Roy Gaines – Avila Beach, CA (05/27/01)

Roy Gaines
5/27/01
Avila Blues Festival
Avila Beach Resort
Avila Beach, CA

7th Row Center, Right: Neumann AK-40’s (x/y) >LC3 >KM-100’s >Beyer MV-100 >Sony SBM-1 >Sony TCD-D7, (16bit/44.1kHz)

DAT Master Transferred: Tascam DA-30 >HHb CDR 800 PRO,
Taio Uden CD Master >FLAC (Level 8) Via xACT 2.28

(Recorded, Transferred, FLAC’d, Tagged (xACT 2.53), & Front Cover Photo / Artwork By OldNeumanntapr)

[NEED SET LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.

Opened For Jonny Lang

OldNeumanntapr Notes;
I’ve recorded MANY of the Avila Beach Blues Festivals over the years and this one was one of the best. I thought that both Roy Gaines and Jonny Lang played excellent sets. Thankfully I had help bringing in my gear and was able to not only take in my Neumann recording mics, preamp, and DAT recorder but also my Nikon FM2N and 300 f/2.8 AIS manual-focus Nikkor lens. It’s extremely difficult to both record AND photograph a concert in broad daylight covertly, but I pulled it off. I took very few photos, because my six-pound Nikkor telephoto is very conspicuous and I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. Thanks, as always, to my friend Dave for all his help.

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

Los Lobos – Avila Beach, CA (10/10/99)

Los Lobos
10/10/99
Avila Beach Resort
Avila Beach, CA

Digital Soundboard; XLR >Tascam DA-P1
Master DAT Transferred: Tascam DA-30 >S/PDIF >HHb CDR 800 PRO,
Tayio-Uden CD Masters >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53

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

Disc 1 (40:48)

  1. Revolution 4:42
  2. Dear Mr. Fantasy 3:38
  3. You’ve Got to Lose 5:10
  4. Angel Dance 5:01
  5. My Baby’s Gone 3:57
  6. Dream in Blue 8:43
  7. Maricela 3:32
  8. This Time 6:03

Disc 2 (43:35)

  1. Oh Yeah 5:29
  2. Cumbia Raza 5:03
  3. Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio 3:12
  4. Soy Mexico Americano 2:38
  5. I Got To Let You Know 2:37
  6. Volver, Volver 4:42
  7. Don’t Worry Baby 6:22

Encores

  1. She’s About A Mover 5:14
  2. Not Fade Away 2:02
  3. Bertha 6:11

Opened For The Doobie Brothers

Louie Ortega was special guest.
Louie lives around this neck of the woods and plays the local clubs quite frequently.

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

OldNeumanntapr Notes-
The sound on this show was really good but I thought that the music wasn’t as good as the Fremont Theater show from ’92. Maybe it was because they were just an opening set. It was nice to patch my Tascam DA-P1 into the board! I remember that I asked Louie, the Los Lobos soundman, for a patch. One of the local sound crew guys looked really puzzled and asked him, ‘Is he a Friend of yours???’ ‘No’, Louie said, ‘He’s a TAPER.’ This guy looked Really confused!!! I laughed and said thanks. After the set I was getting ready to unplug my deck and the Doobie’s sound man came over and said, ‘Don’t think you’re gonna stay plugged in for the Doobies!’ ‘No’, I said and decided to give a smart assed remark. ‘I hate the Doobies. I just wanted to see Los Lobos and I’m leaving now.’ I watched the Doobies set from the audience but wasn’t that impressed. I miss Michael McDonald.

This was an old DAT Heads post of mine that I recently came across, further telling the tale.

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 11:06:35 -0700 (PDT)

Greetings all. Had a good time in Avila but it amazes me how some bands
are SO against live recording.

I had to smuggle my DA-P1, Eco Charge, patch cables and XLR cables into
the show which was no small feat.

Had a Heck of a time finding Louie Stetzel, the sound man for Los Lobos.
They were opening for The Doobie Brothers and the Doobie soundman seemed a
little ‘hard edged.’

As I have observed before the local sound people, promoters, etc are
Clueless about taping so it’s always best to go straight to the ones in
the know.

I asked one of the local sound guys as to the whereabouts of Louie and he
looked at me and said, ‘I don’t know but there is NO recording or
photography’. I was a Little shocked as I had not Asked for recording
permission, only to the whereabouts of Louie.

I thought about this for a minute until he said, ‘You taped Derek Trucks
in Morro Bay didn’t you?’. He was on to me. 😉 I admitted that I had.

I Finally found Louie over by the board about 5 minutes before show time.
I don’t like asking to patch in at the last moment because I feel that it
is rude and inconsiderate but after searching for Louie for 30 minutes I
had no choice.

I approached the board and asked, ‘I was told that I could get a patch
today?’

He said ‘Certainly!’ and looked to one of the local sound crew guys and
said , ‘Give him a line out Brent’. The guy looked a LITTLE shocked to say
the least! I had been hearing from Several people (mostly the Doobie
Brothers’ people that ‘THERE IS TO BE NO TAPING, PRO PHOTOGRAPHY OR
VIDEO).

Brent looked at Louie and said in a shocked voice, ‘Is he a Friend of
yours….???’

‘No’, Louie said. He’s a TAPER!’ He said it in such a tone of voice like
it was Such a stupid question that this guy should have Known better! 🙂

I was smiling now! I said thanks and asked where I could set up.
He said that I could set up my deck on the amp rack case on the soundboard
platform and I opened my pack and brought out my deck and cables. The
other guy’s eyes bugged out! Louie asked what I had and I said that I had
a DA-P1 and could take RCA’s or XLR’s. He had a spare set of XLR outputs
on the board and I gave the ends of my cables to Brent and he plugged me
in. My cables are 12 feet long and I just Barely had enough length!!

Obviously this other guy had never seen tapers before. He was amazed
that I was able to bring all this stuff in when security was supposed to
be ‘so tight’.

Louie then asked if I needed anything else. ‘You need power?’ he asked.
No that’s OK’, I said. ‘I have a Lead acid battery.’

Right then another taper came up and asked for a patch and Louie directed
him to me. ‘I already gave my output to this guy. Chain off of him’, he
said.

The other taper had a Sony D8.. He plugged into
my DA-P1’s outputs. Luckily for him I was there because he did NOT have
XLR cables.

He was following the band and had a pass enabling him to bring in
equipment. He was Also amazed that I got my gear in without a pass! 😉

We ran the whole Los Lobos set through the board. Louie really bent over
backwards for us!! I had heard him mentioned on DAT Heads as being pro
taper but it’s always nice to witness it 1st hand. 🙂

Mark, the other taper told me,’don’t unplug yet and we’ll see if the
Doobies will allow us a patch.’ I Laughed! ‘Good LUCK!’ I said and told
him how adamant they were against it.

After the encore the Doobie’s soundman came up and looked at all of our
gear and said, ‘This stuff will All disappear right gentlemen?’ in a
Really sarcastic voice.

‘You don’t even allow microphone recording?’ asked Mark.

‘If you do I’d have to throw you out personally’ the guy said. What a jerk
I thought.

As I was packing up I looked at him and said, ‘I just wanted to tell you
that I didn’t bring mics and I’m not going to bother stealth recording
your band. I was only planning on taping Los Lobos through the board
because I haven’t liked the Doobie
Brothers since Michael McDonald left. In fact, I’m leaving now.’

Mark and I talked about how live recording is basically free advertising.
I was true to my word and went along with the band’s wishes and did not
stealth them. But they really turned me off with their attitude.
How can two bands that share the stage so close together in time be So
different!!!

Sorry for the long rambles but I wanted to share this story with you all.

Louie, Thanks again!!!!! RIP

Etta James – Avila Beach, CA (05/28/00)

Etta James & The Roots Band
Avila Beach Blues Festival
Avila Beach Resort
Avila Beach, CA
May 28, 2000

Source: Nyquist Omnis > Sony TCD-D7
Transfer: DAT Master > Tascam DA-P1 > coax > HHb CDR 800 PRO > AIFF > .WAV (via xACT 1.73)
Mastering: .WAV’s > Sound Forge Pro 10.0a (minor edits & normalize) > CDWav (tracking) > Trader’s Little Helper (level 5) > FLAC
Location: 6th row, center
Recorded, Transferred, FLAC Tags (Via xACT 2.53), + Front-Cover Artwork Photo By: Oldneumanntapr
Mastered by: Dennis Orr

Setlist:

  • Disc One –
  1. Instrumental
  2. Instrumental
  3. Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home
  4. I’d Rather Be A Blind Girl
  5. Come To Mama (with Ya Ya tease)
  6. You Can Leave Your Hat On
  • Disc Two –
  1. I’ll Take Care Of You
  2. Baby, What You Want Me To Do >
  3. Bright Lights, Big City >
  4. The Things I USed To Do >
  5. Baby, What You Want Me To Do
  6. Love And Happiness >
  7. Take Me To The River >
  8. Love And Happiness (with Band Intros) >
  9. My Funny Valentine >
  10. Love And Happiness
  11. Outro

Etta James – vocals
Bobby Murray – guitar
Leo Nocentelli – guitar
Marty Graham – piano & organ
Donto James – drums
Sametto James – bass
Lee Thornburg – trombone
Jimmy Zavala – tenor sax
Tommy Poole – trumpet

OldNeumanntapr Notes:
I always loved the Avila Beach Blues Festivals. I had connections and was able to get my gear into the festival without too much trouble. For this show, not only did I bring in the audio gear, but I also took in my black body Nikon FM2N and 300mm f/2.8 AIS manual focus Nikkor telephoto lens. In the early days of the festivals, the stage was perpendicular to the bay, which meant that the crowds looked directly into the setting sun before it set behind the hills. In later years the stage was moved and placed parallel to the bay. I had to wait until the sun was down behind the stage canopy and the lighting was better before shooting any photos, and I had to be careful with that big lens not to be too obvious. I used one of my photos for the front-cover artwork for this recording. Of all the blues shows that I’ve seem, this was one of the best. As I remember, there was a rider in Etta’s contract that called for an elevator to get her on stage because she was around 400 lbs, and the venue staff were not being able to get one. They ended up having several people push her up the stairs to the stage…and the Show Went On!

Thanks so much to Dennis Orr for the post-production on this one. He always does a fine job in that department. RIP Etta. You were wonderful!

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

James Cotton Trio – Avila Beach, CA (05/24/94)


James Cotton Trio
5/24/94
Avila Beach Resort
Avila Beach, CA
1st Annual Avila Beach Blues Festival

(FOB) Nyquist Omnis >Sony TCD-D3
DAT Master Transferred Via: Tascam DA-P1 >S/PDIF >HHb CDR 800 PRO
CD Masters >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53

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

(Opened For John Mayall And The Blues Breakers)

  1. Intro > Honky Tonk Train*
  2. It Must Have Been The Devil*#
  3. Instrumental^
  4. Instrumental
  5. Got My Mojo Workin’
  6. Blow Wind Blow
  7. Instrumental
  8. Instrumental
  9. Instrumental
  10. Honey Bee
  11. Instrumental

*David & Steve only, no James
^James Cotton Intro

James Cotton – Harp & Vocals
David Maxwell – Piano
Steve Freund – Guitar & Vocals #

OldNeumanntapr Notes-
This was only the second time that I had used the Nyquist Omni sound hat, and also the second time that I had used the TCD-D3. (My friend Jack, in Salt Lake City, Fed Ex’ed the deck and sound hat to me to record The Jerry Garcia Band earlier in the month so I used it again for this show. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to remove the nine volt battery from the battery box that ran the Nyquist’s (and also acted as a preamp to step up the mic level signal to line level), so when I did my sound check at the Blues Festival I wasn’t getting any levels. I was able to scrounge another nine volt at the show but it died 30 minutes into the John Mayall set. (The battery box was custom made and had no on off switch.) Important lesson learned! At least I got the Cotton set. I recorded this about 10 feet in front of the right PA stack in the ‘Golden Circle’ area up front. There was another band that opened for Cotton but I can’t remember who it was. The Avila Blues Festivals are always multiple acts. This set is mostly instrumentals, most likely because James’ voice was so trashed.

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

Elvin Bishop – Avila Beach, CA (05/28/95)

Elvin Bishop
5/28/95
Avila Beach Resort
Avila Beach, CA
Avila Beach Blues Festival

FOB: Nyquist Omnis >Sony TCD-D7
DAT Master Transferred: Tascam DA-30 >HHb CDR 800 PRO Via Analog i/o,
CD Masters >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53

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

  1. Pig Meat On The Line
  2. My Dog
  3. Beer Drinking Woman
  4. Rock My Soul
  5. Travelin’ Shoes
  6. Think
  7. In The Still Of The Night >
  8. Fooled Around And Fell In Love
  9. Give Me Some Of That Money
  10. Fishin’
  11. Party ‘Til The Cows Come Home
  12. Little Brown Bird
  13. Booty Bumpin’

Opened For Robert Cray

OldNeumanntapr Notes-
This was the second annual Avila Beach Blues Festival, following last year’s sets by James Cotton who opened for John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers. The Avila Beach Resort is a golf course located right on the beach in Avila Beach, and is a beautiful setting for summertime concerts. This was the first time that I had seen / recorded Elvin Bishop.

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

Johnny Lang – Avila Beach, CA (05/27/01)

Jonny Lang
5/27/01
Avila Beach Resort,
Avila Beach, CA
‘Avila Beach Blues Festival’

7th Row Center:
Neumann AK-40’s (x/y) >LC3 >KM-100’s >Beyer MV-100 >SBM-1 >Sony TCD-D7
DAT Master Transferred: Tascam DA-30 >HHb CDR 800 PRO Via Analog i/o
Tayio-Uden CD Masters Transferred With xACT 2.24 >WAV >FLAC (Level 8)
FLAC Tags Via xACT 2.53

Recorded, Transferred, FLAC, Tags, & Front-Artwork Photo + Artwork By OldNeumanntapr

Disc I:

  1. Still Rainin’
  2. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
  3. A Quitter Never Wins
  4. Before You Hit The Ground >The Levee
  5. Walking Away
  6. Right Back
  7. Second Guessing

Disc II:

  1. Rack ‘Em Up
  2. It’s Only The Wind
  3. Irish Angel
  4. I Am

Encore:

  1. Wander This World
  2. Breakin’ Me
  3. Lie To Me

Avila Blues Festival

Jonny Lang – Lead Vocals And Guitar
Paul Diethelm – Guitar
Bruce McCabe – Keyboards
Billy Franze – Bass
David Eiland – Saxophone And Percussion
Billy Thommes – Drums

Roy Gaines Opened

OldNeumanntapr Notes:
This was another AWESOME Avila Beach Blues Festival recording, made possible by the usual suspects, primarily my friend Dave! Last year when Etta James played I thought it couldn’t get any better than that, but this year I was blown away with Jonny Lang and his soulful blues playing and vocals. I couldn’t believe how talented he was and how young he was! He is truly a great blues man and time will only make him better. Again, I was able to thwart the security staff and bring in my Neumann rig plus my black body Nikon FM2N 35mm and 300 f/2.8 AIS manual focus Nikkor. I got some good shots, one of which I used for the front-cover artwork.
Pulling off both a front of board recording and shooting with a large pro camera in BROAD Daylight is no easy feat, and I was not resting easy until I was out of the venue and back to the safety of my car. I hope everyone enjoys this and please don’t rip me off by trying to make a dollar off of my work or the artist’s performance. I pride myself in that in almost 40 years of recording shows I have NEVER sold anything, and never would.

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

Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt & Don Henley – Avila Beach, CA (10/13/96)

Capps For Congress
10/13/96
Avila Beach Resort
Avila Beach, CA

8th Row Center: Nyquist Omnis >Sony TCD-D7
DAT Master Transferred: Tascam DA-30 >HHb CDR 800 PRO Via Analog i/o,
CD Masters >FLAC (Level 8) Via xACT
FLAC Tags Via xACT 2.53

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

Jackson Browne

  1. I’m Alive
  2. Looking Into You
  3. Your Bright Baby Blues
  4. In the Shape Of A Heart
  5. For Everyman
  6. The Pretender
  7. The Barricades Of Heaven
  8. World in Motion (w/ Bonnie Raitt)

Bonnie Raitt

  1. Country Road
  2. Home
  3. Love Me Like A Man*
  4. Big Road*
  5. Shadow Of A Doubt
  6. Nick Of Time
  7. Kokomo Medley@
  8. My Opening Farewell@
  9. Thing Called Love@
  • w/Tom Ball On Harmonica
    @ w/Jackson Browne

Don Henley

  1. Through Your Hands
  2. Learn To Be Still
  3. I Can’t Tell You Why**
  4. Democracy
  5. It’s Not Easy Being Green
  6. Love Will Keep Us Alive**
  7. The Boys Of Summer
  8. Take It Easy***

Timothy B. Schmit Lead Vocal**
Jackson Browne Lead Vocal***

OldNeumanntapr Notes:

Capps For Congress benefit. The complete line-up was Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan, John Trudell & Bad Dog, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Don Henley.

To provide a bit of political history for this show, in 1996 Walter Capps was running for the 22nd District of California and this show in Avila Beach was a campaign fundraiser. Capps was once again running against Andrea Seastrand (she won the previous election and was based in the adjacent Shell Beach, so this show had an appropriate setting). Capps won the seat in November, but he sadly passed away in October 1997. His seat was held by his widow, Lois Capps, ever since when she won a 1997 special election (although her district is now known as the 24th District due to redistricting). The seat is now held Salud Carbajal.

For the Jackson Browne set, “I”m Alive” cuts in as he is playing his guitar. For the Don Henley set, “Through Your Hands” fades in before the first verse begins. There is some mic noise (mostly between songs) and there is occasional audience noise (talking, screaming, clapping along).

This show took place at the same venue where the Avila Beach Blues Festival was held every year until recently. I had friends who were volunteering at this show and they brought my blanket in for me and placed it front and center, about 8th row. I couldn’t ask for a better spot!

Please support the artists by buying their official releases and merch.

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

Bonnie Raitt. – Avila Beach, CA (05/24/15)

Bonnie Raitt
5/24/15
22nd Annual Avila Beach Blues Festival
Avila Beach Resort,
Avila Beach, CA

7th Row, Slightly Right Of Center:
Neumann AK-40s (ORTF In Hat) >LC3 >KM-100s >Beyer MV-100 >Tascam DR-100mkII (24/48),
WAV >iZotope RX3 Advanced v3.00.695 (declick) >Audacity (Track Splits, Minor Edits. Amplify, Down Sample / Dither To 16 Bit/44.1k) >FLAC (Level 8) Via xACT 2.35 >FLAC Tags Via xACT 2.35

Recorded, Transferred, FLAC’d & Tagged By Oldneumanntapr.
iZotope RX3 Advanced v3.00.695 (declick) By Dennis Orr.

  1. Intro > Down To You
  2. Used To Rule The World
  3. Right Down The Line *
  4. Band Intros
  5. Your Good Thing (Is About To End)
  6. Women Be Wise **
  7. No Getttin’ Over You
  8. Hear Me Lord ***
  9. Something To Talk About
  10. I Believe I’m In Love With You****
  11. I’ve Got News For You *
  12. Love Letter
  13. Love Sneakin’ Up On You
  • Encores –
  1. I Can’t Make You Love Me
  2. Angel From Montgomery
  3. Coming Home
  4. Never Make Your Move To Soon
  • Gerry Rafferty cover
    ** Sippie Wallace cover
    *** Oliver Mtukudzi cover, preamp battery change at end of song. No music lost
    ****The Fabulous Thunderbirds cover
    ***** BB King tribute, Mike Finnigan, lead vocals

Bonnie Raitt – lead vocals & guitars
George Marinelli – guitar & backing vocals
Mike Finnigan – Hammond B3, electric piano & backing vocals
James “Hutch” Hutchinson – bass
Ricky Fataar – drums

ONT Notes-
I hadn’t seen Bonnie since 2002, at the Santa Barbara County Bowl. She’s as good as ever and is definitely one of my all time favorite slide guitar players. The weather in Avila Beach was beautiful, with a slight breeze in the air. The wool cap makes for a good windscreen, but there were occasional gusts that can be heard. The Blues Festival is at the Avila Beach Resort Golf Course and is right next to the ocean. It’s really a beautiful setting. At one point Bonnie remarked, I can’t believe there are whales right over there. Have they gone yet?.’ (I saw/recorded Bonnie the last time she played in Avila Beach, in 1996 for the Walter Capps For Congress Benefit with Jackson Browne, Don Henley, And John Trudell.) I got my ticket to the festival at the last minute, as there are three people who are higher in the pecking order. Fortunately for me, not for them, two couldn’t make it. One was in the hospital with a kidney stone and one was home with a bad back. I had to scrounge for 9 volts before I left the house, not having time to stop to buy new ones, and ended up using previously used batteries from other recordings. I noticed that, a little over 30 minutes into the Bonnie set, the red light on the MV-100 preamp was on, indicating low voltage. I made a battery swap between songs, and fortunately, no music was lost, just a bit of on-stage dialog.

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