2021-10-01 Washington, D.C. - J.F.A.T.

 Been a couple weeks and I've just been too busy to keep going with my "2021 Weekend Review" series at the moment.

Changing that today!

So I've already heard Summer 2021, now I'm working through the notable TAB shows.
I did 9/25 Charlotte and 9/26 Asheville (No horns/singers) and 9/28 Pittsburgh (No horns/singers, + Fishman on drums).

Three more Fishman shows to go then I can restart Fall 2021 properly with context

The first three shows blew my mind. I think Charlotte and Asheville are a perfect duo - seriously, it's like one big show over the course of two nights with no repeats between them. The Pittsburgh show went even further but was a lot more "lopsided" and top heave due to the 51-minute opening duo of 46 Days into Blaze On Set two was great but stood no chance, lol

So to cut to the chase, here's 10/1/21 Washington, D.C.

Set 1:

Sand - 14 minute rager to open. Terrific, grimy, patient and dark! This almost feels like something out of 1999/2000 or so without the excess ambience (which I love, by the way!). Trey goes ham with the robo fx and this thing just destroys. KILLER SAND! The final few MINUTES are one entire massive peak explosion!!! MY GOD!! MUST HEAR!

The Moma Dance - 21 minutes! Alright! All welcome the Moma-aissance! Rough intro section when Fishman and Trey get out of sync but they quickly lock back in. Really dig Cyro's percussion on this - it almost makes it sound like Moma was friggin' made to have it! Also, no disrespect to Cactus, but Dezron sounds spectacular on here. At 6:20, we move into the jam. Trey steps on the wah and it's on. I'm not going to try to narrate this - it's a 20 minute Moma that sounds exactly like you would think a 20 minute Moma to sound like! Out of this world, dawg. It goes through 3 or 4 distinct sections and is incredibly dynamic. The final couple minutes get super quiet and jazzy. Sick. MUST HEAR!

No seriously, go check this out for the final section, from roughly 15 minutes onwards. Wow.

Set Your Soul Free - A smashing 18 minute version in slot 3. Cyro's percussion and Ray's organ really give the song an awesome flavor and sound. I love the snow-bell things Cyro starts rattling around 3 minutes. And then immediately, we dive into the jam, with Trey heading right for his waterfall delays. Things get "quiet" like the back section of Moma...Around 4 minutes, Ray takes the spotlight and gets almost two whole minute to himself before Trey comes back with the delays around 6 minutes. He and Ray and soloing together, if you will and it is glorious. This leads to red hot "type 1" until around the 8 minute point. Trey kicks on the robo bullfrog or whatever and the jam starts to get quieter again. Still raging hot but we are entering "late night" SYSF territory. We even get the bleep bloops. Trey decides to hop back onto the wah and the jam just becomes a soupy, murky, grooving hot glorious train barreling down the funky freeway. This goes on for a long time, moving through multiple "sections" of jamming within this larger "late night" setting, if you will. Very slowly, they build the energy back up to the "heat" setting and after a particularly tasty solo, Trey returns the jam back to the SYSF chorus to bring it to a close.

That was freaking SICK!!! Must hear!


Quantegy - Sick stuff. Super late night, gotta love the volume pedal and delay stuff from Trey. Fantastic! Dark and bluesy and chill. Groove heaven! Dissolves into quiet-chill awesomeness. Probably must-hear.

About to Run - ATR follows is literally the perfect song choice to follow Quantegy! It's like they were meant to be paired together! A+ Set construction!!! Awesome and destructive face melter as usual. Nothing you haven't heard before but still an oustanding version.

Carini - FACE MELTER ALERT! FACE MELTER ALERT!!! Man, this trio of Q>ATR>Carini is like...perfect!!! It's like they were meant to be played together! This Carini is a smashing, snarling, gnarly and destructive 10 minutes of ROCK SHOW fire from the sky. Must hear!!!



All in all, great first set!!! EVERYTHING was worth hearing, but I'd say the back half of Moma, the ENTIRE Set Your Soul Free, the Quantegy trio...SCREW IT! YOU NEED TO HEAR ALL OF IT!  

Set 2

Everythings Right - A MAMMOTH 29 minute odyssey through the depths of the groove. Though there are subtle changes and "sections", this is very much a "groove hard for 25 minutes" piece of music. Epic and spectacular, though surely too "one lane" for many listeners. Stick with it abd the final minutes are magic

Death Don't Hurt Very Long - X FACTOR ALERT! X FACTOR ALERT! GOAT! GOAT! GOAT!!! 12 minutes, this one is truly magical. It goes full Type 2, imo. Several different times they totally deconstruct the song, weaving in and out of it. Incredibly cool rhythm changes, from a jazzy vibe to a swing type feel at the end. HIGHLIGHT OF THE SHOW SO FAR. MUST HEAR. MUST HEAR. MUST HEAR!

Farmhouse - Farmhouse is the cool down and jesus christ if it isnt next level great. Spectacular version

No Men In No Man's Land - 18 minutes of awesome. Super latin funk explosion. Must hear!!!! Spectacular!!!
Multiple distinct sections. Wonderful patience in slowly evolving and growing the jam!!! THIS IS FREAKING AWESOME!

Blaze On - An ultra spirited 15 minute reading is next. Trey's soloing is downright stupendous. Hes doing all these unique little lines and figures, being very colorful with his playing. Hot damn, this was fantastic!!! Raging red hot finale.

Wolfmans Brother - The first encore is a super CHILL Wolfy! I guarantee you have never heard it played as friggin smooth and laid back as this. Hell yes. Lets groove, baby! Ultra sly... my goodness this is phenomenal!!!

A Life Beyond the Dream - show closer. Great stuff but in the wake of what came before... For what its worth, I listened to this while browsing an art museum all alone and it gave me goose bumps. Terrific version, again, SPECTACULAR soloing from Trey. Downright magical and full of PASSION!


YO, HOLY CRAP WHAT A SHOW!!! I think all in all the Asheville and Charlotte gigs are still the best top to bottom, but this is definitely a stronger show than Pittsburgh. Either way, you need to hear this. Its ridiculous...