May 18, 2018

This show starts with a 10+ minute intro jam. This feels monotonous and like a lot of water treading. First RLH is more of the same, though there’s a bonus of Barber absolutely butchering the slide back into RLH. Wow. The second jam is even MORE of the same. I’m blown away that in 30+ minutes of music, with only about 3 of that being composition, that none of this was remarkable. The first Magellan jam is pretty typical, though the second jam begins with a particularly solid tenacity. This is somehow dancy and tom-heavy at the same time. Around the 19-minute mark, they ditch the toms and this is just a straight-up dance jam. At about the 24-minute mark, Allen drops the e-kick and the band embarks on a very pretty Blissco jam. The Don jam is less than memorable.

Barber begins the second set with some pretty funny banter. Strobelights has no jam. The Pygmy jam is about three minutes and pretty blasé. The Cyclone jam turns into this airy Blissco jam that I actually think they pull off pretty well. The shift to the minor key as they get closer to Buddha is really well done and smooth. Buddha begins with a pounding e-kick from Allen. A good chunk of this jam has Brownstein playing with some bass chords, and I don’t know if this does a whole lot for me. This section feels repetitive and not that interesting. The first HDPF jam is mundane, but the second actually gets a little outside of the box, and turns out pretty nice.

Highlights: Magellan (2*), Cyclone*, HDPF (2)