June 08, 2008

Kamaole Sands to begin the show has a breakbeat jam that has Barber doing some aimless noodling for a good portion. Allen has some neat stuff going on here and there, but for the most part this jam just left me feeling bored. Lunar begins with a straightahead trance jam, with Allen using the e-kick throughout. This is solid, and while I enjoyed this as a dance party jam, there’s not much depth to it. I’ve seen people call this the best Lunar Pursuit ever. For me, not so much. It’s a solid jam to be sure, and there’s definitely a You and I tease from Brownstein (pre-debut) during this, which is very neat as well. Beyond that, this is just a dance jam. The Boop “funk” jam is, as usual during this era, boring as anything. That said, the jam out is extremely interesting. They initially start with the usual trance, but eventually drop this down to a slower beat around 14:30. Basically everything from this point is absolutely fantastic. This is a wonderful, odyssean sound, with a real exploratory feel to it. Spacey psychedelia is the name of the game here, and in a really cool way. Around the 19-minute mark, they start shifting uptempo, and there’s a really cool, sort of off-kilter jam that they craft. Magner has this synth that he keeps detuning in an unsettling way, and I enjoyed every second of this. The jam out of SRB is a little disappointing. Magner has an absolutely awesome dissonant theme, but nobody seems to come along with him and before too long they drop into Air Song. Missed opportunity. The jam out of Air Song and back into Kamaole is, unfortunately, jambandy and forgettable.

The first HDPF takes a rare departure from the usual filler jam and has some really interesting stuff going on. Magner and Barber have some cool interplay, and this is evocative of some 1.0 HDPF first jams with Magner’s textural synth effects. Nothing revolutionary, but very cool. Oddly enough, the second jam (usually my favorite of the two) feels meandering and directionless, though they at least finish strong. The jam out of Morph begins with the usual funk jam, but quickly changes into something more unique. Magner comes in with a bunch of cool textural effects. The band eventually shifts into an uptempo jam. This is awesome throughout. The first jam in Spaga is mostly well-played by everybody, but the theme itself just does nothing for me. The second jam in Spaga morphs (no pun intended) into something really interesting. This is very Magner heavy, and he goes deep into his bag of tricks with some neat sounds as the band solidifies a tight pocket around him, steadily evolving as they get closer and closer to the Morph ending. Very neat stuff. Around the very end of the Spaga track, they take this down to almost nothing, with just Magner playing some arp patches. After this dropout, the return and build is basically all a Morph ending jam, but this is still very cool throughout. The Spraypaint jam just never does anything interesting at all, despite several hints that it might, and The City encore is jamless.

Highlights: Lunar, Boop (2**), HDPF (1), Morph**, Spaga (2*)

<> Favorite 2008 show <>

{{{The 2nd KS jam to end the 1st set, is one of the most chilling, thrilling and perfectly executed jams ever!!!!!!!!! Remember to go there asap. It is truly Barber in perfection.}}}

From opener through encore, it's my crusty opinion that this is the most consistently well played show of the year. There aren't any bad songs, in fact, it's all blackjack. It is also my crusty opinion that the magic, consistency, style and confidence of 2009 started here. (June '08) I mean, afterwards, Camp was awesome, Jamaica was terrific and the New Year's run, minus 2 dull sets was fire...especially 27, 28 & 30th. Lastly, Big Red Aucoin was not the new guy anymore but instead a pivotal 1/4 of the best band from Philly since The Dead Milkmen, Byard Lancaster or David Bromberg; after absolutely slaying the entire year of 2007 it was clear we had a unicorn in the band. Such a special human being. A true student turned master in every sense. I do want to see him slam a 6 foot ride cymbal once in a while.

A+ recording. A+ playing. A+ Lebanese red-wrap hashish

the Barbershop. MVP and on another level

we all have our idiosyncratic reasons for loving a show more than others and / or way more than other people. This is a show I adore and have played a lot since 2008. June '08 is a very good month in Biscoville.

after a standard KS(great energy still and a GREAT Biscuits show opener) it's a straight fire set: ~> Lunar Pursuit ~> Little Betty Boop (inv) > Shem-Rah Boo (unf) > Air Song (unf) > Kamaole Sands = A+ You have it all here in this hour section. The LP is a terrific beginning of show/set vehicle that feels so good(sorta like "2001" openers by PHiSH) and when it has such good friends as Betty(this is where everything went into overdrive, doubling the funk and really take off; amazing solos!!) , Shem, AS and Kamaole end jam;which is phenomenal!! Untz, psychedelia, jamtronica, DnB, space rock, prog rock, fusion, porn soundtracks, and future jazz are all here in the 1st. The "Lunar ~> Boop ~> Shem ~> AirSong" seg is an hour of pure heaven.

In the 2nd, House Dog is amazingly nice ; Magner crunches these great wind sweeps and 'lil pumkin'-like (a cool small orange keyboard, like Page's) soul grooves. In between the holy chime bells from Allen and the phenomenal bass patterns, Mr. Magner is a sonic minimalist's dream come true. He seems to invoke both a Norse fantasy soundtrack and long Psychedelic Space Rock themes in which his mates can add what they do best. Magner is not only the MVP of this version but also a 33rd degree Honorary Member of the Supreme Council, Deputy for the State of Psycheldelphia. And that ending jam!? "Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!" Brownie, just a beast the whole show, in your face suggesting the segues perfectly at the perfect time a la Spaga here in the Morph hoagie...great timing call. His mastery of tempo for any song at any time is wizardly. ~Three Square Beds and a Meal For the Night~

Speaking of Spaga. An A+ version perhaps only falling short of the April 11 awesomeness in New York as the year's best. The beat is a tad different as is the tempo (I'm pretty sure lol), it seems a little faster, I mean Allen is working it back there! This Morph outro jam ~> Spaga has enormous testes. Do me a favor? Listen to Allen from 5:55 for a few minutes. It's beyond a "cool DnB beat", it's incredible! He's more isolated here that's why I suggest it, you really hear and feel his ridiculousness. If Spaga isn't the most difficult drum section to master then it's damn close. Spraypaint is very good too. Then ending works hard and works well. note: not much to be critical about this night to be honest.

Big fan of The City as an encore. Nice tight "normal" version. Beautiful song to crawl away from the show towards a turkey-avocado club.

Sometimes you have to put away the technical highlight reviews and just let it all sit on your face like a Friday night mistake you brought back home from the bar.

God Bless June 2008, God Bless Bisco and God Bless you.

"Giant bags of MOLLY, wrapped in Uniform."

• some dude