April 19, 2003

As we blast off, it must be said the sound from this SBD is nicely mixed. Open wide, nice depth, clear instrumentation and not a huge need to tone control this show. April has some very crunchy peanut butter. A fair amount of '03 to '05 shows peter out or just can't keep the flow for a solid 2 sets. IMO, this one is very good, with much more consistency. If Mags and Barber (guitar) weren't so damn good tonight, this one would be a disaster IMO. Hey, sometimes your a Louisville Slugger and sometimes you're the ball.

I will admit that during the re-listen as well as the review itself I was in a "state" and will admit I took every song with the utmost positive attitude and never-ending shit eating grin. This doesn't mean that my thoughts are a right-off at all but I did give this show as much love as I could. But in the end, if we are honest with ourselves, it's a B / B+ show at most.

[A pile: T for tremendous and T for patience too / Highlights / Memorable]

~>Voices Insane~>( love this Mag>Voices>Mag combo,well done! The jam is pretty spotless and well played by Mags and Barber...let's bring this combo to life in 2023, nice calypso-like outro jam, so GOOD!),

Morph Funkeldorph (nice version to end the set. it is indeed a funky version. Marc and Mags are laying down some Kool & the Gang type inspiration mixed with a little Star Wars. the fun starts at around 4:50. At around 7 mins Barber stays in a rhythm mode while Magner just kills it on the keys...this is a relaxed and very fun groove. In a million Dorphs, this one is very cool and original(?). MVP = Magner. this version does not wait for the bus.)

~'Shelby'~> ( great jam intro into this inverted S.R.; all Barber. Might be his best tune of the night. This one has that happy happy joy joy feeling, the flow is present feeding the boys. The last half sees a good 'ole Wisconsin cheese eating contest, even then there is a good funky soundtrack. The ending "circus" Asiago jam is joyful and continues into the show ending 'Reactor'

[B pile: very good to excellent / fun / almost heavenly]

MEMPHIS(1) (does not really go anywhere but the soft approach id nice),

'Magellan'(2) (the ending; fairly "normal" yet Barber adds a little mustard to the CODA thus "B" Pilin' it,

'Reactor'~> (things get nice and evil at around 6:30 in with Brownie laying down the thickness while in between notes Mags adds very tasteful, relaxed psychedelic trancefusion. As the hectic kicks in during the final 3 minutes it gets pretty damn fun),

~>'MEMPHIS'(2nd verse)~> (at 2 minutes in...we are done with lyrics thus 12 minutes of jam ahead. there is a little stage chatter leaning towards tech probs or whatever but hang tight. the beautiful weirdness starts at around 9 mins in when Dr. Sammy tries a different rhythm, a more involved beat that will make you sink or swim...what genius...Sammy saw and felt all :) Although the various chunks of this 12 minute 'jam' goes into a million directions, there is enough meat here to warrant one or two more listens.)

~>Helix~>[unf] (starts very promising then gets pretty stale for a while until the tribal jam at around 13 mins starts. This is some primo Sammy here. He's the MVP on this ride. It ends HIGH as we enter the inverted Crix)

~>Crix(><)~> (techno start with great Barberisms waving his magic for the pluck of it while slowly but surely, Marc Brownstein, creeps up on in from underneath the sewer reminding the Crickets path they must cross. Great airplane samples/sounds as well as tremendously trippy offerings by Mr. Mags. They end up at the "beginning'' just fine. Not an all-timer nut pretty interesting)

[C pile: OK / the motions / lack of inspiration / carbon copies]

~>'Rock Candy' (meh),

~>'Reactor'(1)

'Magellan'~>(1) (by the time things get cookin', we're into Voices),

~>'Reactor'(2) short carbon copy, nothing new.

Set 1: 8.4 / 10 Set 2: 8.2 / 10

"Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." - Friedrich Nietzsche