City: Chicago, IL, USA
Venue: Chicago Stadium
Date: December 7, 1978

Setlist:
We Will Rock You (fast), Let Me Entertain You, Somebody To Love, If You Can't Beat Them, Death On Two Legs, Killer Queen, Bicycle Race, I'm In Love With My Car, Get Down Make Love, You're My Best Friend, Now I'm Here, Don't Stop Me Now (intro), Spread Your Wings, Dreamer's Ball, Love Of My Life, '39, It's Late, Brighton Rock, Fat Bottomed Girls, Keep Yourself Alive, Bohemian Rhapsody, Tie Your Mother Down, Sheer Heart Attack, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen



     


   
   

Brian May later recalled that at this show their dressing room door was broken and wouldn't close. The freezing outdoor weather filled the room and the band were shivering before they went on stage. Brian's vocal harmonies sound a bit nasal tonight, and this could be a fair explanation for it.

Freddie's weakening voice first reveals itself when he has a tough time in his solo spot at the end of Somebody To Love.

After the song, the band leave the stage for a few minutes due to some technical problems. After they return, Freddie says, "We're sorry about this delay, but it couldn't be helped. It's a slight electric fault, but I'm not going to bore you with that. We're gonna play some music right now!" Clearly Freddie has learned from his mistake in Uniondale a couple weeks back, as he kept his explanation brief. Brian's guitar tech from 1977-86, Brian Zellis (aka Jobby), recalls:

"It could have been a huge radio station transmitting tower on the roof of the Chicago gig. Bri's guitar is a super radio antenna. It will pick up any RF [radio frequency] with 3 bar mag pickups and huge gain. Not fun if there is any power issue like poor ground in the lighting system, causing it to transmit. I'd like a few bucks for every time I heard "But lights don't buzz" while standing next to dimmers that are buzzing so hard you can feel the stage vibrate."

Freddie plays the intro of Don't Stop Me Now (the only known US live version) before Spread Your Wings. May's solo in the latter is possibly the closest he'd ever get to the studio version on stage.

There are a few great moments during the acoustic set. After Dreamer's Ball, Brian says, "We appreciate you listening to these silly things as well as the normal things. The rest of the group have actually left in disgust now, so we're gonna have to go on as a two-some." Freddie adds, "Yeah, I think those two have gone backstage to get some blowjobs or something like that. They have all the luck, and we do all the work!"

Two audience members converse during the guitar break in Love Of My Life. "Who's playing guitar?" "Brian May." "Ah, that's great." "Right on." After a few bars, one of them adds, "Yeah, pretty licks."

After the song, Freddie asks Roger and John, "Nice blowjobs?" The ever-modest Brian even adds, "They've all come back again with smiles on their faces."

Freddie's range isn't his greatest on this night, cracking and breaking much more than he was in Montreal. Still, this is a great show overall, with one of the best versions of Brighton Rock. The jam has three unique sections, all of which are seamlessly bound into one another.

Here is a review from the December 9 Chicago Tribune.

The last three photos were taken by Jimmy Barnes.


Recording length: 115 minutes (2 CD, incomplete)
Quality: A
Source: Audience
Lineage: AUD > Master Cassette (Technics RS-646DS) > WAV > CDR (2) > GoldWave (edits smoothed, volume raised, speed correction) > CDR (0)

transfer: Technics RS-646DS cassette deck (Dolby on) > Teac ME-80 (Nak cm-300) mic > TDK SA C-90 cassettes > Rotel RD-870 (with speed and tape alignment adjusted, Dolby off, using Chord Company cables from Naim) > Naim Audio NAC-52 pre-amp > Teac CDR-2000 Standalone > Taiyo Yuden 74-ZY CDR's > Plextor UltraPlex40max CDR-ROM SCSI W/adaptec 2930 > EAC (1.8X ripping speed or slower) > Flac Frontend (level 8)
Track listing:
We Will Rock You (fast), Let Me Entertain You, Somebody To Love, If You Can't Beat Them, Death On Two Legs, Killer Queen, Bicycle Race, I'm In Love With My Car, Get Down Make Love, You're My Best Friend, Now I'm Here, Don't Stop Me Now [cut], Spread Your Wings, Dreamer's Ball, Love Of My Life, '39, It's Late, Brighton Rock, Fat Bottomed Girls, Keep Yourself Alive [cut], Bohemian Rhapsody, Tie Your Mother Down, Sheer Heart Attack, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions [cut], God Save The Queen [cut]


This is another great December '78 recording, a transfer from the master cassette, recorded from the third row in front of the left speakers. John's bass is a bit more clear here than on the Montreal recording, but there is a lot more tape hiss.

Side A of the tape runs out while Freddie plays the intro to Don't Stop Me Now - but it's likely a quick tape flip, as the band definitely didn't yet have the song in the setlist at this point.


Recording length: 2 CD, incomplete
Quality: ?
Source: Audience
Lineage: "The Ultimate Entertainer" (Wardour) silvers

     
Track listing:
We Will Rock You (fast), Let Me Entertain You, Somebody To Love, If You Can't Beat Them, Death On Two Legs, Killer Queen, Bicycle Race, I'm In Love With My Car, Get Down Make Love, You're My Best Friend, Now I'm Here, Don't Stop Me Now [cut], Spread Your Wings, Dreamer's Ball, Love Of My Life, '39, It's Late, Brighton Rock, Fat Bottomed Girls, Keep Yourself Alive [cut], Bohemian Rhapsody, Tie Your Mother Down, Sheer Heart Attack, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions [cut], God Save The Queen [cut]


This is at best equal to the copy listed above.

Here's a link to the always-reliable GS review: http://www.collectorsmusicreviews.com


Recording length: 2 CDR, incomplete
Quality: ?
Source: Audience
Lineage: "Chicago Stadium 1978" (EOW)

Track listing:
We Will Rock You (fast), Let Me Entertain You, Somebody To Love, If You Can't Beat Them, Death On Two Legs, Killer Queen, Bicycle Race, I'm In Love With My Car, Get Down Make Love, You're My Best Friend, Now I'm Here, Don't Stop Me Now [cut], Spread Your Wings, Dreamer's Ball, Love Of My Life, '39, It's Late, Brighton Rock, Fat Bottomed Girls, Keep Yourself Alive [cut], Bohemian Rhapsody, Tie Your Mother Down, Sheer Heart Attack, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions [cut], God Save The Queen [cut]


This is probably a copy of the Wardour silvers - an ongoing trend for the label.




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