[Photos courtesy of Jessica Amaya and BrooklynVegan]

With but one (excellent) record to their name, Memory Tapes have risen fast, thanks in part to Pitchfork’s love for their debut, but in larger part thanks to their unique, synth-driven sound and a surprisingly rocking live show.  The band had the honor of headlining BrooklynVegan’s showcase for the 2010 Northside Festival at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and they delivered with a free-flowing set backed by a killer light show.  Despite being a two-man act, frontman Dayve Hawk and drummer Matt Maraldo proved able to throw down for the Saturday night crowd.  As with their last show that we recorded back in February, the band drew out the length of several numbers with extended instrumental play.

I recorded this set from the same location as the Twin Sister recording and the sound is excellent.  Enjoy!

Stream the entire show:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/M0302Memory2101/mt2010-06-26mhow_acidjack.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE).

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Memory Tapes
2010-06-26
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY  USA

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

Equipment: Schoeps CMC641+DPA 4021>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to left side of sound booth, mics at 8ft, DPAs ORTF, hypers DIN
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, EQ, amplify and balance channels, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Bicycle
02 [unknown]
03 Graphics
04 Plain Material
05 Green Knight
06 Stop Talking>Bicycle
07 [unknown]
08 [unknown]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Memory Tapes, visit the MySpace page, visit Dayve’s blog, and purchase Seek Magic directly from the Acephale Records website (here) or Rough Trade (here).

[photo by nyctaper]

The Backyard Brunch Sessions were moved indoors for the weather last weekend, but the developing themes for the series remained. This past Saturday again featured two bands that had never played a live acoustic session before, and also featured immense talent that was breathtaking to behold up close. The Courtesy Tier is a duo whose standard live show features Omer Leibovitz’s intense bluesy guitar and the aggressive drum work of Layton Weedeman. Saturday’s acoustic set was worlds apart — as Omer played a nylon string classical style guitar and Layton beat a bongo and mini-maraca — but the duo’s talents made it seem as if it was their normal set-up. At just three songs, the show was more a teaser, but certainly bodes well for the flexibility and dynamics of this up and coming and growing band. The Courtesy Tier play this weekend (Saturday July 17) at Rockwood Music Hall, and then next Saturday (July 24) return to Spike Hill.

We recorded this set with four microphones placed strategically around the duo and the sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Stream “Friend”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/C1070CourtesyTier2211/2%20CourtesyTier2010-07-10_nyctaper_t02.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Courtesy Tier
2010-07-10
Private Backyard Brunch
Brooklyn, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Onstage

Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021’s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 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
2010-07-14

Setlist:
[Total Time 14:10]
01 [introduction]
02 Friend
03 [banter]
04 Calling Out
05 Cold

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Courtesy Tier, visit their website, and purchase their debut EP Map and a Marker from the links at the Music Section of their website [HERE].

[Photo courtesy of Nicole Wasilewicz at FREEwilliamsburg]

While a lot of the opening night crowd for the 2010 Northside Festival was busy speculating about/preemptively hating on the Wavves set that was about to happen later in the night, Cleveland’s Cloud Nothings came out without a lot of fanfare and straight up rocked it.  Cloud Nothings is the project of songwriter Dylan Baldi, whose sound was described on one blog as “bedroom punk”, which seems accurate enough.  Indeed, these guys could be kindred spirits of the earlier Wavves, albeit with a more upbeat and less weed-driven (at least lyrically) style.  Live, the band made for a perfect lead-in for the chaos to follow, delivering material from their LP, Turning On in rapid-fire style to amp up the crowd.  Some post-show reports called Cloud Nothings the best band of the night – and those accolades weren’t all from Wavves-haters, either.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed and the Schoeps mics, just like the Wavves set, and the sound is excellent.  Enjoy!

Stream “Exactly What I Want”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/C4206CloudNothings0210/cloudnothings_nyctaper.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Cloud Nothings
2010-06-24
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY  USA

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

Equipment: Schoeps CMC641+Stereo soundboard feed>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to right side of sbd booth, 8 ft up, DIN
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, slight EQ, adjust levels, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 Didn’t You
02 Can’t Stay Awake
03 Morgan
04 Even If It Worked Out
05 Too Long
06 Exactly What I Want
07 Hey Cool Kid
08 Turning On

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Cloud Nothings, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Turning On from Bridgetown Records here.

[photo by mikeL]

Last week, The Feelies played their now regular July 4th shows at Maxwell’s and we missed them for the second year in a row due to a vacation. There are some decent photos of last week’s gigs here, and a review here. Although we caught one of the shows in 2008 (here), I guess we kind of feel like we let down the Feelies fans who come to nyctaper for recordings of their shows (we’ve done six). So, I’ve decided to dig into the vault for a little treat from last year. In September of 2009, The Feelies played a mini three-show “tour”, which included ATP, a show at the Bearsville Theatre, and a show at Southpaw (on nyctaper here). The ATP recording popped up on Dimeadozen, and we covered the Southpaw night, but until now no recording of the Woodstock show had appeared. A short while ago, the prolific East coast taper mikeL sent us this recording so that we could offer it to our readers.

Mike recorded the set with a pair of Audio Technica 825s set up fifteen feet from the stage and the result is a recording of great clarity and presence. Enjoy!

Stream “Boxcars” [REM cover]:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/F7001Feelies8800/24%20feelies2009-09-12at825d2t14.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Feelies
2009-09-12 Bearsville Theater Bearsville NY
aud-1 : AT825 > D-7 (line in) > DATM >> RMR-D110 > D7 > DAT-1 (added track IDs on DAT-1) >> RMR-D100 > optical > HHB830 > CDRM > iTunes> AIFF > xACT > FLAC
recorded 15ft stage left center (between left stack and left of stage), 6ft stand

first set/disc 1 (35:51)
01. when company comes
02. bluer skies
03. egyptian reggae [richman]
04. the undertow
05. sunday morning
06. invitation
07. nobody knows
08. the high road
09. on the roof
10. lets go
second set/disc 2 (1:18:06)
01. barstool blues (neil young)
02. deep fascination
03. higher ground
04. the final word
05. slipping (into something)
06. time is right
07. away
08. original love
09. too far gone
10. raised eyebrows
11. crazy rhythms
12. – crowd
13. doin’ it again
14. boxcars (carnival of sorts) [buck/stipe/mills/berry]
15. i wanna sleep in your arms [richman]
16. – crowd
17. take it easy baby [morrison]
18. sooner or later
19. – crowd
20. outdoor miner [wire]
21. paint it black [jagger/richard/jones]
22. – crowd
23. she said she said [lennon]
24. fa ce-la
25. – outro
recording and post-production by mL

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Feelies, visit their MySpace page, and purchase the new reissues of Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth directly from the Bar None website [HERE].

[Photo courtesy of Erica Sackin for FREEwilliamsburg]

Since we last saw Twin Sister at Mercury Lounge in April, lead vocalist Andrea Estella has made a stark change in her look – instantly changing her stage presence from a slightly aloof, cool Euro crooner to the stage-stalking glamstress we saw at Brooklynvegan’s Northside Festival showcase this past Saturday at Music Hall of Williamsburg.  The visual change was a smart one, as it takes a “bigger” band all around to fill out Brooklyn’s largest and fanciest music venue.  Capitalizing both on a roster filled with mostly like-minded bands and the goodwill generated by their positive coverage in Pitchfork, Twin Sister lit up the stage with their bouncy-but-chill songs, including one new one whose title I do not know, which you can stream below, as well as songs from their two EPs.

This set was recorded in the same manner as the ZaZa performance, and the quality is excellent.  Thanks again to BrooklynVegan for the high-quality showcase and their support of NYCTaper, and to the organizers of the Northside Festival.  Enjoy!

Stream the new song:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/T8240TwinSis2100/twinsis_new.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE).

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Twin Sister
2010-06-26
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY  USA

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

Equipment: Schoeps CMC641+DPA 4021>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to left side of sound booth, mics at 8ft, DPAs ORTF, hypers DIN
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, EQ, amplify and balance channels, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks [Total Time 40:18]
01 Eastern Green
02 Daniel
03 I Want A House
04 The Other Side of Your Face
05 [banter]
06 Ginger
07 Lady Daydream
08 [unknown]
09 All Around and Away We Go

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Twin Sister, visit their website, and order Color Your Life direct from Infinite Best Recordings here.

[Photo by acidjack]

I had made a mistake in not seeing Hooray For Earth sooner than I did.  I knew they had played with our friends in ArpLine (a like-minded band, in a loose sense) but somehow (well, I know how – it’s called “regular job”) I had managed not to make it to one of their shows.  FREEwilliamsburg fixed that issue with a Northside Festival showcase that had no wrong calls, with Hooray For Earth in the 2nd opener slot behind Keepaway (posted here).   Hooray For Earth have a dense, anthemic, approachable sound, bridging the gap between hard dance beats and rock emotion.  Their style is exemplified by the closer of their Momo EP, “Rolling/Nectarine”, a song rich with the baggy beats and infinitely hummable lyrics that many songs today lack or ignore.  Hooray For Earth’s songs serve up head-bobbing beats as well as quality songcraft – music huge enough for an arena, sure, but easily compelling enough for a Sunday night Northside Festival showcase.  As their booming sound washes over you, even though it’s Sunday night, you feel yourself waking up.

I recorded this set from the same location as the Keepaway recording – against the right stack.  In my opinion, it does not quite do this band’s expansive sound justice – listen to their studio tracks for proof – but it is still a solid recording after significant editing to compensate for the heavy bass and unusual microphone placement.  Hooray For Earth plays all over this city, so please, do the right thing and see them for yourself.   Enjoy!

Stream “Rolling/Nectarine”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/H7206HFE0201/hfe_rolling.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Hooray for Earth
2010-06-27
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Equipment: Schoeps CMC641>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: ~12ft from right stack, 12ft up, pointed at stacks
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, heavy EQ, amplify/balance channels, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 Intro
02 Form
03 Comfortable, Comparable
04 Get Home
05 Surrounded by Your Friends
06 [unknown]
07 Scaling
08 Rolling/Nectarine

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Hooray for Earth, visit their website, and purchase Momo from Dovecote Records [HERE].