With his brand new album Night Fiction, the Irish guitarist Cian Nugent has followed in the footsteps of some of his other guitar proteges. That is, without abandoning the intricate guitar sound that brought us in to begin with, he’s also stepped to the mic as vocalist in a full band. This was Nugent’s first U.S. tour in that capacity, and the Union Pool crowd knew it, stuffing the place to the gills on a warm Wednesday night. With a crack band that includes Ryan Jewell (also of Ryley Walker’s regular outfit, among others) and C. Spencer Yeh, Nugent delved straight into the new material with a stirring “First Run,” one of the bluesier rock numbers in his new repertoire. As another review put it, Nugent didn’t exactly need to “find his voice,” but his new turn as a singer nonetheless felt assured. Things took a contemplative turn mid-set with the unhurried “Things Don’t Change That Fast,” one of the album’s centerpiece tracks, followed by the like-minded “Shadows.”
But if you thought Nugent was going down on a somber note, I hope you didn’t miss the show’s piece de resistance, with a surprise visit from Steve Gunn on the fifteen-minute album boogie monster “Year of the Snake.” Conjuring the magic of the stunning Desert Heat show we captured a few years ago, Gunn and Nugent traded riffs like the longtime collaborators they are, with both clearly feeling the energy of the room and the night. It was an absolute barnstormer of a song, with the two players so far in the zone you almost hoped it wouldn’t end. Cian will be back in town on April 9 at Alphaville — be sure to see him there.
I recorded this set with Schoeps MK5 cardiod microphones and a soundboard feed from Union Pool engineer Robert. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!
Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]
Stream the show (minus banter):
Cian Nugent
2016-03-09
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA
Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Schoeps MK5 (A-B, DFC, at SBD) + Soundboard (engineer: Robert)>>Zoom F8>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, adjust balance of SBD, adjust levels)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects, EQ)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks
01 [intro]
02 First Run
03 [banter1]
04 Lost Your Way
05 [banter2]
06 Things Don’t Change That Fast
07 Shadows
08 [banter3]
09 Year of the Snake *
* with Steve Gunn on guitar
If you enjoyed this recording, check out Cian Nugent on Facebook, and buy Night Fiction from Woodsist.