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Explosions in the Sky – Crocodile Cafe

Brian — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 05:00:53 +0000

Over the past three years I’ve gone to about six concerts and I didn’t record any of those. Showed up late, had some beers, left early sometimes; a stark contrast to my previous habits of showing up to venues when the doors open, watching every band, and staying for the second encore when I didn’t even care about the first one.

This new-found behavior also made me realize that it’s fairly easy to record a concert and not have to do all that other stuff. You can even show up right before the headliner and skip all of the openers who may or may not be interesting. These days my evenings are precious and, to quote my friend Dan,

“When you’re over 30, it has to be more than ‘OK’. When you’re 18 it’s enough to just see live music but these days that’s not enough to get me out of the house.

Now, I’m only 28 but that seems like a reasonable claim if I’ve ever heard one.

This is the first time I’ve taped at the new Crocodile Cafe. I’ve been to a show there and had a good idea of the layout, and just as I suspected would be the case, there aren’t a whole lot of spots to set up a full taping rig at the Croc. There is a railing-enclosed walkway that buffers the soundboard from the crowd which could be a good spot if you have a monopod, but it’s also fairly off-center.

Ultimately, I set up directly to the left of the bar which was good because it’s in the middle of the venue and it’s not a throughway to any exits. Drawbacks include the wall directly behind the mic stand and the increased possibility of people standing around and talking (since it’s in the back).

The recording turned out pretty well considering I just set it up and forgot about it until the show was over. A few missteps here and there from the band but really solid performances of The Birth and Death of the Day and The Only Moment We Were Alone. Surprisingly, they have added an additional touring member to the band who fills in on both bass and guitar. I’ll have to listen to my other recordings and see if they sound is any fuller with the additional player.

Explosions in the Sky – 2011-09-07 Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
Download FLAC: eits2011-09-07.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
Download MP3: eits2011-09-07.akgc1000s.mp3.zip

MP3 Sample: eits2011-09-07.sample.mp3

Snippets (2010-07-29)

Brian — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:00:00 +0000

I'm at a crossroads in my life where I don't know if I fit better in small or medium American Apparel t-shirts. #firstworldproblems #

Snippets (2010-05-08)

Brian — Sun, 09 May 2010 01:00:00 +0000

Posting to twitter through Bitlbee in irssi through a shell: a beautiful thing. #

Caspian DVD re-seed

Brian — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:27:40 +0000

I’m re-seeding Caspian’s performance at Ground Zero in Bellevue. Here is a link to The Traders’ Den: caspian2007-04-28.hv20.akgc1000s.dvdf.torrent

I might even get crazy and make a DVD cover for it today. Who’s got some cool ideas?

Snippets (2009-12-20)

Brian — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:00:00 +0000

I feel like such a Luddite saying this obvious fact but 720p XBMC on an LCD TV is so much better than 480i on a CRT. #

KEXP’s Song of the Day for Mondays

Brian — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:45:47 +0000

Hello readers. The summer is almost over and I will be living in Eugene, Oregon in the fall. This means that I’ll be back in a city with a hospitable taping environment and venues that host bands that are not Uncle Wilson’s Bluegrass Experience. Expect some uploads from me around late September.

Secondly, in addition to filming in studio performances, I am now working for KEXP as a contributing writer to the Song of the Day feature. If you’re interested in reading my entries, make sure to read the write-ups on Mondays.

Here are some entries I’ve already written:

Rubik – No Escape (2009-08-10)

Yppah – Sunflower Sunkissed (2009-08-03)

So Many Dynamos – New Bones (2009-07-27)

El Ten Eleven – 2009-04-17

Brian — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:07:01 +0000

In April, El Ten Eleven swung through Seattle and played KEXP and The Sunset Tavern. The weather at the time was nice. So nice, in fact, that I was able to ride my bike to KEXP to help film the in studio performance at the station.

It was a nice preview of what was to come later that evening in Ballard. I remember at the time thinking that it was unfortunate that all I could hear was the guitar parts and the live drums. Any of the triggered effects and electronic drums were just implied hits on plastic. Then I thought about how that is a fairly interesting way to take in a song by one of your favorite bands.

It was ten hours later that they came on at the bar. You.May.Die.In.The.Desert was there again but I missed their set trying to meet up with a videographer connection. My equipment was running and I had my camera ready at the front. Tim gave me a Panasonic unit that someone let him borrow for the tour. It shot in 4:3 but I wasn’t about to turn down a free angle. I let it sit on the drummer and taped it down to the ground. Dan showed up and filmed the other side of the stage with his camera.

The band played and came back for their encore that they seemed genuinely gracious about. I think they like Seattle and I know Seattle loves them. Town is full of design and layout nerds. I could be one of them but I’m too afraid to say it. I’m not afraid to say that the recording came out ok and it still sucks to tape the Sunset.

I don’t know if this is something they want people to know but there are stem files of their songs available for remixes. You could probably Sam Spade your way to the directory if you use your head.

MP3 Sample: ete2009-04-17sample.mp3

Download:
FLAC: ete2009-04-17.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3: ete2009-04-17.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.mp3.zip

El Ten Eleven – KEXP In-Studio Performance

Brian — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:39:16 +0000

I don’t have the source files of the recordings or anything but here is the El Ten Eleven in-studio performance I helped film at KEXP back in April. I filmed near the drummer with a Canon AH-X1 and Jim Beckman filmed the other angle with a Canon HV-30. Kevin Suggs is in the booth. Kristian and Tim are on the interesting parts of these videos.

Snippets (2009-06-15)

Brian — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:00:00 +0000

just loved Skee-Lo – I Wish (Audiostalkers Remix) http://x.hypem.com/HtcAw on @hypem #

A lack of updates, a lack of opportunities

Brian — Fri, 15 May 2009 06:39:32 +0000

The reason you’re not seeing any new concerts uploaded from me is simple. I currently live in an area where concerts are sort of limited. See, I recently drove to Alaska from Seattle to live at my girlfriend’s family cabin outside of Wasilla. And that’s where I’ll be all summer.

As far as I know, the only worthwhile concert coming up is The Beach Boys at the state fair in August. I haven’t yet done much research into what sort of concerts are coming to town but I’m not holding my breath for anything worth my time. When I went to high school up here the only bands that came to town were shit like The Offspring or KISS.

We’ll see, though. We’ll see.