[photo credit]

Its heartwarming when great things happen to nice people. Its also incredibly reassuring when an artist like Kimya Dawson, whose thoroughly unique and engaging singing and songwriting have entranced small audiences for more than a decade, reaches a wider audience. The sold-out Southpaw gig was a triumphant return “home” for Kimya, and she seemed genuinely touched and perhaps a little “freaked” (her word) by the overwhelmingly positive reception.

In a nice lesson in you reap what you sow, Kimya’s fans also happen to be a diverse crowd of genuinely nice people. This kind of feeling came to fruition when Kimya organized a post-show massive hand-circle and hug which included much of the crowd. If this sounds a bit too hokey for the average Brooklyn anti-folk fan, bear in mind that Kimya’s songs deal with a wide variety of serious issues, or “tough shit” as she said during some concert banter this afternoon. This concert featured a nice run through the strength of her catalog along with some new numbers from an upcoming “children’s album”.

Prior to this concert, Kimya responded promptly and positively to an email from nyctaper regarding recording the performance. We set up at the rail in the front, at the center of the venue above the crowd. Thanks to co-taper Brian, our microphones were positioned in the perfect location. Kimya’s “low-fi” audio perhaps prevents a perfect recording, but this one captures the true natural atmosphere of the venue and the performance and the magic we all experienced. Enjoy!

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

Kimya Dawson
2008-01-13
Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Audience Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Board Dead Center
30 Feet from PA Stacks at Railing

DPA 4021s (9 ft Stand) > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge (level adjustments, modify close clapping, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries)> flac

Many thanks to Kimya for permission to record, Southpaw for being
a excellent friendly venue, and Brian for the mic stand clamp.

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2008-01-13

Setlist:
[total time 58:55]
01 Tire Swing
02 Being Cool
03 Eleventeen
04 Underground
05 Chemistry
06 Fire
07 Henry Kelly
08 Little Monster Babies
09 Bobbio
10 Seven Hungry Tigers
11 The Smoothie Song
12 Little Panda Bear
13 Alpha Butt
14 Weatherman
15 Beer
16 Viva La Persistence
17 Singing Machine
18 I Like Giants
19 Loose Lips

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Kimya Dawson and visit her website. Kimya works with the independent record label K-Records. You can purchase her wonderful official releases by following the links to K-Records (here).

[photo credit]

Marco Benevento has invited an interesting and varied roster of guest performers for his Thursday night January residency at Sullivan Hall. This past Thursday was the second installment and featured his standard partner Joe Russo (drums) in addition to Brad Barr from The Slip on guitar. The improvisation was top notch, and combined elements of prog, jazz, fusion and trance. The open ended nature of the sessions allow each artist to stretch out the limits of the space and be free of genres.

Sullivan Hall is the old Lion’s Den after a complete over-hall. The inside layout is quite similar, but the changes resulted in serious upgrades to the sound system and facilities. The venue is extremely friendly to tapers, and Marco Benevento permits open taping.

Unfortunately, I arrived fairly late at the venue, and the crowd was packed. As a result, I set up in a very busy location which became unworkable about 30 minutes after Benevento & Guests began their set. I recorded a segment of the first set and offer it as a sample of the magic produced this night. I will be returning on the 31st to record the closing night of the Benevento residency. The sound of this recording is outstanding (except for the massive crowd and its chatter). I expect the quality will be superior on the 31st, as well as a complete concert recording. Enjoy this sample as a preview of the excellent music available at these shows. See the last three!

Marco Benevento continues with unique guests each Thursday for the remainder of the month:
January 17: with Stanton Moore and Marc Friedman
January 24: with Billy Martin, Calvin Weston, and Skerik
January 31: with Reed Mathis and Andrew Barr

Download this recording in FLAC [HERE].

Marco Benevento & Guests
2008-01-10
Sullivan Hall
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded Front of Board Left Center

DPA 4021s > Edirol UA-5 (Oade Digimod) > M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 > 16bit 44.1kHz wav file > Soundforge (levels and fades) > Flac Frontend

Recorded by nyctaper
Premiere download offered at
https://www.nyctaper.com

Partial First Set:
[total time 20:26]
01 Jam

Please SUPPORT Marco Benevento and visit his website, where you can purchase his official releases (here).

[photo credit]

It was nearly 19 years ago when I last saw Natalie Merchant perform live. She was then the strong-voiced and charismatic singer of 10,000 Maniacs who was a bit quirky if not a little cold. After nearly two decades of success, including Maniacs charting singles, and a solo career that eclipsed her prior band, Natalie stopped touring and had a child.

Her announcement of six New York City dates — her first NYC concerts in 4 years — at the intimate Hiro Ballroom were a pleasant surprise, if not a complete shock. 2008 finds Natalie’s voice and charisma as strong and sharp as ever, but the years have added stage comfort, wit, and charming storytelling abilities that were a true pleasure to behold. Natalie’s interaction with the crowd throughout the night was warm and playful. Tuesday night’s show, at a Springsteen-like 2 hours and 20 minutes long, featured a series of new numbers from a pair of upcoming releases, including original adaptations of children’s poetry, along with the solo career standards.

This recording has been removed from the site at the request of the artist. nyctaper respects the artists wishes. Please do not email the site about this recording, it is not available.

Natalie Merchant
2008-01-08
Hiro Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Setlist:
[total time 2:16:54]
01 Carnival
02 Build a Levee
03 Break Your Heart
04 Too Long At The Fair
05 Shakespeare’s 73rd Sonnet
06 Equestrienne
07 The Janitor’s Boy
08 If No one Marries Me
09 The Man In The Wilderness
10 Texas
11 Life is Sweet
12 Wonder
13 Golden Boy
14 Go Down Moses
15 Giving Up Everything
16 The End
17 [encore break]
18 Village Green Preservation Society
19 Sweet Lady Genevieve (partial – Natalie acappella)
20 Tell Yourself
21 I Need Love
22 Kind & Generous
23 [second encore break]
24 Which Side are You On?
25 Butterfly Song
26 I’m Not Gonna Beg

Despite the removal of this recording, nyctaper encourages our readers to PLEASE SUPPORT Natalie Merchant and visit her website.