2019-11-29 Providence, RI - 2024 revisit

 Back on with the 2019 replay this morning, we begin to close in on my first two shows (12/6 and 12/7!!)

We begin this morning with 11/29/19 Providence

An interesting setlist pretty much devoid of any lengthy jamming, but length does not equal quality, so lets not jump to conclusions!

Set 1 begins with a standard good First Tube to open. Good stuff, nothing special. Fresh to get in that spot.

The following Final Hurrah is TERRIFIC!!! Truly A+ version! Put it on the must hear pile! After a solid NICU an equally must hear Steam rears its head. MUST HEAR! Another killer highlight, its a truly excellent version!

The fun keeps going with a double whammy of insanity - a very rare Scent of a Mule turns in an impassioned and flawless reading (seriously, they rehearsed this sucker) before the massive "never thought that would happen" bustout of Bye Bye Foot! Great organ and soulful guitar soloing on Foot - this deserves to be in rotation! Honestly, I much prefer this to, say, Sleeping Monkey.

Awesome.

In perfect set construction manner a fiery No Men picks us back up and gets us moving. Absolutely INCENDIARY Type 1 fire. This version is BLAZING! Nothing you havent heard before but damn is it great! Trey just goes OFF!

I should mention there has been a LOVELY kind of relaxed and laid back vibe throughout the set. Not tired, but think....breezy. Like they could be playing this set in Mexico or on a cruise or something. The following Gumbo grooves hard and helps cement this. Just another type 1 version, but per this set, its a REALLY GOOD type 1 version.

The relaxed party vibe keeps going with a nice My Soul. Red hot as expected. Good stuff.

Up next is the debut of the Vida Blue song Maybe! Only performance right here. And unfortunately its the only real weak point of the set. Pages vocal is very unsure and Trey is totally lost for what to play, AWOL for the majority. Shame, cuz its a very nice song!!!

The set ends wonderfully with a nuclear bomb double header of Sand>Fire! Both are exactly what you expect and they both friggin destroy. Good lord what a set ending!!!

All in all, I enjoyed the heck out of this show. On paper, aside from the rarities and debut, it looks lacking, but dont let that fool you. This is a set that is all about that VIBE, ya know what I mean? It felt like a breezy, beachside party with your friends. Just a grand old time. I highly recommend this set - it does not reinvent the wheel but it doesnt need to.

The Final Hurrah, Steam and Sand>Fire are probably must hear, along with Bye Bye Foot. The excellent Mule is worth a mention.

This was a GREAT set!!!!  

Set 2 - The Plasmathon

Set 2 begins with a MONSTER, must hear 46 Days that is pure nuclear, sucked-into-the-black hole ridiculousness. Maybe the version of the year! Holy crap!!!

BOTT is an excellent version, building to a surprisingly blissful peak. They truly lay hard into the BLISS on this one!!

A 13 min Plasma is the jam centerpiece of the show. It features 3 or 4 distinct sections, all excellent. One of the marquee jams of this tour - MUST HEAR!!!

After a lovely Farmhouse breather, we get a "why the hell is this not jam charted?!" Light>Plasma reprise! Light is 10 POWERHOUSE minutes of fantastic "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks playing" and needs to be heard. Terrific. And the ending is so choice.

The following BOAF is exceptional as well, Trey and the boys absolutely burning down the damn house. Must hear!!!

After a lovely Joy, we get ANOTHER great sequence! A short Simple sees a great segue into Set Your Soul Free. Another "needs to be jam charted!" piece, it quickly dives into spooky darkness for a long while only to slowlt rebuild to a rocking finale and morphing into another full on Plasma reprise to close! MUST HEAR!!!

A face melter Walk Away closes this sick set in style.

Pretend the show ends here. WTF is up with the encore - Meatstick, Sleep, Driver, Bug


All in all, this is a freaking AWESOME show and dont let anyone tell you otherwise!!! In the 2nd set, the whole 46>BOTT>Plasma shebang as well as the Light, BOAF, SYSF and Walk Away are ALL must hear!!

THIS SHOW BROUGHT THE HEAT AND DONT LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE! GOOD LORD ITS A BLAST!