J. Geils Band
Swing Auditorium
San Bernardino, CA
February 28, 1975
JF Archive Series Vol. 24 via JEMS

Taper: JF

Source: unknown recorder > unknown microphone (mono)

JEMS 2019 Transfer: first-generation reel from JF�s master cassettes > Otari 5050 mkII azimuth-adjusted transfer > USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture (16/44) and pitch adjustment > IZotope RX 7 and Ozone 8 > Peak Pro 6 (post production) > xACT 2.39 > FLAC

01 Did You No Wrong
02 Southside Shuffle
03 Gettin' Out
04 Givin' It All Up
05 Must Of Got Lost
06 Detroit Breakdown
07 Band Introductions
08 Looking For A Love
09 Chimes
10 Whammer Jammer
11 Ain't Nothin' But A House Party
12 Be Careful (What You Do)
13 Give It To Me
14 First I Look At The Purse

Known Faults:
-Chimes: end cut
-Whammer Jammer: start cut
-First I Look At The Purse: first few notes cut

JEMS loves a vintage taper series and we're pleased to extend this one from the archive of our friend JF, who taped in and around Southern California in the '70s and Boston in the '80s. He frequented smaller venues, like the Troubadour and the Roxy, leaving arenas to others and leaning more towards the folksier, jazzier and eclectic sides of rock with a few exceptions.

Most of his '70s tapes were made on what I would describe as the kind of large, rectangular, portable, C-cell powered cassette recorder that my family and surely many others had in the '70s, either a Panasonic or a Sony. While I used ours to record myself, my friends and my sister around the house, the teenage JF figured, why not try taking it into concerts?

I only learned what recorder JF used after I had heard some of his tapes and I have to say I was mildly shocked. Given the gear, his tapes are surprisingly good. And make no mistake, this was an early era for audience recording, part of the first wave spurred on by of the vinyl bootleg revolution.

For further details and backstory on JF, his tapes and the extraordinary lost Van Morrison performances from 1975 that started the series, please refer to the notes in Vol. Three:

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=524853

Volume 24 presents another recording JF made himself on cassette before archiving his master on reel-to-reel and re-using the cassettes as was the cost-saving practice in his youth.

This J. Geils Band concert at the infamous Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino does not appear in any internet-published tour chornologies, but the date fits a run of west coast shows the band was doing with Journey, coming two days after a Long Beach concert that was preceded by dates at Winterland in San Francisco and another in Fresno on Feb. 20, for which an online poster image seems to confirm the bill.

There don�t appear to be any circulating live recordings of the band from early 1975, and only a couple from later in the year, so for Geils fans, this should be a welcome addition.

Swing Auditorium played host to many big-name concerts because it was an easy date to tack onto an LA stop, being only 60 miles away but a entirely different market. The adjective infamous is well earned, as many have commented that the acoustics in the giant barn/hanger-like structure were atrocious.

That makes the quality of JF�s recording a rather pleasant surprise. As we�ve noted before, he was recording on a relatively lo-fi set up and one would expect the combination of his rig and the Swing�s acoustics to yield a poor result. Instead, his J. Geils capture is surprisingly crisp and clear with excellent fidelity for the conditions. Samples provided.

JF didn�t recall a lot of specifics about the show or his recording, but did say, �It was a good show - as good as they could be in that barnyard!�

Our heartfelt thanks goes to JF, who reached out on DIME (you could be next!) and offered us his archive, which had been sitting in boxes, 6000 miles away from where he lives today, for 20+ years. Like so many early tapers, he had great stories to tell and the memories flooded back as we sorted through tapes. We are pleased to be able to bring his work to all of you. Please let him know through your comments that you are, too.

Thanks as well to mjk5510, whose role in the JEMS organization grows more significant with each passing day. Just last month, he, slowburn and slipkid68 visited JEMS South and helped re-organize the archive. That work yielded this recording and many more to follow. Thanks to all three for keeping the JEMS torch burning bright.

BK for JEMS

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