I can remember getting my first couple of Grateful Dead bootlegs back when I was an early teenager. Man, they were like treasures! Most of them had been copied so many times that they sounded like shit. But it was so incredible to me to have actual copies of old shows. And I learned the whole bootleg language and how to write down set lists and everything. And then I scored more bootlegs and more bootlegs. I became obsessed with trying to get as many as I could.
Then along came recordable CDs. Now we could put bootlegs on CD and not have to worry about fast-forwarding and rewinding, etc. So out went all the old cassette cases and in came all the CDs. We'd go to shows and brag about how many Phish or Widespread shows we had. Yada yada yada.
Now there's the internet. Everything is available with a point and a click. You could have a zillion bootlegs if you wanted to. Hell, you can copy shows straight to iTunes and then upload them onto your iPod. All digital. No worries of getting a 3rd generation. Straight soundboard all the time.
I'm writing this because I'm listening to a streaming recording of last Saturday's Widespread show in Asheville (today is Monday). It always amazes me what technology can do. Gone are the days of old cassette bootlegs. In are the days of being able to stream and listen to a show you saw less than 24 hours ago. Amazing.......
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