[screencap by Ian Perlman]

The Cap’n Jazz reunion tour came to NYC on Sunday and the band rewarded their patient fans by playing two shows in a matter of about six hours. The late show at Maxwell’s began at about 11 p.m., at the end of a day where their early show planned for the afternoon was moved because of rain and eventually took place at Brooklyn Bowl at 6:30 (also recorded, coming soon). Despite the crazy and hectic day, the late performance was neither ragged nor tired — Cap’n Jazz clearly brought their A-game across the river to New Jersey and in this intimate venue, the energy was palpable. Tim took time between many of the songs to interact with the crowd, who spent much of the show in a euphoric state — the stage jumping and moshing that took place in Brooklyn was toned down as this crowd was there more to see the music than the scene. For a band that basically produced one album and one compilation, the setlist consisted of about half their entire catalog.

I recorded this set as I do all shows at this venue — Neumann’s at the cage mixed with a board feed. On this particular night, the band’s FOH and Maxwell’s superb house soundman worked in perfect unison and the venue sound was mixed to perfection. I am amazed at how good this recording sounds. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/capn-jazz-2010-07-25.nyctaper

Cap’n Jazz
2010-07-25
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ USA

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 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-07-27

Setlist:
[Total Time 56:52]
01 Yes, I Am Talking To You
02 Que Suerte!
03 [banter]
04 The Sands Have Turned Purple
05 [banter]
06 Basil’s Kite
07 Little League
08 Oh Messy Life
09 [banter]
10 Tokyo
11 [banter]
12 In The Clear
13 Planet Shhh
14 [banter]
15 Puddle Splashers
16 [banter]
17 Olerud
18 Forget Who We Are
19 [encore break]
20 Precious
21 Take On Me
22 [banter]
23 Ooh Do I Love You

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Cap’n Jazz, visit their website, and purchase their complete discography compilation Analphabetapolothology from the Jade Tree Records site [HERE].

[Moon Duo performing at the Woodsist Fest in Big Sur. Photos courtesy of Chris Juarez]

Moon Duo may be from San Francisco, but their sound most clearly references a famed New York City band, the 1970s art-punk duo Suicide. Featuring Sanae Yamada and Erik “Ripley” Johnson, best known for his work as guitarist for the Wooden Shjips, the band does not require a lot of personnel to bring a room-filling load of noise. With dense, overwhelming bass, ghostly, buried vocals, and swerving guitars, the band plays deeply hypnotic pop that could soundtrack a dream or an acid trip. Kicking off the Woodsist showcase at the 2010 Northside Festival at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Moon Duo’s half-hour of mind-bending psychedelia to set the the tone. Several songs were from the band’s EP Escape, which was released this year on Woodsist.

I recorded this set with a combination of hypercardiod and omnidirectional microphones, which perfectly captured the immensity of the band’s sound, from the same location as the Fresh and Onlys recording. Please help out with the names of the missing song titles if you can. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/moonduo2010-06-25.acidjack

Moon Duo
2010-06-25
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

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

Equipment: Schoeps CMC641+DPA 4061>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to left side of sound booth, 10ft up, Schoeps DIN, DPAs 2ft split A/B
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, EQ, tracking, amplify and balance channels)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks (please help with the missing song titles)
01
02 Stumbling 22nd Street
03
04 Dead West
05 Motorcycle I Love You

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Moon Duo, visit their website, and purchase Escape from Woodsist records here.

[screencap by Eric Horn]

The third session of the Backyard Brunch series moved indoors and began with an opening set by Courtesy Tier (here). The featured band was Person L, which is the newest musical project from Kenny Vasoli, who spent ten years as the lead singer of the popular major label pop-punk band The Starting Line. While Person L definitely is a departure for Vasoli, the band still relies heavily on his powerful vocals and meticulous songcraft. From ten feet away in a cozy living room, Kenny’s compelling presence demanded attention as the band worked through a short set of their best songs in an acoustic format. The highlights of the performance included “Goodness Gracious” (streaming below) and set closer “Untitled”, both tracks from their excellent 2009 release The Positives.

We recorded this set with four microphones placed strategically among the band members and the sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/person-l-2010-07-10.nyctaper

Person L
2010-07-10
Backyard Brunch Sessions
Brooklyn, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Onstage

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
2010-07-22

Setlist:
[Total Time 35:04]
01 [introduction]
02 House Sounds
03 New Sensation
04 Good Days
05 Goodness Gracious
06 [banter]
07 Sit Tight
08 [banter/equipment]
09 Storms
10 [banter/thanks]
11 Untitled

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Person L, visit their MySpace page, and purchase The Positives from the Academy Fight Song Records website [HERE].

[photo by Abby Resko – more here]

In 2008, Deer Tick appeared three times on nyctaper. As the leader of the trio, John McCauley was always an engaging presence and it was hard not to both root for Deer Tick’s success and predict its inevitable realization. Now two years down the road, Deer Tick has weathered a few personnel changes, released three excellent albums, sold out mid-major venues, appeared on Letterman, and chuckled at the folly of web backlash. At a sold out Maxwell’s on Monday night, the current quintet rocked harder and longer than the early years, but Deer Tick has lost absolutely none of its charm or its authenticity. The set picked equally from each of the three albums, but also featured several new numbers, the strongest of which (“Make Believe” and “Bury Deep”) represent a continued migration from americana-folk to honky-tonk in the band’s sound. To conclude the set, the band pulled out all the bar-band stops with two crazy covers — ZZ Top (“Cheap Sunglasses”) and Marvin Gaye (“Let’s Get it On”) before finishing with a lengthy feedback-drenched “Mange”.

I recorded this set with the Neumann microphones at the front corner of the soundboard booth and mixed with a board feed. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/deertick2010-07-19.nyctaper

Deer Tick
2010-07-19
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ USA

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 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-07-22

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:35:12]
01 Smith Hill
02 [banter]
03 Spend The Night
04 Me Me Me (MG&V)
05 Hope is Big (new song)
06 Baltimore Blues No. 1
07 Something To Brag About (new song)
08 Twenty Miles
09 When She Comes Home
10 [banter]
11 Maybelline (Chuck Berry)
12 Make Believe (new song)
13 Bury Deep (new song)
14 [banter]
15 Choir of Angels [false start]
16 Choir of Angels
17 [banter]
18 Ashamed
19 Houston, TX
20 I’m Gonna Learn To Fly An Airplane (with Johnny Corndawg)
21 Dirty Dishes
22 [tuning + Tequila]
23 [new song]
24 Cheap Sunglasses (ZZ Top)
25 [encore break]
26 Let’s Get it On (Marvin Gaye)
27 Mange

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Deer Tick, visit their website, visit their myspace page, and purchase their official releases from the Partisan Records Store [HERE].

[Photo by CharlieTakesPhotos.  See his Flickr stream here]

Los Angeles-based Fol Chen made a perfect opening act for Liars at this packed Sunday night show back in April at Music Hall of Williamsburg.  Though Liars’ style may be a bit heavier, both bands play music that treads outside the boundaries of normal song structure and typical rock style (if such a thing exists these days anyway).  Little that the band does is obvious, with a theatrical, beat-driven sound that isn’t easily categorized. The set kicked off with the catchy and hypnotic “Red Skies Over Garden City”, my favorite from the band’s debut, John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made.  From there, the band played a few songs from their latest record (released this week), Part II: The New December, as well as the unreleased and never-recorded “The Nudibranch Paradox.”  Live, the band’s sound has a much sparer, more rock feel that emphasizes the live drums and the vocal harmonies.  Although it is a departure from their records to an extent, it is a welcome change, showing that the songs can stand on their own without studio wizardry.  We are releasing this recording at this somewhat delayed date at Fol Chen’s request, as they did not want our live recording to “preview” their new songs until they were officially released.  Now that their new record is out, please check out Part II: The New December and find out more about this excellent band.

I recorded this set from our usual spot in the venue.  Other than a few chatterers here and there, the sound is excellent. Thanks to Fol Chen for releasing the recording, and for their help with tracking and song titles.  Enjoy!

Please note that as the Liars performance was being recorded for a live album that will feature the entire April 18th performance.  Therefore, although it was recorded, NYCTaper will not be releasing this recording.  The live album will be worth the wait once released!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/folchen2010-04-18.acidjack

Fol Chen
2010-04-18
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY  USA

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

Equipment: DPA 4021>Naiant littlebox>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: Clamp to left of sound booth, 11? up, DIN
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, EQ, tracking, amplify and balance channels, downsample)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 Red Skies Over Garden City [fades in]
02 Winter, That’s All
03 The Nudibranch Paradox
04 They Came To Me
05 [banter]
06 Men, Beasts or Houses (Parts I and II)
07 Please John, You’re Killing Me
08 Cable TV
09 Ruins (Dawn Patrol Mix)
10 This Is Where the Road Belongs
11 The Holograms

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Fol Chen, visit their website, and purchase Part II: The New December and their other records from Asthmatic Kitty here.