07-17-98 Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
1: Makisupa Policeman, Ya Mar, Gumbo, The Divided Sky, Waste, My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own, My Soul (1:08)
2: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Mike’s Song -> Weekapaug Groove, Character Zero (1:04)
E: Punch You In The Eye, Rocky Top (0:11)
This second set, despite being somewhat short, is stellar. The 2001 is groove-oriented and features the four of them just sitting back in the pocket easily steering the groove around. A couple nice ‘versus’ in 2001 and then they drop into a deliciously evil Mike’s. It is clear after the Europe portion of the tour and the first few US shows that they have abandoned the 97 cow-funk for a tighter, rhythm-driven, groove-centric jamming style. Whether it’s better or worse I can’t say, but it’s definitely different, and it’s definitely showcased in both this Mike’s and Weekapaug. I dig it, though I can see how the lack of screaming guitar peaks could be called lackluster.
You haven’t raged unless you’ve raged to this Weekapaug groove. ^ Everything Doug said about the groove is true. You lucky dawgs who were there grooving out in the wilderness on this night. Anyone got pics?
I was not there, but if you want some visuals, here is the complete concert on Youtube. Not great quality, but it exists, which is more than can be said for the '97 shows.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwpBYzqOzWQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozmDadsSY30[/youtube]