[still from this video]
Acidjack Reports:
“After bursting onto the scene in 2004 with their first full-length, Now Here is Nowhere, things quieted down somewhat for The Secret Machines in the latter part of the aughts, with their stellar-but-underappreciated Ten Silver Drops failing to garner the critical attention of their first record. In 2007, guitarist Benjamin Curtis left the band to focus full-time on his new project, School of Seven Bells. Since Curtis’ departure, TSM have carried on, bringing on new guitarist Phil Karnats and releasing their self-titled album Secret Machines in 2008, which they have been touring on ever since.
This night at the Knitting Factory found the band responding to another kind of personnel change – due to heavy snow in the Midwest, Karnats could not make his flight to the gig. Drummer Josh Garza and vocalist/bassist Brandon Curtis responded by giving fans an hour-long set of TSM songs with Curtis playing guitar and singing backed only by Garza’s on the kit. Several songs such as the epic “First Wave Intact” were reworked to the new two-man format, and the band performed an even-more extended version of “The Fire Is Waiting” from their latest record. Ultimately, the two-man setup accentuated how huge this band can sound with only a handful of members; even stripped back from an already-scant three band members to two, TSM’s music carries the room-filling weight of a five-piece, thanks in no small part to Garza’s intensity on the drums.
I recorded this set from a raised pole clamped to the center of the soundboard cage. Some post-production was done to raise the volume level of the vocals, which are still a bit low in the mix due to the house sound and the enormity of the drum sound. There is also a bit of distracting crowd chatter during the two quieter songs.
Thanks to The Secret Machines and the Knitting Factory for permitting this recording. Enjoy!”
This recording is now available as a direct download in FLAC or MP3 at Archive.org [HERE].
Secret Machines
2009-12-23
Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY
An ACIDJACK master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Hosted by nyctaper
Equipment: DPA 4021>Marantz PMD660 (Oade Concert Mod)
Position: Clamp to SBD cage, center, 9′ pole
Mastering: 16bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, slight EQ, tracking, amplify each channel)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Vocals: Brandon Curtis (and guitar)
Drums: Josh Garza
Tracks
01 Dreaming of Dreaming
02 Terrible Light
03 Atomic Heels
04 The Fire is Waiting
05 I Never Thought To Ask
06 The Leaves Are Gone
07 Like I Can
08 First Wave Intact
09 The Road Leads Where It’s Led
If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Secret Machines, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase the latest TSM self-released CD by visiting the links at their website [here].
NYCtaper, Thank You SO Much for posting/sharing this w/TSM fans, we REALLY Appreciate it! P’s, Mike