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Started that job last week and I already get into shows for free. Look at me bein’ Mr. Rockshow Tuff and swaggering into venues like I own the place.

It’s funny, though. Even though I work for the label that the headliner is on and the guy who owns the label (my boss) was at the show, I still got hassled by the venue’s sound guy for not having documented permission to tape. Admittedly, he was right… you shouldn’t assume that you can just tape whomever you please. In fact, I’ll quote him because even though he came off as hostile and a bit mean, I think what he said is probably the general consensus of venue staff in regards to the taping community (however true or untrue it might be):

I resent the attitude that tapers have. That they just walk into a venue with their gear and think it’s their right to tape, as if they have carte blanche over the situation.

After the show I apologized and told him that next time I tape at The Crocodile I’ll make sure I have documented permission (and if I don’t I guess I’ll just stealth it).

In any case, last night’s show was good. The opener, Tiny Vipers, was a little shaky and odd to watch. I’ve seen her play before but she seemed nervous or maybe she was just trying some new songs because her guitar playing was really hit and miss. Following her was another local act, The Fleet Foxes. Their sound reminds me of Crystal Skulls a good deal… they’re a decent group. The final opening act was The Can’t See, John Atkins’ new band. I’d seen them play just recently at Neumo’s and this performance was just as good if not better than the previous. Some really nice hooky pop coming from those guys.

The Six Parts Seven are one of my all-time favorite instrumental acts. I like that they make post-rock that doesn’t have to be confrontational and boisterous in order to be genuine. I think that too many post-rock groups try too hard to be the next Godspeed (or, more recently, Explosions In The Sky) without first seeing if there is something new or different they can try.

The Six Parts Seven – 2006-05-21 The Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
Download: sps2006-05-21.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: sps2006-05-21sample.mp3

Fleet Foxes – 2006-05-21 The Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
Download: ff2006-05-21.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: ff2006-05-21sample.mp3

Jason Lytle is the lead singer of the sorely missed band Grandaddy. He’s doing a small tour of in-store performances; playing acoustic arrangements of the band’s tunes and doing meet ‘n greet signing sessions.

Tonight he played at the Queen Anne Easy Street Records in Seattle. I’d say there were about 50-70 people in attendance if I had to guess. I wasn’t the only taper at the show either. Another guy who I’ve met before was taping as well as running two (maybe three?) digital video camcorders. Hopefully a really nice multi-cam comes out of this performance, that’d be really neat.

The recording turned out decent enough. The first track is pretty quiet since I was futzing with the levels early on. It was tough to strike a balance between the low-level PA system and the super loud crowd noise, but by the second song I just said screw it and boosted the levels up way high. This caused the recording to clip a lot when people clapped but I don’t really care… as long as the actual songs are clear (and they are), I’m happy.

Enjoy the recording and go see Jason Lytle if he rolls through your town’s record store.

Jason Lytle – 2006-05-19 Easy Street Records – Seattle, WA
Download: jlytle2006-05-19.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: jlytle2006-05-19sample.mp3

I know I know, what a stupid pun. Wait, you don’t get it? Probably because I haven’t told you yet, anonymous ‘netizen.

I got a job working part-time for Suicide Squeeze Records this week. I actually had my first day on the job today. It’s not much but I’m still super excited.

Basically, my job is simple: help the two people (!!!) who run the label with tech stuff. You know. E-mail, web related tasks, banner ads, networking. That sort of stuff. In the three hours I was there today I set up a new e-mail address on their domain and got it working in Thunderbird, secured their wireless connection, and networked their iBook with their PCs. I also spent a good chunk of time talking to them about music and artists and what concerts I’m looking forward to etc.

The best part of the job is all the free shit they give me. Ok I’m kidding, but they did give me a lot of free stuff (a bunch of CDs and a shirt). Actually, the best part of this job is that I’ll get to go to a lot of concerts for free and it will be really easy for me to get permission to tape.

If you didn’t know, the label’s 10th anniversary is coming up and they’re having a three day celebration at Neumo’s at the end of the month. Even better, my birthday is right smack in the middle of the dates. And even better than that, check out the lineup:

If I can tape all of these bands (plus whoever the “Super Surprise Secret Special Guest” is), I’ll be so stoked. Hell, the fact that I’ll be able to see all of these bands in three nights is awesome, plus my brother will be in town for those dates so he can come with (if he wants I guess).

All in all, I’m super excited about this job. I don’t think the label really has the income to have another person on board full-time, but maybe that will change in the future. I just hope I can keep working there for a while and prove that I’m actually worth a damn to someone.

I love that this band has such an affinity for hip-hop. So much so that they bring hip-hop artists on tour with them as their only supporting acts. I also love that the artists they brought to Seattle were actually talented rappers.

Last night Islands ripped through Seattle and brought rappers Cadence Weapon and Busdriver with them. Not really a packed house which might be because not many people realize the link between Islands and The Unicorns or maybe people are just stupid. It’s a toss-up really.

From a taper’s perspective, the show was a good one. I didn’t have any kind of permission from the band to tape but I decided to just bring my open rig and hope for the best. The band hadn’t disallowed taping so venue security didn’t stop me from bringing in my gear and once I was all set up, Islands’ sound guy came up and talked to me and was very nice (he even poked fun at my less than stellar mics… ouch). I’m glad I used the open rig because it let me tape all three acts and I didn’t have to stand still for three hours straight.

Without further ado, I give you all three sets from last night in order of appearance:

Cadence Weapon – 2006-05-10 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: cw2006-05-10.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: cw2006-05-10sample.mp3

Busdriver – 2006-05-10 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: busdriver2006-05-10.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: busdriver2006-05-10sample.mp3

Islands – 2006-05-10 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: islands2006-05-10.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: islands2006-05-10sample.mp3

I’ve always been a fan of TV On The Radio, but never had a chance to see them live. Last night I had a chance to rectify that so I did. The show was sort of annoying because they opened the doors at 8:00 and the first (and only opening) band went on at 10:00. I figured since the venue opened at 8:00 that there would be at least two opening bands to see, but Rachel and I just ended up sitting around the venue for an hour and a half while we watched people drink and waited. Bleh.

The recording turned out nice for a stealth job. No glitches that I’ve found so far and a good sound field. It’s a little low since I didn’t amplify it at all in Audition, but Foobar’s ReplayGain takes care of that for the most part. Enjoy.

TV On The Radio – 2006-05-05 The Showbox – Seattle, WA
Download: tvotr2006-05-05.at943.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: tvotr2006-05-05sample.mp3

EDIT: Someone who saw the setlist made two corrections to my original setlist. Tracks 9 and 10 are Wolf Like Me and Let The Devil In instead of the original songs I had listed (so make sure you re-tag with the correct names in the updated info file). I guessed based on the titles from the album leak but apparently some of the titles aren’t correct. Thanks to Jerry for the corrections.