Stealth tips for recording a concert

Started by crowbi_wan, April 24, 2007, 02:33:43

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crowbi_wan

Quote from: lostflower4 on April 23, 2007, 21:09:33
Yeah, the iRiver is a more ecomical option if you can find it.

One must keep in mind, however, that hard disk players will save you money in the long run since you don't have to keep buying blank media for them. Either they'll have a hard drive built-in, or you can just get a high-capacity flash card.

Plus the fact that you don't have to do any tape flips, etc. makes it an easy choice for me.

Also, these smaller digital recording devices don't necessarily look like recording devices. If you're trying to sneak one in to a venue and get caught during a pat down, just tell them it's your mp3 player. 

Steve

Quote from: crowbi_wan on April 24, 2007, 02:33:43
Quote from: lostflower4 on April 23, 2007, 21:09:33
Yeah, the iRiver is a more ecomical option if you can find it.

One must keep in mind, however, that hard disk players will save you money in the long run since you don't have to keep buying blank media for them. Either they'll have a hard drive built-in, or you can just get a high-capacity flash card.

Plus the fact that you don't have to do any tape flips, etc. makes it an easy choice for me.

Also, these smaller digital recording devices don't necessarily look like recording devices. If you're trying to sneak one in to a venue and get caught during a pat down, just tell them it's your mp3 player. 

So how do you explain the microphones then? :roll:
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

lostflower4

Wear a jock strap or sew a pocket inside your pants. Put your stuff "down there". You really can't get more stealth than that. :D


Steve

Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

japanesebaby

#4
 :smth043

unforeseen problem for the people who wrote the handbook i guess
(i'd really like to see what they have to say to that "problem" hehehe)


(anyway i was going to say, the best advice: don't be a guy. guys always get searched/patted down, girls don't. or if they do then you can just punch them right in the eye and shout "you freaking pervert!" and that's it.)
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

lostflower4

Two suggestions for the space limitations issue:

1) use some duct tape to attach to attach any "excess baggage" to your leg.

2) get a knife and free up some space


:smth043




Steve

 :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Any ladies out there wanna come & smuggle a couple of mic's into the Cult gig in Budapest in June for me  ;)
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

Steve

 :shock: :shock: :shock:

Blimey Marika  :shock:

You had a bad week?  ;)
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

japanesebaby

i mean in every field of life, true dedication is sort of bound to stand out by itself...
and yet it seems people always try to find an easy way out...
:-D

(getting better now since it's finally saturday!)
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

rjl

Well, I have never tried the "don't be a guy" technique, and it really doesn't interest me all that much, truth be told... Here's what I have done:

In Minidisc days I have:
- The down-the-pants trick. Not quite comfortable/kind of awkward. Maybe practice walking around the house like that? Make sure you're walking normal. It's worked the couple of times I did it, however.

- Put the MD behind my belt buckle, and just worn a shirt that covers that and then some. I was patted down once, and the guy's hand *just* brushed it. My heart kind of jumped, and as I was about to squeak out "uhhhh....camera?", he just waved me in...

In both cases, you have to take it on faith that the guy at the door does not want to get that intimate with you. He just wants to do an "okay" job, or at least look like he is doing his job. Besides, there's probably a whole line of people behind you, and he just wants you to move on...

- My MD recorder came with  wallet-like case. I've walked through a couple of patdowns by taking that out of my pocket, along with my keys and just holding my arms out... As if I was just making his job easier... Worked. I've never been through a metal detector, but I imagine the above trick may well work. It takes a tiny amount of nerves, but hiding in plain sight can work.

- Just shoved said wallet-case into my back pocket, some blanks in my boots and waltzed right in. Did that at Curiosa, and no one checked. Idiot me should have bought my Nomad before that... and taped Interpol and Muse as well.

With my Nomad (JB3):

- No problems. I've mainly used it in clubs, and never ones that check. It's a tiny bit smaller than a Discman, and the same shape, so I usually keep some headphones in my pocket. And some songs on it...

With my microphones, I just wear a t-shirt, usually with a hooded sweatshirt over it, and pin them up on either side of my collar. Just put the mic where you want it, pinch the fabric tight around it, and tightly pin it (fabric, NOT the cable) with a safety pin.

Run the cables down your back and around your side, where they can plug into your other gear...

For a short while I had the mics on either side of my head, which is better... I modified a set of those wraparound/around-the-back-of-the-head headphones... I removed the actual headphones and fastened my mics in place... However, it was a pain: I couldn't turn my head without affecting the recording, it felt kind of weird... and now that's I've hacked off all of my hair, it would be quite visible.

In general:

- Stay calm. Act like you normally would. Perhaps this comes easy to some people, but the first time can be a little nervy, especially if you're as tightly wound as I can be at times. After the first time, it gets really easy.

- Check your levels, but not obsessively. That was a tough hurdle for me... Check/set your levels during the opening act, and then PAUSE your recorder while recording. Un-pause as soon as the headliner takes the stage.

- If it is a general-admission/non-seated event, either position yourself at the front of a balcony/mezzanine/raised area of the floor (so you'll have no one directly in front of you), or between the mixing board and the stage. The latter is important for club shows, as the board guy is mixing it according to how he hears it... And is mixing it in such a way to compensate for on-stage guitar and bass cabs. So the mix will sound the best there. In a larger venue, everything is going through the PA, so the only real concern is talkers/singers/yellers in the crowd.

- Pause during encores.

- If you recorder has a LOCK feature, use it once you are recording the set. You don't want to shove the recorder into your pocket only to mash a few buttons and ruin your recording in the process (by inadvertently pressing stop, pause, adjusting the gain, etc, etc).

- If you need to do a disc-swap (MD), give yourself plenty of time. Doing so after a particularly long song, or before one that requires instrument changes is always good. But seriously, give yourself plenty of time.

- If you can, be someplace where you can either drive to, or live nearby, in the event that you need to stow your gear somewhere, and cannot check it at the coat-check...

(This is going to be annoying, as I'm heading to NY to see the Jesus & Mary Chain reunion, so I'm really kinda taking a chance)

Lastly, size up the show and the crowd it will attract... Too many times I have just left my stuff at home, thinking I'd be checked. The more aggressive the music, or the younger the crowd, the more likely you'll be checked. Big venues/arenas like to check, too.

Unfortunately, following these rules has caused me to miss a number of taping opportunities...
... the Stooges this year, NIN on their small-theatre tour in 2005, Duran Duran in 2004 (it was an arena, I figured I'd be checked)...

Taping-regret SUCKS.

I'll see if I can think of anything else....

j

#10
I use the jock strap trick.  It HAS to be the most uncomfortable thing in the world.  It is so uncomfortable that I have modified my hockey gear so that I can have the cup in my equipment rather than have to play while wearing a jock. 

Any way, I shove everything down in the pocket of the jock and waltz in.  Rarely do they ever get that close that they will feel it.  Once I get inside, I go right to the mens room to get some relief....off comes the jock to the most liberating of feelings!  I then shove the jock in a pocket.

Of course, you could always get lucky and not get checked.  If you could have seen me at the London 06 show....monopod for the video camera down the right leg of my pants, camcorder with the strap looped through the zipper of my jeans.  various canles in the pants pockets.  I wore a hockey coaches jacket which has many pockets including a hidden pocket on the sleeve (for your whistle when you are on the ice).  I had a USB battery pack for the microtrack in there, the microtrack in another pocket.  CF cards, cables, a screwdriver for the monopod, videotapes.....and no one thought twice about patting me down (luckily).

Before my taping days, I was lucky enough to get backstage passes for Camden 04.  I knew that cameras were not allowed, so I had my digital camera down my pants.  There was a HUGE brotha at the door patting people down.  he patted me down and brushed against the camera.  He jumped back and gave me a look, then let me in.  I guess he thought I was happy he was patting me down! :smth023

Also at the same venue in Camden, I took my son to Ozzfest.  I had him bring in a backpack with a sweatshirt and some water.  I cut the liner of the backpack and hid my gear inside there.  He wasn't even touched on the way in.  They simply asked him if he had any bombs in the bag and he said no and they let him in.  Nothing like having my son take the fall for me.  What a great father I am!

japanesebaby

Quote from: rjl on May 05, 2007, 19:43:14
Well, I have never tried the "don't be a guy" technique, and it really doesn't interest me all that much, truth be told...

well i was simply referring to the fact that at least around here it seems like it would be really easy to get past the security if you happen to be a woman (by birth ;)). women don't get body searched at all, they'll just ask you to please open your backpack or whatever you might have with you, have a quick look and let you go. no metal detectors either. so it would be really easy to get in.
(yet i'm not sure if a guy dressed up as a girl would do the trick...)

and yes, taping regret sucks. then again, i'm not lucky enough to live in a major nerve-center of music life, it's disappointing but it's a fact that not so many interesting bands come here on their tours. and it would surely be reasonable for me to tape, because not so many people do around here anyway - almost everytime i go to see a gig here i can be pretty much 110% sure that i won't find a single recording of it - so i should be wise to do it myself. on the other hand, i simply don't get that many chances to see the bands i really like since they rarely come around here (if at all). and when i get a chance, maybe i don't want to spend that special occasion worrying about the levels etc. - call it pathetic from a dedicated taper's point of view but it might be the only time i ever get to see this or that group that i really like so i want to enjoy it the best i can. so i guess it's a matter of choice. yet i'm sure if i could be certain that i'll have more chances to see more shows then i could easily hmm, "sacrifice" some of them.
but i guess i should find a friend to do it for me: make sure he/she knows how to use the equipment and buy him/her a ticket. that's something to consider, i guess.

anyway, i'd go for those HD recorders for sure. i see no reason why to use MD anymore.
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

japanesebaby

agreed.

Quote from: lostflower4 on May 06, 2007, 12:51:31
P.S. Why is r-e-p-u-t-a-t-i-o-n censored here?
hey don't say p-u-t-a, thats such a naughty naughty  word!  :smth018

ps. actually, i've noticed and asked about the same thing too, see:

http://www.curefans.com/index.php/topic,3432.msg22372.html#msg22372

isn't it so funny how we both got reminded by the same "source" there.... hmmmm....
how come?  :shock:

:smth043
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

dsanchez

2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

Descent

Quote from: japanesebaby on May 03, 2007, 08:50:59
the best advice: don't be a guy. guys always get searched/patted down, girls don't. or if they do then you can just punch them right in the eye and shout "you freaking pervert!" and that's it.)

Actually, I've been to a few shows where there were women to search on girls. So how would you do it ? :lol: Pants... still the best way I suppose. Or in a bag, most small venues barely check them.