2015-07-14 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA

guitard: People who tape audio know that the quality of the mics, the way the mics are deployed, location of the taper, format of the recording, etc., etc. are all important factors in getting a nice recording – and the quality of audio from a bunch of random clips recorded with iPhones and point-and-shoot cameras is so far removed from the quality you get with a traditional style audio recording that you can’t even begin to compare them.

That isn’t to say you’re wrong though.If old-school tapers think that people are no longer interested in their recordings because they are, as you say, available on Youtube, then that might be a reason for not recording.But most audio tapers do it first and foremost for their own enjoyment, so I kind of doubt that’s what’s happening.

I was not comparing what is available on youtube and the majority of boots.

A number of boots on the early shows of this tour may well surface, but I remember at the start of the 2012 tour we were getting the shows up on DIME the next day (audio) and there were often multiple sources.

jroundy: Could outdoor venues make any difference to people who record audio bootlegs?

In my opinion the outdoor venues are a huge factor, at least for video. If you are in the seats, everyone stands up. If you are on the lawn, you better be front row. I just hate filming outdoors. I used to do audio at the sheds but always got chatter/clapping, etc. Finally audio just didn’t do it for me so I switched to video. Too bad there are no arena gigs. I’d fly out to get one of them.

Same for me – with the caveat: as long as it isn’t windy. The nice thing is you don’t have cement and metal structures forcing sound to be contained inside of a confined space (which causes a lot of ill effects). But just like real estate, it’s mostly about location, location, location.