10/23/00 - Monday, The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS
October 23, 2020
https://archive.org/details/db2000-10-23.shnf
Image: The interior and stage setup at The Bottleneck (source: tripadvisor.com)
Review:
Widow in the Rain is a slow start to the show, but a nice warm-up. Aceetobee gets things going nicely. This is one of the finer Aceetobee first jams in a while, with excellent thematic Barber lines throughout. The second jam is mellow and drawn out. Magner utilizes the wave synth early on, but soon develops a mid-tempo trance theme. In the final seconds of the jam, Barber comes back into the lead and Magner returns to the piano. They play the first half of the Aceetobee peak before a drop segue into Pygmy. Pygmy is a fantastic version, more focused than the 10/18 version although a little less exploratory for it. It’s a steady trance jam with some cool muted Barber effects in the background. It builds to a tense crescendo, actually returning to Pygmy territory (listen to Brownstein returning to the Pygmy bass line around the 8 minute mark), before a sudden shift into a triumphant trance theme around the track change. This theme builds up to a glorious Aceetobee peak, completing the first half from earlier. Grass is Green is pretty standard. Magner utilizes the echoing synth effect that is more characteristic of a Confrontation jam, and Barber develops a busy riff that he carries through the rest of the jam, until he starts to play the peak riff seemingly in the middle of the jam. Voices is another solid version. It’s not as strong as the 10/14 version but the main jam is captivating and eerie. Magner takes lead through the entire jam, while Barber punctuates with an occasional creepy riff. Great version.
Plan B is a good deal more drawn out than usual, with excellent Magner contributions in an excellent Barber jam. There is a drawn out, noodling outro jam as Brownie introduces the flutist from Lake Trout for one of the more inspired Biscuits sit-ins in Shelby Rose. The flute flourishes add a little extra to the composition, but they are fantastic in the jam, which is rightfully considered one of the best ever to come out of Shelby Rose. There are a lot of factors that make this such an important version. Many of them are directly related to Matt Pierce’s contributions, but that can’t account for all of it. Barber’s riffs in the first part of the jam, and Magner’s themes in the second, are all top-tier. The jam moves from a melancholy mood to a more triumphant theme and finally culminates in the beautiful blissful Shelby ending. Eulogy is played in the same style as the 10/11/00 version, with a drawn out intro jam that seems to clearly foreshadow Spectacle. There is a similar jam in between the verses. After all this, the main jam is very standard. Mr. Don is spectacular, probably the best jam into Floes yet (10/14 competes). It covers a couple of mellow mid-tempo trance themes, both in similar moods, before reaching an instrumental section that was later incorporated into I Remember When. It builds to a crescendo around this theme, reaching something of a Don ending fakeout, before a total breakdown into Floes. The Floes jam is overwhelmingly Barber-led, with some very jazzy riffs. Magner comes in at the final moments to lead the jam back into Floes. The Barfly encore is a perfectly solid version.
For only having two real segues and being a Monday in a non-major market, it’s a remarkably solid show.
Highlights:
Shelby Rose
Easily the most creative and unique jam of the show, and the most enjoyable to listen to as well. Three separate dnb themes are all enhanced by the guest flutist, and culminate in a massive peak.
Mr. Don > Floes
The highlight is the final third, a theme which was later incorporated into I Remember When, and which builds to a compelling Don fakeout. But the first two thirds of the jam, a mellow bliss trance vehicle, are above average as well.
Pygmy > Aceetobee
Another great fall 2000 style Pygmy. The trance theme builds to a tense crescendo before the mood shifts towards triumphant territory and builds to a beautiful Aceetobee ending.
Stray Observations:
The Barfly intro features a Nughuffer tease from Brownie. At this point, Nughuffer still had not been played all year.
—Mr. Zan