[Photo by Johnny]
Before the mighty Bardo Pond headlined the recent incarnation of the Memory Burn Psych Festival, heavy-rocking southerners Pontiak made sure nobody in the vicinity of the Bell House missed their louder-than-hell set. The Virginian siblings (the band is comprised of the brothers Van, Lain and Jennings Carney) opened up with one of their more accessible new numbers, the 70s-inspired “Young,” and from there, surged through several more songs from their 2010 release This Is Living, as well as classics from the rest of their catalog, including an epic closer of “Sun On Sun” segueing into “Shell Skull.” Pontiak’s music can find a variety of musical company; loose and improvisational enough to satisfy the psych rock set, but churning, riff-driven and structurally cohesive such that it won’t be lost on your average metal or rock fan, either. This set eschewed some of the quieter, more acoustic songs demonstrated on Living and some of the band’s earlier records in favor of the crowd-pleasers for, well, the kind of people who attend an event called the “Memory Burn Psych Festival”, and to great effect. Compared to on record, Van Carney’s vocals were buried most of the night under layers of guitars and drums like a distant spectre, but all the better to accentuate the vortex of guitars, bass and drums. Indeed, I was particularly gratified to see the band properly mixed by the Bell House staff on a killer system that gave full voice to their style. This was probably the most head-banging set of the evening, and for those who hadn’t crossed paths with Pontiak before, a revelation.
I recorded this set with the Schoeps microphones and a stereo soundboard feed, in the same manner as the Bardo Pond recording, and the results are equally outstanding. Enjoy!
Stream “Young”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/P2011Pontiak2010/Pontiak-Young.mp3]
Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
Pontiak
2010-11-20
Bell House
Brooklyn, 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] (24/48)
Position: DFC, pole clamped to soundboard about 9ft from floor, pointed at stacks
Mastering: 2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, mixdown, track, amplify and balance, downsample to 16/44.1)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks
1. Young
2. This is Living
3. World Wide Prince
4. Lemon Lady
5. Maker
6. Sun on Sun>Shell Skull
If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Pontiak, visit their website, and purchase their official releases, including Living from Thrill Jockey directly [here].
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