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Posting Board Mid-Atlantic Regional Report
Edited by Anthony Coloneri - midatlantic@jambands.com
Please continue to send us reviews. You may contact the mid-atlantic editor. If you have any further questions please email us at jambands@jambands.com.
Phish -- 10/8/99 -- Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
By Jeff G.
Well, a grand show was put on last night at the Nassau Coliseum! I didn't enjoy the summer shows as much as some people and thought they were just not clicking.
I think they have gotten used to their new stage positions or whatever, because last night they sounded much tighter than July, onto the show. NICU is a great feel good opener and it was right on! Page played his Leo solo to a key and the mood was set early. My Soul featured a slightly different intro then I've heard in the past. A little slower and a bit more funk added. Trey was on fire on his solo!
Dirt was pretty standard, Trey seems to love this tune. The first monster jam was about to come and it was ion the form of Bowie! Composed part was dead on and the jam started. It was a kinda mellow jam at first, but they started to rage after a short amount of time. It was a very heavy and different Bowie jam. Very well done! Frankie Sez doesn't do much for me and maybe they played it in memory of Nassau (where they busted it out for the first time a year and a half ago?)
It got quiet and Trey kicked up the Possum rift to the delight of the crowd. I thought the crowd last night was quiet, but they knew the good tunes and got loud when they played the treats. (possum, fluff, mike's, McGrupp) I don't remember much about the Possum except that it was pretty good. sorry. v Also, I don't note the segue between Frankie and Possum - no segue!! Circus was another slow down and gave me a chance to relax for a little bit. Here comes Jiboo!! I had been waiting to hear the Trey tunes cause I loved the Trey tour so much! Jiboo I thought was as well done, if not better, The jam was outstanding and had the crowd tuned in for sure. They didn't play that funk after the jam that goes back into the main rift like the Trey tour, but that is ok with me.
Fluff ended the set to my surprise and it was Fluff the way Fluff was meant to be played. Trey was even a little more fired up on his end jam than normal, if you can imagine that ;) Great and long first set. I'd give it a 7.5 on the scale.
The second set was a masterpiece. Opened with Boogie On and I can't say anything great about this version except it was about the same as all the boogie on's the last few years. They could do so much more with this jam, but they like that funky jam at the end. It was well done! Heavy Things was next and I picked it up before they started playing it because of the infamous beep! I liked the Trey versions much better, this sounded too polished and not as raw and powerful as say the DC or Albany Trey tour versions.
Trey seemed to be having a little problem with his solo, but fun cause I hadn't heard the Phish version yet. Tube was next and by this point I thought the set might reach the epic stage because of all the fun tunes they were playing. Pretty funky Tube, same type jam as most recent Tubes, but this was a tight one!! Get Back on the Train was played much slower and with more funk than the summer ones. I dig this tune and I couldn't think of a better mid-set slow down tune. They are starting to nail this song and look for the best ever version coming this Dec ;) The Mike's was huge to say the least. Right where the jam starts, stumpy (leo) was pounding the b-3 like a champion. Page was leading the way through the jam for the first couple of minutes, and then Trey kicked in with his solo. Very tight and short Mike's. I thought it was the best Mike's I've seen since 7-22-97. The jam kinda just faded and then I heard the opening notes to McGrupp leak out of Trey's guitar and I started to go a little crazy. McGrupp is one of the best Phish tunes and it was so well played considering they hardly play it anymore. Page's solo was on, but not crazy. I was shocked how many people didn't know this tune and most of the peeps there sat down during it. Weak! After McGrupp I was hoping for Weekapaug right there, but Caspian. doh! Going from my favorite Phish tune to my least favorite tune. I have a strong dislike for Caspian and if the Caspian was a Slave, I feel this set would rank up there with the my favorite sets I've seen - it still did though. Caspian was standard.
On a side note - I don't list any of the segues in the second set except the Mike's->McGrupp. The other segues on phish.net are NOT SEGUES!! Golgi was next and it is a fun tune, played to perfection. I knew the Weekapaug was coming and it was outstanding! Trey had a great old time noodling through weekapaug, but it was kinda a short version. I knew it was getting late, so it didn't bother me at all. Still, a raging Weekapaug to say the least! The set ended after that. I'd give this set an 8. Nobody was prepared for the encore that they did. Rocky top was done in the normal crazy as hell pace. But they nailed it!! Rocky Top ended and fish kicked in the H2 beat.....????? weird! Kinda a slow, not too well played H2 and everyone was kinda wondering what was going on. H2 in the encore with the Mike's and paug already played beforehand??? It was awesome and a cool treat!! Julius raged the show to a close and I went home very happy! I would give this show about an 8 overall and thought it was one of the better east coast shows in recent years.
Soulive -- 9/24-25/99 -- Baby Jupiter, NYC
By Dan Alford
While multiple concerts have passed through the metro New York area in the past month, including the weekly Project Logic shows at the Wetlands, Percy Hill and Deep Banana Blackout, John Scofield, two Greyboy Side Car Projects, and Gov't Mule and Strangefolk, funds were a bit low and that coupled with the on-sales of Phish, Ratdog, and Phil and Friends, severely limited my concert going. But I knew that if I was only going to catch one thing in September, it would have to be two nights of Soulive at Baby Jupiter, a small club in lower Manhattan. For those who have yet to be initiated in the ways of this near lethal funk extravaganza, Soulive is a Boston based trio comprised of Eric Krasno (Lettuce) on guitar, Alan Evans (Moon Boot Lover, Greyboy All Stars, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe) on the kit, and his brother Neal (Moon Boot Lover) on the B-3.
The band has been around for just over eight months, and has been burning a path of instrumental ecstasy across the East coast since its inception. So far they have had a series of guests including members of New World Order, the ubiquitous Oteil Burbridge, Derek Trucks and John Scofield. I've seen the band multiple times through its short existence, and their last set at Berk Fest, where John Scofield sat in for the jazz standard The Chicken, gave me such cerebral meltdown that I left after the performance, sure that nothing could top it. In getting primed for the two late night sets in NYC I saw a series of pictures from the Southern leg of the September tour, where Derek and Oteil sat in on a few occasions. I was getting charged for some great live groovalicious jamming... The Friday night show actually started at quarter past one on Saturday morning. The room was somewhat small and littered with couches and a few tables right in front of the stage. As there seemed to be little room to boogie, I grabbed a chair down in front, content to watch the music makers up close and personal. v Alan started the evening by announcing that he had had a bad night and set to "channel all the frustration, all the anger, into the funk." They opened with "Rudy's Way". It had a nice pseudo bluesy intro with Kras slipping along above fine drum beats. As the song wormed its way through potent guitar and keyboard solos, Alan swept up a fervor of cymbals and bass drums that left the crowd with dropped jaws.
The following tune was Alan's own "Uncle Junior" which featured heavy B-3 lines and solid interplay between the entire group. But it was during the final breakdown that Alan really let loose, churning along on waves of rhythm, and stretching out the whole segment. I'm not someone to say that any particular performance was the "best," but those songs started off the night on just the right foot.
After asking for requests, the trio let into their title song. If there is any tune that will get a person hooked on the band, it's this one. Next Alan said they would play a cover, eliciting calls for Herbie, The Meters, and my own requests for Stevie. After announcing that they were going to play a Poison song, they snaked into a slinky, oh-so-smooth "Jesus Children of America." The "bayoo-bayoo" guitar lick on the intro and end is so sly it gives me chills. Also the guitar/vocals that comprise most of Kras's interior solo are always fun, although they move the funk fest into a slower groove. My new favorite Soulive song, "Steppin'", followed. v It was accompanied by an explanation of Alan's trip across country from San Diego to join the other "two cats" to create Soulive. "Steppin'" has a great playful, walking theme at the beginning, with Neal working in a low end counterpoint. Staying with that theme, Kras wandered about on a long solo which ultimately led to a tempo change.
The music became more spread out as the guitar continued a meandering course and ultimately set up Neal to march over the second slower theme, giant steps plodding across the great open spaces of the nation. Neal's solo eventually wound down into a short quizzical conversation between the B-3 and guitar that ended the tune. I was unfamiliar with the following song, but it was a fast number with a much harder groove than much of Soulive's repertoire.
They finished with their most common set-closer, "Turn It Out". (That, by the way, is the title of their new album which will have just come out when the new Jambands.com appears.) It has a good two part song structure and this version had some great work by Neal just before the end sustain of his solo, as he laid out a funky rhythm that gelled perfectly with Alan. Also Kras's bust-out solo at the end was more forceful than most, like a barrage of hot arrows.
Throughout the night, Oteil Burbridge was chillin' in the audience. His bass was right next to me on the couch but he didn't even feign at taking the stage. It was actually pretty cool that he was just groovin' with the music, there for the show. Of course, a guest appearance was just one of the surprises that Alan promised for the next night. On Saturday night the place was crowded and a little rowdy (it was, after all, a full moon).
Oteil was up on stage tooling on "Soulive" with Neal and Eric, but he actually spent most of the show hanging around in the crowd. Alan announced that they were recording the show for a live album, which wasn't necessarily a good thing because it really set off an already rambunctious group of people. One guy kept screaming "Oh Yeah!" at inappropriate times throughout the opener. Nonetheless it featured a long jam with the full trio going at it, a nice change from their solo oriented approach to songs. Also Neal had a nice end solo, hitting truly inspired notes that sliced through the smokey room. Oteil sat in for the next number (a cover I didn't recognize), taking two patented Burbridge solos which sandwiched some guitar/vocals from Kras and some nice work by Neal. He also stayed on stage for another version of "Soulive". This tune, which has a harsh funky refrain that made it my first favorite, has always been short, relatively speaking. It's an infectious song; it just never seemed to open up. This version, however, was "Soulive" fully realized. Oteil rode in, chasing the intro on a field of thunder clouds before opening into a nice high-end solo the melted down into some traditional bass/vocal work.
The others each took turns leading the pack out to far peaks before dropping back into the closing section. But here Oteil took a great second solo over the main theme before letting the piece finish. In total it was probably twice as long as most other versions. As the bass man had been sitting in down south, I can't say that this was first time that "Soulive" was taken to the next level, but it is cause in and of itself to check out the live album. Another great version of "Jesus Children" preceded a nice jam section featuring "Doing Something" > "Azu Kahn" (?) > "Upshot". Segues are rare for Soulive and this grouping was a wonderful treat. The first tune, a new one written by Eric, was a nice upbeat number, but didn't really stick in my mind. "Azu Khan", a piece by Neal, is more interesting with some drifting elements. I first heard it in Boston over the summer, but will need to catch a few more times or get it on tape to go into detail. The last part of the jam was "Upshot", the one song I really wanted to hear. It was an absolutely raging stomp along the war path, tearing apart the crowd with fast rhythms and huge peaks.
I was pretty set at this point and when they started "Turn It Out" and a fairly drunk man and his girlfriend started slow dancing in a very crowded area, rubbing up against me, and I took off. Even though it was most likely the closer, and you could count on Oteil to return for an encore, I had enough of the crowd, most of whom were out clubbing versus being there for the music. v Besides, whatever I missed will probably be on the disc, and I didn't want to spoil the good vibes I was riding from the jam ending in Upshot... Be sure to check the band when they are in your area, and the new disc Turn It Out at Soulive.com.
Autumn Equinox Festival -- 9/24-25/99 -- Wilmer's Park, Brandywine, MD
By Adam Bernstein
Since football season has started and the kiddies are back to school, you can smell autumn in the air. Can there be a better way to celebrate the official change of the seasons than with a jam-packed weekend of great music? My friend Brian was lucky enough to sneak out of work on Friday, so we packed up his car and headed down to Brandywine, Maryland. After braving some DC traffic and an unplanned detour through Maryland (I-381 is not a clearly marked road!), we reached Wilmer's Park.
Many were just arriving and the security seemed rather prominent for a festival, but I later overheard that this was due to some "incidents" at the All Good Fest in the spring. As we set up our tent and bitched and moaned about not having our phatty beers, Keller Williams was entertaining the lucky few who had arrived early. Although the venue is not as lush as some others, the arrangement is awesome because you can hear the music so well at your campsite. With the camping area so close to the concert field, we heard the end of Keller's set, which featured him jamming away with a drum and his amazing vocal improvisation. Up next was Gran Torino, who provided some really happy funk complete with a horn section. They were followed by Baltimore's own Kelly Bell Band.
Kelly, dreadlocks flying, introduced us to his "phat blues music" which included a stirring rendition of "Rubber Ducky." After Kelly did his thing, he joined another local band, Jah Works, for "Get Up Stand Up." Jah Works entertained the crowd with some more reggae as the sun set and the full moon glowed over those getting irie.
When the rasta vibe ended, the stage was set for Strangefolk. Having seen them a couple of times, I was really looking forward to hearing them as part of this festival. However, they had just traveled from a gig in upstate New York the night before and I felt that they played a little flat. They have a really polished sound and their singing is what makes them stand out among other bands, but they did not seem to be as excited to play as they usually do. I was a bit disappointed, but everyone was in to the jams and they got us grooving.
While they were breaking down and setting up the stage, Keller came back on and I was ecstatic since I'd missed most of his earlier set. He did his thing with some nifty guitar work and "beat box" vocals. Then a psychedelic clown joined him on stage with some juggling while he did his famous "trumpet" soloing. He only got to play about fifteen minutes which is just not fair. I agree with the girl standing next to me who kept saying in awe, "Man, How do you do that???"
Headlining Friday's lineup was Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. He treated us to some soulful funk and his boys were definitely into the jams. His trumpet player was wailing! Unfortunately, one of the festival's lowlights happened when KDTU had to stop playing for a few minutes so that they could bring in an ambulance for an unconscious youngin' who had a bit too much fun. But Karl kept the groove going during this pause when he brought out a drum and led the audience in an improvised clap jam. A few minutes later, the ambulance was gone and the band prompted us to "get our groove on" for the rest of their set.
At this point I was ready to crash, but another band had set up about 25 feet from our tent. The Healthy Doses welcomed us back with a funked-out version of Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon." They jammed until about 5 AM mixing in some originals with covers including "Elizabeth Reed" and "Help>Slipknot>Franklin’s Tower."
The morning sun woke us up on Saturday after a few hours of much needed rest. As I emerged from the tent, this guy came around and urged me to get ready for the first band of the day, Wise Monkey Orchestra. I have heard a lot of good things about them, but since they are from San Diego, I had yet to see them play. In fact, this was their first trip to the East Coast. They had a pretty kind crowd to open the day and they really impressed me with their West Coast funk. With a female vocalist and a tromboner, they possess a similar sound to Deep Banana Blackout, but their jams are more structured and a bit lighter. They were really happy to play for us and the vibe they gave off was incredible. Catch them if you can!
I heard most of Fathead's set from my tent. I wish I would have paid more attention because a lot of people raved about how tight they were. Following Fathead was viperHouse, who I also caught at the Gathering of the Vibes in June. The band's diverse grouping of instruments (Bari sax, trombone, trumpet, flute, violin, bass, keyboard, and drums) blend to form a unique sound. They produce a chill kind of acid jazz and impressed those of us who grooved along with them.
The lineup just got better and better. The Slip jammed next and I have really liked their sound since the first time I saw them at the Wetlands last fall. But at this festival, I was truly blown away by how well they play together. Their drummer adds so much to the jams and their intensity is infectious. However, it was pretty disrespectful that they decided to do a soundcheck for the next band in the middle of a phat drum solo. Well, 4:20 rolled around and I was excited that Percy Hill was set up and ready to go. They have a killer sound and I think Nate's skills on the moog and the hammond are sick. They always get my body moving and this day was not an exception. They played a lot of the same tunes I hear at every Percy show, but they're all good so who is complaining. I wish they would throw in some more diverse material to change it up.
After hearing about the fiasco at the All Good Fest, I was amused to see Deep Banana Blackout donning their yellow construction helmets for their set. It was also great to see Jen back on stage after hearing about her back problems earlier in the month. She was more than fine as she wailed away while Fuzz ripped it up on the guitar. But don't they always? Every time I see Mr. Hankey dangling off his guitar I crack up. The highlight of the set was when John Scofield sat in and added some jazzy licks to the thick funk.
At this point, my legs were feeling like jello and the evening had just started. I took a breather and got some food and brew during Lake Trout. They showed up wearing camouflage since nobody saw them at the All Good. They sounded different than I had expected but they live up to the hype. Very jazzy groove. I'll have to catch them again.
Scofield hit the stage next and his set was smokin'. His backup band is no MMW, but they are good at supporting him through his exploratory jams. The highlight for me was when he did "Chank" from his album A Go Go. That guitar riff never gets stale. And he jammed it forever. He also played a lot of new material which will probably show up on his next album. He seems to be playing a lot of what he describes as “Jungle” music.
I must admit that I am not as young as I used to be and I was feeling the pain by this point in the weekend. But the moon was still bright and Maceo Parker was ready to get funky. And that he did. He is an energetic performer to say the least, but unfortunately, I had used almost all of my energy. He did the JB standards with his own flavor and got the crowd pumped. He was joined by his son Cory, who rapped with dad for a while. Before the end of the set, the sleeping bag was calling my name. Overall, the lineup of bands lived up to my expectations. Although it was primarily funk dominated, some nice surprises were thrown in like Keller and the Slip. I gained great respect for viperHouse and Wise Monkey Orchestra and look forward to hearing them again soon. Deep Banana and Percy Hill are always a treat and Scofield blows me away every time I catch him. I wanted more of the bands to jam together, like they did at the Gathering of the Vibes. On that note, I wish the vibe at this festival had been kinder. The security issue was only one nuisance. We had some stuff stolen out of our cooler and I know that others were complaining about thievery as well. I guess there were also multiple problems with younger kids freaking out on too many drugs. It's a shame that everyone is not there to get high off of the music. On a positive note, Homegrown Music organized a raffle featuring donated items from all of the vendors in attendance. This helped to raise 420 dollars for Flood Relief for the Hurricane Floyd victims in North Carolina.
Emergent Evolution -- 9/9/99 -- Alexander's, New Jerusalem, PA
By J. Bender
The once-a-millennial alignment of nines should have been enough reason to leave the house in search of adventure on this special evening, but filling the cosmically numeric night with Emergent Evolution music at Alexander's was way too much to pass up.
I've known and been following the guys for quite a while now, so I rendezvoused at their Bethlehem, PA practice studio and joined the car-pool after a frenzied equipment load-up-word had been passed along that severe thunderstorms were rumbling into the valley (adding extra overtones to the already heavy-spirited night). As soon as we hit the road big pellets of rain pelted the windshield and would continue to keep us under the speed limit for the majority of the trip.
There were no worries whatsoever, however, once we pulled up to the revolutionary-era stable house that holds one of the mid-Atlantic's hidden treasures: Alexander's bar and German deli. I stood in front of the country inn, listened to the distant thunder bounce around the valley after the lightening flashes, looked at my watch and realized it was nine o'clock on the ninth night of the ninth month of nineteen ninety-nine and I had absolutely no doubts that I was in for an evening chock full of treats. First, you have to imagine yourself inside this bar. Alexander's is a classy down-home hang-out. The floors are hardwood and a fireplace adorns the dining area which turns into the dance floor, and there's a kick-ass deli attached to the whole thing.
You can gorge yourself on the FREE hot buffet and veggie bar (on off-buffet nights the sandwiches they sell are superb) then stop at the deli's display case to choose from a dizzying array of import beers. Besides the specialty German imports that range in size from your standard twelve ounces to the two-gallon model, there are Sammy Smiths and a whole line of tasty bottled rarities for two dollars.
It's an unbelievable deal, and when you consider Emergent Evolution is only charging three dollars here at their first real heady home base then you know you're living it up for a lesser price than should be legal. It's kind of like the movie Porky's-the bar is set way out in the country and all the heads from the surrounding counties converge for epic throw-downs; this is the place Emergent Evolution played their only "Dark Star" ever-a set-long amazing present (in addition to "Alligator") on Jerry's birthday.
I'm telling you, this is the scene to be at, especially for underagers because the deli falls under Alexander's restaurant license and only a swing door separates it from the bar, so you can hang out, eat sweet grub, smoke cigarettes if you're into that vile business, and hear the music loud and clear for free. Which is just what a leather-clad, heavily-pierced bunch of fun-loving sexibitionist freaks were doing this particular night.
No kidding-it was a surreal scene of group make-out (one game I observed was "Try to get your tongue piercings tangled"). No one-including the regulars-seemed to know where they came from; it was funny to listen to the heady freaks (and there are plenty of freaks hanging out) looking at another group of people and calling them freaks. Among the circulating speculations on the S&M group's origin was the possibility that the 9-9-99 alignment had ripped a hole in the cosmic veil and these Dionysian spirits came roaring into our world.
Well, now your belly is warm and happy, your head is on straight after a few imports, and the wall lamps dim to accentuate the one red and one blue light on stage so that Emergent Evolution look like they're playing in an underground cave.
The set up was a sort of "eye" formation: four guys formed a semi-circle that held two more guys-imagine a rainbow over a dot. Actually, the whole thing was a little lop-sided, so if you connected the dots between the band members you would have formed a big backwards nine. To the far right of the stage (at the bottom of the nine), bass player Mike stands in a rare separation from drummer Ben; the two usually keep close to anchor the rhythm-this parting would create some interesting jams since they had trouble hearing each other and had to focus elsewhere.
Next up the nine's leg was keyboardist Jason, playing the bar's piano with his back to the crowd and then swinging around to beat on his Fender Rhodes and other keyboards-six in total, besides his percussion array-which would keep the spacey nine-sounds coming all night. Rounding the top were the two drummers-custom-made kit player Gentle Ben and new addition percussionist Jason Renker (yes, another Jason and they're both Pisces). To complete the spiral were dueling guitarists Mark and Todd fronting the stage. My speculation that something special was in the air quickly came to pass. The band opened up with "Love the Way You Feel," an original poppy number that usually lasts no more than five minutes. On this night, they came barreling right out of the gates to take LTWYF through a whole host of exploratory jams so that their most radio-friendly number became a twelve-minute rager.
Two songs later, "Jussaminnit," a swanked-up funky song from a concept album they're formulating about America (called Comfy Land) also climbed further out on a limb than they've ever taken it. I think a lot of this is due to the addition of their percussionist, Jason R.-by helping solidify the beat, members of the band can key in on either drummer and stray off the usual rhythmic path with that drummer into some serious syncopation. Ben is madman enough slapping out ethnic and jazz polyrhythms, but putting a world-beat percussionist over it is just plain sickness, my friends.
In between those two songs was their original "New Beginnings" which they nailed really well on this night. There's a fast riff that lead guitarist Todd and keyboardist Jason synchronize over the band's polyrhythmic salsa groove and some nights five guys doing five different things can be a hard feat, but they grabbed it and shook it hard at this show.
One great thing about Emergent Evolution is that all the members are involved to some extent in the song writing process, and the core group of songwriters create really challenging parts for their compadres. To help you imagine their sound (which honestly is different every song) they draw mostly from Latin-jazz rhythms and progressive rock riffs to fuel their jam-band philosophy. Imagine if The Dead had Steve Howe from Yes writing songs for them and they recorded in Puerto Rico-maybe that's somewhere close to what E.E. would sound like.
The treats kept coming. Next was the re-emergence of "We Call it Rock and Roll," one of the first tunes the band played together and, hence, one of the first songs they put into retirement. It had been several months of steady gigging since this one had been played, and when they sang "Free your soul, now it's time to let go," more magic was in the air. The set rounded out with their originals "Unchained Love" (a funk-rock number about poser-hippies), "Southside" (a song about their home, Bethlehem, with eight distinctly different movements fueled by strong Latin grooves), and "Bayfield Boogie" (a Herbie Hancock meets progressive jam rock epic about a town in the northernmost woods of Wisconsin).
But the highlight of the set was "Ode to Larry Flynt," a country-rock-bluegrass number about Jason being in middle school and finding a stack of Hustlers in his uncle's basement. Besides playing with more intensity and dynamics than usual (and throwing in a tease from Phish's "Runaway Jim") Jason changed the story line and picked on two friends form the crowd, Adam and Marcus. He dug on Adam hard, describing his exploits with the porno mags, and then added that Marcus came down to the basement to join him. Pretty soon the two of them (as the story from stage went) were so into the mags and experimenting between left and right-handedness that they didn't see Uncle Rodney come down the steps and were caught, literally, red-handed. Mark-the rhythm guitarist-then took over as the voice of Uncle Rodney and lectured the boys on getting stains all over his magazines. The crowd was in stitches. And then came the epic 9-9-99 second set. They opened with another original, "Cornbread," an instrumental that usually clocks in between twelve and fifteen minutes. Incense smoke wafted from the low-lit stage as a great spacey jam intro developed with lots of keyboard and guitar processor effects to feed the crowd's head while band members chanted "Nine nine nine" During Jason's Moog keyboard solo came the first nine reference-a "99 Red Balloons" tease (remember that song?). Their ambient section jam went WAY out and people in the crowd were saying, "I've never heard them sound like this." The only way to truly appreciate "Cornbread" is to hear a tape of all the cool sections. "Cornbread" came to its climax jam end and a familiar sounding keyboard riff came bubbling up- could it be? "Welcome back my friends," Todd sang, and yes! The band was going into Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Karn Evil 9!" Unbelievable!
They really rocked the house on this one with crazy keyboard and drum solos. If you're familiar with this song you'll know what a feat it was to pull off. When it came crashing to an end they bounced into "Rainbows," a smooth funk number about contacting life on other planets through higher consciousness (with altered lyric "Rainbows look like number nines").
Out of the "Rainbows" groove came more awesome surprises that got everybody on their feet-I thought they were just teasing it, but suddenly Jason was singing "1999" by The Artist which morphed its way into "Love Potion #9" (with a Zappa reference-Jason sang "I took my troubles down to Madame Ruth, the gypsy with the Camarillo Brillo doo").
By now, everyone was cheering and had figured out what the band was up to: a night of nines. I thought it sounded really cool, but the band told me later that some of them were apprehensive because Jason taught the chords to Mark and Mike TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE SHOW STARTED! No one else knew what was going to happen and had to hold it together from stage. An awesome feat, I thought. Perfectionist musicians worry too much sometimes!
"Love Potion #9" jammed out and dissolved into a "Revolution #9" jam which contained a monologue from Ferris Bueller's Day Off ("Mrs. Bueller, were you aware that Ferris has been absent NINE times this semester?").
Then the band went into one of their coolest tunes, "Salvation," a song they describe as a spiritual journey put to music. Jason told me later that the piano stuff he was doing in the beginning was Bach's "Prelude #9" but when the band kicked into "Salvation" too soon, he had to transpose it from the key of "E" to the key of "C" on the spot.
I hope you can all hear "Salvation" sometime because I can only try futilely to describe it here: lilting, spacey, evil-funk, free-jazz, and hard rock all in one. "Salvation" then went directly into one of their oldies "Neon Cross" to end all the cosmic craziness with a soul-filled religious touch. A perfect cap to an awesome evening of musical adventure. The lights went up, everyone grabbed their last German import, and the glistening road led everyone home.
The bar cleared and tear-down began, but the number nine had one last blow to give. If you look it up in whatever reference material you might use, besides symbolizing completion, spiritual perfection and hope for a future with new beginnings, nine is also the number of Mars and aggression, so it should have come as no surprise when two of the band members began fighting over tear-down procedure and protocol. I'd never seen any of them angry at all before, because they're all the most laid-back bunch of guys you could ever meet.
There was a lashing out and then one of the guys followed the other one outside to continue the argument. I took it as my cue to get comfy at the bar until it all blew over. And then on the way home we were redirected down back-country roads because a big semi accident had closed the state highway down. Thunderstorms, awesome musical adventure at a great venue, bickering and semi-accidents-quite a complete adventure for my 9/9/99.
For anyone interested in more Emergent Evolution information you can get on the band's mailing list by mailing:
Emergent Evolution
C/O Jason Hedrington
521 Carlton Ave
Bethlehem, PA 18015The guys have just switched their e-mail and are working on a cool web-site, so for now get yourself on their mailing list because their newsletter is pretty cool.
They're playing at Kenny's Castaways in Greenwich Village on October Ninth (nine again!) 151 Bleeker Street, and if you want to catch them at the cool venue described in the review, they'll be back at Alexander's on Nov. 21 and Dec. 11. Peace, and good music!
Project Logic's Month of September at Wetlands
By AJ Abrams
DJ Logic was King Logic during the month of September at the Wetlands. Logic and his band, Project Logic, held cosmic court every Wednesday. And they ruled the club with their funky psychedelic grooves. Many fantastic musicians came in and out of Wetlands to jam in the presence of this turntable king. The core members of Project Logic are Melvin Gibbs (bass), Skoota Warner (drums) and Casey Benjamin (saxophones).
All of the music at every one of these shows was improvisational. But the group improvised as a team. There were very few wailing solos from any musicians during the run. Instead, the band concentrated on creating an endless groove during the shows. Even the trippiest, most abstract jams never strayed too far away from the grooves. The band played music so unique and original that it is almost indescribable. Project Logic played funky psychedelic grooves that were influenced by Sun Ra, George Clinton and Bitches Brew era Miles Davis.
But my Logical month started out with a night of Grateful Dead music. Before his own run started, DJ Logic sat in for an entire show with Illuminati, a 17 piece jazz big band. Illuminati rearrange and reinterpret many Grateful Dead songs as well as play complex original instrumentals composed by bassist/band leader Joe Gallant. This was certainly one of the more interesting nights of music I have experienced in recent months. A DJ scratching to hippie Grateful Dead songs and performing intricately composed musical charts alongside violins, cellos and a horn section! Sounds strange doesn't it? But actually it didn't sound strange at all. Instead it sounded natural. Logic actually made Illuminati a more psychedelic band. His trippy electronic effects took the spacey jams to a higher level of celestial space.
Joe Gallant chose the Grateful Dead songs wisely. His smart musical mind knew that Playin', Eyes, and Fire on the Mountain would sound quite interesting accompanied by turntables. DJ Logic not only added his trippy touches to the improv segments of these songs but he was also able to scratch along with the musical themes of each one. In perfect synch he scratched along to the smooth shuffle of the familiar Eyes chords. He sounded perfect during the theme and chorus of Fire on the Mountain. Fire seemed so natural with the turntables and featured Logic's best work of the night.
The first week of Project Logic featured jazz heavyweights Joshua Redman and John Scofield. However, the special guests would have to wait as this show began with Logic scratching some mean leads like he was taking a guitar solo. Logic was sizzling as he was scratching notes like crazy. Drooling drips of space funk sound enveloped the room as the band then joined in behind Logic. The band played several lengthy progressive fusion type jams similar to Mahavishnu Orchestra. It was funky fusion logic style.
After a few of these jams they chose to do a rap song. While the core members of Project Logic are African American, when they choose to do a rap, they get Baboo, a white dude with a long hippie beard. His raps are legit and he raps as hip as anyone from the 'hood. He shouted "Gimme some love!" to the crowd and "Talk to me Logic." Logic then spoke through song as he communicated to Baboo by making R2D2-like sounds. The mini horn section of Casey on alto sax and Redman on Tenor sax played both as a team making the funk thicker and as individuals adding blaring solos to rock the house. The packed club yelled shouts of appreciation after a few rowdy solos. The sounds of their saxes surrounded Logic's beats.
Scofield came out for the second set and hooked up solidly with Redman. They led the band through a freight train shuffle. As the big, fat, mechanical jam moved at a slow but powerful pace. Scofield constantly chomped on gum as his guitar chugged along in the jam. With such jazz heavyweights as Scofield and Redman on stage you expect a strong set. And that expectation was met.
Marc Ribot joined Project Logic the following Wednesday. Ribot is the quintessential downtown avant jazz guitarist. As such, he often performs at far out, improvisational free jazz gigs. He is one of the most unconventional guitar players around and almost always sits in a chair when he plays. But for this gig he was standing the entire time so he could rock the house. Surprisingly, Ribot played straightforward rock guitar during this show. And because of that, this show was actually the most rock and roll sounding night of the run. During one lengthy atmospheric jam, Ribot even sounded like Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. That's quite a shocking comparison to make, and it only holds true for this one show. I have never heard Ribot play more classic rock guitar than he did at this show.
Project Porno was the name of the next show and Dave Fiuczynski was the special guest guitarist. During this show, mostly soft-core pornography played on video screens while the band provided the soundtrack. It was an interesting experiment that everyone seemed to think was amusing. There were a few hardcore scenes, but most of the footage was old humorous 60s stuff. There was also some innocent B&D stuff as well as lots of naked dancing go-go girls. While the go-go girls' breasts jiggled, the music bounced along. However, for most of the evening Project Logic played the same type of music they played during the entire month. I expected them to actually try and play some cheesy 70s style sleazy soundtrack music. I was a bit disappointed they did not try to accurately reproduce the sounds of a 70s porn movie.
The month of Project Logic ended with special guest John Medeski commanding his keyboards for the entire show. Another guest, Brandon Ross, added his unique atmospheric guitar. But he didn't contribute as much to the overall sound as Medeski did. Medeski's chaotic, funky, and trippy keyboard playing was a perfect match for DJ Logic. The jams consisted of galactic grooves, space skronk, and bubbling beats. Medeski's magic touch took the music up to another level. He helped the grooves groove harder and took the psychedelic jams into the Twilight Zone. Towards the end of the first set, DJ Logic brought out the 15-year-old guitar phenom Seth Feinberg. DJ Logic announced him as Kid Fresh, but his guitar playing is nothing to kid around about. Seth sat in on the last few jams of the first set. For a while, Seth held back and tried to find some space to play in the mix. But at the end of the set, when he finally let loose with some fantastic solos, the crowd went nuts for him. Many shouts of "KID FRESH!" could be heard from the audience. Halfway through the second set, Oteil Burbridge stepped up to the stage. Now with two bass players up there, the funk got real thick and meaty. However, his appearance was too brief. During his short time on stage he did a short solo along with his trademark vocal scat.
This run of Project Logic shows helped them prepare for their first tour. They will be opening for MMW for the next month. Then you will get the chance to hear their unique blend of space funk for your own ears. They will move your brain with the space and your butt with the funk.
Agent Porridge -- 9/24/99 -- The Nines, Ithaca, NY
By Aaron Westendorf
I could feel even weeks before hand that this was going to be a must-see show. Mid-state shows are perfect for reunions of the Porridge family, and in the end many of the beautiful people that make up this scene were able to get down and groove in the dim light of the Nines. When they played there this past summer, they tore the roof off, and for a band that feeds off of crowd energy more than any other I've ever seen, I could feel that we were all in for a treat. Leaving work early, I picked up my taping gear and my friend Ross and we headed on down to Ithaca from Albany. If you live in upstate NY at all, you must drive down I88 sometime, it's a beautiful drive. I had driven the whole length of it recently when I went to Penn State for another Agent Porridge show, and was struck at how scenic and flowing that highway is.
We rolled into town about a half hour before the scheduled start of the show, but it turned out the guys got stuck in traffic and were late, so we took the opportunity to stroll around town. Ithaca is a beautiful little town, and the business area right next to Cornell is perfect for college students. There are coffee shops, diners, video stores, small bars and everything else one might need for an early Friday or Saturday evening. Ross and I grabbed some coffee, watched the scene as it strolled by before us, and headed over to the Nines around 9:30. By that time the band had shown up and was setting up their equipment, so we grabbed a table and waited for a large party to leave the Sweet Spot before I set up my gear. The crowd slowly filtered in, and a large number of people on hand were hearing all about the Porridge experience from those of us who drove from all around this beautiful countryside to witness it. By the time the guys took the stage, a huge bubble of energy had formed, and they had complete control over it.
One of the things I love about this band is how much they explore. They never conform to a song if it doesn't fit the mood or the jam, and willingly play with songs so that no two ever sound the same. Keeping us on our toes, they abandoned all pretenses of a setlist and continued from their Sallie Mae vocal sound check straight into a long, slow, funky version of the song. It was completely different from any Sallie Mae I had heard before, and the funk groove got everyone up and kicking out their dancing shoes.
They followed up with Armington, a short groovy tune whose lyrics I can't quite figure out but which, like many Porridge songs, has a nice mix of styles including a classic rock, funk feel. The next song was brand new, Tuesday, and was written by Bisky (keyboards). I was blown away by this one, it smoked! I've listened to it several times since, and the high energy feel that it has is perfect for those 10 minutes before class when you need a boost and something really strong to give it to you. I'm definitely looking forward to where this song is headed. They followed on the heels with another new song, Walking in the Night. When they played this at Meiser Park in late August, it was a 3 minute or so taste of what this new tune could be, and I could feel then that there was a lot of room for jamming inside. Jam they did, and the soaring majestic jam that lasted several minutes stirred deep emotions of those at their first show which many of us have experienced before, and which keeps bringing us back. All control of crowd energy was in their hands now, and after keeping things on a level plain for most of the set, they kicked it into high gear with a floor shaking Roast Beef. They stretched it out for nearly 20 minutes and fired up the crowd to the breaking point before finishing off the set with an equally energetic Foreign Showermate.
As always, the second set is where it's at, and so we took the break time to wander around town a bit more and sample the northeast's finest greenery. We came in just as Traveling Man was getting grooving, and worked our way around the already grooving mass to the stage. Thanks to my taping partner Jeremy(?), I didn't miss any of the set on tape though. Sorry I forgot your name, but you know who you are, and I appreciate it! I just finished checking in on everything and was about to head towards the back of the crowd when those first sweet notes of Detune poked through the ending of Traveling Man. This song was the first one that did IT for me. If you’re reading this you probably know what I’m talking about, IT being the state of mind where everything flows in perfect harmony, and your senses are heightened to a level far beyond explanation. This past April a 30-minute Detune at my second show ever took my soul farther than it had ever traveled before, and I've been hooked ever since.
My last one was in mid August when they played in the Phish lot at Oswego, so as soon as they played those first notes I jumped to the side of the stage, where I stayed for the entire jam. From the opening notes this song speaks of a journey, and Porridge really took us on an adventure this time. Winding through a spooky groove, they reemerged on the other side in a laid back and melodic pace, and bringing the energy back down, began to build the theme to Flux Capacitor in. Slowly, carefully, deliberately they morphed the sound into the opening of Flux, and created one of my all time favorite segues.
This version of Flux was nothing short of spectacular, and I think I even caught a hint of a tear in Brett's (drummer) eyes. It was simply gorgeous. After over 30 minutes, they finished off the Detune->Flux masterpiece and after some very funny bantering, tore through the small bar with a killer version of Remedy. This is perhaps one of my favorite covers, and this was probably the best I have ever seen. The jam was sick, and about halfway through Alex (guitar) moved over to the keys with Brian. It smoked all the way through, and they finished off the hour long set with a bang. Kudos to the Nines for letting them play a few more minutes, because they played an impromptu and first ever Sweet Home Alabama. I think they only got out about 1 verse or so, but it was fun nonetheless, and the vocal "break down" near the end was hilarious.
As is the case with every Porridge show, there was no where else I would have rather been that evening, but this show was one of the best I had seen, and gave many newcomers their first tasty bits from the heaping bowl of Porridge. If you'd like tapes or CDs of the show, email me at westea@rpi.edu, and I'll gladly hook you up.
Phish -- 10/9/99 -- Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
By Jeremy Welsh
We mentioned to ourselves how quiet it seemed in downtown Albany and in the restaurants (a lot of stores missed out being closed with the 'heads coming through). But as we made our way to The Knick (carries more history than the Pepsi Arena), we realized how big of a crowd there was for these two last shows of the Fall Tour. Lots and lots of fans, and lots and lots of ticketless fans. Not the greatest thing to see in the world, but certainly created a vibe. And I doubted that I could get rid of my extra Sunday . . . silly me. Pearl Street out in front of the Arena was just packed by 6:00 - vendors of glass, nugs, hugs, those looking for miracles - all under the watch-ful eyes of lots of cops. One of the funniest scenes of the day were the two cops on horses drinking Pepsi - free advertising? A big thanks to the fans passing out the free Pepsi/Phish stickers - good karma.
Doors opened at 6:30, with cops and megaphones making it very clear which way everyone was supposed to go. But after you got inside, there really was no presence of security. At least not in the 200 level, where my two mail order tickets were. I was Trey side on the first night, and directly back from the stage on the second night. But from way up there, the sound was still good and the sightlines were fine. And without any security, it was certainly a party atmosphere.
Having found my seat so early, I had plenty of time to get worked up and impatient. This was my first show since Starlake this past summer, and I was itching to hear how tight the band was.
Set One -- (8:02): Punch You in the Eye, Wilson, Guyute, Ghost->Free (35 min), Sparkle, Possum (9:15)
I had called the Punch, mostly due to the fact that in 13 shows I had never heard this energetic opener. And it certainly didn't disappoint. The intro wasn't too long, but the meat of the song was nice and strong. Good to finally see the Landlady dance.
The kept the "dark" sort of vibe with the opening boom-boom of Wilson. Didn't expect that back-to-back with Punch, but it certainly got the crowd involved. The sold out Arena resonated with the chant of "Wil-son!" There seemed to be a bit of a heavy jam in the middle of Wilson before the last verse was sung.
Guyute was also a first for me, and should have expected it with the frequency that it has been played these past few tours. It sounded good, with a couple minor flubs by Trey. He actually sounded just a big off all week-end, hitting a few wrong notes and timing that was a bit fast. There was one mistake early, then another during the "grand" section (that follows the really fast strumming part - make sense?).
I guessed a Ghost was going to follow with the spacey feedback that started to fill the air. This was about a half an hour into the set, and was just the right time for this song. This version was very strong; not incredibly exploratory, as nothing really was all weekend, but nice and tight and moving. About nine minutes in, the jam actually sped up a bit. Thirteen minutes in, Fishman continued with a strong beat on the drums, and Trey started to play with the wah. Seventeen minutes, Trey messed around a bit on the keys . . . 21 minutes, Trey started pulling his guitar back and over his shoulder, working on getting "atmosphere" out of his instrument - kind of neat, but a bit show-y ; ) . . . 22 minutes, Fishman was still going strong. (Sorry for the lack of detail - I am just following my notes from that night; don't have the tapes to listen to - yet).
Right about that point, they segued into Free. Not completely clean, but they pulled it off none the less. This Free was about 13-14 minutes long, with some really cool playing by Mike. It seemed like during both nights, the band pulled back a bit, opening a hole for Mike to play some nice filler. And it certainly worked during Free.
Sparkle was placed correctly, and actually gave me chills. I really don't think you can go wrong with a 2-3 minute song that makes you dance so hard. Possum was an ok closer, lasting about nine minutes. Nothing too special; if my memory is correct, the Possum I heard in Prague in 98 was a little more interesting. That closed the 73 or so minute set. First Set Highlights - first Punch, the really strong Ghost, the glow-ring people up in the upper section above Page.
Set Two -- (10:08): Limb By Limb->jam->2001->Down With Disease, intro->Wading in the Velvet Sea, Simple, Loving Cup (11:19)
Encore: Slave to the Traffic LightI was thinking of a Buried Alive opener, or maybe Runaway Jim. Limb By Limb took me completely by surprise. It was a good surprise. I don't think I can get tired of this song, and have really grown to love the "pause... shred jam by Trey!" that they put on the SOTG version. They started to jam a bit around ten minutes in, and seemed to end it in a different way after about 15 minutes. Can't really remember how, but it was a good version to get things rolling.
The ending Limb jam kind of floated along, with the opening sounds of 2001 starting around 10:26. This was a very cool version of ASZ - at least the jam part. Like I mentioned above, it really didn't get too exploratory, but what was jammed was very interesting, with some interesting layering. It was during the token 2001 theme, though, that things were a bit messy. Trey seemed to be playing his part too fast or something. At least in relationship to the rest of the song and the other three band members. He also had trouble hitting the right notes, having to jump up half a note (or whatever) at each strum of the theme. Trey also played with his keyboard around five minutes in; someone around this time started to make noises that sounded like a DJ was scratching . . . kind of cool. Thirteen minutes in, as I wrote "Shit!" in my notes, Mike and Page (or was it Trey) had this really cool interplay on bass and keys. It sounded really neat, and only went on for a minute or two.
The 2001 kind of faded out, with Mike sounding in DWD around 10:43. This version is very fast, blitzkreig fast, rocking for about ten minutes. Nothing was held back, here, as they just raged through it. I don't know what was up with Trey, but everything was quick Saturday night. Everything but Wading in the Velvet Sea, which was absolutely amazing. I am usually not a huge fan of this song, but this version was beautiful. It started with a little piano intro by Page. I thought it may have been Sea and Sand (I could hope), but he started to sing Wading, and I along with most of the audience sat or stood still. This is a definite must-hear version. The vocals were so clear, this was close to perfect. Holy shit, I yelled, with the opening notes of Simple. I was not expecting this at all. Wow. My brother pointed out a sign at the back of the Arena - in the shoemaker font, Simple it said. I guess the band could have seen it. So, I was expecting some long, jammed-out version (much like the previous Simples I have seen, especially Starlake). But just as this version started to get the least bit spacey, they stopped. It just faded out. I don't know if they were worried about a curfew or what, but it seemed to have stopped prematurely.
But my displeasure didn't last long as they started Loving Cup. This is another song that I can't get enough of, and this set closer had me dancing and singing and smiling all over the place. I especially love Page on this one. A good way to end an interesting set, now that I look back on it . . . it was over around 11:19.
I didn't know what to expect of an encore, joking that I was going to get another Bold as Love. But Slave to the Traffic Light was a very nice surprise. This version was a good one. Not too inspiring, but nice none the less. At least it didn't go heavy on me like in Cleveland in 97. Highlights: most definitely the Wading in the Velvet Sea, the bass-keys jam at the end of 2001, the old-school Michael Jackson over the PA as the lights came on.
All in all, I was happy with this show. It had some high lights and no real throw-aways, although I was a little confused. When the band was in sync, they were really tight, moving like a well-oiled machine; but there were points where Trey was off and seemed to rush through things. And although Fishman once again proved he is the back-bone, and Mike was able to shine through a few holes, Trey seemed to lead the show a bit. Not enough Page, or full-band jamming. It did leave me with a nice glow, knowing I was going to be going to the show on Sunday as well. Ever get that feeling, that acknowledgment that you have tickets for the next night, another night of amazing music and fun surprises? Oh, It was fun to watch Trey talk into the mug, now that I am "in the know."
Phish -- 10/10/99 -- Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
By Jeremy Welsh
The Arena slowly filled up with a rather mellow crowd. That wouldn't last long . . . Charlie Hunter (or John Scofield) and then Olu Dara were played over the PA. My seat for this show was directly opposite the stage, again, up in the upper balcony. Great sight lines, lots of room, and great fans around me, including some of the people from the previous night who had M.O. tickets in the other section - do they give them out in blocks?
Set One (8:05): Farmhouse, Gotta Jiboo, Heavy Things, First Tube, Dirt, Vultures, Stash (9:15)
Farmhouse opened the show, and I think did a good job of it. This song seems to keep improving, and although it isn't a "rocker" or vehicle for jamming, it does a good job of setting up a positive vibe. It also started a string of relatively "new" songs that lasted the whole first set. Gotta Jiboo was next. My only experience with this song was from the Trey solo that I had heard, and was able to call it as soon as it started. And out of the three "Trey" songs that were played, I was impressed with this one the most. It was really cool to see the whole arena of 18,000-odd fans bobbing back and forth to this song. It really works well getting everyone up on their feet. I also think it is in this "Trey" song that the complete band gets to contribute, both in their playing as well as in the nice singing.
After ten minutes of great boogeying, we had "new" song number two, Heavy Things. This was the one I wanted to hear, after really being turned on to its catchy poppiness on the Trey solo CDs. And while I enjoyed the ten minutes that this song lasted, it didn't do as much for me as I had hoped. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, I just see more of a future in Jiboo as a song that goes places.
And this also applies to First Tube, new song number three. And while I know lots of phans have mentioned the groove and potential of this instrumental, the version Sunday night was a bit repetitive. My brother thought Mike's bass line sounded a lot like an Allman Brothers' bass line. This also lasted for ten or so minutes. I do see how this song could act as a great piece in a jam, flowing in and out of other, more complete tunes (like Tweezer or Punch, which may fit nicely); it just didn't show too much Sunday.
Dirt followed - for my brother. ; ) It was well placed, and is a great song to just sit and listen and smile. One of Phish's more beautiful songs, and this one certainly was that.
Vultures followed, adding to the string of "newer" tunes (or, should I say, unreleased music). And it was good, but was a bit different from other versions of Vultures that I had seen/heard. I was expecting a dark, forceful version, like the one I saw in Shoreline in 97. And we got that, to a point. If I remember right, it went through one section of the "Duh-duh" part, but then it seemed like Page ended that too early; he seemed to get a glance from Trey and Mike at that point, but remember, I was pretty far away. It also seemed like there was another verse sung by Trey - does anyone know if this song has been a bit re-worked?
After some chatting amongst the band, they decided to go with an oldie - Stash. I was hoping for this song, and the band certainly delivered. This is a very, very good version, with nice tight jamming, traveling a little bit of landscape. Stash started around 9:00 in a typical way; I don't really remember any flubs here. As the jam progressed, it took on a very light feeling, odd it seemed to Josh and I for a Stash. At about eight minutes, it certainly sounded like Phish was playing a Hood Jam to me! Nice and airy. Really nice stuff, with some cool Red and White lights from Kuroda here (who, as always, was great). At 13 minutes, they were back into Stash, ending two minutes later rather abruptly. As with the night before, Trey quickly rushed off stage.
Highlights: first Jiboo, Heavy Things, and First Tube, a strong Stash; this was a very fun set, with everyone enjoying themselves.
Set Two (10:10): ambiance (with glow sticks)->YEM->Prince Caspian, Trainsong, Bathtub Gin, Character Zero (with Thanks)
Encore: Contact, Misty Mountain HopThe band came out, and started to slowly make noises. At the beginning, it sounded as though they were tuning up or just fiddling around like the Dead used to do. But the ambiance grew into a little jam. A perfect time for all of those fans who were itching to throw their glowsticks for three sets to wage a mini-war. Nothing too out of control, but some neat parts, with the blue rings that flew over my shoulder, as well as when Paul got into the act by throwing a glow stick that landed in his area. I am sorry to hear about the fan up front who got hit in the eye - no matter how neat it looks from the second level, I can't help but think about how it must feel to get hit by one of those sticks.
The ambience lasted for about eight minutes, slowly fading out to the opening notes of YEM. With these opening notes, a huge roar erupted from the crowd. I haven't heard this song live since Shoreline 97, and I was more than ready to travel along its path. It was certainly enjoyable, including a tramps section that featured an almost-fall by Trey. Following Charlie's nomenclature, the Nirvana, WUDMTF, and Tramps sections all seemed pretty normal (read "great"). Around 19 minutes in, Trey started playing that choppy guitar that I thought sounded like Moma; my brother heard Cities; either of them would have been cool . . . YEM lasted for about 26 minutes. I was toying with myself, thinking that we were in for an epic version of the song, lasting the whole set. But what we got was very good, none the less.
YEM slowly faded into Prince Caspian. It was epic and grand, just as to be expected. The last two times I have seen this song, it was placed at the end of a nice period of jamming, giving the space that preceded it a formality. I like Caspian that way; it seems to work.
Trainsong followed. I find this song to be very successful in that it captures the essence and feeling of riding a train, IMO. I find it to be a nice treat when Mike sings it at a show; a good wind-down song. What followed was a fast, crunchy version of Bathtub Gin. They really pushed songs they played this past week-end to their seems, both in speed and in Type I jamming. And Gin was no different. A really neat version, with great high hat work by Fishman. As I mentioned before, he always seems so solid, at every show . . . very good stuff. I chuckled to myself when the lyric about everyone taking a bath gets a big cheer - does anyone else find this funny, with the questionable hygiene of some fans? Oh, well. After this really good version of Gin, I kind of groaned to myself with the opening notes of Character Zero. But this was enjoyable, with lots of singing done by the crowd. A rocker to close a rocking week-end. But the special treat during the closer was the time taken by Trey to give thanks - thanks to the crew, thanks to phans. He mentioned that over a bottle of champagne (so that is why set break was so long!), they talked about this "special thing we have going" and how happy that made the band. He also mentioned that lots of friends and relatives were at the Albany shows. Kind of a touching moment.
I really had no idea what to expect of an encore - a guest? a break-out? So the opening notes of Contact put a big smile on my face. It was really cool to hear this one live, and it was made even better that they kind of jammed this simple song out a bit - even Contact was rockin'! I knew they weren't done, and my smile grew even more with Misty Mountain Hop - it really is great to listen to Page trying to belt like Robert Plant. Can't you picture Page strutting around the stage, chest puffed out with his button-down un-buttoned? A great vision . . . it was a fun song. Not musically strong, but fun.
Highlights: YEM, the crunchy Gin, the Thanks, the smile-causing encore All in all, I had a great time at the two shows Saturday and Sunday. As I have said a few times, these shows really didn't go too far in the exploratory end of things, as most jams were Type I in nature, but the songs were pushed to the edges, rocked harder and faster than usual. I realize they were probably tired, but they still wanted to give it that little bit more - I appreciate that. I am still smiling . . . and my hunger for NYE has only grown!
moe. -- 10/8-9/99 -- 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.
By Ryan Doyle
What a highly anticipated 2 night stand this was. My friends and I bought tickets way back in September knowing very well that the show could be sold out. The month long wait to go to the show was gonna be hard to deal with. That's one thing about moe. shows, they just keep getting better and better every time you see them.
We had caught them at Pier 6 with SCI, Gov't. Mule, and Galactic which was phatty boom batty, but the fact that each band can only play a 55 minute set is kind of a setback. These two shows would be my 8 and 9 shows, and I had a feeling they would be the best 2 I've seen yet although new years was an absolute blast). We headed out to the show at about 8:15 and got there right at the end of Star People's set. We went in, got ourselves ready and hung out for a while off to the right of the stage.
When the band took to the stage, it got packed in there. Akimbo opener was great. Short but great. Next came Waiting for the Punchline which has that electrifying bluegrass jam in it which takes it to another level. Vinnie and Jim start in on drumz and soon came the familiar sound of St. Augustine, which is when I decided to head to the back of the venue for more dancing room. I hate being all cramped up and not able to dance. After St came Guitar which was a cool tune sung by Al, I think. Next came Timmy which is what got the place absolutely rockin. We were all going wild in the back of this joint . The song started to slow down a bit and you could slowly start to hear the intro of another song. At first I honestly thought I heard St.. Stephen, but in came Recreational Chemistry.
Again the place erupted as they took this song to a new level with tripped out lighting and a phat jam. Rec went back into drumz and out of drums came the tail end of timmy. An incredible first set. During set break, I moved back up to were my friends were and waited for the next set to start. It was pretty crowded by this point and I knew my time near the front of the stage would be short lived again. moe took the stage and opened the second set with a good ole Spine of a dog. Well played and perfectly segued into none other then Spaz Medicine. Talk about psychedelic! The strobe light lit my eyes on fire. I was dancing with a couple of girls I met at the New Years show and we were having a blast in the back.
It's cool as shit to look up every now and then from your dancing to see the entire crowd bobbing up and down in front of you. Spaz Medicine ended after some hard rockin and Rob stepped up to sing NYC. I've only seen this song on setlists before and never heard it , but I gotta say it was a totally mind melting experience. However, nothing could prepare me for what came next. I was giving this chick Lauren my already been chewed gum when I heard Al fire up Time Ed. Incredible. I went ballistic. Can't get enough of this tune. Jammed out and like butta'. Al busted out the mandolin and I had a good feeling of what was coming next. Blue Eyed Son put me on my ass, I dig it when they play some good old American bluegrass. You can't do anything but dance dance dance. After that short little diddy came what I had been waiting for. An extremely trippy and jammed Jazz Wank>Buster. The Jazz wank went on for about 8 minutes before Buster finally arrived. Buster is the kind of song that makes you hallucinate your face off. An incredible set closer.
For an encore, Rob introduced, weighing in at 110 pounds, Jimbo Loughlin. What I heard next was like candy for my ears. Farmer Ben is a song like no other. You've got Jim rappin about some dude with 3 fingers, and you got 4 white guys layin out a WHOLE lotta funk. I thought that would just about do it, but nobody put down their instruments. Take the Money and Run was a treat and a great way to end a perfect evening.
Now for night 2. We started out just loungin' at my friends apartment drinking Saranac's and puffin tough. We all knew what kind of a night was ahead of us. A night of total lunacy and euphoria. We got to the show a little earlier this time and got up right to the stage in the Chuck Zone. I had front row at the Summer Sessions and danced in front of Al all night, so tonight I would get my share of Chuck I figured. At about 10:10, moe took the stage. Plane Crash opener did me right. Al got out his mandolin again after plane crash, so I knew we were getting some more bluegrass. Time Again ripped and roared and Al was in a groove.
Stranger than Fiction came next and Rob sang very well, considering you usually can't understand him any other time. Nebraska is a tune I liked way back when I got my first bootleg of moe. I didn't have the setlist to the tape, but I knew I liked that song about Jupiter. After Tin cans and Car tires came out, they played it at almost every show I went to. I just feel they could fit a better song in that slot, but then none of the girls would be able to scream and shout for it. So they played Nebraska, I popped some more boomers and headed for the back again to dance, only to realize the place was packed. So I headed back up to the front row and decided to wait till setbreak to go to the back. And I'm glad I did. Mexico was the next song and we went crazy in the middle of that intense jam where Al just keeps taking it further and further. We were so lost in the jam that when they finally came out of it, I realized I was wacked and about to hear Seat of my Pants, one of moe's best songs by far. It sizzled and smoked. During the heavy metal part of it, the strobe lights lit the entire place up with balls of energy and had everybody moving.
A masterpiece of a first set. Setbreak was a struggle for me as I could barely maintain my normalcy anymore. I found my friends from the new years show again and hung out with them until moe took the stage at 11:20. I tried to stay sane as they busted out Four. I couldn't hack it. I had to dance, so again I moved to the back of the joint and danced like a madman. As Four went off into the depths of twisted lunacy and dementia, I came to a sudden realization that I was hearing the intro to a song I had yet to hear and was in extraordinary pain TO hear.
Every show I've been to, I have prayed that they would, out of the kindness in their hearts, play Rebubula for me and me alone, but to no avail. I knew tonight was the night I would hear it, but I just didn't know when in the show. Well, I was as ready as I would ever be for it now. Rebubula soared in and sent the entire crowd into a frenzy. So much so that, some asshole dropped his beer right where we were all dancing. I ran out and told someone that this mess must be cleaned up pronto.
To my good fortune, a kind soul came immediately to clean up a dastardly mess. Bless him for understanding my concern. When a band like moe plays a signature song like Rebubula, you can't help but have that glowing sensation around you. All those people around me had it just like I did. It was the best song of the two night stand in D.C. The floor had to be in pain because not one person was standing still. We all shared in one of the greatest moments of our concert going lives. The energy and chaos was unbelievable. After Rebubula was Cap't America and Rise, which I don't remember at all. Can you blame me? I was in a state of perfect euphoria. But that all ended when I heard the rough and malicious sound of Meat. Usually, it seems meat is played in bits and pieces at shows, but this meat was like the single they released awhile ago. Hard driven and psychedelic as hell. It must have been at least a 30 minute jam with no vocals except for the ominous grunt of MEAT!! at the beginning of the jam. I figured that would close what was one of the greatest sets I have ever witnessed, but was surprised when they remained on stage after meat. I had a deep and sincere feeling of what was to be the set closer and I was right. I told this chick Shannon to bring it back home, and next thing we know they're playing it. I love moe.
A lack of time caused for a short encore, but they played Fire just to let everyone know that yes, moe is the best jam band around and that they had a great time playing in the nations capital. I'd tell you about the next night in Charlottesville, VA but we missed the whole first set due to lack of good directions. The second set was pretty damn good though, but nothing will compare to the previous nights show. Thank you for your time and if you were there, you'd know what I'm talking about.
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