November 03, 2007

7-11 begins with a very short “towel” jam that is so short I don’t think it really even counts as a jam. However, the main jam gets into fast, dark trance immediately. This is solid, although mostly the stuff in the minutes immediately before the switch to Jigsaw. Jigsaw itself features two forgettable “chase” jams, and a dub jam. The dub jam is, interestingly enough, the best of these three. Magner and Barber have some neat interplay, and a few melodies from Magner are particularly neat. The Spacebird jam here is considered an all-timer, and rightfully so. The band gets weird, dark, and digital. Magner’s creepy synth interplayed with Barber’s amateur-ish MIDI keyboard actually works to the band’s benefit, and they craft a truly unique jam, with an off-kilter, unusual feel to it. The segue into Abraxas is very well-done, as well. The jam out of Abraxas doesn’t do much for me, and feels a little forced (particularly the switch back to Spacebird).

The second set begins with something rare – a very interesting Reactor jam! The band crafts a dark, ominous jam into the beginning of Lai. This is really cool, and they manage to make this version of Reactor dark without it becoming boring. The Lai jam quickly turns into an uptempo dance jam. Barber hops on MIDI keyboard for a bit, and again this works really well for the band. I enjoyed basically this entire jam, especially the portions that were a little bit more on the minimalist side. As they hit the Helicopters track on the soundboard, Barber has this infectious little riff that is just classic Barber. Clever, simple, and he builds on it well. The jam out of Helicopters is solid, but the real great stuff here is the ambient dissolve before starting Magellan. This gets spacey and psychedelic in a really cool way. Fantastic, awesome stuff. The jam out of Magellan gets a little crazy, particularly Magner and Barber. Allen also absolutely demolishes this as the band switches from a tom-heavy jam to an extremely fast, cacophonous trance jam. This is dark and great. Spraypaint goes nowhere and does nothing. The jam in Shelby is another fantastic jam, and Barber’s limitations on MIDI keyboard are once again really useful. He chimes in with these haunting swells that fit the vibe of this jam so well. This is creepy and has a really neat eerie quality to it. At one point Allen drops to half-time and switches to a breakbeat, and Barber continues playing MIDI keyboard. This has a really digital quality to it, and they maintain the dark, ominous feel throughout. Awesome stuff, and a standout in an already awesome show. The encore features the first ever unfinished Chemical Warfare Brigade, and while the improv here is nothing interesting, it’s a great capstone to a marvelous show.

Highlights: Jigsaw (3), SBMC**, Reactor*, Lai**, Helix**, Magellan*, Shelby**