Posts Tagged ‘ Sennheiser MKH-8040 ’

Lee Ranaldo: December 16, 2015 Market Hotel

December 23, 2015
By

lee-ranaldo-20
[photos by PSquared Photography and Ryan Muir]

He spent more than half his life in one band, but if anything is evident from Lee Ranaldo’s career after Sonic Youth is that’s he perhaps the most versatile artist performing in NYC these days. We were there when Lee launched his band in support of his first proper solo album. The band that eventually became The Dust have played consistently over the last four years and are responsible for three albums since 2012. Over that period, Lee has also performed solo acoustic sets, acoustic duos, and as we experienced at Trans Pecos last month, as an acoustic trio. But there has always been more than guitar. Lee’s earlier works have also included spoken word, poetry and art installations often in conjunction with Lee’s wife the renowned artist Leah Singer.

12162016 Sleater Kinney 03475

The show that Lee Ranaldo performed as the opening set at the grand re-opening of the Market Hotel was in many ways a synthesis of his many artistic endeavors. It was a duo with the percussionist Tim Barnes with Lee nominally on “guitar”, but the piece was more of a stretching of the boundaries of how to “play” a guitar. The set began with Lee’s guitar hanging by a rope from the ceiling and continued with Lee’s use of the instrument in previously unimagined ways. He used the venue as part of the piece as the stage floor, the ceiling pipes and the front pillar (@marketpillar) became means by which the guitar was played. As Barnes accompanied Ranaldo with flourishes of percussion, often subtle but at other times manic, Lee maintained a cacophonous symphony of noise that reverberated around the packed and buzzing venue. It was a glorious inauguration for the Market Hotel and christened the venue with the type of imaginative and inventive programming that will surely follow as the calendar turns to 2016.

Lee will be performing solo again at the City Winery for Joseph Arthur’s 6th Annual New Year’s Day Celebration, before heading to Europe for solo dates in late January and early February.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser cardioids mounted on the second Pillar and mixed with a board feed. The sound quality is quite outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Set [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Set:

Lee Ranaldo
2015-12-16
Market Hotel
Brooklyn NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Upfront Audience

Soundboard + Sennheiser MKH-8040s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 27:55]
01 Lee Ranaldo-Tim Barnes Duo

Support Lee Ranaldo: Website | FacebookBuy Lee Ranaldo and the Dust records from Matador

lee-ranaldo-27

DVA: November 1, 2015 Trans Pecos

December 3, 2015
By

dva-foto_-jiri-seda-599x399
[photos from DVA Facebook page]

The story of how this “NYCTaper Presents” show came together is rather simple — we saw an open date at the tail end of DVA’s most recent US tour and arranged for the band to play that night at Trans Pecos. As you may recall, it was at a Northern Spy show at Pecos in early 2014 where we first saw and instantly admired this quite unique Czech duo. DVA is one of those bands that defies musical categorization. The duo loop a variety of captured sounds and perform their songs over an orchestra of loops. Its really something quite remarkable to see live. For their Pecos return, DVA performed a set similar to their previous visit which was exactly why we brought them back. The band featured three of the seven songs from their most recent album, Nipomo, released last year on Northern Spy Records.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser cards mounted at the front of the stage and mixed with a board feed provided by house FOH Joe. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

DVA
2015-11-01
Trans Pecos
Queens NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + On Stage Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Joe] + Sennheiser MKH-8040s Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wavs > Soundforge (mixing) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3/tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 42:24]
01 Nunovo Tango
02 Zoppe
03 Mechan Tuman
04 Nipomo
05 Mulatu
06 Tropikal Animal
07 Tatanc

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Dva, visit their website, and purchase Nipomo from Northern Spy Records [HERE].

Fox Millions Duo: November 21, 2015 Trans Pecos

November 29, 2015
By

IMG_1594 (2)
[photo by nyctaper]

Fox Millions Duo is in many ways an inevitable joining of talent. Greg Fox and Kid Millions are undoubtedly two of the most talented and ingenious percussionists alive today — and they also happen to both be incredibly prodigious and work within the same general musical circles. Both have appeared on the pages of this site dozens of times in many different configurations. Indeed, it was the 2012 NYCTaper 5th Anniversary concert where Greg Fox joined Millions and Oneida onstage for the first and, until later on this evening of this show, the last time. But it wasn’t until the 2014 recording sessions and the 2015 release of Lost Time (Thrill Jockey Records) that the Fox Millions Duo became a reality. Lost Time was released this Summer, but an actual live performance of the Duo is a rare event. So this past weekend, a recently booked afternoon show at Trans Pecos gave us the opportunity to catch the two together. Interestingly, the performance did not include any of the album’s material but was instead a single piece that is essentially a work in progress. The two were seated at a single snare drum in a similar configuration to Millions’ Man Forever project, but with an added wrinkle. Fox attached what appeared to be a guitar E-bow to the outside of the drum and thereafter through a cable to his laptop. The result was the activation of a sound sample upon each beat. I’ve titled this interesting number “E-bow Piece”, but in reality it is an untitled work that gives us great anticipation of a future Fox Millions release.

I recorded this set with the Schoeps cards at the front of the stage and mixed with a fine board feed. The interesting aspect of this recording is that the mics were primarily the drum beats while the board is primarily the E-bow samples. I’ve mixed the two sources to capture the music as it sounded in the center of the room. The result is quite excellent. Enjoy!

Download The Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Fox Millions Duo
2015-11-21
Trans Pecos
Queens NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + On Stage Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Joe] + Sennheiser MKH-8040s Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wavs > Soundforge (mixing) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3/tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 13:28]
01 E-bow Piece

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, PLEASE SUPPORT Fox Millions Duo, visit their website, and purchase Lost Time from the Thrill Jockey website [HERE].

Kaki King and Kiran Gandhi: October 26, 2015 The Hum at Manhattan Inn

November 13, 2015
By

the-hum-2015-10-26-40
[photos by Amanda Hatfield]

I believe its safe to say that at this point The Hum music series has been an unqualified success. The concept was a unique one — place together various female performers from diverse backgrounds and let them make music. But in practice, it has become so much more than that. The results of these performances have created friendships, bonds, working relationships and as we’ve experienced live, absolutely breathtaking musical accomplishments. In the Spring, we attended and recorded all four of the sessions at the Manhattan Inn. This Fall, various commitments prevented us from attending all but one of the nights. But fortunately, the night we attended was a superb presentation and contained what for me is the most compelling performance of the entire series — the duo between uber-guitarist Kaki King and supreme percussionist Kiran Gandhi.

We were familiar with Kaki King, most notably from her supporting slot on the 2008 Mountain Goats tour. But her career has spanned more than a decade and includes eight albums. In the recent past she has released instrumental (Glow) and multi-media pieces (The Neck Is The Bridge To The Body) and that format gave a nice backdrop to this Hum show. Our only familiarity with Kiran Gandhi was that she was the drummer on recent M.I.A. tours — but a little of bit of research revealed that Kiran is truly a remarkable human being. She has toured internationally with M.I.A. and Thievery Corporation while simultaneously achieving an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She has her own TED Talk, is a mathematics genius, oh and yeah, ran the London Marathon — all by the age of 25.

The set begins with Kiran’s sincere thanks to the Hum and to its founder Rachael Pazdan. As Kaki began the opening riff, the duo flowed effortlessly into what we believe is an original composition for this night, a track titled with both performers’ last names. Thematically, the opening number is similar to the songs that followed which include two numbers from Kaki King’s recent albums (Glow and The Neck). “Wazey” is a Madame Ghandi song that became the centerpiece for the set when Kiran involved the very willing crowd over whom she harmonized a coda to the song. It was a moment that truly captures the sense of discovery and community that The Hum has created and brought and end to this installment of the series with a very appropriate close. The Hum will return, likely in early 2016.

I recorded this set as we did the Spring, with Sennheiser cardioid microphones mounted on stage and mixed a board feed. The sound quality of this particular recording is quite remarkable, as the instruments are clear and panned in the appropriate layout of the room. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream The Complete Show:

Kaki King and Kiran Gandhi
2015-10-26
The Hum
Manhattan Inn
Brooklyn NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + On-Stage Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser MKH-8040s > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wavs > Soundforge (mixing) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3/tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 33:42]
01 [introduction]
02 King Gandhi
03 Cargo Cult
04 Distillery
05 Oobleck
06 Wazey
07 Percussion Breakdown
08 [thanks]
09 Dad Band

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, PLEASE SUPPORT these amazing artists:
KAKI KING and KIRAN GANDHI.

the-hum-2015-10-26-44

Deer Tick: October 30, 2015 Tommy Brull Benefit – Rockville Centre NY

November 9, 2015
By

_DSC9092
[photos by Kurt Christensen]

One of the more inspiring aspects of the Tommy Brull Foundation is that the organization is very much about celebrating a life by helping others. I have been fortunate to get the know the guys over the last five years of attending these shows, and although the sadness of the loss of Tommy still exists sixteen years since his death, the best tribute that his family and friends can do for him is to continue to celebrate his love of music and his sense of community. For this most recent night of music, the Foundation brought back for the third time a band that seems to fit this vision perfectly. Deer Tick played the first ever “Shine A Light” music event in 2011, and returned a couple of years later. The connection seems real — Deer Tick are also genuinely righteous guys who also undoubtedly love to have a good time. So the fact that this year’s event fell on Halloween Eve kicked up the “good time” element of the event a bit more. Deer Tick came dressed as Blue Man Group and played a raucous set that also included two thematically appropriate covers — Warren Zevon’s “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” and Steve Miller’s “Abracadabra”. The balance of the setlist included a virtual career retrospective and even a brand new song, but it was the positive atmosphere, the band’s recognition of the importance of the event and the spirit of community that made this night so compelling. As a celebration of Tommy’s life, it couldn’t really have been any better.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser cards mounted at the front of the stage and mixed it with a soundboard feed. There are points where the vocals in the PA drop out, so you’ll hear a lower vocal volume that comes from the on-stage monitors, but when everything’s on board, the sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Please donate to the Brull Foundation if you download this recording. The Foundation provides funding and spearheads worthy projects for disabled children on Long Island, particularly Camp Anchor where Tommy worked.

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show [banter tracks removed]:

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we respectfully 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. Please feel free to re-post the Soundcloud links.

_DSC9347

Deer Tick
2015-10-30
Tommy Brull Benefit
Cannons Blackthorn
Rockville Centre NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + On Stage Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser MKH-8040s Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wavs > Soundforge (mixing) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3/tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:42:51]
01 The Rock
02 The Dream’s in the Ditch
03 Baltimore Blues No 1
04 Houston TX
05 Twenty Miles
06 Thyme
07 Pot of Gold
08 Standing at the Threshold
09 Cocktail
10 Dirty Dishes
11 The Bump
12 Easy
13 Main Street
14 [tech problem jams]
15 Look How Clean I Am
16 Miss K
17 Trash
18 I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead [Warren Zevon]
19 [pee break]
20 Clownin Around
21 These Old Shoes
22 Let’s All Go to the Bar
23 [encore break]
24 Ashamed
25 Abracadabra [Steve Miller]
26 Mange

If you download this from NYCTaper, PLEASE SUPPORT Deer Tick, visit their website, and buy their records from their online store.

YVETTE: October 29, 2015 Trans Pecos

November 5, 2015
By

yvette pecos
[photo by nyctaper]

My first experience with YVETTE live was a night a few years ago at Death By Audio (RIP) when the band came off the stage and played their show inside of the crowd. The set-up made recording the performance impossible, but the sheer intensity and volume of that performance by YVETTE was astounding and I’ve been following them ever since. Acidjack caught their set at Hopscotch a little over a year ago, and his observations were consistent with mine. In the interim, YVETTE has followed up their superb 2013 debut album Process with a single (“I Don’t Need Anything From Anybody”) that appeared on a Godmode compilation (American Music – GM062) and then released an EP in October called Time Management which is available on cassette and through digital download. This set from a late Thursday night at Trans Pecos draws from all three releases, and continues to astound us in the sheer largeness of it all. You would not believe if you didn’t already know, but the depth of sound coming from the stage derives from a duet with Noah Kardos-Fein on guitar with various electronic enhancements and analog pedals and Dale Eisinger on drums and percussion. The overall effect is compelling and we will undoubtedly continue to follow this outstanding band.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser cards mounted in the front of the stage and mixed with a board feed to fortify the vocals. The sound quality is quite excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Show:

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we respectfully 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. Please feel free to re-post the Soundcloud links.

YVETTE
2015-10-29
Trans Pecos
Queens NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + On Stage Audience Matrix

Soundboard [engineer Frederico] + Sennheiser MKH-8040s Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wavs > Soundforge (mixing) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3/tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 31:55]
01 Radiation
02 Sell It Off
03 Mirrored Walls
04 Rotten Animals
05 Calm and Content
06 I Don’t Need Anything From Anybody
07 Cuts Me In Half
08 Morning Light
09 Absolutes

If you Download this recording from NYCTaper PLEASE SUPPORT YVETTE, visit their website, and purchase Time Management and their other releases from Godmode Records [HERE].

Antietam: May 22, 2015 Cake Shop – Flac/MP3/Streaming

July 14, 2015
By

antietem-2
[photos by PSquared Photography]

Antietam has been playing really well lately. We saw them in an opening gig for Yo La Tengo back in December in Philadelphia and the ferocious post-punk trio filled the big room with a superb set. In May, the circumstances were much different, as Antietam opened for Condo Fucks in a surprise show to celebrate Cake Shop’s 10th Anniversary. In the tiny basement room the energy was that much more kinetic. The band ripped through ten songs in forty minutes, including some older tracks but it was primarily strong new material that dominated the setlist. This of course bodes well for the prospect of Antietam releasing a new album. It would be their first since 2011’s Tenth Life.

This is a special week for the band, as Antietam will headline a show at Trans Pecos on Thursday night — a venue that offers the kind of vibe that fits well for a respected non-nonsense veteran outfit. The Facebook invite for this show is here.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser cards mounted in a thread above the stage and mixed with a board feed. The on-stage mics captured the instruments with great clarity and the board feed was used to fortify the vocals. The result of the mix is a very well-balanced recording with superb sound. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream “Jefferson”:

Antietam
2015-05-22
Cake Shop
New York, NY

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + On Stage Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser MKH-8040s > 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 41:13]
01 Sunshine
02 Right Between Your Eyes
03 Automatic
04 Breathe
05 Birdwatching
06 New Parade
07 I’m So Tired
08 1-2-1
09 Jefferson
10 Stomp

If you download this recording from NYCTaper we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Antietam, visit their website, and their blog, and their Facebook page, and purchase their official releases from Carrot Top Records [HERE].

Grateful Dead: July 5, 2015 Chicago – Flac/MP3/Streaming

July 13, 2015
By

Let Trey Sing
[screen shot from the livestream]

The Grateful Dead ended abruptly and without much warning when after a disastrous Summer 1995 tour, Jerry Garcia’s body finally gave out and the band decided to formally retire the name. While the public mourning for Garcia was ubiquitous and lengthy, the band itself never quite got the farewell it deserved. Twenty years later, these five “Fare Thee Well” shows reunited the remaining significant surviving members of the Grateful Dead and supplemented the band with keyboard wiz Jeff Chimenti and the guitarist who is perhaps the most deserving of the passing of the mantle from Garcia — Phish’s Trey Anastasio. While these shows certainly had ups and downs, overall the “Fare Thee Well” event was a fitting tribute to the band and ultimately a proper goodbye.

The final night in Chicago began with a furious run through “China > Rider” before an early set “Estimated” gave Trey and the band a chance to stretch out and jam. While Bob Weir’s vocals on Estimated were strangely timed, by the time the lyrics were ended and the instrumental segment began, the song kicked into gear and Anastasio switched from the Garcia heavy wah-wah tone to something more in his own style and made the closing jam his own. Bruce Hornsby did a very nice job on vocals for Garcia’s late-era mid-tempo ditty “Built To Last” before the set lost a little momentum. “Samson” was sloppy and Lesh’s vocals on a strange “Mountains of the Moon” took the air out of the building and “Throwing Stones” was not a strong set closer. The second set began with a rare repeat (Santa Clara opener) “Truckin” before the performance of what may very well be the highlight of entire group of shows — a damned near perfect rendition of “Cassidy” where every player shined and the song reached crescendos not often achieved in the late-era Grateful Dead versions of this song. Trey kept it rolling with a superb “Althea” before Lesh’s vocals again brought the momentum to a screeching halt. “Lady With a Fan” is one of Robert Hunter’s greatest set of lyrics and the phrasing and subtlety that Garcia brought to the song made it one of the Dead’s best ever. Lesh is simply not a vocalist with chops or range to carry off this song and it trudged along before Weir saved the day during the “Terrapin” segment as he brought passion and vocals abilities to the tail end of the number. Sadly, the post-drums “Days Between” did not play to Weir’s strengths and the song dragged — live at the venue people began to sit down and talk among themselves. This version of the “Days Between” — the last song Garcia ever composed — was not a fitting tribute to the fallen leader and it sapped the energy from the set. Fortunately, “Not Fade Away” brought the crowd back into the show and the expected “Touch of Grey” (with shared vocals) was indeed a fine tribute. And at the end, tears were shed and spines tingled as “Attics” closed the evening in very classy fashion and finally gave the Grateful Dead the goodbye they deserved.

This set was recorded by Bill in the same manner as the July 3 show and the July 4 show, and the quality is equally excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]
Please be kind and don’t re-post the direct links.

Stream “Estimated Prophet”:

Grateful Dead
2015-07-05
Soldier Field
Chicago IL

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Taper’s Section

Busman BSC2 + AKG 480/CK61 + Sennheiser MKH-8040s > Tascam DR-680 > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded by Bill Walker
Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
Set 1
[Total Time 1:12:38]
01 China Cat Sunflower
02 I Know You Rider
03 Estimated Prophet
04 Built to Last
05 Samson and Delilah
06 Mountains of the Moon
07 Throwing Stones

Set 2
[Total Time 2:12:21]
08 Truckin
09 Cassidy
10 Althea
11 Terrapin Station
12 Drums-Space
13 Unbroken Chain
14 The Days Between
15 Not Fade Away
16 [encore break]
17 Touch of Grey
18 [second encore break]
19 Attics of My Life
20 [crowd – closing remarks]

If you download this show from NYCTaper, please support the band and buy anything from the plethora of available music and merch at Dead.net.

Grateful Dead: July 4, 2015 Chicago – Flac/MP3/Streaming

July 5, 2015
By

gd screenie 4
[screen cap from the live stream]

Tonight is the last official performance of the band formerly known as “The Grateful Dead”. The entity known as “NYCTaper” would almost certainly not exist in its current incarnation were it not for the Grateful Dead and the tapers who captured the shows. These fans were essentially the courageous pioneers whose persistence, imagination and sacrifice created the very idea that a rock band could have “tapers”. After years of back and forth, the band ultimately recognized the value of the tapers and created an official “taper’s section” for them to do what they do. I spent quite a few nights in the late-era version of that section and it was an orderly community with its own set of particular rules and mores. In our own way here at NYCTaper, we try to apply a similar set of rules and use the code that made the tapers so successful and apply it to today’s technology and the music world at large. Indeed, our friend Jesse Jarnow is writing a book about the early days of the Grateful Dead tapers and gave us a small sample of his work in an article published in Wired Magazine on Friday.

The community aspect of the tapers’ creed is also a large reason why these recordings are coming to NYCTaper and doing so very quickly. Our friend Bill won the “lottery” and nabbed taper tickets to each of the Chicago shows and very generously volunteered to have his recordings posted here at NYCTaper. I’ve met Bill and I’ve known him in taper circles for a while, and acidjack has spent time with Bill down in New Orleans, but this joint venture is more about a camaraderie between relative strangers bonding over a taper ideal that began back in the old days of the Grateful Dead. In a way, its our tribute the band’s last shows that we can come together to take the original idea and transform it to a 21st Century version of the old “taper’s section”.

The second of these three shows was a standard Saturday show — that is to say it was a show longer on songs and shorter on jams. A show not necessarily for the diehards, but more for the “weekend fan”. Its been a phenomena for these weekend runs in Grateful Dead lore for years. The Friday show is a high-energy party, the Saturday is a song night, and the Sunday show is a night for obscurities and jams. We’ll find out in a few hours if this final run follows the old trend. However, that’s not necessarily an indictment of this show. It certainly had its moments — a surprising spry first-set “Friend of the Devil”, the Jerry-tribute “Bird Song” to open the second set, and a wayback machine drive along “The Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion” (streaming below).

This set was recorded by Bill in the same manner as the July 3 show and the quality is equally excellent. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream “The Golden Road”:

Grateful Dead
2015-07-04
Soldier Field
Chicago IL

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Taper’s Section

Busman BSC2 + AKG 480/CK61 + Sennheiser MKH-8040s > Tascam DR-680 > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded by Bill Walker
Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
Set 1
[Total Time 1:22:19]
01 Shakedown Street
02 Liberty
03 Standing on the Moon
04 Me and My Uncle
05 Tennessee Jed
06 Cumberland Blues
07 Little Red Rooster
08 Friend of the Devil
09 Deal

Set 2
[Total Time 2:02:16]
10 Bird Song
11 The Golden Road
12 Lost Sailor
13 Saint of Circumstance
14 West LA Fadeaway
15 Foolish Heart
16 Drums-Space
17 Stella Blue
18 One More Saturday Night
19 [encore break]
20 US Blues
21 [Fireworks]

If you download this show from NYCTaper, please support the band and buy anything from the plethora of available music and merch at Dead.net.

Grateful Dead: July 3, 2015 Chicago – Flac/MP3/Streaming

July 4, 2015
By

gd screenie 3
[screen capture from video stream]

If you follow my twitter or read my taperssection posts, you are abundantly aware that I have been brutally honest about these five “Fare Thee Well” shows. There are clear problems with this twenty-years-removed version of the “Grateful Dead” beyond the obvious absence of the band’s deceased emotional core — the tempo is way too slow, the aged players are making way too many simple mistakes, and there is no way on Earth that Phil Lesh should be permitted to sing lead vocals, particularly on Jerry Garcia’s songs. All that being said, the first two shows in Santa Clara did have some serious high points. Trey Anastasio’s lead guitar work has been thoroughly inspired and engaged and he seems completely committed to these performances. Additionally, the band’s setlist selections have been quite imaginative — perhaps the worst aspect of the late-era Garcia-led Grateful Dead was their predictable sets. These 2015 selections are both diverse and unpredictable. At the first night in Santa Clara, the threesome of primal Dead “Born Cross-Eyed”, “Cream Puff War” and “Viola Lee Blues” was my own personal highlight of last weekend and not coincidentally featured Trey on both lead vocals and extended lead guitar work.

But that was Santa Clara. These Chicago shows have a different feel from the outset. Early views of the crowd pre-show indicates a significantly more rowdy and celebratory air. As the show begins, there is definitely an East Coast/MidWest vibe and the band is pretty much into a groove from the beginning. The set begins with the song that ended the band’s last show ever, “Box of Rain”, in a nice bit of synchronicity which also shows that these guys are both aware and willing the celebrate the history. Trey is engaged throughout and actually takes the lead vocal on Bertha and is centerstage for all of Crazy Fingers. Its also nice to hear that the keyboards are right there in the mix and both Chimenti and Hornsby are playing well. The first set ends in typical fashion, but Bobby is also seemingly focused and the song is tight. A nice set, albeit with a fairly standard setlist.

The second set began with another one of those breakout numbers, the early 70’s unreleased and obscure track “Mason’s Children”. From there, it was another instance of Trey dominating the day, with a superb take on Garcia’s “Scarlet/Fire”. The early drums and space segment left much room for the “post-Drums” and the band did not disappoint. The primal “New Potato Caboose” was unfortunately a vocal lead for Lesh despite that Bob sang the song on the Anthem of the Sun album and all of the late-60’s live versions. Trey again shone during the “Help On The Way” and with his guitar throughout the entire Help/Slip/Frank suite. The band completed the night with a very sweet “Ripple” that featured a full crowd sing-along.

This show was recorded by friend of the site Bill who was in the taper’s section. He produced a 6-microphone mix that included a pair of Busman BSC2 mics, two AKG 480/CK61 mics and my Sennheiser cardioids that I sent to him especially for the occasion. The sound in the section is quite nice and this ambitious mix of microphones is indeed excellent. Enjoy!

Download the First Set [MP3] / [FLAC]

Download the Second Set [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream “Passenger”:

Grateful Dead
2015-07-03
Soldier Field
Chicago IL

Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from Taper’s Section

Sennheiser MKH-8040s > Tascam DR-680 > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Please support this legendary band:
http://www.dead.net

Recorded by Bill Walker
Produced by nyctaper

Setlist:
Set 1
[Total Time 1:11:01]
01 Box of Rain
02 Jack Straw
03 Bertha
04 Passenger
05 The Wheel
06 Crazy Fingers
07 The Music Never Stopped

Set 2
[Total Time 1:53:58]
01 Mason’s Children
02 Scarlet Begonias
03 Fire On The Mountain
04 Drums-Space
05 New Potato Caboose
06 Playing In The Band
07 Let It Grow
08 Help On The Way
09 Slipknot
10 Franklin’s Tower
11 [encore break / donor request]
12 Ripple

If you download this show from NYCTaper, please support the band and buy anything from the plethora of available music and merch at Dead.net.

SUPPORT NYCTaper




DISCLAIMER and LEGAL NOTICE

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.

nyctaper.com hereby waives all copyright claims to any and all recordings posted on this site to THE PERFORMERS ONLY. If any artist posted on this site requests that recordings be removed, those recordings will be removed forthwith.