Bootleg Round Table

Originally posted by aussiemofo[..]

Probably because us Aussies have been relatively slack at that sort of thing.

Originally posted by germcevoy[..]

It just seems like crap equipment was used for most of the recordings but on the plus side it's still good to have some type of audio recording of a gig (no matter how bad). Stick to the last 8 nights though. All great quality, some setlist variation and great audiences

Originally posted by MWSAH1989-10-27 - Adelaide

First of all, I adore Lovetown, so I was glad Drew picked this one.

Sound: Not good...It's soundboard and Lovetown is so much better with audience. And further on, this gig really has been re-encoded to much. It's sounds way too distorted and fuzzy. Not a pleasure to listen to at all. And that's a shame because I felt the band was in good shape. No way enar the Point Depot shows and the Rotterdam gigs. PD is 5-star, Rotterdam 4-star, so this is definately a 3-star.

Performance: Good, but not that good compared to PD and Rotterdam. I especially enjoyed Bad and TUF, and also ISHFWILF with the Bob Marley passage of Exodus. The setlist during Lovetown was great, this show proofs that once again. People Get Ready is also a very nice song. The band was in a good shape, but when the end of Lovetown came they were more into it, it seems.

Overall: Good, not the best. I'd say an 7/10 for the show and performance.

Originally posted by aussiemofo[..]

Yeah I've been meaning to grab the 30/12/89 gig - for the performance as well as Bonos infamous Dream It All Up Again speech.

Originally posted by WojBhoy[..]

Review coming up shortly

Originally posted by WojBhoy1989-10-27 - Adelaide, Australia - Memorial Drive Stadium

Again, like others, I was immediately drawn to this BRT because the show is Lovetown, and I've really grown to this in recent months, so thankyou Drew!

Sound

I think it's suffice to say that we all agree the sound was fairly terrible. Unlike Gerard, Casper etc. I'm no audiophile but even I could tell that this recording has been bastardised to kingdom come, which is a shame because the show itself is great. Around God Part II, it seemed to recover a bit but not that much. I'm usually not to concerned about whether the boot is a soundboard or an audience recording in that, primarily, I want to hear the band first and foremost - a good crowd just adds to it, but I mean even this time round, the whole boot was dragged into the gutter by encoding so that Edge's guitar sounds like a hammer in a workshop and the crowd's noise (when it does come through) really batters everything. To this end, I reckon that soundwise, this rates pretty low - 3.5/5 stars seems a bit generous in its current state.

Performance

Ok, this really lifted the show for me - ok, Bono recognised that his voice wasn't in perfect shape, but he made a great fist of it and his enthusiasm really drives the show. His shout of "I can sing!" during Streets just made me laugh, and the crowd really feed off of him and it really lifts everything. Everything that was great was in spite of Bono's voice (e.g. TUF, God Part II, NYD, WOWY/Shine Like Stars, Love Rescue Me etc.) by which I mean that it saddens me even more because, if his voice had been in good shape, and the sound was better, this could have been one of the great Lovetown shows. My highlight though (the point that I'll always remember this show for - bar the crap sound), which surprised me, was People Get Ready - the 2nd guy who played Bono's guitar was pretty good! I never really paid much in the way of attention to this because it's not a U2 song, but the performance here was great!

(PS - note to Bono; please don't sing 40 when your voice is fucked!)

Overall

A really good show performance-wise, but with regard to the bootleg itself, you just can't get away from the trashy sound. As a bootleg, and whilst feeling generous, I'd give this 6/10. Not a must have, but if you are able to get past to the brutal encoding jobs, it's a fun show to listen to, which positively bleeds Lovetown era!

Originally posted by aussiemofo[..]

Yep great review. Agreed on most counts. People Get Ready was a real little surpise packet wasn't it? It's one of those songs you can just kick back and listen to really easily. Another gig we all think: TUF was so bloody unreal back then. Please bring it back!!!! Were you also annoyed by the incomplete Bad?

Originally posted by aussiemofo[..]

Yep great review. Agreed on most counts. People Get Ready was a real little surpise packet wasn't it? It's one of those songs you can just kick back and listen to really easily. Another gig we all think: TUF was so bloody unreal back then. Please bring it back!!!! Were you also annoyed by the incomplete Bad?