October 20, 2018

42 is a less than ideal way to start the show, but a 17-minute jam balances that in a major way. This jam obviously has multiple different sections. The first 7 minutes or so are pretty standard fare, with a lot of upper register arps utilized by Magner throughout. This section is decent. Around the 17:30 mark they shift direction and develop some major key foundations. This turns very pretty as it gets close to TVM. TVM first jam is meh. The second jam has a jambandy feel to it for the first several minutes that I actually really enjoy. As they get closer to Orch Theme, they obviously increase pace for the transition. The first Orch Theme jam is really cool, although Brownstein is literally playing a bassline from a Future Rock song. The groove is undeniable though. The second jam also has a great groove, and has a weird little riff from Magner that’s really neat. This isn’t groundbreaking, but I like it a lot regardless.

The Rockafella jam is not bad, not great. The Helix jam has a very eerie, mysterious quality to it. I like this a lot, and everything Magner is doing here is great. Barber could have better direction, but he doesn’t ruin this. They drop into a dissonant, dark, jam around the 9-minute mark that is actually really, really cool. Around the 14-minute mark they embark on another theme, which is also very solid. Feeling Twisted has a mysterious, almost James Bond-y vibe to its jam. This is neat, but only lasts a few minutes. Around the 7-minute mark the band shifts directions significantly. I don’t necessarily care about the rest, though there’s a near build-up right before Rock Candy. The jam out of Rock Candy has a fantastic groove from Brownstein and a great little lick from Barber. They develop this into a nice multi-chord theme that has some awesome melodic phrasing from Magner on the top-end. They ditch this theme for a more “funky” dance jam, and frankly I think the change-up falls flat. First HDPF jam is meh. Second jam actually has some cool stuff in it that I enjoyed. Decent end to the night.

Highlights: 42*, TVM (2), Orch Theme (1, 2), Helix*, HDPF (2)