For over three decades, Aadam Jacobs, aka ‘Chicago’s Taping Guy’, recorded gigs in or around the Windy City for his own personal archive. <\/p>\n
Jacobs was a fixture at clubs such as Metro, The Empty Bottle, Double Door, Lounge Ax, Cubby Bear, Hideout, Fireside Bowl and more, amassing a collection of recordings of over 10,000 gigs.<\/p>\n
“I wanted to have a physical archive of the concerts I went to,” he explained in 2019<\/a>. <\/p>\n Now that collection is being uploaded online for free on the nonprofit digital library Internet Archive, as part of the site\u2019s ‘No Tape Left Behind’ project. And it’s a remarkable treasure trove for those who might wish to hear archive recordings of local heroes such as Smashing Pumpkins<\/a> or Liz Phair, international stars such as The Cure<\/a>, Nick Cave and Depeche Mode, alternative rock legends Fugazi<\/a>, Sonic Youth and H\u00fcsker D\u00fc or less celebrated indie rock heroes such as Superchunk, Lungfish, or Guided By Voices.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Want to hear Nirvana’s first gig in Chicago at Club Dreamerz on July 8, 1989? Enjoy<\/a>! Fancy listening to R.E.M. at the UIC Pavilion – University of Illinois at Chicago from 1987? Knock yourself out<\/a>. Want to hear The Afghan Whigs covering AC\/DC’s Night Prowler as the closing song of their set at Lounge Ax on February 28, 1992? Then today is your lucky day, friend<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below <\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n You can read more about the project here<\/a>. <\/p>\n