The Naked Hearts released their new EP this month and Thursday last (Jan 22), it was time to celebrate. In the venue where they garnered positive attention at CMJ, at Cake Shop Naked Hearts performed a set that featured five of the six songs on the new release These Knees. We were particularly pleased to hear “No One Nothing” for the first time live where the song’s hooks and melodic guitar work translated well.

Naked Hearts have completed their East Coast tour to support the EP, and return to live performance next weekend (Feb 6) at Death By Audio. They will also perform at Glasslands on March 1 before returning to the road for some Midwest dates.

We recorded this set from our upfront location at this venue. The sound quality is not quite what we anticipated, as the vocals are perhaps a bit too light and there is some noise in the drums. Nevertheless, its a fine performance by a fine band! Enjoy.

The Antlers and Air Waves (permission pending) were also recorded and will be posted in nyctaper in the near future.

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/NakedHearts2009-01-22.nyctaper

Naked Hearts
2009-01-22
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront
10 Feet from PA

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample 16/44) > CD Wave > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2009-01-24

Setlist:
[total time 28:42]
01 Like I Do
02 Mass Hysteria
03 No One Nothing
04 Cat and Mouse
05 One False Move
06 Call Me
07 Only For You

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Naked Hearts, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their new EP These Knees from InSound (vinyl and download card) or Other Music (mp3).

[from Annuals MySpace – photo by Brian Vetter]

Annuals are on tour in support of their new CD Such Fun. On Wednesday at Bowery Ballroom, Annuals played an energetic eighty-minute set that drew equally from their two full-lengths and four EPs. The highlights included the new single “Confessor”, “Brother” and as the first encore “Carry Around”. While the band maintains a youthful and exuberant energy on stage, Adam Baker‘s lyrics exhibit a wisdom beyond his years. That kind of maturity has enabled Annuals to move beyond the blog-buzz and its inevitable backlash, and produce an excellent new CD and tour.

We recorded from our standard balcony location in this venue and the sound is excellent. The vocals were mixed too low for the first couple of songs, but the balance improved thereafter and ultimately we are pleased with the high quality of this recording. Enjoy!

Jessica Lea Mayfield and What Laura Says were also recorded and will be posted on nyctaper pending artist approval.

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/Annuals-2009-01-28.nyctaper

Annuals
2009-01-28
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Balcony Rail
Next to Soundboard

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (set fades, slight level adjustments, downsample) > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2009-01-30

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:20:45]
01 [drum intro]
02 Hot Night Hounds
03 Always Do
04 Confessor
05 Down The Mountain
06 Sway
07 Hardwood Floor
08 Fair
09 Complete or Completing
10 Chase You Off
11 Springtime
12 Around Your Neck
13 Sore
14 Brother
15 Wake
16 [encore break]
17 Carry Around
18 Hair Don’t Grow

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Annuals, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their new CD Such Fun from the links at their website and MySpace page.

[photo courtesy of Edan at thepiratehat]

The first time that I saw These Are Powers live was about a year ago, early in the morning in a smokey venue with a cranky old sound system. I absolutely hated them. It never occurred to me that I might just be wrong about them, and that maybe the only thing that was really cranky and old that night was me. Several months later, I read a series of glowing reviews of These Are Powers performance at Siren Festival and had some reservations. Perhaps I should give them a “second chance”.

Friday night at Bell House, the performance by These Are Powers was truly a revelation. We were not distracted by negative conditions and simply concentrated on the band. We got it. These Are Powers create a textured beat and layer it with bass, keyboard effects and processed vocals. The influences are as diverse as German techno, Remain in Light and late-era Butthole Surfers. The band also seems to have a wicked sense of humor, which juxtaposes nicely with the sometime dark elements of the music.

The set included material from the upcoming release from These Are Powers entitled All Aboard Future. The release party for this new CD will take place on February 13, 2009 at Secret Project Robot in Brooklyn. These Are Powers will also perform this Friday January 30 at the DanBro space in Brooklyn in a ToddP event that features NYC bands and Baltimore bands in a “competition”.

We recorded this set from the same location as the Ponytail recording and the sound is excellent.

Download and stream the complete show [HERE].

https://archive.org/details/TheseArePowers2009-01-23.nyctaper

These Are Powers
2009-01-23
Bell House
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded Next to Soundboard

Neumann KM-150’s > Monster Cable > Apogee Mini-Me > digital coax > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge 8.0 (level adjustments, downsample) > CD Wave 1.75 > Flac Frontend (level 7) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2009-01-26

Setlist:
[Total time 34:14]
01 Cockles
02 Double Double Yolk
03 Chipping Ice
04 Adams Turtle
05 Life of Birds
06 Easy Answers
07 World Class Peoples

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT These Are Powers, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases from the Dead Oceans site [HERE].