[iPhone photo by acidjack]

Oh, Pavement, how we will miss you.  This final show of the band’s five-night NYC (four nights in Central Park) run had a very different vibe than the previous shows, with the band giving off a bit more of a subdued vibe.  The setlist emphasized the more melodic, slower songs from the catalog, and Malkmus in particular seemed intent on jamming and reinterpreting songs (leading to a hilarious “Pavement and the Jicks!!” comment by Bob).  At times the more laid back approach worked – such as on the epic “And Then (The Hexx)” and the extended “Heaven Is A Truck” that was a last minute substitution for “Fight This Generation” in the setlist.  At others, it seemed the band was a tad off their game, with a few false starts here and there.  The set closed out with “Range Life” featuring the recording engineer Bryce Goggin, who mixed both Wowee Zowee and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and played keyboards in the recorded version of “Range Life,” performing live with the band – undoubtedly a dream come true for anyone who spends most of their time behind the console!

Where do we go from here?  Fans can hope that the band decides to make new music or at least tour together again, but that seems less than likely at this point.  What we will have left will be our memories of these beautiful nights – which Bob himself acknowledged the band would never forget – and the music itself.  Having Pavement back was also a reminder of how dearly they were missed.  To quote the simple “Summer Babe” refrain, made all the more poignant now: “Don’t go.”

I recorded this set with the same mobile rig as the Williamsburg Waterfront show and Wednesday’s show.  There was almost no wind, and the crowd around me was enthusiastic but respectful.  As a result, the recording is excellent.   As someone who never got to see their favorite band perform (due in part to an untimely death in the band), I greatly appreciate Pavement giving fans who had not seen them before a second chance.  One of the main reasons that I record concerts is because I know how much I treasure the old recordings that people made of my favorite band, since they are the closest thing I have to the real live experience.  I hope that some people will feel the same way about these recordings.  Enjoy!

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

Pavement
2010-09-24
Central Park Summerstage
New York, NY USA

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

Equipment: Audix 1280c>Church Audio Active Cables>SPSB-10>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: Mobile rig, near left stack
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, compress wind noise, compress/hard limit clapping, EQ, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

01 Heckler Spray
02 In the Mouth of A Desert
03 Frontwards
04 Spit On A Stranger
05 banter
06 Shady Lane
07 Date With Ikea
08 Grounded
09 Cut Yr Hair
10 Perfume-V
11 Conduit for Sale!
12 Father to a Sister of Thought
13 Stereo
14 Starlings of the Slipstream
15 Gold Soundz
16 banter
17 And Then (The Hexx)
18 We Dance
19 Silence Kit
20 Unfair
21 No Life Singed Her
22 banter
23 Stop Breathin
24 banter
25 Elevate Me Later
26 banter/jamming
27 Here
28 encore break 1
29 Rattled by the Rush
30 Heaven Is A Truck
31 Summer Babe
32 encore break 2
33 Kennel District
34 banter
35 Debris Slide
36 banter
37 Range Life

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will continue to support Pavement, visit their official website, go to shows on this tour, and purchase the records and merch you don’t already own from the band’s official store or Matador Records.

[photo courtesy of Music Snobbery]

Night three of Pavement’s New York run was a wet one.  After the clear skies and perfect temperatures of Sunday’s Williamsburg Waterfront show, and the previous night at Central Park Summerstage, Wednesday night was a hot, wet mess.  Shortly into the show, the skies opened up and we all got soaked, but even with a delay for lightning, Pavement managed to play their entire planned set, and a killer one at that, closing out the proceedings with a thunderous “Conduit for Sale!” in which Bob Nastanovich pulled out absolutely all the stops on the vocals.  Drenched but happy, the still-strong crowd returned the favor, singing along to the chorus and giving Pavement another triumphant notch in their belt.

This show was tough to record, given that it was pouring rain, but despite the shirt on my head covering my mobile rig, the recording came out quite nicely.  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Pavement
2010-09-22
Central Park Summerstage
New York, NY USA

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

Equipment: Audix 1280c>Church Audio Active Cables>SPSB-10>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: Mobile rig, near right stack
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, compress wind noise, compress/hard limit clapping, EQ, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

01 intro/banter
02 Heckler Spray>
03 In the Mouth of a Desert
04 Perfume V
05 Trigger Cut
06 Unfair
07 Range Life
08 Starlings of the Slipstream
09 Spizzle Truck
10 Shady Lane
11 Fight This Generation
12 Summer Babe
13 Cut Yr Hair
14 Kennel District
15 Gold Soundz
16 Zurich Is Stained
17 Stereo
18 set break for lightning
19 The Hexx
20 Two States
21 Spit On A Stranger
22 Grounded
23 Silent Kid
24 Father To A Sister of Thought
25 banter
26 Stop Breathin
27 encore break
28 Date With Ikea
29 banter
30 Lions (Linden)
31 Here
32 Conduit For Sale!

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will continue to support Pavement, visit their official website, go to shows on this tour, and purchase the records and merch you don’t already own from the band’s official store or Matador Records.