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    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeMay 28th 2010
     
    I'm already getting PMs from people, asking me to upload the recordings of the Irish concerts to Rapidshare or somewhere similar.

    I'll be mastering these at the end of the weekend when I get home from Ireland and uploading them to DIME at the rate of one a day for the next three days (assuming I manage to successfully also record tonight's gig in Galway).

    I prefer services like DIME, because they are based around the fundamental concept of sharing. They also have strict policies governing file quality and supporting documentation, and they respect the wishes of any artist who doesn't want their work published there.

    DIME has limited membership (100,000 users), but dormant accounts are cleaned up every day and, if you keep trying, you'll eventually be able to register and get in.

    I have no objection to others using Rapidshare and similar services, but for me, they're a last resort. There's no quality control, no copyright control, no respect of artists' wishes, and no encouragement to share.

    Some people have written to say that their Internet provider doesn't allow the use of torrent sites. That's a shame, especially if they do allow sites like Rapidshare, because it's the latter kind of site that gives file sharing a bad name. DIME, on the other hand, does much to promote the idea of respectful sharing.

    I feel I'm doing my part by uploading the recordings to DIME. If someone else wants to put them on Rapidshare, that's fine by me. As with Brussels, though, I would ask that you not repost the files in a lossy format, such as MP3. This pollutes and degrades the trading pool. If you need MP3 for your own use, generate them yourself from the FLAC files. FLAC is an open standard, supported by free tools on every common computer platform, so everyone is capable of generating whichever other formats they need from the FLAC master.

    So, no, I won't personally be uploading them anywhere except for DIME, but someone here is bound to help you out if there's really no way you can get the stuff from there.
  1.  
    Dude. You're a serious control freak!
    I mean that as a friendly jab. ;-)

    Since DIME has a limited membership, and I don't particularly care for torrent sites either (I have had issues connecting to those in the past) I would indeed appreciate it if someone can obtain these recordings and make them available elsewhere, especially since Brendan said he is fine with these being distributed.

    And I'd be glad to take it in whatever format you are willing to share it in, including and especially MP3. Since that is the universal format most people use these days.
    Sorry ianmacd! :)
    And no, I don't wish to debate which media format is best, again. please :-) :-) :-)

    Seriously, though, thank you for recording this gig and for making it available to others.
    •  
      CommentAuthorAlexander
    • CommentTimeMay 28th 2010
     
    I can download it and send you in mp3 when it's up!
  2.  
    thank you thank you
    • CommentAuthorAdrian
    • CommentTimeMay 28th 2010
     
    don't forget me, either
    • CommentAuthorbella61
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2010
     
    wont judge here,
    but MP3s are very poor to hear on a good Stereo
    and hurting the ears of real music Lovers .
    Its standard today, but why must history of mankind goin backwards ?!!!!!
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2010
     
    A control freak? I know you're half-joking, but that means you're also half-serious. I actually don't think I'm being one on this issue.

    I'm simply requesting adherence to the de facto standards by which unofficial audio and video material is traded these days. These standards have evolved to assure the quality of traded material and prevent accidental or deliberate degradation.

    Since FLAC can be used to generate all other formats, I don't understand why anyone would request the posting of MP3s or any other format. You can generate whatever you need from the FLAC.

    If I were really a control freak, I'd hoard the recordings for myself, but I won't be happy until I see the download counters incrementing on DIME.

    At the end of the day, anyone can do whatever they want with the recordings. It's up to them. Ultimately, I want them to reach as many fans as possible, regardless of the format.

    I'd just like to think that they'll still be readily available in the original quality years from now, and that fans who want the concert in the same quality that it was recorded in won't find only RAR archives of poorly encoded MP3s when they go looking.
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2010
     
    As mentioned in another thread, I successfully recorded last night's gig at the Róisín Dubh in Galway and plan to upload it to DIME on Tuesday.

    There's a review of the gig in the Tour Impressions thread.
    •  
      CommentAuthorSaskia
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2010
     
    Thanks again Ian! ;)
    •  
      CommentAuthorpendragonm
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2010
     
    Thanks Ian!
    I prefer the FLAC format because, as you said, we can compress it in anyway we want it

    I'd like to ask you a favor: when you upload the recordings, just give us a little "Hi"over here. I just looked at Dime and there wasn't any of the new shows yet [just commenting, not putting any pressure, after all is very kind of yours doing this].
    Thanks a lot for your work and generosity [extensive to THE MAN, for letting this all happen]
    Cheers!
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeMay 29th 2010
     
    @pendragonm,

    I'll definitely post here when I upload each of the concerts.

    The earliest that the Dublin gig will go up on DIME is Sunday evening, because I don't even get home to Amsterdam until tomorrow.
  3.  
    Yes, I'm half serious. ;-)
    Nevertheless, thank you for making these available, strings attached or not.
    • CommentAuthorhumanracin
    • CommentTimeMay 30th 2010
     
    I'd rather pay for a live album on CD, but I will search these out in the meantime...
    Thanks for making them available!
    •  
      CommentAuthorSilentwake
    • CommentTimeMay 30th 2010
     
    Would love to hear this if anyone has it.
    •  
      CommentAuthorGoatherd
    • CommentTimeMay 30th 2010 edited
     
    Would someone be so kind and pass on a link or something to download this stuff, once available, on MP3 format? Only that I don't have the faintest idea what DIME and FLAC is and, frankly, I'm not up to discovering new territories in technology (?), at the present time.
    So, anything a bit more accesible would be very much appreciated.

    Oh, and it might be useful to mention I'm interested in material from the ARK tour, be it audio or video.
  4.  
    @Goatherd - Alexander said he would download it and make it available in mp3 for us non-Audiophiles.
    •  
      CommentAuthorGoatherd
    • CommentTimeMay 30th 2010
     
    Cool! Cheers
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeMay 31st 2010 edited
     
    OK. It has taken a little longer than expected to get the first gig on-line, because I made a classic mistake with the first upload (modified the info.txt file after creating the .torrent file) and had to get the DIME mods to take it down again, which has taken about 13 hours.

    The new torrent of Brendan live at Dublin Crawdaddy on 26th May 2010 is available now. It's only just gone on-line, so I'm currently the only seeder. Things will speed up once more people start leeching and a couple of complete copies make it into the wilderness.

    If your share ratio is in the red and you want to download only one of the Irish gigs that I recorded last week, you should be aware that Dublin is the least good of the three in terms of sound quality. The PA on the night just wasn't that good, in my opinion.

    Cork is better than Dublin, as good as Brussels earlier this year. Galway is at least as good as Cork, perhaps even better than it and Brussels; and it has Severance, which is missing from Cork. None of them are bad, though. Even Dublin is very, very good (I'm strict in my grading), so you may want all of them. All of them have the brand new song, Tree Of Life.

    Cork will go on-line tomorrow afternoon with Galway to follow the next day. I will post here again as I make them available.
    •  
      CommentAuthorAlexander
    • CommentTimeMay 31st 2010
     
    I'm down and uploading :)
    •  
      CommentAuthorAlexander
    • CommentTimeMay 31st 2010 edited
     
    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9LA8MS3P

    the concert in MP3, maybe it takes some hours til it's processed. thanks for the recording, good job!
    •  
      CommentAuthorGoatherd
    • CommentTimeMay 31st 2010 edited
     
    Weeee thanks dude. - Noticed the many changes/additions on "Love on the Vine"? I think they sound rough. I prefer the Brussels version.
    • CommentAuthorAdrian
    • CommentTimeMay 31st 2010 edited
     
    Thank you Alexander. The Arcane is just breath-taking and I must admit I just love the version of Voyage of Bran despite the well-known circumstances... You Never Loved this City, Wintersun and Spirit are also highlights for me... as I already said freakin breath-taking...
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeMay 31st 2010
     
    @Adrian,

    Just wait until you hear the Cork and Galway gigs if you think Dublin sounds good. :-)
    • CommentAuthorAdrian
    • CommentTimeMay 31st 2010
     
    LOL Damn, I CAN'T wait :-)))
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeMay 31st 2010 edited
     
    The torrent includes a file with a review of the gig and details of the equipment used to record it. I hope that was included in the RAR file.

    It's essentially just an expanded write-up of what I posted here after the gig, but it gives the gig some context and helps the listener picture the setting.
    • CommentAuthoravrellah
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2010
     
    thanks for the recording !
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2010
     
    You're welcome. Please post your thoughts about it.
    • CommentAuthorAdrian
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2010
     
    I love Brendan's voice and music... that's MY comment LOL
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2010
     
    I checked the .RAR file and the original info.txt file from the torrent is missing.

    At the risk of inviting more jibes about being a control freak, I would request that you not omit that file when distributing your own archives, as it contains the context of the gig, details of the recording and the equipment used to make it, etc.

    Also, I noticed that the files are encoded at only 224 KBps and are missing the date and track tags. The album tag has also been modified and the capitalisation of song titles changed.

    Lest this create the impression that this reflects the source files, I would like to emphasise that, apart from a full review of the gig and a set list, the original torrent contains fully tagged files.

    Please, if you're going to distribute archives with inferior copies of the original files, at least faithfully copy the metadata and include the supporting files. Apart from the work involved in recording the gig and editing the resulting audio, I also put a lot of effort into ensuring that the listener has as much information as possible about the gig, as well as full, properly formatted metadata, so that no further editing should be required. All the listener has to do is download and listen.

    If you want to avoid the potential for this kind of digital degeneration, may I suggest you download the original torrent. DIME isn't that hard to get into. Dormant accounts are cleaned up every few minutes. You just need to show a little persistence. You'll also gain the satisfaction of knowing that your bandwidth is helping to distribute the recording. It's good to share. :-)

    Thanks for reading,

    Your friendly neighbourhood control freak.
  5.  
    Your friendly neighbourhood control freak.

    You're a very passionate fellow. :)
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2010 edited
     
    After some 55 snatches, the Dublin gig is starting to calm down a bit down, freeing some of my upstream bandwidth to allow me to share my recording of Brendan live at Cork Pavilion on 27th May 2010. Get it while it's hot.

    As I wrote yesterday, the sound quality of this recording is vastly better than that of Dublin and rivals my Brussels recording from stage one of the tour in March. You be the judge.

    The Galway concert will follow tomorrow. I will post here when it's available.

    As I mentioned in my last post, if you must repackage the torrent with modified contents, please retain the metadata as is and include the info.txt file, as this includes a full gig review, set list and details of the equipment used to make the recording. In other words, it's stuff that fans like us care about. Thanks.

    Enjoy!
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2010
     
    You're a very passionate fellow.


    Am I? You'd have to ask my wife about that. :-)

    I look forward to reading people's comments on the Cork gig. I've been playing it a lot in the house since I mastered it and I must say that I really like this recording.
  6.  
    I haven't had a chance to listen yet. I downloaded it yesterday evening with a houseful of guests on our Memorial Day weekend/holiday. Got to bed very late and dragging at work today. The file is at home. I will have to wait until tonight to give it a listen.

    Thank you Alexander, for making it available to the rest of us without a DIME account. And of course, thanks once more to the man (ianmacd) who took the time to record, edit, and upload the originals. Best regards to you both! I'm sure it will be awesome!
    •  
      CommentAuthorGoatherd
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2010
     
    Whenever the other two Irish shows are available on MP3 format, please give us a shout. And thank you, ianmacd, for the effort you put on this.
    •  
      CommentAuthorgeorgelouk
    • CommentTimeJun 1st 2010 edited
     
    Can I request that someone (who can use torrents) makes the Cork gig available as a FLAC file please? I know that some of you prefer mp3s but for the rest of us who can't use torrents, it would be nice to hear the gig in lossless format (as Ian has made it available). FLAC can be easily converted to mp3 (and to wav for those who want to burn it onto a CDR) but for the reverse process there is significant loss of sound quality. I use Switch file converter (available free here) which easily converts a multitude of audio formats.

    Thanks,

    George.
    •  
      CommentAuthorwglmb
    • CommentTimeJun 2nd 2010 edited
     
    I'm uploading now.
    Here's the link. The files will appear as they complete. (1 hour estimated left)

    I should add: thanks ianmacd! I've not had time to listen to it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.


    *** (finished) ***
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeJun 2nd 2010
     
    You're welcome. I hope you enjoy it.

    Thanks for widening the distribution, too.
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeJun 2nd 2010 edited
     
    The Dublin gig is now up to 66 snatches, with Cork not far behind at 56.

    The moment has come for the third and final instalment of Brendan's romp across the Irish countryside. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Brendan and band, live at Galway Róisín Dubh on 28th May 2010.

    The sound of this recording is fabulous, even if I do say so myself. Of course, I only stood there and captured what was emanating from the stage, so Brendan and Dave Badrick are the ones with the golden shell-likes.

    The quality of this recording rivals those from Brussels and Cork, and is arguably better than both. Furthermore, you get Tree Of Life, which wasn't played in Brussels and Severance, which wasn't played in Cork.

    Every fan should have a copy of this gig. I can't effuse enough about it. If I ever hear another rendition of Spirit as good as this one, I'll probably levitate with joy. You might not yet realise it, but you need this gig!

    Once again, a nauseating reminder: If you must repackage the torrent with modified contents, please retain the original metadata and include the info.txt file, as this includes a full gig review, set list and details of the equipment used to make the recording. In other words, it's stuff that fans/geeks like us care about. Thank you.

    One final word to the big man himself: Thank you for your generous, liberal and enlightened policy regarding fan recordings. I think I speak for many when I say that your attitude towards this is greatly appreciated.

    Enjoy!
  7.  
    @Ianmacd

    Thanks for all, Ian! You're a really cool dude! I downloaded the Dublin gig, and I'm downloading Galway at the moment. Can you tell me what sort of program I can use to put it on CD (Freeware, if possible)?

    I bow down before your generosity and implication... Thumbs up!
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeJun 2nd 2010 edited
     
    @Book of Kells,

    You need FLAC tools to decode the audio to straightforward PCM stereo, which will give you WAV files. Then, you can use your favourite burning software to make the CD.

    On Linux, it's as simple as:

    $ flac -d wintersun.flac

    That would leave me with wintersun.wav

    The standard FLAC tools that I linked to are open source software. There's an implementation of them for all of the popular computer operating systems.
  8.  
    I'm listening to the Cork recording right now. I'm really impressed with the sound quality. Good job, Ian!
  9.  
    @ Book of Kells:

    You can convert FLAC to WAV with the free VLC Media Player. That's what I use. :)
    • CommentAuthorgrahamwood
    • CommentTimeJun 2nd 2010 edited
     
    hello there
    just a few brief thoughts on the new song, "Tree of Life";
    -so simple, elegant, and illuminating.
    -form follows function; the vibrant qualities of the music body forth the lyrical content.
    -praxis. live. get on with it. produce, play, enjoy, share, care, work, life, art. if you follow the golden rule (ha!) then meaning will be revealed. if necessary.
    -certainty, confidence, questions. not equivocation, arrogance, or answers.
    -joy.
    -all things must pass.
    -wheeeeeeeee!
    peace
    g
  10.  
    Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Brendan and band, live at Galway Róisín Dubh on 28th May 2010.


    Can someone please make this available on a non-torrent site? It would be much appreciated. thanks!! :)
  11.  
    @summoningofthemuse

    I have VLC media player. I can listen to FLAC with it, but I didn't find how to use it for converting FLAC to WAV.
  12.  
    I didn't find how to use it for converting FLAC to WAV.

    I don't have any flac files right now to try this, but is it under Media menu, then Convert/Save ?
  13.  
    @summoningofthemuse and Xaviersprayer

    OK, it happens I had an old version of the program. I downloaded the new version and found the convert option.

    Thanks!
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeJun 2nd 2010
     
    @Book of Kells,

    Glad you found something you could use to convert FLAC back to WAV.

    The only problem you'll have now is having to edit out some of the gaps between songs. Otherwise, the gigs will be too long to fit on a single CD. You could just use two CDs, of course.
    •  
      CommentAuthorwglmb
    • CommentTimeJun 2nd 2010 edited
     
    Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Brendan and band, live at Galway Róisín Dubh on 28th May 2010.

    Can someone please make this available on a non-torrent site? It would be much appreciated. thanks!! :)

    Uploading now - the files will appear here as they complete. :)


    ** Done **
    • CommentAuthorianmacd
    • CommentTimeJun 2nd 2010 edited
     
    I'm listening to the Cork recording right now. I'm really impressed with the sound quality. Good job, Ian!


    Thanks. I do my best with every gig I record and sometimes it shows. Cork is one of those occasions.

    If anything, Galway might be even better, but it's a close call.

    I hope to get similar quality next week in Manchester and London. Needless to say, those will end up on DIME, too.