September 26, 2001

The Morph opener is strong, reminiscent of a “deep type one” version like 4/30/99. Astronaut is still firmly type one, but enjoyable. The outro jam was more enjoyable than I was expecting, even if it is essentially a SITA jam the entire time. It builds to a foreboding conclusion before melting into a Very Moon intro. The first jam in The Very Moon is type one (at this point, the renaissance that the song began to experience in summer 2000 is long over). The funk jam is excellent, however. The theme is a perfect, patient build, never straying too far from the confines of the song but building within it spectacularly. It features gorgeous, trancey synth lines and chugging riffs, and builds up to a gorgeous blissful crescendo before a breakdown into Floes territory. Excellent stuff. Floes, overall, is fantastic—on the heels of another top-tier version, 9/14—and there are multiple components to it that make it so. There is some playful riffing that turns into a brief full-band jam before they finally settle into Floes proper. After the first verse, similar riffs creep back in, and the band allows themselves to get absolutely lost (in a good way) in a very catchy mid-verse jam. TDB purists might scoff at this for being too “phish-y,” but I loved it. It’s nice when the band allows the improv to just take over like that. The main jam is excellent as well. It begins unconventionally, developing organically out of the song, and evolves into a blissful dub groove that builds to an excellent conclusion. A standard Pat & Dex finishes out the set.

The Tunnel levels up once again, and this version is, chronologically, the best one played yet. The jam leaves behind the rather rigid song structure quickly as the band dives headfirst into a melancholy theme that is more fitting for the song’s lyrical themes than for its blissful melodies. Similarly, the Mulberry’s is one of the strongest versions played at this time, and I’d argue ever. I’m not sure I’d put it ahead of 8/28/99 (a personal favorite) or even 7/15/17, but it definitely rounds out the top 3 as far as standalone Mulberry’s jams go. The first jam is standard, but the second quickly breaks down into atmospheric type two. Magner is a god on the piano here, and the line he comes up with is hauntingly familiar. The band builds on this theme, eventually shifting into a dub theme before making the return for a searing Mulberry’s peak. After these two thrilling, inventive songs, the Ladies (by far the most promising of the three on paper) is almost a letdown, even though it too breaks the mold. Magner delivers excellent droning trance synths that form the backbone of the first theme. He carries this for several minutes as Barber steps into the foreground. Rather than building to the peak, the band breaks down into a percussive section after a crescendo around 8:30. There is some cool full-band exploration, and then Sammy leads the rest of the band into Ladies ending territory. After a not-uncommon, but (IMO) always ill-advised mid-second-set Spy, the band delivers another fall 01 powerhouse, Spacebird. This version sees the band leave the composed type one territory almost immediately, as they begin to explore darker territory. This first theme breaks down into gorgeous psychedelic ambience around 8:30 and builds up to more standard Spacebird territory. It isn’t fully type one, but it doesn’t sound terribly removed from Spacebird either, and it isn’t as compelling as the first theme. Barber also drops the Spacebird peak rather suddenly, and it is jarring. The show closes with standard versions of Floodlights and Frog Legs.

4/5. Don’t let the setlist fool you. This show rules! The second set, which looks duller on paper, is by far the highlight, with top-shelf versions of The Tunnel and Mulberry’s, and strong versions of Ladies and Spacebird. The first set has a top-shelf Floes, and a strong Very Moon funk as well.

Stray Observations: There are Tunnel teases in Spacebird.