Hey folks and welcome to Percy Hill month at Tape Cases. Keep sending in those tape reviews, reflections and comments. This is really your column, and ultimately your magazine, so contribute! This month's Band P offer goes to Dylan Dowe. Now on to the music.

Percy Hill 11/18/98 The Cabooze Minneapolis
Side A: Beneath the Cover, Don't Think About It, Another Air, 313, Been So Long
Side B: Ammonium Maze, Sun Machine, Chrissy Reid, Casa De Vino > Slave
By Jocelyn jocelyn_russell@yahoo.com

When we got this tape it was like manna from heaven. I had been playing the Color in Bloom cd constantly all summer, at least 2 times a day. We had both been trying to get tapes for a long while and when we finally scored this tape, well I already said what that was like. It might not be the best tape we have (that would be the Union College), but it was the first and it has some of my all time favorite songs. I know that Sun Machine is a crowd pleaser, but it is still some of the best ear candy around, this version is particularly good and the end jam is just what I need to get me smiling in the morning. Actually there have been quite a number of times that I have been listening to it on the subway to school in the morning and I have to remind myself that I am in public and shaking my booty is not the best idea. For a time listening to this first thing in the morning was the only way I could face my nasty graduate school chums. The Chrissy Reid is also extremely enjoyable. This is one of the songs that I always enjoy hearing, but I don't wait for it with baited breath. But this version is so sweet and smooth and hypnotic with the Leslie going, I just smile. Nate just does it for me every time. 313 is one of my all time favorite songs and I have yet to find a version that I don't love.

Percy Hill, The Paradise, Boston, MA 2/18/99 Set I,
SBD 1 < MD, A+
Side A: Trocadreo > Ammonium Maze, Setting the Boat Adrift, Sun Machine, Soggy Weather Skunk, 313
Side B: Another Air*+#, Masterful Remainder*, Into the Mystic*, Slave*^, Way Back Home*^, Chrissy Reid*^ w/ Zach Wilson
* Acoustic
+ w/ only Joe and Aaron on Guitar
# first performance
^ w/ John Farrell on violin

Just about a year ago I received a copy of Percy Hill's "Color in Bloom" as a part of a membership drive at a public radio station. I listened to it incessantly, in a way I haven't listened to a disc (or tape) since I was in eighth grade. Aside from the actual quality of the disc, which shines as one of the best produced and engineered records I have ever heard, the smooth pseudo-psychedelic, pseudo-funk sounds that emanate from this quartet unearthed a musical pleasure center that I didn't know I had. I have seen the band six times since then, but have found tapes to be hard to come by. And I'm not the only one; the discussion group on Percy's web site is repeatedly home to many grovels for tapes. This is definitely an assignment for all the tapers out there. A few leaks from the band itself would be nice also. However, this tape is a real gem, as is its second set counterpart. While the first side of this tape has some great stuff to offer, it's the acoustic mini-set on the second side that really bears discussion. Another Air is beautiful, the duo of Joe and John filling out the sound perfectly. There is something about the resonance of a properly broadcast acoustic guitar that gets me every time. Check out the East to Slip on the Bob and Rob live disc for a great example of what I'm talking about. Masterful Reminder is good, and because it's the only copy I have on tape, I think it's great. I'm not a Van Morrison fan at all, but Into the Mystic receives some wonderfully soulful treatment. It seems to blend in perfectly with the rest of the acoustic portion of the set.

The Slave (Self Promoted) is where things really light up. Some of you have probably had the following experience. You had heard multiple versions of Deep Elm Blues, including stuff from 70, the 80 acoustic sets and maybe something from the Jerry Acoustic tour of 86. It's a good, folky song, but it doesn't particularly stand out from All Around This World or songs along that vein. Then someone plays the acoustic set from 5/2/70 for you. That Deep Elm takes things in a whole different direction. It snakes and slides along a new groove, and you can't help but be slack jawed. The song forever has a different persona, something more sensual and attractive. The Slave on this tape is similar because, even though Slave is a great song when electrified, this one is so very different and full of texture that it's almost a different tune altogether. Joe's brother John adds a lot to the mix; he plays the intro lines that Nate usually does on organ and it sounds spectacular. Rich and haunting. Aaron nails his vocals perfectly, with extra singing that just moves you along. He really plays off of Joe and John's playing. The groove is slow and heavy, John really shining. It is simply one of the most incredible pieces of music that I've ever heard. The short jam starts with great conga work before Nate launches in with a salsa piano rift that wiggles through the end of the song. The Way Back Home follow up also features a lush sound and perfect vocals. If I have one problem with Percy Hill, it's singing off key on occasion, but not here. There is also a beautiful jam, led by Nate showing off his ivory skills- not just an organ man. The end jam lets the Farrell brothers go at it a bit, Joe singing away from his mic. The Chrissy Reid that ends the set has a pair of short cuts in it. Too bad, because the Paul Simon-y song does well under the acoustic treatment.

Percy Hill 3-5-99 Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, Ma
Best audience tape that I think I have ever heard.

Set list: When I Go, The Now, 313, Molly's Waltz, Masterful Reminder, Beneath the Cover, Make Believe, Wrong Side, Casa De Vino>>Slave(Self-Promoted), Way Back Home, Down Under, Ammonium Maze E: Golden Bottle

By Mush mush72@aol.com

Up until a month ago, this was my favorite Percy Hill show. Wonderfully played throughout the entire evening. It showed their whole range of styles. Old and new. Funky and neo-hippie. Guitar rock and keyboard soul. It all came together. Songs like the Now and Wrong Side were in their respective infancies, while Molly's Waltz and Way Back Home take you back to the 6-piece days. It's all in there. Golden Bottle was played for, as Nate put it, "all of the old school Percy fans out there- you know who you are." If there is one highlight, or one section of this show to single out, take from Make Believe>>Way Back Home. Make Believe is just a beautiful tune. They sometimes have a hard time hitting the vocals just right, but it's still great. The only disappointment is that Joe breaks a string right at the beginning of his solo and has to bail out. Nate fills in as Joe goes for the backup guitar. Wrong Side was just fantastic. One of my favorite tunes. The middle section just absolutely soars. Aaron plays the drums as if his hands were floating, just grazing the cymbals and Joe plays these air chords and Nate just blows the roof off with a keyboard solo. In the previous couple of shows that I had seen, Casa De Vino had been drawn out and twisted. This was no exception. Aaron's drumbeats would switch up every couple minutes, while Joe's guitar screamed and Nate was making guitar-like wah-wah sounds from his clavinet. Casa melted into an Invisible Sun jam then back into Casa, then into Slave. Fantastic stuff. Way Back Home took us old-school Percy fans back to the way things were with a touch of the way things were going to be from here on out. That whole segment is about 50 minutes long and certainly got a lot of listening to on roadtrips last year.

Percy Hill, 7/11/99, Meadow Brook Farm, Gifford, NH
By Dylan Dowe
discodemon313@yahoo.com

(Editor's note: This isn't a tape review, but is of interest since it is an unrecorded performance.)

I have many fond memories of the 99 summer tour. That tour brought them to another level of playing and though many people rave about Percy Hill's New York shows (which I'm sure are great)I believe that they play the best on their home turf. I'm going to tell you about a show that took place July 11th 1999 at Meadow Brook Farm in Gilford, New Hampshire. To describe the setting picture this, a 5,000 seat venue and only about 50 people were there. Nestled in the middle of the New Hampsha' woods a stones throw away from Lake Winnipesaukee in the heart of New Hampshire's exclusive lakes region. To get to the show review now, we arrived at the show after it had already started they were playing "Sunrise" a solid song that was part of 1993's "Setting the Boat Adrift" (Percy Hill's debut) and though only two members remain from the original line-up it still is a treat to hear. Then an explosive "Sun Machine" this is what broke the ice and got people groovin' Nate's clav and Joe's funky guitar melded perfectly with John's Bass and Aaron's hi-hat laden beats for the always welcome outro of the song. Next I believe was the jazzy number they call "Make Believe" written and sung by Aaron Katz a nice but mellow song with a deceptive guitar solo that builds the song up tempo that leads way to the Hammond driven keyboard solo then it slows back down for a dreamy ending that adds to the song's elegance. "Golden Bottle" came next with guitarist Joe Farrell's brother sitting in on the fiddle a definite highlight of the show. "Chrissy Reid" followed, a Paul Simon type song (sorry for the direct comparison) penned by Katz this song is a crowd favorite that is played often. Then an Aaron Katz newbie was played next the song was titled "The Strongest Current" this was a great tune great chorus, great moog work by Nate, and just an overall nicely arranged song. "Million Days" followed, an ol' school Percy song that under went a funk change during the change of the line-up. Overall a nice touch. "Setting the Boat Adrift" an absolute masterpiece and has been in the bands rotation since their start in 1993.The final song(s) played were Tekken>Casa de Vino > Slave(self-promoted) This series of tunes I'll never forget. Tekken is an ambient jam that many PH fans title Tekken because of the jam's techno influence. Anyway, it starts off with Nate's clav then Katz's brilliant drum-work John's Bass pedals and Joe's experimental guitar work to form this Floyd-esque techno that lasted about 10 minutes then finally Casa de Vino, a Latin influenced instrumental written by Nate followed but it kept the same tempo this lasted 10 minutes or so. Then Casa finally gave way to Slave a disco song that ended the show on an up-beat and pleasant note the whole jam lasted about 30 minutes. A great show that only 50 people saw it no tapers and no Encore.

Percy Hill, January 15, 2000, Union College,
Schenectady, New York

I'm digital, so I'm doing this by set, not by side a/side b

Set I: Earth Slow, Slave (Self-Promoted), Sun Machine, Jasper, Chrissy Reid, Color in Bloom (Techno)

Set II: Wrong Side, Down Under, Jam>Fallen, Rush Hour Traffic>Casa De Vino>Light Up or Leave Me Alone>Rush Hour Traffic, Soul Sister, Open Up, The Now E: 313

By Mush mush72@aol.com

After a once-off techno-dance show, in September of 1999, performed under the name Geminatrix, Percy Hill began to experiment with dance and trance rhythms to add a new dimension to their shows. This show opened with one such tune. Earth Slow was a hypnotic groove. As the name implied, it is a bit slower than you might think of when the term "techno" is used to describe music. But they employed their strengths to build a great opening to the show. Nate Wilson playing his Moog synthesizer. Joe Farrell creating feedback on the guitar. And the rhythm section of John Leccese and Aaron Katz laying a solid rhythm. From here, comes what could be they're most recognizable tune, Slave (Self-Promoted), instantly shift from the trance of Earth Slow to the upbeat jazzy-funky sounds that has built they new fan base. Another crowd favorite, Sun Machine begins and goes through its paces when all of the sudden there is no bass. Equipment malfunction? Nope. It seems that, be design, Leccese stops playing the bass and Nate begins a new free-form melody on the Moog. Aaron, cueing into what Nate is doing, starts a completely new beat as John begins building a new counter-rhythm using a set of bass pedals tied to Nate's Moog. Joe is the last to come in, playing a harmony of Nate's melody. The result is some groove that is reminiscent of some 1980's John Hughes movie soundtrack if the musicians were on LSD. Fun and weird and totally unique. Sun Machine ended just short of the 20-minute mark. I've never heard them, or any other band do something like it. Lots of bands play songs that are longer, but not with the direction of Percy Hill. One of their darker tunes, Jasper, came next, which is one of few Percy Hill songs that could be deemed a guitar song. Joe rips through his solo with the band tightly behind him. A more cheerful Chrissy Reid follows to liven things up again. With this new techno sound finding its way into live shows, they modified the title track Color in Bloom from a slower, Steely Dan influenced, sound to a lively techno style with no lyrics. Over 27 minutes of Percy wailing. After that a break was needed. While groups or individuals like Steely Dan, Sting and Stevie Wonder have been easily named as influences to the new Percy Hill sound, one name that has often been missing from that list is jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. With the opening number of the second set, Wrong Side, Metheny's influence can be heard throughout the 10-minute solo section. Interestingly, though, it's not Joe's soloing that evokes auditory images of Metheny, it's his rhythm, along with Nate's amazing keyboard artistry and Aaron Katz's floating drumming. Wrong Side quickly became a favorite after hearing it a year ago. At the same time Wrong Side was debuted in 1999, the Men at Work classic (oh, that's a funny thing to say but it's true) Down Under became a staple of many a Percy show. The fans wanted it, the band obliged. Then nature takes control. Aaron begins the drumbeat to Fallen, when Nate stands up to say, "This is the famous bass-drum piss break groove. This is when nature takes over. You won't see Van Halen doing this shit." As Nate said, Aaron and John begin a bass-drum breakdown with John splitting time between the bass guitar and the bass pedal synthesizer. Nate comes back and Fallen is resumed and within this 17-minute Fallen there is a keyboard-led jam that was some sort of Miles Davis-Gregg Allman fusion. Nate started off on his Fender Rhodes piano playing some dissonant stuff that Chick Corea might have thrown in on Bitches Brew, then at the drop of dime jumps to a blues based wail on his Hammond. These are combinations that I love Percy Hill for. Beneath the Cover bridged the second set to best example of Percy Hill's improvisational abilities when they started what would become Rush Hour Traffic>>Casa De Vino>>LightUp or Leave Me Alone>>Rush Hour Traffic. More of the fusion that I talked about in Fallen. The Casa De Vino, which usually leads to Othello or Slave, makes a smooth left turn into Light Up or Leave Me Alone. With the last downbeat of Light Up, Joe steps up to the microphone to finish Rush Hour Traffic right where he started it some 24 minutes before. One of there finest new songs, Soul Sister funked things up. Great song, great lyrics, great blend of funkiness and spaciness. "and the acid takes control of the situation in my bed." As if there hadn't been enough techno rave tunes, the last one of the evening, Open Up started up. At a point where most Percy Hill shows would be ending, the band continued to forge on. 15 minutes later, we are herein The Now. The Now brought a fitting close to the second set. Even after playing almost 3 hours, the band was coaxed into an encore, much to the dismay of the sound crew. 313 was appropriate, since that's what time this show stopped. With a show like this to start of 2000, Percy Hill could have a huge year ahead of them. This show is already spreading around in analog form.

Unfortunately, it takes 2-110 minute tapes to fit the whole show. I have no CDR capabilities, but can do D>D or D>A. If someone out there can do a D>CD please contact me at mush72@aol.com. I'd like to see this show spread around on all formats, but don't have a lot of time to coordinate a tree. If someone else is willing to run one, here's the seed. This show was recorded from the SBD>>Fostex D-5>>Optical connection>>Sony D7.