Kathleen Edwards
The Paradise - Boston, MA
2009-02-18
Wed, February 18, 2009


Nakamichi CM300 + CP1 cardioid capsules > Denecke AD-20 > M-Audio Microtrack II (digital in 24/48)
Alternate source Chopped Naks CP1 capsules > DIY battery box > PCM-M1 (mic in 16/44)
recorded from the balcony left center next to the lighting desk, in line with the left flying PA

conversion and level adjustments in audacity
file split in cdwave
Traders Little Helper for the rest

I decided to run a pseudo-A/B with my chopped Naks and my full body CM300s since Kathleen is cool with taping. Folks at the Paradise were equally cool! (I also ran my AT933 hyper caps > Church Audio ST9100 > Edirol R-09 but was really unhappy with the results; way too bright sounding.) I say pseudo-A/B because I ran the CM300s through a Denecke AD-20 into a MTII at 24 bits, whereas the chopped Naks were running into the M1 using the M1's pre and recording at 16 bits. So while the differences between the 2 Nak set ups is significant, both recordings sound really nice. I think the CM300>Denecke recording is more detailed and tighter which I attribute to the Denecke A/D. The problem was dialing in the levels for the show. I had to adjust the levels during Buffalo on the CM300 recording, and anyone with the Denecke AD-20 knows that's not the easiest thing to do since the gain knobs are really tiny and a minor adjustment adds a lot of gain. Also, I really hate the display on the MTII. I had nailed nice levels during the opener's set (Megan Hickey of The Last Town Chorus). However, I bumped them down expecting Kathleen and the boys to be much louder. Surprisingly, the sound levels were on par, maybe a little lower than Megan's set. That is until Back to Me when the soundman cranked up Jim Bryson who was directly in front of me so I had to bump down the levels a little there. I did my best to smooth out the levels in audacity. But since they aren't perfect, I included those tracks from my chopped Naks source in a separate folder.

The show. . .

Kathleen Edwards - vocals, guitar, harmonica
Jim Bryson - guitar, keyboards, vocals, tambourine
Gord Tough - guitar

Buffalo
In State
Asking For Flowers
Copied Keys
Summerlong
Chris Nilan story
I Make the Dough You Get the Glory
Jim Bryson rebuttal
You Got the Diamonds (I Got the Shaft) Jim on vocals, (cover, Andy Swan)
Mercury
Run
Border Crossing story
Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver) (cover, Merle Haggard)
Somewhere Else
Six O'Clock News
Scared At Night
The Cheapest Key
Back to Me
Encores:
Chameleon
Hockey Skates
Your Love (cover, The Outfield)



A great, great show. It was my first time seeing Kathleen, though i've been listening to her since Failer, and collecting everything that gets upped here. I was always under the impression that she was a little uneasy on stage. But it was actually quite the opposite seeing her live. She alternated between a quiet command of the stage and the audience, and totally kicking ass! I can't wait till she tours again with the full band. Gord and Jim were dead on last night (with a couple of minor issues). Copied Keys was beautiful, as was Somwhere Else. She also added a little bit of singing to the end of Mercury that really brought that song home. And the cover of Your Love by The Outfield was an absolute hoot despite Jim totally missing the high part after the bridge (one of very few rough spots all night; maybe he caught Megan's cold -- she really braved it out opening the show). After the show, she was incredibly gracious and friendly to the couple of us that waited around. Given that folks from Rounder were at the show in full force and hanging with her afterwards, it was really nice of her to pop out. She even apologized several times for taking so long.


All in all a wonderful night despite the snow and rain and sleet.


The main set of files has no editing for cd breaks, although the files are named accordingly. In the bonus stuff folder i included tracks for fade ins and fade outs for those who wish to burn cds. I also included Buffalo and Back to Me from my alternate source, as I did not mess with the levels on that source at the show (bumped them up in post though), and for anyone interested in the A/B.