Alan Parsons Live Project
2017-03-19
Starry Nites Festival
Starry Stage
Santa Barbara, CA
SOURCE (AUD):
SP-CMC-8 (w/Mods) > SONY PCM-M10 > Sandisk MicroSD Card (16gb - Class 10)
TRANSFER:
.WAV > Adobe Audition 2025 (normalize/amplify) > Trader's Little Helper > FLAC (Level 6)
SETLIST:
01. Don't Answer Me (incomplete)
02. Psychobabble
03. Time
04. I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You
05. Days are Numbers (The Traveller)
06. The Turn of A Friendly Card (Part One)
07. Snake Eyes
08. Nothing Left to Lose
09. The Turn of A Friendly Card (Part One) (continued)
10. Breakdown
11. Prime Time
12. (band introductions)
13. Sirius
14. (encore break)
15. (The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether
16. Games People Play
NOTES:
I'm finally getting to this recording EIGHT years later/after the fact. Crazy/wild I know, but I always thought this recording didn't come out great so it wasn't worth working on and sharing. And the reason I felt that way is a bit of a long story. Basically, I was actually working at this festival. The company I worked for was part of the branding/sponsorship and so they sent a bunch of us to the festival to help set up and work our booths. I was chosen as one of those. And while everyone else brought campers and RV's to camp in, I was camped out in my small 7' x 7' tent, but I didn't mind, that's festival life.
My job was basically to just sit in our stupid booth and sell stuff (fancy earplugs, headphones, etc). I knew no one at this festival was going to be purchasing stuff like that, but I also knew it was free admission to a festival that had an awesome lineup (Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Kills, Black Mountain, Teenage Fanclub, The Dandy Warhols, Alan Parsons just to name a few). And knowing I would be at the festival, I of course brought my audio recorder and mics with me. I honestly don't think I was ever actually paid for working this event (another bullshit thing regarding the parent company I worked for), I think they tried to pass it off as you can get an extra day off later in the year or something. Looking back, I should have fucked off a lot more than at this festival. Oh well.
Unfortunately, I was not able to leave to the merch tent to go watch/record every set, as we worked in shifts of course, though in retrospect, I absolutely should have (for many obvious and not so obvious reasons). Thankfully though, the two stages (which were right next to each other) were also right behind our merch tent/booths, so I could hear them perfectly fine. So for Alan Parsons (the final performer of the final night), I was not able to leave the merch tent, so instead I just sat my recorder and mics on a table behind the tent, that was facing where the stage/crowd was, and hit record. I couldn't monitor it, and I couldn't prevent other staff from walking by and talking, so I just sorta hoped for the best.
I really figured the recording would turn out like shit, so I honestly never even listened back and just forgot about the recording for the last eight years. Fast forward and here we are. Listening back, a few things to note:
1. The first song on the recording, "Don't Answer Me", cuts in, so I must have started the recorder late (don't remember doing that, but that's what happened). I don't know if this was the actual first song played or not (they could have played something before and I didn't record it, I honestly don't know).
2. There is slight talking from passersby in a couple of spots, but that's it, so not bad at all.
3. Again, I couldn't really monitor the recording/levels, except right in the beginning...so it starts off a littler quieter/softer, then gets louder, and after that, it just runs, so it is what it is. I did my best to clean it up some, but again, it sounded pretty decent to me in the end.
So yeah, this recording ultimately isn't as bad as I feared, though it's not as great as it could have been, if I had just left the tent/merch area and went to the crowd area and watched the set from there (this festival has NOBODY at it, probably why it never returned, I think only about 800-1000 people showed up in total - which is a total crime/shame for the awesome lineup this festival had - it was put on by the same promoters for the former Desert Stars festival, which took place out in Joshua Tree). It still may be for completists only, or not. It has a pretty good setlist full of just the hits. Looking back, I really wish I would/could have appreciated this set/performance a lot more, as it really is a banger looking back at the setlist and such.
Anyway, I no longer work for that company (or the parent company - the real evil doers) and this festival (just like a bunch of others: Desert Stars, Desert Daze, and now even Future Ruins, WTF!?) is dead and gone, but at least I was smart enough to hit record and capture this show in some form or another. Enjoy!
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