2025-01-29 Rivera Maya, MX

 Onward to 2025!! Ive got 5 or 6 weeks to make it through 12 shows (Mex and Spring) before I see them in Charleston.

Lets friggin go!

1/29/25 Riviera Maya

Set 1

14 minute Sand opener! Awesome! Sand is really good. Like a late 90s version, it takes its time nicely. Its not aimless, but they wallow in it, sloooowwwlllyyy taking their time. Nice wah playing. Finally in the back section is positively explodes. Really nice version if not must hear. Great opener!

Theme is next and this one I would call must hear! There is a ridiculous amount of...oomph to this one! Seriously, this one has some SERIOUS heft! Fantastic version!

Free keeps the energy going. Not particularly great and doesnt do that much, but the energy is there still so that goes a long way.

Small complaint so far - Trey seems REALLY low in the mix. He is downright hard to hear. Wtf.

Mull is up next. As with Free. Good and high energy but nothing really happens, if you will.

11 minute KDF is a great choice. Unfortunately, both Trey AND Page are hidden in the mix! Its all drums and bass! What in the hell is going on?! Wheres Page?! This SOUNDS like it has a unique and interesting jam Id love to hear about but the mix is so bad I cant hear Page OR Trey until nearly the end of the song!!! And that REALLY sucks because this has a cool kind of "dark chill" vibe evolving into a lengthy fireball finale. What I can HEAR is awesome!

Sounds like they fix the mix and its ok after this

We have a really cool 14 minute Ghost next. It starts very slowly, basically kind of "fading in" like the studio version. This is totally different to the "rocked versions" we are used to. The song has a super laid back night time vibe that is just fantastic. The jam begins with a short bliss rock section before quickly moving into a more funky, rocking direction with Fishma introducing a cool shuffly kind of snare pattern. From here it just evolves into your typical uptempo rock jam that you expect. Like Theme it develops some serious oomph and just rocks like hell before returning to the song. Id call it must hear. Its not mindblowing, its just really, really good though!

A nice 11 minute Antelope follows after an excellent reading of Evolve. Thankfully Antelope is seriously hot and turns in a legitimately smashing reading. Hottest playing of the set, wow!! Definitely MUST HEAR. This thing kills!!


All in all, this was a GOOD set. Surprisingly, the playing is really tight and the energy is high. Honestly, the only real, true complaint is that Trey sounds kind of uninspired. He doesnt hit any bum notes and solos fine, but his playing also just sounds really, really....restrained??

Its weird. Even the "hot" stuff isnt as hot as it "should be. Nothing feels undercooked but most of it just sounds really average but also strong at the same time. That makes no sense, I know. I guess "average excellent" is how to describe it. These are not poor or uninspired readings, they just arent anything incredible either for the most part.

Id say grab Ghost and Theme, probably Sand too. KDF - if the sound was better... Actually, that Antelope was fantastic too!

Its hard to explain - there's a lo of really, really good stuff but even the must hears feel ever so slightly "lesser" than expected. Its nitpicking but its there, imo. Id say Antelope is the TRUE beast though. A genuinely ripping rendition!!

Good set!! My complaints are definitely nitpicking!!    

 

Set 2

14 minute SYSF to open like its 2019 again. Its a solid enough high energy rocking version that doesn't really do anything and isnt really that impr yet still gets the job done at the same time. I mean, its genuinely good, but also nothing you need to really revisit either. It kinda starts to go type 2 but really just fades itself out, if you will. Enjoyable version, just really one-note.

And then, oh snap! Right into an 18 minute Cities! The song sounds great as usual. Right away the jam begins in this freaking awesome, laid back, night time kind of starry sky "dark groove funk" area. Super unique, this is friggin awesome. Finally some X Factor! Hell, this is already must hear by this point!
Thankfully they spend a long time here, taking their dang time just building this soundscape. Eventually Trey leads them out and into synthy, laid back major key playing. Yo, this jam is chill as hell, brah. But its a terrific kind of chill. Slowly it builds some steam and they work into a rocking upbeat jam. Midtempo and patient. It slowly keeps buildinf and we end up with a fireball rocking finale section that is super long and fantastic, Trey trilling away to his hearts content. Yo, this friggin ROCKS!!! That final section was just explosive!! THIS CITIES WAS AWESOME! TOTALLY MUST HEAR!

The fun continues into a 15 minute Light. The songs sounds tight and energetic. Despite its name, the jam has a darker kind of angsty vibe to it. Lots of rhythmic interplay. The guys are totally "locked in" and playing off each other so well. Listen to Fishman going nuts, using everything on his kit, lol. He's INTO this jam, haha. This is a terrific little "full band" jam with nobody taking center stage and everyone truly working together. It eventually winds its way into a terrific kind of synthy tropical section for a long time which leads it on out. This light is fantastic!!! The segue back into Light and the final synthy blast to close are just perfect. Im calling this sucker must hear. I think this is GREAT!! Its the kinda jam you just sit back and sink into .....

Mikes Song is up next and holy crap this version smokes!!!! That word "oomph" applies so hard to this one. Its just a dang steamroller!!!! Trey is ripping and everyone else is just going insane!! MUST HEAR!!! THIS THING IS FRIGGIN NUCLEAR!! WHERE DID THEY PULL THIS FROM?!?! THIS IS FRICKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLYYYYYYY CRAP!!!!

Hydrogen is tight and nailed and then something really interesting happens. Im sure it wasnt, but it ALMOST sounds deliberate - they begin Paug at about half tempo and keep it there. And ya know what? It really works!!! The slower tempo allows them to REALLY dig in hard. Its extra super funky and Mike is even more impactful then he would be. "Heavy Paug!". This is total X Factor again and oh so kickass!!! THIS IS FREAKIN AWESOME!!! CHECK THAT PEAK FINALE!!! MUST HEAR!!! THIS RULES!!!

And into a 13 minute Twist we go. And Twist is spectacular!!!! It begins really chill and works as a wonderful cool off like a ballad. The first half of the jam is wonderfully patient and laid back. Really great. And thrn sweet baby banana jeezus it explodes and goes off the deep end!! Even hotter than Mikes song, it goes full tilt nuclear bomb megadeath annihilatoon!! HOTTEST TWIST OF ALL TIME HOLY.MOTHER OF CRAP WHAT IN THE HELL!!!

The set ends nicely with a standard Number Line, lol

Encore of a rare My Sweet One with Carini to top it off. And, again, Carini is INSANE!!! NUCLEAR BOMB AGAIN!!! No joke, it just devolves into this ridiculous wormhole vortex of shredding psychedlic kind of insanity. Christ, its OVERKILL!!!

All in all...HOLY CRAP!!! Aside from Numberline and MSO, literally everything from Cities through Carini is spectacular, blazing hot, and just loaded with X Factor. No clue what happenned at set break but this second set was unbelievable.

Set 1 was good but maybe undercooked though it definitely had its moments. Set 2 was full tilt destruction.

My god....  

2022-12-31 New York City, NY

 12 31 22 New York

And so it finally comes to an end...

Set 1

14 minute Tweezer to open! And its absolutely fantastic!!! X Factor all over. The usual high energy funk gives way to reflective melodic playing. Very cool Leslie playing. Super slowly they spend their time working it skyward, culminating in a massive and lengthy peak section. This Tweezer is a little BEAST!! Must hear!!

The fun continues with a smashing Halley>SYSF combo. Both are super high energy and absolutely COOK. Total rocking! Halleys jam somehow reaches a natural point where they do a blinl and youll miss it spectacular segue into SYSF. Seriously, the segue was NUTS!!!! SYSF rocks to high heavens, eventually going type 2 and spending several excellent minutes slowly deconstructing into an abyssal "bottom of the ocean" kind of jam, winding to a close.

That duo was SO SICK! MUST HEAR!

Just as good is Rift!!! Again, massively high energy, they actually PRACTICED IT! It sounds terrific, tight, and nailed to the bone! Trey completely nails his parts and, again, this is so damn good I gotta call it must hear. Its essential perfect!! Wow!!

After a rocking Cavern, Trip rips back into a standalone Tweezer jam. Nice and lengthy at 6 minutes, hard funk turns into melodic robo bliss rock before finally hazing out into a badly placed, momentum killing Shade.

Good version as always but it definitely deflates things a bit.

Thankfully the set concludes on a high note with an "excellent but not must hear" Mikes Groove. Mikes in particular is really strong. Borderlin muse hear for that - it cooks!!! If only it was longer!

All in all this was a great first set! It cant compare to 12 29 or 12 30 but on its own its strong, pretty much from start to finish.

Honestly, remove Cavern and the set straight through that Tweezer jam is must hear with special notice to Mikes Song as well.

Good stuff!   

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with a high energy combo of SANTOS into 2001. Neither are noteworthy but they are good picks to get us up and rocking.

Up next is a 12 minute Kill Devil Falls. Heck yes! The song is high energy but the jam begins really laid back and chill for a long while. Slowly it kinda starts to build back rocking energy bit by bit. Unfortunately it never lifts off and just slides downwards into chill bliss. There is a BRIEF 20 seconds or so where it flirts with darkness and even the power drill comes out! All that being said, this jam never feels aimless. Its completely CHILL but its chill with a purpose! They are absolutely leaning hard into this "vibe" just building this landscape. I normally hate excessive chill bliss but this is something different and inspired, flowing like a river from start to finish. Even the reintroduction of KDF at the end is flawless! Id say there is good X Factor on this and im calling it must hear!

The set continues with Mercury, a measley 7 minute rendition....and boy does sucker sound LAID BACK like an early 90s west coast hiphop album. The vibe is fantastic. I mean its nothing you need to purposely seek out, but its really nice while its here.

Out of Mercury and into a 10 minute Light. Initial rocking gives way to awesome way pedal porno funk around the 6 minute mark. Type 2 here we come! The funk slowly gives way to soaring, high energy rocking. Welcome to Peakville! This sucker just burns, yo!! Must hear - this Light is friggin AWESOME!!!

Set 2 concludes with excellent versions of Waste, Drift and Numberline (obvious nod to the whole 40th thing). All 3 feel imbued with extra passion and emotions. None are particularly hot, but they all feel like there is genuine "weight" behind them. Very chill, but also just powerful. Good stuff for sure.

All in all, set 2 was pretty enjoyable! KDF and Light are both must hear. The whole traded the energy of set 1 for a uniquely laid back vibe. Not sleepy or low energy, just really relaxed in an excessively comfortable way, like sinking into a nice couch or something.

Very good stuff, if not amazing. Definitely some emotional heft to it, imo. 

Set 3

The set opens with a wild medley for about half an hour of a bunch of different songs, weaving in and out of each other, similar to the zaniness of 8/7/21 set 2. Not much to say, you gotta hear. Its super FUN and oh so Phishy! Great gag idea, the Time Machine!

Surprisingly it works better as a listen than you might expect. Its pretty awesome. The BoRhap>Jungle Boogie is amazing and special shoutouts to the Interntional Meatstick from 2010!

A truly ripping Carini (no, for real!) gives way to a fun reading of New York New York. Trey then rips back into a Tweezer jam. The jam is less successful than the one in set 1 and he axes it for Caspian.

Caspian tries really hard, spending 4 whole minutes attempting to go deep and getting nowhere.

Infinitely better is the following Crosseyed>Piper. Crosseyed goes into some cool, melodic introspection like KDF while Piper is an unbelievable nuclear bomb (no, for real!). This duo is absolutely must hear.

Following the obligatory ALBTD, First Tube closes the set in rocking manner.

An emotional Show of Life into Tweeprize is the perfect encore to wrap up 2022....


All in all, another pretty dang enjoyable set! The Time Machine Medley is must hear, as is the Crosseyed>Piper, with special shoutouts to that Carini!!

I was pleasantly surprised how strong this show was MUSICALLY. I was really prepared for the usual New Years "lets get through this and get to the gag" kinda thing. But the music was passionate, energetic and emotional throughout.

A really, really good show!

 

2022-12-30 New York City, NY

 12 30 22 New York

Set 1

14 minute Disease to open the show. Great sign! Excellent version. It never goes type 2 but it positively rages and is super hot. Awesome.

12 minute Moma in slot 2. Same as Disease, it isnt truly essential but it is spectacularly great regardless. Absolutely compilation worthy.

A surprise Pebbles in slot 3. Awesome surprise and the song sounds great, raging hard.

The first true must hear of the show occurs next with a dang 15 minute Theme!! And its absolutely MIND BLOWING!! X FACTOR MAGIC REIGN SUPREME!!!!! The jam begins and they enter a very long, wah SOAKED funk section. Its fantastic and they groove it for a very long time. Eventually Trey lays off the wah and its back to melodic rocking. Fishman signals a quick beat change and the jam closes with an inredible couple minutes of outer space deconstruction. The jam gets incredibly HAZY and has a perfect wind down close with a massive, and anxiety inducing, burst of NOISE from Trey. Absolutely claustrophobic and incredible. This straight up sounds like a 1999 jam or something. This is unbelievable - certainly an all timer Theme right here. MAGIC! MAGIC! MAGIC!!!

And a solid segue out of the noise and into Reba! Really excellent Reba. Technically it sounds about 99% flawless to my ears! They nail it for sure. The solo is very long and slow building (by 2022 standards, at least). They are just relishing it hard, taking their time. Slowly it begins to boil over, getting more and more peaky. The peak section is just spectacular. Ok, this is must hear. This is absolutely an above average Reba. And that peak!! Lets freakin get it Trey!!! THIS REBA WAS SICK AS HELL!!!!!!! MUST HEAR!!

Out of Reba we get the single most BAD ASS song intro Ive ever heard in my damn life. That Howling intro was a straight up heavy metal drone! Open a show with The Howling, you cowards!! That would be insane! Terrific choice to keep the energy high. And I tell you what, like the song or not, it is so ridiculously FUN in person! This doesnt end up being "next level must hear" but its still a terrific, stomping, great time of a party. Love The Howling!

Hey, a rare Foam comes outta nowhere next! Alright!! Terrific version by modern standards. Page sounds absolutely insane throughout and Trey is playing with confidence and fluidity. There is no "shakiness" with this one. They nail it! Honestly? Imma call this sucker must hear. Its strong as F.

From there, this sick ass set closes with Antelope. And boy does this CRUSH. They build the solo at the perfect pace, Trey hitting all the perfect notes at the right times. This is tight as hell with nuclear bomb energy. Probably must hear - its about as good as a 2022 Antelope is gonna get.

All in all, this set was AWESOME!!!! Super high energy, inspired and tight playing. Great flow and song selection (for me). Not a single lowlight and even though only a few things are truly must hear, there isnt anything not worthy of a shoutout, imo.
Foam, Reba and Theme are must hear with shoutouts to Moma and Antelope.
Holy crapballz.... 

 

Set 2

21 minute No Men to open the set. Ok, lets friggin go! Vocally flubby, the first part of the jam is one of those way too lengthy sections of boringly average melodic "bliss rock". The part of the jam you wish they would just skip. Unfortunately the jam just dissolves from there going into an even more laid back and chilled out area. Look, I guess this is good stuff, but there is zero fire here and this jam is honestly just boring as hell. It just never goes anywhere or really does anything. Total Zzzzzzzz.....SKIP!

Yes, all jams are different. No, I did not enjoy that jam. Even the peak finale was underwhelming.

Speaking of underwhelming - we move into an 18 minute Golden Age. Yay, just the song I wanted, played sluggishly without any energy. Also, what happened at set break? Treys playing is way more "loose" in a bad way. No tightness to be found anymore.
The jam gets off to a real good start with Page leading them through a very nice "jazzy" kind of section. Unfortunately its all too brief and Trey reverts back to major key noodling as expected. And man, it just never recovers....Trey spends the next 4 or 5 minutes messing around with Leslie and tremolo sounds, ditching both quickly and playing literally almost nothing. He pretty much goes AWOL for a good minute or 2 there. The band tries to pick up the slack to no avail. Finally around 15 minutes some energy comes in and the jam has a pretty good peak finale equivalent to No Men, but its way too little way too late. This jam is a bust.

Man! That was one of the most disjointed, low energy, downright confused-sounding jams I can recall hearing. In no way can I recommend that Golden Age to anyone - that sucked. Plain and simple. Call me insane but I stand by my remarks. What a dumpster fire that was....

In a rare mid 2nd set placement we now get an 18 minute Sand to hopefully rectify the crap they've laid forth so far this set. After a good wah section, Trey drags us back down with a pretty lengthy and uninspired run through more bliss rock, except he is just not present at all. His playing is sticky and sloppy and just refuses to lift off. Around 9 minutes, the jam at least takes a shift towards the weird. Robo FX and strange sounds make their much welcome appearance, but unfortunately there is zero cohesion to any of this and it just ends up sounding like a bad Melt jam. Everyone just flailing around like they are drowning. Things kinda pick up after a minute or two and move into a heavier rock direction, but really, this is just a messy, yucky jam. Id probably recommend it as it's at least INTERESTING but is it particularly GOOD? Eh, probably? Some parts are awesome, other parts suck. They move out of the cool stuff after 30 seconds each time I swear. As soon as something awesome starts happenning Trey gives up and yanks them back. They get way the F out there with this Sand but its really, REALLY janky.

A++ for effort. B- for execution. They are TRYING but it just doesnt ever "gel" in that magical way you hope for. It's like they are "teasing" us with bits of this and bits of that throughout.

Wtf is going on with this set. THAT SAND IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE WHEN I FORGET TO TAKE MY ADDERALL! Functional but forced as hell. A TON of robo and wah craziness but its all super "sticky" and just...it feels like the band never "connects" until the sick ass finale section.

If I Could is a terrific cooldown choice. Good enough but Treys terribly screechy guitar tone just ruins any subtlety. Its really nice but I wouldnt call it essential.

The set concludes with the now "famous" 14 minute IAWITW. Right away, things get interesting with Trey layering down lots of rapid fire delays before jumping perfectly onto the robowah supreme. Outerspace robo rocking ensues. Yo, this is sick. If you like the wacky robo space odyssey of the Dicks 2019 Piper, grab this. This never goes type 2, but I cant imagine a type 1 reading of IAWITW being explored more excellently and thoroughly than this!! This is just ridiculous - absolutely annihilation. And eventually Trey starts building a peak and the jam begins an insane "Antelope from hell" nuclear bomb hose finale. Absolutely x factor magic supreme! THIS IS FRIGGIN INSANITY!! LETS GO!!! HOLY CRAP.

An absolutely ridiculous Chalkdust closes the show. Must hear at all costs, this thing spewd 1.0-level energy like a train running off the rails. Think along the lines of the maniacal SPAC 2023 version. THIS is what you hope for in a type 1 Chalkdust these days. Absolutely nuclear heat.


All in all ....im incredibly mixed on this show/set. Set 1 was terrific - id rank it like a 4.2ish level set. Maybe more.

Set 2 on the other hand....the first 40 minutes are a complete waste. Just skip No Men and Golden Age. Both are just a total waste of time. No Men way overstays its welcome and does F-all in its run time while Golden Age is just discombobulated, unrealized trash.

Sand im up in the air about. I REALL dont think it "held together". It doesn't flow at all and it feels extremely forced. That being said, it is incredibly kick ass and is pretty dang sick, but its so not....smooth. In any way, shape or form. Its weird.

Id say IAWITW and Dust are both incredible must hear readings and Sand - ask me tomorrow on that one. Im 50/50 on it.

The Golden Age and No Men though....what is that crap? 

 

2022-12-29 New York City, NY

12 29 22 New York

Set 1

Holy mother of Icculus what an opening!! 22 minute Fluff into a YPC. Fluff is very good if not perfect. Great energy. Somehow they smoothly lead out and into slightly dark and powerful kind of hard rocking jam. Very much pushing. After a good while it starts to bliss out and Trey slowly leads them through an extended segue into a smashing YPC.

X Factor magic right out the gate. Hell to the yes. Of course the damn thing is must hear!

And then immediately into a 17 minute Gin?! Oh crap, its gonna be one of THOSE shows!! Gin is definitely wild and wacky, going way out into type 2 land. Unfortunately, this is TreyDHD: The Jam. Thry are listening to each other and the whole thing flows great, except for the fact that there is about 80 different sections lasting 10 seconds each. As soon as they shift gears Trey immediately gets bored and moves them again. Excessive "searching" in that regard. It does have a great finale (not as great as the one from 12/28/23, though!).

I cant call that must hear or even particularly "good". It was just..... not great, imo. Sure it was amazing in person though! Still, A+ for effort. A 17 minute type 2 Gin in slot 2 must at least be acknowledged!

Following that we get the debut of Hey Stranger. Im calling this must hear - I think this is a killer, killer version. Hot, tight and inspired soloing abound.

Just as good, if not better, is Tube. Average great, until the back half where it picks up major steam. They land in a ridiculous hose spraying section with Trey holding an insane note for, honestly, had to be at least a minute. This version is a POWERHOUSE. Must hear!!

A rare 1st set Slave is the icing on the cake. Other than feeling to short, this is excellent and powerful all around. The soloing is especially shreddy and "wall of noise". Great stuff.

A terrific Blaze On closes. Just 10 minutes of high energy rocking, robo funking and just plain ol killing it

All in all, this was a spectacular set! If you put this as the 2nd set of one of the summer shows nobody would bat an eye!!!

Basically flawless aside from the super janky Gin jam. The Fluff>YPC, Hey Stranger and Tube are what you need most, but my god what a damn set!!!  

Set 2

A super fresh start with an incredibly rare Bowie opener (dont think Ive ever heard one!). Kinda sloppy compositionally, it makes up for it with excessive all around energy and a terrific major key kinda jam. Borderline must hear. Really, its great.

What is definitely must hear is the following trio of songs!!! The X Factor fun begins with an incredible 16 minute ER. Likely the version of the year for me and one of the best Ive ever heard. Its a soupy, dark, groove fest of epic proportions. Spectacular to the end, you NEED this in your life.

YEM follows and delivers a hot reading with a maniacally BLAZING solo from Trey - holy mother of Mt. St. Helens, for real. This is essential for the extraordinary raging that occurs. My god.

The nearly 16 minute Ruby that follows reaches easy all timer status imo. A soupy, spacey, ridiculous psychedelic monster of "hold on to your friggin hats" insanity. Top 8 or so version ever, I reckon. Its that spectacular. And again, Treys soloing is NUCLEAR ANNIHILATION.

After some relief with Lonely Trip, the set concludes with monstrous type 1 readings of BOTT and C Zero that are among the finest type 1 versions imaginable. Pure full throttle, A+ versions of both.

Fantastic encore of Guyuute and Possum


All in all, HOLY MOTHER OF MOVE THE F OVER 8/5!!!! THIS SHOW WAS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!! TOP TIER ACROSS THE BOARD, YO!!!

Seriously, where the HELL did they pull this from?!?! The entirety of set 2 is top shelf. You can really almost say the whole damn show is must hear - its that good - but if you really nitpic id say the trio of ER, YEM and Ruby are the most "essential" pieces.

An extraordinary show up there with the likes of Chula Vista 2021 for my money.
Easy overall 4.5 for me. At least!!!

2022-12-28 New York City, NY

 12 28 22 New York

Set 1

The show opens with Buried Alive. Good energy and playing but a definite stiffness is present.

Wolfman and Maze both turn in very strong versions. Neither reach must hear but both are definitely excellent.

Sigma is 12 minutes. Goes type 2 for a bit but doesn't really impress. Ok version, gets an Eh/10.

NICU is pretty weaksauce but thankfully Steam is excellent. Along with Maze, this is the closest to "must hear" so far. Really fantastic.

After a screechy Tela (Treys tone sucks!) we get a real nice Stash. Worth a mention, now THIS is must hear. The jam is downright magical, holy crap!!! PEAK CITY!!! MUST HEAR!!!

Melt to close. Pretty awesome version, imo. It's wacky and shreddy and has a unique vibe, imo. Definitely a must hear!

All in all, this a was a GOOD set with nice flow and selection that suffered from a definite "stiffness". The energy is there and they "come close" many times but never truly reach the true magic, if you will, for the most part.

Stash and Melt are only true must hears, but Steam and Maze get in the ballpark.
Id put this set in the "strong side of average" kind of area. Get that Stash though - wow! 

Set 2

An excellent Free opens the set. This sucker flows hard and is red hot. Great stuff.

Up next is a 20 minute Wave. Wave is excellent - it rocks hard, going into an awesome robo funk type 2 before coming out into a massive finale ala Seattle 2023. Awesome version, id definitely call it must hear. Crazy ending where they somehow pull off a segue into...

...Its Ice!! Very good version, pretty much flawless to my ears. Killer.

Up next is Leaves. And my god, I swear, that was the most perfectly sequenced Leaves ever. Flow out the wazoo. Outstanding as hell, this is super powerful and they crush it. Must hear.

Following that we get a must hear jammed out Simple. This one is AWESOME, spending a lengthy time in ass kicking robo funk land. Killer.

Twist and Plasma keep the good times going excellently before a nothing special yet still excellent Hood to close the set.

Insane encore of Esther in a blazing 46 Days


All in all, set 2 was pretty much a smack in the face with no let up. Id say Wave through Simple is one giant must hear sequence, though everything in this set was at least base level excellent

Id rate this show higher than the 3.7 on .NET. This one feels like a straight down the middle 4.0 for me. The 2nd set just flows like butter with no let up.

Good show!

2022-09-04 Commerce City, CO

 9 4 22 Dick's

Setlist wise this looks 100 percent up my alley. Lets go!

Set 1

The setlist 2022 shakeups continue with First Tube in a rare opening spot. Good stuff and definitely sets the mood! Not the hottest version ever but definitely a good opener.

A 13 minute Gin is next. Unfortunately Trey sounds for at a loss of what to play for most of the jam. There is a bit of this and a bit of that but it never coalesces and ends up a messy disappointment. Bummer.

Thankfully Undermind is WAY better. It sounds super tired but they use this to its advantage and deliver a really excellent, FLUID version loaded with stellar Trey. Borderline must hear!!

Unfortunately, this falling asleep set encounters the worst possible thing imaginable with a draaaggggiiiinnnnggg Drift in slot 4. Wtf Trey??!! What is wrong with you?! The song itself is actually a really good version with strong soloing, its just that the damn song is played at half speed ...UGH!!

Just as bad is Halleys. God, this is the most TIRED and dragging ass version Ive ever heard in my life. The definition of low energy.

Man!! This set is downright lousy so far! There is NO energy! They are playing like they got no sleep or something. Ugh!

They axe Halley and move into a sleepy Everythings Right. Thankfully, as with Undermind, the excssively sleepy mood actually really helps. This has a very unique vibe. Its SOOOOOOO laid back. The guys are able to really sink into the groove and let it envelop everything instead of racing towards a peak explosion. But then they DO hit that peak section and the energy lifts and its just terriic!!! This is awesome!!! MUST HEAR!!!
Seriously, this is fantastic!!!

The Sleep Set finishes with More into Fluffhead. More actually sounds nice at the more mellow pace, surprisingly. Good version.

Fluffhead is really good!! Technically its tight with nary a flub. Nothing must hear but it is worth its time!

All in all, this was not a great set. NO energy at all, holy hell. ER is the only true must hear but Undermind could probably qualify as well. Aside from those 2, you can safely delete the rest of the set. And what the hell was with Drift so early in the set?! 

Set 2

16 minute SYSF open, its a very good version with about 3 distinct sections. Good energy, melodic rocking gives way to more rhythmic focused playing before a lengthy robo section. The problem is that none of it is particularly engaging or exciting. Its good stuff, but very much a "fast food type 2" jam.

The following 14 minute Fuego is miles better!! Explosively hot and TIGHT!! The jam explores some cool laid back, almost tropical areas. X Factor all over and definitely a unique reading. Must hear for sure!!! This thing grooves HARD before quietly fading itself out like moving a volume slider slowly down....

And then a spectacularly horrific set call once again with ALBTD coming next. Cmon man - I love the song but in no universe is this anything but a TERRIBLE set placement!!
The song itself is pretty good without being amazing but that god awful set call was one of the worst things I've ever sat through.

Thankfully Crosseyed and Bowie are both fantastic!! Crosseyed is downright must hear, completely loaded with X Factor. The song slays and the jamming is highly inspired with a ton of great robo action. Absolutely must hear. Maybe the best of 2022??

Bowie feels different than most recent ones. It doesnt go type 2, but its very energetic with terrific jamming. Borderline must hear.

The set closes with a spectacular Loving Cup. Nothing special but Trey goes molten banana sandwich on this bad boy. Definitely worth your time.

Crazy encore of Divided Sky, Icculue and C Zero.

All in all, set 1 was 85% a total waste, but aside from that stupid ALBTD, set 2 was excellent. It felt a step below the TRULY great shows of the year, but set 2 was really, really strong for the most part.

Crosseyed and Fuego are what you need but special mention to the encore and Loving Cup!
Id rate set 1 about a 2.5 and set 2 about an even 4 or 4.1 Overall ill give this show a 3.9-4.1ish rating.

2022-09-03 Commerce City, CO

 9 3 22 Dick's

Set 1

Heck yes! A super rare Punch opener! Punch sounds excellent for the most part. Very high energy and uptempo, its excellent aside from Trey completely botching the Landlady section.

He makes up for it though. Wolfman is exceptional!! Laid back yet high energy jamming leads to a volcanic Trey eruption. Extra sauce all over this. Totally must hear!!

And then, mother of Icculus, what comes next....

Walls of the Cave!!! 16 minutes long, this aint your typical version, just ERUPTING at the seams. They take it into fantastic robo outerspace funking and then back out into a ridiculously insane peak finale like the Bangor Disease. This is an all timer reading right here. This sucker is special. X Factor for days. OH MY GOD.

The hits keep coming with the 3rd and final (to date ) Heavy Rotation. And it sounds fantastic! Everyone is locked in tight and it kicks ass. Killer. Why is this not in (heavy) rotation?! This is sick! Must hear!

After a short but high energy Reggae Woman, we get spectacularly good type 1 readings of a flawless Stash into a simply FANTASTIC Free. Free is must hear - played perfectly and tightly, the robo jam is fantastic (if way too short) and the whole thing just kills. Seriously. You wont expect it to be this good.

Apply the same to the Mikes Song we didnt get last night. If it was longer id call it must hear. Its tight and it smokes. Not much else to say. They absolutely crush it.

The set closes interestingly with a terrific Bug. Im calling it must hear. Its really exceptional.

All in all, wow! What a set! They came to kick ass and take names!! Walls, Wolfman, Heavy, Free and Bug are all must hear, imo but there isnt a single lowpoint besides the botched Punch.

This set kills. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Set 2

After a rocking SANTOS to start, we get a heavy hitter 15 minute KDF. High energy, excellent melodic jamming, a lengthy robo/deconstruction freakout, the only bad part is that it fizzles out at the end. Real good stuff. It ultimately feels slightly undercooked, but definitely give it a listen!

Sigma Oasis is good but annoyingly Trey yanks it just as it goes type 2. Skip!

So far, the set is good but definitely doesnt feel as "flowing" as set 1. Thankfully that is about to change big time!!

In reference to the storm on 9/2 we get the incredible bustout of Thunderhead. This is spectacularly good and sounds as if it has been in rotation for ever!! X Factor all over this, this is spectacular!!!!!

A 13 minute Moma (fresh show placement!) picks things back up. Another must hear, going into a late night groove lasting its entirety. This is sick in every way. Must hear for sure!

The hits keep coming with a soupy dive into No Quarter. An exceptional version, Trey really goes ham and its hot as balls. Absolutely must hear, yet again.

After a solid 2001 the set proper concludes with Melt. This one is terrific, simultaneously going off the abstract robo looper deep end while still maintaining structure throughout. This one feels particularly standout and Im calling it must hear.

Inspired encore of a flubby Fee into a hot Slave

All in all, once things clicked, this set was a steamroller from Thunderhead onwards.
Thunderhead, Moma, No Quarter and Melt are all must hear with a nod to KDF.
Awesome show all around, Id give this a solid 4.2ish rating!!

THUNDERHEAD WAS AMAZING!! WHY IN THE HELL WAS THIS A ONE OFF?!