The first thing that needs to be said about the entire National take-down from earlier this week is that the band themselves had nothing to do with the removal. In fact, in the discussions and negotiations to work out a solution to repost the recording, the support of The National and their representatives for the idea of a reposting of the recording was perhaps the tipping point in amicable solution of this entire situation. We are doubly indebted to this band for the initial performance and their openness and desire to allow the fans to hear the music.

Adam from Beggar’s Group ended up being a nice guy with a perfectly reasonable reason for the initial take-down — looking out for the band and the charity project. He was also reasonable enough to revisit the idea, discuss it with many people internally, and ultimately work out a solution.

The solution is simple — the desire of everyone involved to benefit the charity. In that regard, this recording is being offered for download with one very simple condition. If you download the recording, you contribute to the cause. If you email nyctaper for access to this recording (or if you downloaded from the original post), we expect that you will have either purchased the CD, contributed to the cause, or will contribute.

While we are relying on people’s goodwill in this endeavor and not strictly enforcing the condition of contribution, it would benefit all involved if readers would voluntarily email some proof of their contribution when requesting access to the files. On a selfish note, this kind of concrete proof of the positive contributions of nyctaper readers would also benefit the site in future situations of this nature — it would be great to have statistical evidence that nyctaper matters.

Read this very thorough review of the show.

DONATE TO RED HOT, THE ORGANIZATION BEHIND THE ENTIRE DARK WAS THE NIGHT PROJECT, HERE:
RED HOT STORE

-or-

OR CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY TO ANY ONE OF THE RED HOT CHARITIES HERE:
RED HOT SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS

-or-

PURCHASE THE DARK WAS THE NIGHT BENEFIT CD HERE:
DARK WAS THE NIGHT

Email nyctaper with a request for the download location of the mp3 and/or FLAC files. Please include some indication of your support with the email request (voluntary).

The National
2009-05-03
Radio City Music Hall
Dark Was the Night Benefit Concert
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Row E, Center Orchestra

SP-CMC-8 (Audio Technica U853 Cardiod Capsules)> SP-SB-8 > Edirol R-09HR > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (set fades, slight level adjustments, downsample > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded by acidjack
Produced by nyctaper
2009-05-05

Setlist:
[Total Time 26:11]
01 Slow Show
02 England
03 So Far Around The Bend
04 Vanderlylle Cry Baby
Bonus:
05 Big Red Machine (Matt + Bon Iver)

Be extra charitable and purchase the official releases from The National’s Merch store directly.

[photo courtesy of self-titled mag – more here]

In the spirit of Mogwai performing significantly different setlists on each night of this three-show run at the Music Hall, we now offer our readers a completely different listening experience. The recording of the 29th offered below has received some excellent reviews on the web, but this capture of the April 28 show is a different animal entirely. Acidjack recorded this set from almost directly in front of the PA (with earplugs!) with the DPA 4061 ommi’s. The result is an intense in-your-face recording which offers the listener an alternative take on a Mogwai concert. Enjoy!

Download the MP3 and FLAC files and stream the entire show on the Live Music Archive [HERE]

Mogwai
2009-04-28
The Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Up Front
10 Feet from Stacks

DPA 4061> CoreSound Battery Box > Edirol R-09HR > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (set fades, slight level adjustments, downsample > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded by acidjack
Produced by nyctaper
2009-05-04

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:33:58]
01 Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home
02 Hunted By A Freak
03 Scotland’s Shame
04 Cody
05 Summer
06 Small Children in the Background
07 Friend of the Night
08 Autorock
09 I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead
10 I Love You, I’m Going to Blow Up Your School
11 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong
12 We’re No Here
13 [encore break]
14 Like Herod
15 Batcat

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Mogwai, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from The Store at their website [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Music Snobbery]

We were first introduced to the music of Motel Motel when they headlined one of Jonny Leather’s excellent charity concerts. We heard the mp3s, but could not attend the show and filed the band under the “need to see live” category. Sunday night’s Music Snobbery Anniversary show presented that opportunity and what a revelation this band provided. Motel Motel has roots in South Carolina, but currently reside in Brooklyn. Their music has elements of Americana, country, indie rock and folk — but the complex multi-layered songs have melody and time changes reminiscent of early 70s prog. At Maxwell’s, the band played a 45 minute set with six songs, each of which was an impressive display of songwriting and musicianship. Its natural to focus on lead singer Eric Engel, but the proficient play of each of the members of the band are equally impressive. Expect to see more of Motel Motel on nyctaper in the future.

We recorded this set with the same equipment and location at the Crystal Stilts set. However, as this was the first set of the night, we set the digital gain of the soundboard feed too high and their was substantial brickwalling in the soundboard channels. We did not use the line feed in the final mix, and relied solely on the two channels from the room mix. Fortunately, the Neumann’s captured an exceptionally nice recording and this is quite an excellent listen nonetheless. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Motel Motel
2009-04-26
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ USA

Digital Master Audience Recording

Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, downsample, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2009-04-30

Setlist:
[Total Time 42:23]
01 [introduction]
02 Courage
03 Panda
04 River
05 Forest
06 Coffee
07 Cowboy

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Motel Motel, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their new CD New Denver from the links at their MySpace page [HERE].