January 16, 2011

First, as a sidenote, the audio in the Nugs recording for this show is awful. Bass is way too high. Now then. Helix is fine. Nothing out of the ordinary here, and parts are downright boring. The beginning of B&C’s jam has Magner doing some really cool stuff, but frankly Marc is awful here. This is a recurring theme throughout the jam where I think Brownstein is actively uninteresting. Abraxas is truly more of the same. Ultimately, none of this jam is interesting, but I again think the obvious weak point (in an already weak jam) is Brownstein. The entirety of the Feeling Twisted jam is similarly uninteresting. Sigh. The Jigsaw jam is also mediocre, and suddenly it’s setbreak. What an absolute slog.

An unimaginative jam in The Tunnel begins set 2, and the fear of another slog admittedly sets in. Save us Robots, you’re my only hope. This is closer to decent, but still something of a chore to listen to. Waves is more of the same. Ironically, the Robots 2nd jam, a usual thorn in my side, is the best jam of the night thus far, and actually has some great phrasing from Magner, along with creepy melodies aplenty. Wonderful. SJSS is standard. AC2B has a decent peak but not much else. Spy is standard. The 42 encore actually has some really nice jamming, especially the communication between Magner and Barber. But mostly, I’m just glad for this show to be over with.

Highlights: Robots (2*), 42*