Tag: fremont theater

Paul Thorn – San Luis Obispo, CA (01/24/16)

Paul Thorn
01/24/16
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA

10th Row, Center Right Aisle: Neumann KM-140s (ORTF) >Canare Star Quads >Beyer MV-100 >Tascam DR-100mkII (24 bit / 48 khz)

Microphones On A Seven-Foot Stand.
WAV >Audacity (Amplify, Track Splits, Minor Edits, Down Sample / Dither To 16 bit /44.1khz) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53

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

Disc I:

  1. Intro
  2. Something Out There
  3. Half The Folks I Love
  4. All About People
  5. What Kind Of Roof
  6. Pimps And Preachers
  7. Love Scar
  8. Way Beyond Midnight
  9. What Do You Take Me For
  10. Double Wide Paradise
  11. Rob You Of Your Joy

Disc II:

  1. Old Stray Dogs And Jesus
  2. Mediocrity Is King
  3. Snake Farm
  4. Band Intros
  5. Starting Line
  6. Long Way From Tupelo
  7. If I Can Get Over Her
  8. Rose City
  9. Everybody Needs Somebody
  10. Weeds In My Roses
  11. Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

Encore:

  1. Get You A Healin’

Paul Thorn – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Bill Hinds – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Michael Graham ‘Dr. Love’ – Keyboards
Ralph Friedrichsen – Bass
Jeffrey Perkins – Drums/Percussion

Derek Senn Opened
The Historic Fremont (Movie) Theater Was Built In 1942

OldNeumanntapr Notes;
This was a great show. I had mentioned to Todd Newman, one of the former owners of SLO Brew and now strictly a concert Promoter, that I had received permission from Billy Maddox, Paul Thorn’s manager and sound technician, to record the show in San Luis Obispo. I used to mount the Neumanns to a little shelf that I built and hang it on the concrete front center ceiling post at SLO Brew. This made for an excellent ‘mic stand’, and got the microphones up off the floor about 10 feet. Now that SLO Brew is slated for demolition, Todd is booking shows at the old Fremont Theater, which is an old art-deco movie theater. I had planned on setting up the Neumanns onstage, but…

Well, you know what they say about the ‘Best laid plans’. When I arrived at the Fremont Theater just before sound check, I found out that yes, I could set up anywhere I chose to, including onstage, BUT…. The band’s instruments were all DI (no onstage amps), AND they were using in ear monitors, so the only sound they had on stage was some side fill wedges that were not full range. Ryan, the house soundman, suggested that I set up against the far back wall of the theater, near the board. I didn’t like that idea because it was too far from the stage. I asked Todd, the promoter, where he had chosen for me to sit and he said 10th row center, on the right aisle. Hey, that was looking pretty good, but I was a little concerned about setting up a stand. I asked him if I could set up my stand there and he said no problem. As it turned out, the theater, which holds just under 1,000 people, was only 1/3rd filled and there was only two other people in my row. I had brought two stands with me in the hopes of setting up near the stage and in front of the PA stacks, but I couldn’t have raised the stands up high enough, and there was no room on the sides up front. (Paul remarked during the show that the theater, with patches of open seats scattered throughout, looked to him like ‘mange on a dog.’)

I ran my stand about seven feet high, and my ‘worry-wort’ friend Dave was Certain that someone would complain about the microphones, but…no one did. Ryan walked by as I was setting up and asked if Todd had OK’d the stand and I said yes so he said, ‘Oh, Alright’. I wasn’t sure if the seat next to me had been sold, so I set up my preamp and recorder at the base of the stand in the aisle. Everything went fine. I had to answer a lot of questions from confused inquisitive patrons about the recording gear but I’m used to that. The crowd was fairly quiet and polite, and only applauded between songs.

Billy Maddox, as always, was really helpful to me and repeatedly asked if I needed anything and if I was OK. The band is very taping friendly but Billy would like tapers to go through him for permission and he requires you to send him an electronic copy before sharing so he can check it. I’m trying to convince him to allow Paul to be included on the Live Music Archive but he said that he is still thinking about it. The recording sounds pretty good, though I miss being able to hang my Neumanns from the concrete ceiling post at SLO Brew.

The Fremont, a historic movie theater built in 1942, has its own recording challenges because I now have to deal with the crowds. Maybe I will try running a stand near the back wall at a future date, especially if I can record a band that would be agreeable to a soundboard / audience matrix. It’s an interesting old building, with curved interior walls, an ornate ceiling, and has nice acoustics. They don’t build theaters like that anymore.

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

Richard Thompson – San Luis Obispo, CA (02/27/22)

Richard Thompson
February 27, 2022
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA

12th Row DEAD Center:
Neumann AK 40s (x/y) >LC3 >KM100s >Tascam DR100mkII (24bit/48kHz)
WAV > (iZotope RX8 Advanced) >Audacity (Tracking, Down Sample To 16bit/44.1kHz) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.50

Recorded, Audacity, FLAC, & Tags by OldNeumanntapr (Along With Inside Cover Art Photo Of Theater)
Processed by Flying -M- (iZotope RX8 Advanced)

Solo Acoustic

Richard Thompson – Guitar, Vocals
Zara Phillips – Backing Vocals (from “Wall of Death” through the end)

Disc One:

  1. Stony Ground (not recorded)
  2. If I Could Live My Life Again (starts in progress)
  3. Genesis Hall
  4. Turning Of The Tide
  5. Woods Of Darney
  6. Johnny’s Far Away
  7. Uninhabited Man
  8. Walking On A Wire
  9. Walking The Long Miles Home
  10. 1952 Vincent Black Lightning

Disc Two:

  1. Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
  2. Wall Of Death
  3. Singapore Sadie
  4. The Rattle Within
  5. As I Hold You
  6. The Fortress
  7. Keep Your Distance
  8. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Encore :

  1. Beeswing
  2. Tinker’s Rhapsody
  3. She Was Lost In The Crowd

The Historic Fremont (Movie) Theater Was Built In 1942

OldNeumanntapr Notes:
This was the first concert that I recorded since 2019, which by the way, was also Richard Thompson (Electric Trio) at the Fremont Theater. I’m always telling myself, ‘This is the LAST show I’m going to record’, but then my friend in SLO will contact me about another show coming up and I will relent.
I didn’t have much choice these past two years because of the pandemic. No one was seeing any live music. For this show I had planned on bring in my Beyer MV100 microphone preamp but when I got to the show and took a photo of the front of the theater from across the street I noticed that they were using a wand to go over people before they entered. Damn! It takes all the fun out of it when I have to resort to subterfuge to get my gear inside. So, I decided to leave the preamp in the car and run the Neumanns directly into the XLR jacks of the Tascam recorder. The sound inside was really good and I couldn’t really tell much of a difference in the recording after using the internal preamp compared to the Beyer. I’m still kicking myself that I missed the two opening songs, but I was under the assumption that there would be an opening act and I was late getting in. Also, I had forgotten to switch on the phantom power on the back of the Tascam (which powers the microphones) because usually I use the phantom power that the Beyer preamp supplies. So it threw me at first when I wasn’t getting any levels on the recorder when I DID start to record. I guess I’m a little rusty after not recording anything these last two years.

Thanks (as always) to Flying M for the outstanding job he does in post production by reducing loud clapping and cleaning things up to make a more enjoyable listening experience, and thanks to Ethiessen for the great cover artwork and graphic arts design! Thanks also to Dave for persuading me to go to see another great show.

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

Richard Thompson – San Luis Obispo, CA (01/29/19)

Richard Thompson Electric Trio
January 29, 2019
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA

Recorded By OldNeumanntapr, 9th Row, Just Right Of Center:
Neumann AK 40s (ORTF) >LC3 >KM 100s >Beyer MV-100 >Tascam DR100mkII (24bit/48khz)

Post Production By Flying -M-
Har-Bal 3.0 & iZotope RX6 Advanced (Prep & 16/44.1)

Tracking & Tagging By OldNeumanntapr
Audacity (Track Splits) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.47

Disc I:

  1. Intro/Tuning
  2. Bones Of Gilead
  3. Her Love Was Meant For Me
  4. Take Care Of The Road You Choose
  5. Tale In Hard Time
  6. Guitar Heroes
  7. The Storm Wouldn’t Come
  8. They Tore The Hippodrome Down*
  9. Dry My Tears And Move On*
  10. 1952 Vincent Black Lightning**

Disc II:

  1. The Rattle Within’
  2. Can’t Win
  3. Genesis Hall
  4. I’ll Never Give It Up
  5. Wall Of Death
  6. Put It There Pal
  7. Tear Stained Letter

Encore 1:

  1. Beeswing**
  2. Waltzing’s For Dreamers**

Encore 2:

  1. Pride
  2. Take A Heart

Richard Thompson – Guitars, Vocals
Taras Prodaniuk – Bass
Michael Jerome – Drums, Percussion

Ryley Walker Opened

  • Acoustic
    ** Solo Acoustic

The Historic Fremont (Movie) Theater Was Built In 1942

OldNeumanntapr Notes:
I’d wanted to see Richard Thompson for a long time, but until recently it has never been convenient. I’ve loved his music since first hearing ‘1952 Vincent Black Lightning’. I think he is a very gifted song writer and guitarist, and paints wonderful stories with his music. I love seeing shows at the Fremont because it is such a cool old building with so much history, and has really good acoustics because of its curved interior walls. The Art-Deco style theater also has a really ornate inlayed ceiling. Formally a movie theater that was built during WWII, the new concert promoters are morphing the historic Fremont into a performing arts theater which, to me, draws parallels to the fabled Fillmore East in New York. However, the Fremont, which seats just under 1,000, doesn’t have a balcony. I have seen many films at the Fremont starting in 1977, and first recorded there in 1992 when I was front row on the left side for Los Lobos, before they allowed open recording. Thanks to Mike as always for his awesome post production skills, and thanks to my friends who supplied me with some band / theater photos from the night. I hope everyone enjoys this, and appreciates the efforts required to reap the benefits of the superior Neumann sound in the midst of the dark ages of gun violence that this country is currently saddled with that necessitates the added security presence of metal detectors. Here’s to the continued pursuit of the archival of live music throughout these dark times.

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

John Hiatt – San Luis Obispo, CA (11/09/24)

John Hiatt
Nov 9 2024
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA

Solo Acoustic

12th Row, Near Left-Side Aisle;
Neumann AK40s >LC3 >KM100s >Tascam DR100mkII* (24bit/48kHz)
*w/Internal Preamp and Phantom Power

WAV >Audacity (Track Splits, Downsample To 16bit/44.1kHz) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53

Recorded, Audacity Track Splits, Downsample, FLAC, Tags, Front Cover Artwork, And Photos Other Than Front Cover By OldNeumanntapr

Front Cover Photo By A Friend

Har-Bal 3.7 Post Production & iZotope RX8 Advanced (Flying -M-)

Disc I:

  1. Introduction
  2. Before I Go
  3. Your Dad Did
  4. Long Time Comin’
  5. The Tiki Bar Is Open
  6. Crossing Muddy Waters
  7. Tennessee Plates
  8. What Do We Do Now
  9. Master Of Disaster
  10. Drive South

Disc II:

  1. Terms Of My Surrender
  2. Cry Love
  3. Perfectly Good Guitar
  4. Weightless In My Arms
  5. Real Fine Love
  6. Slow Turning
  7. Feels Like Rain
  8. Memphis In The Meantime
  9. Riding With The King
  10. Have A Little Faith In Me

OldNeumanntapr Notes;
When I heard from my ‘partner-in-crime’ that his friend Brian’s wife couldn’t make the show I couldn’t pay him for the ticket fast enough. I love John Hiatt and especially enjoy hearing him play solo acoustic. As usual, John tells some funny stories between songs and does a few requests. There was one guy who kept asking for ‘Feels Like Rain’. The Fremont is a beautiful theater and has wonderful acoustics and it is always a real pleasure to see a live performance there. The Fremont was built in 1942 and was one of San Luis Obispo’s two art-deco movie theaters, the other being the Obispo, which was built in 1911 and burned to the ground in late 1975. Though the Fremont still has provisions for showing films, the SLO Film Festival is held there every spring, it has since been converted to a performing arts theater. Thanks so much to Flying M for his wonderful job at post production fairy dust. 🙂

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

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – San Luis Obispo, CA (04/01/16)

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA
April 1, 2016

Recorded & Tagged By OldNeumanntapr
4th Row, Left: Neumann AK-40s (ORTF in Hat) >LC3 >KM-100s >Beyer MV-100 >Sony PCM-M10 (24bit/48khz) >Audacity (16bit/48khz) FLAC

Post Production by Flying -M-
iZotope RX4 advanced > Har-Bal 3.0 > CD Wav > TLH

FLAC Tags Redone Via xACT 2.37 Due To Misspellings, And New FFP Files & Checksums Added.

Disc 1

  1. Introduction by Corey from Good Medicine Presents
  2. Zig Zaggity Woop Woop
  3. Simple Songs
  4. Digga Digga Do
  5. The Jitters
  6. [interlude] Scotty talks to the crowd
  7. Save My Soul
  8. Mr. Pinstripe Suit
  9. Hey Now
  10. Reefer Man

Disc 2

  1. Minnie The Moocher
  2. Jumpin’ Jack
  3. I Wan’na Be Like You
  4. You Know You’re Wrong
  5. Big Time Operator
  6. You Me And The Bottle Makes Three Tonight
  7. Go Daddy-O
  8. encore call
  9. Why Me
  10. So Long Fair Well Good Bye

Scotty Morris – lead vocals and guitar
Kurt Sodergren – drums and percussion
Dirk Shumaker – double bass and vocals
Andy Rowley – baritone saxophone and vocals
Glen “The Kid” Marhevka – trumpet
Karl Hunter – saxophones and clarinet
Joshua Levy – piano, arranger
Tony Bonsera – trumpet
Alex “Crazy Legs” Henderson – trombone

The Tipsy Gypsies Opened
The Historic Fremont (Movie) Theater Was Built In 1942

OldNeumanntapr Notes;
The show was awesome and we were 4th row on the left.
Everything went really well and I was able to set levels right on the money.
Genéte, who is a Huge BBVD fan, took photos with her iPhone and actually got some pretty good results. After the show she bought a poster and waited in line so all of the band could sign it.
She had a Great time and was really happy that she went.

I had thought that I would be directly in front of the left PA stack, but when we got into the theater I saw that they had hung the PA cabinets closer together than I would have imagined, so I was actually a little left and off axis from the left stack.
The opening band, which I didn’t record (they were a local SLO County band) sounded like there was a bump in the frequency response. Fortunately, BBVD sounded really good and there was no hint of that previous anomaly.

I only had One obnoxious clapper to my left, either behind me or further down my own row. (I made sure that Genéte was quiet, no easy feat.) 😉

We were so close to the stage that I could hear the horns onstage as well as being amplified through the PA. Fortunately we had really lucked out when we made or seating decisions, because we were on the left and so was the horn section! The piano and stand up bass were on the right, and Scotty, the lead singer was in the center.

The last time I saw these guys was when they played a free show at the Paso Robles Mid-State Fair in 2001. I had never heard of them but Genéte was really into them and I remember being impressed with their sound.

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

Flying M notes:
never heard this band before, wow.
A very nice sounding recording and I found the guy you wanted “erased”.
His hand was cupped creating a very loud finger snapping sound.
Verses a more petite slapping of 4 fingers on a palm which makes more of a tick (try it yourself).

Kind of addictive once you get used to hearing your tapes without loud claps.
If it only didn’t take sooooo long to do.
As normal when I went back the third time I found even more of that guy.
I wonder how many times an enthusiastic clapper “claps’ during an hour and a half concert?
Well that’s how many repairs this has, times maybe 2 (to include other neighbors).

Har-Bal uses an interesting form of equalization called harmonic balancing.
The theory is to balance the power across the frequency spectrum and you get additional clarity.
OK I am real new at this and it is not a simple procedure to get it right.
You might enjoy the added shimmer and increased volume.
The hidden music buried in the quiet spots are louder now adding more detail.
No limiting but more like riding the volume knob up and down.
So the quiet places are not as quiet.
An old studio trick.

John Hiatt – San Luis Obispo, CA (03/11/16)

John Hiatt
3/11/16
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA

Solo Acoustic

5th Row DEAD Center:
Neumann AK-40s (ORTF In Hat) >LC3 >KM-100s >Lunatec V2 (+25db Gain) >Tascam DR100mkII (24bit/48khz)

WAV >Audacity (Normalize, Amplify, Track Splits, Down Sample To 16bit/44.1khz) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.37

FRAGMENT!!!

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

  1. //Like A Freight Train
  2. Marlene
  3. Crossing Muddy Waters
  4. Ethylene
  5. Buffalo River Home//

OldNeumanntapr Notes-
This was all I was able to salvage from this recording after my 1st Tascam DR100mkII suffered an extreme electronic meltdown. (As I was setting up in the stall, the Tascam slipped out of my pack while on my lap and partially fell into the water of the toilet, before I could grab it.) Just a corner of the recorder got wet and it might have been OK if I would have had the time to let it thoroughly dry out, but the show was about to start and I had no recourse but to try and use it. This show would have yielded such a killer recording, it’s really a shame that it didn’t work out. Placement in the theater was superb, the crowd was quiet, and the sound was awesome. My Friend Dave’s friend Rick Williams was recording in the seat next to me on the right and he captured the entire show on his Edirol R09 with the internal microphones. Though his recording is good it doesn’t match the sound of the Neumanns / V2. I asked him if I could use his Edirol in place of my Tascam but he had never used the line out and didn’t know how to go through the menus to change the input setting, especially in the dim light of the theater. I really had high hopes for this show and I was crushed to not be able to capitalize on such a great night. The Lunatec V2 is an extremely high end microphone preamp, but it’s almost impossible to use covertly as it is large and requires a separate 6 volt rechargeable battery, but has awesome sound! Just getting this rig through the doors was no easy feat. I waited through a few songs before turning it on to record and it lasted through a few songs before the display started freaking out and it just died. At least I got a couple of songs reordered to actually hear what a difference the Lunatec V2 makes as compared to my Beyer MV 100. Some shows that I have done resulted in ‘the thrill of victory’, but this night was definitely in ‘the agony of defeat’ column.

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

Postmodern Jukebox – San Luis Obispo, CA (11/22/24)

Postmodern Jukebox
11/22/24
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA

8th Row Center SEC, Near Right-Side Aisle;
Neumann AK 40s >LC 3 >KM 100s >Tascam DR100mkII w/Internal Preamp & Phantom Power (24bit/48kHz)

WAV >Audacity (Amplify By 8.4db, Index Tracks, Minor Compression, Minor Edits, Fades, Down Sample To 16bit/44.1kHz) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53

Recorded, Transferred, FLAC, Tags, & Front Cover Artwork By OldNeumanntapr
Photos, Including Front Cover, & Setlist By Taper’s Wife Genéte

Disc I:

  1. Thriller
  2. talk
  3. Lovesong
  4. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
  5. It Must Have Been Love
  6. Radioactive
  7. Tap Dance Ensemble – various tunes
  8. Burn
  9. Band Intros
  10. Late Night Talking
  11. The Chain

Disc II:

  1. Hallelujah
  2. Tap Dance Ensemble – various tunes
  3. Rude
  4. Use Somebody
  5. Guitar Solo
  6. Say You’ll Be There
  7. Black Hole Sun
  8. Levitating
  9. All About That Bass
  10. encore break / talk

Encore:

  1. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
  2. Creep
  3. outro

No Scott Bradlee, Hayley Reinhart, or Casey Abrams

OldNeumanntapr Notes;
This was a show that my wife Genéte bought tickets for because she is really into the band and had never seen them. Because we got tickets about a week before the show the only seats we could get up front were in two separate rows but I was sitting directly behind her. Her iPhone has a better camera and she was the one who wanted to see the show so she took the seat in the row ahead of me. It worked out well for me because I didn’t have to worry that she would try to talk to me during the recording. I was impressed with PMJ’s showmanship, and the lady singers had some great costumes! We were both confused because Scott Bradlee, the band leader and piano player, was absent from the show and they had someone else playing in his place. Genéte and I were both blown away with drummer Willie Ray Moore Jr’s voice, who sang ‘Black Hole Sun’, which was so light and airy and so totally incongruous to his large size. I was sure that he was going to have a deep voice. I thought it was funny that one of the female vocalists was having trouble with her vocal mic during the encore and she exclaimed to the audience, ‘Live theater!’ and a stagehand had had to fix it. I love seeing shows in the old Fremont Theater, which was built in 1942 and was recently converted from a movie house to a performing arts theater. Genéte wasn’t happy with me because she wanted us to dress up for the show and she said I looked like a bum because I was wearing my taping clothes, but hopefully when she listens to the recording she will understand that for me it’s function over form. As the house lights came up and we started to walk up the aisle, right at the end of the recording, you can hear Genéte fussing at me for not sitting next to her during the show. (The aisle seat was empty all night. in both of our rows.) I said to her, ‘I don’t want to be on the aisle’, and she exclaimed, ‘Oh Brother.’ After the show we walked to a little Mexican restaurant on Chorro St. that was right next to Bull’s Tavern where Mission News once was. They had Mission Plaza all decked out with holiday lighting which looked really cool. One nice thing about having dinner after the show in SLO was that we were able to wait out the 11:00 PM closing time for the downtown parking garage. Otherwise it would have been an $8.00 fee!

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

Lyle Lovett & Robert Earl Keen – San Luis Obispo, CA (12/04/18)

Lyle Lovett & Robert Earl Keen
December 4, 2018
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA

15th Row Center, Right Side Aisle: Nyquist Omni’s >Tascam DR100mkII (24bit/48khz)

WAV >iZotope RX 6 Advanced & Har-Bal 3.0, Down Sample To 16bit/44.1khz >Audacity (Track Splits,) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.47

Recording, Audacity / FLAC, & Tags By OldNeumanntapr

Post Production by Flying -M-
iZotope RX 6 advanced & Har-Bal 3.0

Exterior Fremont Theater Photos By OldNeumanntapr
Band Photo By Dave
Assembled Artwork By Flying -M-

Disc I:

  1. Introduction
    talk
  2. Record Lady (Lyle)
  3. I’ll Go On Downtown (Robert)
    talk
  4. I’ve Been To Memphis (Lyle)
    talk
  5. Village Inn (Robert)
    talk
  6. Once Is Enough (Lyle)
    talk
  7. Ride (Robert)
    talk
  8. Cowboy Man (Lyle)
  9. Merry Christmas From The Family (Robert)
    talk
  10. Rolling By (Lyle & Robert)
  11. Mr. Wolf And Mamabear (Robert)
    talk
  12. Bears (Lyle)
  13. I’m Comin’ Home (Robert)
    talk

Disc II:

  1. Nothing But A Good Ride (Lyle)
    talk
  2. Crazy Cowboy Dream (Robert)
  3. That Buckin’ Song (Robert)
    talk
  4. Farther Down The Line (Lyle)
    talk
  5. Shades Of Gray (Robert)
  6. Pants Is Overrated (Lyle)
  7. Feelin’ Good Again (Robert)
  8. She’s No Lady (Lyle)
  9. The Guy You Are With Is An Asshole (Robert)
    talk
  10. If I Had A Boat (Lyle)
  11. Show The World (Robert)
    talk
  12. The Front Porch Song (Robert & Lyle)
    encore call
    talk
  13. Twelfth Of June (Lyle)
  14. Amarillo Highway (Robert)
  15. Texas – 1947 (Robert & Lyle)
  16. post concert comments

The name in parenthesis is the main vocalist for that song – not the song writer.

Lyle Lovett – Guitars, Vocals
Robert Earl Keen – Guitars, Vocals

OldNeumanntapr Notes: [2018]
I’d been waiting for this show for a couple of months, ever since a friend of my wife got an extra ticket for me. It was a little steep. I’m not used to paying $85 for a ticket, but I’d never seen Robert Earl Keen before, and the last time I saw Lyle Lovett I had to keep my D8 in my pants because we were up front at the Santa Barbara County Bowl and I had an usher right next to me the entire night. I really enjoyed seeing Lovett and Keen together. They told some good stories and Keen did a song I don’t think I’d ever heard before. The lyrics were of him chastising a woman and telling her that her boyfriend was ‘an asshole!’ The crowd loved it. Lyle asked him which album that song was on and he said that he’d never recorded it, but was hoping that it would be an ‘Internet sensation.’ Yep, I’m doing my part to see that it is! This new SLO concert promoter is turning the Fremont Theater (an old art-deco movie theater built in 1942) into a resurgence of the Fillmore East, though unlike the Fillmore East the Fremont doesn’t have a balcony. I love recording in the Fremont Theater. It seats just under 1,000 people and has a really neat ornate ceiling with an inlay of a bird’s head pointing toward the stage. The Fremont has curved interior walls so the acoustics are really good, and it has a lot of neon on the marquee. I used to be able to go in ‘wired up’ and only had to power up and hit record once I got to my seat. Unfortunately, because of the increase in gun violence in this country that has recently ‘targeted’ musical events and theaters, more and more concert promoters are using metal detectors upon entry at the doors. I certainly do not begrudge the artists and patrons their right and expectation to be safe, but it does make it harder for those of us who like to archive live music. When I asked a friend of mine who worked in the sound-reinforcement industry if he had any suggestions, he commented that it was, ‘Getting a lot harder to be a criminal’. I wasn’t sure if that statement was directed at me, or just a blanket statement in general. (I know that stealth-recording of concerts is illegal) but I have never considered myself a criminal. I guess I am, in the truest sense of the word, and the eyes of the law, even though I have NEVER sold a recording and never would. I’m a TAPER, and I wear that title like a badge of honor. In any case, even though I’ve been doing this for 32 years now, the stress level is just getting way too high for me with the increase in security. Once I saw the wands in use I decided that my Neumann KM140s would probably be a bust so I went with the Nyquist’s. They don’t sound as good as the Neumanns but I figured that, by then it was, ‘Any port in a storm’. As it turned out I probably could have gotten the Neumanns in if I would have gambled a little. Thanks so much to Flying M for both doing the post production with his ‘Mad Scientist’ computer skills, and also for rebuilding the Nyquist’s for me and making them operational again. They sat in a closet for 15 years after dying at a Neil Young Concert in Los Olivos in 2003. It’s nice to have them back again. Apparently some of the wiring went bad. I don’t know how many more shows I’m going to try to record, because of the afore-mentioned heightening of security, so this might be my last endeavor. It’s certainly been a ‘Long Strange Trip.’

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

Los Lobos – San Luis Obispo, CA (06/17/92)

Los Lobos
6/17/92
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA

Nakamichi CM-300’s w/CP-1 Cardioid Capsules >Sony WM-D6C Cassette (No NR) >CDR >FLAC
Cass Master (TDK SA-90s) Transferred: Sony TC-D5M >HHb CDR 800 PRO,
CD Masters >Audacity (Minor Edits) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.53

Recorded, Transferred, FLAC’d, Tagged, & Front Cover Artwork By OldNeumanntapr
Recorded Front Row, Extreme Left (Seat #1), Directly In Front Of Left PA Stack.

Disc I:

  1. Intro*
  2. Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes
  3. Evangeline
  4. Dream In Blue >
  5. Wake Up Dolores
  6. I Can’t Understand
  7. Will The Wolf Survive?
  8. Reva’s House
  9. Angels With Dirty Faces
  10. Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio
  11. Soy Mexico Americano
  12. Kiko And The Lavender Moon
  13. Let’s Say Goodnight

Disc II:

  1. // Come On, Let’s Go
  2. Wicked Rain
  3. Two Janes
  4. Anselma
  5. Carabina .30-.30
  6. Peace
  7. Don’t Worry Baby

Encores:

  1. That Train Don’t Stop Here
  2. Georgia Slop
  3. Emily //
  4. I Walk Alone
  5. Bertha

The Historic Fremont (Movie) Theater Was Built In 1942

*Intro By ‘Lady Tie Die’ And ‘Carol Jo’ From KOTTR FM
Tom Ball And Kenny Sultan Opened

OldNeumanntapr Notes;
I remember this show Well! It was the first time that I had seen Los Lobos and I got a free ticket at the very last minute. The guy who did PR for the company that I worked for had some free tickets because we were a sponsor of the show. I asked him for one on the day of the show at work. He gave me hell for waiting for the last minute to request a ticket and said not to hold my breath. At the end of the day he came to me and tossed me a ticket on my desk and said, ‘Here you are. It’s front row but…’ But what? I asked. ‘It’s all the way on the side’, he said. ‘Right in front of the left PA stack.’ I smiled and said that wouldn’t be a problem! I rushed home after work and quickly gathered my Nakamichi CM-300s and my Sony D6 and headed to the show. I missed the opening band which was Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan because I had to go all the way home to pick up my recording equipment. Interestingly enough, that was the day that a semi truck loaded with VERY toxic jet fuel bound for Vandenberg Air Force Base broke down on the Cuesta grade so they had the 101 freeway shut down over the grade. I had to detour through Morro Bay to get home. I wasn’t sure how Los Lobos felt about live taping. This was in the days before the internet so you couldn’t just check a web page. I was pretty sure the theater wouldn’t like it so I decided to play it safe. I set up the mics in the bathroom and then went to find my seat. The Fremont is an old Art-Deco-styled movie theater dating back to WW II. It has 1000 seats 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. I’ve been seeing movies in that theater since 1977 and it’s a favorite. Previously, there have only been a few bands that have played there in the history of the theater. Bonnie Raitt played there in 1983. Los Lobos played there twice, this show and once in ’95. I liked the ’92 show better. The band Yes also played there in the mid 90s. (Currently two different concert promoters have been utilizing the Fremont for live shows.) My audience master sounds like a board tape because I was literally 4 feet from the left PA stack. I ran the Nakamichi’s in a Levi jacket that had holes cut into the bottom of the front pockets so that only the capsules would stick out. The D6 I ran in a hip pack. This was my standard set up for shows at this time. I had really long hair then that I would use to cover the end of the mics with so they couldn’t be seen. There was a Cal Poly athlete security guard sitting in a folding chair not too far from me so I couldn’t really monitor my deck. When I felt the D6 shut off in the middle of a song (much sadness) I had to get up and walk back up the aisle to an empty seat to flip the tape without being seen. Ah but the struggles that we had to endure before going DAT!!! So as a result, the end of ‘Emily’ is cut. The band was really tight and the sound was awesome. They were really enthusiastic to be playing there and they did a lot of interesting and what I found out later to be rare songs. I recorded the Los Lobos show at the Fremont in ’95 but that show was SO LOUD that I had some clipping problems with the Nyquist omni mics that I had used. I think the ’92 was a much better show, both sonically and musically.

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

The Mavericks – San Luis Obispo, CA (09/20/16)

The Mavericks
9/20/16
Fremont Theater
San Luis Obispo, CA

Neumann AK 40s (ORTF In Hat) >LC3 >KM 100s >Beyer MV-100 (20db Gain) >Tascam DR100mkII (24bit/48khz)

Front Row, DEAD Center (5ft In Front Of Raul Malo).

WAV >Sound Forge Pro 11.0 Build 299 (Waves L1+ Ultramaximizer Stereo plugin) >Audacity (Track Splits, Minor Edits, Down Sample / Dither To 16bit/44.1khz) >FLAC (Level 8) + Tags Via xACT 2.37

Recorded, Audacity, FLAC And Tags By OldNeumanntapr
Sound Forge Pro Post Production By Dennis Orr

16 BIT FILES

  1. Announcements, By Bruce Howard Of Otter Productions
  2. Prologue >
  3. Back In Your Arms Again
  4. I Got You
  5. All Night Long
  6. All Over Again
  7. Stories We Could Tell
  8. All That Heaven Will Allow
  9. There Goes My Heart
  10. Dance The Night Away
  11. Blue Bayou
  12. Loving You
  13. From Hell To Paradise
  14. As Long As There’s Loving Tonight
  15. Encore Break
  16. Us And Them*
  17. Harvest Moon**
  18. Born On The Bayou***
  19. Brown Sugar****
  20. Dance In The Moonlight
  21. What A Crying Shame
  22. Come Unto Me

Raul Malo: Lead Vocals, Electric + Acoustic Guitars, & Percussion
Paul Deakin: Drums, Percussion & Marimba
Eddie Perez: Electric + Acoustic Guitars
Jerry Dale McFadden: Piano, Organ & Celeste
Max Abrams: Saxophone
Unknown: Trumpet
Unknown: Stand Up Bass
Unknown: Accordion

Drive In Romeos Opened

*Pink Floyd Cover
**Neil Young Cover
***Creedence Clearwater Revival Cover
****Rolling Stones Cover

OldNeumanntapr Notes-
This is a band that I wasn’t familiar with, though I have heard the music of Raul Malo on KPIG FM. I just didn’t know that he fronted The Mavericks. I got a free ticket at the last minute from my friend Dave but the block that he got from the promoter was all in the front row. My seat was in Row A, DEAD Center, directly in front of Raul. I wasn’t really happy with the placement but it was a near sold out house so there was really nothing I could do about it. As it turned out it didn’t sound half bad. The vocals sounded a bit ‘hollow’ because I was under the main PA stacks. But, what I lost from the vocals I gained in proximity to the stage and lack of obnoxious crowd. (The obnoxious people were behind me, instead of in front.) My neck has a crick in it from looking up for almost two hours. I tried to raise the capsules as much as I could, but there was a stupid woman behind me that stood to dance the whole show and periodically hit me in the head with her flailing arms. So, I had to be careful how far back I leaned. The guitars had on-stage amps which were really clear (I was able to aim the microphones directly between Raul’s two angled wedge vocal monitors to catch the sound coming off of his two Fender amps), and I could clearly hear both the trumpet player and the sax player on stage. The keyboards seemed to be run through a DI because it seemed that I remember only hearing them through the mains. The band sounded really good onstage.

Someone upset Raul at the end of ‘As Long As There’s Loving Tonight’ (before the encore break) and he got pissed and threw his water bottle at them. I didn’t see exactly what happened because I had my eyes closed a bit, trying to listen to see if I could differentiate the various instruments in the mix, and because the little rotating lights on stage kept momentarily blinding me. The person in question was to my left, either in the front row or the one directly behind. Raul stormed off stage at the end of the song after yelling ‘Get the F out of here’ to the person, and the rest of the band followed him. I wasn’t sure if they were coming back after a couple of minutes, but they returned to the stage and played at least another 50 minutes including a lot of cover songs.

Because I was in the front row I couldn’t monitor my recorder at all without being seen, so I set levels during the opening band. My levels on The Mavericks set were a lot hotter than I had expected, because the headliner was a lot louder than the opening band. (My friend Abe commented that he felt that the sound was twice as loud as it needed to be.) It was pretty loud, but again, I was so close to the stage that the majority of my sound was coming from the musicians themselves. I was off axis to the PA stacks but could still hear them pretty well. All of the vocals were coming off of the PA. The only flaw, and it’s a minor one, of this recording is that the vocals are not as clear and well defined as I would have liked but they are acceptable. I was worried during the show that I was going to over drive the Beyerdynamics preamp into clipping, because it has a tendency to distort if the sound is really loud, especially if the -10db pads are not used on the microphone bodies. I’ve been recording a lot lately with the Lunatec V2 preamp, which is a lot more adjustable so I haven’t been engaging the pads, but the V2 is a lot bigger and would have been impossible to hide in this setting. I checked the pack a couple of times to see if I could tell if the overload LEDs were lit, and they were glowing at the peaks, but I have read that the clipping lights on the Beyer flash red at 7db BEFORE clipping occurs.

Thanks to Dave for the ticket, and thanks to Dennis for the post production help. I am only a link in a chain and these recordings would not be possible without the help of others. I hope everyone enjoys this one, because it was a really good show. Raul introduced only the keyboard player and the sax player. The photo, along with the known band member names, I pulled off of their websites.

The Historic Fremont (Movie Theater) Was Built In 1942

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