7/9/99 Columbia
Set 1
The show opens with a good Limb. Nothing crazy but gets the job done
nicely. Continuing to ease us into the show, they follow that with a
spectacular Farmhouse. God I love the Leslie on this. Really, really great reading!
After a standard BOTT (can you imagine the FLAME this set would catch if
it was a modern show?!) we get a positively inspired, by 1999
standards, Divided Sky. Its good enough for me to call it a definite
highlight, if not must hear. Its tight compositionally and Trey's
soloing is relaxingly laid back yet still powerful. Very nice reading! Take note of Fishman - his playing is so nuanced and TIGHT. The guy was a BEAST in 99.
Unfortunately just as the set was kinda starting to finally get some heat, they follow DS with a rather subpar Train Song ....way to kill the set dead, guys
Finally, we get some ACTUAL heat with the Llama to follow, but my god it
almost just sounds out of place by this point. And then Driver is
next?!?! Look, I love Driver but this set is just zzzzzzzzzzz
Closing on a high note, Runaway Jim is pretty dang hot. Lengthy and
strong version that is probably must hear. Total x factor all over, this
almost deserves a jam chart, imo. Killer.
All in all, I enjoyed this set, but the up and down energy
fluctuations were just dizzying. Definitely not a great set and there
isnt much that NEEDS to be heard. Farmhouse and Divided Sky are both
very strong but still not QUITE to that "must hear" level. Jim
absolutely burned, but it always does. Jim is probably must hear though.
Set 2
Always a great sign when Punch opens a 2nd set, especially in 1999 or
1997. Everything sounds about 20 times better than in set 1! Punch is
TIGHT, performed as technically well as the best of em. Trey definitely WOKE UP during set break. Or was it the drugs....Either way, a GENUINELY GREAT version. A+
Punch fades to a close with some seagull sirens. Using that perfectly,
they sliiiide on into a 19 minute Free>WTU combo. Free is taken at a
very slow and downright sludgy pace. This sucker is sssssllllloooooooooooowwwwwwwwww. Holy hell its awful!!! Thankfully,
this inspired the jam in a big way. Just sit back and sink into the
paych-rock black tar pit that is Trey ripping it to high heavens and
Gordo absolutely going THICK. Yo, this jam is crushing! HEAVY FREE!!! LETS GO!!!!! In the end, Free never escapes Type 1, but damn what a type 1 it is!!!!
So Free fades out to ambience and they quietly fade back up into WTU. Gotta love these 99 versions that just lay into the style of the year so hard. Love some modern ones, but the spooky beauty of one like this is just awesome. Killer. Welcome to the HAZE ZONE! This version is total X Factor Magic. Absolutely must hear. Wow.
So WTU fades itself down and they begin Meatstick. I really dig when it
"rises" out of nothing like this. Good stuff and the flow of the set so
far has been immaculate.
Finally its Big Boy time and we get a 40 minute Mike's>Twist>Paug!
The song sounds good, then Trey hits a weird sounding siren loop
(sounds like an alarm with dying batteries, lol) and its off to the
races. Everyone is just zoned out, grooving it up together for a good
long while, nobody in particular taking charge.
After 5 or 6 minutes of this, the jam quiets down into a much more low key groove. Still absolutely textural in nature, this a "whole band working as one" kind
of jam. Extremely TASTY. Very slowly, the beat starts to go away and it
seems like we are moving into ambient waters. For the next long while,
the jam totally collapses as they patiently explore some interesting
"space" jamming. Very ethereal yet dark at the same time, all the while
somehow retaining a vague sense of groove thanks to Gordo refusing to
settle down. Trey goes over to the super high pitched whammy sound and
the beat picks back up signaling a return to proper rocking. Yo, this Mike's is killer. They totally put it out and then build it back up so perfectly. As
the jam is rocking out again, around the 15 minute mark they go into a
full blown Sweet Emotion jam ala Seattle 96!!!! After a minute or two,
the jam shifts again and they go into Twist.
Still using the old intro, they slotted that PERFECTLY into the end of
that jam! The jam rocks along as usual, getting really chill and laid
back as well. Overall, Twist isnt anything noteworthy, its just a really
nice type 1 affair.
And into Weekapaug we go! SLAPPA DAT BASS LIKE IT OWES YOU MONEY! Paug
absolutely SOARS tonight!!! An absolutely kickass version!!!!! Nothing
must hear, just know that its really great.
A terrific Hood closes the night with the hose we all needed. Not much to say! Grab it!!!
All in all, set 2 was miles better than set 1. Most of it, despite
being great, STILL felt slightly....less than?? Hard to explain. The
whole thing has this "this is great but none of these best anything else
played this summer" kind of vibe.
Basically, just skip right to set 2 and let it unfold. Terrific flow and
set placements. Free>WTU and Mikes Song are essential, but the whole
set just plays out so flawlessly like a constructed piece. Major points
for that.
Special note to the exceess expectations Punch and the absolute face melter Paug. Hood can come too.
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