Susan Tedeschi
Park West
Chicago, Illinois
November 20, 2008

Source: Audio Technica AT-899 omnis => Edirol R-09 @ 24-bit
Transfer: R-09 => WAV => Audition => dither to 16-bit wav => Magix Audio Cleaning Lab => WAV => FLAC (level 8)

Location: Stage left, ~15 back, in line with overhead speakers

Track listing:

Disc one (50:38):
(1) Banter (0:46)
(2) Back To The River (6:44)
(3) Tired Of My Tears (3:!3)
(4) Just Won't Burn (6:59)
(5) Love Will (4:33)
(6) Can't Sleep at Night (3:53)
(7) Break In The Road (3:55)
(8) Intro (0:59)
(9) Little By Little (6:40)
(10) Band introductions (0:50)
(11) Wait For Me (5:59)
(12) Banter (1:09)
(13) Learning The Hard Way (5:02)

Disc two (54:57):
(1) The Feeling Music Brings (6:35)
(2) Banter (1:31)
(3) For No One (2:38)
(4) Banter (0:50)
(5) True (4:08)
(6) Talkin' About (5:34)
(7) Intro (0:35)
(8) 700 Houses (4:46)
(9) It Hurt So Bad (8:05)
(10) Butterfly (5:10)
(11) Intro (1:32)
(12) Lord Protect My Child (5:44)
(13) Rock Me Right => I Fell In Love (7:41)

MD5 checksum file is included. Sorry, no artwork.

Comments:

Very nice recording from Susan's recent Chicago stop promoting her current album, "Back to the River." This featured a pretty good mix of material, though the balance was a little heavier on the current material (9 of 18 songs) than I would prefer. This particular show featured some unusual setlist variations -- the songwriter (Eliot Ray?) of "Wait For Me" was in the audience, so Susan brought him onstage for a spirited jam on the aforementioned song, and "Lord Protect My Child" was performed at an audience member's request. A highlight of the set was a nice, quiet cover of the Beatles' "For No One," which has appeared in many of her setlists of late. Altogether an enjoyable show, although I didn't think her backing band was as strong as in recent years.

The recording itself is quite good overall. The first two songs featured overpowering bass; after some adjustments, the sound for the remainder of the show was excellent (though the bass was still too loud on the raw recording). The crowd was mostly respectful, though there is one chatty woman who can be heard throughout some of the quieter moments. This was recorded in 24-bit; I used Audition to dither it down to 16 bit, and subsequently used Audio Cleaning Lab to bring down the bass to tolerable levels and track the recording out.

This wasn't the best Susan Tedeschi show I've seen nor is it the best recording of hers I've heard, but if you are a fan, you won't be disappointed with either the sound quality or the performance.