James Taylor
May 16, 1970
Capitol Theater
Port Chester, NY

1. Introduction
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Anywhere Like Heaven
4. Greensleeves
5. Okie From Muskogee
6. Blossom
7. Sunny Skies
8. Up On The Roof
9. Brighten Your Night With My Day
10. Tube Rose Snuff Commercial
11. Hallelujah, I Love Her So
12. Rainy Day Man
13. Something In The Way She Moves
14. Riding On A Railroad
15. Country Road
16. Carolina In My Mind
17. Machine Gun Kelly
18. Isn't It Nice To Be Home Again
19. Mescalito

NEVER FOR SALE / Ebay will be monitored

Comments: Very minor editing was performed, as follows: 1) applied fade-in to beginning of T1,
2) added audience applause at end of T14 to smooth tape flip transition, and 3) removed a number
of very small digital gaps most likely due to the age of the master tape.

ALS, May 2005

Source: Aud > Port Chester Resurrection Project > cdr > EAC > Sound Forge 6.0 > CDWave > flac/cdr


The original audience master cassette was recorded on a Sony TC124
with unknown Sony dynamic mics, spread approx. 25-30 ft. across the
balcony, by Ken & Judy Lee. The cassette was baked, processed and
transfered via Tascam 122 MK-III > Lucid ADA1000 > Tascam CDRW 700
(CDR) by John Jay Hance.


The Port Chester Resurrection Project story...

Ken and Judy Lee didn't think anyone would be interested in
hearing their recordings...

Between the years 1970 and 1971, Ken worked security at The
Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, while his
girlfriend Judy ran movie projections between sets. One of a
few live music taping enthusiasts of the time, Ken was granted
exclusive permission by club promoter Howard Stein to record
the shows at the theatre for his own personal use. Judy was on
hand to perform the tape flips while Ken was busy doing his
job.
In 1968, the couple took Judy's brother Mark, who was nine
years old to his first concert at "Cafe Wha?" in New York
City. The Monkees were on tour and Jimi Hendrix was along for
the ride as their opening act.
Several years later, Mark was introduced to the music of the
Grateful Dead at the Nassau Coliseum on March 19th, 1973 in
Uniondale, Long Island. This single event marked the beginning
of a life long odyssey of musical experiences with the band
that affected him most deeply. Along with his good friend,
John Jay Hance, who Mark met at a Dead show in 1979, the two
traveled around the United States with the band in search of
the ultimate musical experience, attending over 350 shows
together. The two also shared a common interest in seeing live
music of a wide variety of genres, and during the 23 years
that they knew each other attended more than 1000 total
concerts together, until Mark's untimely death in November of
2002.
Mark knew of brother in-law Ken's recordings from the Capitol
Theatre, and had a strong interest in having the shows
circulated; however, being true to his word to Howard Stein,
Ken kept the recordings under wraps and the tapes never saw
the light of the trading domain (One noteworthy bending of
this rule occurred when Ken agreed at Mark's request to
circulate the late show that the Grateful Dead did on June
24th of 1970. This show is highly regarded as an all-time
magical performance by the Dead during their 30 year history
as a band).
It was not until John Jay, who also knew Ken Lee, and of the
Port Chester tapes, ran into Ken at Mark's funeral in 2002
that the fateful discussion of having the recordings released
occurred. At that time, Ken didn't think anyone would have any
desire to listen to his tapes. They had been sitting up in the
attic of his present home for over 20 years going through the
early stages of decay.
Because such a great deal of time had elapsed since Ken made
his agreement with Howard Stein, and the fact that John Jay
was insisting that there was an overwhelming interest by music
lovers to hear these recordings, Ken agreed to open the flood
gates and the Port Chester Restoration Project began, which is
ultimately a tribute to Mark Cohen's passion for live music.
By fortune and coincidence, John Jay Hance, a master at the
art of recording and restoring live music himself had already
developed his own method for preserving fragile, decaying
audio tapes with a heating method commonly known as "baking."
The process of restoring Ken's recordings presents an even
greater challenge, however. The cassette shells which encase
the audio tapes first have to be removed and replaced because
they are too fragile to be played. This is extremely
difficult, being that these cassettes were glued together
during manufacturing (as opposed to the use of screws, today).
The halves of the shell must be carefully removed without
doing damage to the tape inside.
Once the analog tape is restored and rebuilt, it must then be
then played back one time through an analog to digital
converter onto a cd, which is then cleaned of hiss and other
extraneous noises. Then it can be replicated and introduced to
the world of music trading. For the cleanup job, John Jay
enlisted the help of "Sound Forge" software guru Peter G to
help make what exists from the master tapes sound just exactly
perfect.
Keep in mind that Ken and Judy recorded nearly EVERY show at
the Capitol during '70 and '71, on an estimated 300-500
cassettes (one box of cassettes is believed to be missing).
While many are labeled with correct dates and the music they
contain, much of what exists is still a mystery. Several gems
containing long forgotten performances and musical
collaborations have already surfaced. Expect some nice
surprises in the years to come.
Enjoy Ken and Judy's recordings from the Capitol Theatre and
appreciate the great care and quality of craftsmanship that
went into their creation and is currently going into their
preservation.


The following was written by Rob Berger and helps explain why this show
is so engaging (I found this on the web and have included only the relevant portion
of his comments):

"I was fortunate to have
grown up in a neighboring town of Port Chester and the Howard Stein
era concerts at the Capitol Theatre were actually not legendary, but
rather more of a rock n roll rumor by the late 70's. Unlike Bill
Graham's fabled Fillmore East a mere 35 minutes away, a gig at Port
Chester's Capitol Theatre was considered a fill-in date. Not high
profile by any means. But, as anyone who has seen a show at the
Capitol at any point in time can attest to, that room generates an
energy that is truly charged and special. Very East Coast. Rowdy, but
attentive and knowledgeable. Shows at the Capitol were all marked by
a freedom of the artist to let loose and take chances without being
scrutinized by the New York City press and jaded big city audience.
Most groups really seemed to thrive off the boisterous enthusiasm of
the crowd."