[photo credit]

Dirty on Purpose compose more than just “shoe-gaze” or “indie” music. The straightforward beats combined with intelligent lyrics and frequent off-beat hooks remind the listener of early Yo La Tengo, or the melodic songs of Sonic Youth. Last Friday at Mercury Lounge they performed a short but impressive set that featured several new songs from their digital-only free release Dead Volcanoes.

Unfortunately, the Friday night crowd was maddeningly inattentive, and there was persistent chatter throughout the set — in large part in celebration of the birthdays of a band member (bassist DJ Boudreau) and a band friend. Singer/Guitarist Joseph Jurewicz actually makes mention during the banter on Track 07 below (“over this way people”, “shhh”). This chatter interferes with the quality of this recording, and led in part to the delay in releasing this show on nyctaper. We considered whether this outstanding band deserved to be exposed to our listeners with a recording that is nearly ruined by a rude crowd. However, when we listened again to the recording it became apparent that the louder moments of music do rise above the chatter, and its only the quieter songs and song-segments that suffer. With that caveat in mind, please enjoy this superb band and their excellent set.

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Dirty on Purpose
2008-04-04
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Board

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

Many thanks to Joe for permission to record.

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-04-13

Setlist:
[Total time 54:37]
01 [banter]
02 These Days Were for Us
03 Audience
04 Light Pollution
05 Hard to Tell You
06 Leaving
07 [banter]
08 Always Looking
09 Marfa Lights
10 The Thing about Getaways
11 Ways to Drown
12 Canned Fumes
13 [banter – happy birthdays]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Dirty on Purpose, visit their website, and purchase the their official releases directly from their site, or the NorthStreet records site.

[photo credit]

The last time we saw Kimya in January at Southpaw, she was just beginning to ride the wave of Juno-created popularity. At that show, she expressed some trepidation about the sudden burst of exposure, but still managed to maintain her unique genuine persona. Less than three months later, after an appearance on The View and the Academy Awards performance, Kimya sold out Webster Hall — a venue roughly 5 times the size of Southpaw. Long-time fans approached this appearance with some concerns that such rapid success had effected Kimya.

Any lingering doubts about the integrity of this performer were gone within minutes of the beginning of Sunday night’s performance. As she took the stage, Kimya slipped and nearly fell over, and as she giggled, any tension or pressure was broken for the night. What followed was perhaps the greatest performance of her decade-long career — a nearly two-hour display of humor, charm and powerful songs. Kimya worked through a vast majority of her material, including the now-familiar mini-set of new children’s songs. She performed most of the set with the accompaniment of Matt and Erin Tobey on an assortment of instruments and backing vocals. For this concert, the array of “Loose Lips” stage dancers was actually an organized costumed and choreographed troupe of Kimya’s friends. The night came to fitting close with the mock-finale of “Tomorrow” — the performer’s future as bright as ever.

We recorded from an excellent location in this venue, but unfortunately the sound levels were just far too low. The sound technicians were apparently not able to provide the proper volume without guitar distortion, and did not provide a clean signal. There was a noticeable hiss in the main speakers. As a result, this recording is a genuine low-fi capture of this concert, albeit one true to the sound of the room. Enjoy this superb and unique performer in her low-fi glory!

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

Kimya Dawson
2008-04-06
Webster Hall
New York, NY USA

Digital Audience Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Board on Floor
30 Feet from Right PA Stack

DPA 4021s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge (level adjustments, modify close clapping, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries)> flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2008-04-07

Setlist:
[total time 1:44:26]
01 Eleventeen
02 Rocks With Holes
03 Fire
04 Chemistry
05 Lullaby For The Taken
06 My Mom
07 Underground
08 Viva La Persistence
09 My Heroes
10 Singing Machine
11 Secret Letters (Erin Tobey solo)
12 Little Monster Babies
13 Bobby-O
14 Seven Hungry Tigers
15 Alpha Butt
16 I Like Bears
17 I’m an Animal
18 Weatherman
19 [Matt Tobey solo]
20 [Matt Tobey solo]
21 Being Cool
22 It’s Been Raining
23 Beer
24 Loose Lips (with a verse of “Private Dancer”)
25 The Greatest Love of All (acapella)
26 My Rollercoaster
27 Tire Swing
28 I Have Changed
29 Little Panda Bear
30 I Like Giants
31 [encore break]
32 Tomorrow (“Annie”)

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Kimya Dawson, visit her website, visit her livejournal page, and purchase the her official releases directly from her site, or the K Records site.

[photo credit]

Spanish Prisoners celebrated the official release of their CD Songs to Forget at Union Hall last night. The performing and recording project of singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Leo Maymind, last night Spanish Prisoners featured a complete band, including keyboards, stand-up and electric bass, drums, and a brass section. The set consisted of all songs from the new CD, including an absolutely blistering version of “Some Among Them Are Killers”, and a spry opening of the clever number “A Thousand Zimmermans”.

This recording is possibly the single most outstanding one ever offered on this site. As Leo had given my complete access to record, and based on the experience of our last recording at Union Hall (the Diggs), we set-up the DPA 4021 microphones in strategic locations to fully capture this performance. The right channel microphone was placed on the front and center stage lip pointed at 45 degrees to reflect the atmosphere from the stage, while the left channel was placed approximately 10 feet from PA stacks pointed toward the center. The result is a true stereo recording with a “surround” feel, and has almost a perfect mix of voice and instruments. As a result, this excellent performance is recorded in the best possible light. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Spanish Prisoners
2008-04-05
Union Hall
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront & On Stage
Left Channel 10 Feet from the PA, Right Channel on Stage Lip

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

Many thanks to Leo for permission to recording

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-04-06

Setlist:
[Total time 39:07]
01 A Thousand Zimmermans
02 Song for the Weary
03 Periwinkle Blues
04 Dear Just Curious
05 Ballad of an Unfolding
06 Some Among Them are Killers
07 Mantequilla
08 How the Fallen Fell

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Spanish Prisoners, visit their website, visit their myspace page, and purchase the new release Songs to Forget directly from their site.

[photo credit]

Athens-based The Whigs opened for the Drive-By Truckers last week, and were permitted a set of exactly twenty-nine minutes. Normally a set of such brevity denies the opener a chance to make an impression on fans waiting for the headliner, but The Whigs managed to energize the late-arriving crowd with their frenetic garage-pop, including highlights “Technology” and the closer “Half the World Away”. Five of the seven songs performed are featured on the new album Mission Control, which was released in January to excellent reviews, and led to an appearance by The Whigs on David Letterman.

This recording was captured from nearly the same location as the Drive-By Truckers, approximately 20 feet further forward than the DBT recording. The venue was about half-empty at this point in the night, so that the boominess is fairly apparent. I applied a gentle reduction of the mids in an equalization in post-production to remove some of the boom. Otherwise, this is a fine recording of a brief but superb set. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

The Whigs
2008-03-26
Terminal 5
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Audience Recording
Front of Board Dead Center

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 16/44) > CD Wave 1.75 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2008-04-04

Setlist:
[total time 29:00]
01 Like a Vibration
02 Technology
03 Already Young
04 Sleep Sunshine
05 Hot Bed
06 Right Hand on My Heart
07 Half the World Away

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Whigs, visit their website, and purchase the new release Mission Control directly from their site.