Bootlegging a concert used to be a real pain in the ass. Well, it was in the mid-’90s, at least. My cousin used to use a pair of stereo microphones that were sewn into the collar of his flannel shirt and then connected to a minidisc recorder (remember those?) stashed in his jacket. This setup–some of it rather bulky–had to be smuggled into the club under the bouncer’s nose.

All of this for a noisy, chatty, tape of a Grant Lee Buffalo concert.

Disclosed Mp3 must have built a better mousetrap, though.
They certainly don’t seem to be mired in the microphone->chums->minidisc->cassette deck quagmire that plagued fans a few years ago. Instead, the blog has been turning around decent quality audience-recordings of local shows within just a few days of the performance. Right now there are Mp3s of True Womanhood, Laughing Man, BLDGS, and Hume, as well as some out of town groups like Mi Ami. And the whole access-via-downloading thing also knocks out another aggravating vestigial part of the bootleg process–trading via the postal service.

This is a few days old, but check out this mind-destroying promo for the Old Bridge Festival on Aug. 1 and 2:

Per the video, location is 1256 Old Bridge Rd., Amissville, Va. (about an hour west of D.C.), and the cost is $10, which also gets you burgers, ‘dogs, beer, and space to camp (the property is over 150 acres).

Oh, and the bands! So far, the list includes Future Islands (!), BLDGS, La Otracina, Laughing Man, Hume, Age Sixteen, The Black Powder, Cave Caverns, The Fordists, Ga’an, Gay Knowledge, Google Earth, The Independent, Invisible Hand, Landlords, Mystic Flavor, Paper Mice, Pretzlcoat, Rifle Recoil, Surf Nazis On Ecstasy, and We’re Glad You’re Dead, with apparently more to be announced.

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