[photo courtesy of Diana.Wong]

Last night at Music Hall of Williamsburg, we decided to get among the crazy throngs on the floor at the Of Montreal show. While it was certainly comfortable up in the balcony at Roseland, we must admit to a bit of envy when the crowd on the floor erupted in unison at various points of the amazing Of Montreal show in October. The Brooklyn crowd did not let us down — bumping and dancing throughout the first half of the two-hour show. As the twenty-seven song set worked into its second hour, the floor began to empty a bit, so that by the set-closing “Kongsvinger”, all that remained were the diehards, most of whom by then were covered in red paint. As in October, we were treated to a cover song as the show-closing number, this time the more sedate Tom Petty classic “American Girl”. In terms of the stage show, this was a bit of a scaled-down affair (no horse or hanging), but the ninja crew were very active and Kevin still made countless costume changes.

As we recorded with our mobile unit from the floor, this recording has an “authentic” in-the-crowd feel to it. Additionally, the sound in the venue was at times saturated and muddy. With those caveats, we are nevertheless pleased with the results. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Of Montreal
2008-12-16
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB
Dead Center 30 Feet from PA

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > 16bit 44.1 wav > Soundforge (set fades, level boost, slight eq) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-12-17

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:53:07]
01 Introduction
02 Id Engager
03 So Begins Our Alabee
04 Triphallus, To Punctuate!
05 She’s a Rejecter
06 For Our Elegant Caste
07 Touched Something’s Hollow
08 An Eluardian Instance
09 Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
10 Gallery Piece
11 Wraith Pinned To The Mist (And Other Games)
12 Women’s Studies Victims
13 St. Exquisite Confessions
14 Eros’ Entropic Tundra
15 [interlude – carrots]
16 Nonpareil Of Favor
17 October is Eternal
18 Wicked Wisdom
19 Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider
20 Knight Rider
21 And I’ve Seen A Bloody Shadow
22 Plastis Wafers
23 Beware Our Nubile Miscreants
24 Mingusings
25 All Na Wayo
26 A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger
27 [encore break]
28 Gronlandic Edit
29 Oslo In The Summertime
30 American Girl (Tom Petty)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Of Montreal, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their new CD Skeletal Lamping at the Polyvinyl website [HERE].

[photo courtesy of Merry Swankster blog]

A year ago we were both excited and impressed by Pylon’s performance at Mercury Lounge. Last night, the Athens legends returned to NYC and performed a looser but equally impressive set. Pylon have performed only a few times this year, but retain their signature sound, quirky energy, and most importantly a unique sense of rhythm. The Knitting Factory offered the band a more intimate setting, and with the crowd consisting of mostly WNYU deejays young and old — a crowd of knowledgeable and attentive fans — Pylon thrived on the vibe.

We recorded from the center riser of the balcony, and as the house board was mixed by Pylon’s veteran local sound tech, the mix in the room was superb. We are very pleased with the sound quality of this recording. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Pylon
2008-12-15
Knitting Factory
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Balcony Riser – Dead Center

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR Cables > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (set fades, downsample 16/44, slight level boost) > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2008-12-15

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:06:35]
01 Cool
02 Dub
03 K
04 No Clocks
05 Weather
06 The Human Body
07 Gravity
08 Danger
09 3×3
10 Working is No Problem
11 Volume
12 Sugarpop
13 Crazy
14 Beep
15 Feast On My Heart
16 [encore break]
17 M Train
18 Stop It

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Pylon, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase their official releases and merch from the links at their MySpace page and from the Athens Music site [HERE].

[photo by Arnold Brower courtesy of MySpace Butthole Surfers Photo Album]

Our experience last night at the Butthole Surfers show at Warsaw in Brooklyn did not start off so well. After twenty minutes in an unnecessary line in the freezing cold, and the inevitable difficulty of explaining taping equipment to the Polish-speaking security guard at the door, we finally made it into the venue. Fortunately, when we set up in front of the board, we were met with open arms including an extremely nice welcome from the venue manager (who I believe was named Alan). Once we warmed up, the entire experience became positive. When the Buttholes bounded on stage and began their set in earnest, all was right in the world. The middle-aged alterna-punk crowd has not aged all that badly, and we were extremely happy to chat with a series of old school fans who approached the stand to chat about the old days. My Buttholes experience goes back to an amazing night at the old Peppermint Lounge in August of 1984, before I returned for senior year of college, and last night felt very much like that night 24 years ago.

The set itself was a furious run through the band’s career work, with a few old chestnuts thrown in from each of the early albums for the hardcore fans. As Gibby chatted amiably with the crowd, with good vibes spread around, all was forgotten from the July fiasco at Webster Hall. Ninety minutes and 24 songs later, the old punks left Warsaw to battle the cold — this time with a smile instead of a grimace.

We recorded from directly in front of the soundboard. The sound quality in the venue was quite good considering how difficult it is to maintain separation and avoid distortion with this music. As a result, we are pleasantly surprised at the high quality of this capture. Enjoy!

This recording is now available to download as FLAC or MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].

Butthole Surfers
2008-12-12
Warsaw
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Directly in Front of Soundboard

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR Cables > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (set fades, downsample 16/44, slight level boost) > CD Wave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2008-12-13

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:29:13]
01 [introduction]
02 22 Going On 23
03 100 Million People Dead
04 Fast
05 Moving to Florida
06 Creep in the Cellar
07 Suicide
08 Rocky
09 Pittsburgh to Lebanon
10 Bar-B-Q Pope
11 Cowboy Bob
12 1401 (The Colored F.B.I. Guy)
13 Edgar
14 Negro Observer
15 Bong Song
16 Hey
17 I Saw An X-Ray Of A Girl Passing Gas
18 Goofy’s Concern
19 Graveyard
20 Some Dispute Over T-Shirt Sales
21 To Partner
22 Tornado
23 Gary Floyd
24 [encore break]
25 Blindman
26 The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey’s Grave

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Butthole Surfers, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the “Dry Goods” section of their website [here].