Sneaking A Tape Recorder into concerts in the 70s-90s

Great thread !! Loving these stories

 

Yes indeed, Jared Hauser, Mark Lewkowitz, and the rest of the JEMS gang were prolific tapers that need to be mentioned as well! So many great Who recordings including both Toronto 1975 & 1976, both Largo ‘76 shows, the ‘79 tour, etc! Awesome stuff!

 

‘Freezer’ was quite an abrasive character and not one anybody would want to get in an online argument with, but yes, he marked many of his shows by applauding using a whistle - his excellent 1975 Led Zeppelin Baton Rouge recording being a prime example, but then there’s his excellent 1975 The Who At Baton Rouge where he didn’t use a whistle. It’s been probably close to 10 years since he passed away and I’m not sure what has become of his master tapes collection, but it was his uncirculated 1977 Baton Rouge Led Zeppelin recording that had the Led Zep bootleg collectors going nuts with wanting him to upload it on the tradersden torrent site and he never did. I don’t know if anyone besides a possible relative has possession of that tape now.

 

Quite a coincidence you both knowing the same person

 

we go back a loonngg way.

 

Going to quote this in hopes of more responses to this question!

 

That is actually quite the coincidence indeed.

 

The first show I taped was Dylan & The Heartbreakers at MSG, 1986. It earned the name I gave it - "Dylan From the Rafters". Over the next 10 years I taped maybe 30 or 35 shows - mostly Dylan. I taped the 4 nights The Who played at Giants Stadium in 1989, running out of tape the first night because the show was unexpectedly long (more than two 90s!) I got so used to getting in without hassle I got pretty brazen, just putting the tape recorder in the pocket of my jacket. That got me caught at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Ct., but the security guy said "Oh, a tape recorder? Who cares. I thought it was a bottle" and let me go in, recorder and all. When I got seriously into Dylan tape trading (collecting every circulating show) it became clear pretty quickly that people were making tapes with way better equipment than I was, and my tapes would always be inferior to what I could easily trade for. So I "retired" in the middle '90s.

 

Who goes to a concert with a book? Fripp was sleeping that day!

 

I recorded four Fat and Frantic concerts between 1990 and 1992. Terrible sound quality, but the last two included some songs that never got an official release. I also recorded an outdoor Steve Harley concert in 1991. Again, terrible sound quality (and an unusually annoying audience), but it did improve a bit towards the end. Also, around the same time, I managed to tape gigs by Sister Sister (who no-one seems to remember now) and Julie Miller (sound quality on both of those was a little better than my usual standard).

 

I taped a number of shows starting in the late '80's. My first recorder was a Radio Shack Realistic portable which I used with an external mic (single point so recordings were mono). Generally I would only tape smaller shows - I was big into tape trading and I knew most of the big shows would have more "professional" tapers and I could get them in trade. One problem with my gear was it had automatic sound leveling so there was a certain amount of "pumping" especially if the audience got loud.
My next recorder was an Aiwa which was quite a bit smaller but I really didn't know much about equipment so this also had the same issue with leveling. I didn't use this for too long because I got into minidisc in the '90's and it definitely improved my recordings. I made recordings for my own enjoyment so I wasn't super picky about making perfect recordings but I did find that it could be kind of annoying to have to worry about levels and changing tapes/discs plus there was a certain amount of paranoia in the whole process. I remember going to see Sinead O'Connor in 1990 and although they patted me down they didn't find the recorder. But I was so paranoid after that (I swear security was staring at me!) that I just set the levels on my recorder then put my jacket with the rig on my chair and left it there. The recording didn't turn out very well because the chairs were wooden folding chairs and there was a constant background noise of squeaking wood.
I went to see The Swell Season in 2008 and they were recording all the concerts and offering them as (paid) internet downloads. I almost didn't bother to bring my recorder because I knew I would buy the recording but I brought it anyway. I was glad I did because that show (in Royal Oak, MI) was the only show which was not offered as a download. Glen Hansard got pissed at the audience when people wouldn't be quiet during Marketa Irglova's quiet songs and I think thats why they didn't offer the show online.

 

Oh my GOD! That 71 Zep Honolulu. I assume you didn't make any copies for anyone that still may be in existence?

You are correct - this would have been huge.

 

Here's a story on another of the "JEMS" tapers, also no longer with us.

Famous Tapers: Stan Gutoski

Looking at the list of shows he taped at the end of the article, a number of them were staples in my cassette collection in the '80s/'90s.

 

Kinda odd that your buddy snuck a recorder in, since Pearl Jam allowed taping in 1998!

 

I remember buying two Led Zep double bootlegs in 1975 after seeing them in Earls Court. These days, managing to hear the Mike the Mike's handy-work just shows what could be achieved with the right equipment from the same era. the comparison was amazing.

 

In the early 70s I had a Sony TC-800B reel to reel (the Watergate tapes model!) that my friends and I used to record concerts and other audio-verte. It had a built-in electret mic and it did a pretty good job at 3 3/4 i.p.s.. We recorded The Moody Blues, Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Beach Boys and Jim Kweskin. It was about the size of a small briefcase with a shoulder strap, I wore a poncho over it, no one ever hassled us.

 

I did a few in the 70's.
Roxy Music at Belle Vue, Manchester 1975, which turned out horrible because the place was one big echo chamber.
Some of the Reading Festival 1977, including what turned out to be the last ever SAHB gig.

 

You know, people keep saying this in the thread. I don’t know if we knew Pearl Jam allowed taping or not. Maybe we did. But I definitely still worried irrationally about the moral issues of sharing any tape we made.

 

If y'all didn't want to share it, totally fine - you didn't have to stress yourselves out to get it made, that's all.

 

I have been actively recording shows since 2006. I started with a Sony minidisc recorder,and actually have some very nice recordings. I moved a year later to a wav recorder, on my second Roland, use stealth mics powered by a battery box.

sone venues has nice acoustics, some not. Some PA systems are better than others. Crowd plays an impact as well. I have no problem with people getting into a concert, I have resisted myself but if it’s a hot performance how could you not. Biggest obstacle is the talkers, they people that just randomly chat through the whole show.

been busted at a few shows, Rush 2007 at pine knob, only got the first 3 songs. They made me check my gear into the security office then let me go back and watch the show. Never made me earase or confiscated the disc.

heaven and hell clarkston 2008, got all of them and about 3/4 of headliner Judas Priest, security were a holes, has a spare SD card switched it out on my walk to the security office. They confiscated a blank card then tried to string a me, I told them either let me go back and watch or kick me out, they chose the latter.

Clutch at St. Andrews in 2015 maybe, saw my mics forceable kicked me out. I say forcibly as I said clutch did care if people taped their concerts, was told it was their tour manage who pointed me out.

I have the partial recording of all three !

last time I was busted trying to get into opeth at the Fillmore in Detroit, had to leave it at car, during the tour for sorceress

I had my sister carry my gear into royal oak for electric wizard, I said if security asks tell him it’s for your sugar diabetes, they actually did ask her and believed her. She said never again !

There’s several tapes I listen to from time to time but a lot are on a hard drive and CD’s, not to mention the old minidisc and SD cards, I started to never reuse memory cards so have a bunch of thee them

have a few shows coming up in September, looking forward to them, and taping them as well

 

He carrot dangled his Zeppelin 1971 tape too for years, and accused anyone who took an interest as having a "sense of entitlement." He once said he'd rather have his tapes burn in a fire than have Zeppelin collectors hear them.

People are funny. May he rest in peace.

 

When I saw U2 in 85, i went with a friend who had scoliosis and the security was sure he was bringing in a mobile recording unit and made him take his brace off for them to examine.

 

One of the two times I didn't make it through the front door was a Concrete Blonde show at the Whisky in 1993 (billed as "Dream 6"). I had an external lead acid battery (size of a pack of twinkies) to power my Sony DAT and the door guy found it in the small of my back during pat down. I told him it was an external battery to start my car but he didn't buy it but at least I got to return my gear to the car. First time I had ever been caught (since starting in 1988) and I had never really thought of what to say before so it was just a spur of the moment answer.

Only other time I didn't make it through the door was a Counting Crows show where they we doing pat downs for weapons, even chains for a wallet were being confiscated and there was a box of confiscated stuff by the door. If I had just used my regular rig (DPA4061 "HEB" > Sony TCD-D100 DAT) I probably would have been okay, but I had borrowed a nicer (and larger) rig AKG CK61 caps > active cables > JK Labs DVC power supply/preamp that was the size of small brick so no way I made it through. But it was several $K worth of borrowed gear so no way was I going to leave it with them. My ticket had already been scanned or torn and they said I wouldn't be able to use it again. After I deposited the gear back in the car I was able to buy another ticket from a scalper on the street. Yeah, my girlfriend was kinda pissed about that whole incident. And it was shortly before Counting Crows started allowing open taping.

One time I was nearly busted during a show was Joan Osborne at the Wiltern in 1996. I was using Sonic Studios DSM mics at that time, pretty small black blueberry-sized blobs hanging from my glasses right at my ears for binaural recording. An usher pointed at me and gestured about something to do with my ears (like "what's that hanging from your ears?"), but the thin cables for the mics ran to the back of my head and connected so they were like a set of croakies. So I just lowered my glasses to my chest like they were indeed croakies and the usher left me alone.

 

I've really enjoyed some of these over the years. One in particular, Wings Boston 1976, is so good. The recordist must have had pro gear. How did they get it in?

 

My first gig was Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1985 and on the train home someone was playing a tape they'd made of the gig. At a record fair a few weeks later I was able to buy a copy of the tape (don't know if it was the same recording made by the person on the train though). After that I went out and bought a small walkman-sized recorder with built-in mic and it went with me to almost every gig I went to after that. But while almost all the bands named in this thread (in the US) are all big names, mine (in the UK) were mostly small local bands in pubs and university venues.

Right from the first gig I taped I discovered the way to get the recorder in was down the front of the trousers. When the venue had more than one entrance I observed that the older the person, the lighter the pat-down, and if it was a woman the pat-down was lighter also, so when there was more than one person on the doors you chose the lighter option.

I was only stopped from getting the recorder into the gig on two occasions. Once I'd simply forgotten to hide the recorder so it was just in my pocket. They took it and gave me a ticket and I was able to collect it after the show on the way out. The other occasion was The Sisters Of Mercy at Hambug Dock's. The tall well-built bouncer did the pat down and said "Was is das?" and so there I was unzipping my trousers and retrieving the tape recorder, which was a bizarre experience. Again I was given a ticket and was able to reclaim it after the show.

I was never caught during a show, and I definitely never told anyone to be quiet. I was capturing the experience as it happened and if people were rowdy that's just how it was. Also I never chose 'sweet spots' to tape from. I was there to see the gig, the tape recorder was just along for the ride. Occasionally if I was down the front and there was a bit of moshing the stop button got bashed a few times.

I started off just doing it for myself, but the occasional person came up to me after a gig and asked if I wanted to do a trade, so we exchanged addresses and traded tapes and I discovered it was a good way of increasing your collection, especially for the more obscure things you wouldn't have found at the record fairs. People today have it easy being able do access recordings via a simple download or streaming site. We had to send cassettes through the post and wait anxiously for weeks (sometimes months for some slow people) before you could hear the recordings.