April 05, 2001

The opening M.E.M.P.H.I.S. has a pretty straightforward rocker of a first jam. It starts in ambient territory, but the rest is pretty standard. The outro jam features some of that distinctive spring 01 percussion, and has a great atmospheric bliss theme. It builds to a gorgeous crescendo before finally dropping into Floes, in one of the strongest and most energetic Floes segues yet. The jam out of Floes is awesome. A lumbering trance jam develops out of Floes territory around a hypnotic and beautiful theme from Magner. Around 14:30 the tempo starts to pick up as the band enters an extremely patient Run Like Hell intro. The buildup and peak into Run Like Hell is huge. Run Like Hell has a longer-than-average mid-verse jam with a strong build. The main jam is a major key trance rock jam that nevertheless manages to not sound like Run Like Hell. It builds up to a moody Barber-led crescendo and then breaks down into distinctly Floes territory around 12:30. The jam builds up to a Floes ending, completing a strong segment. The set closes out with two standalones. Boulevard never breaks out of the box but is still pleasant and enjoyable. The Hope is a very solid blissed out version with catchy Barber hooks and supplemental keyboard lines. Around the 11 minute mark Magner changes synths for a really cool effect, but unfortunately it doesn’t last. The buildup to the ending is strong.

Confrontation features Magner on the ambient wave synths in the beginning, creating a cool and really mellow effect. The mellow, blissful atmosphere continues until around the 7-8 minute mark when the jam veers into decidedly creepier territory. Magner abandons the more ambient synths in favor of more staccato effects, and the rhythm of Brownstein’s bass takes on a harried tone. The band manages to maintain this tense theme until after the 14 minute mark (without letting it go stale) when they begin to push towards the Confrontation ending. Great version. Magellan is perfectly standard except for a drawn-out reprise section, which is where the PA issues seem to happen. Crickets has another strong first jam. Barber moves to increasingly atonal distortion, which complements the sinister theme of the jam nicely. He returns to clean guitar suddenly just before 7:30, and builds to the peak over the next few minutes. This is possibly the first Crickets funk since the Mauricio versions that I’ve found interesting. Magner’s acid synths give it a little extra zest, and the tempo shift back down to Crix funk territory is worth hearing. The Triumph intro is sloppy, even for a spring 01 version. The jam stays mostly in the type one range, like many of the early versions. Brownstein takes a while to give up the Triumph bass line, but the band manages to build up a solid groove over it. The first part of the jam breaks down around the 6 minute mark. The band builds up on a steady groove, which takes a few minutes to get interesting. Around the 10 minute mark the tempo picks up and begins to build to a Hot Air Balloon intro. HAB has a little spaciness in the jam but it’s ultimately standard.

Morph opens the third set with a bang. It’s a standard version with a solid theme featuring Magner on distorted trance synths. The Helicopters jam gets off to a very mellow start. The pleasant theme continues over several minutes, but slowly builds to a tense crescendo. This breaks down around 7:30 into a brisk, driving theme. It settles into an expansive trance jam, which culminates (suddenly) in a Helicopters peak. Although it’s all over the map and ultimately unfocused, there are some very cool moments. The Very Moon has a spaced out first jam, which stays mostly type one but has a really cool smooth electronic theme beginning around the 9 minute mark. The funk jam is pretty standard, and does not leave Very Moon territory until it becomes a Don intro. The Don jam is pretty strong. It builds around a distinct Brownstein bass line, reaching a perhaps more tense crescendo than ordinary before shifting towards the triumphant bliss of Run Like Hell. The buildup to Run Like Hell is excellent.

3/5. Hard to score. Everything about the M.E.M.P.H.I.S. segment is strong, and there are highlights scattered throughout the other two sets. However, there is also a lot of filler.

Stray Observations: Crickets has Plan B vocal teases in the intro, a la 11/25/00. Brownie announces a third set after Crickets, and judging by the reactions of the crowd it is new information. That’s pretty cool. He claims to be repaying Chicago for their generosity.