Where to Start With the 10,000 Concert Archive Everyone’s Talking About

A Chicago taper spent 40 years documenting live music. These are the 10 shows to hear first.

Apr 15, 2026

There’s a new archive online that, if you care about music even a little bit, you’re going to lose hours to. Chicago legend Aadam Jacobs spent four decades bringing a tape recorder to shows and walked away with over 10,000 live recordings, everything from early R.E.M. and The Replacements to bands that never made it out of their local scene. That 10,000 number is absurd. At one show a day, it would take 27 and a half years to hit that.

As of this writing, 2,477 of those shows are up on the Internet Archive (there’s also an iTunes-style player if you don’t have an aversion to vibecoded sites). Archivist Brian Emerick says more are coming soon, including a 1984 James Brown set and 1989 Pixies performance; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The collection spans from 1984 to 2019 all around Chicago. Some of the mid-80s tapes are rough, but the majority of these sound great. Sometimes it’s straight soundboard, sometimes room mics, sometimes a mix of both, with the idea he’d piece it all together someday. That day is now.

I’ve been binging this the last few days and pulled out 10 shows to get you started, listed in chronological order, and linked to the Internet Archive stream.

Before we begin, Record Store Day is this Saturday, and I’m doing something big. At 8 PM EST Saturday night, streaming live on Whatnot, I’m auctioning off a stack of vinyl, including signed sleeves, Japanese pressings, rarities, and a few grails, all starting at $1. Yes you read that right, just one dollar!

The plan is to run 50 to 75 record collection essentials in about two hours, plus free vinyl giveaways, live music, and a plenty of surprises.

Bookmark the show now, and use this link for $15 off your first purchase. Come jam out and maybe walk away with a free record or two!

everything in this pic starts at $1. you will have 15 seconds to bid. good luck :)

Tracy Chapman - Cabaret Metro - May 7th, 1988

Just weeks after her debut album dropped and right as “Fast Car” was starting to break, the great Tracy Chapman sounds completely locked in here, calm, precise, and in full command of the room. The recording itself is razor sharp, with her voice cutting through clean the entire set.

Sonic Youth - Cabaret Metro - November 5, 1988

I’ll let Aadam himself introduce this one:

“In the autumn of ‘88 I was working in a record store that was part of the Cabaret Metro building, so when Daydream Nation came out, I was able to hear it right away. Maybe a day before the show, I do remember taking it home and listening to it several times, something most of the audience did not have the privilege of doing. […] When SY took the stage it was of little surprise that they started with “Teenage Riot,” but it was surprising when they continued to play nearly the whole album […] I thought it quite glorious having spent so much time with the record the night before, but I recall talking to friends after and hearing disappointment because they hadn’t heard any of the songs before. No doubt that now, 30 years later, that they were very pleased to have been there. And now you can be there too.”

Nirvana - Dreamerz - July 8, 1989

Everyone’s talking about this one, and for good reason. Recorded just a month after Bleach dropped, Nirvana is still a four-piece here, ripping through a heavy set while the recording holds up well for a small club tape.

There’s likely another Nirvana show on the way, from September 30, 1989, where they opened for Eleventh Dream Day, who is in this collection a record 26 times.

My Bloody Valentine - Metro - February 14, 1992

Instead of the usual flat soundboard tape of other MBV shows floating around online, this Loveless-era set feels like you’re in the room getting hit with the fuzz. “Only Shallow,” “Soon,” “To Here Knows When” is all here, with that blown-out, wall-of-sound fully intact.

Uncle Tupelo - Lounge Ax - November 8, 1992

This set captures Uncle Tupelo as they lean fully into their country side without losing their bite; hear why they’re considered the first great alt country band.

Less than two years later they’d be kaput, with Jeff Tweedy starting Wilco and Jay Farrar forming Son Volt. There’s also video of this show online, courtesy of another archivist legend @sacramentomusicarchive.

Guided by Voices - Lounge Ax - October 1, 1994

There are four GBV sets in the archive, but this is the one to start with. Right in their mid-90s sweet spot, ripping through a stacked setlist, with Pixies’ Kim Deal jumping in on “Goldheart Mountaintop” and “Shocker in Gloomtown.” It’s a nice full-circle moment too, hearing her here and then popping up 20 years later fronting The Breeders at Pitchfork Festival 2013, where she opens with “Gloomtown,” which is also now available to stream.

Neutral Milk Hotel - Lounge Ax - May 1, 1997

Jeff Mangum was two months away from recording In the Aeroplane Over the Sea on this night, but you can hear it coming together in a big way, with an early version of “Oh Comely” opening the show, and three other songs including the title track sitting alongside deep cuts. Also on this bill was Athens’ Oliver Tremor Control, Mangum’s old band, who have two stellar 2005 shows in this collection.

Low & Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Schubas - October 10, 1998

There are four Low and four GY!BE shows in the archive, but this is the one. The encore is their famous live collaboration of “Do You Know How To Waltz?,” a 30-minute, 12-person, slow-burn drone that just keeps expanding. I’d pay big money to have this baby on vinyl.

The Swell Season - Schubas - October 24, 2006

God bless Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who make such beautiful music together. This show is pre-Once, before everything blew up, which makes it hit differently knowing what’s coming. “Falling Slowly” into “When Your Mind’s Made Up” is as good as it gets live, and you can hear the room lock in. A year later, “Falling Slowly” would take home the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Alvvays - Schubas - January 17, 2015

I’m an Alvvays connoisseur, so getting a live set like this, especially at this quality, feels like found money. The middle stretch is the highlight, featuring B-side “Underneath Us” (only officially released on last year’s 10th anniversary pressing), into deep Deerhunter cut “Nosebleed.”

I barely scratched the surface of this thing. The Cure, early Bangles, Fugazi, Pavement, Ratatat, Pinback, The Shins, Phish, Fountains of Wayne, Slint, Depeche Mode. What have I missed?