7 9 25 Columbus
Set 1
An 11 minute Bag opener bodes well! Its a really good version. Not
explosively energetic, but it has a cool kind of jam where they shift
key (I think?) which gives the rocking a different flavor. Excellent
peak section but not as, well, explosive as it could be. I wouldn't call
this must here but it's really good regardless and worth at least to
listen.
The following Roggae is a typical average version. Very good and with an
excellent solo but at the same time not not exceeding any any
expectations.
Great to hear Vultures tonight. A solid version just a little bit shaky
on the vocals. Musically it is sound and Trey actually has a very nice
solo but on the whole it is, again, nothing special.
After an average Martian Monster we get a pretty good Muml. As with Bag
it follows the same kind of path delivering a really good nice version
that never completely goes off the rails but also does stretch a good
bit. Another version that I can't call must here but is also maybe worth
checking out anyways.
Another average reading for the show, Strawberry Letter 23 is great to
hear as always and played fine but nothing particularly special in the
slightest.
Man this is the most average straight down the middle set I think
I've ever heard, what the corn. Okay energy and everyone is playing
fine, but Treys playing sounds a bit uninspired and ever so slightly
rusty tonight.
Finally we get a genuine must hear. As seems to be the norm tonight we
get another fresh set call with Undermind. It doesn't do anything
special but is another in a long line of just absolutely off the rail
fantastic type 1 readings. Trey wakes up!
The set ends on a high note with the first Petrichor since 2022 (!!!!)
followed by Life Saving Gun to cap it off. Thankfully, Petrichor sounds
great. Well rehearsed as well it should be!
Then, outta friggin nowhere suddenly ....19 minute LSG. LETS GO!!! The
song is hot and the jam begins with Trey jumping straight onto the wah.
Amidst Pages robo synths and Gordos growls, he patiently takes his time
working in and around the soundscape. He's half "vamping"/half soloing.
Throughout, Gordo is way out front, almost taking charge. Eventually
Trey starts picking up steam again. They return to jamming on the LSG
theme proper. Man, those synths are SICK! Trey starts a
little melodic motif while Page is washing us down with his synths like
we are at the laundromat. Throughout all this, Trey is still playing
rather restrained, hinting at more but never following through.
Eventually they all sync up on a cool staccato kind of motif. The jam
takes a cool turn and starts to get a lot more low key. Vibrato effects
come out, Trey plinkoing it up. Fishman is still rattling away but they
are working towards other shores. Trey sets a nice looper for ambience
that you barely even notice as they all sync up again on a little
rhythm. They ride this for a long time, slowly interjecting with fills
and bits. Fishman picks up on it and does some good work accenting the
beats. Meanwhile, Trey is doing some nice still-lowkey melodic playing,
slowly adding to his loops, introducing some backwards guitar. Fishman
begins to ramp up his playing and the intensity slowly begins to build
once more. This is a great jam, very much a "full band playing as one" exercise. Killer. Definitely must hear. So
while the intensity is ramping up, Trey refuses to let go of his
backwards guitar loops. Basically we end up in this kind of fast paced
soundscapey area. Not really moving forward at all, just chillin out
hanging in one spot for several minutes. Finally, Trey jumps onto the
robo wah and we are legitimately back to proper rocking. Loopers still
going, we get a kind of dark rock thing going on. Like a slowly building
thunderstorm or something. At 15.30 he kicks off the wah and begins to
build a peak section, slowly just rocking harder and harder, working
thise sustained bends like they owe him money. This is such a "holding back" jam. So primed to just go nuts but they are teasing the crap out of us instead. Unfortunately for some reason we never get any proper peak/resolution and instead Trey leads us back into the chorus to close. Man, talk about BLUE BALLS!!! 
I cant say that wasnt awesome but it felt a little undercooked at
times. Sick on the whole but that anti-climax was super annoying. Still a
definite must hear, but I wouldn't call it X Factor Magic at all.
All in all this was an ok set. It wasnt tired, it wasnt lacking
energy, the song choices were excellent and fresh. But nothing really
"clicks" in that magical kind of way that makes you sit up and take
notice. Treys playing isnt exactly "sticky" but I also cant say it is flowing
like on a better night. He sounds rather restrained tonight, rarely
letting loose. For instance, Bag is primed to erupt and instead it just
kinda...finishes. Nicely, but slightly underwhelmingly. That kinda
thing.
There is nothing "wrong" with this set. It's just exceptionally
unexceptional. Straight down the middle with no dips and very few ups. Bag and Mull are both worth checking out once and Undermind, though
"typical" is must hear. And of course the ridiculous Life Saving Gun -
it doesnt top Manchester (imo) but is still a very worthy competitor!!!
This set gets a "eh" outta 10 from me. A solid B+ ish set
Set 2
The 2nd Sample In a Jar set 2 opener of the summer (cant believe I just
said that!). I maintain this song shouldnt be within 50 miles of a 2nd
set but this is a red hot type 1 reading regardless. Still, Sample is
Sample.
Up next we jump straight into a 26 minute Wave of Hope!!! HECK YES LETS GO AMIGOS! Very
high energy, we get the expected chirpy melodic bliss rock all the way
to 11 minutes. Suddenly they stumble into a terrific and raging peak.
After the peak subsides the jam somehow drops into a dark kind of No
Quarter area. Unfortunately its only for one brief minute before its
back out and into the chirpy melodic bliss rocking once more. This jam
is super one note, but I will admit its flowing like crazy. It doesn't
feel TOO meandering. At 17 minutes loopers and backwards fx and synths
come out and we finally move again into a much darker, super lowkey and
downright SCARY area!!! Wtf!! Where did this come from?!?! They explore
this awesome area nicely for a few minutes. Eventually they slide back
to the light and work their way out. The final few minutes see some X
Factor Magic make a big appearance!!! Trey begins teasing the crap outta
the descending Petrichor lick. The intensity ramps up 10 fold and we
get an absolute monster of a shreddy, trill fest, jaw on the floor NUCLEAR EFFIN BOMB EXPLOSION !!! One of the greatest jam finales Ive ever heard. Pedal to the friggin metal!!!!! And then, on a dime and incredibly awkwardly, Trey RIPS them out of the peak and back into a Wave reprise. Man,
that was brutal. They nailed the transition but that was so
ridiculously unnecessary and totally derailed whatever flow was
happening. That Wave was weird - it wasnt my favorite jam. What they
were actually playing was always excellent, but it was so bipolar!!
Every time you thought it was going one direction they would yank it and
slide elsewhere before said section could truly reach its potential.
Outro ripcord aside though, that finale really is something special.
Must hear jam, but with some caveats.
We get a shock cooldown tonight with the first PROPER Waiting All Night
since 2019!!! The fall 2021 "accidental" version doesnt count! The song
itself sounds fine and is super welcome, but unfortunately Trey
completely botches his solo, fumbling and falling on his face. Bummer
supreme ....
They quickly pick up the pieces and rip into a tight and hot Axilla.
Genuinely, its a great little standard version! No jam on it tonight, it
magically begins to morph and we slide perfectly into a 22 minute
Piper!! All hail the recent Piperaissance!! And thank god Trey actually allows them time to slowly evolve the Axilla outro into it instead of just yanking them into it.
Piper kicks into gear and we are off. Its hard to describe a rapidfire
Piper. Early on they begin to play around though and things start to get
extremely growly around the 8 minute mark. Trey refuses to go deep
though, insisting on upbeat melodic motif playing, yanking them back
into upbeat bliss rock territory. At least Gordo is keeping his fx
going, giving flavor to an otherwise rote section. From here I
just begin to zone out as it becomes the usual, typical "bliss rock to
infinity" version we've had beaten into us the last few years. PLEASE
FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST MAKE IT STOP I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE. Welp,
apparently I spoke too soon! Just as im completely checking out, the
jam slowly takes on a slightly more laid back kind of night time vibe. If only Fishman would stop his god damn RATTLING and CHILL OUT FOR ONCE!!! Hinting
at returning to that awful bliss rock racket, some inspiration begins
to spike and we move into more patiently kind of hazy waters. SHUT UP FISHMAN BEFORE I TAKE THOSE STICKS OUT OF YOUR HANDS AND BEAT YOU WITH THEM THIS IS DELICATE STUFF HERE SO STOP IT!!!!! Trey
is back to noodly melodic playing except that now its straight up
magical. Pages synths beneath add so much, you dont even know ....we are
in Bliss Rock Hell, but its at least much higher quality by this point.
Around 18 minutes they all lock in hard and we head for a massive peak
section. Absolutely expected, but who the hell doesnt love a soaring
final just bursting with energy!! I dont want to have to wade through
this ja again to reach it, but hot damn, this is what PEAKING
LOOKS LIKE!!! PUT THIS IN THE DICTIONARY BECAUSE THIS IS THE
DEFINITION!!!! LETS FREAKING GO!!! BANG YOUR HEAD AND GET IT, SON!!!!
THIS PEAK IS PURE MAGIC!!! EVEN BETTER THAN WAVE WAS!!! HOLY CRAP IT
WONT STOP IT JUST KEEPS GOING!
I freaking hate Pipers like that - but that finale?! Are you freaking
kidding me?! They could play Sparkle all night long for all I care if
they give us that!!
And mother of god, the most perfectly placed - and gorgeous - Lonely
Trip follows. 10/10 on that set placement. Exactly the perfect song at
exactly the perfect moment. Played slightly slower tonight, it just
spews emotion and honestly made me cry, thinking about my own memories
and life...This version is just beautiful. Must hear. Man.....what a
tearjerker...God, Treys solo is just emotional perfection. Magic....
The emotions continue as they ease us back into rocking with a
wonderfully placed Number Line. It's an excellent version hitting right
in the feels. Perfectly emotional with some nice nice peakage. Maybe not
must here but in the context of this show it's fantastic.
The set is capped off perfectly with an excellent Loving Cup.
Terrific encore tonight of Bug, MANGO and Antelope! Good Lord! Mango is killer. Tightest ive heard in a while, they nail it!!!
And the show closing Antelope is even better! Antelope has been on a
tear recently and this one is no exception. Im calling this must hear.
Its several magnitudes more explosive than many "typical" modern
versions. A ridiculous finale!!
All in all, this was far from my favorite show and possibly my
least favorite of the tour besides Boulder number two. There was a good
amount of fantastic stuff but even more that was depressingly average -
not in a bad way, just not in a good way either.
Set two brought the absolute fire. The jams weren't completely connected
if you catch my drift, but a+ for effort they were definitely trying.
The peak finale is on both Wave and Piper are extraordinary and need to
be heard at all costs. And the cooldown into that magical Lonely
Trip...chefs kiss....
I'd say I agree with the 3.7 rating on .NET. if this was 2015 this would
be a 5 out of 5 star show, but when compared to the monsters
surrounding it here in 2025, it's lack of flow and excess of issues
(even if they are probably just nitpicks on my part), definitely make it
fall well short.
Really though, what an incredible time to be a fan that THIS can be considered an off night!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment