, attached to 2010-10-26

Review by n00b100

n00b100 Set 1: A very nice combination of typical 3.0 1st set songs and some rarities (Llama, The Sloth, AB > LTJP > AB, After Midnight), all played with a quite exciting intensity, which helps when a first set goes long (90 minutes!). Nothing is quite as mindblowing as, say, the 8/7/09 Sally or 7/14/13 Stash, but it's a first set, so that's hardly any sort of big deal. And the highlights - Mellow Mood (a harbinger for the second set), a remarkably Page-heavy Llama with a soaring solo from Trey, and the usual powerful shredfest in the closing Walls of the Cave - are more than worth your time. That's a lot to ask for out of a first set.

Set 2: After kicking off with a high-energy Possum, we get the first big jam of the night in Light, and it's another damn good version (it's incredibly how quickly Light developed its legs as a marquee vehicle in just 5 years, and even in 2 years at this point). The usual Light jam settles into a dreamier, quieter groove, with Mike stepping into the lead as Page plays his twinkling notes and Trey turns on one of his fancy toys; it's a nice piece of bliss, slightly akin to the 7/5/13 version, but with a more propulsive energy thanks to Fish's playing. Trey switches over to chords as Fish really starts hammering away like it's 1995, then heads over to the woodblock to really get those hips shaking. This is one heck of a dance party, and while it might not be at the upper tier of Lights, it's still one damn good way to get things going.

Mike's Song comes next, and it's got a little extra mustard on it (though it's a 3.0 version, so that's not saying too much), then a pretty decent Simple that floats to a close on a cloud...then things get good. Makisupa pops up, which is generally whatever, but this version actually serves as the wrapper for the debut of Night Nurse, which they do justice to and which I wish would come back some time. Makisupa returns to wrap up the reggae segment, then comes a nice rendition of The Wedge, and then they crank up Ghost to really enrich our lives. The Ghost shifts from a low boil to a major-key climb out of the clouds, with Mike stepping back into the driver's seat as Page helps build tension on the piano, then they rev back into the usual Ghost jam and come to a quiet, gentle finish and an equally quiet, gentle segue into The Mango Song. The Mango Song is a nice version, but then Weekapaug comes in (in the wrong key) and immediately takes this set to a new dimension, as after a few minutes of the usual Weekapaug jam Trey finds the chords to Can't You Hear Me Knocking, then starts spitting out lyrics from songs they'd played that night (first Ghost, with Fish and Page joining in, then Night Nurse) as the band charges into Can't You Hear Me Knocking proper, then closes out with the usual Weekapaug ending...or does at first, until Trey pulls out one final callback and yanks the band into Llama, leading to a strange Llama/Weekapaug mishmash for a few bars until Fish rights the ship and we get a proper Llama to close. That, right there, is as fun a set as the band has delivered in 3.0, and right up there with some of the crazier sets of the early 90s.

Final thoughts: the show of 2010, without a doubt. The first set is pretty good and full of rarities, and the second set roams all over the map, with callbacks and quotes galore, a great reggae one-off, and a super Light on top. If you haven't heard this show yet, run, don't walk.


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