Bootlegs

Info

[no title] (20 Sep 2009)
[no title] Ademotte version
Date: 20 Sep 2009
Location: United Center, Chicago, IL
Format: –
Duration: –
Disc 1:
01- Band entrance
02- SEEDS
03- NO SURRENDER
04- JOHNNY 99
05- COVER ME
06- OUTLAW PETE
07- HUNGRY HEART
08- WORKING ON A DREAM
09- Intro
10- THUNDER ROAD
11- TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT
12- NIGHT
13- BACKSTREETS
14- BORN TO RUN
15- SHE'S THE ONE

Disc 2:
01- MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER
02- JUNGLELAND
03- Applause and band intros
04- WAITIN' ON A SUNNY DAY
05- THE PROMISED LAND
06- RADIO NOWHERE
07- LONESOME DAY
08- THE RISING
09- BADLANDS
10- Encore break

Disc 3:
01- Public service announcement
02- HARD TIMES COME AGAIN NO MORE
03- RAISE YOUR HAND
04- Rehearsal
05- DOO DOO RUN RUN
06- Rehearsal
07- ROCKIN' ROBIN
08- I'M GOIN' DOWN
09- AMERICAN LAND
10- DANCING IN THE DARK
11- ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT)


Source: Audio Technica AT-899 omnis => Edirol R-09
Transfer: R-09 => WAV => Magix Audio Cleaning Lab => WAV => FLAC (level 8)
Location: Behind stage, top row of club level, center

Notes from info file:

Not much needs to be said about this show that hasn't already been written elsewhere. The highlight of this performance, obviously, is the complete performance of "Born To Run" in its original order; however, this was an intense, fantastic performance throughout. Bruce played his heart out for nearly three hours to a nearly sold-out crowd; even the songs which are becoming kind of staid in the set ("Dancing in the Dark," "Rosalita") had a little extra something on this night, probably because of the energy the crowd was putting into the show. The main set opened with a powerful version of "Seeds" (which works great as an opener, I think -- I believe it's the first time he has opened with it) and closed with "Badlands" (a better spot for it than the opener, IMO). The sign segment appeared during the encore, oddly enough, and featured two premieres of 1950s covers "Rockin' Robin" and "Doo Doo Run Run". This was one for the ages.

The recording is pretty good, though I wish I'd had a more direct line to the overhead stack. I tweaked the high end upward a bit and think it comes through quite well now without being shrill; the bass is surprisingly prominent throughout, which I think is somewhat unusual for this tour. The sax and backing vocals kind of get buried in the mix, and there is some arena muddiness which I wasn't able to completely offset, though I did mitigate it somewhat by lowering the +1khz band slightly. I haven't compared this to the other recording that was posted, but I'm guessing this one features more dynamic range (given that the other source used the R-09 internal mics, which are great -- but have their limitations). Crowd noise is minimal; I had a clapper next to me, but for the most part he constrained his enthusiasm to between songs. I would probably give this recording a B+ overall.

Sorry for the delay in posting; I had significant computer problems for the last few weeks that kept me off line. I wasn't aware of the heated btx debate about mp3 conversions.

But, I do want to add my two cents on the subject. It's disheartening to put the effort into preparing a torrent and then have one's wishes disregarded -- whether or not one agrees with the seeder's wishes (keeping a show off other tracker sites, avoiding distributing mp3 versions, selling on ebay, etc.), it seems like common courtesy to honor their request -- because they went to the trouble of putting the recording into your hands to begin with. It takes a fair amount of work to tape a show and share it, as any taper can attest, and to have one's preferences casually ignored is a strong incentive not to share future recordings. There are many outstanding recordings from Bruce's recent tours that will never be shared because seeders have had bad experiences sharing torrents (think Dan Lynch, for example).

Whether or not you think it's cool to, say, distribute an mp3 version of a show against the taper's wishes, you're risking cutting yourself off from future shows from that taper. You're also making that decision on behalf of hundreds of other collectors who DID comply with the seeder's wishes. I don't think a taper's being "elitist" by making the decision to drop out of the torrent community as a result, either -- it's just common sense that if you have a bad experience with an act of generosity, you're less likely to risk having another bad experience.