, attached to 1998-12-31

Review by Penn42

Penn42 Absolutely one of the most underrated shows out there! I will begrudgingly admit that I hadn't heard this show until recently... Was I missing out or what? The entire show, top to bottom, is phenomenal. From the Prince cover to the Beatles cover there isn't a dull moment. The show's flow is unmarred by any catastrophic song choices and the band display themselves improvising at their most deliberate, introspective, and empathetic. Not a single note is wasted this night.

A run through of the highlights.

Mike's Groove: This Mike's Song is all about the F jam. It's delicate, tranquil, and a great example of the band's post funk jamming that had started to emerge, but wasn't always this successful. Hydrogen is flawless. Weekapaug is fire; straight up. Very hot rippin' Weekapaug to be sure.

Ghost -> Ha Ha Ha: What a combo! Ghost has a nice funky build that dissolves into, as a previous reviewer put it, "techno-industrial funk". I think that is a very accurate description; that part of the jam is very trance-like.

Tweezer -> Cities: Hearkens back to the great Great Went version of Tweezer (you know, the one with a full-on Cities jam). Tweezer -> Cities seems like such a 'duh' combo, yet this is the only time it has actually completely come to fruition. Not to be missed.

Harry Hood: This Hood has two jams. And by that I don't mean two builds. I mean two *jams*. "How could that be possible?", you might be thinking. Here's a hint: the name "Harry" isn't belted out for a full seven and a half minutes! That's right boys and girls, we've got a full-fledge no pussyfooting around type II departure before the lyrics even come in! The reggae vamp dissipates, Trey starts doing some stuff with his loop station, new groove arises, and BAM!, type II jam for about two minutes. It's awesome! The normal jam is really good too, though not as notable.

Run Like An Antelope, Runaway Jim, and Simple deserve honorable mentions here, but I don't think they quite reach the heights of the aforementioned jams. Antelope does have a fun little disco groove after the jam and before "rye rye rocco" that is worth checking out. Also, for what it's worth, there should definitely be a ">" between Simple and Hood.

This is undoubtedly the best show of the '98 New Years run. 12.29 is really good, but this show is the champion. Worth many many listens.


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