The penultimate Conspirator cover by debut date and the distant second place in play count, Boom Shanker is arguably the strangest of the four. While Orch Theme, Commercial Amen, and Liquid Handcuffs all provide crowd-pleasing, high energy electronica, Boom Shanker is typically a mellow dub vehicle. Because of its vastly different sound, it was polarizing to many fans at the time of its debut at the second night of Camp Bisco V, with many hating it and many others cheering for the new era of Biscuits sound that it portended.\r

Boom Shanker was far from a staple during the fall tour, when it was played on average about once every five shows. Most of these versions are solid and showcase a large jam potential. The first has an extended, dreamy dub jam and a spacey outro. Most of the fall versions have at least a segue in or out. Of the 06 versions, best known is probably 9/23/06, which segues into a full-blown Basis intro.\r

2007 saw the song come into its own decisively. 2/17/07 opens with a particularly notable version, the first to break the type one mold. Here, the usual dub vehicle quickly departs for an infectious untz theme. Besides fall 06, Boom Shanker saw most consistent play in spring/summer 07, when it was played about once every seven shows. Of these, 6/9/07 (part of a massive set two medley at Starscape) and 8/16/07 (first night of Camp Bisco VI) are probably best known, but 7/10/07, featuring a fast paced minimalist jam into the rare Save the Robots intro, should be on any listener’s radar. Despite only being played once over the legendary fall tour of 2007 (in probably the most forgettable show), Boom Shanker closed out the year strong, with two highly regarded performances in December: 12/14/07 at the first Holidaze, and 12/28/07 during the New Year’s Run.\r

From 2008-2010, the band eased up on Boom Shanker and it became even more of a rarity. The three extant versions from 2008 are mostly unremarkable, but the song came back in a big way on 9/24/09 after a gap of 76 shows. The famous “Shimmy Shanker” sandwich is universally acclaimed as the greatest Boom Shanker ever played, and one of the greatest Biscuits segments of all time. The song made a few more appearances in 2009 and early 2010, and then, around the same time as two of the other three Conspirator originals, was retired.\r

Possibly due to Conspirator backlash, or possibly for some other reason, Boom Shanker stayed on the shelf for almost eight years, until it was finally busted out on 4/20/18 after 262 shows. It was played a few more times from then to the present, probably most notably on 7/19/19 when the band played a second “Shimmy Shanker” sandwich. It remains a perennial rarity, appearing every 1-2 years since its 2018 bustout.\r

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December 28, 2009