Like, get a tall tripod, mount your mics on it, and under that, clamp on a metal box of sorts (ala the UA-5 design, or any other pre-amp), with 4 holes in it (3 on one end, 1 larger one on the other). You could even make it preatty and stuff, or whatever.
The larger hole is for the lense to look out of. the other 3 are to run your mic cables in and out of. This gives it the allusion that its a pre-amp and you just have really dinky and tiny XLR cables (that would be my excuse), and then angle it right and figure out the zoom ahead of time (practice makes perfect) and voila.
Now you may ask how do you do tape flips? Have one of the digi-outs on a cam leading to your taping bag which has another recorder in it. This way you dont have to muck with the stand each time you do something. Granted not every camera has an out on it, but that would be something to investigate.
Also, this doesnt help much with non-taper friendly bands, as its tough to get a stand up when stealthing unless your an uber-taper. What it does solve is it conceals the camera and gives you a stable image that doesnt wobble (and I'm not big on zooms or pans, which this also solves, but thats personal preference I guess), and allows you to enjoy the show.
Thoughts/Comments?
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