Collected Animals

All this talk in the Ballet Slippers thread has got me revisiting old bootlegs and realizing how many gems we've collected over the years. It also seems like we all have specific boots that are super important to us for different reasons so I thought it could be fun to revisit some old classics. I also thought it could be cool for newer fans who aren't super familiar with the boots to get the scoop.

I don't frequent this board enough to know if this kind of thing has been done before, so if it has or if it belongs somewhere else, just let me know and I'll move/delete it.

Anyway, here are some of my personal favorites. I tried to keep this post as concise and readable as possible, so lots of great ones got left out (shout out to Melkweg, Other Music, Haverford College, and so many more). Let me know what your favs are and what's special about them to you.

Most of these can be found in the All Known Live Recordings thread if you want to download.

2007 Gargoyle
All time favorite boot, no question. This recording defined my relationship with the band and was my go-to listening material for the better part of a year. It’s got all the energy of SJ-era shows but with those next-level MPP jams. So bummed I didn’t get to see them on this tour. 10/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBzPQKp ... 932826E680

2017 Live at College Music Hall
A close second to the Gargoyle boot. This has got everything you could ever want from an AC show and the band has never sounded tighter than they do here. Avey especially is in the pocket from beginning to end. Honestly, a perfect set. I even paid for this one. 10/10
https://anmlcollectve.bandcamp.com/albu ... ay-26-2017

2009 Big Sur
A classic AC boot that I’m pretty sure got an official release at some point. This late-era performance is peak MPP. I love that it takes place at 3 AM in Big Sur. I love that Avey tells us there is a fog rolling in. I love that they open with #1. 9.5/10
https://www.mediafire.com/?5k8z3uciubbwi7u

2007 Coronet Theatre
This is the definitive July 2007 bootleg. It’s got Doggy, Hey Light, a song called Am I Real and some kind of Pan Flute Jam. The songs are very nascent and there is alot of reverb happening which is awesome.
https://archive.org/details/acollective ... -Tr14.flac

2007 Midi Festival
Coronet Theatre may be the definitive July 2007 performance, but Midi Fest sticks out to me personally. Dave’s vocals during this show are so free and energized, it’s one of the qualities that first got me hyped on this band. There is also a Jane set from this show that is worth tracking down.
http://diduseethewords.blogspot.com/200 ... tival.html

2008 Lux Fragil
I specifically like that pitch shifting thing he does between the first and second verse on Walk Around with You. This one also has a great version of Grass on it.
https://archive.org/details/acollective ... 061.flac16

2003 Denton Texas
Just like with Live in Sacramento, I can’t get over how amazingly weird these early shows were. I can’t imagine what the audience was thinking here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5-ovtyXp9A

sick thread idea!!! top 3 boots are foundation paris 2004, 08 lux fragil, and 19 cains (also 04 bowery ballroom). i love even just thinking about 04 paris, first recorded feels show, interesting incarnation of the band (avey, panda, deakin) and they just sound like demons!! flesh canoe is demented, bees sounds like it is a bad dream, loch raven has THE werewolf vocals, the unbridled energy of tiquid and did u see words which sounds completely different (more punkish rhythm and that loud blaring guitar) and of course purple bottle, with that vocal effect making avey sound like a creature and the entire song feeling like its going to fall apart at any second. they sound like feral beasts making mating songs and ice cream factory is there for some reason !!!

i love even just thinking about 04 paris

this is on my all time show list as well, the slowed down ice cream factories and all of that raw hcti energy coming thru on the feels demos.... i love the rendition of bees on this boot too.

FEEL ON1NE!!! wrote:

i love even just thinking about 04 paris

this is on my all time show list as well, the slowed down ice cream factories and all of that raw hcti energy coming thru on the feels demos.... i love the rendition of bees on this boot too.

You're right! This performance is batshit and brilliant... Excellent recommendation.

1) Malta
2) Melkweg
3) Paradiso 09

europe saw the best of them

Melkweg also always stands out to me as my favorite post MPP boot. I’d give other music and Paris top slots as well. It’s hard because I go to different boots for different reasons. For example, the rendition of Reverend Green in 05 at paradiso is next level. Almost anything in 07 with the early MPP stuff and amazing takes on WCWAR, Doggy, Hey Light, and OG Taste are hard to touch. That 07 Radio 1 set was so good.

My most listened to boots are probably the Malta performances and (strange in hindsight) Petaluma where I got some severe demoitis.