April 17, 2003

<< April 2003 ; 21 shows of great quality minus a few ''blocked punts'' along the way. Definitely a month to remember. There are a few shows in there that can be summarized as farts in a packed elevator, yet the majority are very strong.
4-18/19 ; 4-13 ; 4-17(II) ; 4-25 ; 4-06 ; 4-11 ; 4-27 from what stands out in my head.

The boys were spent this evening. Once in a while if you're in a band touring or touring with a band, you are sure to encounter the "ICK" once in a while. It's simply your body sending you the bill for the damages along the way and the only way to heal & recharge would be a king size bed, you're favorite partner, a solid 12 hours sleep and 14 showers. If you can remember, 5000mg of Vitamin C and D will help.

Besides a very decent and rare 20 minute 'Paint the Day' and a scorching set ending 'Ladies", the crux of the apostrophe, the filet of the mignon and the ice to the cream lies in the last hour and twenty minutes of the show...the 3 tune dynamite gift of: "Basis ~> AtW ~> KotW ~> Basis endtro"

This quattro is not of the rager side of this blissco but that of "chardonnay jams" letting the tunes air out, chunks of slow building, attention to detail and not rushing to the peaks and valleys. They know those crossroads will be traversed but via the scenic route. Basis has a big intro of course finally landing on Marc's wonderful swamp drop into the murky waters of the "Basis War Chant" into the official entry of the day's plans; playful entry. Once that is played they start at around the 15 minute mark to what I must call one of the kindest, most underrated 'Basis" jams out there, both. Everyone is tapped into the source. It sounds so easy :) that's what a good night in Biscoland can offer, and on this night in Indy, they did so, wonderfully, in the 2nd set. Barber plays a mix of crescendo rhythms while Marc and Mags interchange the improv roles. It's a tempo jam...one that fits like a glove. At around 19:30 Eastern Standard LiveDownloads Time, shit gets real. Barber has not stopped demonstrating his abilities for one bloody second as we enter the final 15 minutes heading towards the promised land = "GMAYFM" Jam 2:: Slow and easy, locked-in and as psychedelic as they get. This is the electric / dilated pupil part of the Biscuits I always dug and will get off largely on. As previously stated, this is not your balls to the wall Basis with huge peaks with LOTS of exploratory playing leading to various AMEN Jesus moments. No, this is a refined, mellow and gorgeous Basis. At most mid tempo jamming. Some will say boring...aimless...uninspired. I do not see it this way. So we arrive at the end of this first Basis part of 37 minutes with 2 minutes "straight ahead triple up tempo" ending. So damn good. Again....effortless(?)lol With superb momentum, they head into 'Waves" again, Barber (without trying to over due my appreciation) is just aupiloting this mf intro like a GANGTA! The inverted blueprint fits like a glove as it's a perfect transition from Basis and just as good on the way out when hitting the Waves or just Above them. Boom, they are in. You can feel Corrinado's pain in paradox to the joyful chords and vocals of the tune. Off to Mulberry he goes....''Caught in the waves as the wind whipped on and the sand sat calmly miles belowohohohohohohoh...."" This version ,for me at least and I may be in a swing and miss situation, is of the standard variety...all boxes checked etc... except for every member, all jams are on that Blisco Bardo. It's a different creature by nature. As a whole it's a cool calm and under control. It's a masterclass lesson in fragility surrounded by absolute mastery. At around the 11:15 mark they melt deeply into a real heady groove starting with Sammy's double bass-drumming, the call to explore. Thens Mr. Mags lays down a simple little B3 groove until Barber at 13:30 starts one of the better jams of the night. It MUST be said that Brownie is playing this funk underbelly beautifully. Then it turns into the "Studio 54" discojam of magical proportions in a mellow approach. There's a good 5-6 stop-n-go jams until they find the correct door. At 19:10 that door is entered. This set is some sit back and melt shit. They really demonstrate what 8-9 years of non stop chopping wood can get you. And that is a much wider perspective, trust in your band mates and making sure that not only WE get off but that they as well are into something special here but always moving forward. BOOM! The Earth's core shatters into a million pieces of funk matter...."Float Like A Butterfly"... With cobwebs shaken off they proudly enter KotW with some great industrial sampling by Mags; all sorts of weirdness. The jam doesn't really start off in a sorted matter, it's pretty much a rinse-n-repeat 4 bar exercise for a few minutes. Yes, you must embrace and understand your shadow self in order to live as complete as possible. So an odd miss to start a tune is always welcome. Growth comes out of shit, stems and caps. This show is a perfect description of 2003. Lots of good but a lot of flawed. Human...who knew. The final 3 minutes are quite good. Led by Mags and Barber's rhythms giving way for the percussive members to shine. This is quite a good and tight outro. Barber's tone is A++ tonight. And we arrive. The 'GMAYFM" jamout to end this toilet seat of a show (up and down; up and down; up and down) Take the best parts home with you. love.

“Ever since I discovered that my god given male member was going to give me no peace, I decided to give it no rest in return.” ~Hitchens~