[photo by Thom – more here]

Sometimes its a charmed life to be nyctaper. Less than 24 hours after an amazing Deerhunter concert, we were back inside Music Hall of Williamsburg for a show we had been anticipating for months — The Mountain Goats return to NYC. When Brooklyn last saw John Darnielle, he performed an outstanding solo set at the Masonic Temple that included one brand new song. That song, “Wizard Buys a Hat” would later appear on the new Satanic Messiah EP, which along with the Kaki King-collaboration Black Pear Tree comprise the two new EPs released this Fall.

Last night’s set included five of the six songs from Black Pear Tree, but unfortunately none of the four Satanic Messiah tracks. Nevertheless, the setlist was democratically distributed among The Mountain Goats catalog and was performed with precision and much energy. John was perhaps less manic and chatty than previous appearances, but that focus served us well — the hundred-minute set was packed with twenty songs and four encores. When we attend the Webster Hall show tonight, a different setlist is expected which will complete a thoroughly enjoyable two-night Mountain Goats experience.

We recorded from the identical prime location from previous events at this venue, and the sound quality is truly superb. You have not heard, nor may you ever again hear another unofficial live recording of The Mountain Goats of this quality. We are proud to present this exceptional capture of this particular artist. Enjoy!

Read the NYCTaper Interview of John Darnielle [here].

This Recording is now available to Download in FLAC and MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].

The Mountain Goats
2008-11-08
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
2008-11-09

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:33:42]
01 [introduction]
02 Have to Explode
03 Heretic Pride
04 Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into The Water, Triumph Of
05 Moon over Goldsboro
06 Quito
07 How To Embrace A Swamp Creature
08 The Recognition Scene
09 [Mario introduction]
10 Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle
11 Black Pear Tree
12 Bring Our Curses Home
13 Mosquito Repellent
14 Suedehead (Morrissey)
15 Supergenesis
16 Sept 15 1983
17 No Children
18 This Year
19 [encore break]
20 Hast Thou Considered The Tetrapod
21 Dance Music
22 The Mess Inside
23 [second encore break]
24 Palmcoder Yajna

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Mountain Goats, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Mountain Goats official releases from their website.

[photo (c) 2008 Taryn Looney — more here]

Last night’s performance by Deerhunter at the Music Hall of Williamsburg instantly catapulted into my Top Ten concerts list for 2008. As Deerhunter tours on the heels of their brilliant new CD Microcastle, the band is performing with relaxed confidence assured that their well-deserved rave reviews are reaching the right eyes and ears. We took particular note that on several occasions Bradford stepped back to the let the band shine — Moses drum work and Josh’s bass playing were outstanding. During the encore sequence, Bradford also took time to give Whitney her proper due and praised Lockett. In perfect sync, the band worked through a set heavy on Microcastle material sprinkled with a few rare nuggets, before awarding the crowd with five encores.

The audience at this concert was engaged and attentive, and the sound quality in the venue was as per usual absolutely superb. The sound tech for Deerhunter mixed the band to perfection. We recorded from the prime location in the venue and the sound quality is outstanding — a marked improvement over our September recording of Deerhunter. Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Deerhunter
2008-11-07
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from FOB
Dead Center 20 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
2008-11-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:24:23]
01 Cryptograms
02 Never Stops
03 Dr. Glass
04 Hazel St.
05 Nothing Ever Happened
06 Microcastle
07 Vox Celeste
08 Saved By Old Times
09 Fluorescent Grey
10 Calvary Scars II > Aux Out [encore break]
11 Microcastle Intro
12 Agoraphobia
13 [banter – Whitney blues and headstand]
14 Twilight At Carbon Lake
15 [banter]
16 Heatherwood
17 [banter – Moses come back]
18 Operation

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Deerhunter, visit their MySpace page, visit the band blog, and purchase Microcastle [here], their official releases from the Kranky Records site [here].

[photo by Pop Tarts blog]

It is impossible for me to be objective about this performance. I asked Sharon Van Etten to headline the upstairs stage at the NYCTaper CMJ show, which was a difficult task for a solo performer. In return, Sharon not only delivered the most intense and captivating set we have ever seen her play, but she thanked me several times. It is rare to find an artist of such profound talent, but even more so to find one who matches the talent with such quality of character.

This recording was captured by simply connecting a digital recorder to the small mixer that operating as a “soundboard”. I didn’t monitor it all during the show, and as a result the levels were quite low. A large post-production boost of volume was necessary and resulted in audible hiss in the recording. Additionally, only Sharon’s vocals were amplified in the PA so that her guitar is quite low. Nevertheless, this is a quite listenable recording of a special performance — one we will quite literally never forget. Enjoy!

This Recording is now available for Download in FLAC and MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].

Sharon Van Etten
2008-10-23
NYCTaper CMJ Showcase
Cake Shop
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Soundboard Recording

Soundboard > RCA Cables > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16 bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, huge level boost) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
nyctaper@nyctaper.com
2008-11-04

Setlist:
[total time 29:40]
01 I Fold
02 Picking Up Rocks
03 Consolation Prize
04 You Didn’t Really Do That
05 Tornado
06 Damn Right

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Sharon Van Etten, visit her website, visit her MySpace page, purchase one of her custom-made self-released CDs directly from her website, and purchase her new CD Because I Was In Love when it is released in 2009.