March 24, 2001

The show opens with a loungey intro jam which resolves into a slowed-down Pygmy intro. The Pygmy jam is hypnotic, repetitive trance. Magner is king here. This theme breaks down and settles into an Aceetobee intro shortly before the 11 minute mark. Excellent transition into Aceetobee. The first jam in Aceetobee is a pretty standard vamp, and the second is standard as well, with a catchy theme and strong conclusion. Spacebird is played for the third time, and the second in two nights. This version is still completely type one, but it probably has the most developed and mature theme so far. The Very Moon has a drawn-out intro jam. Coming on the heels of some very strong versions in fall 2000, the main jam breaks down almost immediately into an eerie type two exploration. The theme is spectacular, as is the inevitable return to Very Moon. One of the strongest versions of the song ever. “I want your sex” vocal teases from Magner in the funk jam, which quickly dissolves into ambient trance. It builds up to an almost Peter Gunn theme type jam before dissolving once again. A cool iteration of a well-worn section. The Voices jam goes beyond the standard ambient atmospheric jamming it had in fall 1999 and 2000. Magner actually manages to deliver some energy to this version.

Helicopters is a pretty standard driving trance jam, until it breaks down into a tense passage beginning after 7:30. This mellow exploration is pretty interesting, and the return to Helicopters territory is well-executed (though the drop is very sudden). Plan B is standard. The Grass is Green jam begins as a standard groove, but quickly increases in tempo. It builds into a Munchkin intro (the first of its kind) and the transition is solid, although the band loses a few minutes trying to figure out exactly when to drop into the Munchkin hits (and once Sammy does, it seems to catch the others off guard). The Munchkin jam has a great melancholy type two theme. A spectacular version. Soul Is Shaking makes its first appearance with Brownstein on bass, and features Meredith Motley on guest vocals (as it did when the Triscuits played it). It has a short blues solo but no real jam to speak of. Lai and Hot Air Balloon are both standard.

A strong 3/5. The Very Moon and Munchkin are contenders for best ever versions of these songs, and are my personal highlights. Definitely check out Pygmy > Aceetobee, Helicopters, and the “I Want Your Sex” jam in Very Moon > Voices.

Stray Observations: Great opening banter before Pygmy. Every Disco Biscuits song is about hard, hard, hard life experiences. Spacebird is dedicated to Dave Calarco, who wanted to catch it the previous night but couldn’t make it. This is the first jam into Munchkin Invasion besides DJ segues. This is the first Soul Is Shaking since 4/29/00, a gap of 52 shows. It is also the first with Brownstein.