November 15, 2006

The Sven jam to start the show is a generic DNB jam. First Spaga jam is, conversely, a quite solid DNB jam. I found pockets of this really interesting, and Allen is (obviously) a machine here. Second jam never gets outside the type 1 format. The Caterpillar jam is very solid. This is nothing outside the box in any way, but very well-played and has a great groove throughout. I’m generally not a fan of Dribble first jams. This one has a really great little melody from Magner littered throughout. They develop a great double-time thing near the middle riff that is a great little touch. The second Dribble jam is basically one long Safety Dance intro. This is fine, nothing more.

First 7-11 jam stays strictly within the type 1 structure. Second jam is a solid trance jam that develops very naturally into the Crickets middle section. First Crickets jam is okay. This is a midtempo thing that gets a little repetitive, but I enjoyed most of it. Second jam gets dark and dissonant as they head into Triumph, but the theme here just doesn’t ever hit the next level for me. The Triumph jam into Boom Shanker is nice, but doesn’t last nearly long enough. The Boom Shanker jam is a really nice dub jam. They’re not breaking the mold here by any means, but the entire band is locked in and crafts a really nice, spacey theme. Barber’s guitar work here is particularly nice to hear. There’s no jam after Boom Shanker, though this is noted as a segue on the setlist. Eh, not so much. The jam in Helicopters – wow. After a somewhat milquetoast start, the band develops an absolutely digital trance onslaught. This is fantastic, and easily the highlight of the night in an already fairly good show. Home Again is short and predictable to end the show.

Highlights: Spaga (1), Caterpillar*, Dribble (1*), 7-11, Boom Shanker*, Helix**