Neil Finn
7/6/02
House Of Blues
Hollywood, CA

FOB; Neumann AK-40’s (x/y) >LC3 >KM-100’s >Beyer MV-100 >Sony TCD-D8 (16bit/44.1kHz)
DAT Master Transferred: Tascam DA-30 >HHb CDR 800 PRO Via Analog i/o,
CD Masters >FLAC (Level 8) Via xACT 2.35

(Recorded, Transferred, FLAC’d, Tagged (Via xACT 2.53), & Front Cover Artwork By OldNeumanntapr)

Disc I:

1. Pineapple Head
2. Driving Me Mad
3. One Step Ahead
4. Hole In The Ice
5. Into The Sunset
6. Fall At Your Feet
7. Don’t Dream Its Over
8. Only Talking Sense
9. Sinner
10. Last To Know
11. Strange As It Seems
12. Human Kindness

Disc II:

1. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
2. Down On The Corner
3. She Will Have Her Way
4. Private Universe
5. How Soon Is Now?
6. Take A Walk
7. Turn & Run
8. Weather With You
9. World Where You Live
10. It’s Getting Better
11. Sweet Home Alabama
12. Talk
13. Lullaby Requiem

OldNeumanntapr Notes;
I really enjoyed recording Neil Finn in 1998 and I jumped at the chance to see, and record him again. I had gone with Dave, and my girlfriend Genéte, who would later become my new wife, to see Neil Finn at Slim’s in San Francisco on March 10 2002, but my Sony D7 DAT recorder mis-loaded and I lost the entire recording. (It would have been so good too, because I was able to get my Neumanns inside and I was set up directly in front of the center ceiling post. I was so mad later that night when I tried to unload the tape and found it was all bunched up in the machine I nearly threw the deck out the window onto the 101 Freeway!)

I retired the Sony TCD-D7 DAT recorder after the ill-fated Slim’s Neil Finn show, and replaced it with a new Sony TCD-D8 (the newer model.) It was brand new for the House of Blues show.

We got to the venue early and had to stand for at least 90 minutes before doors opened. Genéte wasn’t having a good time because she had recently broken her toe and was suffering through the long wait outside the club. I remember that she made a comment like “I can’t wait to get inside and sit down”, and Dave told her that it was a standing only show. THAT went over like a lead balloon! There is a really funny story that went along with the Neil Finn show at Slim’s. Slim’s was in a warehouse district in San Francisco and what we mistook for a boarded up warehouse, painted black, next door to Slim’s was actually the D & A Lounge, a gay bar. When we got out of the show at close to midnight there was a long line of people waiting to get into the club next door. Genéte was shocked at the clientele, but Dave and I didn’t mind the transgenders and gay men that we walked by. There was one guy that I noticed that had patent-leather chaps over tight fitting jeans that had the butt cheeks cut out! San Francisco is known for its wild alternative nightlife and we took it in stride. Live and let live.

Because my recording from Slim’s was a total failure, I really wanted to try and get a decent recording of another Neil Finn show. Fortunately we were able to get tickets for the July 6th show at the House of Blues, in Hollywood.

I went with my friend Dave in his Toyota Celica to this show in Hollywood and they stopped me at the door with my taping gear in a bag. We went back to the car and Dave made a comment like, ‘That’s too bad that you couldn’t get your tape recorder in.’ I looked at him and said that I didn’t come all this way to go back empty handed, and he gave me a quizzical look. I was definitely going to give it my all to get a recording, especially after the equipment failure at the San Francisco show a few months prior.

I took the gear out of the bag and disassembled it into component parts and put the microphones and active cables into a small zip log bag and I went into stealth mode. I secreted the mics and DAT recorder on myself and gave the preamp to Dave to take in for me. We went through security without a hitch, even with the metal detectors, and I had to set up in the men’s room, which was kind of weird because there was an attendant inside the foyer. This was another down-and-back in the same night show where we didn’t stay overnight.

As I remember, the House Of Blues in Hollywood has a movable wall that folds down before the show starts so that the dining room patrons can see the stage.

There were a few songs that I hadn’t heard before, and he did some of my favorites as well. This was the only time that I had been to the House Of Blues in Hollywood. Dave pointed out the Whisky and also the Roxy, famous Hollywood clubs that were across the street. Unfortunately I’ve never been to either of those. I would have loved to have seen the Doors when they were the house band at the Whisky back in the 60s. There are quite a few shows from the Roxy in my collection that I wish I could have recorded.

I included a scan of the Neil Finn Slim’s show ticket where my DAT recorder mis loaded and led to me wanting to try again. Fortunately I was successful at the House Of Blues!

Do NOT Convert To MP3.
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