April 14, 2001

Hopener for the band’s first show at the Roseland Ballroom (a significant step up in capacity from Irving Plaza). This is one of the definitive Hopes of the era. It may not be as strong as 3/31, but it’s close, and I’ve always had a special affinity for this version. It alternates between dub and breakbeat, and builds to a spectacular finale. The drop segue into Pygmy Twylyte is very well-executed as well; Pygmy starts at a more relaxed tempo and it creates a cool effect. The Pygmy jam is straight locomotive trance that quickly leaves behind any traces of Pygmy composition. The band does not tip their hand about their destination until the final minutes. The Vassilios type one is solid, but obviously it’s no 4/7. The jam out of Vassilios feels pretty standard. It’s a solid atmospheric exploration, but it doesn’t really go anywhere until the segue (which, admittedly, is very well-executed). I found myself disappointed in the Confrontation jam (which segues into the first inverted Crickets). The first part of the jam felt sluggish, and the peak felt rushed, although there is some quality thematic playing in the middle. In contrast, the Crickets funk actually sounds somewhat interesting to me, for maybe the first time since the original Mauricio Crickets. Magner makes excellent use of the 01 synths and crafts a strong theme. The return to Confrontation is excellent.

Home Again is one of the great type one versions. Barber’s peak is absolutely soaring, and Erica Lynn comes out for the Home reprise (and she is better utilized here than on 12/29/00). Home Again has an outro jam that immediately settles into a hypnotic trance groove. It’s a strong jam that yields a strong transition into Shimmy. The Shimmy is a fantastic version, especially for being so short. The jam begins with Magner on piano in a very foreboding theme. Barber moves it towards an almost type two space (not quite) as Magner moves to the trance synths. After a lighter passage the jam returns to Shimmy, with a DJ segue into Munchkin. Munchkin has a drawn out intro with some Magner flourishes. The Munchkin jam is pretty and spacey trance. It comes to a chaotic passage and breaks down around 9:30 into a Shem intro. The Shem-Rah jam begins with a strong, Magner-dominated theme, but this quickly breaks down into a rapid Jigsaw intro and loses my interest for a bit. Jigsaw has two jams before the ending, a mid-chase trance jam and a dub jam, and neither are particularly exploratory but both are strong. The first jam is notably intense for this section, building to a wild and uncontrollable crescendo before dropping back into the chase riff. The second is a gorgeous atmospheric jam, definitive of the spring 2001 sound. Jigsaw has an outro jam based around the closing riff, which quickly settles into the bliss territory typical of Munchkin. The jam takes its time returning to trance, and when it does it delivers a gorgeous and thrilling Munchkin ending.

The big encore begins with Dribble. The Dribble jam basically begins as a Spectacle intro, but there is a bit of Dribble flavor as well (Dribble hits around the 6 and 7 minute marks for instance). Otherwise, it would not be a stretch to call this a drop segue, but it is nevertheless a cool idea well executed. The Spectacle outro is Barber-led and not terribly interesting, but this is still one of the better utilizations of Spectacle so far. The Dribble ending is solid, and the outro jam pretty quickly melts into a Don intro. The jam is very short, but it is bouncy and fun, with Magner utilizing a fun trance synth and crafting a rager of a Don intro. The Don jam is likewise pretty short, but strong. Magner has a dominant presence, utilizing the Munchkin trance synths to great effect, and Barber brings it in for a strong ending.

4/5. Excellent show. While nothing is really next level, it remains pretty consistently interesting. The highlights of either set appear to be at the beginning and end of the segments. Highlights: Hope, Pygmy > Vass, Crix > Confro, Shimmy, Jigsaw

Stray Observations: This is the first inverted Crickets. Interesting banter before set two. Barber discusses Men At Work, and proposes a new name, Men of the People, for The Disco Biscuits. Brownie alludes to the new band being at Wetlands, which was the site of the first Perfume show. There are vocal teases of My Summer Vacation (Ice Cube) in Home Again.