March 12, 2022

I know I've listened to parts of this show before, but wow. This is incredible. The energy levels are off the charts, but what's most astounding is the mastery of dynamics. The restraint is always just at the right time and in the right amount. Barber's in such fine form I had to remember I wasn't listening to some top shelf 2009 at times. The Steve Martocci stuff in both sets is a really nice Easter Egg now that that private show is now available for public consumption. The common consensus that the second set is better definitely rings true to me, but the first set still ranks among the best of what I've heard from 2022.

That long, patient Spectacle almost doesn't belong with the rest of the show, but even with a rather laid-back peak it exceeds the quality of a mere warm-up. However, the show feels like it really begins in earnest once Brownie hops on the midi bass for Feeling Twisted. From there, the first set gallops at a compelling pace. The communication is 100 percent there--listen to how the Vibes-based Blissco at the end of Rock Candy darkens into Waves.

There are some actually tender passages that emerge in Helicopters that establish a wistful tone that pops up throughout the second set. The composed theme of M1 even sounds a little bittersweet in comparison to the usual. An unusually casual and funky inverted Ladies too gives way to a searching e-drum and Rhodes jam. Right when you'd think the show's energy would wear off in the final stretch, the Buddha>Anthem covers the spectrum of pretty much every high-intensity Bisco mode you can think of.

Call me crazy, but this has to be one of the easiest 5s I've given on a Disco Biscuits show from the 2020s. This one really is not to be missed.

It got downright evil at times especially in the 2nd. Barber's patience was ex-freakin-quisite. The 1st was ok/good/nice moments like the Crack jam into Waves, I thought that section was very old school. I bet pizza money with a buddy on a closing night Palindrome at 25 to 1 and thought maybe, just maybe it was gonna happen! Helix to Helix with a B~>C~>B in the middle. Oh well, that Ladies and the Buddha~>Anthem made up in spades.

What an expensive summer ahead. This ain't no '89 Dead tour on $100. That might cover fuel from Hartford to B-More. Visa don't fail me now. Touchdowns all summer.

Love. There's Always Love. ps: {please don't bring your pets on tour; use a home pet sitting service; if you cannot afford...couch tour} (P.U.P.S)}

S1

Jam into Spectacle is a nice way to start! First jam in Spectacle is standard. Second Spectacle jam is where the goods are. Great leads from Marc. The band takes a little step back to find themselves in Marc's leads and it's off from there. Really fun stuff. Magner adds some really great textures after a few minutes. These hang around for quite some time. Marc gets a bit more elaborative with his playing, but staying in the same theme he's been in for a while. Barber actually takes a bit to find what he really wants to do, but none of this is bad. Eventually the band locks in with Allen really driving this frantic feel. Marc moves over to the midi after this segment creating a darker vibe for the > into Feeling Twisted. Twisted jam actually feels much more dialed in out of the gate than Spectacle did. Marc stays on the midi giving us a supremely electronic feel. (Looked like some tech work was needed on Marc's bass before the drop to Twisted). Barber's themes with Magner's synth work here suit this jam very well. They really build on this nicely. Barber not wasting any room at all. Drop > into Rock Candy works really well. The Rock Candy jam just feels like it has legs from the get-go. Love this feeling. The band parts from the Rock Candy jam for Type II territory. Jon is on the new axe. Band is in full force here for a major tension jam. They break away from this for a nicely blissed out peak. Band stays in this for a bit. Some real ear to ear grinning type of stuff! The band settles from this a bit where Marc starts a different, but yet another, start-stop type of thing. Magner is on piano here as well. Really enjoying this as everyone is still very much dialed in. They break from this for a more smooth cruise type of feel. Magner really driving this cool feel. They sorta fall back into the riff they'd been playing into this which actually works quite well before they taper off into a new, almost bluesy, type of thing. At this point, the band is doing whatever they want and it's working. Weaving in and out of new themes, prior themes, what have you. Great stuff. Barber really enjoying his Ibanez. I must say, I am too. Great peak > Waves. Waves jam is super hot out of the song proper. It's rather frantic, but dialed in. The band is soaring here which eventually slows down to a simmer. Magner moves back to the keys (I'm in the minority here, but I love when he's on keys). Very airy, psychedelic jam here that has a decent build into the ending Spectacle segment.

S2

Helicopters is strong out of the gate. Certainly no time wasted in getting to this jam. Nice build to an eventual drop. Great patience from everyone in this portion of the jam. Allen starts the e-kick which starts the SITA section. It's more of a SITA jam than actual SITA. But damn if it doesn't work. The move out of the clear SITA portion is quite nice. Brownie really leading the way strong here. They eventually speed this back up for the move into M1. Some really strong playing here from everyone before the drop. The jam out of M1 is dirty. This is what I would want from the TBeam songs. Very happy with what they did with this M1. They bring the jam to a sort of simmer / dark-ish place and hang out there for a bit. They ramp it up again, only to back off. But the darker themes remain. This makes way for a dancier segment which Barber shows great patience in eventually the band locks in for a really dancey groove which paves the way for the move to Ladies. This is plenty of fun, even if not mind blowing. Not the greatest > Ladies, but we'll take it. Ladies jam is is pretty slick. Magner with some really interesting sounds in the start. Seems like everyone gels in this Ladies pretty nicely. They almost bring this to a complete halt. Very chill section coming out of this. Allen with the e-kick and Magner with his dreamy sounds really give this jam some nice texture. Patient playing here from Barber. Really good stuff. It's dancey, but very psychedelic at the same time. Can't hate that. They really build on this in a truly infectious way. IMO - Magner's selections throughout this jam are superb. This eventually and very nicely makes its way into Buddha. You can really tell by the entry to the Buddha jam the band is dialed in. This is heavy, semi-dark and a grimey dance party. Just the way Buddha should be. Really sweet build and drop in the middle of this jam. Everything they touch at this point of the night is working. There's so much going on in this Buddha jam, but also so little at the same time. I absolutely love it. Barber is so patient and could take over at really any point but sorta just hangs tight and it works beautifully. Anthem is a great call to tack on here. Barber in full jumping bean mode. I'm all about this. The band is having a blast! Anyone who loves this band just has to dig this point of the show. Ok... gathered my marbles. The Buddha > Anthem segment is absolutely boobs. Don't miss it. The jam out of Anthem is quite enjoyable as well. They move into a really nice blissed out section that eventually paves the way for the move back to Helicopters. Just relentless. Fantastic cap off to a wonderful show.

E

Highwire, totally fine.

Highlights: Spectacle, Rock Candy > Waves, Ladies > Buddha > Anthem > Helicopters