Aadam Jacobs

Aadam Jacobs (born 1967), sometimes called Chicago Tape Guy, is a concertgoer and archivist in Chicago, Illinois, known for recording more than 10,000 tapes of indie and punk rock concerts between 1984 and the 2010s. Described as a "ubiquitous local club presence" and "rabid fan" by the Chicago Tribune, Jacobs captured an estimated 30,000 music sets from at least 3000 music acts including R.E.M., The Cure, Tracy Chapman, Depeche Mode, Sonic Youth, and Nirvana. Since late 2024, dozens of volunteers have digitized, cataloged, and published thousands of his audio files to the Aadam Jacobs Collection in the Internet Archive.

Life and concert taping Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke performs at the Metro Chicago in 1991, when Aadam Jacobs was banned from the venue due to overzealous recording. Aadam Jacobs was born in 1967 and raised in Evanston, Illinois. He started taping concerts as a teenager in May 1984, at age 16, after a classmate at Evanston Township High School told him it was possible to sneak a tape recorder into shows. He made his first recording at a AMM concert at the Arts Club of Chicago using a dictation device he borrowed from his grandmother.

He began to attend and record 15 concerts each month, and has said "It went pretty quickly from just being an occasional thing to something I did far too often." He also said, "It soon became difficult to enjoy a show without recording it." Jacobs rarely paid for tickets, often securing a spot on the guest list or getting let in by the doormen. He was known for his enthusiasm and persistence, winning over venue staff at West End, the Lounge Ax, the Empty Bottle, and the Metro Chicago. He kept a log of shows for some time but stopped updating it at about 3,000 volumes, after about 18 years.

Musical contents of his collection

Jacobs' full archive contains audio from more than 10,000 concerts and 3000 bands, and is noted for its early performances by rock music acts that went on to global prominence, including R.E.M., The Cure, Depeche Mode, Stereolab, The Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, Liz Phair, and Björk. The collection is mostly indie and punk rock with occasional diversions in genre, including a 1988 hip hop concert by Boogie Down Productions.

Much of the collection is lesser-known bands that are otherwise poorly documented. Jacobs stated, "All these great old local groups: Motorhome, Lava Sutra, the Defoliants, Joe for a Night, Friends of Betty, Toothpaste, Permabuzz, the Watchmen–bands that put out very little material in their lifetime. I think it’s great that these tapes exist. Otherwise the history would be totally lost." The Associated Press has called the archive "an internet treasure trove for music lovers".

Reception by music acts

Jacobs' passion for bootleg concert tapes caused mixed reactions in the local music scene, who praised him for documenting music history but criticized him for recording artists that did not give him permission. In 1989, Jacobs snuck recording gear into a Bob Mould show at Metro after he was denied permission to record. He was caught by venue staff and banned from the premises for the next six years, until the manager of The Flaming Lips intervened. In 1994, he lived in a Logan Square apartment that the Chicago Tribune called "a pack rat’s treasure trove". The film ends with a focus on the fate of Jacobs' collection, which was then unknown. "I would love for people to get together and really take action to support Aadam Jacobs" said Schneider.