1977-03-05
Capitol Theater
New York City, NY
01. Here Comes The Flood (piano version)
02. On The Air
03. Moribund The Burgermeister
04. Waiting For The Big One
05. Why Don't We
06. Excuse Me
07. Humdrum
08.
Solsbury Hill
09. Ain't That Peculiar
10. Indigo
11. All Day And All Of The Night
12. Here Comes The Flood
13. Slowburn
14. Modern Love
15. Down The Dolce Vita
16. Back In New York City
Tapers Story:
I first became enchanted by live performances after talking my way into the tape of Dick Cavett`s Woodstock Show on August 18, 1969 at WABC studios in New York. This was quite an accomplishment for an eleven-year-old without a ticket. My first major concert was The Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden on July 25, 1972. I was so impressed with the outrageousness of that event that I jumped at the opportunity to take some of the vinyl bootlegs from the Exiles on Main Street tour. These recordings surely planted a source in my mind, but unfortunately, I waited over 25 concerts before attempting my first recording in late 1975. Over the following ten years, I recorded approximately 125 concerts in the New York City area. In 1985, I affected to Virginia and recorded sporadically, accumulating a few dozen shows in the Washington DC area over the following 15 years.
My need for taping has ever been selfish. I only wanted to love the performances over and over again. I didn`t make that I was recording both melodic and personal history or that I was witnessing the high-water mark of progressive music. I thinking it would live forever, but in the game of my mind, I must make known that I had something special. With one or two exceptions that I later regretted, I refused to trade tapes. Very few friends were always given copies. I have never considered selling them - I give too much value for the artists. I protected my tapes for decades, never learned what to do with them as they sat dormant on a shelf. In 2010, I launch the sentence to produce digital transfers of my tapes and rediscovered the amazing moments I had recorded. I likewise plant an answer: I required to get these tapes to my friends that were with me, whose story I had also captured, and to others who would appreciate this collection. My equipment was low-tech but yielded surprisingly effective results. Almost all of my recordings prior to 1989 were made with the built-in condenser mic on a Sanyo desktop cassette recorder (model unknown).
When the unit began to go in 1977, I replaced it with what I thought was a better recorder, but the tapes were distorted. I quickly purchased a new Sanyo that was identical to my first and never again attempted an upgrade. In 1989, I bought a smaller, Walkman-type unit - a Panasonic RX-SR29, which performed nicely with its condenser mic. I was never interested in producing soundboard-quality tapes, and was nearly always happy with my "souvenirs." I used TDK tapes initially, then Maxell.
Recording a concert was ever an adventure. Through tribulation and error, I arrived at the following procedure: To get by the ticket-takers, I wore loose pants and stuffed the recorder down the front where the odds of being frisked were minimal. I wore a loose t-shirt or sweatshirt to cross the "bag" and held my breath. The dead batteries and cheap tape I kept in the recorder were occasionally confiscated, but my friends were already inside with the very supplies. Once inside, I would touch my friends and change the batteries and tape. We had excellent seats for many concerts, but that put us in tight propinquity to ushers and present security. We required to be in a perpetual state of vigilance, and we were too engaged with the timing of the tape-flips. I would occasionally take photographs with a cheap camera, which gave me additional equipment to juggle. Without fail, someone in my row would be in the wrong seat, and an usher would take to sort it out. It was all I could do to sustain the recorder hidden without masking the microphone. It was always chaotic, but the honour was heavy as we listened to the concert again on the way home.
I`m indebted to all those who aided and inspired me on the way: Gary, Steve, and Paul/Rich, Rob, and Paul/John, Sue, Al, and Rich/Jody, Laurie, Danny, and Martha/Geri and Allison/Howie and Linda/Kathryn. Thanks to Mike for all of his efforts. Most of all, thanks to my family - K, M, E, and B - for their back and patience.
You are cordially invited to love these time capsules. There is always room for one more in our row, but if we are cheap or talkative, please don`t judge us too harshly. We were swept away by the deception of the moment, and we promise you will be too.
Lost Brook
January 2011
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