 414 B-XLS (cardiod pair, on guitar amp)+DPA 4021 (on vocals)>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)>Audition (studio effects, mixdown)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 Up In the Rafters
03 Mezzanine
04 Between Two Trees
05 Florence Berlin
06 Southernfly
07 [banter]
08 Crane Your Neck
09 [outro]

PLEASE SUPPORT Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, like her on Facebook, visit her website, and purchase her releases from her bandcamp page.

Trans Am: October 8, 2011 Union Pool (playing “Futureworld”) – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

October 10, 2011
By

trans am
[Photo by acidjack. The photos are bad, but the recording is great.]

The band Trans Am reintroduced themselves in a big way with their seminal 1999 album, Futureworld nine years into their career. For the first time, the post-rock band introduced vocoder-enhanced vocals to their rock/krautrock hybrid. In many ways, this record, with its Atari graphics cover, augured the chiptunes genre, with its propulsive, fast-paced rock attack and robotic vocals. It also showcased a little bit of the band’s sense of humor, which you can get a dose of on their band page at Thrill Jockey. As is all the rage these days for classic bands, Trans Am did a two-night stand at one of my favorite venues, Union Pool, to close out their tour celebrating this classic record by playing it straight through.

With the smoke still clearing from The Psychic Paramount’s thunderous opening set, Trans Am kicked off the opening track “1999” to roars of approval from the crowd. By the time they hit the title track, “Futureworld,” the crowd was singing along to the vocoder-enhanced vocals, dancing, and sweating like hell – the show was completely sold out, and the room was packed. The band tore through the record with virtuosity and aggression; I can’t imagine this show being better in ’99 than it was today. The band even gave us an unexpected dose of (slightly) newer flavor when they ended the set with “I Want It All” and “Play in the Summer”, both from their 2000 record Red Line. Expect a followup to the band’s 2010 record, Thing, soon, and go see them live for an unforgettable experience.

I recorded this set from the balcony with the DPA microphones split wide, and an excellent soundboard feed. The quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Futureworld”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/T0018TransAm2011/03 Futureworld.mp3]

Stream “Play In the Summer”
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/T0018TransAm2011/13 Play in the Summer.mp3]

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

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.

Trans Am
2011-10-08
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Soundboard + DPA 4021 (slightly LOC, ORTF)>Naiant littlebox>>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)>Audition (mixdown)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, EQ, amplify and balance)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
Futureworld
01 1999
02 Television Eyes
03 Futureworld
04 City in Flames
05 Am Rhein
06 Cocaine Computer
07 Runners Standing Still>Futureworld II
08 Positron
09 Sad and Young

Additional Songs from Red Line
10 [banter]
11 I Want It All
12 [encore break]
13 Play in the Summer

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Trans Am, visit their website, and purchase their official releases directly from Thrill Jockey.

Doug Paisley: September 24, 2011 Mercury Lounge – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

October 9, 2011
By


[photo courtesy of Jon Behm]

When an artist who I respect asks me to do something, I usually comply. On a night when I barely arrived in time to record their set at Mercury Lounge (here), Megafaun’s Phil Cook informed me that I should definitely record Doug Paisley’s set. I quickly finished setting up the rig and immediately hit record to capture Doug’s set — and I’m quite happy that I did. While singer-songwriters with sweet voices and narrrative lyrics are all too common, Doug Paisley is clearly a special case — his natural manner and authenticity immediately strikes the listener and draws them in. At Mercury last week, Doug had the tough task of opening the set, on a Saturday night, at a late show. But the crowd quickly responded and for the next 30 thirty minutes were strikingly attentive. Doug’s set consisted of numbers from this two albums on No Quarter Records, including 2010’s Constant Companion. We have chosen to stream “What About Us?”, from his self-titled debut, and a song that also appeared on Mojo Magazine’s “New Harvest” compilation.

I recorded this set in the same manner as the Megafaun capture. The volume on stage and in the PA was quite low, so the boosting of levels in post introduced a slight hum into the recording. Otherwise the sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “What About Us”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/D2409DougPaisley1120/09.%20What%20About%20Us.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [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.

Doug Paisley
2011-09-24
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.98 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2011-10-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 29:58]
01 What I Saw
02 No One But You
03 In The Morning
04 Broken in Two
05 I Stand Alone
06 Sugartown
07 City Lights
08 At The End of the Day
09 What About Us

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Doug Paisley, visit his website, and purchase his official releases from No Quarter Records [HERE].

The Gourds: October 1, 2011 Sullivan Hall – FLAC / MP3 Downloads + Streaming Songs

October 7, 2011
By


[Photos courtesy of Cassandra Mullinix at Bucket Of Rock]

Having been playing together for the better part of two decades, The Gourds have drawn favorable comparisons to The Band and Los Lobos.  After my first exposure to them, they also remind me at times of The Radiators crossed with the looniness of their Austin, Texas brethren Butthole Surfers.  Anyway you want to call it, it’s evident that they bring great songcraft, spot-on vocalizing and tightly meshed musicianship to a brilliant combination of blues, country, bluegrass and shake-yer-ass rock ‘n’ roll.  And with two frontmen in the mix, it’s a really nice contrast to have Kevin Russel sounding a bit like a smoother version of John Hiatt and counterpoint Jimmy Smith bringing the grit.  A very dedicated crowd showed up this night at Sullivan Hall and the boys brought their chops and humor for a wonderful, non-stop 90+ minutes of music.  Playing nearly all the tracks off the excellent new album, ‘Old Mad Joy‘, they also dug out a handful of choice nuggets from their older discs.  Since a lot of people know this group best through their popular cover of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice”, I can’t help but say that they’re selling themselves and the band short.  With such an extensive catalog and marvelous live show, The Gourds have so much more to offer.

Thanks to Sullivan Hall’s great P.A. and the efforts of The Gourd’s excellent sound engineer, Mark, we were able to grab a superb capture with a soundboard feed and our microphones.  The only glitch is a 5-second dropout we had during “Haunted” that has been spliced to make for minimal distraction.  Other than that, the resultant recording is excellent.  Enjoy!

Special thanks to The Gourds, Nick Loss-Eaton, Lucy Sabini at Vanguard Records, and Steve at The Gourds News for the setlist.

Stream “Peppermint City”: [audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/G1012Gourds0101/The_Gourds_-_Peppermint_City.mp3]

Stream “Pickles”: [audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/G1012Gourds0101/The_Gourds_-_Pickles.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
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Sullivan Hall
New York, NY, USA

Source: SBD + AKG C 414 B-XLS’s > Edirol R-44 (WAV @ 24-bit/48kHz)
Lineage: R-44 > USB > PC > Adobe Audition (mixdown, adjust levels, downsample, dither, tracking) > WAV (16-bit/44.1kHz) > Trader’s Little Helper (check/fix SBE’s, FLAC conversion) > FLAC (level 8 )
The Gourd’s sound engineer: Mark
Recorded and produced by: Johnny Fried Chicken Boy

SETLIST:
[Total time: 1:40:48]
01. intro
02. You Must Not Know
03. Peppermint City
04. Marginalized
05. Haunted
06. banter
07. Web Before You Walk into It
08. banter
09. Hellhounds
10. banter
11. Melchert
12. Ink and Grief
13. Two Sparrows
14. Your Benefit
15. banter / Pickles false start
16. Pickles
17. banter
18. Meteorite  [The Tinys]
19. banter / Louisiana 1927 tease  [Randy Newman]
20. Blankets
21. Burn the Honeysuckle
22. Drop the Charges
23. All the Labor
24. I Want It So Bad
25. Lower 48
26. Drop What I’m Doing

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 (including new release, ‘Old Mad Joy’) and merchandise [HERE].

The Antlers: October 3, 2011 Wellmont Theatre – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

October 6, 2011
By


[photo by Amanda Hatfield]

In our many posts about The Antlers, we have never spoken about the band’s technical prowess. The new album, Burst Apart, was produced by the band, but the lion’s share of the studio and tech work was done by keyboardist Darby Cicci. At Wellmont Theatre on Monday night, it was a question in my mind as to whether the band’s sound could fill such a cavernous theatre, but from the very outset The Antlers did just that. As they opened with perhaps the most aggressive song from Burst Apart “Parentheses”, Michael Lerner’s well-mic’d bass drum and the strong dual guitar work of Peter Silberman and Tim Mislock produced a wall of sound, but it was Darby’s keys and effects that provided both the bottom end and the depth to the booming sound. The set continued in the same vein, with six new songs of the seven played, supplemented by an emotional version of “Atrophy” from Hospice. The Antlers return to the NYC area on December 10, with a newly announced date at Webster Hall.

We recorded this set in the same manner and location as the EITS set, and the sound quality is equally rich. Enjoy!

Stream “I Don’t Want Love”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/A3398Antlers3200/03.%20I%20Don%27t%20Want%20Love.mp3]

This Recording is now available to Download in FLAC and MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].

The Antlers
2011-10-03
Wellmont Theatre
Montclair, NJ USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front Center of Balcony Rail

Schoeps MK-41 > PSP2 + DPA 4021’s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper and hi and lo
2011-10-06

Setlist:
[Total Time 46:57]
01 Parentheses
02 No Widows
03 I Don’t Want Love
04 Atrophy
05 Rolled Together
06 Hounds
07 Putting The Dog To Sleep

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Antlers, visit their website, and purchase Burst Apart from their site [HERE].

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