April 11, 2008

Nokia Theater · New York, NY

13 songs9 segues3 sets

Set 1Caterpillar, Kamaole Sands★* > 7-11* > Little Betty Boop* > The City > Kamaole Sands

Set 2Vassillios★* > Spaga★* > Above the Waves★* > Confrontation > Caves of the East

Footnotes

Kamaole Sands - Kamaole jam starts out with an energetic happy dancey groove for the first few minutes. They transition to the relative minor for a darker sentiment. Allen gradually slows the tempo down to a hip-hop beat, with a groovy Brownie bassline, and Magner providing a hypnotic atmospheric soundscape. They go into a Robots-esque dark funk jam for the next few minutes. Barber finds a cool repetitive riff as Magner and Brownie transition to a lighter feel. After Barber wails for a bit, he uses a muddy pitch-shifting effect that descends his sustained note over several measures, and at just the right time, the other 3 members drop an out-of-nowhere segue into the 7-11 middle “towel” jam!

Vassillios - One of the most celebrated jams of 2.0. After some noodling on the Vassillios theme, Barber uses some middle-eastern notes as Magner provides a backing soundscape. Allen with some aggressive breakbeats. When Magner uses a psychedelic ‘washing’ sound effect, things get interesting. Barber creates a nice theme while Magner employs an unusual patch that sounds like something from a retro video game. The whole band is locked in for this feel-good groove, with great arpeggios and sound effects from Magner. Then Brownie signals the relative minor for a darker feel, as Allen switches to E-drums. Magner takes the lead with great background strumming by Barber, creating a truly unique deep sound. This is Bisco. Brownie starts easing in his Spaga bassline as the band segues into a techno Spaga.

Spaga - The Spaga DnB jam starts off with a somber tone for the first few minutes. Magner with some strange sound effects. They transition to major mode for a blissful airy vibe. Magner uses a flute patch and teases The Beatles’ “Baby You’re a Rich Man,” while Barber adds flavors of House Dog. After peaking this bliss jam, they shift gears entirely and go to the relative minor for a menacing sound. Barber uses a distortion filter, Magner with psychedelic ambiance, Allen with a punishing bass drum pulse. The band is locked in for this evil groove. After several minutes of this aggressive fast tempo, they briefly go into halftime for a more chill dub feel. Allen goes double-time again as the darkness returns and the intensity builds. Magner’s sustained notes signal that the Waves peak is coming. Barber now uses a clean tone for some groovy soloing. Suddenly the band shifts to major for a brief triumphant moment, then go back to minor as Barber wails and they drop into the Waves peak.

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