Back in the late ’70s a new style of music called 2 Tone originated in England. 2 Tone music combines groovy reggae beats and catchy pop melodies with a whopping dose of punk snarl. No one played 2 Tone quite like The Specials. The Specials took what some of their contemporaries were doing to the next level. Nargo’s Deviant Subculture unearthed a classic Specials gig from NYC on New Year’s Day 1980. These guys made great records, but they also put on terrific live performances that bubbled over with energy.

• Does it get any better than Boston rockin’ the Boston Garden?
• Check out a classic Bruce Hornsby and the Range broadcast from 1988
• My Blog Too found a terrific Feist boot from the New Pop Festival
• An intrepid taper captured Crowded House’s MSN webcast from Chicago
• David Bowie performs his greatest hits sans electricity for the BBC
• The Music Hole megapost contains a slew of Depeche Mode boots
• RBally returns with some live Beck tracks from KCRW
• Smuggled Sounds shares the legendary Metal Leg Steely Dan compilation

Finally, A Deeper Shade of Soul always kicks down a tremendous recording on Friday afternoons. This week’s Bootleg Friday post contains an intense Lou Reed show from 1978.