Stealth tips for recording a concert

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

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japanesebaby

Quote from: lostflower4 on May 11, 2007, 01:32:18
Quote from: Descent on May 11, 2007, 01:28:56
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.

Yep, just like how they bring women cops to the scene of an incident to search people...

Seriously, I think down the pants is the only way to go. I mean, why take any chances?

hmm if a woman started groping me there i think that would just give me all the more reason to punch her in the eye and shout out my slogan haha ;)
well ok yes just joking of course. i've seen that too a few times. but still, i've always noticed that they barely body-search women as carefully as they do guys. and besides, at least on larger venues they always have several lines at the door because otherwise it would take forever for people to get in. and they just can't change the security person in every line from guy to woman and back to guy etc. according to whether it's a guy or a girl there in the queue next. so i'd simply choose a line where i can see a security guy and not a security lady being stationed there and then there's no fear of being patted down at all. it's easy to avoid the lines with female security.

("pants is the only way" - i think you sound like you're all pants-crazy or something! seriously! :-D)
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

crowbi_wan

So, I went with the "down the pants" method the other day for a Morrissey concert because the ticket stated search required.  I've heard some stories about Moz and didn't want to take the chance.  There was no search!  There was much discomfort, though.  This was at the same venue were Tenacious D played who allow open taping.  For that show I was totally groped.  Go figure.  A few days later I went to see Chris Cornell.  For this show I decided to use my "it's just an mp3 player" method.  Security was pretty tight as this was a "secret gig" that you could only win tickets to.  The big guys were doing pretty thorough searches.  Of course they wanted to know what I had in my pocket.  So, without hesitation I pulled out just my player and was allowed in, no questions asked.  Screw the pants method.   

lostflower4

I asked one of the guys who taped Carson 2004 how he got past the metal detectors. Here's what he said:


Remember, going into a concert isn't the same as getting on a plane, so I just sorta bluff my way in, I don't take my keys out of the pocket until they specifically tell me to, lots of change, fumble etc.


Hmmm... I don't know if I'm that slick. :lol:

crowbi_wan

Well, get one of those big cowboy belt buckles and hide your gear in your pants.  When they scan you and the detector goes off you'll have a valid excuse.  Or, you could always grease them.  Security guards make shit.  $50 or a dime bag might do the trick  :lol:   

japanesebaby

Quote from: crowbi_wan on May 30, 2007, 20:58:24
Well, get one of those big cowboy belt buckles and hide your gear in your pants. 

and back to the pants-mania, again!
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

lostflower4

Quote from: japanesebaby link=topic=3345.msg23418#msg23418
and back to the pants-mania, again!

And who thought that searching for a perfect hiding solution would include looking at softcore porn?


https://www.internationaljock.com/jockstraps,266240.html

https://www.internationaljock.com/protective-hard-cups-with-jockstrap,262144.html


:oops:

lostflower4

I think Brian had the best idea here:





An excuse for metal detectors, and you could just hide all your gear behind it. :-D

crowbi_wan

You could hide a camcorder behind that thing!  Hmmm...I'm getting an idea here folks. 

Steve

 :smth043
You could probably hide the entire band behind that thing.
What is it, a solar panel, or satellite dish? :shock:
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

j

Quote from: dsanchez on November 13, 2007, 16:48:18
Quote from: nausearockpig on August 12, 2007, 11:07:03
And it means working out the best place for your mics.. i suggest out of a button up shirt.. just two little mics peeping out saying hello...

This is the usual way? Does anyone put the mic somewhere else?

What about talking? Can you talk to your friend while taping?

I always wear either a black polo shirt or a button up shirt....something with a collar (black is key because the mics and cables blend in better).  I hit the mens room the minute I get in and get everything set.  I have a belt clip on my battery box, so that goes on the belt.  One end of the mic goes to the recorder which is in my front pocket.  then I run the mics up inside my shirt, and have the mics hanging out of the top button (not the one that gets buttoned when you wear a tie- the one below that one).  I then tuck the mics back inside the shirt underneath the button.  This way, they are virtually invisible.

I wait until close to the time the band will come on, and I then clip the mics to the front of each collar and get ready to go.  Another word of advice....don't talk!  My mexico recording picked up people that were 3 rows in front of me!

crowbi_wan

Thanks for the tips  :smth023  I've been running Sonics for about 7 months now and have always just clipped them to my glasses.  My thinking was that's the preferred method since the mics come with glasses mounting loops.  It had never even occurred to me to hat mount them.  Makes sense, though.  The higher the better.  I'll give it a go at some up coming shows. 

If you're curious about my results from the Download Festival, you can download a sample here http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G58RQHHB  Recoded from 101 N 7. 

j

I considered hat mounting my CSBs but could never find a way to run the cables down to the recorder without looking obvious.  I played around with a hat to use in Mexico, then had my wife take a look.  She was saying how obvious the cables looked running down the back of my neck.  The highest I have been able to clip them is the collar on my shirt, which is about 4 inches below my ears and have gotten good results.  For those that have my London 06 audio recording, I clipped the mics to the outside of the balcony.  All others are clipped to my collar.

I learned the hard way regarding the height of the mics.  When I lived in Ireland, I went to the Download festival and recorded Avenged Sevenfold (just to get my levels right), Alice In Chains, and Metallica.  I set up next to the SBD for Avenged and put the mics on my collar.  The show was during daylight hours (in Dublin, it is daylight until 11pm in the summer) and I swear that EVERYONE was looking at the mics.  I am not a paranoid person, but it was painfully obvious.

I stayed with it for Avenged and pulled a good tape (which I couldn't be arsed about, as they say in Ireland).  So, for AIC and Metallica, I clipped the mics to the bottom of my shirt so that people wouldn't be able to see them as much.  The recordings are the worst I have ever made.  Literally, the Metallica recording sounds like I recorded a drunken frat house party where they had a radio in the corner playing Metallica and all of the drunk guys are screaming the lyrics.  Horrible.  Moral of the story....get those mics up high!

ernest newman

thats great about simon noticing that guy in berlin!! I would say there are probably 15+ masters of the trilogy shows..The band used to look for the blue lights back before everyone had cell phones, but only for laughing purposes (they didnt care if you tape it)

Glasses are fine for sonics, as thats how they are meant to be worn, Glasses height is only about 2-3 inches lower than where you will get them in a hat, but its about 12 inches above the higher parts on the chest (and its an important 12 inches). You want the mics to have some seperation from each other so glasses do accomplish that

about getting caught before the show, well, really not much you can do (again this is why you dont want to be busting out audience tapes of some opening band that will never be remembered 18 months from now). If you want that bands tape really bad get there club show when they come back on their own tour and play a full set! Its really hard to get caught today with all the electronic gizmos going into an arena. Just do all the thing mentioned earlier to avoid getting caught.

personal favorites

1) loading up with change in the pockets in case of metal detectors.
2) wrap you recording equip in a sock to soften it up if you gotta go underneath. It avoids the hard "tap" if your going against a heavy frisk. If its sorta soft most of those $10 hour guys dont even want to know whats going on.
3) usually you can wear your mics in and tuck it under your shirt. Rolling mic cords into a ball to fit them in a sock or something ends up over time ruining the mic cords (see my dead pair of sonics according to leaonard)
4) find yourself a tapers jacket..one with a nice big pocket mounted on the front so you can drop the recorder in there and look in there easily and see levels without having to pull the gizmo out causing these three things that can go wrong (1) you accidentally unplug your mic (2) you cause pops if there is a somoewhat delicate connection (3) someone see's you doing it and busts you. Cut a small hole in the pocket to run the wires in through the back of the pocket


Pooka

#28
There was a guy who clipped his CSBs to glasses at a Garbage club show, and he was easily x2 my height. AND he got busted by security. It was so obvious.

Glasses mounts are nice as stated but you definitely want to be careful and not have them stick out, especially if your glasses are thin frame and the mic clips like the CSBs are thicker and obvious.

Sound Professionals sell mics that allow you mount on croakies for glasses. Use these if you will but friends who run these mics hate them because they muffle up the mid to high end capturing of the mics. You could use visor mounts too if you don't care about fashion (visors mostly worn by senior citizen golfers).

You can wear a baseball cap backwards and use the visor to cover back of the neck/wires. If you don't look like a taper people will just think you're doing that to be trendy/cool/hip hop.

I wish I had a similar setup to Ernst's jacket. I could have easily spotted the DAT deck settings mistake early on despite the security guard 2 meters away from me, and not come home with an overclipped Download Festival tape.

lostflower4

Croakie mount works great for me. I've encountered many ushers and security guards â€" and even a crazy cop who was really concerned about me taking pictures and made me stop... Not to mention friends I've run into who had no clue what I was doing (and they'd definitely be asking me for a copy if they did know).

Bringing my camera in has drawn A LOT of attention, though.  Several times I've gotten reactions from other audience members, like "Ooooh... You're not supposed to have that!" But the audio has always gone undisturbed.

Just hang your glasses down around your neck and put them on when the lights go down. When the show is over and the lights come back on, put them back down around your neck. Wearing a hat helps everything blend in.

I've done my own custom job, where the mics are secured into place and just barely sticking out at the end (so nothing is muffled):