December 30, 2017

KOTW is standard. This Magellan is not awful, but it does virtually nothing to grab me. Magellan tends to be one song that rarely moves me in any way. The Shelby jam is somewhat milquetoast, though interestingly they do a fakeout of the peak, and head elsewhere. This eventually leads to the tom-heavy section of Crystal Ball, and while the segue is neat, the improv which proceeds it leaves me wanting more. This feels a lot like treading water, and the band just kills a lot of time here feeling their way from Shelby to Ball. Meh. After a few minutes of uninteresting breakbeat jamming, Crystal Ball switches to an uptempo dance jam, and for the first time this show I feel genuinely engaged. Spraypaint gets extended significantly, and there’s a portion of this jam that has a nice major key jam reminiscent of Kamaole Sands. I like this, even if it’s not the most interesting thing in the world. The Sound One jam is generally uninteresting until about the 10-minute mark. Barber switches to a great effect, and he has this haunting riff that he comes up with that fits perfectly. I really like this a lot.

Confrontation begins the second set with a jam that features the band trying to get a little too cute with the jam. There’s some decent communication here, but the ideas they’re communicating are mediocre at best, and Barber seems to be all over the place. Munchkin on the other hand has a great little melody from Magner. This turns into a spacey dance jam with Magner dancing around in the upper registers with a playful little riff. The Sweating Bullets jam features Magner playing around with a neat little arp, while Barber and Brownstein combine their efforts for a solid foundation. Rio is standard.

Highlights: Crystal Ball, Spraypaint, Sound One, Munchkin, Sweating Bullets