The Not So Official BOOTLEG POLL: your favorite PJ bootleg year?

RoleModelsinBlood31

There’s old threads and bootleg opinion threads all over, but I didn’t notice one that included all the latest boots.

A simple (well maybe kinda hard actually) question...  What’s your favorite year for PJ bootlegs??  I’m talking about sound/crowd volume/the mix/ etc., NOT the setlist necessarily (but that of course will naturally affect your decision somewhat). Pick one and explain a few that you love and anything else you want to chat about!

I may have left some out but I tried to make it as full of options as possible.

NOTE: I WAS LIMITED TO 10 CHOICES SO I DID THE BEST I COULD!!  I I left one off, just mention it in your post.

TamaDrummer91

2003

The only years for boots I rarely go to are 08 and 09. Their sound quality/mixes are lacking compared to other years. 2005 and 2010 do not bother me, they are a bit brash and raw but still enjoyable.

2003, 2000, and 2006 are the ones I hit the most. 2003 easily has the best diversity in sets as far as setlist arrangements. Plus, the way Ed’s voice is mixed, it’s like you can feel it. If I had to rank boots based solely on sound from best to worst:

First Tier
2013
2012
2014
2000 US leg 1
2003
2006
2000 Euro
2000 US Leg 2
2016 (Had the little bit of clipping been gone, this would be higher, and it’s not on all of the 2016 boots. In general they sound great).
2011

Second Tier
2005
2010
2009
2008
2015 (clipping everywhere)

2-feign-reluctance

2003

2003 blows away anything before and since. So crisp, so clear, so, so, so....

F Me In The Brain

2000

I voted 2000 for the crazy diversity of it. 
One I listened to the most and also considered would be 2009.  Excellent year and includes the amazing 4 shows to close the Spectrum.

pjsteelerfan

2013 North America

2006, 2010, and 2013 I go to a lot. When I listen to bootlegs, I like when you can tell they are in front of a live audience. And when the audience takes over at times. 2006 seemed to be the first ones that had that.

I'd rank 2000 and 2003 higher if you could tell they were playing in front of packed arenas. 

TamaDrummer91

2003

Plus, I can’t think of a better, consistently great, above average run of shows than the mid-late April/early May 2003 run. Great sets and top notch performances:
Raleigh
Charlotte
Nashville
Atlanta
Lexington
St Louis
Champaign
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
Philly
Albany
Uniondale 
Buffalo
State College 

Not a clunker in that bunch for me. Simply incredible run of 14!! 2003 shows back to back. 

Dr.Teeth and the Electric Mayh

2012 Europe

I felt like something changed for the better in 2012. More bass. 

Jammalambo

2003

2003 is probably my favorite tour. and these boots sound more than great.
feticist/porn bootlegs note: how many people here smell the boots? I swear, 2003 bootlegs do have the sexiest smell ever. don't know why, but I always get horny when I smell them. those cardboard cases are so good.

JimmyV

2016 North American Tour

The 2000 and 2003 boots are awesome but they have released multiple albums since then. The catalog is deeper now than it was then. For that reason I'm always going to lean towards the newer stuff.

Also...Fenway. It was my bucket list venue that I had kinda stopped believing would ever happen. Love those boots.

RoleModelsinBlood31

2013 North America

2013 for me, but a tie goes to 2014 and 2016 as well.  Those three years are exceptional to my ears.  I miss the crowd noise that you get in 2000/2003, but those don’t sound as crisp to me as the modern ones.

lolobugg

2016 North American Tour

I will always love the 2000 and 2003 boots but I LOVE the setlist variation on the 2016 boots.

so much that I bought the whole damn box.

Spiritual_Chaos

2003 or 2005.

JojoRice

2003

It’s a toss up between 2000 & 2003 for me. Went with 2003. Mansfield experiment, State College, plus Riot Act is one of my favorites.

PB11041

2003

2003

stuckinline

2003

Sound quality wise, I wish they would turn Boom down on certain songs. For example, Porch Cleveland 2010, Boom's keyboards around the 5 minute mark to the end of the song kinda ruin it for me. Ugh!

Abe Froman

2003

I would’ve chosen 2006. Of the choices 2003 has the best mixing/sound imo

HesCalledDyer

2000

I don't know if I'm going of nostalgia here but I often find myself going back to the 2000 boots more than any other year.  I have more from that year than any other, it was the year the offic-al bootleg program began, and it was also the year of my first show.  I remember one of my good friends and I would buy random bootlegs from 2000 if they had a cover song or b-side on them, and we'd trade because we wanted to hear all the songs we've never heard PJ play on studio albums before. Many a road trip was spent listening to these boots!

I do think as far as sound goes, 2003 is the best.  But when it comes down to impact, content, sound, & crowd levels, 2000 has the total package. Especially the sound on the Euro leg.  I also really like that the band themselves selected a few shows as standouts for the Ape/Man collection.

Foriginal Sin

2003

TamaDrummer91 said:

The only years for boots I rarely go to are 08 and 09. Their sound quality/mixes are lacking compared to other years. 2005 and 2010 do not bother me, they are a bit brash and raw but still enjoyable.

2003, 2000, and 2006 are the ones I hit the most. 2003 easily has the best diversity in sets as far as setlist arrangements. Plus, the way Ed’s voice is mixed, it’s like you can feel it. If I had to rank boots based solely on sound from best to worst:

First Tier
2013
2012
2014
2000 US leg 1
2003
2006
2000 Euro
2000 US Leg 2
2016 (Had the little bit of clipping been gone, this would be higher, and it’s not on all of the 2016 boots. In general they sound great).
2011

Second Tier
2005
2010
2009
2008
2015 (clipping everywhere)

Can you explain “clipping?” for us/me. Thank you

KC138045

2000

2000 for me mainly because of the Katowice boots.  I bought both at Best Buy and listened to them a lot back then.  In fact I need to bust these out again.

ski-bum

Where is 2010 US?
 Best boots because you can hear the crowd

RoleModelsinBlood31

2013 North America

ski-bum said:

Where is 2010 US?
 Best boots because you can hear the crowd

I’ll edit 2010 to include it sorry

ah shit, apparently poll choices can’t be edited

MedozK

2000

It's not even close sound wise. The 2000 Euro leg is the best sounding bootlegs ever.

brookelily

2000

2000 for me.  6 albums in, band is as tight as ever, just think this was consistently the best they sounded.  Delivered night after night.  I can pick out about 25-30 of these shows that are top notch.  I think it helped that shows were 2 hours long too (and lets face it, the guys were mid 30's).  Boise, Milan, Verona, Columbia, Detroit, Pgh, Salzburg, Saratoga, Katowice 2...just all sound excellent to me.

Probably 2006 (not a choice here) and then 2003 after that.  Both very good tours, but not as consistent as 2000.  I would love to hear more from 1998, because the shows we have now are all top notch.

lolobugg

2016 North American Tour

brookelily said:

2000 for me.  6 albums in, band is as tight as ever, just think this was consistently the best they sounded.  Delivered night after night.  I can pick out about 25-30 of these shows that are top notch.  I think it helped that shows were 2 hours long too (and lets face it, the guys were mid 30's).  Boise, Milan, Verona, Columbia, Detroit, Pgh, Salzburg, Saratoga, Katowice 2...just all sound excellent to me.

Probably 2006 (not a choice here) and then 2003 after that.  Both very good tours, but not as consistent as 2000.  I would love to hear more from 1998, because the shows we have now are all top notch.

I agree, I wish PJ would've started recording every show in 1998. those would never be topped for energy and excitement.

Foo4Everlong

2003

2003 by far has always been my favorite sounding bootleg series! The mix is perfect! It’s like you have Ed’s in ear monitors in and you can hear everyone in the band perfectly! Hearing the crowd really doesn’t do anything for me. I want to hear the bands performance and that’s it! Maybe a slight bit of crowd for band/crowd interactions. Heres my list:

2003
2000 (Europe first, then US)
2006
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 (These are on a similar plane sound and mix wise to me. The bootlegs got better again after the 2009/2010 debacle!)
2011/2012
2005
2008
2009/2010 (Horrible Mixes! Sorry Barrett Jones, I love you but...) 

RoleModelsinBlood31

2013 North America

lolobugg said:

brookelily said:

2000 for me.  6 albums in, band is as tight as ever, just think this was consistently the best they sounded.  Delivered night after night.  I can pick out about 25-30 of these shows that are top notch.  I think it helped that shows were 2 hours long too (and lets face it, the guys were mid 30's).  Boise, Milan, Verona, Columbia, Detroit, Pgh, Salzburg, Saratoga, Katowice 2...just all sound excellent to me.

Probably 2006 (not a choice here) and then 2003 after that.  Both very good tours, but not as consistent as 2000.  I would love to hear more from 1998, because the shows we have now are all top notch.

I agree, I wish PJ would've started recording every show in 1998. those would never be topped for energy and excitement.

I don’t know, 96 was pretty insane.  Really any mid to late 90’s shows actually i’d love them to release.

lolobugg

2016 North American Tour

RoleModelsinBlood31 said:

lolobugg said:

brookelily said:

2000 for me.  6 albums in, band is as tight as ever, just think this was consistently the best they sounded.  Delivered night after night.  I can pick out about 25-30 of these shows that are top notch.  I think it helped that shows were 2 hours long too (and lets face it, the guys were mid 30's).  Boise, Milan, Verona, Columbia, Detroit, Pgh, Salzburg, Saratoga, Katowice 2...just all sound excellent to me.

Probably 2006 (not a choice here) and then 2003 after that.  Both very good tours, but not as consistent as 2000.  I would love to hear more from 1998, because the shows we have now are all top notch.

I agree, I wish PJ would've started recording every show in 1998. those would never be topped for energy and excitement.

I don’t know, 96 was pretty insane.  Really any mid to late 90’s shows actually i’d love them to release.

yeah. I started going to PJ shows in 95 so I would love to have soundboard quality from that time period too!

anything after the Dave (Abuse-us) years.

PJ_Soul

2013 North America

2006 for me too

TamaDrummer91

2003

Foriginal Sin said:

TamaDrummer91 said:

The only years for boots I rarely go to are 08 and 09. Their sound quality/mixes are lacking compared to other years. 2005 and 2010 do not bother me, they are a bit brash and raw but still enjoyable.

2003, 2000, and 2006 are the ones I hit the most. 2003 easily has the best diversity in sets as far as setlist arrangements. Plus, the way Ed’s voice is mixed, it’s like you can feel it. If I had to rank boots based solely on sound from best to worst:

First Tier
2013
2012
2014
2000 US leg 1
2003
2006
2000 Euro
2000 US Leg 2
2016 (Had the little bit of clipping been gone, this would be higher, and it’s not on all of the 2016 boots. In general they sound great).
2011

Second Tier
2005
2010
2009
2008
2015 (clipping everywhere)

Can you explain “clipping?” for us/me. Thank you

Over volume. The strong static you hear in those boots, especially over Ed’s vocals on particular songs in some 2016 boots and most of 2015. 

RideTheWave93

2000

Toss up between 2014 and 2000. Like others said quality is better on recent boots, but as for setlists the 2000 days were awesome. So that edges it!

RoleModelsinBlood31

2013 North America

Booty bump.  Want to hear people’s opinions as they start hitting the bootlegs prior to this upcoming tour!