Steely Dan - 2003-08-23 - Camden, NJ (2xDVDfull pro-shot)

(2xDVDfull pro-shot)

Steely Dan
Camden NJ USA
23 August 2003
“Everything Must Go” Tour

Sources: 
Video: Pro-shot in-house video feed, probably captured on VHS. Unknown, but very low, generation transferred to recordable DVD

Soundboard audio: ripped from the DVD. Mono. Ex quality, no noise reduction needed.

Audience recording: Captured by the Tapeworm, using Sound Professionals stealth cardioid mikes, into battery box pre-amp, recorded on minidisk.

Stereo tracks: Soundboard/Audience matrix. The audience track was reduced by 6dB. The result is a clear, rich recording with stereo separation.

Surround tracks: Center channel: mono soundboard. Left/right front: board/audience matrix, audience reduced by 8dB. Left/right rear: audience recording only, reduced by 6dB. I found that running the rears at full volume overpowered the fronts. The result – to my ears - is a rich, clear, full, “front-row” sound experience. Clear music in front, ambiance and fullness around you. 

Watch this disc on a good surround system if you can – loud! Playing the surround version on a standard TV or through 2-channel stereo may not sound as good as the stereo tracks. 

Technical stuff:
DVD ripped to MPEG using Acala DVD Ripper
DVD audio ripped to WAV using DVD Audio Ripper
Original audience master recording transferred to WAV via Soundblaster card using Adobe Audition 1.5.
Sound matrix and multichannel mixing using Adobe Audition 1.5.
Video editing and audio synchronization using Sony Vegas 6.0.
Video chapters and audio rendering using Sony Vegas to AC3.
DVD menus and authoring using Sony DVD Architect 3.

Disc 1
01 - Cubano Chant
02 - Aja
03 - Time Out of Mind
04 - Godwhacker
05 - Caves of Altamira
06 - Black Cow
07 - Babylon Sisters
08 - Slang of Ages 
09 - Peg
10 - Home At Last

Disc 2
01 - The Steely Dan Show
02 - Janie Runaway
03 - Hey 19
04 - Haitian Divorce
05 - Things I Miss The Most
06 - Parker's Band
07 - Josie
08 - Kid Charlemagne
09 - Don't Take Me Alive
10 - My Old School
11 - FM

About this set:
Unfortunately, no source is 100% complete. The video is missing the first 30 seconds or so, and is patched using stills and other video clips. The soundboard audio is missing the entire first song (Cubano Chant intro) and about half of Aja. This is covered by putting the audience recording into all the channels. The soundboard (and full surround recording) fades in slowly during the sax solo of Aja. It is a smooth transition, not jarring at all. But keep in mind that you won’t get the full audience/board matrix experience until the middle of Aja.

At the beginning of the second half of the show, a few seconds of the first song, “The Steely Dan Show” is missing. My audience recording of this song is missing the first minute or so. The audience portion fades in slowly and gently. Once again, no full matrix experience until partway into the first song of the second disc.

Because none of the sources are complete, it’s not perfect, but it’s VERY enjoyable. Video quality is a hair poorer than the Pine Knob 2003 video feed capture, but only if viewed side-by-side. The Pine Knob vid is mono soundboard audio, I dare say that once you get the full matrix, especially in surround, that Camden is superior. I also think that the Camden performance is better.