Posts Tagged ‘ Capitol Theatre ’

Billy Strings: February 4, 2022 Capitol Theater Port Chester

February 8, 2022
By

In his brief 29 years, Billy Strings has lived a life worthy of a full-length feature film. The unhinged and dangerous nature of his childhood has been well-documented in the media, and in his songs (“Turmoil & Tinfoil”), which gives rise to the meme of his salvation through music. Whether his musical gifts were inherited, earned, or through random fortune, what is abundantly clear at this point is that Billy Strings is one of the most profoundly talented performers alive today.

I attended this Strings show (my first) at the Capitol Theatre having watched quite a few of his performances online, and fully expected that the show would be an enjoyable run through some authentic bluegrass and choice rock covers performed by a crack band. What I didn’t expect was to be so thoroughly enthralled with the tremendous energy coming from the stage and mirrored back by the crowd. This was a joyous event from the very start and the positivity never ebbed. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show quite like this one.

Musically, the quartet are all world-class masters of their instruments. Strings is of course the focus, but he never failed to let his band shine. Even in those moments when Billy dove into the pedal board and went full-on rock star, the intricate interplay between the quartet was palpable. And the ability to improvise was focused and never drifted without purpose — witness the fifteen-minute run through “Dust in a Baggie” which ebbs and flows and hits on a variety of moods, but never once loses the throughline.

I tweeted earlier this week a hot take about Jerry Garcia’s influence on the history of bluegrass music, and it was not a coincidence that Billy Strings mu-tron effect jam during “Heartbeat of America” got me thinking. The Grateful Dead influence during this show was obvious. The covers of “Me and My Uncle”, “Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie” and “Rosa Lee McFall” were all homages to their original authors, filtered through a Dead-centric musicology. Yes, it is fantastic that perhaps more people will discover the legendary Elizabeth Cotton because of Billy Strings, but the hovering specter of Jerry Garcia was omnipresent, nevermind the “ESP Shows” connection explicitly advertised for this run of shows.

The second set’s main improvisational vehicle was the Robert Hunter penned “Thunder” that stretched over twenty minutes, but again never strayed off script. Throughout the night though, the bluegrass homages were many — whether it be the Dillards, Bill Monroe, Tony Rice, or the Stanley Brothers, Billy Strings clearly knows from whence his inspired talents flow, and he was entirely willing to acknowledge his idols. But ultimately, a Strings concert is not a cover show. This night featured a superb talent at the top of his game and creating a career-defining bit of perfection to a tuned-in and dedicated fan base. It doesn’t get any better than this.

I recorded this set with the Neumann hypercards from the tapers’ section adjacent to the soundboard. Like any sold-out general admission show, there is crowd chatter, but these Strings fans were attentive and enjoying the music so that the crowd din is not distracting. Overall, I’m extremely pleased with this recording and hope you are too. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show in MP3 or FLAC at Archive.org [HERE]

Stream the Complete Show from the Archive:

Billy Strings
2022-02-04
Capitol Theatre
Port Chester NY

Digital Master Recording
Tapers Section at Soundboard

Neumann KM-150 Hypers > Sound Devices 744t > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (post production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
Set 1 [Total Time 1:16:40]
01 Know It All
02 How Mountain Girls Can Love [Stanley Brothers]
03 Tipper [Tony Rice]
04 Run Down [Jeff Austin]
05 There Is a Time [Dillards]
06 Dust in a Baggie
07 Dealing Despair
08 Living Like an Animal
09 Me and My Uncle
10 Heartbeat of America
11 John Deere Tractor [Larry Sparks]
12 On the Line

Set 2 [Total Time 1:26:04]
13 ESP Experiment
14 Free Born Man [Keith Allison]
15 Thunder
16 My Love Comes Rolling Down [Watson Family]
17 Ernest T Grass* [Dillards]
18 Air Mail Special
19 Show Me the Door
20 Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie [Elizabeth Cotton]
21 Rosa Lee McFall [Charlie Monroe]
22 Turmoil and Tinfoil
23 [encore break]
24 Roll On Buddy Roll On [Bill Monroe]

*with Third Stone From The Sun jam [Hendrix]

SUPPORT Billy Strings: Website / Bandcamp

William Tyler: February 2, 2016 Capitol Theatre (Port Chester, NY) + June 26, 2015 Mercury Lounge

February 12, 2016
By

FullSizeRender

Our friend William Tyler has been a real road warrior these past few years, hitting NYC multiple times both as a headliner and support act. These two performances represent the latter, with Tyler’s virtuoso guitar playing setting the stage for another act. This month, Tyler did the duties for Wilco at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, a legendary venue that Tyler acknowledged as such before delving into a concise but powerful set that featured a brand-new song, “Venus and Aquarius,” along with growing tour favorite “Highway Anxiety.” The vibe was a bit different at the intimate Mercury Lounge back in summer of 2015, when Tyler opened of the two Ty Segall acoustic sets we covered that day, but what didn’t change was Tyler’s gratitude and generosity toward his audience, as he played another new song (tentatively titled “Going Clear”) as well as another excellent version of “Highway Anxiety,” among others. If you were in the taper’s section at the Cap, you’d have noted the surprise among the Wilco diehards who hadn’t heard Tyler before. Part of Tyler’s charm is that how easily he wins over not only crowds that aren’t his own, but crowds who aren’t generally familiar with instrumental guitar music. Give these sets a listen — both the songs and the banter — and you’ll get a sense of why.

nyctaper recorded each of these sets with Schoeps CCM4 microphones. The Mercury show also includes a soundboard feed. The quality of both is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete sets: [Capitol Theatre] [Mercury Lounge]

Stream the complete sets

William Tyler
2016-02-02
Capitol Theatre
Port Chester, NY USA

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

Schoeps CCM4 (ROC, FOB, PAS)>Sound Devices 744T>24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Missionary Ridge
02 Venus and Aquarius [new]
03 Highway Anxiety
04 We Can’t Go Home Again
05 Cadillac Desert

_______________________
William Tyler

2015-06-26
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

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

Schoeps CCM4 (ROC, FOB, PAS)>Sound Devices 744T>24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Portrait of Sarah [fades in]
02 Missionary Ridge
03 [banter]
04 Highway Anxiety
05 [banter2]
06 Going Clear
07 [banter3]
08 We Can’t Go Home Again

If you enjoyed these recordings, PLEASE SUPPORT William Tyler, visit his website, and grab his records from Merge.

Wilco: February 2, 2016 Capitol Theatre (Port Chester, NY)

February 8, 2016
By

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Wilco’s return to the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester was a welcome one, with us last having caught the band’s three night stint there in 2014. In 2016, they decided to split things up, with these two shows in Port Chester followed by two shows at King’s Theater in Brooklyn (which we missed, unfortunately). This night at the Cap felt like a bit of warm-up, with Tweedy noting some of the equipment problems that occurred during “Art of Almost.” Compared to the second night of the run, Tweedy had much more to say here, at one point noting that his pants had ripped near the crotch, and the he was trying to avoid a Lenny Kravitz situation that would be “much less impressive” than the one that set the Internet on fire back in 2015. It was a welcome moment of levity in a show that followed this year’s Star Wars template, with the band performing a full run-through of that album before delving into the back catalog, then wrapping up with an acoustic set. Among this night’s highlights were the first encore, a superlative, noisy version of “Spiders (Kidsmoke),” as well as the A.M. favorite, “Box Full of Letters.” The acoustic set also came with a special treat, as opener William Tyler joined for “Airline To Heaven.”

The band’s tour continues down the eastern side of the country for another few days of February before they take a pause until June, when they’ll return for Mountain Jam. We’ll see you there.

nyctaper recorded this set with Schoeps CCM4 cardiods, while acidjack recorded the set with MK22 open cardiods on the same stand. Both recordings are outstanding. Enjoy!

Download nyctaper’s recording; [MP3 / FLAC]

Download acidjack’s  recording: [MP3/FLAC]

Stream nyctaper’s recording:

Stream acidjack’s recording: 

Wilco
2016-02-02
Capitol Theatre
Portchester NY

Digital Master Recording
Front Of Board Audience

Schoeps CCM4u 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 2:07:46]
01 [EKG intro]
02 More
03 Random Name Generator
04 The Joke Explained
05 You Satellite
06 Taste the Ceiling
07 Pickled Ginger
08 Where Do I Begin
09 Cold Slope
10 King of You
11 Magnetized
12 Company In My Back
13 Handshake Drugs
14 Art of Almost
15 [banter – science project]
16 Box Full of Letters
17 [banter – Kravitz]
18 Heavy Metal Drummer
19 I’m the Man Who Loves You
20 Dawned On Me
21 Impossible Germany
22 The Late Greats
23 [banter – fight]
24 Red Eyed and Blue
25 I Got You
26 Outtasite
27 [encore break]
28 Spiders (Kidsmoke)
29 [second encore break]
30 Misunderstood
31 It’s Just That Simple
32 Airline to Heaven
33 A Shot in the Arm
____________________________________________________
Wilco
2016-02-02
Capitol Theatre
Port Chester, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK22 (PAS bar, slightly ROC, FOB)>Nbob cables>PFA>Aeta PSP3>Roland R-26>24bit/48kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 EKG
02 More…
03 Random Name Generator
04 The Joke Explained
05 You Satellite
06 Taste the Ceiling
07 Pickled Ginger
08 Where Do I Begin
09 Cold Slope
10 King of You
11 Magnetized
12 Company In My Back
13 Handshake Drugs
14 Art of Almost
15 [banter1]
16 Box Full of Letters
17 Heavy Metal Drummer
18 I’m the Man Who Loves You
19 Dawned On Me
20 Impossible Germany
21 The Late Greats
22 [banter2]
23 Red Eyed and Blue >
24 I Got You
25 Outtasite (Outtamind)
26 [encore break 1]
27 Spiders
28 [encore break 2]

Acoustic Encore
29 Misunderstood
30 It’s Just That Simple
31 Airline to Heaven w/ William Tyler
32 Shot in the Arm

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wilco, visit their website, and purchase their Star Wars and their other releases from their website [HERE].

Wilco: February 3, 2016 Capitol Theatre (Port Chester, NY)

February 4, 2016
By

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[photo by Anthony Bauer – courtesy of We All Want Someone blog]

This is Wilco’s first visit to New York since the death of David Bowie, whose songs they (supposedly) sound-checked (but did not play) before this run of two shows at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester before they head to King’s Theater in Brooklyn. There’s a message somewhere in there about the fragile nature of longevity; look around at Wilco’s crowd, and they’re getting older; look at the band, and it’s the same story, and it will be in each year that this band continues its journey. But while that might be depressing to some, there’s great cause for hope, too: This is a veteran band touring an excellent and well-received new album, Star Wars that, in the meantime, is able to take us on a nightly journey through a catalog that includes everything from the gentle folk-rock of “Passenger Side” to the skronky rock of “The Late Greats” to the electronic-inflected sounds of “Art of Almost” to the noisy, conflicted “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.” The band doesn’t reinvent itself so much as grow and expand and follow its passions, and their ability to do that without flopping (let’s face it, in most hands, the electronic experiment of “Art of Almost” would be a disaster — just ask anyone who listened to U2 1997) is a sign of their confidence of Jeff Tweedy’s considerable songwriting chops. Bowie set an even more ambitious template for this kind of thing, unafraid to assume different characters and sounds and styles from album to album (including his own electronic experiment, in that fated year of 1997). Whether all of Bowie’s moves were successful or not, he never let things get stale, right up until Lazarus, this year. Wilco may not be David Bowie, but they can claim to be one of few bands who’ve had a career this long who have kept it fresh this long.

This show followed the familiar format of the Star Wars tour, taking us through the entirety of that album before segueing into a greatest-hits grab bag that included several of the same numbers as the previous night, though rendered more forcefully, plus some new appearances such as “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,” “Jesus Etc.,” “Hummingbird,” and “I’m A Wheel.” If last night’s show had its share of equipment troubles that seemed to feed Tweedy’s sharp sense of humor (including unmissable “Kravitz” joke), tonight’s show was tighter and stronger, both in terms of the playing and setlist, and Tweedy (who had little to say) said as much. As with the previous night, the band wrapped up with an acoustic encore, this time highlighted by “War on War” and the incomparable “California Stars.” If this show wasn’t a groundbreaking departure, well, it didn’t have to be. This is a band still firing on all cylinders, making records people care about, and that’s a hard achievement to ignore.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK41V supercardiod microphones into the Aeta PSP-3 preamp for maximum clarity. NYCTaper recorded this set with Schoeps MK4 cardiods for a somewhat more open sound (his recording coming soon). Both recordings are outstanding. Enjoy!

Night One was recorded and will be available soon.

Download acidjack’s recording: [MP3/FLAC]
Please be kind and do not repost the direct link

Download nyctaper’s recording: [MP3 / FLAC]
Please be kind and do not repost the direct link

Wilco
2016-02-03
Capitol Theatre
Port Chester, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK41V (FOB, ROC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Aeta PSP-3>Sony PCM-M10>24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (light effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, balance, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 2:08:15]
01 EKG
02 More…
03 Random Name Generator
04 The Joke Explained
05 You Satellite
06 Taste the Ceiling
07 Pickled Ginger
08 Where Do I Begin
09 Cold Slope
10 King of You
11 Magnetized
12 Handshake Drugs
13 Kamera
14 I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
15 Art of Almost
16 Via Chicago
17 Hummingbird
18 Heavy Metal Drummer
19 I’m the Man Who Loves You
20 Jesus, Etc.
21 Born Alone
22 Passenger Side
23 Impossible Germany
24 The Late Greats
25 [encore break 1]
26 I’m A Wheel
27 [encore break 2]
28 The Thanks I Get
29 Misunderstood
30 War On War
31 I’m Always In Love
32 California Stars

———————————–

Wilco
2016-02-03
Capitol Theatre
Portchester NY

Digital Master Recording
Front Of Board Audience

Schoeps CCM4u 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 2:08:12]
01 [EKG intro]
02 More
03 Random Name Generator
04 The Joke Explained
05 You Satellite
06 Taste the Ceiling
07 Pickled Ginger
08 Where Do I Begin
09 Cold Slope
10 King of You
11 Magnetized
12 Handshake Drugs
13 Camera
14 I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
15 Art of Almost
16 Via Chicago
17 Hummingbird
18 Heavy Metal Drummer
19 I’m the Man Who Loves You
20 Jesus Etc
21 Born Alone
22 Passenger Side
23 Impossible Germany
24 The Late Greats
25 [encore break]
26 I’m A Wheel
27 [second encore break]
28 The Thanks I Get
29 Misunderstood
30 War On War
31 I’m Always In Love
32 California Stars

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wilco, visit their website, and purchase their Star Wars and their other releases from their website [HERE].

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead: May 9, 2015 Capitol Theatre – Flac/MP3/Streaming (Matrix)

May 27, 2015
By

JRAD Cap (2)

We’ve been with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead from their very first show at Brooklyn Bowl, so it was especially exciting to see the band in the big room at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Given the special historical relationship between The Cap and the Grateful Dead, this gig was a kind of affirmation for JRAD. And the fans agreed — this date sold out quickly and well in advance. So there was a palpable sense of excitement when the band took the stage and immediately burst into a ’76-77 era version of “Dancing In the Streets” filled with neat funky guitar fills and tons of energy from the rhythm section. JRAD is always full of surprises, but what happened next was especially nice for us here at NYCTaper — the entrance onto the stage of friend of the site Nicole Atkins. Nicole ostensibly performed the “Donna parts” throughout the night, except that she’s a significantly better vocalist than Donna Godchaux ever showed during her time in the Grateful Dead (check out Nicole’s solo verses on “Music”). And as expected, Nicole provided a series of breathtaking moments throughout the night, highlighted by her solo rendition of Pigpen’s late era classic ballad “The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion)”, which like all JRAD performances balanced the tender line between tribute and respectful original take on the music. It was an interesting choice of material to feature Nicole on lead vocals and the selection proved brilliant.

This night was also featured an abundance what we have come to expect from JRAD shows — inspired and collaborative improvisational work which imparts new life into well-worn material. The version of “Dancing” definitely took its flavor from the late 70s GD, but JRAD took it out deep, and when the song reached to the final chorus after nearly twenty-minutes, it returned from places the Dead never imagined. “Cassidy” is a track that became fairly static in the later years of GD performances, which was a shame because the composition offers a jam-ready mid-song interlude. As expected, JRAD took that offer and upped the ante considerably. The mid-“Cassidy” jam contained a Playing-like deep space that gradually reached a manic Caution-like climax that we didn’t expect would ever return to the song proper. But return it did, ever so briefly, before exploding into a ’69-style “St. Stephen” that nearly took the roof off the old place. The first set continued with an extended “Eyes” that teased “Loose Lucy” before it flowed into a celebratory “Not Fade Away” that closed the meaty set. The second set’s opener “Music Never Stopped” followed the same path as “Cassidy”, taking a fairly static GD song that offered space for improvisation and taking full advantage. This “Music” extended past fifteen minutes before it returned to the final refrain. The remainer of the show was notable for its continued intensity, imaginative song selections and the true dedication to the music exhibited by all. By the time the band reached the set’s final song, a sweet “Ripple” encore, it was clear that Joe Russo’s Almost Dead had truly done the historic Cap proud.

This recording is a special one for the site. We were granted access to a soundboard feed in order to mix a special “matrix” of this show. I set up the mics in the taper’s section at the front right corner of the soundboard cage. I utilized the Schoeps cards and added the Grace V3 as a pre-amp to sweeten the capture. The room sounded terrific and the crowd was fairly respectful. The board feed was impeccably mixed by JRAD FOH Pete Costello — a perfect stereo pan, complete separation and superb balance. The matrix mix is fairly even between board and audience. The result is one of the best recordings we’ve ever offered on this site. Enjoy!

This recording would not have been possible without the generosity and assistance of three separate entities — the outstanding staff at the Capitol Theatre, Pete Costello, and of course the members of JRAD.

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream “Dancing In The Streets”:

Stream “Cassidy”:

Stream “Music Never Stopped”:

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request, and feel free to repost the Soundcloud links.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead
2015-05-09
Capitol Theatre
Port Chester NY

Digital Master Recording
FOB Audience + SBD Matrix

Soundboard [Engineer: Pete Costello] Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
Set One
[Total Time 1:31:44]
01 Dancing In The Streets
02 Dire Wolf
03 Cassidy
04 St. Stephen
05 The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion)
06 Eyes Of The World
07 Not Fade Away
Set Two
[Total Time 1:22:06]
08 Music Never Stopped
09 King Solomon’s Marbles
10 China Cat Sunflower
11 The Eleven
12 I Know You Rider
13 Morning Dew
14 One More Saturday Night
15 [encore break]
16 Ripple

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you’ll please support these artists, visit the JRAD website, visit the JRAD Facebook page, and visit their individual websites and purchase their official merchandise. Benevento-Russo Duo [HERE], Marco Benevento [HERE], Tom Hamilton [HERE], Scott Metzger [HERE], and Dave Dreiwitz [HERE].

Alejandro Escovedo: March 6, 2015 Capitol Theatre, Port Chester – Flac/MP3/Streaming

March 17, 2015
By

alejandro-escovedo-10
[photos by PSquared Photography]

It is not hyperbole to say that Alejandro Escovedo is an American treasure. The authenticity and intensity of his songwriting abilities have produced a forty-year body of work that places him among the very upper echelon of his era’s artists. It is perhaps the greatest acknowledgement of the quality of an artist when other artists cover the material, and for Escovedo’s work this happens so often that a two-CD tribute called Por Vida was released in 2004 featuring a veritable who’s-who of the best alt-country and americana artists. My own personal experience was seeing Joe Ely cover Escovedo at the Bowery Ballroom in the late 90’s, playing (what else) “Down in the Bowery”. It was a stunning rendition that gave great tribute to his friend — Ely and Alejandro have toured together several times.

You can tell a lot about the quality of artist through their friends. And with Escovedo, this time around he’s on tour with Los Lobos — artists who have also toured together many times over the years. When this tour came through the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester a couple of weeks back, it was truly a show to catch. We arrived early to make sure not to miss any of Alejandro’s set, which began at a very prompt 8:10pm. Playing acoustic guitar accompanied only by superb violinst Warren Hood (the son of another Escovedo friend Champ Hood), this was the stripped-down and intimate Alejandro set, even given the size of the venue. As he has done in recent tours, Escovedo’s set was a career retrospective, accompanied by song introductions where he talked about his time in The Nuns, with Rank and File, and finally his personal history. It was a thoroughly enjoyable hour-long set and convinced me that we need more Alejandro Escovedo on NYCTaper in the future. Alejandro will be hosting his annual SXSW shows in Austin this coming weekend, dates and information here.

I recorded this set in the same fashion as the Los Lobos set posted earlier and the sound quality is equally superb. Enjoy!

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

Stream “Swallows of San Juan”:

Stream “Down in the Bowery”:

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.

Alejandro Escovedo
2015-03-06
Capitol Theatre
Port Chester NY

Digital Master Recording
FOB Audience

Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:04:34]
01 Sally Was a Cop
02 [banter – Billy Smith]
03 Five Hearts Breaking
04 [banter – California]
05 San Antonio Rain
06 Dear Head on The Wall
07 Rosalie
08 Swallows of San Juan
09 [banter – Nuns]
10 Chelsea Hotel ’78
11 [banter – too much fun]
12 Arizona
13 [banter – Austin]
14 Bottom of the World
15 [Bowery off-mic aborted]
16 Down in the Bowery

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Alejandro Escovedo, visit his website, and purchase his official releases from the Store at his website [HERE].

Los Lobos: March 6, 2015 Capitol Theatre, Port Chester – Flac/MP3/Streaming

March 10, 2015
By

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[photos by PSquared Photography]

Its the result of a bunch of missed connections, but the strange reality is that I have never recorded Los Lobos for NYCTaper before in the nearly eight years of existence of the site. Los Lobos is one of the most powerful and prolific live bands and last year they celebrated their 40th year of existence, and I’ve seen them a bunch of times over the years, but not for NYCTaper. Only Acidjack and JFCB have recorded them for the site — a Brooklyn Bowl show back in 2012. They’ve also traditionally welcomed tapers going back decades. And as a special celebration, tomorrow I will post a “new” transfer of a 1996 recording of Los Lobos at Mercury Lounge — a show recorded by my friend Eric Vandercar that I attended as Eric’s “blocker”.

In Port Chester on Friday, the Capitol Theatre was really the perfect venue for this band. After a superb opening set by Alejandro Escovedo (coming soon), Los Lobos took the stage to a very engaged crowd. There was none of the persistent yapping you hear at other shows. This was a seated and attentive crowd that Los Lobos acknowledged from the outset. The band took their time working their way into this show with an early run through some classics before they welcomed Alejandro out for a couple of numbers. It was an extended and well played version of “The Neighborhood” that kicked this show into another gear. David Hidalgo’s blues guitar riffs were showcased during an incendiary 14-minute “Just A Man” before the fan favorite “Kiko” brought the crowd to their feet for the remainder of the show. The band gave a nice acknowledgement to Jerry Garcia (the venue’s side bar is called “Garcia’s”) before the performance of the set-closing “Bertha”, a song Los Lobos covered all the way back in 1991 for the Deadicated compilation. We’re streaming it below. But the band wasn’t done. The encore segment began with a brief blues jam that led directly into Cesar Rosas’ “Don’t Worry Baby” which then transitioned to “May Y Mas” — another extended version that we are streaming below. The final segue was a neat back and forth between the band’s one Top 40 hit “La Bamba” and the same-three-chords rock classic Good Lovin’ after which the band bid an appropriate good night. Los Lobos tour continues next week with a brief run through the Northwest, dates here.

I recorded this show with the Schoeps mounted on a seven foot pole located at the front right corner of the soundboard cage. As this was seated show, my location was Orchestra Row J, Seat 109. The direct line at the stacks and the wonderful sound quality of a well mixed room resulted in an outstanding recording. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream “Bertha”:

Stream “Mas Y Mas”:

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.

los-lobos-49

Los Lobos
2015-03-06
Capitol Theatre
Port Chester NY

Digital Master Recording
FOB Audience

Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:53:25]
01 Short Side Of Nothing
02 My Baby’s Gone
03 Evangeline
04 [banter – first time]
05 La Venganza De Los Pelados
06 Chuco’s Cumbia
07 [banter – Escovedo intro]
08 Rebel Kind
09 The Giving Tree
10 Down on the Riverbed
11 Why Do You Do
12 Emily
13 The Neighborhood
14 I Walk Alone
15 Just A Man
16 Kiko and the Lavender Moon
17 Volver, Volver
18 [banter – Jerry]
19 Bertha
20 [encore break]
21 Don’t Worry Baby
22 Mas y Mas
23 La Bamba – Good Lovin – La Bamba

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Los Lobos, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the Store at their website [HERE].

nyctaper Top 10 Concerts of 2014

December 27, 2014
By

taper-larger

NYCTaper (the site) will have our “Top 25 Moments” post later this week, but in the meantime this is the nyctaper (the person) list of my Top 10 concerts of 2014. Since I recorded less than half of the recordings posted on the site this year, its by no means comprehensive but its a personal list I’ve done since the site began in 2007.

1. The War On Drugs: March 19 and 20 2014 Bowery Ballroom
2014 was pretty much the year of the The War On Drugs. Their album has been the consensus number one selection among a vast number of end-of-year lists — appearing at or near the top in every single list we’ve read recently. And we’re proud of the fact that we were there first. In my review of this show, I predicted that Lost In The Dream would be an album of the year candidate and would be in the decade discussion. The band played two flawless shows at Bowery Ballroom, bringing the new album’s material to life with passion and precision.

2. Wussy: October 10, 2014 Knitting Factory / October 11, 2014 Private House Larchmont NY
2014 was also the year of Wussy. As their album Attica continues to show up on virtually every knowledgeable year-end list, it appears that the world at large is finally catching on to a band we’ve been pushing for the last half-decade. In between these two shows — a full band set headlining the CBGB Fest at the Knit, and the following night playing acoustically at a private house show — Wussy filmed a segment with CBS national morning news that recently aired. It was their first national tv appearance, and I’m guessing it won’t be their last. Both of these shows were great for different reasons, but both indicated the strengths of this unconventional but extraordinary band.

3. Wilco: October 29, 2014 Capitol Theatre Port Chester NY
Of the three nights when Wilco celebrated their 20th anniversary and the tour came to the NYC area, this was my favorite night for variety of reasons. The performances on all three nights were top notch, but this night had the extra bonus of some older Wilco material that I had never heard live or hadn’t seen in years.

4. Ty Segall: September 17, 2014 Webster Hall
Ty Segall keeps churning out the records and they keep getting better. The shows are also genuinely the best show in town — crazy talented band, great songs and a crowd that matches the energy from stage top to bottom. This night at Webster was part of two consecutive sold-out shows for Ty and this set was easily one of my best of the year, notable for the force of the crowd causing the photo pit guardrails to be removed because of of the crush.

5. Marah: July 12, 2014 Bowery Electric
The story of Marah is one of redemption and ultimately an extraordinary reinvention. A fairly successful band from the aughts, Marah was dormant for a few years before rising up from the ashes into an eclectic Americana band whose project was to resurrect centuries-old Pennsylvania folk songs into a contemporary format. Add to the band a 10 year old child prodigy on fiddle and a PhD in rural cultures on banjo and you have one of the most unlikely success stories in recent memory. This show at Bowery Electric was a revelation in so many ways, it perhaps best to just listen to the show in its entirety.

6. Woods: November 4, 2014 Death By Audio
This night ended up being my last at Death By Audio. If recording your last show one of your favorite venues ever ends up being one of your favorite bands, then its all good. For this show, Woods reunited with former member Lucas for several songs including the transition jam from his set to the main Woods set that led into “Bend Beyond” — also one of the best single moments of the year.

7. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: October 13, 2014 Baby’s All Right
Their new album came out too late in the year to end up on too many end-of-year lists, but if it had been released in February or March it would be right there. King Gizzard is a band clearly on the rise and their shows are all out ragers. We saw them four times this year but this was the one that really kicked it in and took this band to an entire other level. The opening segue was the one of the best extended pieces of music we heard all year.

8. PUP: February 21, 2014 Cameo Gallery
This is likely the show that I saw this year where the most unbridled energy emanated from the stage. PUP is part of the burgeoning punk scene in Toronto and they toured North America and Europe persistently throughout the year in support of their self-titled debut on Side One Dummy Records. This night at Cameo pre-dated the release of the album and the crowd was a fraction of the fans they’d see before the end of the year, but PUP was simply one full hour of energy, humor and fun and this was one of my favorite nights of the year.

9. The Kickback: October 23, 2014 NYCTaper Unofficial CMJ Day Party, Cake Shop
I invited The Kickback to play our CMJ show because of one song in particular — a version of “Rob Our House” at Pianos that we had seen in June. But when the band played their afternoon set in the basement of Cake Shop, I soon learned that this was far from a one-song band as every track was more compelling than the next. Of course, “House” was the number that blew mostly everyone away when it closed the set, but in reality this entire performance was killer.

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Wilco: October 30, 2014 Capitol Theatre Portchester – Flac/MP3/Streaming (Two Recordings)

November 4, 2014
By

Wilco-10
[photos by PSquared Photography – JFCB soundcloud photos by him]

For Wilco, the art of arranging a setlist for the third show in three nights, in the same city, without any repeats (sans one audible-called encore) must have been challenging — but ultimately rewarding. The idea that a band can play nearly 100 songs to three-thousand people a night and still retain the same performance energy and passion is remarkable. Indeed, Thursday’s show at the Capitol Theatre was perhaps the best of the three nights in Portchester. It certainly was the show with the deepest of the deep cuts. We were happy to finally hear “Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard” for the first time live with Wilco, along with never-heard-before alternate version of Wilco’s earliest “hit” the acoustic-led “Outtamind”. Both of those tracks are streaming below. The setlist was also heavy in the Wilco/Bragg/Guthrie tracks that don’t make it out very often and several obscure tracks from all of the albums. “Candyfloss” brought us back to 2004, and “Forget the Flowers” was right out of 1997. This night’s acoustic segment was the oddest of the three, as the usually slow-to-crushingly-loud “Misunderstood” was charmingly understated, and the band’s finale was a cover sung entirely by the audience. While we prefer that Wilco sing “Ripple” themselves, the band’s sincere tribute to the history of this venue was quite well thought and ultimately effective.

Our two recordings for this show were captured from the exact same excellent front left corner of the soundboard location as the previous two nights. My recording information is identical from the recording of the 29th, and for this night we have added JFCB’s excellent Milab VM-44 Cardioid pull. Both recordings are similarly superb but have unique characteristics. Enjoy!

Stream “Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard” (nyctaper recording):

Stream “Impossible Germany” (nyctaper recording):

Stream “Outtamind” (JFCB recording):

Stream “Via Chicago” (JFCB recording):

Download the Complete Show:
nyctaper version [MP3] / [FLAC]
JFCB version [MP3] / [FLAC]

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request, and feel free to repost the Soundcloud links.

Wilco
2014-10-30
Capitol Theatre
Portchester NY

Digital Master Recording
Front Of Board Audience

Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, EQ, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 2:14:47]
01 Less Than You Think
02 Blood of the Lamb
03 In a Future Age
04 Bull Black Nova
05 I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
06 One Wing
07 Either Way
08 Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard
09 At My Window Sad and Lonely
10 One by One
11 [banter – shut the fuck up]
12 Hesitating Beauty
13 [banter – costumes]
14 Summerteeth
15 Via Chicago
16 Whole Love
17 [banter – twenty more]
18 Say You Miss Me
19 Pick Up the Change
20 Forget the Flowers
21 [banter – communication gap]
22 Passenger Side
23 I’m Always in Love
24 Candyfloss
25 Red Eyed and Blue
26 I Got You
27 Outtasite
28 [encore break]
29 Outtamind
30 Impossible Germany
31 The Lonely 1
32 [second encore break]
33 Misunderstood
34 New Madrid
35 Give Back the Key to my Heart [Doug Sahm]
36 Ripple [Grateful Dead]

****************************************************

Wilco
Thursday, October 30, 2014
The Capitol Theatre
Port Chester, NY, USA

Source: AUD > Milab VM-44 Links (cardioid) > Edirol R-44 (WAV @ 24-bit/48kHz)
Lineage: R-44 > PC > Adobe Audition (mixdown, downsample, dither, tracking) > WAV (16-bit/44.1kHz) > TLH (check/fix SBEs, FLAC conversion) > FLAC (level 8)
Recorded and produced by: Johnny Fried Chicken Boy

SETLIST:
[Total time: 2:16:02]
01. Less Than You Think
02. Blood of the Lamb
03. In a Future Age
04. Bull Black Nova
05. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
06. One Wing
07. Either Way
08. Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard
09. At My Window Sad and Lonely
10. One by One
11. [banter 1]
12. Hesitating Beauty
13. [banter 2]
14. Summer Teeth
15. Via Chicago
16. Whole Love
17. [banter 3]
18. Say You Miss Me
19. Pick Up the Change
20. Forget the Flowers
21. Passenger Side
22. I’m Always in Love
23. Candyfloss
24. Red-Eyed and Blue
25. I Got You (At the End of the Century)
26. Outtasite (Outta Mind)
27. [1st encore break]
28. Outta Mind (Outta Sight)
29. Impossible Germany
30. The Lonely 1
31. [2nd encore break]
32. Misunderstood
33. New Madrid [Uncle Tupelo]
34. Give Back the Key to My Heart [Doug Sahm]
35. Ripple [Grateful Dead]

For Marty.

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wilco, visit their website, and purchase their 20th Anniversary Box Set Alpha Mike Foxtrot from their website [HERE].

Wilco-60

Wilco: October 29, 2014 Capitol Theatre Portchester – Flac/MP3/Streaming (Two Recordings)

November 2, 2014
By

Wilco-57
[photos by PSquared Photography]

Its not easy to trek up to Portchester for three straight nights for three-hour concerts in the middle of the work week. But this is Wilco and they ultimately make it infinitely worth all of the travel and sleep deprivation. The three shows at the Capitol Theatre were also special for their own unique reason — its Wilco’s 20th Anniversary as a band and they are revisiting literally the entire catalog on this tour. Each of the three nights offered a completely different song selection (with only one repeat all week) so that we experienced nearly one-hundred different Wilco songs during these shows. Wednesday’s show was perhaps the strongest of the three and on this night there were multiple deep cuts including songs I haven’t heard in years (Being There‘s “Hotel Arizona” and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot‘s “Radio Cure” were two) and a couple that I’ve never seen played live in the dozens of live Wilco experiences. But for me the one standout track was the Wilco “white whale” (Johnny FCB’s description) — the first and only lead vocal track by bassist John Stirratt “Its Just That Simple” from the band’s first album AM. John totally nailed this song and it was also tremendous to hear the crowd’s enthusiastic response to Wilco’s only other remaining original member’s chance under the spotlight. I am streaming that performance below, along with the semi-rare “Airline to Heaven”.

Our recordings from this night are also probably our best of the week. The crowd issues were prevalent throughout the week but on this night the area around our microphones was not too bad. I utilized the Schoeps cardioids pointed directly at the stacks from the front right corner of the soundboard cage. Our pole was also raised to the maximum allowable height at this venue. Acidjack recorded from the same pole with a different model of Schoeps cards. Both recordings very accurately reflect the superb room mix by Wilco’s legendary FOH Stan Doty. Enjoy!

The first night’s recording is here, the final night will be posted next.

Stream “Its Just That Simple” (nyctaper recording):

Stream “Airline To Heaven” (nyctaper recording):

Stream Entire Show (acidjack recording):

Download the Complete Show:
nyctaper version [MP3] / [FLAC]
acijack version [MP3] / [FLAC]

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request, and feel free to repost the Soundcloud links.

Wilco
2014-10-29
Capitol Theatre
Portchester NY

Digital Master Recording
FOB Audience

Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, EQ, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 2:23:05]
01 Company in My Back
02 Poor Places
03 Art of Almost
04 I Might
05 Hell is Chrome
06 Ashes of American Flags
07 Hotel Arizona
08 Pot Kettle Black
09 Nothingsevergonnastandinmyway
10 [banter – better looking]
11 What’s the World Got in Store
12 I’ll Fight
13 Cars Can’t Escape
14 [banter – first album]
15 Should’ve Been in Love
16 Someday Soon
17 It’s Just That Simple
18 You and I
19 Airline to Heaven
20 Jesus Etc
21 Born Alone
22 Laminated Cat
23 Radio Cure
24 [banter – show will go on]
25 Box Full of Letters
26 The Late Greats
27 [banter – dampen a gong]
28 Heavy Metal Drummer
29 [encore break]
30 Walken
31 I’m the Man Who Loves You
32 [second encore break]
33 True Love Will Find You In The End [Daniel Johnston]
34 That’s Not the Issue
35 Be Not So Fearful [Bill Fay]
36 California Stars

***********************************************

Wilco
2014-10-29
Capitol Theatre
Port Chester, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK4V (PAS, at SBD, slightly ROC)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2>Sony PCM-D50>24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (adjust levels, fades, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (light EQ, light effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, fades, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Company In My Back
02 Poor Places
03 Art of Almost
04 I Might
05 Hell Is Chrome
06 Ashes of American Flags
07 Hotel Arizona
08 Pot Kettle Black
09 Nothingsevergonnastandinmyway(again)
10 [banter1]
11 What’s the World Got In Store
12 I’ll Fight
13 Cars Can’t Escape
14 [banter2]
15 Should’ve Been In Love
16 Someday Soon
17 It’s Just That Simple
18 You and I
19 Airline To Heaven
20 Jesus Etc.
21 Born Alone
22 Laminated Cat
23 Radio Cure
24 [banter3]
25 Box Full of Letters
26 The Late Greats
27 [banter4]
28 Heavy Metal Drummer
29 [encore break]
30 Walken
31 I’m the Man Who Loves You
32 [encore break 2]
33 True Love Will Find You In the End [Daniel Johnston]
34 That’s Not the Issue
35 Be Not So Fearful [Bill Fay]
36 California Stars
*performed partially without PA

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Wilco, visit their website, and purchase their 20th Anniversary Box Set Alpha Mike Foxtrot from their website [HERE].

Wilco-45

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nyctaper.com is a live music blog that offers a new paradigm of music distribution on the web. The recordings are offered for free on this site as are the music posts, reviews and links to artist sites. All recordings are posted with artist permission or artists with an existing pro-taping policy.

All recordings and original content posted on this site are @nyctaper.com as live recordings pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Section 106, et. seq. Redistribution of nyctaper recordings without consent of nyctaper.com is strictly prohibited.

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