Golden Nugs

Keep those bootleg LPS in storage— nugs.net opens the floodgates for access to scores of hi-res live recordings from many of our favorite artists.

BY MIKE METTLER

Let’s play a quick word association game. When I say “bootleg,” you say—what? If you answered “hooch,” then let me direct you over to the land of Prohibition Aficionado for all your liquor-oriented needs. But if you said “tape traders” instead, then you’re clearly in the right place.

Bootleg live recordings were always one of the holy grails for music fanatics prior to the Internet era, back when getting our hands on unauthorized releases of our favorite artists in concert was a risky, and often quite costly, endeavor. That’s why a site like nugs.net is such a godsend for all of us sonically hungry collectors.

Among the nugs.net amenities are unlimited access to over 30,000 hours of live music, 15,000 ad-free shows, and 250,000 songs to create custom playlists, not to mention exclusive live streams and pro-shot HD video content. Following a free 30-day trial period, the nugs.net Standard Sound Quality monthly plan runs $12.99 (or $129.99 annually), while the CD- Quality Lossless Audio option goes for $24.99 monthly ($249.99 annually). Seeing how the lossless option enables 24-bit MQAencoded streaming, selecting that plan was a no-brainer for me. (If you think these price points are steep, then you never paid 50 bucks for Led Zeppelin’s Copenhagen WarmUps: The Second Night 3LP set without blinking an eye.)

Naturally, I love having hi-res soundboard audio for shows I’ve personally seen, so my first order of nugs.net business was to add a number of them to a playlist I simply dubbed MM

Attended Shows. Two of my top gigs on said list are: 1) Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, on May

20, 2010 (I relish Eddie Vedder’s unaccompanied vocal moments during “I Got ID,” plus I like to think I can hear myself singing along with the audience to the frenzied version of “Porch” at the end of the first encore); and 2) Metallica at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on October 22, 2004

(the abject fury of “St. Anger,” the kinetic pace of “Master of Puppets,” and the understated, secret blues of “Nothing Else Matters” all reminded me of how many different prongs are in the hybrid musical crown of these metal legends).

Considering how many Brooooce boots I physically own, I really appreciate the way certain Bruce Springsteen offerings have been curated into thematic Live Series groupings. Three standouts: 1) The Boss’ stripped-down take on “Used Cars,” from November 8, 1996 in Freehold, New Jersey, on Songs of the Road (made even more stark via his harmonica and acoustic guitar accompaniment); 2) the pure grit of “The Rising,” from August 30, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Songs of Hope (most especially the chalk-and-cheese blend of Little Steven Van Zandt and Patti Scialfa’s background vocals on