19.10.1986
USA, Chicago, University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion
Live in Chicago - 1986
good Aud.

Disc 1: [48:19]
01. Band entrance [0:32]
02. These Days [3:28]
03. Second Guessing [2:47]
04. Sitting Still [3:18]
05. Hyena [3:12]
06. The One I Love [3:10]
07. Shaking Through [4:02]
08. Feeling Gravity's Pull [5:06]
09. Stipe talks [0:18]
10. The Flowers of Guatemala [4:12]
11. White Tornado [2:12]
12. Driver 8 [3:20]
13. I Believe [4:11]
14. Stipe talks [1:18]
15. Swan Swan H [2:43]
16. 7 Chinese Brothers [4:24] *

* 1st few seconds cut

Disc 2: [53:02]
01. Superman [3:04]
02. Can't Get There From Here [3:38]
03. Pretty Persuasion [3:47]
04. Finest Worksong (spoken) [0:48]
05. Auctioneer (Another Engine) [2:27]
06. Little America [3:39]
07. Fall On Me [2:54]
08. Cuyahoga [4:11]
09. See No Evil [3:08]
10. Oddfellows Local 151 [4:15]
11. Begin The Begin [3:24]
12. Maps and Legends [3:18]
13. 1,000,000 [2:54]
14. King of Birds (tease) [0:22]
15. Fun Time [2:30]
16. Elvis Story Pt. I [0:24]
17. Just a Touch [2:38]
18. Elvis Story Pt. II [3:47]
19. After Hours [1:44]

Lineage: 
Lapel stereo mic (model unknown)/Sony Pro Walkman cassette recorder => Analog cassette master => Magix Audio Cleaning Lab => WAV > FLAC Frontend (Level 8) (Align on sector boundaries & Verify) 

Audio Cleaning Lab was used to split tracks only.  No further processing has been done.

My comments:
Sometimes you're lucky enough to catch a show that is magic -- where the vibe of the audience and band come together to make the performance something special which stands above the other dates on a tour.  This was one of those nights -- R.E.M. was about six weeks into a national tour promoting "Life's Rich Pageant," an album that was on its way to being their biggest-selling album to date; the critics loved them, and they rolled into Chicago's UIC Pavilion to play before the largest paying audience they'd ever played in front of.  The band was on fire, chugging through a great, eclectic mix of songs that ranged from a heavy dose of the two most recent albums to inspired covers to relatively unknown early tracks.  Michael Stipe was all intensity, rarely making eye contact with the audience but thrashing around frantically and putting everything into his vocals.  (I didn't see such vocal showmanship again until Pearl Jam hit their groove several years later.)  

During the encore, Stipe loosened up and launched into an uncharacteristic and highly entertaining personal story about the bar he was working in the night Elvis Presley died nine years later, and the Elvis impersonator who put on the performance of his life until the crowd swarmed him "like ants on a dead mouse -- like in Blue Velvet."

Of the tens of thousands of shows in my collection, this one is easily among my top five favorites.  

Quality-wise, it's really good considering the era.  My friend taped this using his trusty Sony Pro Walkman (the model that, weirdly enough, was a double-deck and allowed you to dub from one to the other -- I think it was the WM-D3) from the 11th row left -- perfect for catching both stage amps and overhead stack.  The recording sounds a touch shrill, something that can be easily adjusted by someone with skills better than mine (I didn't want to risk degrading the sound in an effort to improve it, so left it untouched) but otherwise has excellent range and mix of vocals and instruments.  The crowd is rowdy and excited, but rarely interferes with the music.

I can't recommend this show highly enough -- it's one of the best performances on what many think was their best tour.  If you can't tolerate audience recordings, you may wish to stay away, but otherwise even casual R.E.M. fans will really like this one.