April 25, 2001

Because of a power issue, the show opens with Ducks and Geese are Free (mercifully, the last version performed in concert all year). Spacebird is a bit stretched out in the beginning of the jam, but it still doesn’t really go anywhere interesting. Spacebird kind of melts into an Aceetobee intro jam that never strays far from its destination. The first jam in Aceetobee is a pretty straightforward build, and not terribly interesting. The second jam, on the other hand, is a drawn out atmospheric minor key vehicle, quite different from what the setlist suggests. Strong peak into the (second ever) inverted Confrontation. The jam out begins as traditional spring 01 bliss jamming, but quickly settles into a more eerie theme. The jam sounds as if it might head towards Hope before Barber suddenly (and somewhat jarringly) begins playing the Aceetobee ending. The jam has its moments but loses points for this sloppy transition. Shimmy is pretty standard, but it has a nice, drawn out Barber theme that spaces out just a bit in the middle before the build to a strong peak.

The set two opening Boop has a characteristically strong first jam. The main theme is brooding and introspective, and holds my interest for the entire time. The second jam is a somewhat meandering yet still type one vehicle. It seems to build to a Boop peak before breaking down and segueing into Story. Story has a fist-pumping main theme with heavy synth presence and a strong build to the peak. The M.E.M.P.H.I.S. jam is particularly strong, with Magner delivering a hypnotic groove over a thick bass line. Shortly after Barber takes the lead around the 5-6 minute mark, Magner spaces the jam out slightly, allowing it to breathe before Barber brings it around for a big peak section. The M.E.M.P.H.I.S. outro takes a while to get moving, but it reaches a really cool passage shortly before the track change that builds to a tense crescendo around the 15 minute mark. The I-Man has a couple decently drawn-out mid-verse jams but nothing out of the ordinary. The first jam is dissonant and somewhat aggressive. It seems to be headed back toward I-Man very early, but spends a little extra time in type one territory before breaking down completely around 12:30. The main jam is drawn-out, but standard. The show closes with the (jamless) fan-favorite rarities Jamilia and Boogie Stop Shuffle.

3/5. This show scrapes a three, primarily on the strength of the M.E.M.P.H.I.S. and the Boop.

Stray Observations: There are Shimmy teases in Story. There are Voices teases in M.E.M.P.H.I.S. The setlist was written by Matt O’Brien for his birthday.