December 08, 2006

The opening Spaga segment has two DNB jams that go nowhere and 1 type 1 jam in Spaga. Not my ideal opening for a show. The Humu jam is generally very good. However, the disappointing part here is that they touch, ever so briefly, on a really interesting theme. At the 9:05 mark, Brownstein switches to this two-chord progression that has such fantastic depth. This uses the same intervals as the Portal progression. It’s poignant and wonderful, but unfortunately they only use this to change keys here so that they can get into Spectacle. Dang.

Neither of the first two Magellan jams is anything novel. However, after the middle section of Magellan, they play this beautiful little subdued jam prior to the ending lyrics. Beautiful. I actually enjoyed most of the Pilin jam, which is a rarity for me. Allen is on fire and Barber/Magner have some neat call-and-response stuff going on. Most of the Spraypaint jam into Cyclone is very good. Again, pretty basic stuff, but not bad. The jam back into Spraypaint is a major key jam that’s enjoyable, if forgettable. Echoes turns into, as it often does, a marvelous ambient jam. I’m such a sucker for this. It’s spacey, psychedelic, and awesome. The Waves encore is dark and evil the way a Waves jam ought to be. I will absolutely take it to end an above-average show.

Highlights: Humu, Magellan (3), Spraypaint, Echoes**, Waves