October 14, 2001

Helicopters begins with an ambient intro that suggests Crickets instead. The jam itself begins with very digital Magner lines. It builds to a furious crescendo that breaks down into I-Man. It’s short, like most 01 Helix jams, but it’s at least well-utilized here. The first jam is an aggressive build, and the second is a standard I-Man jam. Neither do much for me. Crickets has a very strong, expansive first jam that builds to an excellent peak. It’s mostly one-dimensional, but not stultifyingly so. There’s a breakdown around 8:30 and a brief, chaotic passage that feels tangential to Crickets. The funk jam has some solid, atmospheric moments, but Brownstein absolutely does not let off the Crickets funk bass line. The towel jam is a bit longer than typical, but only because of some extended banter. The trance jam locks into a great theme in the first few minutes, with Magner using some of the best trance synths in his arsenal, fall 2000 style. The tempo gradually breaks down, and the transition into Hope is perfect. Hope itself is an enjoyable version, but totally Barber-dominated and not much to my taste.

3/5. Decisively weaker than the previous night, the highlight here is the grimy 7-11 trance. Check out the Helix and Crickets as well.

Stray Observations: During the towel jam in 7-11, Barber thanks everyone for having The Disco Biscuits out to Japan, and there is a brief vocal jam based around “Mt. Fuji” as well as band introductions.