Chicago
Wollman Rink, Central Park
New York, NY (USA)
Apr. 6, 1979

Audience recording


**mp3 samples are provided (as always) in the Comments section**


Pretty recently, this RARE and vintage Chicago show arrived in my mailbox due to the continual generosity of my buddy and fellow DIME member, JackStraw42.

I asked him about the date listed for the show since it seemed strange that Chicago would be playing NYC's Central Park in APRIL when it's still relatively cold outside--he said that's how the show was labelled when he received it. He and I both thought maybe the date got transposed at some point (and it was really held on June 4), but exhaustive efforts of researching this show on the internet have proven fruitless. Hopefully someone who was there can confirm/dispute the April 6, 1979 date.

One thing IS clear, however: This is the post-Terry Kath version of the group as Donnie Dacus is on guitar. So that pins this show somewhere in the 1978-1980 timeframe for sure since Dacus' stint with the group was mysteriously short.

I'm realize I'm in the minority of fans who actually enjoyed the Donnie Dacus era of the group, but so be it. Although stylistically different than his predecessor (the widely-acclaimed Terry Kath), Dacus brought a boost of energy to the group's live shows and recordings. Songs like "Alive Again", "Ain't It Time" and "Little Miss Lovin'" (the last of which is NOT in this show) best epitomize the Donnie Dacus era for me.

The recording itself isn't too bad considering it's an audience recording from 1979. Unfortunately there are some cuts and drops on the recording (as noted below), but overall, after a little polishing up, it sounds pretty decent. And the performance is very good--I especially like Peter Cetera's bass playing in this show.


Setlist:
101. Feelin' Stronger Every Day
102. Dialogue
103. Hot Streets
104. Just You 'N' Me
105. Ain't It Time
106. Beginnings
107. Happy Man
108. Flight 602 (slightly cut)

201. If You Leave Me Now
202. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is
203. Alive Again
204. Saturday In The Park
205. (I've Been) Searchin' So Long
206. Mongonucleosis
207. Percussion solo
208. Free
209. Got To Get You Into My Life
210. 25 Or 6 To 4
211. I'm A Man (incomplete)

Lineage: FLACs (data CDR from JackStraw42) > FLAC Frontend > WAV > editing (below)
> FLAC Frontend > FLAC

Editing notes:
* The FLAC files I received has microgaps that were (for the most part) NOT at the ends of the tracks, which leads me to believe this show was previously re-tracked at some point in its life. Perhaps the microgaps were caused by a TAO burn. Nonetheless, I removed the microgaps which existed between all of the tracks.
* Re-tracked the entire show (combined WAV files in Nero's wave editor, then re-split the show using CD Wave)
* The show I received played well below peak volume, so using Nero's wave editor, I increased the majority of the show's volume by +5dB with these exceptions: Tracks 106-107 (+3dB), Track 108 (+4dB), Tracks 201-202 (+8dB) and Track 203 (+7db). I carefully picked the beginning and ending positions for these volume adjustments so that the volume wii not fluctuate as one track ends and the next one begins. Also, I tried my best to keep the volume from exceeding peak levels.
* Faded out Track 108 (since the initial recording was slightly cut) and Track 211 (which was incomplete) using Nero's wave editor; faded in Track 101 and also faded in Track 201 (after deleting about 8 seconds of extra crowd noise)
* Smoothed out some between-track transitions by deleting a minimal amount of between-song applause (the tape must have been paused during the audience applause between songs): Tracks 103/104, 106/107 and 210/211.
* There was a slight cut (maybe from a slight tape pause?) at the 4:00 mark of Track 106 (Beginnings); I applied a slight fade-out before the cut and a slight fade-in after the cut
* There was a slight cut/pause at the 2:54 mark of Track 107 (Happy Man); I applied a slight fade-out before the cut and a slight fade-in after the cut
* There was a slight cut/pause at the 1:49 mark of Track 201 (If You Leave Me Now); I applied a small fade-out before the cut and after the cut, I deleted about 1 second of music before applying a slight fade-in
* There was a slight cut/pause at the 0:11 mark of Track 206 (Mongonucleosis); I deleted a few seconds before/after the cut and blended both halves together while trying my best to "stay on beat" (the original gap lasted about 4 seconds)
* There was a slight cut/pause at the 1:08 mark of Track 208 (Free); I applied a slight fade-out before the cut and a slight fade-in after the cut


Recording/show notes:
* Sounds like there's some minor tape warping in Track 108 (Flight 602)
* Cetera plays the bass line to Yes' "Roundabout" during "25 Or 6 To 4"



Caveat emptor: Please listen to the mp3 samples provided in the Comments section. Is the sound quality for this AUDIENCE recording perfect? Of course not. But hey, keep in mind that it IS an audience recording from 1979. Let's just be thankful for the kind soul who bothered to record it (and share it) for posterity.


If you like the show, please consider posting a comment on the show's board. And if you can post a Thank You to JackStraw42 for supplying this show to me so that I could share it, that would be great.



Generously donated to the DIME community by JackStraw42
Uploaded on DIME by TheCommish
December 2008