Notes From The Drop Zone - 10/23/20

Note: This write-up is a collaborative effort. The first set review was written by ShimmyShanks and the second by Mr. Zan

Image: Overhead view of the Montage Mountain drive-in (credit: Jesse Faatz Photography via Disco Biscuits Facebook)

Review:

Montage Mountain. The words alone prompt memories of dreamlike weekends of music, friends, and sometimes heat that will make you question the usefulness of clothing, but this time the Biscuits rolled into Electric City without the massive lineup and extravagant festival trappings and gave their music starved fans the first of two nights of Tailgate Bisco (a newly coined term by Headcount's own Andy Bernstein). The excitement around these home away from home shows was high going into last night especially after the level of play on the Cape.

Set one started out mellow with the beginning of Mulberry's Dream, last played in Syracuse this past November. The composed section was played well and the jam was Magner dominated as he went to the electric piano with Barber playing counterpoint melodies on his green strat named "Money Bags." instead of heading into the faster segment of the song the jam veered into more electronic territory as it left the realms of Mulberry's altogether. The most exciting element of these 5 shows this October has been the deeply patient, mid-tempo pace of the majority of the jams. Even with Allen on e-drums or double-time beats the band has chosen to stay mellow and explore each and every nook their improv finds. The segue into Catalyst was a bit abrupt as Barber drops the chugging riffs of the song, I wish they'd segue directly into the wah-drenched segment in order to make it a smoother transition on the fly. Catalyst was played competently and quickly dove back into the soup with Magner once again leading the way with a more synth heavy attack. Just prior to the actual segue back into the end of Mulberry's Barber settled on a gorgeous descending pattern that honestly could've been played the rest of the night and made me happy. As the rest of the band coalesced around Barber and slid into the end of the song Barber kept that riff going and really bridged the gap between the jam and the song very nicely. Safety Dance was up next and had my favorite jam of the set as once again Magner drifted over to the synths and the virus setting a darker tone than most Safety Dances attain. Shockingly this led to the end of Highwire with a little uncertainty, but overall the jam itself was very impressive. House Dog has been used as a first set closer quite often over the years and can make or break a set that hovers between great or average, this unfortunately was not the House Dog some were hoping for after all. I will say that the second jam however, probably saved this version from being an afterthought; dark, repetitive, and deeply electronic. Overall a fun set with some good jams and a nice little surprise with the mid-set Highwire.

—ShimmyShanks

Firmly in the center of the upper echelon of second set openers sits Digital Buddha. This version is an exercise in tremendous patience. It never strays too far from Buddha territory, but it covers a lot of ground within that space. Magner crafts a haunting theme with a steel drum synth which he uses for the better half of the jam. The jam culminates in a spectacular moment of cohesion between Barber and Magner, shortly before Allen kicks up the tempo as the jam moves toward Cyclone. As Barber takes over, he incorporates some vaguely Catalyst sounding themes that become more pronounced as the jam approaches its crescendo. Barber attempts to mash-up the Catalyst ending with the Cyclone peak, a brilliant concept even if the execution is somewhat lacking. The jam out of Cyclone is another exercise in patience. It begins as a bliss theme but settles into more tense territory. After a breakdown, the jam begins to build with utmost patience up to a Buddha peak. It builds for over ten minutes around a Buddha ending theme, circling around the familiar theme and modulating it, until the jam finally reaches one of the smoothest Digital Buddha endings ever played. This sandwich has been played a few other times, but this is by far the longest iteration, and I would argue it’s probably the strongest too (and before I get hunted down by an angry mob of 2/15/09 fluffers, just know that I haven’t listened to that version in a long time and would want to back-to-back them before I definitively made such a bold claim). After the Buddha segment, we are treated to a late set two M.E.M.P.H.I.S. Generally, I think of M.E.M.P.H.I.S. as more of a first set song (it’s particularly effective as an opener) but I tried to keep an open mind. The M.E.M.P.H.I.S. jam is a patient funky groove. There is a great theme from Barber that serves as the backbone to the jam, and someone (either Magner or Allen) makes liberal use of an amelodic sound effect which sounds remarkably like the Gates of Hell synth to me. The grooves in the first half of the jam are pretty solid, but the second half is not very good to my ears. Barber hits a few too many dead notes, and it doesn’t deliver the satisfaction of a typical M.E.M.P.H.I.S. ending. In the closing chords of the song, disaster struck: we completely lost connection to the stream for what felt like an eternity, but what was in reality only about 90 seconds. By the time the sound came back, the jam was firmly in I-Man territory. Unless there was a wormhole and we managed to lose considerably more than 90 seconds, that is a very short jam, so I can’t imagine we missed much. The I-Man is a solid version. The middle jam has an excellent and very percussive jam (both from Magner and Allen), but Barber ends it a little early—I wish they had explored that theme a little further! The second jam is considerably more standard but well-executed. The band doesn’t even leave the stage before returning for the encore, letting everyone know that they are over their time with their words and their song choice—Rainbow Song is among the shortest songs in the catalogue, and this perfunctory version is played well.

Overall, a very strong third quarter (with some of the best playing of the entire tour) and a very average fourth quarter. Overall this show was very hot and cold, but the highlights more than speak for themselves, and I remain as always excited to see what comes next.

—Mr. Zan