December 05, 2015

With a few tweaks, this could've been a 5/5 show for me but I'm still giving it a pretty hearty 4.5. I'm not a big fan of Dub Dribble generally, so I was a bit surprised when a lovely, brittle jam picks up out of it. From there, the first set only gets better. I can't find fault with anything in the Don sandwich. The first Mr. Don segment carries more than a whiff of Biscuits 1.0 nostalgia to my ears, but in the best possible way. Allen is laying down a driving but not frantic beat as the tension builds into the inverted DTTB. The hypnotic, mid-tempo DTTB jam takes a little while to find its way but it's buttery and spacey enough not to overstay its welcome. It peaks into Astronaut, which in itself is a squiggly stomp.

The second set is nearly just as good, although everyone else is correct in their assessment that the nearly half hour long Magellan is the weakest link. The Crystal Ball sandwich is just as incredible of a segment as the Mr. Don sandwich in the first set, perhaps even moreso since it's a little more concise. Once again, the first Crystal jam gives me a lot of 1.0 nostalgia given the amount of restraint from both Allen and Barber. I can hardly think of any more gentle entries into Abyss than what we get here, which builds up into something more ferocious than anything else in this setlist even if it's not as ferocious as a standard Abyss. As soon as it hits its stride, it dissipates back into atmospherics until climaxing into the second half of Crystal Ball which gets downright apocalyptic. There's so many shifting moods in this sandwich, but nothing ever feels forced or abrupt. I was so psyched to see this show closed on such a long Magellan, but it's definitely disappointing. It's not /bad/, but it could've been half as long. It never strays all that far out of Type 1 territory, and there are a few times Barber in particular seems to just be hitting a wall. Even with this saggy ending, this is a largely incredible show I've added to my regular rotation.

1st set is tremendously fun. A great, relaxed show with something for every fan. Just love the MIndless Dub, I wish they would throw it in more these daze. That Mr.Don solo at around 10 minutes onward is so good I got wood. while the 2nd set doesn't compare to the 1st, it still has redeemable qualities fo' sure....the highlight being Crystal Ball ~> Abyss. The Abyss is especially strong. A very important time in my life as this was going on I was getting off of a 14 1/2 year heroin/opiate addiction...Dec.04 being the official day of the Wharf Rats, the day (era) where I got my second chance.

Btw, all of these shows, in the big theatre, were video taped with 2 cameras. Where are they?

The Dominican Daze strain appropriate to get lit right away for the 1st set::: [Amnesia Haze] this popular sativa dominant hybrid can really bring you straight to the arms of the creator. with percentages reaching the mid 20's in THC, this one is nice and toasty. If you don't overdue it you will get higher and higher yet won't reach the couch-lock or paranoia noise in your head situation. Instead energetic euphoria and concentration will delight you. great for mid grade enthusiasts too. Last weekend I successfully assembled my mountain bike while on this stuff...what a joy. Does it matter that my seat is on backwards? :) or/and:::: [Mendo Queen] the child of 2 rockstars 'Mendo Purps' and 'Crystal Locomotive' Just please buy an 1/8th and report back. WOW!!

be well...whatever it takes.

This show is all really about the 1st Inverted DTTB after 20yrs since it’s debut. This jam is amazing and a must hear, absolutely ragin’ The 2/3/17 monster is the only other inv DTTB & these 2 jams prove they should they just always play it this way, so much intensity & energy! A jam of the year in my book, you’ll be glad u checked this out.

Dub Dribble is a decent starter. The first jam is pretty forgettable for the first few minutes, but around the 9-minute mark they swap this more generic sound for a beautiful Blissco jam. This is remarkably pretty. The first few minutes of the Don jam are a pretty simple major key jam that doesn’t move the needle much. Around the 11-minute mark, they switch into a minor key, spacey dance jam. This jam evolves and has a multi-chord progression that the entire band seems locked in around. This has a great groove to it, and there’s some nice interplay between Magner and Barber. The DTTB jam is phenomenal. This has such a great groove, and the entire band is firing on all cylinders. Brownstein in particular just absolutely dominates this jam. Love, love, love this. Dark, dancy, textural, awesome. The Astronaut jam winds up going down much of the same road. This is again, dancy, textural, very cool, and has an interesting groove to it.

Konkrete is a song I secretly love. The Ott remix is decent, although them playing it is a little weird. The Crystal Ball jam is okay. I think it’s generally pretty boring, though as they get closer to Abyss, the interest picks up quite a bit. Ultimately, this isn’t enough for me to call this a highlight, but at least it wasn’t a total loss. The Abyss jam has some great phrasing from Barber, and his tone is gorgeous as well. This jam isn’t on the same level as basically anything from the first set, but it’s very solid regardless. The second Crystal Ball jam is a fairly quick type 1. Neither Magellan jam does much for me, and they’re both very, very long. The Helix encore is only 8 minutes long, but they hit on a decent jam immediately out of the composition. This isn’t what I would call I highlight necessarily, but only because frankly I think Barber gets into the “end of jam” energy a little too quickly for my tastes.

Highlights: Dribble**, Mr. Don, DTTB**, Astronaut*, Abyss

First set is A+ Biscuits. Dub Dribble set the island/beach mood perfectly. Highlight of the set is Don > first ever inverted Down to the Bottom. After two preceding mediocre Holidaze sets, they blew a lot of us away on the beach that night. Second set is solid but first set is way better.

One amazing part of the show was that they were supposed to be done at 3:00am, but by that time they were starting Magellan. This version was unfortunately pretty weak, but it started pouring rain quite heavily right before the peak and led to a super powerful experience on the beach, high winds and all.

I've been seeing the Biscuits since 2007, and I've noticed that while the crowds give them loud ovations right after a set, they rarely (usually never) make any noise during encore breaks. Well on the beach that night, they finished up their set around 3:40am and we were all expecting them to be done since it was forty minutes past their scheduled ending. We all cheered like crazy for SIX minutes straight and they came out and encored with Helicopters. Just one of those perfect Holidaze moments I'll never forget.