[Photos by the always excellent David Andrako]
This is my first recording of 2011, and I am pleased to say that Yellow Ostrich is officially my first great find for the year. I first heard of the band when they appeared on the bill for our friends at FREEWilliamsburg‘s CMJ show, and although I missed that show, Yellow Ostrich was highest on the list of bands I needed to see. After a somewhat uneven slate of opening acts, vocalist/guitarist Alex Schaaf and drummer Michael Tapper took the stage to a packed Mercury Lounge. Schaaf is a gifted vocalist with a sweet and somewhat nasal voice; in his delivery I hear a bit of a young Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel. The set opener, “Whale” was a whimsical and instantly catchy treat that started things off strong (if you hear a slight discontinuity in the track, it is because we removed a few seconds of computer glitch). But other than “Whale,” I actually preferred some of the band’s slightly less poppy, more angular numbers – the older song “Fog”, in particular, and the set’s closer, “Mary.” Most of the set focused on the band’s latest record, The Mistress, which is available, along with all of the band’s catalog, on their bandcamp page on a “pay what you will” basis, and can be pre-ordered on vinyl from Afternoon Records here. We expect more great things from this young band in 2011, and their year has already had a fantastic beginning, with them landing the coveted Pianos Thursday night residency for February.
Catch Yellow Ostrich at Shea Stadium on January 15, or February 3, 10, 17 or 24 at Pianos.
I recorded this set with an excellent soundboard feed from the Mercury Lounge engineers and the Schoeps microphones. The sound is outstanding. Thanks to Kevin for his consistently strong work behind the board.
Stream “Fog”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/Y1400YellowOstrich2110/06 Fog.mp3]
Stream “WHALE” (yes, it has a little glitch, but this song is so damn good):
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/Y1400YellowOstrich2110/01 WHALE.mp3]
Stream “Mary”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/Y1400YellowOstrich2110/12 Mary.mp3]
Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
Yellow Ostrich
2011-01-04
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA
An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack exclusively for nyctaper.com
Equipment: Soundboard + Schoeps CMC6/mk41>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)
Position: ROC, at soundboard, mics pointed at stacks at 8.5′
Mastering: 2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks [Total Time 32:31]
01 Whale
02 banter
03 Hold On
04 banter
05 Daughter
06 Fog
07 banter
08 Hate Me Soon
09 banter
10 Campaign
11 banter
12 Mary
If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect you to PLEASE SUPPORT Yellow Ostrich, be their friends on Facebook, and purchase their music from bandcamp and Afternoon Records.
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