October 28, 2022

"Suspended in the Air, The Phillies are in the Show, don't you Feel Better"?

Lovin' the first set. But the 2nd....? How can't you boogie with a filthy Vassillios > Cyclone > Munchkin hour and 20 minute opener...played well.

It's funny, how experience is, the boys relayed back how crappy the 2nd set was. Oofah! I personally can't wait to listen to this one and last night.

If weed puns are a sin, I’ll see you all inhale.

To all of you participating in the Quaalude Moonlight tonight, have fun and stay safe.

ps - glad you had a blast Boo-Ra-Shem! take that good juju and get what's yours. peace.

Touchdowns left and right last night!! Vass->Cyclone got things started off HOT with a bit of an old-school vibe, '09 esque textures and constantly evolving and interesting jamming. Allen began pushing the tempo almost immediately, and there were moments throughout the first set where I wasn't sure if I'd ever heard this band improvise so quickly. The jam and transition into Munchkin was pure filth and kicked off the first sandwich of the night. This was my first time seeing the new material, and holy hell is it fun. You can really tell the band is having a blast with all of it as well. Shocked was strong, and Tourists is just so cool with some vintage Bisco lyrics. The jam into the Munchkin ending was fantastic, and put a hell of an exclamation mark on one of the single best, most engaging sets I've seen.

Set 2 gets us started with an Uber Glue bustout, the first since 2018 and 5th since 2011. Unlike most of the early versions, the band jams directly out of it and treats us to 15 minutes of pure Bisco crack before dropping us into perhaps the strongest of the new Space Train material, Twisted in the Road. This song absolutely has anthem potential, and it was perfectly executed here. By this point, the crowd was firmly in the palm of the band's hand. Barber grips the laces and drops a 60 yard dime directly into Allen's dosed robotic breadbasket, the endzone being Times Square. I love the way this song has a way of materializing out of a peak, pushing the energy higher and higher towards the T-Beam esque drop. More incredibly solid jamming takes us to Running, which has tightened up a good bit in the last year, although I feel like another instrumental landing pad may have served the setlist a bit better here. Running was well played, but the initial jam out may have been the low point of the evening. The drop immediately into a subdued, patient, delicate space, which is usually an area that I love hearing this band explore, but this section just seemed to lack the cohesion and energy of the rest of the show. About halfway through, the band steps back onto the rocket ship and blasts off, audience in tow, on a beautiful journey to a triumphant ending of Twisted in the Road. At this point, the condensed, standalone Helix encore was just a cherry on top of one of the most incredible nights of music I've ever had the privilege to witness. Biscuits are absolutely on another level right now, and for my money there's nobody improvising better at this moment. Time to step on the Rocket Ship, folks.

Highlights: Literally all of it, but Vass->Cyclone->Munchkin felt particularly vintage

MVP's: Allen & The "New" Rich

Notes: Set 2 setlists had a Spraypaint sandwich instead of Twisted.