[photo by nyctaper]

Talent is an amazing thing to behold up close. When it comes to professional athletes, when you see them in person their amazing physicality is intimidating. Television does not do them justice. Its the same with musical performers. On Saturday, we were invited to capture a private performance at a “backyard brunch” series being presented weekly this summer. Nicole Atkins is a performer of some renowned, as Neptune City her 2007 release on Columbia Records reached number 20 in the Billboard “heatseeker” chart. But from five feet away in a relaxed backyard setting, Nicole’s talent is breathtaking. The Backyard Brunch series is unamplified, and yet even without the benefit of a sound system, her sweet yet powerful voice carried through all the ambient noise of a Saturday afternoon in Williamsburg to thoroughly entertain the intimate crowd. Nicole set included two songs from Neptune City and several songs that we anticipate will appear on her forthcoming album. Nicole Atkins performs again in NYC at the City Winery on August 7, when she returns from an extensive European tour.

I recorded this set with four microphones placed within a few feet of the artist. Other than a few moments of wind and some outside noise, this is quite an exceptional capture. Enjoy!

Stream “Call Me The Witch”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/N1906NicoleAtkins1020/3%20NicoleAtkins2010-06-19_nyctaper_t03.mp3]

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

Nicole Atkins
2010-06-19
Private Backyard Barbeque
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
2010-06-20

Setlist:
[Total Time 34:50]
01 The Way It Is
02 Cry Cry Cry
03 Call Me The Witch
04 [tuning/banter]
05 Monterey Honey
06 Baby Don’t Lie
07 Hotel Plaster
08 The Tower
09 Neptune City

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Nicole Atkins, visit her website, and purchase her official releases and other merch [HERE].

[acidjack is getting a new iPhone soon, and with it, he hopes to take at least somewhat better photos]

You may have noticed that we don’t post recordings by bands that we don’t like.  Therefore, our reviews are almost uniformly positive – which may make it difficult at times to tell the bands we think are really good, and the ones we think are, well, just good.  I hope to clear up any confusion about how I feel about Tidal Arms – these guys, who have been around for less than a year, kick ass. Maybe it was the fact that this show at Cake Shop had lots of good music, but no other heavy bands, and Tidal Arms filled an important void.  It could be that, but I attribute my instantly positive reaction to this band to their musical style and the quality of their playing.  They are heavy, for sure – loud guitars, pounding drums and driving bass – but they don’t fall into the all-too-common trap of one-song-after-another of what sounds like the same song.   Each of their songs, from the slower dirges to the faster numbers, has its own feel, and vocalist/guitarist Tom Tierney mixes up the vocal styles too, with some songs sung and others belted in a metal-ish growl.  Tierney is also a studio guy, so the house sound was particularly dialed in for Tidal Arms’ loud set.

Although Tidal Arms are a new band, their members have a varied history going back several years.  Tierney and bassist Patrick Southern are friends from college, where they studied jazz and played in an electric blues band.  The final piece of the puzzle was drummer Francis Mark, who met Tierney when he stepped in as replacement guitarist for Mark’s previous band, the much-loved stoner metal band Warship.  Over time, the band members have played almost everything: folk, blues, hardcore, metal, and indie pop.  According to Tierney, Tidal Arms now represents the music these guys truly want to make.

Tidal Arms have two shows coming up:  July 24 at Vibe Lounge in Rockville Center, NY and August 14 at The Studio at Webster Hall.  You can also download their new single, “Flooded Meadows” for free (temporarily) on bandcamp.

This set was recorded in the same manner as the Miracles of Modern Science recording, with ceiling-mounted DPA omnidirectional mics and DPA cardioid mics in the audience.  Due in large part to the strong house mix, this recording is even better than the MOMS recording.  You can stream “Flooded Meadows” from this show below, and the MP3 downloads are properly tagged for importing into iTunes.  Enjoy!

Stream “Flooded Meadows”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/T7601TidalArms2010/TidalArms_FloodedMeadows.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Tidal Arms
2010-06-17
Cake Shop
New York, NY  USA

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

Equipment: DPA 4021+DPA 4061>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: 4021s 6ft from right stack, A-B; 4061s mounted at 3? split above stage
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify/balance channels, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC Level 8

01 Several Circles
02 Wooly Pictures
03 Flooded Meadows
04 The Sun Exploding
05 [tuning]
06 Social Landlord
07 Hair and Teeth

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Tidal Arms, attend their shows, visit their MySpace page, and check out their new single, “Flooded Meadows” which will shortly be available as a 7? and is currently available for free download to the first 500 people who get there on the band’s bandcamp site.

[iPhone photo by acidjack]

As our founder noted in our first post about this band, Miracles of Modern Science have mastered the tough challenge of making original music that stays within the indie rock/pop realm.  The always-excellent booking crew at Cake Shop have recognized that by giving MOMS a monthlong residence, which features them and an excellent, rotating cast of other acts every Thursday night in June.  The band consists of a cello, violin, stand-up bass, mandolin and drums, and it played surprisingly well in what can be a tough room, thanks in part to the virtuosity of the band members on their instruments.  Along with material from their several EPs, the band played two very different covers – first, Wilco’s “Jesus, Etc.” which you can stream below, and Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U”.  The crowd was so into it that, in a rare move for a Cake Shop show that had run late into the night, the band played a two-song encore, which included “I Would Die 4 U” and one of the band’s oldest songs, “Bossa Supernova”.  The band is working on a full-length record at the moment, and based on the quality of these performances, it should be a success.

I recorded this set using a new method which I hope compensates for the challenges of capturing sound at Cake Shop.  Tiny DPA omnidirectional mics were taped at a 3 foot split on the ceiling directly at the stage lip (you can see them in the picture if you look closely) while DPA cardiod microphones were placed about 6 feet back from the right stack.  The result is a capture that provides both the feeling of being in the crowd as well as clean, direct sound from the stage.  The MP3s and FLACs have been tagged for easy importing into iTunes or your favorite music system.  Enjoy!

Stream “Jesus, Etc.”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/M7016MOMS9922/MOMS-JesusEtc.mp3]

Stream the entire show:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/M7016MOMS9922/moms2010-06-17cakeshop_acidjack.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Miracles of Modern Science
2010-06-17
Cake Shop
New York, NY  USA

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

Equipment: DPA 4021+DPA 4061>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: 4021s 6ft from right stack, A-B; 4061s mounted at 3? split above stage
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify/balance channels, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks [Total Time 49:48]
01 MR2
02 TYPO GYGO
03 Friend of the Animals
04 Eating Me Alive
05 Space Chopper
06 Jesus, Etc. [Wilco]
07 I Found Space
08 Luminol
09 [encore break]
10 I Would Die 4 U [Prince]
11 Bossa Supernova

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Miracles of Modern Science, attend their gigs, visit their MySpace page, and download their music from their bandcamp site (free downloads available); their EPs can also be purchased from iTunes.

[photo by nyctaper]

Wild Nothing is a band who we have been hearing much about lately. They are scheduled to play one of the free Governor’s Island shows tomorrow (Saturday June 19), after having played a “secret show” last night at Death By Audio. We had the opportunity to catch this current buzz band twice during the winter, and left impressed by their skillful presentation of 80’s influenced dream pop. After Wild Nothing was discovered and signed by Captured Tracks’ Mike Sniper, Jack Tatum’s Virginia-based bedroom songs formed a four-piece live band and came to NYC in February to play two shows at Monster Island. The second night lineup including sets previously featured at nyctaper by Frankie Rose and So Cow. These two debut NYC shows were in conjunction with the release of their single “Summer Holiday”, which closed the set. A month later, we saw Wild Nothing at a much larger venue, opening for Woods and Real Estate (also previously featured on nyctaper) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. In June, the band’s debut full length was released and received “best new music” from Pitchfork, and glowing reviews elsewhere. These two recordings were captured at divergent sized and sounding venues, but give an excellent indication that Wild Nothing is worthy of such neat praise.

The Monster Island set was recorded with microphones mounted ten feet from the stage and a direct soundboard line. The four-track mixdown enhances the strengths of both feeds. The Music Hall set was recorded with four microphones at the front corner of the soundboard. Both recordings, although quite different in feel, have outstanding sound quality. Enjoy!

Streaming Samples of Wild Nothing:
“O Lilac” at Monster Island
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/W1302WildNothing1020/5%20WildNothing2010-02-13_nyctaper_t05.mp3]
“Summer Holiday” at Music Hall
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/W1302WildNothing1020/6%20WildNothing2010-03-12_nyctaper_t06.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files:
Monster Island (HERE)
Music Hall (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC:
Monster Island [HERE]
Music Hall [HERE]

Wild Nothing
2010-02-13
Monster Island Basement
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 16bit 44.1kHz 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
2010-06-13

Setlist:
[Total Time 30:22]
01 Confirmation
02 Live In Dreams
03 Nothing’s Wrong
04 The Witching Hour
05 O Lilac
06 Gemini
07 Summer Holiday

*******

Wild Nothing
2010-03-12
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Soundboard Booth

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
2010-06-13

Setlist:
[Total Time 26:53]
01 Nothing’s Wrong
02 The Witching Hour
03
04 O Lilac
05 Gemini
06 Summer Holiday

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wild Nothing, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their debut album Gemini from the Captured Tracks website [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Patrice Jackson]

I rectified two major oversights last night when I caught JEFF The Brotherhood at Santos Party House. Although we’ve both been around for a few years now, nyctaper had not previously recorded a show at Santos. Which is a shame, because the venue was extremely courteous and accommodating to me and the sound system is terrific. And although JEFF previously appeared on nyctaper in December, acidjack captured that show and so I had also never seen JEFF. The show began with an extended solo by Jake and a dramatic entrance by Jamin to begin the the first number. Midway through the too-short set, Jake took a leap from the stage to the bar and worked his way briefly along the bar. Later, he would work through the crowd from front to back while performing the outstanding extended jam to end the set. These antics did not detract from the show, but rather enhanced the two-brothers-just-playing-rock-and-having-fun vibe that permeates JEFF’s live performances. While the middle-bill thirty-five minute set was over far too quickly, we expect to see JEFF playing longer sets in larger venues in the near future. The size and enthusiasm of the Santos crowd would agree.

I recorded this set with a simple two-channel plug-in to the side-stage inputs. As a straight soundboard feed, the sound quality is crystal clear, if a bit “in your face”. One caveat: there is some crackling in the guitar near the end of the first song. Enjoy!

Stream “U Got The Look”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/J6012JEFF9922/02%20JEFF2010-06-13_nyctaper_t02.mp3]
Stream “Bone Jam”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/J6012JEFF9922/09%20JEFF2010-06-13_nyctaper_t09.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

JEFF The Brotherhood
2010-06-13
Santos Party House
New York, NY USA

Digital Stereo Soundboard Master Recording

Digital Soundboard > XLR Cables > Edirol R-44 > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, set fades, downsample) > CD Wave (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2010-06-14

Setlist:
[Total Time 35:06]
01
02 U Got the Look
03 [tuning/banter]
04 Mind Ride
05 [tuning/banter]
06
07
08 [tuning/banter]
09 Bone Jam
10

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT JEFF the Brotherhood, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their new album Heavy Days from the Infinity Cat Records website [HERE].

[Photo courtesy of Sam?]

Gothenburg, Sweden’s The Embassy arrived in NYC off of a long overnight flight, and had to prepare in short order to close out the NYC Popfest 2010 with the last set of the night at Littlefield.  The organizers were particularly proud of the coup of bringing the band over for this show, and the band returned the favor.  Despite a vocal mix that was a bit high at times, The Embassy delivered a fun, upbeat set of pop-driven electronica, joking with the audience and keeping the energy up.  Although they are long overdue for a new record (Tacking was released in 2006) they played material from all over their catalog, including the 2008 single “State08? and the 2009 single, “You Tend to Forget”.

I recorded this set from the same location as the other NYC Popfest recordings, with a stereo soundboard feed and the DPA microphones.  As the vocals were a bit higher in the mix on this feed, I have emphasized a bit more of the audience recording to make a more balanced mix.  You can now stream this entire show direct from nyctaper.com, so we hope you will take advantage of this fun new option.  Enjoy!

Stream the entire show:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/E2305Embassy0210/embassy2010-05-23littlefield_acidjack.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Embassy
2010-05-23
NYC Popfest 2010
Littlefield
Brooklyn, NY  USA

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

Equipment: Stereo soundboard feed + DPA 4021>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: ROC, left wall of SBD cage, mics at 8?
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, mixdown, EQ, tracking, amplify channels)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks [Total time 32:55]
01 The Pointer
02 It Pays To Belong
03 Stage Persona
04 State08
05 [unknown]
06 Lurking
07 You Tend to Forget
08 Some Indulgence

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Embassy, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their records from your favorite online retailers (unfortunately, they are not that easy to come by, but there are some links on Amazon here).