Not The Greatest Weekend To Leave Town.

Thursday February 24th:

The Hexagon - 10pm FREE 21+
Is/Is, Leisure Birds, The Chambermaids, Larry Wish & His Guys

The Triple Rock - 8pm $8 18+
Smith Westerns, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Teenage Moods

Friday February 25th:

7th St. Entry - 9pm $5 18+
Sleeping in the Aviary, Buffalo Moon, Teenage Moods(CD release), Mystery Palace

Hell's Kitchen - 10pm $5 18+
Food Pyramid, Fire In The Northern Firs, Grant Cutler's 2012

Hexagon - 9pm FREE 21+
The Drug Budget, The Chickadee Mountain Martyrs, God Came From Space Small White and the Budgeteers Acapella All-Stars (U.S.)

Saturday February 26th:

Hell's Kitchen - 10pm $5 21+
The Funeral and the Twilight, Hollow Boys, Safewords

OXHX - 10pm
Mother of Fire, Tips for Twat, Camden

Rathole - 9pm $5
Deep Shit (Madison HC), Scaphe, Brain Tumors, Birth, Shane Shane

Nick and Eddie - $5 ($3 with fb rsvp) 18+
Crimes, inBoil, Nice Purse, Dial-Up (dj-ing)

Yeti Records - 7pm
Little Dog on Top of A Big Dog

Sunday February 27th:

Cause - 9pm $5 21+
They Live, Much Worse, Brain Tumors, Bobby Sunshine & Gary Leather

The Turf Club - 9pm $5 21+
El le Faunt (CD release party), Sorry OK, The Great Confinement

Dillinger Four @ The Triple Rock

Dillinger Four
The Triple Rock Social Club
Minneapolis, MN
Friday February 4th 2011

These tracks are for promotional and archival purposes only.

"Gainesville"
"A Floater Left With Pleasure in the Executive Washroom"
"Let Them Eat Thomas Paine"

Once Dillinger Four heard that Paint it Black was coming through town they decided to throw a special Winter 2011 party. Much Worse supported. Please support the bands by picking up the official releases. The Triple Rock Social Club for life. What's up Leila? I hope your friend enjoys the LP!

The Chickadee Mountain Martyrs @ The Triple Rock

A .RAR file containing this recording is available here.

The Chickadee Mountain Martyrs
The Triple Rock
Minneapolis, MN
Sunday October 3rd 2010

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: DINish, Right drink rail, 30' back, ~7.5' ^
Source: AKG 414B-xls (Cards) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > RazorLame> 320kbps mp3]
Edit: CD Wave (tracking) Sound Forge 10 (compression)

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. S.O.L.
02. Short Snorter
03. Princess Snax
04. Blood on the Saddle
05. Stressed 2 Da Max In The Ghetto
06. Work/Drink

Bandcamp | Facebook | Myspace

It was an honor to have so many top shelf bands play the "birthday show." A huge thanks to The Chickadee Mountain Martyrs, Sleeping in the Aviary, Bird Sounds and Strong Bones. Of course I wanted this to go down at one of my favorite haunts so a giant cyber bear hug to Kermit for helping to make that possible. Thank you to anyone who stopped down to check it out as well.

I have no problem in saying that The Chickadee Mountain Martyrs' Comeuppance is one of the best records to come out of Minneapolis in the past few years. If you're at all curious about checking it out it's available on The Martyrs' bandcamp page. It should also be noted that this wasn't just any ole Martyrs set. Yes. Nikki Grossman, OG member of the Martyrs took the stage on violin and vocals. If I'm not mistaken this has not happened since.

Citizens of the Empire @ Hell's Kitchen

A .RAR file containing this recording is available here.

Citizens of the Empire
Hell's Kitchen
Minneapolis, MN
Thursday January 27th 2011

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: AB, off to the left, ~20' back, ~7' ^
Source: AKG 414B-xls (Cards) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > Razorlame > 320kbps mp3]
Edit: CD Wave (tracking) No other editing was done.

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. Insurrection Is Our Only Weapon Against The Machine Of Alienation
02. Untitled
03. We Pay For Our Lives With Our Deaths
04. Apathy And Resignation Are The Sources Of Our Misfortune
05. Through Obedience We Develop The Reflex Of Submission

Bandcamp | Facebook | Myspace

A perfect recording to release on a snowed in day like today. It's been on repeat for a couple of hours up here in the batcave. I love COTE. Their 7 track s/t debut is highly recommended and is available on the bandcamp page. The Falcon Arrow and White Mischief sets have been posted as well. Delta Lyrae is to follow. Thanks to the bands and to Hell's Kitchen for allowing me to record.

Happy Is The New Sad.

Last night I hit The Triple Rock to capture HeatdeatH's set. They left many a body in their wake. I know in my heart that Deerhoof was amazing but I needed to keep moving on to The Kitty Cat Klub for Perish06. Ones and zeros of the Hollow Boys debut exist...so glad I caught that. Mesa Pizza: 1 slice Chicken Pot Pie & 1 slice Gyro. Good friends make life easier. My contacts and I slept on Ben's couch. Over and out.

EmptysTapes.com: Soon.

After having collected numerous recordings from my favorite bands starting in 1999 when I got to college I began recording my own shows in 2004. I didn't register this blog until 2006 but if you look over to the right at the bottom of the "Blog Archive" you'll see I didn't start actively posting recordings here until 2007. Up to that point I was content with circulating shows on various live recording BitTorrent trackers, primarily The Traders' Den. Well, no more cumbersome blog URL. I didn't buy the emptystapes.com domain until sometime in 2009 but yes, finally only one URL will be needed to find this place. No more dot blogspot dot com dot yatta yatta.

What's even more exciting than a simple URL redirect that should have happened years ago? Someone with a massive amount of talent who many of you know has agreed to help me finally start designing a site so the move to the .com can be made once and for all.

4onthefloor @ The Triple Rock

Download a .RAR file containing this recording here.
(Please email me if you'd like a FLAC copy)

4onthefloor
The Triple Rock
Gastro Non Grata : Pre-Valentine Fricassee III
Minneapolis, MN
Sunday February 13th 2011

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: AB, FOB, 30' back, ~7' ^
Source: AKG 414B-xls (Hypers) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > RazorLame> 320kbps mp3]
Edit: tracking (CD Wave) compression + fades (Sound Forge 10)

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. Workin' Man Zombie
02. Off the Cuff
03. Lionhearted
04. Junkie
05. Irish Tune
06. On Tuesdays
07. Magic Trick (M. Ward)
08. King of the Jungle
09. Smokestack Lightning (Howlin' Wolf)
10. Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley)
11. Undertow
12. First on a List of Things I Don't Need
13. Bricklayer

Site | Bandcamp | Facebook | Myspace | Twitter | Youtube

Now we got a band that even I've been sleeping on. After recording them earlier in the month at The Turf Club there was no way I was going to miss a collaboration with Gastro Non Grata at one of my favorite establishments. How about all of the amazing events that Gastro Non Grata hosts around town? 4onthefloor's 16 track debut is available on iTunes and Amazon or at shows. The vinyl will be released April 2nd at The Triple Rock Social Club.

Guante & Big Cats! @ The Fine Line

Photo: Justin Schell
A .RAR file containing this recording is available here.

Guante & Big Cats!
The Fine Line
Minneapolis, MN
Saturday February 12th 2011

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: AB, FOB, 30' back, ~7' ^
Source: AKG 414B-xls (Hypers) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > RazorLame> 320kbps mp3]
Edit: tracking (CD Wave) compression + fades (Sound Forge 10)

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. Just a Song w/ Claire Taubenhaus
02. Intro > Talk
03. The Ripple
04. Bring Out Your Dead
05. The Hero
06. Some Random Punchline Verses
07. Dragons
08. Red States
09. One of These Mornings (Remix)
10. REACH (spoken-word)

Bandcamp | Facebook | Myspace

Guante rises above his contemporaries no matter want he's getting into that particular day. A couple of years ago when Guante & Big Cats! joined forces I knew it meant trouble for those who had gotten used to being at the top, whatever that means these days. If you're not familiar with Big Cats! production you can get familiar at bigcatsbeats.com. Thanks to The Fine Line for being cool with me recording.

Douchelords And The Affliction Spring Collection: Saturday Night Downtown

All snide hyperbole aside last night was well worth the effort. With a half dozen choice shows to attend last night I devised a plan to keep it Downtown for maximum documentation. Guante & Big Cats! and Kristoff Krane were playing the Fine Line as part of Botzy's annual The Best Love Free is show. I was glad I got down to the Warehouse District in time to catch the Wesley Opus & Botzy set. Be sure to check them out if you haven't. No slight intended to Soulcrate Music or Culture Cry Wolf but after Guante & Big Cats! left the stage in smoldering ashes it was time to head to Hell's Kitchen aka the Downtown safe house.

Got downstairs just in time to hear the last couple Ill Chemistry numbers. I've been a supporter of Desdemona and Carnage for years but unfortunately it's impossible to capture all of the 1s and 0s in this city we love. I knew I had seen Wizards Are Real once before at The Turf Club but the details of that evening were foggy at best. I was really impressed with their set and would definitely enjoy seeing them again. They delivered a much needed jazz cut wormhole into the end of the night. And then now? The Book of Right On, the band that drew me in. A band whom if you've poked around this site for the past six to thirty six months you know comes highly endorsed. Recordings to follow.

Saturday February 12th 2011

So what do you do when you're presented with so many options? You record Guante and Big Cats! playing behind a really nice PA.

The Turf Club - 10pm $6 21+ Ryan O's Bday!

Blind Shake
The Cloak Ox (ex-Fog)
Baby Boys

Tarnish and Gold - 7pm $5

Teenage Moods
Bouncer Fighter
Wisconsin Night Life

Hell's Kitchen - 10:30pm $5 21+

Book of Right On
Wizards Are Real
Ill Chemistry

Kitty Cat Klub - 10pm $5

Dragons Power Up!
Delta Lyrae
I'm Not Dead / I'm Not a Robot

Love Power (Mpls) - $10 with rsvp / $12 without rsvp 8pm

LOVESICK: HIEROGLYPHIC BEING
Food Pyramid + CLAPS + C-boyz + Jarvis Mason + Chelsea Boys + Buildings + Night Moves + Wetlegs - Le Funktion (Chicago) Naughty Wood - Kode † Nation The Nightstalker - Cizetta Sovietpanda- Too Much Love Dj Bach - Bee Cool

Sound Gallery - 9pm $12 21+

MPLSTV & GimmeNoise Prsnt:
Mystery Palace
Slapping Purses
Spyder Baybie Rawdog
DJ Dick Pic

Hexagon - 10pm FREE 21+

Brain Tumors
Ambassador Gun
Blue Ox
Iron Thrones

Fine Line - 8pm 21+ $10

Culture Cry Wolf
Soulcrate Music
Guante and Big Cats!
Kristoff Krane
Wesley Opus and Botzy
DJ Fundo (of Stophouse)

The Cedar - 7pm $15

Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles are in Big Trouble again
Dave Campbell

The Triple Rock - 21+ 9pm $6

God Came From Space
Rat Catcher
Kentucky Beltfight
Fiero

Friday February 11th 2011.

Hell's Kitchen (10:30pm $5 21+)

National Bird
Rank Stranger
Oceancats

Love Power (Frankenstein's Day Pizza Party $5 or Free with Potluck contribution)

The Somethin' Else #9
9:20-MKR
9:40-The Eclectic Ensemble
10:00-Patrick & Rick
10:20-Littlefoot
10:40-(Alans)
11:00-Jesse & Tim
11:20-Camden
11:40-Self Sound Orchestra
12:00-Ostraka
12:20- S/M
12:40-Speakerthrone
1:00-Makr/Marx
1:20-Jackie, Jonathan (& Naomi?)
1:40-Dark Lord of Rhodes

+ DJ's upstairs

The Turf Club (9pm $6 21+)

The Mighty Mofos
Ventures Cover Band
The Floorshakers (Can't make it?)

Ladies Night @ Gleb (10pm $5 AA)

Chelsea Boys
UMAMI (Angelo of Guystorm's new band 1st show)
The Bugulars (Preston of Buffalo Moon's new band)

The Rathole (10pm)

Brain Tumors
Getting Even
Cülo

The Nomad (9pm $5 21+)

Wizard Fight
Nice Purse
Pennyroyal
Farewell Milwaukee

Live Tracks On Radio K's Off The Record Today!

Andrew and I will be playing some live tracks today on OTR. You won't want to miss the live in studio performance by Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles either! Off The Record airs every Friday from 3pm to 5pm.

104.5 FM Metro Area 24/7
100.7 FM St. Paul 24/7
106.5 FM Minneapolis 4:30PM-8:00AM
770 AM Minneapolis/St. Paul Daylight Hours
iPhone Public Radio Player iPhone app
Stream Radio K online.

Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream - "Ashes to Afterbirth"

Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream - "Ashes to Afterbirth" (10/31/09)

On Saturday October 31st, 2009 Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream, a group that featured Austin Dufault on production with Micheal Larsen, Kristoff Krane and Mike Schank on vocals took the stage at The Turf Club for their live debut. They only played about six shows and I was able to record three of them. Some people may have heard the Audience version of this track but I gave Mikey the master recordings and he mixed in the Soundboard. This is the first time a high-res mp3 of his mix has been made available. "Ashes to Afterbirth" was also the first song Austin and him worked on together when they started Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream.

LoveSick @ Love Power Friday Night

LoveSick from Dillon Bakke on Vimeo.

Bands (basement)

Wetlegs 9-10
Night Moves 10-11 pm
Food Pyramid 11-12am
Chelsea Boys 12- 1am
CLAPS 1-2am
Buildings 2-3am
DJ Bach - 3-close

DJ's (upstairs)

The Nightstalker 9-11
Jarvis Mason 11-12:45
Heiroglyphic Being 12:45- 2-15
Naughty Wood 2:15- 3:15
Sovietpanda 3:15-close

Video amazement by VISIONQUEST.

$10 w/rsvp / $12 w/out rsvp
PLEASE RSVP.
Facespace.

Reviler's First Anniversary Show Tonight!

Reviler.org is one year old and will be celebrating tonight at The Triple Rock with a serious line up that goes something like this:

Mother Of Fire
Buffalo Moon
Camden
Orchard Thief

8PM | 18+ | $6
629 Cedar Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55454
(612) 333-7399

Adam Bubolz will be playing records between bands. Fans of bacon should also know that it's Free Bacon Night in the old bar from 9-11. Bacon cooked popcorn? $3 PBR tallboys?

Skoal Kodiak In California

02-18 - Los Angeles @ Spaceland
(with Har Mar Superstar, P.O.S., Marijuana Deathsquads)

02-19 - Oakland

02-20 - San Francisco

I'd check the Skoal Kodiak facebook for info on the Bay Area venues.

The Hold Steady @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

This recording is available on nyctaper.com

The Hold Steady
2011-01-31
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Microtech-Gefell MG210>Naiant littlebox>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: Left balcony, pointed at left stack
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking)

Tracks [Total Time 1:35:17]
01 Intro
02 Ask Her For Adderall
03 The Swish
04 Magazines
05 Rock Problems
06 Hurricane J
07 Cattle and the Creeping Things
08 Barfruit Blues
09 The Sweet Part of the City
10 Same Kooks
11 Sequestered in Memphis
12 Barely Breathing
13 Lord, I’m Discouraged
14 Constructive Summer
15 Chips Ahoy!
16 Stuck Between Stations
17 Stevie Nix
18 First Night
19 Ascension Blues
20 Slapped Actress
21 [encore break]
22 Positive Jam
23 Southtown Girls
24 Most People Are DJs

Site | Facebook | Myspace

Thanks to acidjack and nyctaper.com a top notch recording of The Hold Steady's 8th Anniversary of having played Music Hall of Williamsburg (formerly Northsix) is now in circulation. nyctaper.com have been going strong for a long time and I love what they are doing in the five boroughs. Please support The Hold Steady by checking out the official releases.

Children of Euler @ The Entry

A .RAR file containing this recording is available here.

Children of Euler
The Entry
Minneapolis, MN
Monday January 31st 2011

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. Highway
02. Proof and Consequence
03. Parallel Lines
04. Heliocentric
05. Untitled about Turing
06. Failing the Turing Test
07. Untitled New One
08. Visage of Unity

ASS Records | Facebook | Myspace

COE. Better metal in Minneapolis? Possibly, but highly doubtful. This show also featured sets from Hardcore Crayons, Thrash Compactor and Agonizing Death. Thanks to Matt, the Entry and all of the bands.

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: AB, right left drink rail, 25' back, ~7' ^
Source: AKG 414B-xls (Hypers) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > RazorLame> 320kbps mp3]

A plan is coming together...

It's Wednesday night. That means H.U.N.X. + ALANS at Nick and Eddie. Looks like I'm spending Thursday night on the other side of the river. Heading over straight from work to catch an early show at The Canvas featuring Kristoff Krane, Guante, Carnage and See More Perspective. After checking out this new arts based community center it'll be time to head over to The Turf for Dragons Power Up! and 4ontheFloor. This weekend could very well hold in store back nights at The Triple Rock with Dillinger 4 + Paint it Black playing Friday and The Drug Budget on Saturday. Five shows in four nights is definitely doable.

Har Mar Superstar and Marijuana Deathsquads Spaceland Residency

Har Mar Superstar and Marijuana Deathsquads will be playing Spaceland in Los Angeles every Friday during the month of February. Apparently, the club is now called The Satellite but the shows are still being put on by Spaceland.

Friday 02/04/11
Spaceland Presents FRIDAYS in Feb Residency with:
Har Mar Superstar, Giant Drag, Marijuana Deathsquads, Little Dog On Top Of A Big Dog
8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Friday 02/11/11
Spaceland Presents FRIDAYS in Feb Residency with:
Har Mar Superstar, Shannon And The Clams, Marijuana Deathsquads, Pope Anything
8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Friday 02/18/11
Spaceland Presents FRIDAYS in Feb Residency with:
Har Mar Superstar, P.O.S. & Mike Mictlan of Doomtree, Marijuana Deathsquads, Skoal Kodiak
8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Friday 02/24/11
Spaceland Presents FRIDAYS in Feb Residency with:
Har Mar Superstar, Samantha Ronson Band, Marijuana Deathsquads, Slapping Purses
8:30pm / $8 / 21+