ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ADDED: As more and more collectors rely on source information as opposed to bootleg titles to identify recordings, I have decided to begin putting any source information that I have for my recordings on the tour leg pages as well as on my review pages for individual bootlegs.  The goal is to limit the amount of effrot that visitors have to put into finding source information for my recordings.

You will notice that the "NEW ADDITIONS" page for this update looks different than it has in the past.  In order to get the most information about each recording visible on the tour leg pages, I briefly experimented with re-creating them in Microsoft Excel.  However, I found that while this program is great for creating tables - a critical component of my site - its HTML cababilities are extremely limited.  So you won't be seeing any more Excel-generated pages after this update.

LOOKING TO TRADE FOR NON-TORRENTED RECORDINGS: I am actively pursuing recordigs that have not been torrented.  My primary interest in Vertigo Tour recordings, but odds are that I will trade for just about anything that I don't already have.  Please e-mail me if you have anything to offer.

ANOTHER UPDATE COMING SOON: I am already working on another update.  This one will include several recordings from the fourth leg of the Vertigo Tour as well as a few nice soundboard recordings from long ago.

DECEMBER 26, 2005
ON VACATION:  I will be on vacation until January 3.  I may have sporadic access to my e-mail while I am gone, but I'm not counting on it.  Feel free to send messages to me while I am away and I will get back to you as soon as I return.

NEW UPDATE COMING SOON: I am currently working on another update...I already have more than sixty new titles to add.  I hope to post at least a few of them not long after my return from vacation.

DECEMBER 11, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 60 new bootlegs,  34 audio recordings and 26 DVDs.  Most of the new recordings are from the Vertigo Tour.  You will notice that the reviews for many of these bootlegs are incomplete (no disc lengths, no comments from me).  Since it had been over three months since my last update, I didn't want to wait any longer to post the current update.  I will work on updating the incomplete reviews as I find time.  Feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have.  My hope is that the MP3 samples and DVD screen captures will allow visitors to judge quality for themselves in the meantime.

ANOTHER UPDATE ALREADY IN THE WORKS: I am already working on my next update and hope to post an updated "Incoming" page in the next few days that, in addition to showing which recordings I expect to receive shortly, will indicate which recordings I already have in my possession.  In addition, I will link reviews for these new bootlegs to the "Incoming" page as I complete them.

Posting a formal update to my page takes a long time, so I tend to put it off for as long as possible.  However, I am constantly receiving new bootlegs, so I will try to keep the "Incoming" page updated accordingly so that visitors to the site can have a better idea of what is actually in my collection.

OCTOBER 12, 2005
I'M ON VACATION.  I WILL RETURN ON OCTOBER 24.  I am getting married on October 15 and will then be out of town on my honeymoon until October 24.  I will not be checking my e-mail from Thursday, October 13 through Sunday, October 23.  Feel free to send me messages, but please do not expect a response until I return.

LARGE UPDATE COMING.  I will begin work on my next update once I return from vacation.  It will contain in the neighborhood of 50 recordings, including plenty of Vertigo Tour DVDs and third leg audio bootlegs.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 53 new bootlegs, 44 audio recordings and 9 DVDs.  The vast majority of the new recordings are from the European leg of the Vertigo Tour.  Note that I have not had the time to compose my own reviews for several of the new titles.  I have included notes distributed with the recordings by the tapers for virtually all of them.  In addition, you can judge the quality of the audio recordings for yourself by clicking on the "MP3 sample" links on the "NEW ADDITIONS" page and respective tour pages.  To see screen captures from the new DVDs, click on the links at the end of each review.

SOUND QUALITY OF EUROPEAN LEG VERTIGO TOUR RECORDINGS: On average, the sound quality of the average audio recording from the European leg of the Vertigo Tour is considerably worse than the average recording from the first leg of the tour.  As I mentioned in my previous update, likely reasons include poor stadium acoustics and bad taping locations.  Another explanation that is being thrown around is that there are numerous high quality European Tour recordings out there, but the tapers responsible for them are extremely frustrated with the impatience and sense of entitlement that the majority of collectors now display.  It seems that everyone feels that all recordings should be made available to them immediately via the various torrent sites...and that they should not have to offer anything in return.  This "me first" mentality has frustrated a lot of veteran taper/collectors, who are apparently sitting on a lot of recordings as a result.

JULY 13, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 37 new bootlgs, 28 audio recordings and 9 DVDs.  The majority of the new recordigs (25 audio and 1 DVD) are from the Vertigo Tour.  This includes 14 audio recordings from the European leg and seven non-torrented recordings from the first leg.

VERTIGO TOUR - EUROPEAN LEG RECORDINGS: As you can tell from my ratings for the European Tour recordings that I have received to this point, I feel that the overall quality of these recordings is considerably below that of the recordings from the first leg.  The problem is likely tied to the outdoor venues.  My theory is that, because it was so difficult to get tickets to Vertigo Tour concerts, tapers who were lucky enough to get tickets had to settle for whatever seats were available as opposed to getting to choose their locations in the venues.  Due to the complexities of stadium accoustics, a bad taping location in an outdoor venue likely results in a poorer recording than a bad taping recording at an indoor venue.  This is just guesswork on my part, but it makes sense to me.

Another likely reason for the lesser quality of the European Tour recordings to this point is that the old school tapers who recorded all of the gems from past tours (think of all of the great audience recordings from the Zooropa Tour) may not be big fans of publicly sharing their work.  As a result, these recordings may not be torrented and will only be distributed through snail mail trades.  Thus, it may take longer for them to appear on trading lists.  Again, simply speculation on my part.

JUNE 15, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 36 bootlegs, 26 audio recordings and 10 DVDs.  This includes 22 bootlgs from the Vertigo Tour, 16 audio and 6 DVDs.

STILL LOOKING FOR A FEW CONFIRMED LOSSLESS AUDIO RECORDINGS FROM THE FIRST LEG OF THE VERTIGO TOUR.  I still need recordings of 3/26 Los Angeles, 4/20 Denver, 4/21 Denver, 5/14 Philadelphia, 5/22 Philadelphia.

MAY 13, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 25 new bootlegs, 16 audio recordings and 9 DVDs.

LOOKING FOR VERTIGO TOUR RECORDINGS: I am looking to trade for any Vertigo Tour audio and DVD recordings that I do not currently have.  I know that recordings of Phoenix 4/14, Denver 4/20 and 4/21, and Seattle 4/25 are out there.  Some are currently available in mp3 format, but I am only interested in lossless recordings.

NEW MATERIAL SLOW TO SURFACE: While recordings of the first several Vertigo Tour concerts were quick to appear on the internet thanks to the various public  torrent sites, new material has been MUCH slower to surface over the past few weeks.  A major factor is likely Dime's decision to remove all U2 torrents.  However, U2Torrents is still running, as is The Traders Den.  Yet, if I'm not mistaken, not a single new Vertigo Tour recording has been posted on these sites since U2 torrents were pulled from Dime.  It looks like the U2 trading community will have to rely on snail mail and private FTP trades  -- at least until the public torrents start to pick up again.

APRIL 21, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 25 new bootlegs, 17 audio recordings and 8 DVDs.

MP3 SAMPLES & DVD SCREEN CAPTURES: I am in the process of estbalishing links to MP3 samples and DVD screen captures.  As they are added, the samples will be available by clicking on a direct link at the bottom of each review or by clicking on the "MP3 & Screen Caps" button at the bottom of the screen.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE VERTIGO TOUR: A lot of people have asked how I feel about the Vertigo Tour to this point, so I decided to post my feelings here like I did when the album was released.

I must say that the new material from How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb sounds much better live than it does on the album.  While I still don't feel that any of the songs on from HTDAAB are on the same level as the band's best work, almost all of the songs play well live.  In particular, "City of Blinding Lights" and "Miracle Drug" have cleaned up very nicely.  After forcing myself to listen to the album all the way through every time I played it during the month after it was released, I repeatedly skipped these songs later.  But as those of us who are obsessed with bootlegs know, there is just something about U2 live.  Songs that we have heard a hundred different live recordings of sound different every time.  And songs that we aren't overly fond of on albums become solid in concert.

Speaking of the new material, the U2 fan base seems to be pretty evenly split over the band's acoustic performance of "Yahweh".  On some nights, this mellow performance really resonates with me.  On other nights I find myself wishing wishing that Larry and Adam would jump in too.  I really had no patience for this song on the album, but I listen to it on all of the live bootlegs.  So I guess that means that the acoustic rendition is okay with me.

One thing that U2 fans are united about is their appreciation for "older" songs being added to the setlist this tour.  It is awesome to hear songs like "The Electric Co.", "An Cat Dubh", and "The Ocean" played again.  For the most part, these songs have been collecting dust for over 20 years.  That the band has chosen to play them again -- and play them well -- is very encouraging.

What is not so encouraging is the all-too-familiar static nature of the setlist.  After moving blocks of songs around the first few nights, the band now seems to have settled on a very routine setlist.  Sure, since they play the same venue for multiple nights at all tour stops on the first leg, they swap out a song or two ("The Ocean" for "An Cat Dubh" for example), but somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 songs stay the same each night -- and are now being played in more or less the same order every night.

Even more disappointing are the songs that are not being played.  We have read over and over again that U2 does not want this tour to be a "Greatest Hits" tour.  That's fine.  We all know by now that what has allowed the band to not only survive but to thrive for 25 years is their ability to keep pumping out quality new material.  Therefore, each tour should be used as a vehicle to showcase this new material.  But that doesn't mean you have to play the same "crowd favorites" every night to fill in the gaps.  I can understand that they don't want to play "With Or Without You" or "Bad" every night.  But then why play tired songs like "Pride", "Bullet the Blue Sky", or -- dare I even say it -- "Streets" on a nightly basis?  Fans are paying $150+ face value for tickets as much to hear their favorite songs as they are to hear the new material.  In fact, most fans probably want to hear the older stuff more.  And not everyone (including myself) wants to hear "Pride" or even "Streets".  Don't forget, "With Or Without You" is one of only two U2 songs to reach #1 in the United States.  "Bad" is the song that the band used to spring itself into the limelight via televised live performances.  Why aren't these songs being played more often?

I know that some people will say that the songs that aren't being played don't fit into the themes that the band tries to develop each night using its setlist.  I hate to tell you, but I don't think that most fans get wrapped up in "themes" while listening to a live performance.  Even with a band as politically and socially conscious as U2 -- and with a fan base as tuned in to the band's favorite issues as U2 fans are -- I honestly believe that most people show up at Vertigo Tour concerts to hear songs that they like first and foremost .  Sadly, many of us feel deprived because our favorite songs are not being played.  Meanwhile, the same "fan favorites" are being churned out every night -- often with very little emotion behind them.  In fact, all too often to this point I have gotten the impression that Bono in particular is just going through the motions out there.

Unless the band starts to change things around in the next couple of weeks, I am going to stop obsessing about finding tickets to a first leg show in Chicago or Philly.  I have tickets for Cleveland in December...maybe by then their performance will be more varied - and more heartfelt.

MARCH 31, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 5 new bootlegs, 4 audio recordings and 1 DVD.

CHANGES TO SITE DESIGN: I made a few minor changes to the site design.  As a result of the changes, when you click on a tour button above, the various legs appear in the frame below.  This frame will remain unchanged until you select a new return or hit the "Back" button on your browser.  Note that the site is now intended to be viewed at 1024 x 768.

RULES UPDATED: I updated my rules page.  It is pretty straightforward and, I hope, not very demanding.  I included some tips on the best way to propose a trade to me.  Please realize that I receive a lot of e-mails each week.  Sometimes I find it very difficult to respond to all of them, so occasionally messages proposing trades involving material that I already have go unanswered.  Please don't be offended.  I do read all of my e-mail, and if I am interested in trading with you I will reply...usually within a day, although sometimes it might take me a little longer.

MARCH 9, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 10 new bootlegs, 4 audio recordings and 6 DVDs.

LOOKING FOR TAPERS FOR THE VERTIGO TOUR: If you are planning on recording Vertigo Tour concerts, have high speed internet access, and are willing to upload your recordings to my FTP server once you have converted the recordings to .shn, .ape, or .flac, please send me an e-mail.  If you can upload a recording to my FTP server within five days of the concert, I would be willing to post any two bootlegs listed on this site on my FTP server for you to download.  I ask that you not place restrictions on any recordings (other than not converting to a lossy format) that you upload to my server.

STILL LOOKING FOR TICKETS TO VERTIGO TOUR CONCERTS: See note under February 15, 2005 update.

FEBRUARY 15, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 15 new bootlegs, 5 audio recordings and 10 DVDs.

SEEKING TICKETS TO VERTIGO TOUR CONCERTS: Like so many other U2 fans, I came up empty in my quest to land tickets to the upcoming Vertigo Tour.  I managed to get through on Ticketmaster.com during the u2.com fanclub member pre-sale, but the only seats available were priced far too high ($195) for their location (back of the arena in the upper deck or behind the stage).

If you have General Admission tickets (I need a pair) to any of the concerts in Chicago or Philadelphia that you are willing to trade for bootlegs, feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're asking for in return.  My first choice is May 14 in Philadelphia, followed by May 7 in Chicago.  But I am also interested in tickets for the May 9, May 10, and May 11 concerts in Chicago and the May 22 concert in Philadelphia.

I know how much GA tickets are going for on the various ticket broker sites.  I'm willing to make this worth your while.  I may even be willing to part with some rare soundboard material if you have GA tickets to the right shows.

JANUARY 19, 2005
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 16 new bootlegs, 7 audio recordings and 9 DVDs.  These include a wide range of quality (Poor Audience to Excellent Soundboard) and tours (Boy to HTDAAB Promo Tour).

DECEMBER 23, 2004
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added 10 new bootlegs, 5 audio recordings and 5 DVDs.  Five of the recordings are from the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Promo Tour.  I haven't had a chance to create screen captures for the DVDs yet.  I will post them shortly.

LINKS TO DVD SCREEN CAPTURES AND MP3 SAMPLES DEAD -- EXCEPT FOR BUTTON AT BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN:  My IP address changed suddenly today, so all of the links to DVD screen captures and mp3 samples that are on individual review pages are dead.  I have updated the link associated with the "Download Samples" button at the bottom of the screen.

HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB TOUR PAGE ADDED: I have added a new button ("ATOMIC BOMB") to the tour menu at the top of the page.  Currently, clicking on this button will take you directly to the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Promo Tour page.  Once the actual tour (Vertigo Tour?) kicks off, clicking on this button will take you to the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb index page, from which you will be able to select the various legs of the tour as well as the promo tour.

DECEMBER 15, 2004
DEFECTIVE DISCS MAILED: It has come to my attention that some of the discs that I have sent out within the past two weeks appear to be blank.  I have traced the problem to a spindle of defective CD-Rs.  My DVD-R/CD-R drives successfully write to these discs, but when they are inserted into a stereo or CD+/-R drive there is no data on them.  PLEASE E-MAIL ME ASAP IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED ANY SUCH DISCS FROM ME.  I WILL SEND YOU NEW COPIES IMMEDIATELY.

DECEMBER 2, 2004
NEW BOOTLEGS ADDED: I added sixteen new bootlegs, 2 audio recordings and 14 DVDs.

TRADES WELCOME: I am still looking to fill holes in my collection and acquire upgrades for concerts that I already own recordings of.  I would prefer to trade online via my FTP server, but I am willing to trade via snail mail as well.

HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB PROMO TOUR: I will be receiving several recordings featuring performances from the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Promo Tour very shortly.  Keep checking this page for updates.

HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB -- MY COMMENTS ON THE ALBUM: I'm not really interested in debating the success of the album -- as with everything in life, each person is entitled to his own opinion -- so please spare me the flaming e-mails.  Many collectors have asked me for my thoughts on HTDAAB, so I decided to post them here.

To be honest, I am quite disappointed with HTDAAB.  Most reviews of the album -- especially those on U2 fan sites -- have been positive.  I have found a couple in the mainstream media that are less flattering, and one that I feel sums up the shortfalls of HTDAAB pretty well is at http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/30/review.u2/index.html.

I agree with Leopold's assertion that the lyrics seem a bit stilted at times.  This is admittedly one of U2's hallmarks, and Bono's persona coupled with the band's political activism and worldliness allows them to pull it off.  But when listening to the studio album -- which, by nature, is a very sterile recording for those of us who spend most of our time listening to bootlegs -- the words seem heavy handed without Bono's machismo and over-the-top camera/stage presence.

But even more troubling to me is the music itself.  In short, it sounds overproduced and -- perhaps most damning -- is often disjointed.  Leopold mentions that "melody" is lacking all too often on the album.  I couldn't agree more.  I don't necessarily feel that adjectives like "meandering" and "dragging" are applicable, but the majority of the songs are just not very catchy.  For the most part, the choruses are simply lacking.  When listening to a lot of the songs on HTDAAB, my mind keeps telling me that the music doesn't flow properly.  Sometimes this calls attention to the quality of Bono's voice.  A lot of people seem to think that it has improved significantly.  I agree...if you're comparing it to the end of the Elevation Tour.  But on a studio album, when it sounds more like speaking then singing -- even if only for a few brief moments -- the results just aren't very good.

My favorite song from the album: "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own".  When watching the band perform this song on Saturday Night Live, I really didn't think much of it.  But after listening to it on the album several times, it may have cracked my top ten favorite U2 songs.  Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but that's the best I can do.  And I don't think that it's a coincidence that a song that Bono wrote about his father -- a song written from the heart -- is the best one on the album.

The only other song on the album that I will likely even bother to listen to six months from now: "Vertigo".  Again, I panned this song after I heard it for the first time.  Its overexposure on the iPod commercials didn't help.  But I have developed an appreciation for "Vertigo".  I still think that it sounds more like musical regression -- reminiscent of the band's very early work -- than a step forward.  But the song does rock.

Worst song on the album: "A Man And A Woman".  I would probably rather have four minutes of dead air on the album.  I would certainly rather have "Mercy", "Fast Cars", "Are You Gonna Wait Forever", or just about any other impending b-side.

Songs that I don't understand what all of the fuss is about: "Miracle Drug",  "City of Blinding Lights", and "All Because of You".  I have seen many fans' reviews christening these songs as some of the best the band have ever made.  I just don't get it.  I'm nowhere close to understanding that point of view.

Okay, enough doom and gloom.  My guess is that I will like most of these songs a lot better live than I do on the album.  And if not, I can always enjoy the true classics that don't get pushed off the setlist to make room for the new titles.