Yer Ol' Uncle D
Well-Known Member
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.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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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