Review by jwelsh, posted 17 October 2012 12:48 pm EDT
Set One:
Walletsworth is pretty straightforward. Alex's House; song gets a bad rap. This one is really patient at the end, and Joel's spiraling keyboards move seamlessly into Meeting In the Aisle. Simply perfect segue . . . Up next, Wappy Sprayberry. So far, there wasn't much improv. But the last three songs have a really good feel to them. The jam in Wappy starts with this great mix of airiness and funkiness, at the same time. Hard to describe, but it works really well. Great bit of improv before it returns to Wappy around the 14-minute mark; then enters into more improv . . . Really great tone on Jake's guitar here; very Santana-like. Or, on the other hand, Rolling Stones, as he busts into "Can't You Hear Me Knocking." Which is jammed right into Der Bluten Kat.
So, up until this point, the set was around 42 minutes in length -- the DBK is about 25 minutes. The first jam shows some patience, but not too much territory is covered. The second starts off promising with some riffing from Jake. And over a few minutes, it builds into a fast-paced jam. Impressive . . . and back into DBK. And then Kris drum solo, before speeding into the ending of DBK. Nice and driving. Great way to end the set.
Set Two:
Prowler starts things off after some playful rumblings on the Moog. Pretty standard Prowler that segues wonderfully into the end of All In Time, finishing off the version from the other night. It takes on a fun little dub vibe before the "Well endowed" section. Really great build to this reprise -- makes you wonder if it should be separated more often. Lots of energy.
Low rumblings before beginning The Crooked One. The main theme of the song slowly dissipates and leaves just Joel on piano with the guitarists making some noise. You can hear Ryan carrying a bassline. This continues for a bit as they feel each other out. As I have said on a number of occasions in these reviews, lots of patience here. Open and spacey. Kris starts to drumm with more emphasis, and the crowd begins to clap along. Building . . . Joel switches to Rhodes, some Moog, little riffing from Jake. Great to hear each band member playing something different, and how well it works together. And out pops the "Let Me Blow Your Mind" teases.
Great transition into Got Your Milk. And the song is pushed a bit, right after the "Shirt stain" line. Driving, linear, as if the normal riff just wouldn't stop. Then it opens up, as they did all run; piano work from Joel, great little riffs from Jake. Man, this is good. A must hear Got Your Milk, imo. With a perfect segue into Nothing Too Fancy. Such a great section of music right there. (Got Your Milk without the "Atkins!" yell.) Fancy is pretty tame, actually, heading into the I Am the Walrus segue. Coming out of Walrus is much more interesting, with the "Rhiannon" teases and the keyboard work for Joel pre-N2F reprise. They are really drawing this out, with one "Rhiannon" section and then another. About six-and-a-half minutes before the Fancy really starts to appear. Lots of Pony thumping away.
Intentions Clear is a bit of an odd encore choice, actually. Pretty straightforward. Just, well, a good stand alone song. Now, the last song of the run, though, was a treat. Especially with Mr. Al Di Meola in attendance. A Senor Mouse to send people home smile.
Highlights for me are the Alex's > Meeting In the Aisle > Wappy. And the All In Time ending. And most definitely the Got Your Milk jam into N2F.
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