[photo credit]

mum resurrected their old magic in the Church of St. Paul last night. The newest version of mum debuted at the Sugarcubes Reunion almost exactly a year ago. After the departure of founding member Kristin Anna Valtisdottir (now Kri­a Brekkan) , the 2006 performance was an awkward set of entirely new material, and the new mum seemed to be exploring less interesting musical approaches. Following a year of maturity, and the release of an excellent new album Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy, mum has toured Europe and the U.S. this Fall. The performance last night concentrated primarily on the new album’s songs which have developed fully into solid mum compositions, rich in texture and complex instrumentality.

An interesting footnote to last night’s concert. Near the end of the first encore, a curious tall thin dark-haired woman in a large overcoat approached my microphone stand and watched the concert for a short while. After a few brief minutes, I realized that she was Kristin, and when the woman left to the rear of the venue, a shocked mum crew member noticed her and the two embraced at length. She left shortly thereafter.

Many thanks to Gunni for permission to record. I set up very close the PA speakers to avoid the echo and boomy nature of recording inside of an old church. The PA system was plagued with a noticeable hiss and buzz, and those noises do mar the quiet moments of this recording. When the music is louder, you can not notice the noise. Enjoy!

My recording of last year’s debut mum performance is available (here).

Download of the complete show in FLAC [HERE].

mum
2007-11-09
The Wordless Music Series
The Church of St. Paul the Apostle
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Upfront, 6 rows from Right PA Speakers

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2007-11-10

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:14:00]
01 Slow Bicycle
02 Moon Pulls
03 I Was Her Horse
04 Oh, How the Boat Drifts
05 Sit Down
06 Asleep In A Hiding Place
07 Guilty Rocks
08 Winter (What We Never Were After All)
09 Mother’s Last Word to Her Son
10 A Little Bit, Sometimes
11 Blessed Brambles
12 Marmalade Fires
Encores:
13 The Ghosts You Draw On My Back
14 I’m 9 Today

If you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT mum. Visit their myspace page, the mumweb fansite, mumweb forum, and and buy mum official releases:

Phil Lesh and Friends performed the 7th show of the 10-night stand at the Nokia Theatre on Thursday. This is not your father’s Grateful Dead. Phil leads a band of young guns through tight and focused jams. This version of the “Friends” includes Jackie Greene as primary vocalist. Greene’s soulfulness and versatility were display last night, particularly in the strong version of the classic Pigpen blues-rave up “Caution.” Another new friend, keyboardist Steve Molitz from Particle played mostly a supportive role, but shined during “Unbroken Chain”. The band also includes returning friend Larry Campbell, and long-time drummer John Molo.

The recording offered for download below includes many firsts. This is the first 24-bit recording offered at this site. For those unfamiliar, 24-bit files are high resolution recordings that can be played on your computer using programs such as Foobar, or burned on DVD-A discs and played on a DVD player that supports DVD-A playback. The files are larger than standard CD-quality 16-bit files. This download is exactly 2 gigabytes.

This recording is also the first time nyctaper has recorded with both the Neumann and DPA microphones in tandem. I borrowed an Edirol R-4 Four-Track Digital Recorder (thanks Keith!), and ran all four microphones into the deck. The pre-amps on this particular R-4 have been upgraded by Oade Brothers Audio. I also connected digitally with the Microtrack from the R-4 and captured a 24-bit “raw” mix. The recording offered below is a 24-bit flac version from the Microtrack. The complete post-production of the R-4 version, and a 16-bit version will come later, and will likely be offered through bit torrent.

I am extremely proud of the quality of this recording. Nokia Theatre has a state of the art sound system, and Phil Lesh employs similar quality equipment. The use of the four mics permitted a capture not only of the sound directly from the PA speakers, but also nice room ambiance and depth. Enjoy!

This recording is now available for download in 24-bit FLAC at Archive.org [HERE].

Phil Lesh and Friends
2007-11-08
Nokia Theatre
New York, NY USA

Digital Audience Master
Neumann + DPA Four Microphone Mix
Recorded from Front of Board
Left Side, Approximately 50 Feet from PA

Neumann KM-150s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) + DPA 4021s (Cardiods) >
Edirol R4 (Oade Mod) > 4 Track 24bit 48kHz wav files > digital coaxial >
M-Audio Microtrack (2-channel mixdown) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend
(Level Eight) > 24/48 Flac files

Premiere Download offered at
http://www.nyctaper.com
[email protected]

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-11-09

Set 1:
[Total time 1:04:01]
01 Passenger
02 I’m So Gone
03 Mexican Girl
04 Pride Of Cucamonga
05 Deep Elem Blues
06 Bird Song
07 Alabama Getaway

Set 2:
[Total time 1:59:11]
08 Playing In The Band
09 Althea
10 Cold Black Devil
11 Caution
12 New Speedway Boogie
13 Unbroken Chain
14 Scarlet Begonias
15 Fire On The Mountain
Encores
16 Donor Rap/Band Introductions
17 Its a Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

If you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT Phil Lesh and Friends, and visit their website

[photo credit]

I had the same reaction when I saw Pylon in 1988. How can a band who has not toured in many years, and who have played intermittently since the 1980s, so sound tight. Its a credit to the rhythm section of Curtis on drums and Michael on bass, but its also a testament to the quality of the original songwriting and the unique melodic sense of guitarist Randy. Last night at the Mercury Lounge, Pylon delivered a terrific set of their best material in front of a packed and adoring crowd. Vanessa was energetic and genuinely modest about the tremendous crowd support.

With the permission of Pylon (thanks!), I recorded this concert from the ideal location in this venue, equidistant from the two sets of speakers, and directly in front of the soundboard booth. The result is a recording with excellent stereo separation and clarity. The crowd is present in the recording, but not obtrusively. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Pylon
2007-11-07
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from in Front of Soundboard
Dead Center Approximately 30 feet from PA

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > flac

Many Thanks to Pylon (in particular Michael) for permission to record.

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-11-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:17:38]
01 Cool
02 Dub
03 Driving School
04 Read a Book
05 Working is No Problem
06 Sugarpop
07 3×3
08 Gravity
09 Precaution
10 Weather
11 The Human Body
12 Crazy
13 K
14 Danger
15 Volume
16 Feast on My Heart
17 Stop It
Encores
18 M Train
19 Beep
20 Sloganistic

If you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT Pylon. Visit their website and buy their official releases.

[photo credit – From our friends at twi-ny]

The Fiery Furnaces continue to invent new ways to entertain their fans. At the Hiro Ballroom last night, the final show on the US leg of their Widow City tour, the Furnaces added a written/call-out request segment to their show. Following a tight 45-minute set which began and ended with the new material, and contained a nice medley of Rehearsing My Choir material in the middle, Eleanor read from some notes passed up on stage (as their website suggested) and fielded shouted requests. The last 20 minutes of the performance featured some oldies, some false-starts, and much humor. The band continues their tour with a trip to Europe that begins on Tuesday, and goes throughout to the end of November.

My recording of this concert was a bit of an ordeal. I arrived very early, with plans to record one of the opening acts on the bill, Pit Er Pat. However, after nearly completing the set-up of the Neumann rig, I discovered that my fully-charged lithium battery (that powers the entire rig), had completely died. I broke down the rig, left the venue, and took the L train all the way home again. I retrieved my DPA rig, returned to the venue, and arrived in time to record the Furnaces.

The Hiro Ballroom is a neat little venue with an excellent sound system. I positioned myself in the back section of the floor, in the center of the stacks, and recorded a fine stereo mix. Enjoy!

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Fiery Furnaces
2007-11-03
Hiro Ballroom
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Dead Center
Approximately 30 feet from PA

DPA 4021’s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM) > flac

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2007-11-03

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:11:43]
Main Set:
01 The Philadelphia Grand Jury
02 Navy Nurse
03 My Egyptian Grammar
04 Evergreen
05 Duplexes of the Dead
06 More Automatic Husband
07 Ex-Guru
08 Black-hearted Boy
09 Bitter Tea
10 Right by Conquest
11 A Candymaker’s Knife in My Handbag
12 Forty-Eight Twenty-Three Twenty-Second Street
13 Seven Silver Curses
14 Slavin’ Away
15 Japanese Slippers
16 Widow City
17 Restorative Beer
18 Clear Signal From Cairo
Request Set:
19 Inca Rag (partial)
20 Whistle Rhapsody
21 Blueberry Boat
22 My Dog Was Lost But Now He’s Found
23 Single Again/Smelling Cigarettes/Single Again
24 Don’t Dance Her Down

If you download this recording PLEASE SUPPORT The Fiery Furnaces, visit their site, and purchase Widow City:

[photo credit]

Gary Lucas, guitar virtuoso extraordinaire, is perhaps best known from his grammy-nominated collaborations with the late Jeff Buckley, or as the lead guitarist for Captain Beefheart’s early-80’s albums. For the last decade or so, Gary has been involved with Gods and Monsters, a veritable who’s-who of punk legends, including Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads and Modern Lovers), Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers), and Billy Ficca (Television). Last night’s performance at the intimate Bowery Poetry Club was a nice mix of Gods & Monsters material, some interesting covers, and a few inspired improvisations.

Gary Lucas permits audience fan recordings, and as a result I was able to use my Neumann rig and set up at an advantageous spot. Unfortunately, after I was completely set up, I noticed a draft of air from an air conditioning duct that was blowing directly onto the microphones. There is a wooshing noise from the duct that is audible during quiet moments, but can not be heard when the band plays. While the music plays, this is an outstanding recording! Enjoy.

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Gary Lucas and Gods & Monsters
2007-11-02
Bowery Poetry Club
New York, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Soundboard Booth
30 Feet from PA

Neumann KM-150’s (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2007-11-03

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:19:56]
01 [introduction]
02 King Strong
03 Let’s Go Swimming
04 Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro
05 Depression
06 Poison Tree
07 Instrumental
08 Yedvadna
09 Whirly Gig
10 Swamp T’ing
Encore:
11 Chime On

If you download this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Gary Lucas and Gods & Monsters, and visit Gary’s excellent and thorough website.