Posts Tagged ‘ brooklyn ’

Pity Sex: October 17, 2015 Ad Hoc Car Wash + March 19, 2015 Long Branch Inn (SXSW – Austin, TX)

November 10, 2015

[photos courtesy of Edwina Hay for Impose Magazine]

The Ann Arbor, MI-based band Pity Sex have done their homework. You’ll hear pieces of a number of 90s acts woven into their sound, which takes advantage of three band members (drummer Sean St. Charles and guitarists Brennan Greaves and Britty Drake) as vocalists and packs a suitably slacker attitude to go with wry-but-serious hooks. It’s pop-punk under a shoegaze haze, with lyrics that echo the band name — tales of breakups and half-assed hookups, self-loathing and dejection. Not to say that, when played to a teeming converted car wash full of what some tourist probably calls “Brooklyn hipsters” on a Saturday afternoon, Pity Sex’s sound isn’t a lot of fun. Joining at-times labelmates LVL UP and a number of like-minded others, Pity Sex delivered some of the best songs off of their current slate (2013’s Feast of Love and the Dark World EP that preceded it), plus their latest stuff, including the buzzed-about new single “What Might Soothe You?” On that note, for fans who’ve been clamoring for new material beyond just the single, there’s good news there, too: Pity Sex have a new record, White Hot Moon, coming out on Run For Cover records in 2016. Having caught this band at SXSW back in the spring, we were excited to see their progress since then at the car wash, and are sure more good things are in store for 2016.

I recorded this set in the same manner as the other recordings of the day, with AT 4051 microphones and a soundboard feed. The SXSW set was recorded with Sennheiser cardiods and a soundboard feed. In both cases, the sound is good, but keep in mind that it’s reflective of the “DIY” nature of the events.

Download the Ad Hoc Car Wash set: [MP3] [FLAC]

Download the SXSW set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the Ad Hoc Car Wash set:

Stream the SXSW set:

Pity Sex
2015-10-17
Ad Hoc Car Wash
Hand & Detail Car Wash Center
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Audio Technica 4051 (LOC, FOB, PAS) + Soundboard>Roland R-26>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, edit SBD)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, image)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 30:42]
01 What Might Soothe You?
02 Drown Me Out
03 Keep
04 “Burden You” [title unknown]
05 Acid Reflux
06 Coca Cola
07 Wind-Up
08 Dogwalk

Personnel:
Sean St. Charles – Drums, vocals
Britty Drake – Guitars, vocals
Brennan Greaves – Guitars, vocals
Brandan Pierce – Bass

_________________

Pity Sex
2015-03-19
Long Branch Inn – Impose SXSW
Austin, TX USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser MKH-8040 Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (post production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 25:55]
01 Keep
02 Acid Reflux
03 Wind-Up
04 Drown Me Out
05 Drawstring
06 Honey Pot
07 Fold
08 Dogwalk

If you enjoyed these recordings, PLEASE SUPPORT Pity Sex, like them on facebook, and buy their albums on their bandcamp page.

Destruction Unit: October 17, 2015 Ad Hoc Car Wash

November 4, 2015

By acidjack

[photos courtesy of Edwina Hay for Impose Magazine]

I’m pretty sure I can say that Destruction Unit has the best band name of anyone I saw this year. It’s not only catchy in its own right, but describes perfectly the maelstrom of noise that this postmodern Arizona punk band will rain down on you until you either risk your skull in the mosh pit or haul your ass to the exits. Destruction Unit is the kind of experience that’s polarizing, intimidating, and absolutely perfect to close out a show like Ad Hoc’s epic post-CMJ show in a Williamsburg car wash. By the time the band took the stage to close out the evening, the humble PA system was positively shredded, the house team fighting to keep the sound going. The band took things well past the limit, with a long lead-in to the pummeling track “Destruct.” This set stuck entirely to the band’s latest record, Negative Feedback Resistor, their second for Sacred Bones Records, though many of the songs found themselves extended for a few measures. The band was rightly hailed by Newsweek as the best band they saw at CMJ, and it’s hard to argue with that after seeing their live show. Even with the vocals buried under the beating being taken by the PA (you can hear them much better on this recording than you could in the room), it didn’t matter to the crowd, which erupted into a mosh pit early and didn’t let up for the entire, pummeling 35 minutes of this set. If you’re going to make a trip out east to slog your way through a bunch of CMJ shows, you ought to make it count. No question that Destruction Unit did that and more.

I recorded this set in the same manner as the day’s other recordings, with AT 4051 microphones and a soundboard feed. The sound quality is reflective of the setting and the style, and represents it quite well. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete set:

Destruction Unit
2015-10-17
Ad Hoc Car Wash
Hand & Detail Car Wash Center
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Audio Technica 4051 (LOC, FOB, PAS) + Soundboard>Roland R-26>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, edit SBD, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, image)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Disinfect
02 Salvation
03 Chemical Reaction/Chemical Delight
04 If Death Ever Slept
05 The Upper Hand

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Destruction Unit, like them on facebook, and buy their records from Sacred Bones Records.

LVL UP: October 17, 2015 Ad Hoc Car Wash

October 30, 2015

By acidjack

[photos courtesy of Edwina Hay for Impose Magazine]

NY band LVL UP joined the merry mix of locals and out-of-towners for Ad Hoc’s post-CMJ car wash show, and delivered a tight eight-songs that included some of the ones that led Stereogum to call their 2014 album on Double Double Whammy/Exploding in Sound Records, HOODWINK’D, one of the best albums of the year. The band makes what I’d call straight-ahead alt-rock, with a dual vocal attack on top of minor-chord-driven guitars. This is a band that knows how to write a hook, with songs that are rainy-day intimate but fun to listen to. The band has cited Superchunk and Jawbreaker as influences, among others, and that feels right. Certainly, this show, inside of an abandoned car wash, had the feel of an independent rock show during those bands’ rise, with the amps cranked and the overwhelming feeling of the sound the most important thing. The band served up two of the three songs from their 2015 7″ EP, “Blur” and “The Closing Door,” and the two had a different but complimentary feel, with the former a short burst of pop energy, the latter a more considered coda. You can catch LVL UP at plenty of shows at all of Bushwick and Williamsburg’s better-known haunts, and we’d recommend you do that. In fact, they’ve got a show coming up on December 1 at Shea Stadium.

I recorded this set with Audio Technica 4051 microphones and a soundboard feed. The sound quality is reflective of the “DIY” nature of the space, but is still a good listen. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete set:

LVL UP
2015-10-17
Ad Hoc Car Wash
Hand & Detail Car Wash Center
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Tracks
01 Five Men On the Ridge
02 Pain
03 Soft Power
04 DBTS
05 Blur
06 Angel From Space
07 I Feel Extra Natural
08 The Closing Door

If you enjoyed this recording, please like LVL UP on Facebook, go see their shows, and buy their records on their bandcamp page.

Protomartyr: October 17, 2015 Ad Hoc Car Wash

October 23, 2015

By acidjack

[photos courtesy of Edwina Hay as featured in Impose Magazine]

This was the week of the overwhelming, PR-driven quasi-festival known as the CMJ Music Marathon, meaning there were hordes of tired concertgoers and touring bands around by the time the week wrapped. Taking advantage of that, and perhaps bringing the vibes of our own scene back to earth were the already-legendary concert promoters/magazine Ad Hoc, who rented out a vacant car wash (and its adjoining parking lot) to put on a sprawling ten-band bill that boasted the best of local and touring acts. This event felt like an appropriate evolution for the neighborhood that once housed the best-known DIY venues of the prior decade: Here you had an unused commercial space converted to creative purposes, albeit this time with plenty of bathrooms, quality (and cheap and cold) beer by the can, and even a couple of food trucks.

If you went to a CMJ event this year, chances are you might have caught Protomartyr, who were all over the place at this year’s fest making the case for their recently-released third record The Agent Intellect. The Detroit band saw some heat from their last album, Under Color of Official Right, but consensus seems to be that it’s this new offering that is going to break them into wider consciousness. That’d be a more than fair outcome, as this thirty-minute, ten-song set showed off the best of their material, including “Scum, Rise!” from their previous record and a decent chunk of the new album. Frontman Joe Casey doesn’t exactly match the band’s sound or words, performing as he does in a weirdly-dapper dark blazer and sunglasses, but beneath that veneer boil bleak, personal tales set against the backdrop of the band’s hometown, such as the signature track “Pontiac ’87”. Though you could see the daylight streaming through behind the band (filtered only by the yellow car wash sign), they held the atmosphere where it needed to be, trapping the nervous energy within the stripped brick walls. Compared to some of their harder-edged peers who would share the stage throughout the day, Protomartyr were a bit more “musical” band than some of the other fare, and that’s part of what makes them special. If this CMJ was “their year,” then I say they’ve earned it.

I recorded this set with Audio Technica 4051 microphones and a soundboard feed from Ad Hoc’s staff. The sound quality reflects the “DIY” nature of the venue, but is still quite good. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream the complete set:

Protomartyr
2015-10-17
Ad Hoc Car Wash
Hand & Detail Car Wash Center
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Tracks [Total Time 30:45]
01 Devil In His Youth
02 Cowards Starve
03 I Forgive You
04 Ain’t So Simple
05 Want Remover
06 Scum, Rise!
07 Pontiac 87
08 The Hermit>
09 Clandestine Time
10 Why Does It Shake?

If you enjoyed this recording, please like Protomartyr on facebook and buy their records from Hardly Art.

Yo La Tengo: October 10, 2015 Kings Theatre

October 18, 2015

By acidjack

[Photos courtesy of P Squared Photography]

A Yo La Tengo show in New York always feels like a family affair, even if held in the sprawling, gorgeous new Kings Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn. (If you haven’t seen this space, it’s so spectacular that it might make the Beacon Theater blush). This tour’s format — an all-acoustic performance that highlights the band’s recent partial-covers album, Stuff Like That There — also lent it that air, as the band clustered together with ample space to spare, surrounded by artwork made by friends and family, plus the friends and family staring back at them from the audience. With this band, you can always count on the unexpected, so while of course they played their new “single,” a cover of The Cure’s “Friday, I’m In Love,” along with other highlights of the record like their covers of Darlene McCrea’s “My Heart’s Not In It” and Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Butchie’s Tune,” and the brand-new songs “Rickety” and “Awhileaway,” their set was more surprises than sure things.

I’d assume the band’s longtime friends in Antietam were floating around in the audience somewhere, so Yo La Tengo rewarded us with a cover of that band’s “Naples.” Okay, fine, maybe one would have anticipated that — but who would have thought the band would follow the ultra-quiet new number “Awhileaway” with a cover of the Minutemen’s “Corona”? And later, as if in a nod to us noiseniks who can’t live without the band’s extended improvisational songs, they gave us an acoustic version of “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind.” Of course, Stuff Like That There isn’t the band’s first covers-based album, so they of course had to take us back to the Fakebook days, including an excellent rendition of “Yellow Sarong” by The Scene Is Now. “Our Way To Fall” was as lovely as always, ending the main set on a subtle note. Of course the band came back, and of course it was with another excellent cover, this time Devo’s “Bottled Up,” with James taking his first vocal turn of the night. But the show’s final two numbers that will probably go down as its key moments, as the night’s opener, the famed English musician and songwriter Nick Lowe, joined the band for “Walk Away Renee” and his own song, “Rollers Show.”

As Georgia Hubley handles the vocals on many of the band’s quiet numbers, this format gave her a more prominent role. Added to the band’s arsenal for this tour is longtime partner Dave Schramm on second guitar, while James McNew ably tackled the stand-up bass. The soft/loud dynamic has traditionally been as essential to this band’s sound as their encyclopedic music knowledge, so the choice of an all-acoustic show — following a 2014 tour that had one full acoustic set before the “loud” second set — is a bit of a detour, but I can’t say I’m surprised that it worked. We’ll call this journey to the mellower side of YLT an unqualified success.

I recorded this set with the invaluable assistance of the band’s engineer Mark Luecke and the Kings Theatre staff. The recording is Mark’s mix combined with Schoeps MK41V microphones, and the sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3/FLAC/Apple Lossless]

Stream the complete set:

Yo La Tengo
2015-10-10
Kings Theatre
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Mark Luecke) + Schoeps MK41V>KCY>Z-PFA>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (patch first song, align, mix down, amplify, balance)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, image)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Special thanks to Mark Luecke for his assistance and the patched audience portion of the first song.

Tracks
01 Tried So Hard [Gene Clark]*
02 Automatic Doom [Special Pillow]
03 Rickety
04 My Heart’s Not In It [Darlene McCrea]
05 Double Dare
06 Naples [Antietam]
07 Deeper Into Movies
08 Butchie’s Tune [Lovin’ Spoonful]
09 Awhileaway
10 Corona [Minutemen]
11 Today Is the Day
12 Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind
13 Can’t Forget
14 [banter]
15 Here Comes My Baby [Cat Stevens]
16 Friday I’m In Love [The Cure]
17 Yellow Sarong [The Scene Is Now]
18 Ohm
19 Our Way To Fall
20 [encore break/artwork intro]
21 Bottled Up [Devo]
22 [Nick Lowe intro]
23 Walk Away Renee [The Left Banke]&
24 Rollers Show [Nick Lowe]&

* no soundboard for first 1:20; audience mics are patched from the band’s source
& with Nick Lowe

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Yo La Tengo, visit their website, and buy Stuff Like That There and their many other fine releases from Matador Records.

Ryley Walker: October 9, 2015 Rough Trade NYC (Tompkins Square 10th Anniversary)

October 16, 2015

By acidjack

[photos by Jill Harrison]

For the past decade, Tompkins Square Records has pursued the dual missions of enlightening listeners about the current state of folk and guitar music, as well as unearthing underappreciated classics, such as John Hulburt’s Opus III, compilations of gospel songs, and Harry Taussig’s Fate Is Only Once. But on the first side of that slate — current artists — is where Tompkins Square has stood out the most, offering up records by Daniel Bachman, Shawn David McMillen, and last year’s Grammy-nominated set of music from respected folk singer Alice Gerrard. The biggest single breakout, though, might be Ryley Walker, of Chicago, whose debut album the label released back in 2014. From there, things moved fast, with Walker blowing our minds at a full-band appearance at Hopscotch, releasing his second album, Primrose Green, in 2015 (and a live album with Bill MacKay in August), and ending up on the roster of, among others, the Pitchfork Music Festival, Levitation, and Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival. As followers of this site know, we’ve seen him a slew of times since that Hopscotch show, each revealing new songs and new dimensions of his style.

Fitting, then, that Ryley and his band would headline Tompkins Square’s tenth-anniversary celebration, at the top of a bill that also featured living legend Michael Chapman and the rediscovered D.C. folk musician Bob Brown, playing his first show in 30 years. Ryley said at the outset that he and his band didn’t deserve to be headlining over such company, and even if that wasn’t necessarily true, they certainly were the young guns among their peers. What followed that introduction was a sprawling, hour-plus set consisting of just four songs, all of them non-album material, two of them brand new to us. The band began with “The Roundabout,” a fitting metaphor for a song about possibilities that can just as easily turn into inertia. After that came the night’s sprawling centerpiece, “Sullen Mind,” which we first heard at Le Poisson Rouge back in June. This time, the song became a 25-minute showcase for the band and Ryley’s talents, the natural interplay among them obvious they grinned visibly at the transitions. “Funny Thing She Said” continued in that vein, giving sax man Levon Henry a showcase for his talents before Ryley even got to the first verse. This and “Sullen Mind” underscore how far Walker has come since even that 2014 Hopscotch performance; if one were inclined to accuse him of being a “traditional” folk musician, or some kind of tribute act for Van Morrison and the classics, his recent performances throw those assumptions out the window. What Walker is attempting here is something entirely different, and something that’s a total stranger to the Civil War-wave garbage that passes for modern folk or “indie” music on most stages these days. That he has already attempted it on the biggest stages, such as at Pitchfork, further proves that Walker isn’t taking the easy, commercial way here. More power to him.

After begging from the audience, the band closed with an even-newer tune, “The Great and Undecided,” a slightly more traditional number (so far) that we’re excited to hear develop. As Ryley enlightened us at the outset of this show, Tompkins Square has been delivering “sick nugs” for ten years now. I feel confident saying Ryley Walker will keep doing the same. He represents the best of the future, as well as the past.

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed from engineer Dustin Meyers together with Schoeps MK4V microphones. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC] | [Apple Lossless]

Stream the complete show (note: banter tracks removed. Enjoy them on the download versions):

Ryley Walker
2015-10-09
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Dustin Myers) + Schoeps MK4V (PAS, FOB)>KC5>CMC6>>Edirol R-44>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades, compression, limiter)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, imaging, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:05:05]
01 [intro banter]
02 The Roundabout
03 Sullen Mind
04 [tuning]
05 Funny Thing She Said
06 [encore break]
07 The Great and Undecided

Band:
Ryley Walker
Ben Boye – Keys
Brian Sulpizio – Guitar
Anton Hatwich – Bass
Ryan Jewell – Drums
Levon Henry – Sax

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Ryley Walker, like him on Facebook, and buy All Kinds of You and The West Wind EP on Tompkins Square and Primrose Green from Dead Oceans. Also, check out Ryley’s new acoustic live album with Bill MacKay, which you can stream and buy here.

Heaters: September 26, 2015 Alphaville

October 15, 2015

By acidjack

Considering that Heaters are from Grand Rapids, Michigan, it’s notable how well they conjure a California garage, a Pacific coast parking lot, the beach (and no, I don’t mean Saugatuck, Michigan folks). Schooled in the ways of garage-psych contemporaries like Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees and others, the Midwesterners bring their own vibe to the genre, packing a lot into the time of their new record, Holy Water Pool, released by the Brooklyn label Beyond Beyond Is Beyond, a mark of quality among bands of their kind. This was that album’s record release show, at the not-DIY Bushwick venue Alphaville, and Heaters’ tight 39-minute set made as strong an argument for them as a live band as for their record. We heard several of the new songs, including the standout “Detonator Eyes.” You can catch Heaters tonight at their CMJ show at Berlin, on Avenue A. Trust us, you want to do that.

I recorded this set with Audio Technica 4051 cardiod microphones and a soundboard feed from house engineer Theo Klein. The sound quality is quite good for the relatively modest sound system being used. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream and download the complete show on our bandcamp page:
<a href="http://nyctaper-official.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-alphaville-sept-26-2015">Live at Alphaville Sept 26 2015 by Heaters</a>

Heaters
2015-09-26
Alphaville
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Audio Technica 4051 (FOB, LOC, PAS) + Soundboard (engineer: Theo Klein)>Roland R-26>24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 39:02]
01 [intro]
02 Master Splinter
03 Levitate Thigh
04 Hawaiian Holiday
05 Propane
06 Detonator Eyes
07 Dune Ripper
08 Heaven Hill
09 Gum Drop
10 Bad Beat

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Heaters, like them on Facebook, and buy their records from Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records and at their bandcamp page.

Phil Cook: September 23, 2015 Rough Trade NYC + September 10, 2015 Hopscotch Music Festival (Raleigh, NC) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

October 7, 2015

By acidjack

[Hopscotch photo courtesy of Kenneth Bachor]

Phil Cook is a very easy person to like. If there’s a musician — or heck, a human in general — who is more affable, good-hearted and filled with positivity, I have yet to see them. Cook has been the dutiful bassist, the cheerful sidekick, the go-to-guy for a slew of bands, including Megafaun, with his brother Brad, Hiss Golden Messenger, Akron/Family, Gayngs, and DeYarmond Edison. As Phil pointed out himself, he’s had a long career of doing what other people told him — showing up on time, hitting the right notes, being a get-along guy. The new album Southland Mission represents his first foray into the world of the frontman. The microphone is his now, and the shots are his to call. So he’s assembled an eight-piece band, complete with backup singers, bass, second guitar, and keys, and he’s the one who decides when practice is, where to go, what to do. Suffice it say, most of us would be lucky to have such a genial boss. Southland Mission wears its influences on its sleeve — much as Cook literally wore a Staples Singers shirt this night — and Cook’s devotion to the gospel, soul, R&B and blues music of an earlier era is both obvious and genuine. “Lowly Road” offers a gospel-style chorus, while the loping blues of “Sitting On A Fence” could’ve come from Chicago in the 1960s.

These sets followed a relatively similar course, though with somewhat different vibes. The first, at Hopscotch, came on the day before the release of Southland Mission, and was the first time that Cook played the material in public, together with his band The Guitarheels. Staged in the grand Fletcher Opera Theater, with a band banner at his back (along with an inappropriately large ad for festival sponsor Mini), the setting felt appropriate to the moment. Packed with a fawning hometown crowd, Cook’s material was greeted at every step with roars and encouraging shouts from people he probably sees at the same shows every night (I had to reduce between-song volume to account for it, but trust me). When the band kicked off with one of the album’s most direct and best tunes, “Ain’t It Sweet,” the easy answer had to be yes — and the applause showed it. All of Southland Mission was played, not quite in album order, and the band chose to close with a country song, Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Northeast Texas Women.” As he would in New York, Cook complimented the band profusely, calling them a collection of the finest musicians he had worked with. It being the insular Triangle scene, it’s a reasonable guess that many of the people in the crowd knew them, too. Appropriate to the location, the show’s pace was leisurely and relaxed, with long breaks between songs that felt like Phil having a chat with friends. Both “Great Tide” and “Sitting on a Fence” proved to be opportunities for the band to stretch its legs, with guitar breakdowns that took them into longer territory than the tight album versions.

In New York, Phil and the Guitarheels could still welcome a crowd of friends from previous work, though in the club-like, intimate atmosphere of Rough Trade NYC. Phil may have had to exhort this crowd to stop standing so still (clearly he hasn’t seen as many shows in New York as I have), but against the odds, he got what he asked for. It remained an intimate and chatty show, and Phil’s own speech about getting to finally “be the frontman” was a touching one. Similarly, true to the album’s roots, Cook also talked a good bit about his love for the Staples singers (even wearing the T-shirt), and that’s another influence you can feel throughout these songs. For ease of listening, most of the banter tracks aren’t on the streaming versions below, but I’d urge you to download the full sets to get a better flavor of what Cook is about. While there are only so many ways to mix up the tracks on a single album, we got two brand-new covers this time: first, the Blind Boys of Alabama’s “Take Your Burden To the Lord and Leave It There,” and then Curtis Mayfield’s “Talking About My Baby.” Throughout this show, as in North Carolina, you couldn’t have forced the broad smile off of Phil Cook’s face at gunpoint. If there’s a world where nice guys finish first, well, Phil Cook is in pole position, folks.

I recorded the NYC set with a soundboard feed from Rough Trade engineer Danielle DePalma and Schoeps MK4V microphones; the Hopscotch set was recorded by our friend Larry Tucker with Peluso wide-cardiod microphones. The sound quality of both recordings is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Rough Trade NYC set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Download the Hopscotch set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the Rough Trade NYC set:

Stream the Hopscotch set:

Phil Cook
2015-06-26
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Danielle DePalma) + Schoeps MK4V (FOB, DFC, PAS)>KC5>CMC6>Edirol R-44>24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, fades, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, dither, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 1:10:38]
01 Ain’t It Sweet
02 [banter1]
03 1922
04 [banter2]
05 Belong
06 Sitting On A Fence
07 [banter3-band intros]
08 Time To Wake
09 Anybody Else
10 [banter4]
11 Gone
12 [banter5–speech]
13 Lowly Road
14 [banter6]
15 Great Tide
16 [encore break]
17 Take Your Burden To The Lord and Leave It There [Blind Boys of Alabama]
18 Talking About My Baby [Curtis Mayfield]

________________________________________________
Phil Cook
2015-09-10
Hopscotch Music Festival
Fletcher Opera Theater
Raleigh, NC USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by Larry Tucker
Produced by acidjack

Peluso CEMC6-CK21 (subcardiod) (Room center hung from balcony rail)>Fostex FR2-LE>24bit/48kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Ain’t It Sweet
02 1922
03 Belong
04 [banter1]
05 Sitting On A Fence
06 [banter2]
07 Lowly Road
08 [banter3]
09 Time To Wake
10 Anybody Else
11 [banter4]
12 Gone
13 [banter5]
14 Great Tide
15 [banter6]
16 Northeast Texas Women [Jerry Jeff Walker]

If you enjoyed these recordings, PLEASE SUPPORT Phil Cook, visit his website, and buy Southland Mission from his online store.

Pill: September 3, 2015 Aviv – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 30, 2015

By acidjack

[photos courtesy of Anyane Photography]

Pill were high on my list of experimental Brooklyn bands to see, and it was a treat to catch them on an outstanding bill at Aviv that also included PC Worship and Dope Body (those recordings here and here). Andrew Savage of PC Worship released the band’s debut EP on his Dull Tools label, and that’s as good a vote of confidence as Pill needs to get listeners’ attention. That five-song cycle only hints at what’s possible for this young post-punk band, who also proved at this show that they can draw and keep a crowd. Several of these songs are on the EP, but others aren’t, so go and check out both.

This is one of those bands that doesn’t play nice; their songs aren’t the kind of thing you hum at work or jog to on the treadmill. No, Pill’s vision is best experienced live, with front woman Veronica Torres writhing on the floor as the Ben Jaffe’s saxophone screams along with John Campolo’s guitars. Pitchfork’s review hailed the complex narratives on offer in Torres’ lyrics, and admittedly that’s the harder thing to pick up in the live setting, but what it’s replaced by is the visceral experience of what she put into them. As the show ended with Torres at the center of the floor, bringing the new song “Psychic Nipple”

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones from the center of the balcony and a soundboard feed from house engineer John. The sound quality is like it was in the room, raw and in your face. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete set:

Pill
2015-09-03
Aviv
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK4V (PAS)>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard (engineer: John)>>Roland R-26>2×44.1kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, compression, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Which Is True?
02 Misty-Eyed Porno Reader
03 Hotline
04 Am I Your Man?
05 Personality Flaw
06 Psychic Nipple

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Pill by visiting their bandcamp page and buying their EP there.

Ultimate Painting: September 18, 2015 Rough Trade NYC – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 29, 2015

By acidjack

[photos courtesy of P Squared Photography]

I’ll give myself a pat on the back for being ahead of the curve on Ultimate Painting, who we caught almost a full year ago at CMJ. The band was so happy with that recording that they offered a few of the tracks from the show alongside some others on a “live tour bootleg” cassette. After last year’s excellent self-titled debut, they went right ahead this year and dropped Green Lanes, which is one of those follow-ups that doesn’t change trajectory, but adds another dozen really good songs to already-strong repertoire.

New and old were on display side-by-side at this show at Rough Trade NYC, where the band took the stage and launched promptly into “Ultimate Painting,” “Rolling In the Deep End” and “Riverside” from their first album before the new “(I’ve Got The) Sanctioned Blues” came in for a visit. The band’s love of classic English rock is obvious, and they honor their musical taste with some of the best and most approachable new writing in the genre among just about anyone from their native UK. Of the new material, the band’s strongest entrant might well be the album’s first song, “Kodiak,” a sunny jaunt that shows off the band’s trademark skill at making rock hooks. To wind things up, the band played “Ten Street” from the first album, turning it into a 13-minute guitar centerpiece. When their 50 minutes were up, the band didn’t tease us with a will-they-or-won’t-they encore situation. They had said what they were going to say, and informed us that we could meet them at the merch booth. Anything else would be un-Britishly improper.

hi and lo recorded this set with a soundboard feed from Rough Trade engineer Dustin, together with Schoeps MK4 microphones from our usual “FOB” location. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete show:

Ultimate Painting
2015-09-18
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by hi and lo
Produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Dustin) + Schoeps MK4 (FOB, PAS)>Custom Cables>PFA>>Sound Devices 744t>4x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 51:39]
01 Ultimate Painting
02 Rolling In the Deep End
03 Riverside
04 (I’ve Got the) Sanctioned Blues
05 Break the Chain
06 Central Park Blues
07 The Ocean
08 Kodiak
09 Out In the Cold
10 Ten Street

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Ultimate Painting, visit their website, and buy their albums from Trouble In Mind Records.

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Heaters: September 26, 2015 Alphaville

Phil Cook: September 23, 2015 Rough Trade NYC + September 10, 2015 Hopscotch Music Festival (Raleigh, NC) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

Pill: September 3, 2015 Aviv – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

Ultimate Painting: September 18, 2015 Rough Trade NYC – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

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