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Update (8/8/08)
Eventually I got to hear seventeen short clips, ranging from 15 seconds to 2 minutes, from various portions of the tape. My initial impression: this is the real thing - an audience tape of The Beatles at Maple Leaf Gardens, August 17th, 1966. Never before circulated.
The coolest things I heard were the pre- and post-show reporting, fan interviews and atmosphere. "Rubber Soul" is played on the PA before the show! Spectators have a hard time explaining why they are there ("I had to take my daughter and nephew"; "I don't know"), and there's a funny bit with some girls after the show hanging out in hopes of glimpsing a Beatle. I heard a bit of the MC telling a stupid joke, and pieces of the opening acts: "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb, "Red Rubber Ball" from The Cyrkle, and "Money" from The Remains (or Cyrkle, I'm not sure). These songs sounded fairly clear for an audience tape, particularly "Sunny". Beatle-wise, I heard pieces of "I Feel Fine", "Yesterday", "Nowhere Man", and "Paperback Writer". Based on George's spoken intro to "Yesterday", this is a unique tape - at least I didn't recognize it on first listen. I might do some more comparing with known tapes tomorrow. Unfortunately, the screaming has started at this point and most of the vocals and drums are drowned out - all that really comes through are the guitars and bass. Still, I've heard worse Beatle audience tapes. I'd say the non-Beatles portions are more interesting than the Beatles bits of this tape, as they really give a flavor of the event and the time period. The full tapes (are said to) run 140 minutes and include 25 minutes of pre-show, all the opening acts, The Beatles' performance, and some post-show material. Note: John also told us in an email, "I did more comparisons with known concert recordings of "Yesterday" and George's intro didn't match any of them."
(8/7/2008) 
A tape of the Beatles performing in 1966 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada, will be auctioned on Monday by Mastro Auctions, Inc.
Here's the description, taken from the auction website:
It was the summer of 1966, and the Beatles were making what was to be their last North American tour. As the "Fab Four" made their way across the United States, they took a quick detour north into Canada—Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens to be exact—for a concert on August 17. Among the 16,000 or so fans in attendance that day was a corporate attorney from Ontario, who packed his family and a battery operated, UHER 4000 REPORT-L reel-to-reel tape machine to watch … and record … the last appearance of John, Paul, George, and Ringo in Canada. Offered is an amateur recording—a previously unknown audio example of the Toronto show—that amounts to a 2 hour and 20 minute documentary detailing one family's experience at the final concert appearance of the Beatles in Canada. And "detail" is the name of the game here, as the tape begins with its narrator introducing his family to an unseen audience as they drive to the venue. The family spent the first few minutes discussing what they think the concert will be like, with succinct and sometimes prophetic observations offered, as well as checks on the time, weather conditions, and the overall pre-concert atmosphere. The sound of the crowd, traffic, program vendors … it's all here. The original owner can be heard later in the tape spending his time interviewing anxious fans anticipating the appearance of the Beatles. The opening acts are here: The Remains, Bobby Hebb, The Cyrkie, The Ronettes (including "Be My Baby"). After a false alarm (a stagehand came onstage to adjust the drum set causing some young fans to faint), the stadium announcer utters the words everyone had been waiting to hear: " … the BEATLES!" The immediate response from thousands of screaming, ecstatic fans is overwhelming. After some fine-tuning of their instruments by Lennon and Harrison, the band can be heard launching into "Rock and Roll Music." Every note of the Beatles' ten-song concert was captured on a 1/4"-tape, with the lead song followed by "She's A Woman," "If I Needed Someone," "Day Tripper," "Baby's in Black," "I Feel Fine," "Yesterday," "I Wanna Be You Man," "Nowhere Man," and "Paperback Writer." After the show, the would-be newsman leaves the stadium and, along the way, inquires of the hoarse fans why they came to the show and what they thought of the concert. With this running commentary, he makes his way outside in the hope of catching the Beatles on their way out. But alas, the Beatles had already left the building. Too often, perhaps, the phrase "one of a kind" is used when referring to collectibles. Without hesitation, Mastro Auctions proudly affixes that title to this lot. Although the original audiotape is the true gem here (in its box with a vintage label affixed to the spool reads "Beatles #112 / Aug 66 / Maple Leafs Toronto"), this remarkable find also includes the original reel-to-reel tape machine (with its case) used to give a blow-by-blow account of the concert. A CD-R with samples of the original recording accompanies. The tape player has not been used in a number of years, though its very existence, and that of the original recording, is a true piece of Rock & Roll history. Accompanying as provenance is a typed letter from the son of the original owner, the original sales receipt from the day his son sold it to a private collector, and a typed, detailed description of the tape's content.
Here's the tracklist:
Here are pictures of tickets from the show from rarebeatles.com.
Author John C. Winn ("Way Beyond Compare"), who is familiar with the tape, told us, "I've heard samples of this tape (at least I'm 99% sure it's the one being auctioned). From what I can tell, it's an authentic audience tape of the Toronto concert, including pre- and post-show commentary and opening acts. The sound quality is pretty awful, on a par with the Minneapolis and Seattle audience tapes, but at least it's unique."
The auction website shows the sale includes both a vintage reel-to-reel tape recorder in addition to the tape. Bidding starts Aug. 11 and the minimum bid is $10,000. (Thanks to John C. Winn and I Read the News Today.)
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