I wrote a review of each show after it happened. As I was composing the final review on my drive home, I noticed that I was really writing a single piece. I begged Dean to let me post them here in a somewhat revised form. Will my fanship be rekindled or will I have to follow through on my threat? The answer to that query lies below.

3/14/01 - Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
I'm gonna turn you into a goon! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

SCI has hit the Jambands big time it seems. There were at least 30 people outside the (non-sold out) show with their fingers in the air. The usually perfunctory pat down came rather close to a strip search. They get write ups in local papers explaining how they don't sound anything at all like the other bands that people associate with Jambands scenes. Most importantly, they have people who are willing to tell you at the drop of a hat that the band was much better when they were playing clubs.

While I'm usually a debunker of such myths - my second favorite year of seeing Phish was Y2K after all - with SCI I'll wholly jump into it. With the exception of 3/11/00 (also at the Paramount), I didn't see one show all of last year that moved me 1/100th as much as my favorites from 1998 and 1999. These were my "last chance" shows. Whether or not I went to Vancouver depended on how the Seattle shows went.

The first thing I saw inside the theatre is that they put up wall decorations. While I am never one to have an issue with colorful wall hangings (esp. if they're in the shape of stars), it seemed kind of superfluous, like having a laser show inside the Fabulous Fox Theatre. If it makes them happy though, I suppose they should go for it. I'll be looking at the ceiling anyway.

It didn't take long for me to start to complain a bit about the set. The major jam in "Miss Brown's Tea House" seemed like it was going in the same directionless groove place that all of the 2000 jams went to. Halfway through it though, it transformed itself. They still were grooving, but they were grooving well... and then grooving amazingly. There's a way to tell if I'm enjoying an SCI jam from across the room. SCICON 1 is when I pull out my Krill Lamp [1] and start making elaborate patterns with it. SCICON2 involves lots of jumping up and down. In 1998 I had to consult a doctor before going on an SCI run. At the Wild Duck [2] in 1999, I was convinced the band was out to kill me when they followed "Land's End" with "I Know You Rider." The Tea House jam didn't quite exhaust me, but I did manage to exercise off my dinner during it. It was a good one.

Great jams continued throughout the set. "Sweet Melinda" hit SCICON1 again and then the "Open Your Eyes/Open Your Mind/Close Your Eyes/SKOOT[3]" that closed the set - despite the stupid rearrangement - got me to hit SCICON3 - the perma-grin. This was clearly the best set I had seen since second set at the Paramount a year earlier. While I would have liked more energy (SCI set... needing more energy... does not compute), it proved to me that even in their groove arrangement, SCI *can* do it for me.

Second set opened up strong with "Birdland." The bluegrass section had the energy I needed. If the show had ended at that moment, say if there was a massive aftershock that forced everyone to evacuate the building, I would have been pretty happy with the show. Unfortunately, they kept playing.

"Howard" followed. Many people say that this song sounds like Phish, mainly because it's composed and has parts to it. Anyone who really thinks that needs to sit down and listen to Phish's compositions. One of Trey's compositional strengths is the ability to write pieces that naturally flow from one section to another. "Fluffhead" is perhaps the prime example of this. The jam part of this song is a bunch of shorter pieces fused together. The effect of the whole piece though is to sound like a whole. With the exception of "Arrival," (and that's just because everyone loves "Arrival") no one ever really thinks about the individual pieces. I've never heard anyone say, "Wow they botched 'Who Do? We Do,'" or "Cool, they're playing 'The Chase!'" The whole song melds together as a unified whole. On the other hand, "Howard" seems designed to point out that it has multiple sections. It's like an annoying kid. "Look at me! I'm switching back and forth between these two parts! Look! I did it again!" The herky jerkiness is impossible to ignore.

"Howard" was followed by "Make a Joyful Sound," inspiring me to make a joyful walk to the lobby. The lobby was nice. A few friends were there so I talked with them. Some kid got loudly evicted. There were no lines at the water fountain. I couldn't really hear the trite advice about how I should change my life. I stayed out there for a while. Only hearing the opening to "The Old Home Place" made me go back in. Check it out! SCI is playing an energetic bluegrass piece! While it wasn't a very good version, it was clearly the highlight of the second half of the show. The rest of the set ventured back into that groove-esque haze that I just don't get. Kyle is the 3rd best soloist in the band; why does he get every single solo? If they keep playing like this, they won't have to worry about comparisons to Phish. People will compare them to Trey's solo band, or - perhaps better yet - what Trey's solo band would be like it were billed as the Dave Grippo Band. It wasn't just me that was disenchanted by the second set. Three of my friends walked out on the set. Another described "Don't Say" as the most boring 20 minutes of his life. (I refuse to believe that. He was present for the Atlanta "Windora Bug." That might not have been 20 minutes, but the sheer tedium of it makes the time count double.)

There are some things that can be said in SCI's defense. This was the first show of a two show run. Everytime I've seen them play a 2 show run, the second show was far better. They played an enjoyable set + 1 song without playing any of the songs that I come to see ("Land's End," "Black Clouds," Blue Bossa," "Black Furry Possum," "Round the Wheel," "Best Pudding," etc.) so there is definite room for improvement. On the other hand, they still haven't played the alleged song "Inspiration." On their best nights, if they play a good setlist, they still can put on a hot show. The fact that that is how I did describe Trey tour goes a long way towards showing how far they've fallen. In the long run, I'm hoping this is like Phish in Fall 94 or Summer 97, when they beat a new technique into the ground in order to master it and turn it into one of many tricks that they could do. For the next two nights though my main hope is that Kyle gets called away to deal with some personal business.

[1] A Krill Lamp is a reusable, battery operated, glow stick thingie. I think it leaves better trails (even for sober people like me) than a normal glow stick.

[2] That venue name always makes me think of a tamer version of a Rolling Stones song. "Wild Duckies couldn't drag me away."

[3]Some Kind Of Opening Tune

3/15/01 - Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
So Close to Homemade.... but no lumps

When I went to the Cloud Room for the preshow hang out, I couldn't find anyone. Dena (the woman who made my Starman outfit) was doing the tour, so I went in line to hang out with her. Since Seattle's non-existent winter finally decided to show itself, I went in when doors opened, an hour before there would be any music. I spent the hour sitting in a comfy chair, looking at a sign on the wall, and thinking about patterns.

A trick I used to keep myself entertained on roadtrips is playing the "A-Z Game." It's a pretty common game. Find every letter from A-Z somewhere, on a billboard, a license plate [1], a road sign, anywhere. One of my riders on Summer Tour 90 taught me this game as we drove on the NJTP on our way to Foxboro. In passing, I mentioned the way that I was playing. I would look at a sign, and then spell the message in my head, letter by letter. I was informed that that was cheating. That's what made playing it such a challenge. When I looked at a sign, I had to see the individual letters as letters, not as part of a word. Try it. Here, look at this sentence:

Here, look at this sentence.

Try to see it as a collection of letters. Harder yet, try to see it as 23 shapes, not as letters and punctuation marks.

That's the problem with reviewing music right there. Music affects us on such a deep level that it's very hard to go back and see what exactly happened. An emotional reaction happens (or fails to happen). Trying to go back and figure out why is like trying to look at a sentence as a bunch of shapes. The mind naturally wants to react to it, not think about why it is reacting. Fortunately, any further musings along those lines were cut off when I noticed a large quantity of winged people in the bar. It was time to see the show, not think about seeing a show.

If I didn't know better, I'd suspect that the members of SCI read my review of the previous night. The first 40 minutes of the show were "Born on the Wrong Planet -> Little Hands," and all of the energy that I was upset about missing the night before was present. I then learned that I had to be careful what I wished for. After jumping around a lot during the "Little Hands," I needed some water. During the walk back outside [2], I was in pain. On the morning after returning home from Trey tour, I missteped on a sidewalk and twisted my ankle. I had thought I was recovered, but the energetic dancing reinjured it. I spent most of the rest of the show sitting down in the hall. Most but not all. When "Fire" suddenly appeared to close the set, I moved closer to the door to get a better listen. It was an inspired call, but not particularly well played. My guess is that it was a spur of the moment decision.

The second set opened with a Kang tune that I didn't know at first. I was scared that it was going to be "Inspiration" but it was actually a good song. Turned out to be "Turn This Around." The closing jam went to a pretty intense peak before resolving into a jam that kept on threatening to become "Howard."

The energy was definitely present this night. It was an exhausting old school show. In the middle of the second set though, Holly asked me a question. She had just come out of the bar, saw me sitting, and asked, "Why are we here?" Well that's a rather deep question. I was worried that we were about to launch into a conversation about the meaning of life and I was completely out of answers at the moment. Fortunately she clarified herself. Why were we at this concert?

I listened to her talk for a while. Her points were valid, at least for the night. It's the somewhat standard complaint about the band, about how its just a happy vibe and she needs some darkness. Lyrically, it's pretty obvious. SCI hitched their wagon to Lester and John Dwork instead of Robert Hunter or Tom Marshall. Musically though, it can be a quite different issue. It's the 3 stages of SCI again. First there's the glowstick, then there's the jumping up and down, then there's the permagrin. First Billy plays these leads that rip at your heart, then they fire up the energy, then Kang hits a tone on his mandolin that reminds you why life is worth living. You get the bleakness and then the ecstasy... or at least you do on a great night.

What we've been getting is pieces. First night was a glowstick dark groove that never went anywhere. Second night was a high energy show that didn't first ground its energy in anything meaningful - fun but ultimately shallow. When I woke up this morning though, it occurred to me that perhaps SCI is teaching the Hegelian Dialectic. Wednesday was thesis. Last night was antithesis. Maybe, just maybe, tonight will be synthesis. What the hell. Vancouver isn't that far. Am I tired and sore? Yeah, but that's what advil and caffeine are for. The parts ARE there; maybe they can put them together.

[1] Driving through Virginia makes this game easier, as their plates have a lot of J's and Q's on them.

[2]The Paramount has a pretty damn strict "No beverages allowed on the floor" policy. Unless you're stealthy about it, you can't bring in a bottle of water. The security person was claiming it was lawsuit protection, but one day someone's going to pass out and they'll really get into trouble.

3/16/01 Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, BC
Rebirth

Maybe it was because there was a drive involved, maybe it was the usual fascination about the fact that a foreign country is a 2 hour drive away, maybe it was just the lowered expectations, but for the first time I was actually excited about this show. One more SCI show. Let's see what they can do.

My friends Jim and Karen have moved once more. Now they live in Bellingham, just south of the border. Jim doesn't have a new job yet. When I called up, he said he would be home all day, so I planned to spend a few hours there. After playing Archon for a bit (He kicked my butt twice.), we went for a little walk. It was nothing special. Just a little stroll throughout Bellingham where we casually solved most of the world's political, social, and scientific problems. I could make this world a wonderful place to live in. All I would need is complete control over the laws of physics for a few hours. Who do I talk to to arrange that?

When we got back to his apartment, Jim informed me that I had to watch the final episode of Freaks and Geeks. A show that lasted one season on NBC, Freaks and Geeks now airs for two hours on "Fox Family," whatever the heck that is. It's on the same time slot as Buffy and Angel, so it's not something that either of us would normally watch, but Jim taped it during the rerun period. I had heard that F&G had an episode that portrayed the Dead scene positively. I didn't realize just how good the portrayal was. There's a temptation here to spoil the episode. I will resist it. All I have to say is somehow find a copy of this. Beg your friends, beg your enemies. When you see it, and catch on that this aired on an major network, you'll be completely amazed.

Jim had nothing better to do that night - Karen was driving down to Seattle to hang with a friend - so I talked him into going to the show with me. After a Kinder Surprise [1] purchasing spree (I bought out a drug store's entire supply), we headed into town.

Sometimes the decisions SCI make just confuse me. The Paramount is a beautiful theatre, but they felt compelled to decorate it some more. On the other hand, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is plain but they didn't put up any hangings at all. I'm sure that made sense to someone, but that someone was not me.

The excitement of being there carried over into the first set. The show opened up with "Inspiration," and somehow I didn't even mind. It wasn't half as bad as that... thing... they played in Portland. This set was one of the most boring sets I have ever seen SCI do. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good. It just was. After three shows I was at peace with that though. I was content to be among friends and seeing some music. The way to enjoy a show is to stop expecting to enjoy it. It may sound like a koan, but it's true.

Now the above paragraph isn't quite accurate. It's true that up until the end of the set, the highlight was seeing Jim trying to kick a balloon and having it pop so loudly that it could heard anywhere in the theatre; it will most definitely make it onto the tapes. It is not true that that remained the highlight when the lights came on. The set closer was "Outside/Inside," and it was a monster. It was so intense that it inspired a set break prediction.

"This was an ideal first set," I told Jim. "They conserved all of their energy until the very end. The last song will give them momentum for set 2." Yes, I was making up this theory, but it seemed logical at the time. Much to my surprise, it actually came true.

Flashback: Spring 2000.

In March of 2000, I saw three Winter Carnival shows. The first two were in the same venue, the third was in a different one. I didn't like the first show at all. I thought the second show had a very strong opener and a very strong closer, but I didn't enjoy much of the rest of it, mainly because my body wasn't helping out the cause (in this case, extreme fatigue). The third show had a first set that completely bored me until being salvaged with the last song. The second set though, the second set was the best SCI set I saw in all of 2000. I noticed that pattern during the break and wondered if maybe history would repeat itself. If it were going to, I would know immediately. The Paramount second set started with a "Land's End" that blew me away.

This second set opened with one of the songs I was hoping for, "Got What He Wanted." The midsong jam wasn't the usual jam. Rather it went into an extremely interesting groove. Thesis. They ended the song and went immediately into a really fast jam. Antithesis. At the beginning of each loop in the jam, Kang played a melodic line. Woody turned to me and asked one of the most important questions I have been asked all year. "What is Kang teasing there? It sounds like the Talking Heads, but I can't place it." They went around again. I agreed that it sounded familiar. The jam continued to rage. They went around again. Kang played the line and I found myself singing along to it. "The feeeeeeeling returns/Whenever we close our eyes." CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS! Synthesis!

This "Crosseyed and Painless" jam was nothing like any version you have ever heard. The simple joy of that theme combined with the manic energy the band was pouring out to do the impossible. For over a year I have been complaining about recent String Cheese shows and how the band just doesn't do it for me anymore. The first twenty minutes of the second set outweighed an entire year of criticism. This "Got What He Wanted" might be the single best thing that I have ever heard SCI do. If it holds up on tape - which I can't promise - it'll be up there with anything I have ever seen any band perform. I could see even putting it with the Big Cypress "Roses Are Free." You just might want to consider picking up this set.

The Talking Heads theme continued later in the set with "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)." I had never seen it before and I liked it a lot. The tail end of the jam was scary though. Kang was playing around like he was about to start "Land's End." If he had done that, I might have spontaneously combusted; perhaps the move into "Climb" was a good one in retrospect.

The set closed with the one song that I really wanted to hear on this run, "Black Clouds." The jam was different than usual. Rather than the "Angel from Montgomery" theme, they played a fast paced groove jam. Thesis. Billy then led a faster energy jam. Antithesis. Kang chimed in with a solo so good that my face hurt from smiling that hard. Houston, we have synthesis. In fact, I had more than that. I finally had an answer to the question Holly asked me last night. Why do we go to these shows? Why do we put up with bad lyrics, horrible off nights, Lester poems, Dwork rituals, and sleep deprivation? Why? Because if you keep going to to Incidents, every now and then you'll catch a night like this.

Think of it this way. Suppose I started a lottery. You'd pay me $8 and choose one of four bags. In three of them is a piece of candy and in the fourth is $50,000. You would play this game as often as I agree to go along with it. A year passes, and I start changing the rules. I raise the price from $8 to $30. I add some more bags, so the odds of winning go down to 1 in 10. Sometimes the candy bags have an off brand or - on occasion - are even completely empty. You wouldn't be happy about those changes. At the same time, you still would be more than willing to play the game.

The show encored with "Chameleon." I am not a fan of that song at all. However, the encore was noticeable for one thing. At the end I found myself holding my index finger in the air. It's a familiar move. It's one I do at the end of Phish shows. After two nights of hoping for set breaks and show endings, I found myself asking and begging for just one more song. We don't have to let this show end just yet do we?

After the show, Jake asked me what I thought of it. He had grown used to my usual comments. "Oh it was ok." "There was a good song in the middle of the set." "It didn't do anything for me." He wasn't expecting me to just go off on how good it was and how it changed my life. I ran and found Nancy. I thanked her for having her birthday on that day and for talking me into going to the show.

I don't know if I will ever have quite the same view towards SCI as I did back in 1999. You can't be annoyed by a band for an entire year and not have that affect your relationship towards them. However, I will never think as little of them as I did the first night of Seattle. From here on in, I will be able to accept the "candy" shows as that. They're fun enough after all, and I now know that the next song or the next set or the next show could still blow me away. The game can still be won, so I'm going to keep on playing it. Allrighty then!

[1]Kinder Surprises are the best thing that you can get for $1 Canadian. They're a layer of chocolate surrounding a plastic egg. Inside the egg is a toy that you have to put together; frequently they're very surreal. They're illegal to sell in the US because you can't sell a product that has a non-food item inside a food item. The FDA is scared that toddlers will eat the toys.

I intentionally didn't footnote this earlier because I wanted to surprise someone with them, but she looked up what they were on the web already.

David Steinberg got his Masters Degree in mathematics from New Mexico State University in 1994. He first discovered the power of live music at the Capitol Centre in 1988 and never has been the same. His Phish stats website is at www.ihoz.com/PhishStats.html and he was the stats section editor for The Phish Companion.