September 05, 2001

awesome show!

no fluff, all buff.

It might be a rather bland , Wednesday night setlist but has that ever mattered? Each song is extremely well approached and played very well including one of the best 45 minute jams of the year! [ helix ~> spacebird ~> helix] this Spacebird is nothing but net, a near perfect version within patient long solos and jams, cruisin' for burgers down interesting twisting & winding roads for 20 minutes until satisfactory arrivals are enjoyed by all members along the way. Brownie and Magner during the 1st Helix part is on another level; in 2001, I believe that's saying something as a good 90% of '01 is automatic satisfaction. A KILLER House Dog...this tune was just getting it's legs underneath itself in this season and this is the result!? pretty fn' fantastic if you ask me...out of a nice Triumph outro as well.

The show ending 40 minute 'The Very Moon ~> Shimmy' is satisfying to say the least. Although it's no May 7 'Very Moon' from Eugene a few months back or even the SoCal Mar 24 version, it's pretty damn great. This whole set is type 1...pretty much.

The 'Sven' to me, is very good. Not mind-blowing but from 4:56 to the end sees a pretty funky jam with a few different styles. Yes, the type we have heard a lot but it gets ya good right in the heart. Again, a lot of patience tonight(or extremely hung-over) I find great worth in that 10 minute Sven jam. If a 2001 'standard' Sven and/or a 'meh' 'Tunnel' is this night's biggest off the mark tunes...we are golden.
Great Reactor. I like the formation of the 1st jam. Simply beautiful Barberisms all throughout while Mr. Mags fans and sweeps the aural landscape with eerie, psychedelic segments. At around 9 minutes of 14 the tempo doubles, the kick drum is on repeat and they start this nice crescendo jam on the runway successfully lifting off. What an adjustment they did with this tune!

Rating: 1st set:: 9.10 / 10 2nd set:: 8.25 / 10 or 86 / 100 ~~ ''What’s the last thing the drummer said before he got kicked out of the band?" ‘Hey, I wrote a song.’” ~~ Be Kind To Your Mind. pEACE & Love

Triumph still has a few compositional hiccups, but they are being ironed out. The jam isn’t as strong as the 9/1 version, and is a pretty standard mid-tempo build into House Dog. However, the jam is solid for being such a new vehicle, and the segue is strong. The first jam in House Dog is a bit more drawn out than typical, but it doesn’t break the mold. The second jam is fairly standard as well. There is a breakdown in the middle, and a buildup to a huge peak, but overall nothing to set it apart. Helicopters is excellent, and gets the show moving in the right direction. After a spring tour of mostly short Helicopters jams of limited potential, the 9/5 Helicopters breaks down almost immediately into very mellow atmospheric trance. Around the 5-6 minute mark the whole band locks in for a driving trance theme, which builds to a large crescendo over several minutes. Around 11:30, the theme breaks down for a segue into Spacebird. Like the previous version, this is another strong Spacebird that breaks out of the type one mold. After some minimal, fairly by-the-book grooves, Magner layers in some melancholy synth effects beginning around the 8 minute mark that contrast nicely with Barber’s more pleasant strumming. From here the jam gradually builds up to the Spacebird peak. The Spacebird outro is a demented little earworm that twists and turns down various dark passages. It ebbs and flows, eventually culminating in a strong Helicopters peak.

I found myself disappointed with the longer than average Svenghali. None of the jam ever really captured my attention, and it seemed like Magner was holding back the entire time. The Tunnel is still entirely type one, but has a nice spaced out theme in the middle that shows potential for the song’s future. Reactor is a strong, standard version, very different from the debut. Its single theme breaks down to almost ambient minimalism before a steady build back to the peak. The Very Moon doesn’t get quite as deep as some of the winter versions, but it has a cool dub breakdown before returning to the peak. The funk jam is entirely type one, segueing very smoothly into Shimmy. The Shimmy goes deceptively deep considering the time stamp. It breaks down to nothing and then builds up steadily to the peak by way of a tense, yet pleasant theme. Strong peak into the Shimmy ending.

3/5. The show is carried by the Helix > Spacebird > Helix, but the Very Moon and Shimmy jams, along with the Triumph, are enough to merit a repeat listen.