March 11, 2006

Helix begins the show with a decent, if somewhat short, dance jam. Not much noteworthy going on here. Cigs is jammed. The Buddha jam has some really great digital jamming, featuring a lot of FX and e-drums from Magner and Allen. The Shelby jam is much of the same, although this is a little bit more “filler” for me. The Astronaut jam is a thematic piece of improv with the entire band totally locked in a multi-chord progression and theme. Barber and Magner here are particularly wonderful. The ending feels a little disjointed initially, but they recover nicely. I-Man’s first jam is entirely forgettable. The second jam has a great little piece of banter from Barber. After describing how happy the band is to be at Langerado, he adds, “We are now obligated to destroy you by any means necessary so…hang on.” The band then proceeds to play a laidback dance jam featuring Magner on xylophone patch. I guess…okay? The rest of the I-Man jam gets stuck in a bit of a repeater jam, but at least they hit Cyclone nicely. The jam out of Cyclone almost sounds like Magner is teasing Zombie Nation (but not quite). Not much interesting going on here. The jam out of 7-11 has potential but is just way, way too short. Handcuffs and Safety Dance are both standard/jamless.

Highlights: Buddha*, Astronaut**