I once taped from the front row, but I thought I was 10th row. I bought tickets for The Who in 2002 and the way the venue laid out, Deer Creek, I was 1st row; on paper I was 10th row. I was seated just below the left stack and even though they taped from the board, I wanted an AUD. I pointed my mics straight up (normally not a good idea, of course) and pulled a wicked tape. It was a huge rush taping so close to security. At times, some big dude would stand right by me which wasn't very appealing, scary is more like it.
So, this is probably different from the norm. I know a friend has taped from very close and caught the stage monitors. Even though I was seated further back, I was able to pull a stonger tape since I was hitting the stacks.
I guess it all depends how the venue lays out.