The Hold Steady: September 17, 2011 Beekman Beer Garden – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 18, 2011
By


[photo courtesy of Amanda Hatfield]

It was a nice bit of symmetry that Saturday night’s show at Beekman Beer Garden came exactly four years to the day since we first saw The Hold Steady. That 2007 show at the 7 World Trade Center plaza was also an outdoor downtown free event. From the very outset and through our many live experiences with the band, we have always been struck by Craig Finn’s unbridled performance style — he is unrivaled in the stage expression of love for the band’s songs. Its an infectious approach, as Finn’s energy ignites the crowd. A Hold Steady show experienced from the front of the crowd is a joyous and celebratory communal event. On Saturday in the Beekman tent, we were fortunate that our recording location was far enough towards the stage to literally put us in the middle of the frenzied crowd and maximized the experience. The show itself was undoubtedly the best Hold Steady show we’ve been fortunate to catch. The band was tight and cracking and the 90-minute-plus set contained some neat rarities among a full setlist of the essentials. The closing epic “How a Resurrection Really Feels” featured the band taking it slow and savoring the positive energy of a peak performance. It was about as poignant as The Hold Steady can get, and we have chosen to stream that superb performance below.

I recorded this set with the four microphone rig in an optimal location, inside of the front left of the soundboard cage about thirty feet from the main PA. The sound quality in the venue was remarkable, and we were also free from any outdoor elements. The result is an excellent recording. Enjoy!

Our sincere thanks to brooklynvegan and the Hold Steady crew for their many courtesies on this night.

Stream “How a Resurrection Really Feels”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/H6589HoldSteady1192/24.%20How%20a%20Resurrection%20Really%20Feels.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.

The Hold Steady
2011-09-17
Beekman Beer Garden
New York, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Inside Soundboard Cage
Thirty Feet from Stage

Neumann KM-150s + 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
2011-09-18

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:34:26]
01 Ask Her For Adderall
02 Massive Nights
03 Constructive Summer
04 Hot Soft Light
05 Hurricane J
06 Girls Like Status
07 Sequestered in Memphis
08 The Swish
09 The Sweet Part of The City
10 You Can Make Him Like You
11 Rock Problems
12 Magazines
13 Chips Ahoy
14 Stuck Between Stations
15 Stevie Nix
16 Lord I’m Discouraged
17 The Weekenders
18 Your Little Hoodrat Friend
19 Southtown Girls
20 Slapped Actress
21 [encore break]
22 Ride On [AC-DC]
23 Stay Positive
24 How a Resurrection Really Feels

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Hold Steady, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the links at their website [HERE].

The Heavy Pets: August 26, 2011 Bowery Ballroom – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 15, 2011
By


[photo courtesy of Nick Irving]

We spoke last about the concept that “jam band” can be seen in some circles as a pejorative term. What separates The Heavy Pets from other bands lazily tagged with this unfortunate label is that each member of this band possesses obvious talent and the unit as a whole is impressive from the first note. When they were selected from among 350 contestants to play the Langerado Music Festival in 2006, The Heavy Pets took off on a trek that has brought them nothing but accolades (everyone from The Huffington Post to High Times) for the last half decade. In late August, we had a chance to capture this excellent band at the Bowery Ballroom at a CD release show for the latest album Swim Out Past The Sun — their third full-length record. The superb two-hours-plus set consisted of a fairly representative mix of the band’s material, and just three songs from the new album. We’re streaming “Bridge” below, which is the first single from the new release, due in early October. The album tour continues throughout the Fall on the East coast.

Hi and Lo and I recorded this set from our standard balcony rail position at Bowery. Our four microphone mix — DPAs for warmth and Schoeps for bottom end — was supplemented by an excellent board feed from The Heavy Pets sound engineer, the legendary Charlie Miller. The mix is approximately one-third from each source and the sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “Bridge”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/H8026HeavyPets1122/05.%20Bridge.mp3]

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

The Heavy Pets
2011-08-26
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Six-Channel Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + DPA 4021 > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) + Schoeps MK41s > CMR>EAA PSP2 > Tascam DR-680 > 3 x 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
2011-09-12

Setlist:
[Total Time 2:01:34]
01 John Galt
02 Dew Point
03 Jam
04 3AM
05 Bridge
06 [banter]
07 Pass it Down
08 Chew
09 No More Time
10 Keep Me Running
11 Lantern
12 Sigismondi
13 Sigismondi Part II
14 Better
15 Jackie Bones
16 [encore break]
17 So Thank You Music
18 STYM Part II

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Heavy Pets, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the Store at their Website [HERE].

Umphrey’s McGee: September 9, 2011 Brooklyn Bowl – FLAC / MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 12, 2011
By

Umphreys BBowl
[still from this video]

If you look at the bands I generally post about on this site, most of them tend to fall pretty far from the “jam band” category.  But you can’t really be in the hobby of taping without being aware of this rich, diverse and somewhat pejoratively-titled genre, and the Chicago band Umphrey’s McGee are one of the rising stars of the scene.  So, three of us – hi and lo, Johnny Fried Chicken Boy, and myself – hit up UM’s final show at Brooklyn Bowl, the culmination of a five-night stand at the venue that has rapidly become a staple for improvisationally-minded bands when they come through the NYC area (a trend even picked up on by the review of Thursday’s show in The New York Times).  It being a Friday night, fans came ready to party, and UM rewarded with two full sets of their staple extended numbers as well as their usual offerings of fun covers like Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher”, all backed by an outstanding light show.

The vibes from the band and crowd were all good, although the Brooklyn Bowl PA was oddly not very loud (good for conversation, bad for music).  Still, you couldn’t deny the virtuosity of the band, whose dense musical explorations often turned in unexpected directions, led by their dueling guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger.  UM are known for a heavier sound that references prog-metal acts like King Crimson, Yes, Pink Floyd and Iron Maiden (and if you closed your eyes during a few parts, Metallica) that sets them in a unique position between the traditional funk/bluegrass/folk sound of some of the older bands in the scene and the “rocktronica” sound that has gained popularity of late.  Heady instrumentals like “Push the Pig” demonstrate that intersection of prog and “jam” music perfectly, combining a funky groove with a proggy guitar sound.  And, it should be mentioned, as a live experience, these guys just throw a hell of a party.  The three of us stumbled out of the show happy, for sure.

The band’s recent blitz of NYC was to promote their new record, Death By Stereo. Although it was largely ignored at this show, there are some amazing packages available if you buy DBS online, including the opportunity to tune into all-request webcasts where the band will play fan requests, band favorites, and acoustic and solo material.

Three of us recorded this show from one of the usual taping spots in the venue with our mic stand as high as it would go (about 15′) to avoid crowd chatter, using three sets of high-end mics and a variety of similarly high-end pre-amps.  Although the somewhat low PA volume meant a few chatterers here and there weren’t completely drowned out, and the venue’s layout presents certain sonic limitaitons, hi and lo’s outstanding post-production mix of these three sources has produced a recording that captures the sound and feel of the show perfectly.

Stream “Nemo”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/U8709Umphreys1192/um2011-09-09.nemo.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.

Umphrey’s McGee
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY, US
2011-09-09

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded and produced for nyctaper.com

Recordist : hi and lo, acidjack, and Johnny Fried Chicken Boy
Location : Right side on-stand, ~ 30 yds
Source : Schoeps MK5 > CMR > PFA > PSP-2 + Schoeps MK41 > CMC6 > Oade M248 + DPA 4021 > Sound Devices MixPre >> Tascam DR-680 @ 24 bit / 48 kHz
Edit : WaveLab v5 (fades/dither/+11dB gain), Izotope SRC/Dither
Final Format : 16 bit, 44.1 kHz
Tracking : CD-Wave v1.98
Encoding : FLAC v1.2.1 ( level 8 ) with TLH v2.6.0 (Build 168)

Tracklist:

Set I

01. Jazz Odyssey
02. Prowler
03. Words
04. All In Time
05. Push the Pig
06. Nemo
07. Pay the Snucka
08. Hot For Teacher [Van Halen]
09. Wizard Burial Ground

Set II

10. Divisions > “Jimmy Stewart” > Divisions
11. Bridgeless
12. Eminence Front [Townshend]
13. Hurt Bird Bath
14. America the Beautiful [Bates/Ward]
15. Soul Food I
16. 1348
17. (Encore Call 1)
18. Front Porch
19. (Encore Call 2)
20. All In Time

Running Time: 2:44:13

We expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Umphrey’s McGee, visit their website, go see them on tour, and purchase Death By Stereo directly from their online store [HERE]

Skeletons: August 25, 2011 Glasslands – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 9, 2011
By

skeleteons2011-08-25best
[photo by acidjack]

Originally a solo project of Chicago native Matt Mehlan, Skeletons‘ lineups change frequently, but their commitment to challenging, engaging post-rock does not. Skeletons are reflexively described as “experimental”, but that tag ignores Mehlan’s proclivity for making music that can be as catchy as it is complex. This show at Glasslands, courtesy of PopGun Booking, kicked off with “More Than The One Thing,” a feel-good tune whose combination of tribal, global sounds with pop songcraft brings to mind acts like Vampire Weekend and Here We Go Magic, and followed, as it does on the band’s latest record, with the similarly catchy “Wal-Mart and the Ghost of Jimmy Damour.”

But in case anyone was worried that Skeletons were bowing to the college-rock set, Mehlan took the show in a radically different direction, with a combined 22-plus minute combination of the free jazz referencing “Paint Over It” which segued directly into “Grandma”, with its engaging lead guitar and propulsive beat. “Thank you for making it through that,” Mehlan joked at the end of that mini-epic, but he needn’t have apologized for what was, in my view, the highlight of the set.  One of Mehlan’s greatest strengths is his ability to change directions rapidly and weave disparate elements into a cohesive whole, and this combination spoke to that fusion element perfectly.

I found some songs, in particular the first two, slightly more accessible (meaning, poppy) than their versions on the band’s latest record, People, which is released on the Oberlin-based Shinkoyo.  That may also owe to the fact that this show was played by the band’s leanest lineup – Mehlan also enjoys playing shows as the “Skeletons Big Band”, which gives him a much more expansive sonic palette to play with.  While People was well represented at this show, it is worth delving into Skeletons’ back catalog as well, including the excellent Lucas, which was released on Ghostly International in 2007 (and represented at this show by the melancholy slow-burner “Push ‘im Out”).  I’ll be looking forward to Skeletons’ next show – hopefully with the big band!

I recorded this set with a perfect soundboard feed combined with the DPA microphones and an analog preamp.  The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Stream “Grandma”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S2508Skeletons2011/05 Grandma.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.

Skeletons
2011-08-25
Glasslands
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

DPA 4021>Oade M248 + Soundboard>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit 48kHz WAV>Audition (mix down, effects)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, EQ, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 More Than The One Thing
02 Wal-Mart and the Ghost of Jimmy Damour
03 Paint Over It
04 Grandma
05 [banter]
06 No
07 Push ‘im Out
08 [encore break]
09 Lil’ Rich

We hope you enjoy this recording. We also hope that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Skeletons by buying People and their other excellent releases from Shinkoyo [HERE]

Real Estate: New Album “Days” on October 18 – First 300 Preorders Get NYCTaper Recorded Vinyl “Bootleg”

September 8, 2011
By

Domino Records announced today that the new Real Estate album Days will be released on October 18, 2011. We are extremely pleased to also announce that Domino is offering a NYCTaper-recorded bonus “bootleg” vinyl LP to the first 300 pre-orders. I recorded Real Estate at 285 Kent on June 30, and the band and label liked it so much that its now a bonus to the official release. That night the band performed Days start to finish for the first and only time.

The recording was captured with DPA 4021 Cardioid microphones mounted 10 feet from the stage and mixed with a soundboard feed.

PRE-ORDER [HERE]

Wavves: June 18, 2011 McCarren Park – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 7, 2011
By


[Photo courtesy of MaryAnne Ventrice]

We have covered Wavves from the very beginning — their first NYC show at Market Hotel was featured on NYCTaper. Their sets at Mercury, Bowery, and Knitting Factory followed, and this Summer we were fortunate to capture Nathan Williams’ latest incarnation of the band at McCarren Park in front of 5000 people in a set opening for Guided By Voices as part of the Northside Festival. While the crowd was a mix of younger Wavves fans, local Williamsburg music fans, and folks who undoubtedly were old enough to have seen GBV in the 90s, Wavves did get a pretty universal positive reception. The set consisted primarily of straightforward and tight renditions of the material from the first two albums. At its best, Wavves is the kind of power punk that even grizzled music fans like the GBV faithful can appreciate, and apparently did, as Wavves set went off without a single indication of impatience for the much anticipated headliner. Nathan and Wavves have parted company with Fat Possum Records, and will release a self-distributed EP in two weeks, entitled Life Sux.

We recorded this set with the Neumann microphones mounted dead center in front of the soundboard about 50 feet from the stage, and mixed with a finely mixed soundboard feed. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Linus Spacehead”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/W2206Wavves2990/05.%20Linus%20Spacehead.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.

Wavves
2011-06-18
McCarren Park
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge (dither, level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded by nyctaper and acidjack
Produced by nyctaper
2011-09-06

Setlist:
[Total Time 37:17]
01 Friends Were Gone
02 Idiot
03 Wavves
04 King of the Beach
05 Linus Spacehead
06 No Hope Kids
07 Super Soaker
08 So Bored
09 Green Eyes
10 Bug
11 [banter]
12 Take On The World
13 To the Dregs
14 Post Acid

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wavves, visit their website, and purchase their first two releases from Fat Possum Records [HERE], and preorder their new EP Life Sux (due on September 20) [HERE].

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