September 06, 2001

{{ happy anniversary, 50 years ago today to the Dead's legendary Veneta show }}

Man this was an amazing show to be at. I guess I'm the only one to find this 'Crickets' extraordinary. That 2nd jam! Dr. Sammy and Brownie are locked in a pocket of sunshine and lollipops while Barber is so tasteful and psychedelic. The whole 1st set is great. Pretty fuckin' near flawless. The 2nd is a little less but as far as weak points? Coat encore? The 'Magellan ~> 7-11 ~> Magellan'? wow, it sounds pretty damn delicious to me, the vocals are passionate and powerful...I get off like a mutha. Does it compare to 1999-10-07 in SF or 2002-04-25 Richmond? kind of(?) but they are truly different beasts with different structures.
I think it's a pretty fun Space Disco trio with lots of fun energy. Who doesn't want a 'Floodlights ~> Hope' to finish a show!? Hope can start your car, man! Great jam too, like REALLY good. Such a beautiful au revoir. In the mentality of 2001, yes there are better but each show should be thought of as it's own universe not to be compared to any else at any time. If you like lists...there are plenty. Randomly pick a show, don't look at the date or setlist and just sit back and eat yer Hagen Daas.

The next show was riding hi off of this one in Saratoga. (IMO) it's the the most underrated show of 2001 by far as it's in the middle of perhaps the band's best month. It has been on my top 5 since we saw it. Until it burnt down in 2009, Winners was such a cool and important place to see shows for us Canuckleheads and North Country Freaks of course but we lived but 4 hours away. In the 90's!?? Wow. On any given night you could see the Seapods with moe. and Deep Banana for 14$. Anyway, re-listen to that show if you can. It's a killer in a month/year of an embarrassment of riches.

ps - that girl Barber is talking to who almost got on stage after 'Spaga' to dance was my ex. Of course, Marc the Narc put a kibosh on that ridiculousness....I don't blame him....chix and MDMA...whatya gonna do? She was a beautiful butterfly R.I.P. Celeste.

overall: 8.80 recording: 9.40 / 10(Higher Ground master SBD) live: 9.95 / 10 you: priceless

While I'm grateful for Mr. Zan's many reviews (and have found them to be a valuable reference as I've dove deeper and deeper into Sammy-era Biscuits), I disagree that this is a 5-star show.

Without a doubt, the B&C > Sound One > B&C is top shelf. I also really enjoy the Confrontation, Shelby, and Magellan > 7-11 > Magellan.

But when compared to other shows from this era, nothing else stood out to me as particularly memorable.

Don't get me wrong, this is a September '01 show, so you can expect high quality playing. But this show doesn't have the uncanny flow, transcendent atmosphere, and consistent, jaw-dropping jamming of 04-07. Nor does it have the unabashed creativity and inspired abandon of 03-31 (03-31 is next level in those terms). Those are your 5-star shows.

To be clear, while this one may not be 5-stars in my book, it's still high up there. I give it 4 stars. Definitely check this one out. Especially the B&C > Sound One > B&C.

Confro gets the show going with a bang. This version is neither long nor particularly special, but it is very well executed. Magner absolutely carries the bliss theme with a droning trance synth, and Barber builds up to a gorgeous peak. An excellent version of Spaga follows. The main jam is eminently patient, almost liquid dnb. Barber introduces a strong theme right out of the gate, and Magner follows suit nicely. The jam builds to a strong, if a bit restrained, crescendo. The second jam is very strong as well, and totally Magner-driven. There are some firecrackers or something going off during the Crickets jam that I found way more irritating than I probably should have. It’s a shame, because the Crickets is a monster. It’s a type one venture, but it’s the perfect execution of the Crickets theme. The funk jam settles into the perfect theme almost immediately; Brownie and Sammy initially keep things pretty close to the vest, but Barber and Magner lock in for a gorgeous, digital exploration that soon takes on a life of its own. The jam seems to return to Crickets territory around the 20 minute mark, and builds on a more groove oriented, driving blues-rock theme for the remainder of the jam. Real solid stuff here. At this point in the set (a little longer than 60 minutes) it would have been perfectly understandable for the band to call set-break, but instead they deliver one of the most iconic segments of September 2001: B&C > Sound 1 > B&C, which brings the first set to over 90 minutes. Barber locks into a very memorable bliss theme immediately in the B&C jam, and Magner comes in with the gorgeous complement. Shortly after the 6 minute mark, Barber switches over to the distinctive fall 01 muted distortion effect, which works great here and adds to the chaotic nature of the jam. It builds to a crescendo shortly after and then peters down to a well-executed Sound 1 intro. The Sound 1 jam is of course fantastic, an improvement on the already strong 9/2 version. It begins with the standard tense atmosphere, and builds to an intense cacophony uncommon even in Sound 1 jams. Shy of the 10 minute mark, it begins to wend its way back towards familiar territory. Barber steers the jam in this direction, and it builds to its triumphant conclusion and explosive finale. The Sound 1 peak is as strong as ever. Sound 1 features a rare (for September 01 at least) outro, based closely around the composed ending riffs. It settles into a pleasant bliss theme and builds to a strong B&C ending.

Magellan serves as a well-placed set-opener. The first jam is the usual water-treading affair, but the second jam is a lot more interesting. Barber’s licks are fairly standard, but Magner’s very basic synth lines add an air of almost quiet desperation to the mood. After a brief exploration, somewhat outside of the box, the jam builds back up to a Magellan-style crescendo, but instead of reaching the peak the jam breaks down and settles into dub rock. The jam segues smoothly into 7-11. No towel jam in this version. The main jam is pretty mellow, Barber-led trance that breaks down around the 11 minute mark, and rebuilds into a standard Magellan ending. Shelby Rose is a spectacular version, one of my favorite standalones. The jam remains in a melancholy dnb vehicle until it breaks down around the 11 minute mark, and begins to steadily climb to the peak. Barber is particularly inspired in this second section, building a theme around a gorgeous repeating riff, and switching to the muted distortion at the perfect moment. The first Floodlights of the fall tour is a short and fiery type one vehicle. The Floodlights outro breaks down to complete ambience, but very quickly reveals its eventual destination. The main jam in Hope is great. The first half is a breakbeat-happy bliss progression, never reaching the intense crescendo of a Hope ending, but hinting at it somewhat. It breaks down around the 9 minute mark, and after some treading water, it moves with renewed purpose toward the ending. Huge payoff, and great version overall.

5/5. The first 5 star show of the tour, and first since 4/7. The B&C > Sound 1 and Sound 1 jams are the mega highlights, but don’t sleep on a top-tier Shelby Rose. Very little from this show doesn’t register as some kind of highlight.

Stray Observations: Amusing banter alert after the Confrontation. Barber is having a bit too much fun with certain audience members, and you can hear at times amusement, at others exasperation, from the other bandmates. After Spaga, Brownie plugs the upcoming shows in Albany, Hartford, and New Jersey (and like a good New Yorker, sneaks in some digs about the towns). The Sound 1 outro contains Peter and The Wolf teases (again) as well as Sound 1 teases. There are some Floes ending teases in the Hope.