Zombi – 2006-10-03
October 4th, 2006Most of the time stealthing for me isn’t about going undetected. It’s about not making a huge production out of the whole thing. Seems like if you walk in with a bag of gear and a tripod then venue staff assumes you’re trying to do something professional (i.e. worth making money off of) but if you’re just running some lapel mics into a handheld recorder then they think it’s just a hobby.
The soundguy at The Crocodile Cafe is sort of a douche. The two times I’ve taped there, he’s given me grief about not having written explicit permission to tape from all of the bands (not just the headliner). This time, since I only wanted to tape one of the bands playing, I rolled in with my small setup and taped. I didn’t really try to hide the fact that I was taping since there was only about ten people there to see Zombi anyway, but I stood in the back and leaned against a halfwall by myself and taped away. No one gave me any crap about it.
So anyway, Zombi played at The Croc last night. They were opening for a band called Supersystem whom I’ve heard of but never actually heard. If I was open-taping I would have stuck around but the battery on the Microtrack sucks and I didn’t think it would hold out for another full set.
The recording turned out pretty damn great. I stood about ten feet from the left stack so I was pretty close. The only thing that mars the recording is the fact that the drummer sort of lost control during Night Rhythms. There is about a minute or so of drumming where he’s not really on the beat at all. Oh well, it’s a really long song.
Zombi – 2006-10-03 Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
Download: zombi2006-10-03.at943.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: zombi2006-10-03sample.mp3
May 4th, 2007 at 1:22 PM
Incredible recording! I’m so pissed they cancelled on me this past wednesday in boston. They sound awesome.
September 24th, 2007 at 7:07 PM
You should be aware of the unprofessional demeanor in which you strole in and record. Jim Anderson (the “sound guy”) is one of the smartest and most professional figures I have ever met while touring around the world. He is polite but direct, you’d do well to take some advice.
I know damn well if I was running sound and I saw your set up, you’d be out in a flash, and I’d be holding your tapes in my hand. Because in the end, musicians are a business, aside from artists, they have to protect themselves, whether your intentions are malicious or not.
September 28th, 2007 at 7:32 PM
That’s quite a stance to take. You’d just see recording gear and kick the person out without a conversation first? Seems sort of rash if you ask me.
I’m always polite with sound engineers, venue staff, and bands. I don’t think I’m owed anything nor do I have any sense of entitlement about the hobby. And you might be right… Jim might be the nicest guy on earth; but he’s a douche when it comes to tapers. Even when I’ve had a printout of the email exchange I’ve had between myself and the band in question (to prove that I have permission), he still gives me a hassle.
And for the record, I went up to the keyboardist in Zombi at this show right before they started and I asked if it was ok to record their set. He said that would be just fine.