I go around with a Zoom H4n recording machine, recording everything. My main thing is trying to capture the remembered but otherwise lost performances of the great musicians I see.
With bootleg recording you want as much sound as possible to go straight into the mikes without bouncing off ceilings and hairy bikers. If you get it right, with a bit of luck and careful positioning it can sound as fresh as a proper studio recording, and.. you don’t have to mix it! As one who has laboured over massively multitracked recordings, it’s always been chastening to listen to those old reggae/blues/whatever recordings that are just perfect & of which some wiseguy tells you “You know this was recorded with one mike” - thanks yeah.
Generally at venues, however, the sound isn’t as immediate as a close-miked studio recording with however many mikes (but it’s less vague than your shoegaze album so wevs) and what makes live bootlegging really worthwhile is that the performances have so much more energy and life in them onstage as compared to perfect-taking in a box, that a great live performance is worth much more than any amount of desk-twiddling. A bit of compression can help to strengthen the sound; there are tricks. Mostly I try and leave things as raw as can be, so the volume control will be of use to you as I’m not gonna compress these to hell to try and compete for volume with the flaming lips or gaga. Even in the studio you can tell when a band is playing live/together and when a band is being quantized together. A great audience can strengthen the performance, which is the key to why I prefer live recordings to studio masterpieces. It’s probably not worth over-explaining. I’m primarily a jazz person after all, much as I love box-music.
I’m going to be posting up my live bootleg recordings as I go, and working back through the archive. I’ll try and turn you on to some cool shizzle, and if you want more: seek me out: thenoiseitmakes@gmail.com. My selections obey my own tastes, which usually veer toward the more extreme/emotional/energetic, but each artist has her own diversity, which my choices might not reflect but which you might hear.. by hearing more.
And as always, if you like it, or are at least intrigued, buy the records: these bootlegs are just a way into these worlds.
TNIM xx
