[Roadside Graves at Mercury Lounge on January 9, 2010. Photo by Amanda Hatfield]
I lucked out when I recorded These United States in August of last year, because Metuchen, NJ’s Roadside Graves had already set a high bar with a perfect set of Saturday night rock n’ roll. Pitchfork‘s writeup on their 2009 release, My Son’s Home, compared their narrative style to Bob Dylan and the Band (and they aren’t the only ones), and indeed, they have an unmistakably classic rock style that can at times veer into dark territory. But in the grandest of folk traditions, they wrap sad and even macabre themes in the upbeat guise of working man’s anthems – if you don’t listen too closely, you can just chug your beer, shake your ass and be happy. But there is a lot to explore beneath that surface that will reward the more patient and pensive listener; the band’s latest EP on Autumn Tone Records, You Won’t Be Happy With Me, continues the strong work done on My Son’s Home. Despite the many country comparisons, I find the band hewing closer to the more Irish folk inspired-sound of a band like NYC’s Bogmen, or The Pogues. Throughout the set, the band kept the stage banter fun and light, introducing their new song “Liv Tyler” through a funny little tale about an audience member misinterpreting the title as “MILF Diver”. Such is the beauty of Roadside Graves – they make serious rock n’ roll, but they’re also a great band to spend your Saturday (and the rest of your week) with.
I recorded this set from the same location as the These United States recording, with the soundboard feed and the Schoeps microphones. The sound is outstanding. Enjoy!
Stream “Liv Tyler”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/R0828RoadsideGraves2010/RSG-LivTyler.mp3]
Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
Roadside Graves
2010-08-28
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA
An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com
Equipment: Schoeps CMC6/mk41+Soundboard>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/44.1)
Position: ROC, at soundboard, mics at 7.5ft
Mastering: 2x24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (smooth peaks, mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks
01 Brokeback Mountain Theme>Far and Wide
02 Demons>Ruby Medley
03 Take A Train
04 Everything
05 Father
06 Liv Tyler
07 West Coast
08 God Touched Me
09 [banter]
10 Jail
If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Roadside Graves, visit their website, and buy their records directly from Autumn Tone records.
Love the ROadside Graves. Thanks so much
God I love the Roadside graves. Thanks for this recording!
Sweet, I love these guys. Thanks so much.