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By Suzanne Leigh
Tim Rogers and Louis Macklin at the Basement, Friday 14 and Saturday 15 December 2007
New Found Frequency Live Recording Services
Now that I am a proud veteran of two (count ‘em, TWO) whole You Am I concerts, I decided to go check out Tim Rogers’ Reprobates Agreement tour with Louis Macklin on piano at the Basement last Friday. I walked in with the same attitude I had towards that first You Am I show I saw in 2006.
No clue what to expect and open for anything.
In the intimacy of the Basement, Rogers demonstrated again why he is such a damn good performer and entertainer, regardless of the venue - part rock and roller, part cabaret act, part wounded troubadour, with an irresistible mix of classic Aussie larrikiness and, particularly for this show, striking emotional sobriety. Such a fantastic time was had by all (ahem, ME ...oh, and I’m sure the other punters enjoyed it too), I found myself back in the Basement again on Saturday for a second helping of Rogers-styled soul searching and swagger. The second show was even tighter and more electric than the previous night, and I found myself wanting a memento of the evening. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the nerve to ask Tim if he would come home with me that night so I had to seek an alternative....
It was announced before the show that it was being recorded so people could buy a CD of the performance immediately afterwards. Now, this was a new idea! What could be more of the ultimate concert souvenir than the concert itself? I put the live CD on as soon as I got home and was highly impressed with the quality. Hell, the show sounded better on the CD than what I heard with my own ears at the venue, mainly because I didn’t have to suffer the chattering of rude people sitting near me when listening to the CD. Any Timmy fan knows one of the memorable features of his shows is the memorable, often colourful banter with the audience between the songs - all captured beautifully in the live recording between the heartbreaking, introspective ballads and up tempo pop rockers, stripped back to their cores and finely performed by Tim and Louis.
This novel idea of taking home the show has been brought to us by New Found Frequency, a company that specialises in live recordings for web streaming and to be sold immediately after the gig. ‘Artist Controlled Bootlegging’ is one way they have termed it, as they professionally record the show, and package it in a very nifty limited edition with cover art, and graphics already imprinted on the CD. I was chuffed to even see Tim and Louis had already signed the inside of the cover! Cool!
NFF is accumulating a large collection of live performances available to listen to via free streaming on their website at www.newfoundfrequency.com
A quick perusal of their website yields an impressive catalogue of concerts thus far, from renowned performers such as Tex Perkins & James Cruickshank, Jeff Lang, Clutch, Augie March, Youth Group and Something for Kate, to up and comers such as Mandy Kane and Nathan Slater. NFF say their mission is to build a “community of live music lovers and music consumers all around the world”, and their network is primed to go international soon with affiliates in Canada, Europe, Russia and Turkey!
Not content to continue having Australian music be the best kept secret in Australia, NFF also has an interesting and supportive Australian Export initiative that hooks up touring Australian artists with international artists abroad and helps introduce Aussie artists to new music markets over seas.
What does Tim himself think of New Found Frequency?
“I’ve always actually hated the idea of bootlegging my own things because I don’t like listening to myself. (This) just seems a lot more creative than just simple bootlegging. It was done properly and it was just kind of intriguing. It was actually more of a challenge to myself that I knew I needed to be better each night because it was being recorded in a professional way and people would check on everything … I don’t think that what I do on stage is wonderful that it must be taped and people can listen to it again and again and again. If people buy it, it’s extraordinarily flattering. I just find that it challenges me to change things up every night.”
Tim also has a special affinity for the community that can form around live music.
“You have to go searching in dingy little theatres and pubs of towns to discover something truly wonderful .... It always encouraging to see people take a chance on things. It seems that's actually happenning less and less...The experience of going to see somethings that's fresh or not extrodinarily popular, not necessarily new, it's a great chance not only about music but a true social engagement of people.”
I only have two minor grievances about my New Found Frequency Live CD. First, the encore was not recorded, but it logically follows that a CD can only contain so much music. Tim and Louis played a wonderfully long set and it was inevitable it was not all going to fit on a single disc. Part of why the disc is such a top flight recording is encore time is used to do the mixing and mastering of the performance, superior to the sound board mix. However, I have made the suggestion that maybe encores could be recorded separately and made available on the website as bonus tracks. We’ll see if this becomes a possibility.
My other grievance is the live CD didn’t capture that intense eye contact I made with Tim during several songs during the show. Whether he was actually looking at me or just gazing out at some point in the darkness in which I happened to be sitting, I’ll never know.....guess I’ll just have to close my eyes and remember when I listen. Hey NFF, maybe next time, instant post-show DVDs, huh?
Tim Roger's latest album is The Luxury of Hysteria.
Visit www.timrogers.net.au for more information.
Free streaming live music and everything you wanted to know about New Found Frequency can be found at www.newfoundfrequency.com
Special thanks to Reggi Ray and Lara Stevens of NFF for access to the interview with Tim Rogers. Tim's feature page at NFF can be found at http://www.newfoundfrequency.com/artist/Tim_Rogers/