Zebulon Pike @ First Avenue

Zebulon Pike
First Avenue
Gastro Non Grata Raconteur Rendezvous 2
Minneapolis, MN
Saturday July 9th 2011

Recorded by: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: DINish, DFC, BOB, 60' back, ~7.5' ^
Source 1: AKG 414B-xls (Hypers) > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Source 2: SBD > Dual RCA (XLR adapters) > Sony PCM-D50 (Line-in @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Edit: 4 track matrix done by Dr. K. in Adobe Audition

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

Zebulon Pike - "Behold, The Wizard's Fountain" (320kbps mp3)

Zebulon Pike - "Behold, The Wizard's Fountain" (FLAC)

zebulonpike.com | Facebook | Myspace

A huge thanks to the good Dr. K. for his efforts in the 4 track matrix, Zebulon Pike, Gastro Non Grata and First Avenue!

Sorry OK @ First Avenue

Photo: Jennifer Andrus Castro

320kbps mp3 | FLAC available upon request.

Sorry OK
First Avenue
Gastro Non Grata Raconteur Rendezvous 2
Minneapolis, MN
Saturday July 9th 2011

Recorded by: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: DINish, DFC, BOB, 60' back, ~7.5' ^
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 > TLH > FLAC (level 6)]
Edit: Compression + Fades (Sound Forge 10) Track indexing (CD Wave)

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. I Need To See Somebody
02. I Will Live My Life This Way
03. Long Long Time
04. How I Wonder What You Are
05. Isabel
06. Under A Bridge We Had A Conversation
07. The Fish

ShugE - guitar/vocals
Kevin - trombone/vocals
Will - bass
Manny - violin
Jen - flute
Vain - keyboard
Matt - drums

sorryok.com | Bandcamp | Facebook | Myspace | Anti-Civ Records

Out of the seven bands who played Gastro Non Grata Raconteur Rendezvous 2 in the Mainroom and the Bloody Gastro After Show in The Entry the Sorry OK set was definitely one of my favorites. Thanks to Craig & Jeff with Gastro Non Grata and everyone at First Avenue.

Explosions In the Sky Return to the Mainroom.

This October Explosions In the Sky will be returning to First Avenue for the first time since their March 29th 2007 stop.

Monday October 10th 2011
Explosions In the Sky
with Wye Oak
Mainroom | 7:00pm | 18+
$18.00 adv | $20.00 door

On sale: Friday, May 27 at 12:00pm CST. Tickets are also available locally at these outlets.

09/01 -- Tucson, AZ -- Rialto Theatre
09/02 -- San Diego, CA -- SOMA
09/05 -- Big Sur, CA -- Henry Miller Library
09/08 -- Spokane, WA -- Bing Crosby Theater
09/09 -- Vancouver, BC -- The Vogue Theatre
09/11 -- Boise, ID -- Egyptian Theatre
09/13 -- Denver, CO -- The Fillmore Auditorium
09/14 -- Albuquerque, NM -- Sunshine Theatre
09/16 -- Dallas, TX -- AT&T Performing Arts Center - Strauss Square
09/28 -- New Orleans, LA -- Tipitina's *
09/29 -- Atlanta, GA -- Tabernacle *
09/30 -- Asheville, NC -- Orange Peel *
10/01 -- Baltimore, MD -- Ram's Head Live
10/02 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Tower Theater
10/03 -- Montclair, NJ -- Wellmont Theatre
10/05 -- Boston, MA -- Orpheum Theatre
10/06 -- Montreal, QC -- Metropolis Theatre *
10/07 -- Toronto, ON -- Sound Academy *
10/08 -- Royal Oak, MI -- Royal Oak Music Theatre *
10/10 -- Minneapolis, MN -- First Avenue *
10/11 -- Des Moines, IA -- Val Air Ballroom *
10/12 -- Kansas City, MO -- Uptown Theatre *
10/13 -- Oklahoma City, OK -- Diamond Ballroom *

* Wye Oak supports

I Can't Be In Two Cities At The Same Time.

Also this evening!

First Avenue Presents:

Moon Duo (San Francisco)
Food Pyramid
CLAPS

The Turf Club
8pm Doors
$10

It's true. I've tried it before. This bill is sick, sick, sick. Three sicks. Wish I could be there.

Alpha Consumer @ First Avenue

Alpha Consumer
Gayngs Affiliyated Showcase
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
Sunday March 6th 2011

Select Tracks From Sunday Night's Set For Promotional Use Only.

"Cry Bullets"
"Unicorn Uniform"
"Stepsister"

J.T. Bates
Michael Lewis
Jeremy Ylvisker

Bandcamp | Facebook | Myspace

This post is for Mikey. We miss you.

Thank you to First Avenue and the bands for allowing me to record. Alpha Consumer has 3 full length releases available via their bandcamp page including 2011's Kick Drugs Out of America.

Dawes @ First Avenue

Photo by: Matt Jacoby

A .RAR file containing this recording is available here.

Dawes
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
Thursday November 11th 2010

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. My Girl To Me
02. When You Call My Name
03. That Western Skyline
04. My Way Back Home
05. Bedside Manner
06. How Far We've Come
07. God Rest My Soul
08. If I Wanted Someone
09. Love Is All I Am
10. Fire Away
11. Peace In The Valley
12. When My Time Comes
13. ...Encore
14. A Little Bit Of Everything
15. I Got A Feelin (It's Gonna Be Alright)

Hey this one is for Kyle and Meredith. I first recorded Dawes this past February at The Triple Rock. This show also featured sets by Minneapolis based duo Peter Wolf Crier and Seattle's The Moondoggies. FLAC format of The Moondoggies set is available here. Thank you to the bands and First Avenue for allowing these recordings to be made.

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: DINish, Behind board, ~50' back, ~8' ^
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 > TLH lvl 6 + Tested > FLAC]
Edit: CD Wave (tracking) Sound Forge 10 (fades)

Guided By Voices Live at First Avenue

Guided By Voices Live at First Avenue (10/12/10) available for purchase on gbvdigital.com

"After breaking up Guided By Voices in 2004, Robert Pollard is reuniting the "classic" Guided By Voices line-up for just one brief US tour. Tobin Sprout (guitar) Charles "Mitch" Mitchell (guitar), Greg Demos (bass) and Kevin Fennel (drums) will be joining Pollard on classic GBV songs from 1992-1996 from the albums Propellor, Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes and Under The Bushes, Under The Stars."

I had planned on trying to record this but when I heard the band was recording the shows officially I knew that would get nixed. Glad there's a recording out there though.

Frank Turner @ First Avenue

How was Frank last night? Did he steal the show? It wasn't until Friday that I realized all of the $30 tickets were SOLD OUT for Social Distortion, Lucero and Frank Turner at First Avenue. I was all jazzed from an email I had just gotten from Frank giving me permission to record his set but I was quickly knocked back down to size once I realized tickets were gone.

Here's Frank's first stop in Minneapolis at the Cabooze on October 3rd 2009.

Roma di Luna (CD Release) @ First Avenue

Download this recording in FLAC format via The Traders' Den (BitTorrent).

Roma di Luna
October 2, 2010
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN

Taper: pjp and empty
Source1: Schoeps MK4 > Nbox > Edirol R44
Source2: SBD > Edirol R44
Location: Front right corner of board
Transfer: R44 > USB > CEP > CDwav > .flac
Editing: Mixed with Cool Edit Pro, removed a couple clicks, fades

***************************************************
DO NOT ENCODE TO LOSSY FORMATS!
***************************************************

Setlist:

01. Pearls For Pigs
02. Baby Hotel
03. Hey Lover
04. Mars
05. Starling
06. Miss You Too
07. Below Our Feet
08. Ghost Dance
09. Before I Die
10. I Will [The Beatles]
11. Porcupine
12. Red Walls
13. Plans to Leave
14. Drop a Penny
15. Bury Me (Beneath The Killing Fields)

Total running time: 78:06

***************************************************

Alexei Moon Casselle - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Channy Moon Casselle - lead vocals, violin
Ben Durrant - electric guitar
James Everest - bass guitar
Ryan Lovan - drums and percussion
Jesse Prusha - vocal harmonies, piano on "I Will"
Eliza Blue - vocal harmonies on select songs
David Olson - trumpet
Martin Devaney - tenor sax
Chris Thomson - tenor sax

- the above is P.J.'s original post from TTD.

Site | Myspace | Facebook | Twitter

Wow, what a show. This was a co-album release with Dark Dark Dark. Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps supported Saturday evening. This recording is available in FLAC format via BitTorrent. Further information regarding those technologies can be found along the right side of the blog below the Venue listing. It's possible that this recording may also be available on the Live Music Archive at some point but right now this torrent is the only way to obtain it. Roma di Luna's Then the Morning Came as well as Dark Dark Dark's Wild Go are both available through the bands' websites. I'm sure they are or will be available at a good number of the local Minneapolis/St. Paul record stores (check The Electric Fetus, Treehouse Records, Cheapo, Yeti Records and Extreme Noise).

Thank you to the bands and to First Avenue for allowing us to document this show. Much respect to Lee and Conrad.

Roma di Luna Release Third LP: Then the Morning Came

On Saturday October 2nd Roma di Luna will release Then the Morning Came in the Mainroom at First Avenue.

"Mythologist Joseph Campbell once wrote, “Love is a friendship set to music.” For Alexei & Channy Casselle, husband and wife who began playing as Roma di Luna five years ago, that love is too big not to share. What started as a simple yet profound folk-singing duo on the 2006 EP Face of My Friends and 2007's Find Your Way Home began to develop as a band on 2008’s Casting the Bones. Now with full-time band members in the dynamic rhythm section of Ben Durrant, James Everest and Ryan Lovan, as well as vocalist Jessi Prusha, Roma di Luna has come into it’s own on the forthcoming full-length Then The Morning Came."

"Then The Morning Came weaves together influences of roots, bluegrass, gospel, psychedelia and soul, arrangements the band members brought to the structures supplied by Channy & Alexei. Channy's evocative voice remains front and center, surrounded by a magnificent array of sounds and textures inspired by the collaborative and adventurous approach the whole band took to producing the album. Recorded from April of 2009 to July 2010 at Crazy Beast Studio (Dosh, Andrew Bird) the process of Then The Morning Came was surrounded by births and deaths, often beset by a chaos and confusion that almost stopped the music-making altogether. Rising from challenges, the new life of the four babies who were born to the band members during recording was a source of comfort and strength. Channy wrote of the time, “Most of these songs were written and recorded with my newborn daughter in my arms. They are a reflection of the life and death surrounding her first year on this earth, the love and the madness I found in myself and the friendship of all my fears.” In that compass of Roma di Luna’s personal joys and struggles they made a record that builds on the traditions of the band and the cornerstones of American music, but contains its own entrancing power that is wholly and passionately their own."

Roma di Luna - "Hey Lover"

Upcoming Shows:

August 27th - Minnesota ZOO Amphitheater w/ Carolina Chocolate Drops, 7pm

September 5th & 6th - MN State Fair: Heritage Stage, 6pm

October 2nd - First Avenue Mainroom, w/ Dark Dark Dark (also their CD release show), Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps, DJ Anatomy, Minneapolis, MN 6pm

Why? @ First Avenue

Download a .RAR file containing this recording here.

Why?
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
Saturday June 26th 2010

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Mix: Zach Boes
Source: AUD + SBD Matrix
Other: see .txt file

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes ONLY.

01. The Fall of Mr. Fifths
02. January Twenty Something
03. Against Me
04. Rubber Traits
05. These Hands
06. The Vowels, Pt. 2
07. Good Friday
08. Song of the Sad Assassin
09. Fatalist Palmistry
10. Brook & Waxing
11. Yo Yo Bye Bye
12. A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under
13. Twenty Eight
14. Into the Shadows of My Embrace
15. By Torpedo or Crohn's
16. ...encore
17. Simeon's Dilemma
18. 21st Century Pop Song *

* Hymie's Basement

Yoni Wolf
Josiah Wolf
Doug Mcdiarmid
Andrew Broder
Mark Erickson

Site | Myspace | Facebook | Anticon | Fog

Thank you to Why?, Snake and First Avenue for allowing me to document this show. Thanks to Zach for putting his time into the mix. A year and a half ago I was in a pretty dark place but "Alopecia" scooped me up out of the gutter and dusted me off. I made it back to the green room to thank Yoni for the heart medicine. He thanked me for all of the recording and that meant a lot. Broder and Erickson do Minneapolis proud. Dosh and Jeremy Ylvisaker contributed gear for the show. Hopefully you didn't miss Deerhoof or Southeast Engine.

- empty 07/04/10


Photo by Adam Bubolz

Pretty Quiet Around Here Lately...

So there seems to be a constant stream of 50 or so people who check in even if I'm not posting much. I just wanted to say thank you for the interest. Now that the nice weather is here I've been trying not to sit locked away in my apartment. This of course leads to a reduction in the frequency of tapes being processed. I've recorded some shows in the passed couple weeks that haven't made it online yet so I need to go over some stuff. Perhaps I'll obtain permission to post a Dave King Trucking Company set from the Clown Lounge a couple of Mondays ago? Looking like a busy weekend though...

- I've been hired to record my first funeral this week.

- Friday night is sounding like a nice night to spend at The Cedar. Hawks & Oxen CD Release w/ Sleeping in the Aviary and The Sundowners. 7pm doors / 8pm music with a $5 admission in advance and $10.

- Saturday night WHY? play the Mainroom with Deerhoof and Southeast Engine. This is sure to be good medicine. I need some. 6pm doors $13/$15.

- Sunday night our friends Gastro Non Grata take over First Avenue & The 7th Street Entry with the Gastro Non Grata: Vagabond Vacation. Mainroom sets will feature; School of Rock, Birthday Suits, Unknown Prophets, Private Dancer and Pink Mink. The Entry will feature sets by; Moonstone, Fuck Knights, Rifflord and Guystorm.

Lookbook At First Avenue w/ Slapping Purses, Bight Club & Zoo Animail

Lookbook at First Ave. w/ Zoo Animal, BIGHT CLUB, & Slapping Purses from MPLS.TV on Vimeo.

Produced/shot/edited by Dan Huiting.
Additional camera operators: Adam Olson, Andre Durand and Chris Hadland.
Art by Matt Bardins and Hannah Haugberg.
Sound by John Coughlin.

A huge thank you to Dan, Lookbook, First Avenue (Conrad & Lee especially) and MPLS.TV for allowing Empty's Tapes to capture the 1s & 0s. All 4 sets were top notch from start to finish. The First Avenue staff ensured that everyone in attendance shared a wonderful night of local music. I also highly recommend checking out Zoo Animal, Bight Club and Slapping Purses if you're not already familiar with what they are up to. Hungry before of after the show? Check out The Depot, a newly opened restaurant owned and operated by First Avenue.

Northeast Minneapolis and afghani pizza

Will Marijuana Deathsquads At Nick and Eddie (V) get posted before I get to sleep? It's possible. Will it be posted next? Yes.

Friday night at The Hexagon was a grand ole gathering of friends. Sleeping in the Aviary, Military Special, Icarus Himself and Alpha Centauri kept things lively. Saturday night it was a privilege to record Lookbook, City on the Make, The Pines, Peter Wolf Crier, Jeremy Messersmith and Romantica in the Mainroom as part of Vita.MN's SXSW send off. After the Mainroom Ray and I rolled over to The 331 in his cadi to catch Gospel Gossip, Dante & The Lobster and Magic Castles.

Did I mention that the afghani pizza at the Crescent Moon Bakery is amazing?

Tornado Benefit for The Electric Fetus

Bring your friends down to First Avenue & The 7th Street Entry Friday February 26th to help support The Electric Fetus.

What: Tornado Benefit for The Electric Fetus
When: Friday, Feb. 26th
Time: Doors at 7, music at 7:30
Where: First Avenue Mainroom & Entry
Cost: $16 advance/$20 door
Ages: 18+

7 PM DOORS
7:30 entry: Peter Wolf Crier
8:00 MR: Cloud Cult
9:00 MR: Roma Di Luna
9:30 entry: Total Babe
10:00 MR: Jeremy Messersmith
10:30 entry: Caroline Smith & the Goodnight Sleeps
11:00 MR: Trailer Trash
11:30 entry: Ruby Isle
12:00 MR: Unknown Prophets
12:30 entry: Bill Mike Band

Moonstone Continuum @ First Avenue

Were you in the Mainroom to have your face melted by Moonstone Friday night? If not, man do I have something for you. Moonstone's debut LP comes out on Totally Gross National Product at the end of February. The album release show is set for 02/27/09 at The Turf Club with Tender Meat and more bands TBA. Current intel is that it will be a "12" vinyl release full length w/ 24 page booklet of scripture by the one Rev. M Mackert. Also, a download card with each." Thanks to the band and to First Avenue for allowing me to make this recording. To purchase tickets to shows at First Avenue & The 7th Street Entry locally please check out this listing of outlets.

Moonstone Continuum - "The Death of First Earth" Live in the Mainroom

First Avenue's "Best New Bands of 2009"

My friends MPLS.TV and I teamed up with Andrea Swensson of City Pages to help document First Avenue's "Best New Bands of 2009" this past Friday in the Mainroom. Much respect to MPLS.TV for doing what they do, Andrea for always being on top of her game and to Conrad for permitting me to capture audio of the evening. More information is available here.

First Avenue's Best New Bands of 2009 from MPLS.TV on Vimeo.

Lookbook @ First Avenue

320kbps mp3s available here. Right Click > "Save As"

Lookbook
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
Friday November 13th 2009

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: DINish, Behind board, ~40' back, ~11' ^
Source: MBHO 603a KA200N > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > iRiver h120 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: h120 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > TLH lvl 6 + Tested > FLAC]
Edit: CD Wave (tracking) Sound Forge 10 (fades + normalize)
TRT: 36:06

This Recording is for Promotional & Archival Purposes Only.

01. True to Form
02. Warm Coats
03. All My Best
04. Passenger
05. Believe the Hype
06. Wild at Heart
07. Surprise
08. Yesterday's Company
09. The Only Ones

Grant Cutler - beats, vocals, guitar
Maggie Morrison - vocals

www.myspace.com/lookbookmusic

Lookbook's debut LP "Wild at Heart" is available online at iTunes as well as here. The "I Fear You, My Darkness" EP is available as well but snatch that up before it goes out of print. Lookbook and The Hood Internet supported Solid Gold. Lookbook is a Twin Cities favorite so if you didn't know then now you do. Thank you to Lookbook and First Avenue for allowing this recording to go down.

P.O.S. @ First Avenue

I'll be in Phoenix taping WHY? but you won't want to miss this line up in the Mainroom. Get your tickets soon because it's likely to sell out fast. Leave it to Minneapolis to host a bill like this. I wish I wasn't missing it.

Please do me one small favor and consider picking up tickets at The Electric Fetus instead of Ticketmaster.

P.O.S.
with Plain Ole Bill, Slapping Purses, Prof & St. Paul Slim and Moonstone
First Avenue
Saturday, October 24, 2009
$10.00 adv | $12.00 door

Vampire Hands @ The Turf Club

Here's a link to the .FLAC files.
V0 mp3s available as the first official upload to emptystapes.com
Here's a link to a .RAR containing the V0 .mp3 files.

Vampire Hands
"Hannah in the Mansion" Album Release Party
The Turf Club
St. Paul, MN
Friday August 14th 2009

Taper: empty (emptystapes AT gmail DOT com)
Location: AB, 5' LOC, 6' back, ~8' ^
Source: SP-C4 Cards > Silver Quad customs > UA-5 (BM2p+) > Sony PCM D50 (Optical @ 16bit 44.1kHz WAV)
Transfer: D50 > USB 2.0 > PC [WAV > TLH lvl 6 + Tested > FLAC]
Edit: CD Wave (tracking) Sound Forge 9.0 (fades)
TRT: 66:06

01. ...intro
02. No Joy
03. Me and You Cherry Red
04. Queen Juno
05. Stunning Blond
06. Wolf Skin Pose
07. Eight Legs
08. Stauette
09. No Fun
10. Invisible Stairs
11. ...broken amp Blue Moon
12. Bodies Alone
13. Opium Typhoon
14. Safe Word
15. Take My Reigns *
16. Welcome to America *
17. Funny Stories
18. Paradise Knife Fights

* Unreleased

Alex - Drums
Chris B - Bass/vocals
Chris R - Guitar
Colin - Drums/synth/vocals

www.myspace.com/vampirehands | www.modern-radio.com

I won't rave about Vampire Hands too much here. They're super sick both live & in the studio. They're one of the best Twin Cities bands right here & now. The interwebs will agree with me. The Wrong Crowd (Kansas City, MO) and Velvet Davenport (Minneapolis) opened. If you check out either of those bands I'm pretty sure you will not be disappointed. This was to be my first 24 bit recording but we'll have to wait on that (thanks Sony).

A huge thanks to the bands for allowing this audio documentation.

Culture Bully has provided exceptional coverage of the show.

Hey, it looks like this torrent is still alive and kickin' if anyone is interested:

Vampire Hands 2008-10-08 Radio K 15th Anniversary Show First Avenue Minneapolis, MN

Please email me if you have any questions on .FLAC, torrents, .RAR etc.