[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!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/moms2010-06-17.acidjack

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!

Download and stream the complete shows in FLAC:
Monster Island [HERE]
Music Hall [HERE]

https://archive.org/details/wild-nothing-2010-02-13.nyctaper

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

*******

https://archive.org/details/wild-nothing-2010-03-12.nyctaper

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!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/jeff-2010-06-13.nyctaper

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!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/embassy2010-05-23.acidjack

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).

[Bunnygrunt live on tour.  Photo courtesy of Rob Severson]

Hailing from St. Louis, MO, Bunnygrunt may not be a household name to most on the East Coast, but core band members Matt Harnish and Karen Ried have been making fan-beloved, often humorous pop music under this moniker since 1993.  The band’s style is all about uncomplicated lo-fi pop, with few songs clocking in above the two-minute mark.  Despite a Sunday daytime slot at the NYC Popfest 2010 at Littlefield, the band brought one of the biggest crowds of any of the day’s acts, and deservedly so, as they gave the Brooklyn crowd a rapid-fire dose of 13 songs (in 32 minutes!) of pure Midwestern power pop.  The set closed out with “Southtown Famous” and it’s simple mantra – “Gonna get drunk tonight, tonight / gonna get drunk tonight!”  On a hungover Sunday afternoon, sometimes light, economical pop is the perfect antidote (even if the song is about drinking more).

I recorded this set in the same manner as the other NYC Popfest sets, with the DPA microphones and an excellent soundboard feed.  Please help out with the setlist if you can.

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/bunnygrunt2010-05-23.acidjack

Bunnygrunt
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, tracking, amplify channels)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total time 32min]
01
02
03
04 S. Kings Highway Bubblegum Factory
05
06
07 Frankie Is A Killer
08
09
10 Let It Out
11
12
13 Southtown Famous

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Bunnygrunt, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their records from HHBTM Records here.

[photo courtesy of Aquarium Drunkard]

As one of the most accomplished songwriters of the last two decades, including his work with Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, the recent collaboration with indie-darling Ben Gibbard, and his solo career, Jay Farrar has cached enough cred to deserve abundant respect. Last Friday at Maxwell’s, that was sadly not the case. As this recording unfortunately details, the superb music emanating from the stage was seemingly mere background music to a social event. The unabashed high volume chatter at this show is simply an outrage — thoroughly disrespectful to this excellent artist and also to one of the metro area’s greatest venues. If you can’t shut up for 90 minutes, stay home.

In terms of the performance, for this tour Jay has been accompanied by multi-instrument virtuoso Mark Spencer. While the setlist is quite similar to the Son Volt show featured on nyctaper in September, Jay added a few more of the Big Sur numbers, performed a very special rare Uncle Tupelo number (“Still Be Around”), and encored a rocking Townes Van Zandt cover.

This show was recorded with acidjack’s new Schoeps microphones at the front corner of the soundboard. While we often mix four channels of audience and soundboard at this venue, Jay’s taping policy does not permit board feeds, so this is a straight audience recording that suffers from the obvious persistent and rude crowd chatter. There is also one brief battery-change splice in “Still Be Around”. With those caveats, enjoy!

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/jay-farrar-2010-06-04.acidjack

Jay Farrar
2010-06-04
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Front and Center of Soundboard

Schoeps CMC6/MK41 > Naiant Littlebox > Sony PCM-M10 > 24bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, close clapping reduction, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded by acidjack
Produced by nyctaper
2010-06-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:31:05]
01 Down To The Wire
02 The Picture
03 Feel Free
04 When The Wheels Don’t Move
05 Cocaine and Ashes
06 Dust of Daylight
07 Pushed Too Far
08 No Turning Back
09 Big Sur
10 Methamphetamine
11 Strength and Doubt
12 San Francisco
13 Dynamite
14 Bandages & Scars
15 Breathe Our Iodine
16 Tear Stained Eye
17 Damn Shame
18 Still Be Around
19 Windfall
20 Afterglow 61
21 [encore break]
22 White Freightliner Blues (Townes Van Zandt)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Jay Farrar, visit his website, and purchase his official releases directly from the Jay Farrar Official Store [HERE].