alright, please forgive me, I’ve only listened to this show up to the end of taste->dwd reprise, but I feel I’ve heard the majority of what this show is all about. A few general comments:
THis show is all about Fishman! I found myself focusing on his playing more than anyone else, even more than Trey, who was ON. His playing was consistently energetic and dare I say spunky throughout the show.
There have been some damn good Diseases played in Europe. 7.1.98 and 6.25.97 come to mind. In fact, the second set’s jamming up to the point I’ve listened to reminds me of the first five songs of 6.25.97’s second set, which is an astounding piece of music.
Soul Shakedown opener was nice and appropriate. Nothing crazy and a relatively short tune. There isn’t a segue at all into Divided Sky. Was there a debate about that? Trey does start strumming it immediately after though. I agree Will, this is one of the best Divided Skys I’ve heard. Its not a very lengthy version (13 minutes or so), and I think that works to its advantage in this case. Some DS’s over 16 minutes drag on a tad too long imo. The composed section is played nearly perfect. I don’t think I heard one false note from Trey this entire version. His playing was very clean and energetic, much like Fishman’s throughout the show. The buildup to the end is great, led by Trey’s inspired playing.
Wilson is a nice choice after DS, and it serves its purpose, albeit with bad lyrical flubs by Trey. I dont’ think anyone really cared though, it doesn’t really bother me. I thought I might’ve heard Trey teasing something in the space before “blat boom,” but I could be wrong.
I actually listened to My Soul and Guyute! My Soul was relatively short and well played. Thats all that needs to be said. Guyute was another good version, well played with no flubs. Its a good sign the band is feeling connected enough to get through DS and Guyute with the precision they did.
Timber! Yes! This has been one of my favorite songs lately and I was excited it popped up in this set. Not a great jam, like most Timber, but, like I said, I just love hearing that riff. Great stuff. Another short version of a song in this set, only about 6 minutes.
Billy Breathes is really a great song. More awesome playing by Trey. It was a well-placed “breather” dodges tomatoes
Llama felt like almost too much of a boost after a subdued BB, but I always welcome a Llama. ANOTHER short version of a song in this set, at 4 minutes.
Bathtub Gin was only about 13 minutes, and the jam stayed within the boundaries of the usual first two or three minutes of Gin jams, but that was OK with me in this case. They did a good job of stretching it out, and I enjoyed this Gin a lot.
Golgi was Golgi. OK set closer to a very good set.
I have to run, goddamit. Maybe I’ll finish later.
