May 07, 2001

{ The Duck in Eugene...the house that Kimock built }

Betty and the 2nd set are great. If they would have had a stronger post-Betty, this, even for a 2001 show, would be a classic. Still, it's got moments I tellz ya.

These inverted "Invasions" work! especially after this monumental "Triumph" not bad for a 1st.

I think the House Dawg is pretty fuckin heady myself. Some oops n' slips but the funk is pretty solid.

great sound on this board

I like this show, I like the Duck and I'm the only freaker who thinks this "Home Again" is good. A little pooped but it has a few redeeming characteristics.

6.8814576 out of 10

The first Boop jam is characteristically strong for a spring 01 version. It’s atmospheric and thematic, and spaced out nicely even if it never breaks type one. The tempo increases rapidly at the 7 minute mark for the return to Boop. The second jam is also interesting type one. It begins with some unconventional Barber themes, but he soon settles into the mournful playing typical of a Boop jam. What Magner does in the background is what makes this version notable; his heavily distorted trance synth provides the perfect complement to an otherwise standard guitar solo. The House Dog jam is a pretty standard shred-fest. The Party Favor jam starts out with some strong, sinister atmosphere, but it drags pretty hard in the middle. Both Floodlights and Home Again are standard standalones.

Triumph has a strong type one shred-fest before breaking down into a rapid trance groove around the 8 minute mark. It breaks down and unfolds as a blissful, mellow jam. Around the 14 minute mark it enters tenser waters, and Brownie’s bass takes on an almost dubby quality. It sounds at points that the jam might head into Aquatic Ape before it builds back up into a Munchkin ending. Great stuff. The Munchkin jam begins unassumingly, breaks down into a sparse section with some almost-breakbeats, and builds to a gorgeous passage of Barber-led jazz. This breaks down around the 13 minute mark into a chaotic passage that builds up to easily the most unique Very Moon intro ever. The first jam in Very Moon is, once again, an excellent spring 01 version, toeing the line between type one and type two. The rhythm section doesn’t stray far from the confines, but the melody is decisively more melancholy than typical. After this section there is a pretty solid build to the peak. The funk jam has a pretty brief jazzy bliss groove going into Vassilios that has its moments. Vassilios has a very short jam that shows some potential but resolves into an Aceetobee intro way too soon. The Aceetobee is likewise a very short version, with a completely unremarkable first jam. The second is a bit better, but really nothing more than pretty. Morph is a fun encore, but again, completely type one.

2/5. The first set is basically a wash, and you can pretty safely skip the whole thing after Boop. The second set starts out promising (Triumph > Munchkin (><) > Very Moon saves this from being a comfortable one star) but falls apart toward the end.

Stray Observations: This is the first ever inverted Munchkin. It would be inverted once more in 2001 and then not again until 2006. Magner replaces a few of the “I’m a little Munchkin” lines with “Michigan Michigan Pittsburgh” in the Munchkin ending.