[photo by nyctaper]

Its hard to distinguish between the multitude of “garage” bands these days, as the genre has reached its critical mass. The proliferation of three and four-piece guitar-bass-drums lo-fi two-minute-song band can be dizzying, especially when it seems that a new one is championed every day by Pitchfork. What separates Harlem from the rest, and what likely resulted in their signing to Matador, is the obvious songwriting ability and vocal talents. Harlem can be screamers, but the band can also harmonize — making them less Nuggets-style garage and more British Invasion-esque (“Someday Soon” sounds like a Beatles Vee-Jay Records outtake). Although some of their contemporaries can be somewhat hard on the ears, Harlem’s new album Hippies (released in April, 2010) is a delectable collection of fine pop songs dressed up in youthful recklessness. That style was on display as Harlem opened for Titus Andronicus a couple of weeks ago at Maxwell’s. As the band worked from an improvised setlist, the show picked randomly among songs from their two albums, but the energy was positive and the interplay with the crowd was good-natured and humorous. The band dedicated their final song “Beautiful & Very Smart” to a couple in the crowd who had just gotten married that day.

We recorded this set as a four-track soundboard/audience matrix from out usual location in this venue and the sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Harlem
2010-04-24
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
2010-05-07

Setlist:
[Total Time 30:50]
01 Witchgreens
02 Someday Soon
03 Gay Human Bones
04 South of France
05 Be Your Baby
06 Friendly Ghost
07 Number One
08 Caroline
09 Scare You
10 [banter]
11 Beautiful & Very Smart

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Harlem, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Hippies directly from Matador Records [here].

[photo by nyctaper]

Twenty years ago, Jonathan Donohue was a member of both The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev. Although his tenure with the Lips lasted just two albums, echoes of the humanistic psychedelic indie folk-rock that both bands helped create still reside in Donohue’s songs. And while both bands reached their critical and artistic peaks in the late 90’s, the Lips with The Soft Bulletin and Mercury Rev with Deserter’s Songs, in recent years their parallel paths have diverged. The Flaming Lips of recent vintage concentrate more on the theatrical and marginally bombastic elements of their music, and seem to be content to deliver the same prop-heavy performances year after year. Donohue has maintained a lower profile and has delivered a series of excellent albums, the most recent of which, Snowflake Midnight, contains what is arguably his most heartfelt lyrical work. On Saturday night at the Truck America Festival, Mercury Rev headlined the main stage with a new wrinkle — a string section conducted by Joe Bennett. Additionally, Mercury Rev alums Justin and Jason Russo joined the band for this special show.  From the outset it was abundantly clear that this was no ordinary set, but rather was more a career-celebrating retrospective.  Jonathan acknowledged his long time fans, referenced the twenty year old self-released cassettes that he brought along to the festival, and delivered a set that included a song from those old cassettes (“Car Wash Hair”), a moving Nico cover (the Jackson Browne penned “These Days”), and indeed one of his Flaming Lips contributions (“There You Are: Jesus Song No. 7”). The string section did not just work well, it was almost as if each song demanded the contributions of these outstanding musicians and the seamless scoring of Joe Bennett. Of particular note, the guitar and clarinet work of Sean “Grasshopper” Mackowiak was sublime and superb. At the close of the set, “Isn’t It A Pity” was such a strong emotional number that although the stage was set to close for the night, Mercury Rev was called back for an encore. It was the only encore we saw all weekend.

I recorded this set in the same location and with the same rig as The Joy Formidable set from the previous night. However, the mix for this set was quite excellent, and as a result the sound quality of this recording is outstanding. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Mercury Rev
2010-05-01
Truck America Festival
Big Indian, NY 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
2010-05-05

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:02:35]
01 Endlessly
02 [banter]
03 First-Time Mother’s Joy (Flying)
04 Car Wash Hair
05 Blue Clouds (Daniel Johnston)
06 Tonight It Shows
07 Runaway Raindrop
08 [banter]
09 Opus 40
10 There You Are: Jesus Song No. 7
11 Holes
12 These Days (Jackson Browne)
13 Isn’t It A Pity
14 [encore break]
15 Goddess On A Hiway

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Mercury Rev, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the store at the Mercury Rev website [here].

[photo by nyctaper]

The real test of the quality of a band is whether their music translates in different settings with varying audiences. When we saw The Joy Formidable in a packed Pianos in January, the energy in the room was palpable and their set was quite powerful. Our conclusion was that the band was absolutely destined for greater success. In the intervening couple of months, our prescience has proved correct — The Joy Formidable returned to NYC on Saturday to play before a sold-out and over capacity Mercury Lounge. But the set that again proved the abundant worth of this Welsh trio was their performance headlining the main stage on Friday night at the Truck America Festival. In the spacious outdoors and cool night Catskills air, TJF powered the entire main stage tent with their abundant energy. From the opening notes of “Greatest Light”, Ritzy and Rhydian attacked their instruments and pranced around the stage while Matt mashed the drums relentlessly. At one point, Ritzy got a bit carried away and nearly smashed into the entire drum kit. Order restored, the band whipped through their standard setlist (we had hoped for “Popinjay”, which they saved for Mercury), and closed the set and the main stage day with eight minutes of relentless “Whirring”, as the kneeling Ritzy ravaged her pedals and amp.

This set was recorded with the R-44 four track, with two Neumann microphones on a stand at the soundboard mixed with a stereo board feed. The sound quality is quite good, and subject to only the limitations of recording music in a tent. Enjoy!

The Joy Formidable have added a special show at the end of the current tour in which they return to Mercury Lounge on May 10.

Today (May 4), The Joy Formidable release their new EP A Balloon Called Moaning on Black Bell Records.

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Joy Formidable
2010-04-30
Truck America Festival
Big Indian, NY 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
2010-05-03

Setlist:
[Total Time 41:02]
01 The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade
02 Cradle
03 The Last Drop
04 Austere
05 Ostrich
06 Magnifying Glass
07 Anemone
08 Whirring

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Joy Formidable, visit their website, and purchase their debut EP A Balloon Called Moaning from the Black Bell Records website [here] or from the store at the TJF website [here].

[Photos courtesy of Charles from TheMusic.FM]

Twin Sister’s sound has a European feel to me – the first reference that came to mind was Stereolab – and that was borne out by their live set, which combined synth-driven pop like the set closer “All Around and Away We Go” with more shoegazy pieces like “Milk and Honey”.   Opening for the Morning Benders, Twin Sister packed the room despite their “opening band” status.  Lead vocalist Andrea Estella also adds to their Euro aesthetic, with her breathy, hypnotic delivery that sharpens and smooths at unexpected intervals.   The band’s excellent new EP, Color Your Life, garnered raves on Pitchfork, and we expect enthusiasm for them to only increase as they go out on a summer tour this July with Bear In Heaven (though sadly, there are no NYC dates).

I recorded this set upfront with the DPA 4021 microphones in a mobile setup.  This method captured the sound from the stage and the room perfectly.  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE).  Listen to “Lady Daydream” (HERE).

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Twin Sister
2010-04-28
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY  USA

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

Equipment:  DPA 4021>Denecke PS/2>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position:  Mobile rig, FOB, DFC
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify, smooth peaks)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 I Want A House [fades in]
02 Eastern Green
03 Lady Daydream
04 Milk & Honey
05 Saturday Sunday
06 banter
07 Daniel
08 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.