Notes From The Drop Zone - 10/17/20

Review:

My first show opened with Caterpillar, so I have a soft spot in my heart for it. The Caterpillar gets off to a strong start. It doesn’t innovate much, but all four members are locked into a strong theme right off the bat. Magner uses a few synth effects that had become characteristic of the band’s sound in fall 2019, but were notably absent from the previous night. The jam settles into a slightly slower groove, and Magner gradually fades away from the mix. Barber begins to build up a very solid Tricycle theme, and the band executes the segue well. Tricycle is unfinished, and the jam out stays in Tricycle territory for several minutes. The segue into Tempest is very smooth, even though the band barely breaks down into Tempest territory before attempting it. The jam out of Tempest is great, and the point where this show turns a corner. It’s sinister and foreboding the whole way through. Barber uses a weird kind of echo effect and Magner repeats a simple and melancholy synth theme. The jam explores this melancholy space thoroughly, and it seems as though the band is heading back to Caterpillar territory, when Barber’s guitars suddenly turn triumphant and Allen kicks up the tempo dramatically. The jam shifts to Svenghali territory on a dime, and builds up to one of the best Svenghali endings in years. In the remaining time, the band fires up Freebis Slinky, one of my favorites of the new batch. Hearing this song made me think back to 12/28/19, which was, IMO, the only version of any of the new songs to truly deliver a legendary jam. This version, I have to say, is comparable in quality. The jam has two parts. The first part is a Freebis jam, which, while excellent, isn’t quite as good as the 12/28 version, and the second is the segue into Caterpillar, which, IMO, easily tops 12/28’s > Munchkin Invasion. The Caterpillar peak is excellent; Barber develops a theme throughout the entire second half of the jam and works the theme into the Caterpillar peak section.

The second set opens with Mindless Dribble, which, like Freebis, made me think of a particularly strong 2019 version. While this Dribble didn’t really come close to the 12/13/19 version, it was still a perfectly solid start to the set. After the Dribble hits, the jam melts into a Running intro. The Running jam is absolutely spectacular. It is a “Tractorbeam jam,” but not in the way that we are used to from the Setbreak Is Over Tour of 2019: the “jam” actually is a jam, and the transition into it is smoothly executed. The jam begins with Magner on piano, while Barber begins to incorporate the distinctive Ableton type effects characteristic of the Tractorbeam segments. Eventually this is a full blown electronic jam, with all four members of the band acting as a unit. It undergoes a variety of changes, but Magner’s whooshing synth effect gives each theme continuity. Eventually, Allen picks up the pace as the jam heads toward Munchkin; the remainder of the jam and the transition into Munchkin itself are kind of sloppy, but overall the jam is spectacular. The jam out of Munchkin begins in a far more melancholy territory than usual; it does not immediately drop into type two the way 12/28/19’s banner version does, but I think it covers comparable territory. The jam settles into a sinister theme with Magner utilizing some haunting Middle Eastern sounding synths. It settles into a dark groove with Barber repeating a simple riff through a variety of filters and Magner quickly finding a complement, soon busting out the demented marimba patch that he used to great effect in December 2019. Allen quickly brings the pace up and the jam begins to build in intensity as it approaches Anthem territory. Anthem has a short jam in between two sections (meaning it is a complete version). After the second Anthem section the band immediately settles into a heart-wrenching theme, utterly devoid of electronic elements, that evolves smooth as butter out of Anthem. The jam breaks down so far it almost sounds like it could segue into Sound 1, with only Allen’s steady, dutiful beat keeping things moving. Allen’s trance beat is a bit jarring up against the very mellow jam, but it creates a very cool juxtaposition. What follows is one of the most patient, organic builds back up into a Munchkin ending that I have ever heard. You would be hard pressed to find a more patient Munchkin ending than this one. After Munchkin, and a second set of just over an hour, the band leaves the stage before returning for a long encore. Helicopters has a fantastic and involved trance jam. It’s a fairly short version, but it packs a lot in, including a distinct Anthem tease/fake-out (as the 12/31/19 Helicopters had as well). After Helicopters, Barber seems ready to leave the stage before Brownie calls him back for a somewhat surprising Konkrete. Konkrete stays in that evil grunge territory until it breaks out into a mid-tempo house jam, which takes its time creeping toward Spraypaint ending territory.

Am I just starved for new music, or was that a seriously fantastic show? I think the answer can be both. I have a tendency to overfluff newer shows, but I think that this show is easily better than just about every show from the last tour.

Highlights:

Munchkin > Anthem

I like it a short hair better than the Running jam, which is considerably more distinct and exploratory. The Munchkin jam is a spectacularly executed theme that stays interesting the entire way through.

Running > Munchkin

This might be the first “Tractorbeam Jam” that didn’t contain a cover. In a single jam, the Biscuits instantly reveal the culmination of the idea that they were working towards with the Tractorbeam segments.

Freebis > Caterpillar

This distinct, multi-themed beast is easily the first set highlight for me. One of the more creative Caterpillar peaks I’ve heard recently.

Anthem > Munchkin

This could have easily been the highlight of an ordinary show. The theme the band settles into after Anthem is so haunting, and the transition smooth and organic. The buildup back into the Munchkin ending is one of the more creative that I’ve heard.

Tempest > Svenghali

The turning point of the show. The band builds a melancholy theme up to a seemingly Caterpillar-esque crescendo, when Allen and Barber immediately shift the jam, smoothly and seamlessly, into Svenghali territory.

—Mr. Zan