Except for the troll interference, this thread has been a pretty good read. I'm thankful for the dedication and diligence that these 'phantom' IEM/RF tapers contribute to the archival of live music. Just heard an IEM recording and was blown away by the quality. (Thanks, and I will honor my word and keep it to myself.)
As far as getting caught, it has only happened to me once. In 1993 I was endeavoring to record a David Lindley & Hani Naser show at Loco Ranchero in SLO, CA. Lindley was playing both an early and a late show. I had a ticket for the early show, but not the late. I took in my gear, which consisted that night of my CM 300s with CP-1 cardioid caps, custom shortened XLR >RCA cables, and my buddy Gene's TCD-D10 DAT. (I was still using my D6 in those days and had not as of yet made the jump to DAT for myself.)
Unfortunately, the NP-22H NiCad battery that powered the D10 was unreliable and wouldn't hold a charge for very long. (Later we replaced it with an ECO Charge lead-acid battery system.)
Knowing the club as I did, I knew that there was an unused 110 volt electrical outlet in a semi-convenient place, and the walls and ceiling of the club were painted black.
I sat with my friends and watched the early show, and at the break between shows I hid in a stall in the men's room until the staff had cleared the venue. Once the doors opened for the late show I waited until patrons started coming into the bathroom and I casually mingled and took up a position on the floor. (My friends had tickets for both shows and remained seated.)
I tried plugging into the wall receptacle and had the D10 and mics in a back pack at my feat. 10 minutes into the late another friend saw the power cable and tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'You really shouldn't be doing that', in earshot of one of Lindley's crew. It was a bust.
They pulled me aside and wanted the DAT tape, which only had 10 minutes of music on it. In those days DAT blanks were going for around $10 each. I refused to give up the tape. They threatened to call the cops and I made a beeline to the door, with gear and tape.
I don't know if they called the law or not but I wasn't going to stick around to find out. I figured that it was a draw, since I didn't actually pay to see the late show and I'd already had a good time watching the early set.
Loco Ranchero is now long gone and KSBY TV, the local NBC affiliate, has taken over the building and completely renovated it for their use.
No one could really make money at that location. The venue started out in the late sixties as a restaurant called 'The Breakers'. It changed hands many times and had different names over the years; 'Yancy McFadden's', 'The Spirit', and finally 'Loco Ranchero' before being retired from the club scene.
There is supposed to be a Chumash Indian grave yard on the site. Supposedly Wayne Newton owned the land.
The owners all had bad luck and some blamed the Indian graveyard, but the real problem was that the club was up on a hill at the South end of town next to the 101 freeway. There was one way in and one way out, and the cops would wait at the bottom of the hill and bust the drunks when the club shut down for the night.
My bad luck at getting caught taping there was just coincidental, I'm certain of it, Indian graveyard or not.
The moral to the story is that I probably should have just given them the tape and kept them from getting so pissed off but I didn't, and I got out of there with my tape and gear. I considered myself lucky, and lived to fight another day.