Monthly Archives: September 2010

Pavement: September 24, 2010 Central Park Summerstage – FLAC and MP3 Downloads

September 27, 2010
By


[iPhone photo by acidjack]

Oh, Pavement, how we will miss you.  This final show of the band’s five-night NYC (four nights in Central Park) run had a very different vibe than the previous shows, with the band giving off a bit more of a subdued vibe.  The setlist emphasized the more melodic, slower songs from the catalog, and Malkmus in particular seemed intent on jamming and reinterpreting songs (leading to a hilarious “Pavement and the Jicks!!” comment by Bob).  At times the more laid back approach worked – such as on the epic “And Then (The Hexx)” and the extended “Heaven Is A Truck” that was a last minute substitution for “Fight This Generation” in the setlist.  At others, it seemed the band was a tad off their game, with a few false starts here and there.  The set closed out with “Range Life” featuring the recording engineer Bryce Goggin, who mixed both Wowee Zowee and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and played keyboards in the recorded version of “Range Life,” performing live with the band – undoubtedly a dream come true for anyone who spends most of their time behind the console!

Where do we go from here?  Fans can hope that the band decides to make new music or at least tour together again, but that seems less than likely at this point.  What we will have left will be our memories of these beautiful nights – which Bob himself acknowledged the band would never forget – and the music itself.  Having Pavement back was also a reminder of how dearly they were missed.  To quote the simple “Summer Babe” refrain, made all the more poignant now: “Don’t go.”

I recorded this set with the same mobile rig as the Williamsburg Waterfront show and Wednesday’s show.  There was almost no wind, and the crowd around me was enthusiastic but respectful.  As a result, the recording is excellent.   As someone who never got to see their favorite band perform (due in part to an untimely death in the band), I greatly appreciate Pavement giving fans who had not seen them before a second chance.  One of the main reasons that I record concerts is because I know how much I treasure the old recordings that people made of my favorite band, since they are the closest thing I have to the real live experience.  I hope that some people will feel the same way about these recordings.  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]
Direct download of FLAC files [HERE]

Pavement
2010-09-24
Central Park Summerstage
New York, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Audix 1280c>Church Audio Active Cables>SPSB-10>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: Mobile rig, near left stack
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, compress wind noise, compress/hard limit clapping, EQ, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

01 Heckler Spray
02 In the Mouth of A Desert
03 Frontwards
04 Spit On A Stranger
05 banter
06 Shady Lane
07 Date With Ikea
08 Grounded
09 Cut Yr Hair
10 Perfume-V
11 Conduit for Sale!
12 Father to a Sister of Thought
13 Stereo
14 Starlings of the Slipstream
15 Gold Soundz
16 banter
17 And Then (The Hexx)
18 We Dance
19 Silence Kit
20 Unfair
21 No Life Singed Her
22 banter
23 Stop Breathin
24 banter
25 Elevate Me Later
26 banter/jamming
27 Here
28 encore break 1
29 Rattled by the Rush
30 Heaven Is A Truck
31 Summer Babe
32 encore break 2
33 Kennel District
34 banter
35 Debris Slide
36 banter
37 Range Life

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will continue to support Pavement, visit their official website, go to shows on this tour, and purchase the records and merch you don’t already own from the band’s official store or Matador Records.

Pavement: September 23, 2010 Central Park Summerstage – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Sample

September 26, 2010
By


[photo courtesy of Nadia Chaudhury]

Matt from Fluxblog described Thursday night’s Pavement show in an interview with NPR as “kinda tired, odd moods, a bit sloppier, definitely just kinda weird and goofy.” Matt is a bright and perceptive guy — his music writing is some of the best on the web. But in this case, he’s dead wrong. I have the audio proof to offer you. Pavement’s performance was loose, but that’s their forte. But there is no denying the energy of the individual performances from this show, not the least of which was the moment early in the set when the full band kicked in on “Gold Soundz” at the very point where the full moon illuminated the post-dusk night air. The band kept up the pace for twenty minutes straight through a screaming, manic version of “Unfair”, when they finally took a breath to wish a fan happy birthday and slowed things down with “Spit On A Stranger”. Far from sloppy or tired, Malkmus vocals on “Stranger” were confident and relaxed. The show kicked back into high gear with the heavy sounds of “Rattled” and “Stereo”. The band then whipped out rarely played (first of the tour) “Loretta’s Scars” (streaming below). “That was pretty good, and I’ve been there for all three times we played it, good job guys”, mused Malkmus. The band recovered from a slight snafu at the opening of “Stop Breathin'” to reclaim an inspired version of the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain classic. Malkmus spoke sincerely about how “Cut Your Hair” had changed his life before delving into perhaps the band’s most well-known number. The jammy “Fight This Generation”, superb guitar work on “Fin”, and the band’s other “hit” “Summer Babe” were among the closing tracks in this outstanding main set. The encore “set” consisted of 8 songs and one apparent “tease”, offering the packed Summerstage crowd a neat two-hour, twenty-eight song epic show.

I recorded this set with the four-mic rig from the front of the soundboard cage, about 100 feet from the stage. While the distance and wind were factors, the Neumann hypers raised to 13 feet captured the high end, and the DPAs at 10 feet secured the bass presence. Overall, I’m pleased with the quality of this recording. Enjoy!

Stream “Loretta’s Scars”:
[audio:http://www.acidjack.com/Pavement/Pavement%202010-09-23%20LORETTA%27S%20SCARS.mp3]
Stream “Summer Babe”:
[audio:http://www.acidjack.com/Pavement/Pavement%202010-09-23%20SUMMER%20BABE.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Pavement
2010-09-23
Rumsey Playfield
Central Park Summerstage
New York, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Soundboard Booth

Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021’s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2010-09-25

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:54:36]
01 [introduction]
02 Grounded
03 Gold Soundz
04 Silent Kid
05 Date With IKEA
06 Unfair
07 [banter/birthday]
08 Spit On A Stranger
09 Rattled By The Rush
10 Stereo
11 Loretta’s Scars
12 [crowd/banter]
13 Frontwards
14 Stop Breathin’ [false start]
15 Stop Breathin’
16 Shoot The Singer
17 [banter]
18 Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite at :17
19 [banter]
20 Cut Your Hair
21 Fight This Generation
22 Two States
23 Fin
24 Summer Babe
25 She Believes
26 Range Life
27 [encore break]
28 Kennel District
29 Shady Lane
30 Starlings of the Slipstream
31 Our Singer
32 [banter/Steve West praise]
33 Heckler Spray
34 Angel Carver Blues (intro)
35 In The Mouth A Desert
36 We Dance
37 Box Elder

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will continue to support Pavement, visit their official website, go to shows on this tour, and purchase the records and merch you don’t already own from the band’s official store or Matador Records.

Pavement: September 22, 2010 Central Park Summerstage – FLAC and MP3 Downloads

September 25, 2010
By


[photo courtesy of Music Snobbery]

Night three of Pavement’s New York run was a wet one.  After the clear skies and perfect temperatures of Sunday’s Williamsburg Waterfront show, and the previous night at Central Park Summerstage, Wednesday night was a hot, wet mess.  Shortly into the show, the skies opened up and we all got soaked, but even with a delay for lightning, Pavement managed to play their entire planned set, and a killer one at that, closing out the proceedings with a thunderous “Conduit for Sale!” in which Bob Nastanovich pulled out absolutely all the stops on the vocals.  Drenched but happy, the still-strong crowd returned the favor, singing along to the chorus and giving Pavement another triumphant notch in their belt.

This show was tough to record, given that it was pouring rain, but despite the shirt on my head covering my mobile rig, the recording came out quite nicely.  Enjoy!

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Pavement
2010-09-22
Central Park Summerstage
New York, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Audix 1280c>Church Audio Active Cables>SPSB-10>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: Mobile rig, near right stack
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, compress wind noise, compress/hard limit clapping, EQ, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

01 intro/banter
02 Heckler Spray>
03 In the Mouth of a Desert
04 Perfume V
05 Trigger Cut
06 Unfair
07 Range Life
08 Starlings of the Slipstream
09 Spizzle Truck
10 Shady Lane
11 Fight This Generation
12 Summer Babe
13 Cut Yr Hair
14 Kennel District
15 Gold Soundz
16 Zurich Is Stained
17 Stereo
18 set break for lightning
19 The Hexx
20 Two States
21 Spit On A Stranger
22 Grounded
23 Silent Kid
24 Father To A Sister of Thought
25 banter
26 Stop Breathin
27 encore break
28 Date With Ikea
29 banter
30 Lions (Linden)
31 Here
32 Conduit For Sale!

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will continue to support Pavement, visit their official website, go to shows on this tour, and purchase the records and merch you don’t already own from the band’s official store or Matador Records.

Pavement: September 21, 2010 Central Park Summerstage – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 23, 2010
By


[iPhone photo by threelobed]

Pavement put the tickets for the Central Park Summerstage shows in Manhattan on sale about a year ago.  The resulting advanced planning (or lack of skill at planning/holding onto tickets) of indie fans was even the subject of a recent New Yorker piece.  The good news about doing things this way was that (a) Pavement sold the shows out and (b) cheap tickets were available for fans day-of.

Those who weren’t daunted by the advanced planning were rewarded by what I believe to have been the best of the three Pavement shows I had (to this point) seen this year.  The band was in a jokey mood, the weather was perfect (about the opposite of Wednesday’s experience), and the set was loose, jammy and ten minutes longer than the already very long Williamsburg Waterfront show.  This show saw the band bust out several tunes not played at the Williamsburg show, including “In the Mouth of a Desert”, “Debris Slide,” “Shoot the Singer”, “Heaven Is A Truck” and the rarest inclusion (which was not on the official setlist), “Perfect Depth.”  Expectations could not have been higher for a show that went on sale a year ago, but Pavement still gave us more than we could ever have hoped.

This set was recorded with DPA 4021 mics mounted 12 feet in the air at the soundboard next to the JetBlue VIP area, unlike the mobile rig that I “stack taped” with on Sunday.  The sound is therefore more stereo balanced, but reflects that the recording was made at a much greater distance from the source.  There are also a couple of short spots of wind noise.

Wednesday’s show was also recorded using the mobile rig upfront and, miraculously (given the rain), sounds excellent.  We expect to post that recording, along with recordings of Thursday and Friday’s shows, to the site later this week or early next week.

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

PLEASE RESPECT THE LIMITS OF THE NYCTAPER SERVER AND DO NOT REPOST DIRECT LINKS

Direct download of FLAC files [HERE].

Pavement
2010-09-21
Summerstage
New York, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: DPA 4021>Naiant littlebox>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: At soundboard booth, ORTF, 12? up
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, hard limit/compress clapping, EQ, amplify and balance, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC (level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:53:39]
01 Shady Lane
02 Frontwards
03 Heckler Spray>Elevate Me Later
04 Starlings of the Slipstream
05 Stereo
06 Kennel District
07 Grounded
08 Rattled by the Rush
09 We Dance
10 In the Mouth of a Desert
11 Perfume V
12 Unfair
13 Fin
14 Gold Soundz
15 banter
16 Debris Slide
17 Range Life
18 Trigger Cut
19 banter
20 Cut Yr Hair
21 Perfect Depth
22 Fight This Generation
23 Box Elder
24 encore break
25 Date With Ikea
26 Shoot the Singer
27 Conduit For Sale
28 Silence Kid
29 Heaven Is A Truck
30 Stop Breathin

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will continue to support Pavement, visit their official website, go to their shows, and purchase the records and merch you don’t already own from the band’s official store or Matador Records.

Pavement: September 19, 2010 Williamsburg Waterfront – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 20, 2010
By


[Photo courtesy of fakebook. See his Flickr stream here]

Pavement returned to New York City after a hiatus of more than 10 years. For those of us who grew up worshipping the band in the 90s, this was a jaw-dropping, tears-streaming moment. There once was a world where, far from all things, but a hell of a lot more things were right, and one of those things was Pavement, avatars of a time when being a “slacker” was a choice rather than an economic reality. Insouciant, wry and at times impenetrable, they were not all things to all people – but they were all things to a certain kind of person, the right kind of person some (particularly a certain vintage of indie snob) might say. Beyond all doubt time has been kind; since I last saw them take the stage in Raleigh, NC in 1999, sloppy as hell and evidently sick of it all, these guys have grown as musicians immensely, as evidenced by the more intricate solos and the swagger with which they dispatched a nearly two hour (!!) set before a crowd that, as I saw it, included a fair number of people who were in elementary school when Terror Twilight closed out their recorded history. Listen to the 7+ minute “Fight This Generation” and see if you agree. Fittingly, the show took place outdoors, facing Manhattan from the teeming Williamsburg Waterfront. Were Pavement a young band today, there is little doubt what side of the East River they would spend their time on.

These songs have worn well – with nearly every song a classic, it is hard to pinpoint highlights. Suffice it to say, for those of us who will be catching the next four shows at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park from Tuesday through Friday, this is going to be a memorable week.

I recorded this set with a mobile rig in the audience very close to the sound source. Although there is occasional wind noise that I have mostly processed out, and the expected excitement of the crowd, the sound is overall extremely clear. Enjoy!

Stream “Fight this Generation”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/P9910Pavement0210/Pavement-FightThisGeneration_nyctaper.mp3]

Stream “Spit on a Stranger”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/P9910Pavement0210/Pavement-SpitOnAStranger_nyctaper.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Pavement
2010-09-19
Williamsburg Waterfront
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Audix 1280c>Church Audio Active Cables>SPSB-10>PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: Mobile, near right stack
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, hard limit/compress clapping, EQ, amplify and balance, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC (level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:43:59]
01 intro banter
02 Cut Yr Hair
03 Date With Ikea
04 Rattled by the Rush
05 banter
06 Elevate Me Later
07 Grounded
08 Frontwards
09 Shady Lane
10 Unfair
11 Perfume V
12 Fight this Generation
13 Silence Kid
14 Box Elder
15 banter
16 Stop Breathin
17 Two States
18 Father to a Sister of Thought
19 banter
20 Heckler Spray>In the Mouth of a Desert
21 banter
22 We Dance
23 Summer Babe
24 Fin
25 Stereo
26 encore break
27 Spit on a Stranger
28 Trigger Cut
29 banter
30 Starlings of the Slipstream
31 Gold Soundz
32 Kennel District
33 Range Life

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will continue to support Pavement, visit their official website, go to shows on this tour, and purchase the records and merch you don’t already own from the band’s official store or Matador Records.

Superchunk: September 19, 2010 Music Hall of Williamsburg – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 20, 2010
By


[photo courtesy of Jason Persse]

Some nights I almost want to sprint home to hear the recording. Such was the case last night after I captured Superchunk at Music Hall of Williamsburg. The sound in the venue was outstanding, the band was smoking all night, there were neat special guests, and even an obscure punk cover. On their first major tour supporting their first new album in almost a decade, Superchunk worked out the kinks in Washington, played a well-received show at the Bowery on Saturday, and came into Sunday’s show running on all cylinders. As they opened with a blistering “Unbelievable Things”, each pogo-inducing song came one after another. A brief respite and a quick announcement and suddenly John Darnielle bounded down the steps to sing harmony on “Digging For Something”. John soon departed and without losing any steam, Superchunk immediately kicked up the momentum and worked through a setlist that mixed in classics with strong numbers from the new record Majesty Shredding — songs that stand up well with the older material. Of the many highlights were notable ragers “Everything At Once”, “Hello Hawk” and “Precision Auto”, and then a Misfits cover encore that featured Todd Barry on drums and Jon Wurster moving to vocals.

I recorded this show with the four microphone rig in the front left corner of the soundboard. The sound in the venue was outstanding and this capture reflects that quality. Enjoy!

Stream “Digging For Something” (with John Darnielle):
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/S1909Superchunk1122/Superchunk%202010-09-19%20DIGGING%20FOR%20SOMETHING.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Superchunk
2010-09-19
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded from Front of Soundboard Booth

Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021’s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2010-09-20

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:21:33]
01 [introduction]
02 Unbelievable Things
03 Skip Steps 1 & 3
04 [banter/guest intro]
05 Digging For Something*
06 [crowd]
07 Rosemarie
08 Art Class (Song For Yayoi Kusama)
09 Hello Hawk
10 [banter]
11 Fractures In Plaster
12 [tuning/banter]
13 So Convinced
14 Iron On
15 My Gap Feels Weird
16 Crossed Wires
17 [banter]
18 Mower
19 From The Curve
20 The First Part
21 Everything At Once
22 [encore break]
23 Horror Business (Misfits)**
24 Cast Iron
25 Slack Motherfucker
26 Precision Auto
*with John Darnielle backing vocals
**with Todd Barry on drums

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Superchunk, visit their website, and purchase Majesty Shredding from the Merge Records website [HERE].

Dirty Projectors: September 11, 2010 Terminal 5 – FLAC / MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 20, 2010
By


[photo by Johnny]

It’s a tribute to the quality of an artist and its sound engineer, when a band with music and harmonies as intricate as the Dirty Projectors can sound as excellent as they do on this recording.  At Terminal 5 last Saturday, September 11, the Projectors tour in support of the expanded edition of ‘Bitte Orca‘ (due September 27) arrived in NYC.  Even on a night when indie fans had other choices for music, the band’s increasing popularity resulted in a sell-out of this large venue.  The highlights of the set included a superb “Temecula Sunrise” (streaming below), and the beautiful performance of “Two Doves” featuring Angel Deradoorian.

Johnny recorded this set with a four-microphone rig from up in the first balcony at the soundboard.  The AKG’s capture the vocals well, while the DPA’s are excellent for the rich bass presence.  This recording is perhaps the best we’ve ever captured in this venue.  Enjoy!

Special thanks to Dirty Projectors and Domino Records for making this recording possible, and Terminal 5 head of security Mike for his courtesy and cooperation.

Stream “Temecula Sunrise”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/D2211DirtyProjectors2299/Dirty%20Projectors%202010-09-11%20TEMECULA%20SUNRISE.mp3]

Direct download of the complete show in MP3 [HERE]
Direct download of the complete show in FLAC [HERE]

If either of the links are no longer working, email nyctaper with a request for the download location of the files.

Dirty Projectors
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Terminal 5
New York, NY, USA

Source: AUD > AKG C 414 B-XLS’s + DPA 4021’s > Edirol R-44 (WAV @ 24-bit/48kHz)
Lineage: R-44 > Adobe Audition (mixdown) > Soundforge (levels adjustments, downsample) > CD Wave (tracking) > FLAC Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > FLAC
Recorded by: Johnny Fried Chicken Boy
Produced by: nyctaper and Johnny

SETLIST:
[Total time: 1:28:44]
01. Fucked for Life
02. No Intention
03. I Will Truck
04. Knotty Pine
05. No Embrace
06. Beautiful Mother
07. The Bride
08. Police Story [Black Flag]
09. Two Doves
10. Temecula Sunrise
11. As I Went Out One Morning [Bob Dylan]
12. Imagine It
13. Remade Horizon
14. Stillness Is the Move
15. Useful Chamber
16. [encore break]
17. Cannibal Resource
18. Fluorescent Half Dome
19. Rise Above [Black Flag]

If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Dirty Projectors, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and pre-order/purchase ‘Bitte Orca Expanded Edition‘ directly from the Domino Records website [HERE].

Lymbyc Systym: September 18, 2010 Studio BPM – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

September 19, 2010
By


[iPhone photo by acidjack. Conditions were very dark and flash was not an option.  Photo is not great; recording is]

Brothers Jared and Michael Bell of Lymbyc Systym have had the advantage of making music together since they were preteens, sure, but still, the synergy and skill they brought to this DIY show at Studio BPM was startling.  Their sound, a blend of electronic music, jazz and experimental rock, evinces such diverse acts as Tortoise and Explosions in the Sky.  What is remarkable about the brothers Bell, though, is that they sound like a five-man band using only two players: Mike on the drums and Jared on the various keys.   Originally from Tempe, AZ, since their founding in 2001, the band has traveled the country with a wide array of like-minded acts such as The Album Leaf and Broken Social Scene, and recently completed a monthslong tour of Asia.  This set included two of the band’s contributions to their recent Field Studies split EP with This Will Destroy You, “Narita” and “Notations”.  Studio BPM made an ideal setting for this music, with an intimate atmosphere, high quality sound system, and rapt crowd.

I recorded this set with a stereo soundboard feed blended with the DPA mics on a stand on the floor.  The sound quality is outstanding.  Enjoy!

Stream and download this show in MP3 and FLAC on the Live Music Archive [HERE]

Lymbyc Systym
2010-09-18
Studio BPM
Brooklyn, NY  USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced for nyctaper.com by acidjack

Equipment: Stereo soundboard feed + DPA 4021>Edirol R-44 (24/44.1)
Position: Slightly ROC, FOB, mics at 7.5ft
Mastering 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, EQ audience recording, set fades, tracking, amplify and balance, smooth peaks, downsample to 16bit)>FLAC (level 8 )

Tracks [Time 33:29]
01 Birds
02 Truth Skull
03 Fall Bicycle
04 Love Your Abuser
05 Selamat Pagi
06 Bedroom Anthem
07 Notations
08 Narita

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Lymbyc Systym, visittheir website, and purchase their official releases from them here.

Tommy Keene: September 15, 2010 Rock Shop – Flac and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

September 17, 2010
By


[photo by nyctaper]

Like most music fans of another generation, back in the day I made hundreds of mixed tape cassettes for friends, girlfriends, and personal listening. For about a four year period (’86-’90), literally every single one of those cassettes included the Tommy Keene song “In Our Lives”. While not Keene’s most well-known song, this gem of pure power-pop brilliance combined the perfect balance of sweet melody, chiming guitars and hooks to spare. Like a musical sugar addiction, I couldn’t get enough of this song or the album on which it appeared, 1986’s Songs From The Film. I still have the well-worn vinyl. It was Keene’s major label debut, and while the Geffen record may have been more produced and polished than the break-out Places That Are Gone EP, it nevertheless was a full long-player of Keene’s irresistible guitar-driven pop songcraft. Tommy Keene is currently on tour playing the complete Film album, and on Wednesday that tour reached The Rock Shop. The set warmed up with two more recent numbers and then jumped right into the album. What was obvious from the chill-inspiring open riff of “Places” was that Tommy has aged extremely well. As the band ripped through each track — there isn’t a clunker on the entire record — it was also clear that the songs had aged well too. This album would be as relevant and inspired if it were released today.

This set was recorded in the same manner as my previous trips to Rock Shop and the sound quality is superb. Enjoy!

Stream “In Our Lives”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/T1509TommyKeene1020/Tommy%20Keene%202010-09-15%20IN%20OUR%20LIVES.mp3]

Direct download of complete show in MP3 files (HERE)

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Tommy Keene
2010-09-15
The Rock Shop
Brooklyn, NY USA

Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix

Soundboard + Neumann KM-150s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac

Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
2010-09-16

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:24:38]
01 Late Bright
02 A Secret Life of Stories
03 Places That Are Gone
04 In Our Lives
05 Listen To Me
06 Paper Words and Lies
07 Gold Town
08 Kill Your Sons (Lou Reed)
09 Call On Me
10 As Life Goes By
11 [band introductions]
12 My Mother Looked Like Marilyn Monroe
13 Underworld
14 Astronomy
15 The Story Ends
16 Black & White New York
17 Turning On Blue
18 Long Time Missing
19 [encore break]
20 Back To Zero Now
21 Love is a Dangerous Thing*
*with one verse of “Its Not True” (The Who)

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Tommy Keene, visit his website, and purchase his official releases directly from Merch Store at his website [HERE].

Maps & Atlases: August 12, 2010 Mercury Lounge – FLAC/MP3 Downloads

September 16, 2010
By


[Photos courtesy of The Owl Mag]

With this stellar set at Mercury Lounge, Chicago’s Maps & Atlases announced their arrival as strong contenders on the indie scene.  Touring behind their third release (but first official full length), the quantum-leap-forward Perch Patchwork, the band gave fans far more than originally promised, closing out with an acoustic set on the floor of the venue.  Albeit in a very different way, these Chicagoans, like their neighbors in Tortoise, don’t sound like anybody else.  For lack of a better term, I like to call their sound freak folk meets math rock.  While the concept of “freak folk-meets-math rock” may be hard to grasp, the band’s technical rhythmic sense (including dual percussion at times), combined with singer/guitarist Dave Davison’s vocals and a vaguely folk-based guitar approach make them hard to describe otherwise.  This crowd at Mercury, like many I have seen at the venue recently, were rowdy and going wild for the headliners after a strong night of music.  One group was screaming for “Solid Ground” from the get go, and the version heard here does not disappoint.   That song, like many from their new record, demonstrates the band’s emerging pop sensibility, and the promise of greater things to come.  These guys could go in many directions from here; I can see them wearing the indie crown just as easily as ingratiating themselves to the Bonnaroo scene.  As they are not easily categorized, different fans will understand them in different ways.  Ultimately that acoustic set on the floor tells the story best – these guys want to play music even after most of the crowd has gone home, even after the contractually agreed set time.  They can’t help themselves.  Listen to Perch Patchwork and tell me if you can resist.

I recorded this set with a top quality board feed combined with the Schoeps microphones.  The sound quality of the main set is among the finest of my recordings with this rig and is a testament to the hard work of the Mercury production team.  The acoustic set – which I had to record a bit on the fly – is a bit rougher given that there was no board feed, and the mics picked up some handling noise, but it is still quite good.  Enjoy!

Maps & Atlases are touring Iowa and Europe in September and October.  See the dates on their MySpace page.

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct Download of the FLAC Files [HERE].

Maps & Atlases
2010-08-12
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY  USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Schoeps CMC641+stereo soundboard feed>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Right side of soundboard, mics at 7.5ft, pointed at stacks
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, EQ (1dB cut of sub-100Hz frequencies, slight brilliance bump at 10-12kHz), tracking, amplify and balance channels, hard limit clapping on acoustic set, delete some clapping on acoustic set)>FLAC Level 8

Tracks
01 Living Decorations
02 Israeli Caves
03 Ted Zancha
04 Will
05 The Charm
06 [tuning]
07 Witch
08 [banter]
09 If This Is
10 Carrying the Wet Wood
11 Everyplace Is A House
12 Solid Ground
13 Daily News
14 Glamorous Glowing [Cast Spells]
15 The Sounds They Make

Acoustic Set:
16 You Me and the Mountain
17 Banished Be Cavalier
18 Pigeon
19 [tuning]
20 The Ongoing Horrible

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Maps & Atlases, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Perch Patchwork from their official store here.

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