Category: Uncategorized

Avacado Sundae – San Luis Obispo, CA (05/14/93)

Avocado Sundae
5/14/93
SLO Brewing Company
San Luis Obispo, CA

Yamaha 16 Channel Soundboard; Sony TC-D5M Cassette Master
Cassette Master Transferred: Sony TC-D5M (Original Record Deck) >Tascam DR-100mkII (16/44.1)
WAV >Audacity (Track Splits, Minor Edits) >FLAC (Level 8) Via xACT 2.37

Recorded, Transferred, FLAC’d, Tagged, & Front-Cover Artwork By OldNeumanntapr

Need Set List!!!

Members:
Pete Delaney – Guitar
Bill Burke – Keyboards
Rich Mahan – Bass
Neil Gegna – Drums

OldNeumanntapr Notes-
This was the first of 46 SLO Brew shows that I would record throughout the next twenty three and a half years. From 1988 to 2001 the bands played upstairs at SLO Brew next to the restaurant. In mid 2001 the stage was enlarged and moved downstairs and the capacity was increased to 457 people. It was still a nice intimate setting, but larger than what it used to be upstairs. I have never seen this band before, or since. My friend little Jack used to do sound at SLO Brewing Company back in the early 90s. This was before Kip became the house sound man, as Kip was still doing sound at Loco Ranchero up on the hill across town where KSBY TV Channel 6 is now. I helped Jack on occasion with the load in/out and set up/tear down of sound equipment at various local venues. I recorded Avocado Sundae through Jack’s 16 channel Yamaha mixer board with my Sony D5. The board was old, and was taken from a club in Los Angeles that had been town down. It had dust in the sliders because it was stored in a barn and we used to use it out doors in the summertime to do blues concerts, but it had great analog sound. I had jack give me a stereo output for this show and I think it sounds good. Avocado Sundae is a good California psychedelic jam band, based in Fairfax. I was surprised that there wasn’t any other Avocado Sundae shows on etree. I tried to reach out to the band to get them a copy (and to get a set list for the show) but I don’t do the Facebook thing and that seems to be the only way to get a hold of them. Someone please make sure they hear this recording. I took the band member’s names off of Facebook and correlated them with the onstage band intros to match up the musicians with the instruments, but I wasn’t certain about who did the respective vocals, so I left that blank.

DO NOT Convert To MP3!
Enjoy! Share freely, don’t sell, play nice, don’t run with scissors, etc. 😉

Bridge School Benefit – Mountain View, CA (10/18/98)

Bridge School Benefit
10/18/98
Shoreline Amphitheater
Mountain View, CA

SEC 203, Row P, Seat 22
Nyquist Omnis >Sony TCD-D7
DAT Master Transfered: Tascam DA-30 >HHb CDR 800 PRO Via Analog i/o,
CD Masters >FLAC (Level 8) Via xACT 2.28
FLAC >WAV >Audacity (De-Amplify Countless Close-Proximity Hand Claps, Various Crowd-Noise Reduction, Minor Edits & Fades) >Fix SBEs >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53

(Recorded, Transferred, FLAC, Tags, & Front-Cover Artwork By OldNeumanntapr)

Disc I:
Neil Young:

  1. Looking Forward
  2. I Am A Child

The Eels: (not recorded except for:)

  1. Novocaine For The Soul

Pete Droge/Mike McCready: (not recorded)

Jonathan Richman: (not recorded)

The Wallflowers:

  1. Three Marlenas
  2. One Headlight
  3. Don’t Cry No Tears (Neil Young* Cover)
  4. 6th Avenue Heartache
  5. Invisible City
  6. Heroes (David Bowie Cover)

The Barenaked Ladies:

  1. Old Apartment
  2. Straw Hat And Old Dirty Hank
  3. My Fly Was Undone
  4. It’s All Been Done
  5. Jane
  6. One Week
  7. Brian Wilson
  8. If I Had A Million Dollars >
  9. Memories >
    The Medley

Disc II:
Sarah McLachlan:

  1. Adia
  2. Possession
  3. Elsewhere
  4. I Love You
  5. Angel
  6. Ice Cream
  7. The Path Of Thorns
  8. Building A Mystery (cuts)

Neil Young:

  1. From Hank To Hendrix
  2. Distant Camera
  3. Horseshoe Man
  4. After The Gold Rush
  5. Expecting To Fly
  6. Powderfinger
  7. Ambulance Blues

Disc III:
R.E.M.:

  1. Losing My Religion
  2. New Test Leper
  3. Country Feedback (w/Neil Young)
  4. Daysleeper
  5. At My Most Beautiful
  6. Electrolite
  7. Everybody Hurts
  8. Man On The Moon

Disc IV:
Phish:

  1. Hello My Baby
  2. Billy Breathes
  3. Piper
  4. Roggae
  5. Loving Cup (Rolling Stones Cover)
  6. Albuquerque (Neil Young Cover)
  7. The Old Home Place (Dillards Cover)
  8. Guyute
  9. Brian And Robert
  10. Sad Lisa (Cat Stevens Cover) w/Sarah McLachlan

Neil Young & Cast:

  1. Four Strong Winds
  2. I Shall Be Released

*Not Recorded (except for ’Novocaine Of The Soul’

OldNeumanntapr Notes:
This was the last Bridge School Benefit that I recorded, and the first with the custom hat-loaded Nyquist Omnis. We had a seat this time, as compared to the first two years in 1991 and 1992 when I froze my behind off up on the lawn. Shoreline can get cold for the Bridge shows, especially because they are always in October or November. I had seen The Barenaked Ladies before, in Avila Beach, and I knew they were good and funny as well. I hadn’t ever seen The Wallflowers, R.E.M., Sarah McLachlan, or Phish before so that was a treat. I really liked the acoustic Phish show, much more than when I saw them play electric. They really seemed to be having fun during their set. I really enjoyed hearing Sarah and Phish sing the Cat Steven’s song ‘Sad Lisa’. I noticed that when REM played there was someone recording with large diaphragm microphones, which could have been AKG 414s. I’ve never seen that source circulate before however. My friends Dave and Brian were with me, and my ex-wife Nikki, at this show. I think Dave had a single seat down in the 100 sections, but Brian was seated next to me on my right. At the end of the Phish show I turned to Brian and said, “I was waiting for you to say, There’s that scruffy guy with the hat again”, which is what he said, referring to Neil Young, at a previous Bridge School Benefit.

Do NOT Convert To MP3.
Enjoy! Share freely, don’t sell, play nice, don’t run with scissors, etc. 😉

Bridge School Benefit – Mountain View, CA (11/06/93)

Bridge School Benefit
11/6/93
Shoreline Amphitheatre
Mountain View, CA

Nakamichi CM-300’s w/CP-1s >Sony WM-D6C Cassette Master >CDR,
(Recorded/Transferred By OldNeumanntapr) SEC 204, Row S, Seat #11
Cass Master (XLIIS) Transferred: Sony TC-D5M >HHb CDR 800 PRO Via Analog i/o,
CD Masters > Audacity (Minor Edits) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53
Audacity, FLAC, Tags, + Front-Cover Artwork By OldNeumanntapr

Disc I:
–Neil Young–

  1. Sugar Mountain
  2. Mother Earth

–Melissa Etheridge–
Come To My Window (Not Recorded)

  1. You Can Sleep While I Drive
  2. Bring Me Some Water
  3. Piece Of My Heart

–Warren Zevon–

  1. The Lakes Of Pontchartrain
  2. Searching For A Heart
  3. Splendid Isolation (w/ Neil Young)
  4. Tenderness On The Block
  5. Frank & Jesse James -tape flip—
  6. //Werewolves of London.

–Heart–
NOT RECORDED

Disc II:
–Sammy Hagar & Eddie Van Halen–

  1. This Is Love
  2. Love Comes Walkin’ In
  3. Right Now
  4. Best Of Both Worlds

–Bonnie Raitt–

  1. The Road’s My Middle Name
  2. Nobody’s Girl
  3. Angel from Montgomery
  4. Down In Mississippi (JB Lenoir cover)
  5. Kokomo Blues:
    Write Me A Few Of Your Lines
  6. Thing Called Love
  7. Love Has No Pride (w/Graham Nash)

Disc III:
–Neil Young–

  1. Stranger In Paradise
  2. After The Goldrush
  3. I’ll Always Be A Part Of You (Train Of Love)

–Simon & Garfunkel–

  1. The Boxer
  2. America
  3. Homeward Bound
  4. Mrs Robinson
  5. Scarborough Fair
  6. Feeling Groovy
  7. Bridge Over Troubled Waters
  8. Sound Of Silence (Eddie Van Halen guitar solo)
  9. Rockin’ in the Free World

OldNeumanntapr Notes:
This was the third Bridge show in a row that I recorded. This year we had reserved seats in SEC 204. It was nice having a place to sit but I think recording off the repeaters gave a better sound to the recording (Unless you were blessed to have SEC 100 series seats.) I love hearing Neil acoustic, and especially with other guest musicians. This was the only time I’d ever seen Warren Zevon, or Melissa Etheridge. I don’t remember why I elected not to record Heart. Maybe I was trying to conserve tape? I don’t know. I don’t personally care for the band Van Halen, but it was nice to see Eddie playing acoustic. I like Sammy’s acoustic playing a lot. I had first heard him play acoustic on a recording of the ’89 Bridge show. Those tapes were the catalyst that made me want to see and record a Bridge show for myself. I love recording Bonnie Raitt, and have enjoyed her music ever since I recorded her opening for the Dead on NYE in ’89, but Simon and Garfunkel was the reason I was there that night. My ex wife Nikki and I had listened to a LOT of Simon and Garfunkel albums when we were first married in 1984. That set was like a dream come true, because I never thought I would get to see them reunite.

Do NOT Convert To MP3.
Enjoy! Share freely, don’t sell, play nice, don’t run with scissors, etc. 😉

Alfred Hitchcock’s America by Murray Pomerance

cover

Alfred Hitchcock is one of my favorite directors. His movies are immensely entertaining, and utterly rewatchable, but also incredibly crafted and full of deep themes and meaning.

His best films were made in America (though there are still plenty of good ones made during his British period) and this book digs deep into how America influenced the great director and how he influenced American culture.

As much as I love movies I don’t actually read a lot of books about them. I do read a lot of articles online, but my library is definitely lacking in good books about cinema.

I read and reviewed this one for Cinema Sentries. Judging by the shortness of my review I don’t think I really loved it, or at least I didn’t have much to say about it. Books like this are hard to review because they are well-researched and informative, but also quite dull. Anyway, my review is here.

Bruce Springsteen – Stockholm, Sweden (06/15/92)

Bruce Springsteen
Stockholm Globe Arena
Stockholm, Sweden
June 15, 1992


(Two Of Us Master Series Volume 229)
Recorder 3

Recording: Shure Mic > Sony WM-D6C
Patch Recording: Sony 929LT Mic > Sony D3

Transfer: Master tapes > Nakamichi DR-01 (azimuth adjusted) > USB Sound Devices > Audacity > iZotope RX / ozone 9 (mastered) > xACT 2.50 > FLAC

01 Better Days (uncirculated Recorder 4)
02 Star Spangled Banner Intro (uncirculated Recorder 4)
01 Born In The USA (first 4:44 patched with uncirculated Recorder 4)
02 Local Hero
03 Lucky Town
04 Darkness On The Edge Of Town
05 If I Should Fall Behind
06 57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)
07 The Big Muddy
08 Living Proof
09 My Hometown
10 Leap Of Faith
11 Man’s Job
12 Roll Of The Dice
13 Gloria’s Eyes
14 Cover Me
15 Brilliant Disguise with Patti Scialfa
16 With Every Wish
17 Souls Of The Departed
18 Real World
19 Light Of Day
20 Human Touch with Patti Scialfa
21 Glory Days
22 Working On The Highway
23 Bobby Jean
24 Hungry Heart
25 My Beautiful Reward

Known Faults:
-Better Days: Recorder 4
-Star Spangled Banner: Recorder 4
-Born In The USA: first 4:44 patched with Recorder 4
-Cover Me: last 3 seconds patched with Recorder 4
-Brilliant Disguise: first 14 seconds patched with Recorder 4
-Glory Days: 25 seconds patched with Recorder 4

Between 1983 and 2002 there were not any tapers more active than the “Two Of Us”. For the better part of two decades they taped over 250 artists with an array being taped multiple times.

If you collect Springsteen then you are already familiar with some of their work, “fmcleanboots” has posted a half dozen or so of their “Tunnel Of Love” tour shows but has decided to pass the baton.

What you don’t know is their passion was not just for Springsteen but for music and that passion runs deep. It is astonishing how many artists they taped.

They followed tours taping club shows, theater shows, arena shows, big artists, mid-level artists and local artists.

If they were following a tour and the tour had an off night they’d see who else was playing that night to tape. Always focused on enjoyment of the show as the priority,
tickets were for the most part acquired outside of the venue as they worked to obtain the best possible seats, continually trading up until the correct seats were acquired.

The results of this were the captures are uniformly excellent but on occasion the start of the show was sacrificed as a trade-off for the seats.

The heavy lifting was done by the Sony WM-D6C and an external Shure Mic before moving to DAT for the last couple of years. None of their masters have ever been circulated and
have been safely stored for the past three to four decades in a climate controlled environment. Tapes transferred so far are in pristine condition.

Though we may do some mini releases of a series of shows in order for one portion of a tour for the most part shows will not be released in order, there are just too many of them.

This will be a very exciting series and we hope along the way we upgrade existing circulating audio and offer up shows that do not have any circulating audio, enjoy the ride, this is definitely not a dark ride.

Batman: Assault on Arkham

cover

It is funny to me now, but when I watched and reviewed this movie I had no idea what the Suicide Squad was, nor hardly any of the characters who made up the Squad (including Deadshot and Killer Frost). Now of course the Suicide Squad has had a couple of major live-action movies made about them and are a household name. But then they were just comic book characters.

The movie is pretty good. DC had done a great job making all sorts of animated feature films, many of which are better than the live-action ones they’ve put on the big screen.

You can read my full review here.

Blues Traveler – Ventura, CA (05/23/92)

Blues Traveler
May 23rd, 1992
Ventura Theatre
Ventura, CA

Master:
Aiwa CM-30 Stereo Cardioid >Sony WM-D6C >Cass(m)
Front Row, Left; Balcony

Conversion:
Sony TC-D5M >HHb CDR 800 PRO Standalone >CD

Extraction:
CD >xACT 1.69 (cdparanoia) >AIFF >xACT 1.69 >FLAC
by Dave Mallick

Recorded, Transferred, FLAC Tags, & Front-Cover Artwork By Oldneumanntapr

Disc 1 [77:35.51]

  1. Intro                         [03:07.48]
  2. M//ulling It Over             [07:10.70]
  3. Optimistic Thought            [04:00.49]
  4. Out Of My Hands >             [04:12.31]
  5. Should I Stay Or Should I Go? [08:52.59]
  6. All In The Groove             [07:05.34]
  7. Ivory Tusk/                   [06:53.16]
  8. American Way                  [06:36.14]
  9. Trina Magna                   [08:15.40]
  10. Gotta Get Mean >              [04:24.42]
  11. Gloria >                      [14:52.59]
  12. Gotta Get Mean/               [02:03.39]

Disc 2 [65:48.43]

  1. 100 Years                     [06:11.11]
  2. Manhattan Bridge              [07:13.31]
  3. Sweet Pain                    [10:46.30]
  4. Sweet Talking Hip//pie        [19:49.26]
  5. Dropping Some NYC >           [02:46.07]
  6. As We Wonder                  [04:50.34]
  7. NY Prophesie                  [07:06.14]
  8. But Anyway (encore)          [07:05.40]

Notes:

  • Brief skip forward in d1t02. Tape flip at 18:00 of d2t04.
  • Single slashes denote tape flips or stoppages where no music
      is missing.

OldNeumanntapr Notes-
This was the first time that I had seen Blues Traveler. I didn’t know that they allowed recording. I guess I should have asked for a board patch but instead I ran up to the balcony to get a front row spot. The Nakamichi CM-300s probably would have sounded better but for some reason I chose to go with the little Aiwa stereo mic. It was a pretty good show and I still have the t-shirt! The recording is OK but would have sounded better with the CM-300s. I added it to etree because I noticed that this date wasn’t listed at all in the master list. Thanks to Dave Mallick for the help with the set list.

Persona (1966)

cover art

I am not a great intellectual. I’m not even that smart. When I talk about movies I try to impart at least some sense of their themes and meaning, but I’m not very good at it.

I tend to connect to movies with my gut not my brain. I talk about them from an emotional standpoint not necessarily an intellectual one. I don’t know if that’s good, or bad, but that’s the way it is.

I love Ingmar Bergman’s films. He is, perhaps, one of the most intellectual filmmakers to have ever made a film. I do connect to them emotionally, but I have a difficult time understanding why. Persona is one of his most difficult films to understand, and yet I love it still.

I struggled with my review over it because I felt I needed to talk about it from an intellectual point of view, and yet I’m not sure I understood anything about what it means. You don’t have to. It stands on its own as a beautiful mystery.

Classic Drama Collection: Emma, The Woman In White, Jane Eyre, The Death of the Heart, The Lady’s Not For Burning

cover art

I rotate between being a physical media snob and a guy who wants to grab everything, no matter how cheap. There are a number of boutique Blu-ray labels (Criterion, Arrow, etc.) that put out these really nice discs. They restore the audio/video, load them with extras including making-of featurettes, audio commentaries, and more, and put them in attractive-looking boxes and include lovely little booklets to go with them.

They are awesome. They are also expensive. I love them, but I ain’t exactly rich.

Then there are companies who put out lots of cheap sets. They don’t do any type of restoration to the video, they come in cheap plastic, and they include very few extras. Often they’ll bundle multiple movies into a single set.

The snob in me prefers the fancy sets, but my budget often tells me to just buy the cheap stuff. It depends on the day on which part of me I listen to.

Truth be told I don’t care that much about audio/video presentation. I mean there are limits, I don’t like grainy images projected with poor lighting, etc. I want things to look as good as they can, but at the end of the day, I’m not upset if I’m watching something on the lower end of the spectrum instead of ultra-high-quality 4K productions.

I don’t love the way those mult-movie sets look on my shelf, but for the right price, I’ll get down with it.

That’s a long-winded introduction to this set featuring five cinematic adaptations of British literature/drama. It is a nice, if rather bare-boned set. This is actually the kind of thing this sort of set is good for. On their own, I don’t know that I would purchase any of these movies. They are mostly made-for-TV type deals, with not incredible production volumes. But they are still good movies and bundled up like this makes it a good purchase.

Anyway, you can read my review of it here.

Little Orphan Annie, Volume Ten: The Junior Commandos by Harold Gray 

cover

For a little while I was getting a bunch of these really amazing-looking hard-bound comics from The American Library of Comics for review. Half the time I had little interest in the comics themselves, but they books are so beautiful I wanted to own them, so I wrote reviews.

I can’t say I’ve ever been particularly interested in Little Orphan Annie, but judging from my review (written ten years ago) I rather enjoyed this one. Maybe I should give them another try.