Posts Tagged &#8216; soundboard &#8217;

[Photos by acidjack]

We first caught up with the Philadelphia-based garage rockers Spacin’ at 285 Kent back in April. As that review noted, this band is part of a proud and growing Philadelphia music tradition that continues to grow stronger as Brooklyn gets taken over by laptops. This is authentic, hard-rocking spaced-out rock for any era, but music that’s badly needed in this one. At this year’s Hopscotch Music Festival, fans in the know got to experience Spacin’ doing two somewhat-different sets in the span of two days.

First the band brought it hard at a rock-dominated bill at Raleigh’s Kings Barcade on Friday night. Then, for those hoping to nurse their hangovers in a positive way, they joined the more eclectic Paradise of Bachelors day show bill, following on the heels of Lonnie Holley. Band founder Jason Killinger had an especially busy Saturday, as he would join his other band, Birds of Maya, to close out the PoB day show. Of the two, it was this raunchier, rawer set that stood out for me — even in a WPA-era amphitheater backdropped by a rose garden, Spacin’ turned out an elemental, hard-hitting rock show that I won’t soon forget. Their first full-length, Deep Thuds, is a must-have for fans of riffed-out rock, as well as aficionados of great album art. Tracks from each show are streaming below, and both shows can be downloaded as well.

I recorded the King’s set with a rig installed there with the assistance of a couple of North Carolina friends, consisting of my Audio Technica 3031 microphones and a mono board feed. The Paradise of Bachelors Day Show rig consisted of Schoeps MK4V microphones in front of the stage, plus a stereo soundboard feed. Both recordings are outstanding. While there is a bit of distortion on vocals on the PoB show due to the heavily-taxed soundboard, it only adds to the experience. Enjoy!

Thanks to Paradise of Bachelors for having us out to the show!

Stream “Gary In the Universe” from the Paradise of Bachelors show

Stream “Ego-Go” from King’s

Download the Paradise of Bachelors show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Download the King’s show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Spacin’
2013-09-07
Paradise of Bachelors Day Show
Louise “Scottie” Stephenson Amphitheatre
Raleigh, NC USA

Hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK4V>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, adjustments)>Izotope Ozone 5 (tube effect, EQ)>Audacity 2.03 (tracking, fades, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro – Chris Smith]
02 Sunshine No Shoes
03 Gary In the Universe
04 Total Freedom
05 Ego-Go
06 Human Condition
_____________________________
Spacin’
2013-09-06
Hopscotch Music Festival
King’s
Raleigh, NC USA

Hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Audio Technica 3031 (FOB, DFC, ceiling mount)+Soundboard (mono)>Roland R-26>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down)>Izotope Ozone 5 (tape effect, stereo imaging, EQ)>Audacity 2.03 (fades, amplify, parallel compression)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 American Ruse
02 Empty Mind
03 [banter]
04 Ego-Go
05 Sunshine No Shoes

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Spacin’, check them out on Facebook, and buy their album Deep Thuds from Midheaven Mailorder.

Pop. 1280: August 16, 2013 Mercury Lounge – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 19, 2013

I’d heard nothing but good things about Pop. 1280 since my NC buddy David Schwentker posted their Hopscotch Festival recording here from last year. It’s not just about the dark, synth-driven sound or the vocals that sound like the voice of the apocalypse. It’s about how they convert the sound of their excellent records, including this year’s Imps of Perversion on Sacred Bones, into a live show that, even in the late slot at Mercury Lounge, will wake you the hell up. The band tore through a short set of material that focused almost exclusively on Imps of Perversion, with one track from 2011’s The Horror making an appearance. Compared to the Hopscotch set, Pop. 1280’s sound has become even more refined and able to dominate a crowd, and we look forward to a longer engagement in the future.

I recorded this set in our usual manner for Mercury Lounge, with Schoeps MK41 microphones and an excellent soundboard feed from head engineer Kevin Mazzarelli. The sound is outstanding. Enjoy!

Stream “Human Probe”

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

Pop. 1280
2013-08-16
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

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

Schoeps MK41>KCY>Z-PFA + Soundboard >> Roland R-26>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CSS 5.5 (align, mix down, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, eq)>Audacity 2.03 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Human Probe II
02 The Control Freak
03 Nailhouse
04 [tuning]
05 New Electronix
06 Human Probe>
07 Do the Anglerfish

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Pop. 1280, visit their Tumblr, and buy their records from Sacred Bones.

Daniel Bachman: September 6, 2013 Hopscotch Music Festival, Long View Center (Raleigh, NC) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 18, 2013

[Photos courtesy of Eric Dawson]

Introducing the 23-year-old guitar prodigy Daniel Bachman at their day show event (where he played with Pelt), my friends at Paradise of Bachelors paid Bachman a high compliment indeed when they referred to him as the logical heir of the late, great Jack Rose. To compare anyone, even today’s best living guitarists, to Rose might well border on sacrilege for those who follow these types of musicians closely. At least, it would if Bachman didn’t live up to the hype. For those who saw him play a solo set of his signature steel string fingerstyle guitar at Raleigh’s Long View Center during the Hopscotch Music Festival on this Friday night — recorded by our buddy David Schwentker — it became clear that he does.

The Chapel Hill based guitarist, originally of Fredricksburg, Virginia, has four solo albums under his belt already, including his two 2012 releases Seven Pines and Oh Be Joyful, plus two more records he recorded as Sacred Harp that were released back in 2010. He’s been playing this music, which he calls “psychedelic Appalachia”, since he was a teenager. What you hear on this recording is the product of years of Bachman honing his craft, as well as absorbing the lessons learned from sharing stages with the greats, including Rose. This set wandered all over Bachman’s catalog, including previewing two new tracks from his forthcoming third album on Tompkins Square, Jesus I’m A Sinner. Both of those songs — “Sarah Anne” and “Blenheim” — show the continuing promise of this fine young musician. Two of these songs — “Pig Iron” and the untitled number — are being recorded now, with release planned for 2014. Yes, you heard it right — Bachman has a new record that’s not even out yet, and he’s already on to the next project.

This set was recorded by David Schwentker with a direct soundboard feed from the Longview house board. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Stream “Pig Iron”

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

Daniel Bachman
2013-09-06
Hopscotch Music Festival
Long View Center
Raleigh, NC USA

Recorded and produced by David Schwentker

Soundboard feed>Olympus LS-10>24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (mix down, tracking, amplify)>Trader’s Little Helper>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [guitar warmup]
02 intro
03 Pig Iron
04 Coming Home
05 Sarah Anne
06 [Untitled Lap Guitar]
07 Copperhead
08 Blenheim
09 White Oak
10 We Would Be Building

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Daniel Bachman, visit his facebook page, and buy his records from Tompkins Square or pre-order Jesus I’m A Sinner from Amazon.

Lonnie Holley: September 7, 2013 Paradise of Bachelors Day Show, Stephenson Amphitheatre (Raleigh, NC) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 17, 2013

The tiny new North Carolina imprint Paradise of Bachelors may only have a catalog ten LPs deep, but among their offerings have been many of my favorites of the past couple years. For the first time, PoB decided to throw their own day show during the Hopscotch Music Festival to show off collaborations among artists they work with as well as friends of the label. Unlike the festival’s other events, which took place in downtown Raleigh, this show was held among the green expanse of a lovely outdoor amphitheater that is part of the Raleigh Little Theater complex. The result was a bright day with some of the festival’s best music.

Lonnie Holley began the show almost in the style of an invocation, setting a mystical, reverent tone for the day. Best known as an artist and sculptor, Holley’s forays into music have attracted the attention of a variety of well-known players in the indie music world, from Bill Callahan and Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox to his co-collaborators elsewhere at Hopscotch such as Mac McCaughan, Brad Cook, and Steve Gunn. What exactly to call Holley’s music eludes me, to be honest, so take it away, Aquarium Drunkard (in a review of this year’s LP, Just Before Music):

Holley restrains himself from too much conventional musicality—melody and that sort of thing. There is scarcely a proper chord change in his music, much less a full progression. He sings with an intense, emotional voice and unleashes lyrics without consistent meter or rhyme over gossamer keyboard lines that hang in the ether. His music is a blues nebula, splotched with riffy word jazz that shares in some rappers’ collagist aesthetics as well as the runaway passion of a gospel preacher enlivened by the Spirit.

Holley’s album title says something about what he’s trying to tap into with his sound. His music isn’t “primitive”, but it is primal, intended to speak to the universality of the human experience. On this day, Holley came out alone onstage, with the buzzing of cicadas his quiet backdrop. These four songs each told a story, but perhaps the most passionate was “One Garden But Many Gardens”, Holley’s tribute to what he called “Mother Universe” and her “gumbo-ish manner”. To fully get the metaphor, I recommend checking out the banter track, but out here, among nature, Holley’s words resonated powerfully. There couldn’t have been a better way for this day to begin./

I recorded this set with a soundboard feed and Schoeps MK4V microphones directly in front of the stage. This recording emphasizes the soundboard feed to capture the full range of the vocals. While it reveals both some wind noise and the limits of the simple PA setup, it is nonetheless a solid recording. Enjoy!

Stream “One Garden But Many Gardens”

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

Lonnie Holley
2013-09-07
Paradise of Bachelors Day Show
Louise “Scottie” Stephenson Amphitheatre
Raleigh, NC USA

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 Opening Flower After Dew Drop
03 Water Coming Down
04 Grandma Wanted Me To Be Like the Bee
05 [banter]
06 One Garden But Many Gardens

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Lonnie Holley, visit his facebook page, and buy Just Before Music from Dust Digital or iTunes.

Deervana: September 13, 2013 Brooklyn Bowl – Flac/MP3/Streaming

September 15, 2013

[screen cap from this video]

Nirvana’s final album In Utero was released on September 13, 1993. In many ways, 1993 was a watershed year. It was the year that Clinton became President, and the year that the Web evolved from a connection to a handful of servers to a truly “world-wide” phenomenon. It was also the last full year of Kurt Cobain’s life. In Utero reflects many of the troubles and contradictions in Cobain’s life at that time — illness, drug addiction, the complications of fame and fatherhood. As an album of representing the life of a troubled artist and tortured soul its a brilliant work. Twenty years removed, the historical significance of the album is established and the painful events that followed its release are old wounds. Deervana is Deer Tick‘s alter ego and its attempt to both pay tribute to the band and enjoy playing music that the band loves. On Friday night, the band played its first Deervana show in NYC in two years, this time to play In Utero from start to finish on its 20th anniversary. John McCauley noted several times during the show that Deervana is “just for fun”. And at Brooklyn Bowl the band and the crowd had just that. There were no deep philosophical statements, recriminations or any sign of mourning. Enough time has passed for that. The performance was a faithful and at times eerily soundalike play through the album from start to finish. We are streaming “All Apologies”, the album’s final track and Nirvana’s swan song. As the crowd chanted along with Deervana, “all in all is all we are” indeed.

I recorded this set with the Sennheiser cardioids mounted high about midway on the floor and mixed with an excellent stereo board feed mixed expertly by Deer Tick’s FOH Matt. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “All Apologies”:

Download the Complete show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Deervana
2013-09-13
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Sennheiser 8040 Cardioids > 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 2013-09-14

Setlist:
[Total Time 45:57]
01 [introduction]
02 Serve the Servants
03 Scentless Apprentice
04 Heart-Shaped Box
05 Rape Me
06 Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle
07 Dumb
08 Very Ape
09 Milk It
10 Pennyroyal Tea
11 Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
12 Tourette’s
13 All Apologies

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Deer Tick, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the Partisan Records Store [HERE].

Mikal Cronin: September 6, 2013 Pour House, Raleigh, NC (Hopscotch Music Festival) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 11, 2013

[Photos by acidjack]

For the second year in a row, I joined my friends in Raleigh, North Carolina for the Hopscotch Music Festival, which finds top North Carolina-based talent (and the talent from many of North Carolina’s most famous labels) rubbing shoulders with giants of the national and international music scene.

Mikal Cronin happens to be from San Francisco rather than NC, but he’s also one of the hottest acts this year on Durham, NC’s Merge Records for good reason. With his new MCII, Mikal established himself as a master of well-crafted power pop with his best work to date. He’s had exposure to some of the best in the field — including touring as part of Ty Segall’s band over the past year — but Cronin is very much his own man. As one would have to be with two well-regarded albums and a slew of seven inches and other output to their credit.

This show at Raleigh’s Pour House Music Hall proved to be the perfect way for Hopscotch revelers to end their second night. What sets Cronin apart almost immediately is the musicianship of he and his band, as they careened through thirteen tracks split between MCII and his Trouble In Mind debut, Mikal Cronin. Cronin isn’t the type to mug for attention — he set himself off to stage right, decidedly out of the spotlight — but anyone in the room that night couldn’t help but pay attention (even if you can hear people partying in the background of the recording). Of the standout tracks of the night, I was partial to “See It My Way”, streaming below, a perfect burst of a song that echoes predecessors like Sloan, Redd Kross and the band that made what Cronin identified at one point as his favorite album, Nirvana.

I recorded this set with my new Schoeps MK4V cardiod microphones and a soundboard feed by the longtime Pour House engineer, Jac. As most instruments were running through on-stage amps, this recording favors the audience mics and picks up a bit more crowd, but overall, the recording is excellent. Enjoy!

Look for more many more Hopscotch Music Festival recordings to appear on this site in the coming weeks, as well as on future official releases on Three Lobed Recordings.

Stream “See It My Way”

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

Mikal Cronin
2013-09-06
Hopscotch Music Festival
Pour House
Raleigh, NC USA

Schoeps MK4V>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard (engineer: Jac)>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, adjustments)>Izotope Ozone 5 (tube effect, EQ)>Audacity 2.03 (tracking, fades, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Is It Alright
02 Situation
03 Apathy
04 Am I Wrong
05 [banter1]
06 You Gotta Have Someone
07 Get Along
08 Weight
09 See It My Way
10 Shout It Out
11 Again And Again
12 Change
13 Green and Blue
14 Gone

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Mikal Cronin, like him on Facebook, and buy MCII directly from Merge Records.

Blouse: August 31, 2013 Captured Tracks CT5 – Flac/MP3/Streaming

September 10, 2013

[photo by Joe McCabe – courtesy of Hey Reverb]

We saw what I believe was Blouse’s first NYC show almost two years ago at 285 Kent. The band had recently signed with Captured Tracks and released their self-titled debut album. That album and show were impressive and we expected that Blouse would continue to produce solid music. This month the band returns with their follow-up album and the early returns are all positive. While the debut was very faithful to a mid-80s synth-Brit-pop sound, the new album Imperium stretched out and displays more of the band’s guitar talents. At the center is Charlie Hilton whose vocals and guitar set the tone for the band’s sound. At the Captured Tracks fest last week, Blouse played a 40-minute set with songs mixed between the two albums. Two years since we last saw them, the band has matured and seems tighter and more confident than their debut show. The Imperium material was solid and consistent and we expect that when the album is released next week it will further propel this excellent band forward.

I recorded this show in the same manner as the Mac Demarco set and the sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “In A Glass”:

Download the Complete show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Blouse
2013-08-31
Captured Tracks CT5 Festival
The Well
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann TLM-102s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, downsample set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and Tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2013-09-08

Setlist:
[Total Time 36:15]
01 Arrested
02 Time Travel
03 Eyesite
04 White
05 Videotapes
06 In A Glass
07 1000 Years
08 No Shelter
09 Imperium
10 Into Black

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Blouse, visit their website, visit their artist page at the Captured Tracks website, and purchase the new album Imperium from the Captured Tracks website [HERE].

Mac DeMarco: August 31, 2013 Captured Tracks CT5 – Flac/MP3/Streaming

September 8, 2013

[photo by Joe McCabe – courtesy of Hey Reverb]

If he is perhaps the least Captured Tracks-sounding band on the label, Mac DeMarco is certainly one of its most entertaining acts. On the first day of the Captured Tracks Festival (“CT5“) to celebrate the five years that this excellent label has released albums, one of its most successful artists delivered the performance of the day. Mac is certainly talented — his songs are tight and well written and his band is proficient. But the material is enhanced by the performer’s personality, his sense of humor, and his willingness to take chances. As when we saw Mac at Webster in February, one of the highlights of any Mac DeMarco set is when the band lets loose and runs through a semi-tongue in cheek set of classic rock covers. On this night, the improv section did not disappoint and gave us a few belly laughs along the way.

I recorded this set with the Neumann large diaphragm cards mounted high in front of the soundboard cage and mixed with a feed from the board. The sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “Cooking Up Something Good”:

Download the Complete show [MP3] / [FLAC]

Mac DeMarco
2013-08-31
Captured Tracks CT5 Festival
The Well
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2013-09-06

Setlist:
[Total Time 45:44]
01 Cooking Up Something Good
02 The Stars Keep On Calling My Name
03 Rock and Roll Nightclub
04 Ode To Viceroy
05 Annie
06 Freaking Out the Neighborhood
07 [banter – tuning]
08 Baby’s Wearing Blue Jeans
09 I’m A Man
10 She’s Really All I Need
11 Takin Care of Business [BTO]
12 Blackbird [Beatles]
13 Schism [Tool]
14 Break Stuff [Limp Bizkit]
15 Cocaine [JJ Cale]
16 [aborted song – banter]
17 Still Together

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Mac DeMarco, visit his artist page at Captured Tracks, and purchase his debut album 2 from Captured Tracks [HERE].

She Keeps Bees: August 29, 2013 Glasslands – Flac/MP3/Streaming

September 3, 2013