This remnant will be replaced soon. The FAQ is back, with a new design! Can I record Phish playing live? History: Live taping has been going since the band's second show, 11/3/83. Shelly Culbertson said of the first gig, "Nope, that show was not recorded. However, their next show - 11/3/83, basement of Slade Hall, UVM - was; I think it was taped on a boom box with condenser mikes and the tape is entirely over-saturated and distorted. The tape was labeled with felt tip on masking tape and appears to have resided on someone's car floor or dashboard for a few years. No, copies of this tape are not available - but I can try to post the setlist some day, if I ever figure it out. ;-)" [Setlist not yet provided, though rumored to include covers of Who songs.] Guarantee? The old answer, whose current veracity is uncertain, was: In most cases, yes; the contract with Elektra reportedly stipulates that they wouldn't play where they couldn't be aud taped. Then again, they have since then, but... exceptions are the rule. :-) DATs are reportedly not allowed at HORDE shows. Equipment: To learn about equipment, check out these mail reflectors; dat-heads has a price/quality list; tape-heads has a FAQ file. To subscribe to dat-heads, send "please add me" message to <dat-heads-request@fedney.near.net>. To subscribe to tape-heads, uh, well... the address has changed and I can't find a new list. 30' of cable and two clamps are recommended widely. Tapers are now limited to one deck and one mic stand per taper ticket, preventing those with tapers' tickets from taking others' decks in, which was leading to crowding in the section and to tapers taking up more than one seat for equipment. (Fine print to that effect was added in 1996, but the policy was enforced beginning fall 1997.) There have sometimes been problems with ushers at the door/gate, who do not know a preamp from a deck. (Some dont' seem to know audio equipment from video eqiupment.) And the policy is trouble for those tapers who, for example, use a Sony D5 analog for the preamp to a Sony D7 (or D8) DAT. Taping Section: Please keep noise and distractions down. Tapers are known for keeping thier mics clear of baloons and beach balls, and will (at best) frown if you babble while they're taping. Be careful with drinks - there's a lot of nice and expensive equipment in there, much of it on the floor. The section is sometimes treated as general admission, partly for purposes of getting mics up front, closer to the "sweet spot" of the soundbaord. Some tapers also typically keep equipment in a seat beside them, with their friend or S.O. wandering elsewhere or merely standing. Some feel that tapers' tickets should just say "Taper" and not have a seat assignment. However, new tapers are advised to learn the norms and other tapers so as not to attract conflict. Ushers are (for good or bad) inclined to enforce staying with your own seat, and sometimes interfere with optimum taping conditions - but the quiet word is that tapers control the section, as a community and with specific goals (great tapes) in mind. Resources: See also Official Info, taping etiquette, tickets, venues, veterans, beginners, and Audio FAQs. "We are very much in favor of it. I think a lot of the reason... a lot of our success has been directly related to having our show tapes accessible to people all around the country. People have heard our tapes, and then we finally get out to the west coast and people are able to see us for the first time, and we've stipulated that if we do sign that it is going to be in the contract that people will be allowed to keep taping."" -- Page McConnell, Arcata CA interview, 10/15/91" This page last updated January 24, 2007. All contents © 1992-2007 Ellis Godard. All rights reserved.