May 17, 2007

Higher Ground · South Burlington, VT

11 songs6 segues3 sets

Set 1Little Betty Boop*, Vassillios* > Commercial Amen★* > Gangster★*

Set 2Spraypaint > Shelby Rose > Save the Robots* > Spraypaint, Bazaar Escape > Save the Robots

Footnotes

Little Betty Boop - This enjoyable Boop opener starts with a short prelude featuring a dark ambient soundscape (used numerous times in Spring 07). While the first jam is relatively short, length isn’t everything. Magner’s playing leading up to the peak is superb and absurd, as he absolutely goes off. All Boop peaks should aspire to be as explosive as this one. The band was clearly feeling things as the funk jam features a few “yeah-yeah” vocals every 4th measure. This groovy jam eventually shifts gears and peaks with great soaring Barber before the final drop back to Boop.

Vassillios - After a few minutes of feeling things out, this Vassillios jam speeds up and takes on a drum & bass vibe, with a taste of Pilin It Higher. Allen drives this section and Magner complements nicely with psychedelic synths. Barber finds a lick he likes and all four members start building around it, methodically moving the melody along until perfectly dropping into Commercial Ame

Commercial Amen - Dropping into a halftime beat with an almost hip-hop feel, Magner shines early in this jam, employing a standard piano patch with some reverb. From here everything gets gooey and psychedelic. Brownie’s bass tone fits the mood and Barber is fully engaged, as Magner deploys some samples, leading into a full-on Hallucinogen “LSD” jam. (Check out the Hallucinogen “In Dub” album if you never have). The jam certainly embodies its namesake and takes its listener on a journey. After the “LSD” jam they drop back into double-time DnB and briefly return to Commercial Amen, finally using a wash of synths and ambient noise to transition out of the song.

Gangster - Only the 6th ever played, this all-timer starts with an ambient segue in from Commercial Amen. The opening jam here is serious business. Allen provides the driving, danceable rhythm as the rest of the band rides the trancey wave. With only minor hints that this is going into Gangster, dark, psychedelic jamming continues for several minutes. They don’t drop into the main Gangster theme until the 9 minute mark. This extended Gangster jam could be considered a precursor to the legendary Ladies>Gangster from 10/23/07 later that year.

Setlist data from the Biscuits Internet Project (discobiscuits.net).