Live Music Is Better - The Taper's Thread

Yer Ol' Uncle D

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Gonna migrate a few of the posts from the old board to ye shiny newe forum...
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I had the utmost pleasure of attending a gig with @lee newman the other night. As is often the case, I was taping the show. While we were hangin' out beforehand he asked me what got me into taping in the first place. Great question.

I gave him my condensed taping backstory. It all started with an intense love of live music and the spontaneity and improvisation that comes right along with it. There's nothing like that buzz, that electrical charge, that catharsis you get from a live show that's striking all the right nerves. I've been taping live shows, both openly and on the down-low, since 1986. I'm no pro, just a hobbyist, and have had varying levels of equipment and success over the years. I've made some nice tapes, made some clunkers. Either way, I always love being able to relive the moment over and over again. I tend to hear so much more when I can revisit a show a few times.

One thing I inexplicably left out of the conversation with Lee, the most important thing, is that I just love freely sharing good music with good people, especially music by bands I dig to expand their fan base, increase attendance at their shows and sales of their wares. The show we were checking out, a Lee Bains III And The Glory Fires gig, is a perfect example. I feel so strongly about this band, their music and their message that I want to do everything I can to help get the word out.

I also thought about the flip side of the equation - for the most part live taping seems to be a dying art. Fewer and fewer folks out there are willing to invest the time, the money and the attention it takes to produce a decent quality live recording. For most people holding an iPhone in the air for half a song and capturing some overdriven audio will suffice. Thank goodness The Grateful Dead didn't come along during the mobile phone age - you never woulda heard of 'em. Tapers helped make them a household name.

So...I thought I'd start a thread for folks to share their live recordings. I gotta think...gotta hope...there are some other tapers - past or present - out there in the Needles and Grooves community. If you feel the inclination dust those recordings off and come on in.

It only seems fitting the first post be something from the show I saw with @lee newman that kindled this whole idea.

Here are a couple songs from my recording of Lee Bains III And The Glory Fires at The Pinhook in Durham, NC on 7-27-17. These two tracks and Lee's intro to each will give you a basic idea of their sound and their politics. I often describe LBIII&TGF to folks who've never heard 'em as The Clash via Birmingham, AL. Got quite a nice soundstage on this one. Not a bad headphone listen. Their brand new LP is available in the VMP store presently. Stock up.

If there's any interest by anyone in owning the complete show I'll abide and get the whole shebang up for everyone to grab. This sample and the link are public. Please share this music with anyone you think might enjoy it.



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Here's one for all Neil Young & Crazy Horse fans in general and @Psymon and @lee newman in particular.

Taped this one at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC on 2-28-91. I was in the 5th row on Poncho's side. A lot closer than I would have preferred for recording purposes but thru dumb luck I grabbed the wrong mic when I hit the road to the show and ended up with omni's so all in all she came out incredibly well for a recording made on the down low on pretty inexpensive equipment.

This was a spectacular tour, arguably Neil's best with Crazy Horse.

The openers were Sonic Youth and Social Distortion.

I remember a couple sitting near me chatting with their kids after SY and SD came out and did what SY and SD are supposed to do. They were reassuring the young'uns that Neil was gonna be all butterflies and moonbeams and he was gonna play "Heart Of Gold" and "Old Man" and "After The Gold Rush" and they were gonna have a mellow good time. Whoops. Guess they hadn't done their research about this particular jaunt. I don't remember them hangin' in very long after Neil unleashed the bombast.

At the time the "Weld" Tour was filled with more piss, vinegar and bile than any other NY&CH affair to ever hit the road. There was a war going on, an unjust war in Neil's opinion, and he was pissed. That attitude showed thru every single night, every single song, every single note. His rage and emotion translated into musical bliss for me.

This show happened to occur on the day the Gulf War was "officially" declared over. This only seemed to piss Neil off more.

This is an all-time Top 5 show for me. I feel honored and privileged to have been there and happy I can share it with other fans. As always please support the artists by attending their shows and buying their music and merchandise.

I highly recommend you play it loud...



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Here's one from The Jesus And Mary Chain - one of my favorite bands of all time.

I was a member of a crew that recorded every performance by every band at Raleigh's Hopscotch Music Festival over the course of a few years. This sampler comes from the 2012 festival. I think there were 150 bands at 15 venues that year. Manic fun.

It was a glorious night - Built To Spill, The Jesus And Mary Chain and Yo La Tengo back to back to back. Yes, I'll take my Groundhog Day.

This was my first time seeing The JAMC in close to 20 years and I was nervous. They'd been apart for quite a while. Could they still bring it? Did they have it in 'em? Did I have it in me to accept them as they were 27 years removed from Psychocandy?

As it turns out, unnecessary anxiety. They crushed. I crumbled. A perfect night.

I hope to be able to share this whole thing one day. We got top-shelf access to capture some nice recordings but I'm currently held hostage as an unofficial Hopscotch employee and don't have permission to put the whole show out there. In the meantime I'll push the envelope a bit with a 15 minute sample. I'm relatively confident @Aron , @Mr Moore and @DMacanT may have interest in this one. Hopefully others will as well.

Enjoy, pass it on to others, support the band. Thank you folks.



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Here's a track from my recording of Circles Around The Sun from a couple nights ago.

If you're unfamiliar CATS came into existence when The Dead commissioned them to write and record original music to use as pre-show/intermission/post-show music for their final Fare Thee Well shows at Wrigley. That turned into a great debut LP and now a tour in support of record #2. I know @Psymon is on to these guys. I reckon other Dead fans - @AndySlash, @HiFi Guy, et al - are as well.

It's pretty cool (and rare) to go to a 2 1/2 hour instrumental rock show.

Support Circles Around The Sun, all it's members and their other projects by buying their music and merchandise and attending their shows. If you know someone who might dig this please pass it on.

Live music is better.

 
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As we've sadly lost Roky Erickson, I thought I'd post this one in tribute.

I taped this on September 3, 2017. As it turned out Roky would only play a handful of shows after this one.

If you've ever seen Roky live, you know it could be a crapshoot. His often fragile mental state could lead to wildly uneven shows. I didn't know what to expect going into this one given Roky's age on top of his mind battles. Turned out this was probably the best Roky show I ever saw. He was in great voice and seemed as loose as Roky could manage to be. He had fun. I had fun. Wish we could do it again.

This is a version of the 13th Floor Elevators tune 'Earthquake' complete with electric jug. Enjoy folks.

Thanks for everything Roky.

 
George Clinton is in the middle of his last tour with Parliament/Funkadelic. Saw the PFunk show last night along with Galactic and Fishbone.

If you have the opportunity, go see this one. So much fun.

Here's last night's Maggot Brain featuring Blackbyrd McKnight doing Eddie Hazel proud.

And everyone please follow George's advice and heed his warning in the intro - "Think - it ain't illegal yet."

 
Really crushed about Neal Casal's passing. So sad. Such a loss.

I taped Circles Around The Sun just 3 months ago. What a fun, positive, joyous evening. Great vibes. Great music.

This is the final song of the set. At the end Neal says "Let's do this again sometime, shall we? Beautiful. Thank you very much."

I sure wish we could.

Enjoy this and pass it on. Neal would want it that way.

 
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Saw Bob Mould solo for the first time in a few years last Sunday.

For any of you who have seen Bob Mould with a band but not solo, the emotion and intensity is exactly the same as seeing Bob with a band - there just isn't any bass or drums.

It's so special to see an artist of this caliber in an intimate setting - The Grey Eagle holds about 400 and has a band riser that's about a foot tall. Ignore your enormo dome/amphitheatre shows and go see 5 gigs for the same price at your local clubs. You won't regret it.

Had a matrix for this one. Sounds pretty good. Enjoy and pass it on.

Bob Mould - 'Stand Guard' - The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC 9-22-19

 
Saw Wilco last night almost 24 years to the day since my first time seeing them.....as an opener.

Pretty great. It's been fun experiencing their sonic evolution on stage over the decades. There are many things this lineup allows that likely weren't possible before. At the same time, the sense of unbridled, giddy joy that you got from Jay Bennett and the rest of the originals seems lost a bit. But hey - that was 24 years ago. Just because I'm as immature and goofy as I was in 1995 doesn't mean Wilco is.

The setlist from last night and a couple songs from my recording. Please support Wilco by buying their music and merchandise and attending their shows. They support tapers and free sharing of their live shows. Enjoy and pass it on.


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Handshake Drugs

 
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All this Black Crowes reunion talk with @Lee Newman tonight has led me here. Plus it's Gram Parsons' birthday so there's some sort of cosmic American planetary alignment going on.

Recorded this at one of the 6 shows I saw on The Black Crowes 2010 tour.

Chris always had a man-crush on Gram Parsons. This night he put it to good use with a show closing take on The Flying Burrito Brothers' 'Hot Burrito #2'.

Enjoy and pass it on.

 
All this Black Crowes reunion talk with @Lee Newman tonight has led me here. Plus it's Gram Parsons' birthday so there's some sort of cosmic American planetary alignment going on.

Recorded this at one of the 6 shows I saw on The Black Crowes 2010 tour.

Chris always had a man-crush on Gram Parsons. This night he put it to good use with a show closing take on The Flying Burrito Brothers' 'Hot Burrito #2'.

Enjoy and pass it on.


This is awesome!
 
Spent an evening with The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band on his Blues Revolution Tour a few nights ago. This time out he had Dom Flemons of The Carolina Chocolate Drops and Colonel J.D. Wilkes of The Legendary Shack Shakers in tow. What a show. Tried to summon @Lee Newman @Mr Moore and @HiFi Guy in spirit.

In addition to all the music being flat out fun, one of the highlights of this tour are The Rev's stories and his commitment to making it an educational experience for the casual fan.

This track illustrates that well - a cover of Charlie Patton's 'Mississippi Bo Weevil' complete with a Patton primer for those out of the loop on his importance to the blues genre and some blistering slide on the cigar box.

Recording is mighty fine - a nice mix of my mics and the SBD feed.

Support the artists by buying their music and merchandise and attending their shows.

Enjoy and pass it on.

 
Spent an evening with The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band on his Blues Revolution Tour a few nights ago. This time out he had Dom Flemons of The Carolina Chocolate Drops and Colonel J.D. Wilkes of The Legendary Shack Shakers in tow. What a show. Tried to summon @Lee Newman @Mr Moore and @HiFi Guy in spirit.

In addition to all the music being flat out fun, one of the highlights of this tour are The Rev's stories and his commitment to making it an educational experience for the casual fan.

This track illustrates that well - a cover of Charlie Patton's 'Mississippi Bo Weevil' complete with a Patton primer for those out of the loop on his importance to the blues genre and some blistering slide on the cigar box.

Recording is mighty fine - a nice mix of my mics and the SBD feed.

Support the artists by buying their music and merchandise and attending their shows.

Enjoy and pass it on.



The next time he comes around up there, let me know. I'll make the drive as long as it's not winter. My car has summer/performance tires and probably won't even move if there's snow. Just like me. :cool:
 
Just listened to your Wilco tape @Yer Ol' Uncle D and its fantastic! So so good!

I recorded a few live gigs this year, nothing fancy though just on my iPhone so the audio quality isn't great. Its more of a nostalgia trip when I listen back to them more than anything. I listened to one about 5-6 times in full last week, really enjoyable. When I get a moment free I will look into setting up a soundcloud account and adding them. I have:

Joel Ross at the Pizza Express Jazz in Soho, London (11/07/2019)
Daniel Norgren at Bush Hall, London (31/07/2019)
Binker Golding at the Hidden Jazz Club 'The Vaults', London (21/10/2019)

Im also going to see a few more gigs this year - Herbie Hancock (its a massive venue so might not be the best recording, if they even let me), The Comet Is Coming (should have seated tickets which will make it easier), Makaya McCraven & Rosie Turton (standing so might not be possible at that one).
 
Most of y'all have probably heard "The Black Crowes" - Chris and Rich and a bunch of hired hands - are touring. First and foremost, this ain't TBC. And I say that as a huge, huge fan. The Black Crowes gave me more joy than I can articulate. Chris and Rich may feel they're the band, but they majorly fucked up trying to pass this off as the real deal without original member Steve Gorman or long tenured guys like Marc Ford and Sven Pipien taking part. It could have easily been done, but greed and ego are the order of the day - check your White House. I've seen TBC about 50 times but I won't be seeing this tour.

The good news - Steve Gorman has a smoking band of his own and he don't need no stinking Crowes.

About a week ago I had the pleasure of seeing Steve Gorman in two venues.

First, he landed in a bar, drank a few beers with us, and discussed his outstanding new book - Hard To Handle-The Life And Death Of The Black Crowes. I highly recommend this memoir. You don't have to like or even know about TBC to dig this book. His story is so entertaining, so real, that any fan of music will have a blast reading this.

Steve has a great sense of humor and is so much fun to talk with. We'd been IP acquainted for a long, long time but this is the first time we actually met. His inscription is proof of that sense of humor

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The gig was a blast. Trigger Hippy is smokin'. Steve and Nick Govric have been working on this project for roughly 15 years and they're as solid a rhythm section as you can find. Asheville's own Ed Jurdi is super versatile. The secret weapon - Amber Woodhouse. Wow - what pipes. She plays sax too. Sample my recording below.

Think Ike & Tina Turner get dosed. Enjoy, freely pass it on, support Trigger Hippy by buying their music and merchandise and attending their live shows.

@Lee Newman @Teeeee @The Commish @Psymon @Enaz Fox and countless others - probably up yer alley.

Listen to Trigger Hippy - Born To Be Blue - The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC 3- 6-20 by user899810678 on #SoundCloud
 
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Most of y'all have probably heard "The Black Crowes" - Chris and Rich and a bunch of hired hands - are touring. First and foremost, this ain't TBC. And I say that as a huge, huge fan. The Black Crowes gave me more joy than I can articulate. Chris and Rich may feel they're the band, but they majorly fucked up trying to pass this off as the real deal without original member Steve Gorman or long tenured guys like Marc Ford and Sven Pipien taking part. It could have easily been done, but greed and ego are the order of the day - check your White House. I've seen TBC about 50 times but I won't be seeing this tour.

The good news - Steve Gorman has a smoking band of his own and he don't need no stinking Crowes.

About a week ago I had the pleasure of seeing Steve Gorman in two venues.

First, he landed in a bar, drank a few beers with us, and discussed his outstanding new book - Hard To Handle-The Life And Death Of The Black Crowes. I highly recommend this memoir. You don't have to like or even know about TBC to dig this book. His story is so entertaining, so real, that any fan of music will have a blast reading this.

Steve has a great sense of humor and is so much fun to talk with. We'd been IP acquainted for a long, long time but this is the first time we actually met. His inscription is proof of that sense of humor

View attachment 36357

The gig was a blast. Trigger Hippy is smokin'. Steve and Nick Govric have been working on this project for roughly 15 years and they're as solid a rhythm section as you can find. Asheville's own Ed Jurdi is super versatile. The secret weapon - Amber Woodhouse. Wow - what pipes. She plays sax too. Sample my recording below.

Think Ike & Tina Turner get dosed. Enjoy, freely pass it on, support Trigger Hippy by buying their music and merchandise and attending their live shows.

@Lee Newman @Teeeee @The Commish @Psymon @Enaz Fox and countless others - probably up yer alley.

Listen to Trigger Hippy - Born To Be Blue - The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC 3- 6-20 by user899810678 on #SoundCloud

Music AND music book recommendation? You rock, thank you!
 
Im in a bit of a muddle and hoping its something which one of you guys might be able to help me with.

I have a load of old cassette tapes which had music recorded to them live during gigs. On some of the tapes there's a distortion to the sound which is more apparent on horn instruments (sax, trumpet, etc). Its kind of a high pitched distortion, but when people talk in between tracks it does not sound as bad. I have looked online and tried some of the more basic suggestions (such as making sure the tape isnt slack) to no avail so far. I have also tested the walkman I am playing them on with other tapes and there doesn't seem to be an issue with it. The problem is, because I am hearing them for the first time now I am not sure if they have always been like this, or if its an issue I can fix.

@Yer Ol' Uncle D, you are our resident taper guru, have you come across this before?
 
Im in a bit of a muddle and hoping its something which one of you guys might be able to help me with.

I have a load of old cassette tapes which had music recorded to them live during gigs. On some of the tapes there's a distortion to the sound which is more apparent on horn instruments (sax, trumpet, etc). Its kind of a high pitched distortion, but when people talk in between tracks it does not sound as bad. I have looked online and tried some of the more basic suggestions (such as making sure the tape isnt slack) to no avail so far. I have also tested the walkman I am playing them on with other tapes and there doesn't seem to be an issue with it. The problem is, because I am hearing them for the first time now I am not sure if they have always been like this, or if its an issue I can fix.

@Yer Ol' Uncle D, you are our resident taper guru, have you come across this before?
Can you upload a sample and send me a link?
 
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