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If I go to a show and there is one opening act, I’m in heaven. If there are two opening acts then I’m ok. If there are three opening acts then you might lose my attention and if, for whatever reason, there are four opening acts I am probably pissed. If two of those four acts are considered “experimental” then you can color me bored.

On Friday night, this happened. The first band to play was Parenthetical Girls. Oddly enough, they were my favorite act of the night. I wish they had been allowed a longer set.

After that was Grouper (aka Liz Harris) who performed with a guy named Ilyas Ahmed. In all honesty, since it was so early in the evening, I enjoyed it. Soothing guitar soundscapes is something I can get behind.

Following Grouper was Dirty Projectors which was enjoyable, quirky pop music. Some cool male/female vocal harmonies going on.

After Dirty Projectors was Congs For Brums, which is a solo thing the drummer for Xiu Xiu does involving drums and xylophone. At this point, I’d been at the concert for three hours and his performance lasted for about forty minutes. A man can only take so much drumming and xylophoning before he just doesn’t care.

So Xiu Xiu finally went on at about 11:30 (an hour and a half after they were scheduled) and they did their thing. Played some songs, rocked some bodies. Jamie Stewart did some breakdancing. Ok, no he didn’t.

For all of the sets I had a soundboard feed (which I’ve never been able to get at this venue before). Turns out, it’s not worth the hassle to begin with. First off, they run the PA in mono so I was only given one XLR cable. Second, they must not know how to mix the drums at all because they clip the entire time. At first I thought it was my fault for not bumping down the gain on my JB3 but then I realized that the signal itself was clipping, not my recording. I looked at the waveform in Audition and it peaks at about -6db, but is a constant brickwall. So, basically, the soundguy sent me a signal that is blown out and there was nothing I could do about it. It wasn’t too bad on the Parenthetical Girls set or the Congs For Brums sets so I used those. The other ones were pretty much useless, though.

Parenthetical Girls – 2006-11-03 Paradox Theatre – Seattle, WA
Download: pg2006-11-03.akgc1000s.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: pg2006 -11-03sample.mp3

Grouper w/ Ilyas Ahmed – 2006-11-03 Paradox Theatre – Seattle, WA
Download: grouper2006-11-03.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: grouper2006-11-03sample.mp3

Dirty Projectors – 2006-11-03 Paradox Theatre – Seattle, WA
Download: dp2006-11-03.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: dp2006-11-03sample.mp3

Congs For Brums – 2006-11-03 Paradox Theatre – Seattle, WA
Download: cfb2006-11-03.soundboard.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: cfb2006-11-03sample.mp3

Xiu Xiu – 2006-11-03 Paradox Theatre – Seattle, WA
Download: xiuxiu2006-11-03.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: xiuxiu2006-11-03sample.mp3

Once again I go to a show that I hadn’t planned to but my friend was going and I went too. I hadn’t seen Chromatics play in well over two years. The last time I saw them was at the old Vera Project when they were a two-piece (just Adam and Nat). Now Chromatics are a three-piece with Adam and two other dudes I’ve never seen before. At first I thought the drummer was none other than Joe Piscopo but I was mistaken. Joe Piscopo does not play the drums; that’s crazy!

The set was good. It was made better by the non-stop dancing going on in the crowd. Chromatics played as part of Chop Suey’s “Club Pop” which seems to attract the most energetic hipsters in Seattle. The only people standing around with their arms crossed were, well, me and my buddy Mike. Because that’s what we do. Plus, you know, dancing around like an idiot doesn’t really lend itself to a good recording when you’re stealthing.

Chromatics – 2006-10-26 Chop Suey – Seattle, WA
Download: chromatics2006-10-26.at943.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: chromatics2006-10-26sample.mp3

I went to this show because Rex Ray from Phobophobe sent me an e-mail and invited me to come tape. That’s the first time that’s ever happened. Made me feel good.

Openers were Cock And Swan. They’re a sort of electronic indie pop band in the vein of Mum or Boards of Canada. Very subdued and lo-fi and very good. They also did a really great cover of The Flaming Lips’ In The Morning Of The Magicians. The bass player nailed the bass line in that song and I enjoyed it a great deal.

Phobophobe sounds nothing like Cock And Swan. They’re rock that reminds me of Joy Wants Eternity in a lot of ways. Their brand of post-rock incorporates vocals from time to time, but it’s about 90 percent pure guitars and drums. Some really great progressions and breakdowns going on in this set so I suggest you check it out. Better yet, go see them in Edmonds at the Halcyon on the 11th. I’m pretty sure I’ll be there.

Cock And Swan – 2006-10-24 Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
Download: cas2006-10-24.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: cas2006-10-24sample.mp3

Phobophobe – 2006-10-24 Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
Download: phobophobe2006-10-24.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: phobophobe2006-10-24sample.mp3

I’ve been waiting to see The Tyde live for a long long time. Since I first heard Twice I’ve been looking forward to seeing them reproduce those pop gems at a concert. Turns out, they never tour because their lead singer is a kindergarten teacher and he can’t very well just take time off when there are finger paintings to be made. I can forgive him for that. They played all of my favorite songs and it was everything I hoped it could be.

The last time I saw The Black Angels was at the Capitol Hill Block Party in July. It was outside. It was hot. It was bright. It didn’t sound that great. This time it was in a proper venue with their actual sound engineer working the boards. Vocals were echoed and boomy. Guitars were loud and blaring. The house was rocked. All around a really great set with a good crowd. Everyone seemed pretty “into it”.

I got a soundboard feed because I was helping the guys at Live Eye TV with audio and video. I tried matrixing my AUD source to the SBD source and realized I’m really bad at it. I don’t think I know the proper way to matrix a recording because whatever I’m doing isn’t working. The idea I’m using is that the SBD track is the main audio and the AUD track is the auxiliary audio. So in order to keep them in sync, I split up the AUD track by song and shift it so that it lines up with the beginning of the song in the SBD track. This doesn’t seem to work all that well. There has to be a better way… anyone have any advice?

Let me know what you think of the matrix mixes. If you think they suck, I’ll post the separate AUD source. I think The Tyde one is ok but the Black Angels one was tricky because they use so much reverb.

Voyager One – 2006-10-23 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: vo2006-10-23.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: vo2006-10-23sample.mp3

The Tyde – 2006-10-23 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: tyde2006-10-23.akgc1000s.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: tyde2006-10-23sample.mp3

The Black Angels – 2006-10-23 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: ba2006-10-23.akgc1000s.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: ba2006-10-23sample.mp3

Cursive is the kind of band that you listen to on CD and you wonder how well the lead singer really sounds live. It’s so smooth and velvety yet throaty and deep. If you’ve ever seen them live, you know that Tim Kasher’s voice translates perfectly to a live setting. He sounds just like on the albums. I’d wager he sounds even better actually.

Opening for Cursive were Chin Up Chin Up and The Thermals. Both sets were pretty great, I thought. All-around a good show.

Some facts that may interest you:

Chin Up Chin Up – 2006-10-20 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: cucu2006-10-20.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: cucu2006-10-20sample.mp3

The Thermals – 2006-10-20 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: thermals2006-10-20.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: thermals2006-10-20sample.mp3

Cursive – 2006-10-20 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: cursive2006-10-20.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: cursive2006-10-20sample.mp3

Man. I’ve been going to a lot of shows lately. But, you know, I can’t just not go to them. That’s crazy talk for fools and gypsies. I am neither of those thing (no offense to gypsies) so I went to see The Elected and Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s last night at The Paradox. For the uninformed, The Elected is a side project of Rilo Kiley featuring Blake Sennett and Jason Boesel.

When I heard the band name “Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s” I immediately thought of synthy dreampop. I was expecting something straight out of the K Records catalog. You know; 606 drum tracks and a Nord Lead. Well, they had the Nord Lead but they also had: a Fender Rhoads, two guitarists, drums, trumpet, and auxiliary percussion. It was more like big-band alt-country than anything else. Powerfully earnest vocals backed by soft-spoken female harmonies; that sort of thing. Needless to say, it was good. It’s the kind of stuff I dig.

I’d never actually listened to The Elected before this show but I’m more inclined to do so now that I’ve seen them live. The ten minute version of “Biggest Star” impressed the hell out of me. The way Blake and Mike dueled with their guitars… it was like they were making out. The guitars I mean, not the guys. Also: some of the greatest on-stage banter I’ve heard in a while. I will quote:

I bet you can count the number of times someone puts ‘fucking’ in the middle of jelly beans on one hand each year. So, if nothing else, you saw that.

I’ll admit, the awe of being entertained by Joey ‘The Rat’ Epstein never really wore off. I really wanted to scream Live by the rat, die by the rat! at him but I thought that a) would piss him off and b) wouldn’t sound nearly as funny as it does in my head. I think I made a wise choice.

Margot… – 2006-10-17 The Paradox Theatre – Seattle, WA
Download: margot2006-10-17.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: margot2006-10-17sample.mp3

The Elected – 2006-10-17 The Paradox Theatre – Seattle, WA
Download: elected2006-10-17.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: elected2006-10-17sample.mp3

What a great night for instrumental rock. I mean, how often do you get to see three amazing instrumental bands all play in one night? Last night at The Nectar Lounge in Fremont, Caspian, You.May.Die.In.The.Desert and Joy Wants Eternity all played to a crowd of about 30 people and everyone who was there really wanted to be there. It wasn’t like there were people at the bar who didn’t really care about the music… everyone there really wanted to hear these bands play and they were ready to pay attention.

Actually, Caspian wasn’t officially on this bill. They had a lot of trouble booking a venue in Seattle and had even taken the date off of their myspace tourdates because there wasn’t anywhere for them to play. I’m very thankful that You.May.Die.In.The.Desert let them play the show because Caspian puts on a really really awesome show. The new songs are epic and amazing. I’m so excited for the album to drop in February.

The guys in Caspian were so nice too. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to have a member of a band ask me “Can we put this recording on The Archive?” That he even knew about archive.org made me smile and that he wanted the recording to go on the site made me grin even more. How awesome is that?

You.May.Die.In.The.Desert impressed the hell out of me too. I think they are a perfect example of how different instrumental rock can sound when you really try to break out of the box. All three of these guys are amazingly good at their instruments and they use those skills to craft Don Caballero-esque songs that sound like you’re hearing them in that transitory state between waking and sleeping. I fully expect these guys to blow up the scene and get the recognition (and record contract) they deserve.

Caspian – 2006-10-15 Nectar Lounge – Seattle, WA
Download: caspian2006-10-15.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: caspian2006-10-15sample.mp3

You.May.Die.In.The.Desert – 2006-10-15 Nectar Lounge – Seattle, WA
Download: ymditd2006-10-15.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: ymditd2006-10-15sample.mp3

Joy Wants Eternity – 2006-10-15 Nectar Lounge – Seattle, WA
Download: jwe2006-10-15.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: jwe2006-10-15sample.mp3

Always bring your second recording device. Always.

If I had brought my JB3 to the show last night I could have easily gotten a soundboard feed and this was one show where that would have been very helpful. The Sunset Tavern is a bar and people will pay the seven dollar cover charge to go there and talk while all the bands play. Color me confused because I don’t understand this practice. Why these people refuse to go to a bar where there isn’t a cover charge escapes me completely.

That said, I love Math & Physics Club so goddamn much. This is the type of pop music that should be made forever and ever without pause. Charles’ vocals remind me heavily of Jason Korzen (Barcelona, Sprites) but with that soft sheen that you get from singers like Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian). It really is something quite soothing and beautiful. Too bad the drunk crowd was too loud for anyone to hear anything. The beginning of the set was very hard to hear but it got better near the middle when people either quieted down or left. I really wish I had brought my JB3. So angry.

Boat 2006-10-14 Sunset Tavern – Seattle, WA
Download: boat2006-10-14.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: boat2006-10-14sample.mp3

Math & Physics Club 2006-10-14 Sunset Tavern – Seattle, WA
Download: mapc2006-10-14.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: mapc2006-10-14sample.mp3

It’s funny how The Blood Brothers keep getting older but still truck on making music. I guess the funny part about it is as they age and progress in musical maturity, their audience seems to remain trapped in a perpetual state of puberty. See, that’s what I love about Blood Brothers fans: I keep getting older, they stay the same age.

I guess that’s one of the pitfalls of making the style of music that they do; whiny, eccentric, spazztic rock that no sane 20-something would care to bounce around to at a concert. No, us mature folk like to stand at the bar and blithely sip our Manhattans. To tell the truth, I honestly don’t know why no one ever “grows up” with The Blood Brothers. Well, no one but me it seems.

The Blood Brothers played to a fairly packed house of teens at The Old Firehouse in Redmond last night. The crowd was obnoxious and annoying and everything that an all-ages show at The Firehouse should be: full of awkwardly dressed, half-formed, young adults. In all honesty, I go to Blood Brothers shows just to get a quick dose of what horrible fashion some teens are trying to pass off as acceptable. Seriously, next time I’m taking a camera.

Mikaela’s Fiend opened to an unenthused crowd. I don’t think the kids were too keen on being entertained by their peers so they didn’t respond much to Donnie’s between-song banter (which was compounded by the fact that it was hard to understand the winded drummer). The set was fast, unforgiving and vicious. This is why this band will go far. They just don’t quit.

The Blood Brothers took the stage at about 9:00. God bless all-ages shows for starting and ending so early. The band does what they always do and I love them for it. Jordan holds the side of his head like the microphone gives him a migraine. Johnny shakes his head violently in between vocal spews as if it gives him a sickness he has to forcibly remove. Mark destroys the drums in a way that convinces you he really wants them to break. Morgan gracefully handles his bass and keys quietly. Cody brings the jams. It’s The Blood Brothers. There isn’t anything to say that they haven’t said the dozens of times I’ve seen them in the past, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop going to their shows and buying their albums.

Mikaela’s Fiend – 2006-10-13 The Old Firehouse – Redmond, WA
Download: mf2006-10-13.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: mf2006-10-13sample.mp3

The Blood Brothers – 2006-10-13 The Old Firehouse – Redmond, WA
Download: bbrothers2006-10-13.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: bbrothers2006-10-13sample.mp3

Most 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