February 01, 2019

Lai is forgettable, although I love seeing Onamae Wa on a setlist. Boop starts out with a great groove, but then they switch up into the rehearsed “Shem-Rah” jam that they used throughout 2019, which later became Rocket Science. I think this is one of the more fun instances, but I just don’t get a whole lot out of hearing the same jam numerous times. The second Boop jam is pretty much the same 2nd Boop jam that’s been played a billion times, as is the 1st Spaga jam. The 2nd Spaga jam isn’t as bad, though that’s not saying much. Additionally, the transition into Abraxas is so horribly butchered it hurts. I don’t often comment on the actual compositions, but holy hell this is painful. The Abraxas jam is nothing special. KOTW has a decent jam coming out of it, and then they inexplicably jump back into the Rocket Science jam. Why? To what end? The WLTP jam is fine, but it’s a little too meander-y for my tastes. And then – SHADOW! God I love this tune, and I wish they’d have done more with it. Could’ve been an absolute monster. This Shadow actually winds up in this weird, happy-go-lucky jam that I enjoyed more than I probably should have. Caterpillar is jammed into the beginning, which is always nice. The jam out of Caterpillar is solid, if shorter than I’d like. Barber has some great phrasing here that I like a lot. This almost feels like a really slowed down Shelby peak. I like it. Bombs has some weird, pre-composed chord progression jam that I don’t see the appeal of at all. However, once they finally branch out into some actual improv, they hit a great theme, buoyed by Magner and Barber’s interplay. Who would have thought that this band is better at playing real improv than fake, pre-rehearsed improv? Home Again is fine.

Highlights: Shadow*, Caterpillar, Bombs*