1st night review

by

sehrkosmisch

Set I

ACDC Bag- Although I prefer the second set extrapolations this song has yielded in the past, as an opener tonight it worked, high energy standard version for 3.0 with the band sounding in fine fettle.

Chalkdust- This took the energy level to the next level, a fiery and fierce version with several Trey dominated peaks, nothing mindblowing.

Wolfman's- a great song to chill the vibe out a bit, again the band sounding very tight during the composed section...the jam started in funkytown and ended on a rocking note.Again, nice and danceable but nothing jawdropping.

NICU-always great to hear live

Ocelot-not a fan of this tune at home but I see it's appeal in person. A nice mellow groover with the "jam" consisting of Trey blues wanking, fine for dancing but nothing memorable

Brian and Robert- how can a song about Eno and Fripp be so boring? a shit tune not particulary well-played...killed the energy.

Poor Heart- not a fan of pseudo-grass and im glad its over in three minutes

Sample-of course they were going to be play the "hits" this run. for their cheesy pop-rock songs this is the one i can stomach easiest. well played and average.

Peaches- never thought i'd ever hear them play this, one of my favorite Zappa tunes and I fucking freaked out when they started. It seemed most of the people in the Epstein Pavillion(section 71) didnt know what it was as they were all on their blackberries.Did they do it with Zappa-precision? No, but they did a damn fine fucking job and was easily the highlight of the show for me.

Divided Sky-perfect placement after Peaches, nicely done, Trey's sustain at the end was sweet and I always love hearing this tune.

Cavern-standard set closer, Trey flubbing lyrics all over the place.

Set II

Golgi- I'm no stats nerd, but I don't recall hearing this as a second set opener ever. I love the tune and it was played well but it foreshadowed the unevenness of the set to follow.

Light- there was no transition to this from Golgi, I feel like this song is cheated when there is no spacey intro. Still, it has proven to be a decent jam vehicle this year so I welcome it. The band obviously wanted to take it out there but they just couldnt hook up, there were cool moments but overall the band never gelled and this is one of those jams where length does not equal quality.

Slave-nice placement, composed section played to perfection...the jam had a weird droning segment that was super interesting and i wish they explored it a bit more before returning to the standard jam progression. good version.

Tweezer- much welcomed, it felt like they busted this out so they could get into another jam as quickly as possible. This verion ended up being straight Type I rock time. Very high energy and fun but nothing exploratory or particularly interesting to note.

Joy-again, no transition into this. this song is awful and has no place in a second set.

Sparkle- wow.double dose of garbage mid 2nd set, this was the first time i crossed my arms duting the show. i like the lyrics but the song blows. all of the 32 year old chicks loved it though

Harry Hood- great version, mike sounding great, excellent peak, best Hood I've heard this year

Wading-again, no transition into this, this song sucks and doesnt belong in asecond set, it seemed they flubbed the beginning and nobody cares cause its Wading.

Suzy-fun song I guess, although personally i think it should be shelved after the 8 version. this is a tune that really needs horns. page's clavi breakdown is cool but I was really dreading this would end the set.

Antelope-i never think i want to hear this song, but boy did those opening notes sound great after the meh-fest that preceded them. this ended up being a stellar version with the whole band on fire. this Antelope perfectly summed up the evening, tight psychedlic rock in the Type I vein.

Encore

A Day in the Life- not one of my favorites but played extremely well

Tweezer Rep- always a great way to end the show

Overall, this was a "you had to be there" show. Nothing amazing in the improv department, but the energy and execution were excellent and provided for a good time. It really reminded me of my very first show(10/21/96).Peaches was the absolute highlight for me personally, and this night left me ready for some intense jams over the next two nights.