The Brothers Comatose
2/2/17
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA
Soundboard / Audience Matrix; Approx. 70/30 % Split
Behringer X32 Digital Soundboard >Canare Star Quad XLR + Neumann KM-140s (ORTF) >XLR >Lunatec V2 (+30db) >Mackie 402-VLZ4 >XLR Tascam DR100mkII (24bit/48khz)
WAV >Audacity (Amplify, Track Splits, Minor Edits, Down Sample / Dither To 16bit/44.1khz)
Fix SBEs >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53
Recorded, Transferred, FLAC’d, Tagged, & Front-Cover Artwork OldNeumanntapr
- Intro (Korie Newman From Good Medicine Presents)
- Brothers
- Angeline
- Modern Day Sinners
- Pie For Breakfast
- 120 East
- The Ballad Of Tommy Decker
- Dead Flowers
- City Painted Gold
- The Van Jam
- Tops Of The Trees
- Stick Shifts And Safety Belts
- Get Me Home*
- Hurricane
- Yohio**
- To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)
- Trippin’ On Down (w/Bass Jam Intro) > ***
- Pennies Are Money Too
- Morning Time****
- Knoxville Foxhole
- Strings
- Feels Like The Devil
- The Way The West Was Won
- Y’all Come
Encore:
- The Scout
- Blister In The Sun
Ben Morrison – Guitar, Vocals
Alex Morrison – Banjo, Vocals
Gio Benedetti – Bass
Philip Brezina – Fiddle
Ryan Avellone – Mandolin, Guitar
http://www.thebrotherscomatose.com
*New Song
**Bass, Banjo, & Guitar only
***Big Black Bra thrown onstage
***w/Laura Lewis on vocals
The Historic Fremont (Movie) Theater Was Built In 1942
Support Acts:
Bear Market Riot
The Shawn Clark Band
OldNeumanntapr Notes-
This was a fun show, but I was crushed to have to deal with an equipment failure that almost cost me the recording. The Fremont is an old Art-Deco-styled movie theater dating back to WWII. It has a capacity of just under 1000 and is very ornate, with lots of neon and a high marquee outside. Inside it has a Huge old-fashion lobby and tapestries on the walls. The ceiling of the theater is festooned with an inset of what looks to me like a bird’s head and beak. The inside of the theater has curved walls and the room has great acoustics. I’ve been seeing movies in that theater now for almost 40 years and it’s a favorite.
The doors opened at 7 pm and I arrived at 5:30 pm and went in through the back door, having already been pre-approved for recording privileges from the band through Todd Newman, of Good Medicine Presents. Kip, the house soundman who I have known since 1992 when he was at Loco Ranchero, knew I was coming and helped me out with power and a board patch from his Behringer X32 digital soundboard. I was able to run my Canare 25ft XLR cables from the board across the right aisle (taped down) and I set up in the last row of the theater. I set the stand up next to me and stacked all my gear on the inside chair. I had to also tape down the power cables from the Mackie mixer and the AC power supply for the Tascam, and patch everything together.
I ran a SBD/AUD matrix with the Neumann KM-140s >Lunatec V2 (30db gain), and monitored with my Sennheiser 770 headphones.
I ran an approx. 70/30 % split, with the ambient mics turned up just enough to catch some crowd and the sound of the room. The audience mics gave a nice reverb and made the recording a bit more three dimensional, because you can hear the interaction between the band and the crowd, and also hear a little of the room acoustics.
I normally do not record openers, but the two opening bands sounded really good in sound check. The first was two guys on acoustic guitars, and the second band was a five piece with guitar, banjo, stand up double bass, fiddle, and drums. Really good sound. I was impressed being that they were two local bands. I decided to record them, if for nothing else but to dial in the mix so everything would be set for the headliners. I also thought it would be nice to maybe add two other bands to the Live Music Archive on Archive.org.
When I went to switch CF flash cards to get ready for the start of the Brothers Comatose set, my Tascam flashed a message that said my 4 gig card was corrupted. I tried it several times, and even turned the power off and on but no luck. It kept saying ‘Change Card’.
So, I had no choice but to reformat the first card and erase the two opening sets I’d just recorded. I was so bummed, as I had told both bands that I could get them a copy of their sets later. As it was, I had JUST enough room for the headliner, because the first card was only 2 gigs. I think I had four minutes to spare at the end of the set!
A real bummer that a $10 card almost prevented me from recording the show. It had worked perfectly on the last recording that I had done. Luckily I had brought two cards with me!
This was my third Brothers Comatose show and they never fail to put on a good performance. I love recording them, and I love recording in the Fremont. I’ve been waiting for a while to get to do a SBD/AUD matrix in that room and this was a great chance to do so. A HUGE thanks to The Brothers Comatose for allowing live recording. Thanks also to Todd and Korie Newmann from Good Medicine Presents, and thanks to Kip Stork for his help with the board patch.
(Someone threw a big black bra onstage during ‘Trippin’ On Down’. I saw something fly through the air and Ben picked it up in the middle of the song and put it on his head. The other band members took turns clowning around with it for a while. Too funny!) This was a late night for me. I wasn’t expecting two opening bands but it was a really fun show and I was glad I was there. I had a pizza at Woodstocks at midnight and was home by almost 1 am. Yawn. I was dead at work on Friday, but it was worth it.
