April 24, 2009

There’s a short middle jam in Crystal Ball that is fine, if forgettable. The outro jam comes from the start/stop section of the composition, which is a really cool place to jam out. The jam itself is fairly short, nothing that sticks out too much. The jam in Voices initially begins as sort of a wall of sound, and quickly shifts into an uptempo DNB jam. This was directionless and sort of all over the place, though it gets markedly more purposeful around the time the band switches to the Overture track. The last few minutes were very solid at least as far as DNB jams go. I seem to recall a lot of people going crazy for this version of Voices when it happened, but other than being a highlight, I’m not blown away. Overture begins with the typical DNB jam, and I didn’t hate a lot of it. The band was at least mostly focused, and attempting to play some thematic stuff. However, like many DNB jams, this just doesn’t totally land for me. That said, around the 15:00 mark the band drops to half-time, and embarks on a happy-go-lucky, major key Blissco theme. Magner in particular is absolutely fantastic here, with some absolutely wonderful melodic work. He’s utilizing a synth with the LFO turned way up, and the resulting sound is glorious. After a few minutes of this, they shift back into a minor key around the beginning of the Voices track. The next three minutes or so are another very cool theme, with some great interplay between Magner and Barber. This leads to the Voices return, which is very well done. All around, fantastic jam.

Rivers begins the second set with the typical 2-3 minute jam, nothing new here. Ladies begins with a straightforward dance jam, although around the 4:45 mark, Magner busts out the Gates of Hell patch. Always a fan favorite. The Gates of Hell section lasts only a minute or two, and then something really interesting happens. Around 6:30, Barber comes up with a neat theme with a second half that resolves to the root in measures seven and eight. This is similar (in concept, not in terms of the themes) to the heavily lauded 04/20/09 Crickets jam. Normally, Brownstein would quarterback this sort of thing, but in this case it’s Barber. Brownstein quickly hears what Barber is doing, and by the next go round on the theme, Brownstein is already working to figure out the bassline that goes along with this hook. Brownstein has a little trouble figuring out this progression for some reason, but around the 7:35 mark he gets it and is locked in. After locking this in, Magner’s counter-melody becomes more refined as well. At the 8:06 mark, Barber comes up with a fantastic, syncopated chord hook that’s so, so cool. How he comes up with this stuff on the spot, I’ll never know. By now, the entire band has turned this into a remarkably cohesive thematic jam. The jam is odyssean and tells a great story, with an almost galloping feel to it. After a minute or so of this new hook, Barber starts playing a rapid-fire riff instead for a bit which he somehow develops into another fantastic hook. Another minute or so of this and the band begins a big crescendo, with Magner playing some lush string chords as the backdrop, and Barber’s soaring guitar screams atop this. This is absolutely awesome in every way, and a very underrated jam that doesn’t get talked about a lot. The remainder of the Ladies track the band shifts into a much darker theme, punctuated by dissonant plucks from Barber. Magner initially begins this darker section with an almost circus-like lead, but eventually turns to a harder sync lead. The remainder of this jam is very obviously a leading to Orch Theme, but I really enjoyed it regardless. The first few minutes of the Orch Theme jam are fairly straightforward, and the band feels like they’re just going into the ending of Orch. Instead, at the 7:30 mark, they head elsewhere, and Allen throws in a healthy dose of thirst quenchers. From here, they continue to increase in tempo and begin the build to Waves. Other than being fast and dark, there’s really nothing redeeming about this jam. At times, I felt bored waiting for the peak to come. Waves is jammed out of the middle once again, and this version is just particularly boring. Brownstein eventually gets into slap bass section, and it sounds like it could lead into Shem-Rah Boo, but obviously does not. Instead, they shift back uptempo again toward the ending of Ladies. While I thought the peak was well-done, the jam leading into it is nothing special. Fiddler has a very short jam. This is fine. The 7-11 jam comes out of the “towel” section, and has a weird Highwire jam/fake out. Then they play the middle of 7-11, then they actually go into Highwire. Okay then. The first TVM jam is a straightforward type 1 jam. The second begins with way too much of The Very Funk, and eventually shifts uptempo for a switch back into the ending of Spacebird. This was largely forgettable, and I thought Brownstein telegraphed the ending for way too long

Highlights: Voices, Overture**, Ladies**

~~High....lights at the Mad~~ Thank You for the remaster Mr. Steele!

The 'Crystal Ball' is filled with good omen towards the night ahead, then segues into 'Voices' fantasticly. Love this combo and it's a long, patient handoff. Nice.

Another clean segue into the 'Overture' jam...dyslexicly. Truly another nice transition. 'Overture' gets played a lot but in this dys. mode, it's much more interesting. Ohhhh mama! Magner is absolutely wonderful, the mvp, as he and Allen play the boomerang jam. Complimenting each other nicely while Barber gets pretty trippy...or trip beautifully depending on what Bardo you are currently living in. It's only been 30 years but I think I'm coming around on this tune ;)

The boogie shuffle and psychedelic disco expression comes in full steam with the "Ladies" section of the evening. 'Ladies ~> Orch Theme ~> Above The Waves(middle) ~> Ladies' This is primo 2009 Biscuits at their finest. Simply stated as "In this time period, these minor miracles were the norm." At around the 9 min mark of Ladies, the doors of heaven open wide as the jam is now in Blissland. I can't really explain but to say you get a feeling of joy, hope and amazement. Btw, Allen's best work of the night (IMO). Great tune to dance and lose your shit to. As Ladies end, Mags/Allen crescendo a tribal jam that takes us right into 'Orch'. Just another killer version. This is a high energy segment to be sure. Holy shit does this Orch cruise! At around the 7 min mark (out of 11mins) the "livetronica" kicks it into the last ride of Ladies part one. Everyone is communicating something meaningful without stepping on their mates' feet. That is Bisco magic. No other will do.

We're in the jam section of 'Waves' now, still going 70mph from the still smoking crater left behind by Orch. Barber is going nuts!! everyone is! Peak after peak. A++ version; even if it is partial. "The airship lifting off the ground..." At 12 mins they enter the offramp direction back into the end of Ladies. This Ladies section alone is worth the show but there is so much more.

I love Fiddler, it's a gorgeous song and the effort is full on here. Beautiful jam section. Please give us a 30 minute Fiddler, inverted and a focal point of a particular set. I am sure they can do it. One can dream eh?

8.5 out of 10 10 for sound and 3 out of 10 for the 'reviewer' :)

much love,