May 19, 2007

Lai begins with a solid, if fairly straightforward jam. The Helix jam has a hypnotic groove to it as Brownstein plays human sidechain, emphasizing the and of every beat for the first portion of the jam. In the later parts of this jam, Magner has an absolutely wonderful melody that almost sounds like he’s playing the chorus guitar from Reptilia by The Strokes. It’s clearly not that, but has some of the same phrasing and note choice. Regardless, this is awesome. The band drops to half-time after the Crickets track begins. The resulting jam is less interesting than the uptempo portion that preceded it, but this is still generally solid throughout. The band enters the middle of Crickets, but after the peak. Very interesting stuff. The middle jam in Crickets is mostly forgettable. This just never scratches the itch for me. The jam back into Helix is much better, with Marc playing an ominous sounding bassline for most of this. Magner chips in with the pan flute patch, and what results is a solid overall jam.

The Dribble jam to begin the first set is better than most Dribble first jams. I’m not generally a fan of these, but this one has an undeniable energy and intensity. Second jam out of Dribble has some really interesting sounds from Magner littered throughout. This feels like a missed opportunity as they get into the Orch intro way too quickly, but this is a highlight regardless. The jam inside Orch Theme is filler, but the jam out is absolutely phenomenal. This is an ambient/space jam, and the band dissolves fantastically into a spaced out, psychedelic whirlwind of sound. Awesome, awesome stuff. From there, they craft a contemplative theme that is just sublime. Brownstein and Magner carry this jam. So beautiful. The Spacebird and Home Again jams never really get interesting and can be almost skipped in their entirety, save a very small section of Home Again. The Moshi-Fameus jam begins with an ethereal ambient intro, until Allen cuts through the haze with a driving kick patterns. This turns into an uptempo Moshi jam, with some very nice stuff from Magner. Parts of this (the beginning) are much better than other parts of it, but overall this is very nice.

Highlights: Lai, Helix**, Crickets (2), Dribble (1, 2), Orch (2**), Moshi-Fameus*