R15/W03: 11-16-1997 McNichols Arena, Denver, CO

[Buffalo Budd]

Sweet NOT joke.

He's been working on them.

[Caravan2001]

Not, Not.

Whose there?

Orange.

Orange who?

Orange you glad we invited your mother to the gangbang......

[whatapiper]

11/16/97

Nicu- fun way to start the show.  Seems like the lyrics started in late? Trey a little rusty.  

My Soul- honestly I don't mind a good rockin soul every once in a while especially towards the beginning of the set.  Page makes me happy

BEK - miss this one, such a laid back groove with no one in the apparent lead and Mike loud and clear.  There are definite hints at the BEKs to follow but this one remains mostly flatlined. 

Farmhouse - looking for some meat but the boys are slinging tofurkey
and fakin bacon. 

Old Home Place - lackluster setlist thus far, I dig this better as an opener.  Page rocks as per usual

Billy Breaths -  rough start to the tour here as this first set seems more like a soundcheck.

CTB- I always enjoy one of these but one can't help but feel robbed at this point.  

Mule - with a guest!  Not a hater and within the right context I appreciate a good mule.  Enjoyed this one.

Poor Heart- snooze

Taste - big fan but where's the gravy?   Page delivers as always but Trey seems to be having a hard time channeling a little of his creative spark.  

HMB- not the best way to finish an underwhelming set and tour opener.  

Timber - finally business time.  I like how this one starts off despite Tonight's music sounding slightly forced.   11+ a theme developing but nothing really substantial materializes.   I liked where it was heading.  

Simple - Sweet transition and how I love me some Simple.  Slower tempo and pretty jam that fizzles nicely with some loops into > 

Wilson- not really a fan but a high octane finish

Hood- redemption time.  Composed sounds good to my ears although something is off during the minor part that I can't put my finger on.  Love this jam overall,  a really solid effort and at nearly 18 minutes  we have a keeper.

Izabella- big fan especially to close the show.  

Bowie- could there be a better encore?  Taking their time with the intro!  Trey sounds a little rushed during start to composed and stats that way for the duration.  The jam has a summer 97 vibe to it that really comes together for an explosive finish.  

Overall a rough first set and a pretty good second overshadowed by the former.  The Hood and Bowie are the easy highlights.  I give it a C+ overall and may be my least favorite of the tour.

[runawayjimbo]

11-16-1997
McNichols Arena
Denver, CO

I

NICU - A nice choice for the opener but it feels a little off and not just because Trey stumbles on the first riff. It just seems like they holding back bit. Even Leo's solo is a little restrained. Must have been a late night.

My Soul - Not my favorite tune but I'm ok with this song if it shows up early like this. Trey lays down a pretty straight forward solo but he kicks up the energy a bit. Nice interplay with Trey and Page ~3:00 shows they're paying attention and then Page plays with a lot more urgency than he did in NICU. Ok, now I feel like the show started.

Black-Eyed Katy - I <3 BEKs. Funky goo just drips off this thing. Patient, subtle, groovy. People staring at me on the train as I'm jamming in my seat. This setlist has a real summer-y vibe to it, and I'm cool with that. Now let's get to some meat.

Farmhouse - Ahhh, not what I had in mind but ok. As far as Farmhouses go, this one is enjoyable tolerable enough I guess. And it would have given me time to go grab a beer before the meat, which is obviously coming up next.

Old Home Place - Hmmm. Somebody around here lives in Charlottesville, can't remember who. Oh well, not important. This song only works as an acoustic bluegrass number, obviously. Now for some meat...

Billy Breathes - Seriously? Copy/paste Farmhouse notes.

Cars Trucks Buses - Now I'm thinking they're just fucking with us. I'm ok with any one if these last 4 tunes as a breather after some face meltage but back-to-back-to-back-to-back just seems like some kind of sick joke. I do like this much more than the prior three tunes and Page really brings it, but I'm in some serious need of a pick-me-up after 20 mins of filler.

Scent of a Mule - Not exactly what I had in mind but it'll do. I like the banjo with this and the mini-duel is kinda cool. Then Trey breaks into Foggy Mountain which I really like and they roll it right back seamlessly into Mule (until Mike comes in a little too early and fucks up the tempo). I dug that.

Poor Heart - Back in keeping with the theme of questionable song selection I see. The banjo adds a nice quality to this, but not enough to make me think Trey wasn't really high when he drew this setlist up.

Taste - I like '97 Tastes. They finally seem to have figured out what the song was supposed to be and it feels like everyone plays with a lot more purpose rather than meandering through the jam rudderlessly as they often do in later versions. With a few minor exceptions, Page is beautiful on the grand as always. Trey takes his time developing his solo but after Mike starts giving him some gentle encouragement ~6:45 Trey really digs in. Some minor miscues with the ending but overall a fine version. Still, kind of a questionable choice to end the set.

Hello My Baby - To the dude who screams ~20s in (and anyone else who feels the need to interject their annoying sound effects during quiet parts of a show): STFU! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU, DILDO!

II

Timber (Jerry) - FINALLY some meat. Cool spacey intro and a nice patient jam. Almost too patient as it's not until ~8:30 they start developing a theme that grabs my attention. From that point it gets pretty cool though, building off that theme with some heaviness for a couple of minutes. Then it spaces out and morphs into a cool little jam but no one seems to know where to go with it so it just sits there until Trey finds a very familiar sounding jam ~14:15 (sounds almost like an '80s TV theme that I can't put my finger on). Page and Mike turn it into Frankie Says while Trey keeps playing with the TV theme and then he quickly dives into...

Simple - It's definitely no ripcord but I feel like Trey could have been a little more patient with it; overall a pretty cool segue though. Little loose following the last verse and a fairly typical Simple ensues. Another nice segue into...

Wilson - Despite the nice transition, this one gets a little rough. Even the crowd seems to be getting annoyed (see the barely audible "Meh, Wilson" after the first verse). Ouch, Trey hurts my ears with the start of that first lead (although he recovers fairly well). Right into...

Harry Hood - They seem like they're just gonna coast to the finish here. Pretty tight Mr Minor from Trey (although Mike seems to be having some issues) and then it's like they all decide they can't go out like this and pull together a pretty solid Hood from that point on. Nice mellow jam with some quality playing by Trey with Page adding those synthy textures the way he does. The jam builds nice and patiently like a good Hood should. They still sound a little out of sync toward the end (especially Mike) but overall it leaves me feeling pretty good.

Izabella - Without question the one bustdown I'd love more than any other (although they'd probably ruin my memories of Albany by butchering it). My least favorite version of the tour as it's just not as tight as the others but it STILL rages which is an indication of how badass it is.

E

David Bowie - Time to make a statement after kind of an off night. Really cool extended intro. Couple misses in the composed section but pretty solid. Pushing some nice tension in your face ~11:00 but they just kinda sink back into the Bowie jam so you don't really get any release. They jump right back into some more tension but really whiff on the peak ~12:30. They don't lose their composure though and just keep the rage coming. I love the flurry of Mike ~13:40 picking up on Trey's helicopter-y effects. ~15:45 Trey teases that TV theme from the Timber (which now convinces me it's something) and then they SLAM back into Bowie all nice like. They're kinda clinging to the rails through the end but manage to pull it off.

Overall, I think this first set suffers more from shitty song selection than it does from poor playing and the second seems a little uninspired (which might be why they pulled the plug after 50 mins). There's some enjoyable moments, but the level of what-the-fuck-ed-ness in the first set is enough to call the whole thing into question. It's hard not to look at Show Club picks in the context of their respective periods and when you do that, this one clearly falls short. However, as a standalone show, it's not entirely terrible. I liked the Mule, the last couple minutes of Timber and Bowie and I'd give my left nut to hear any version of Izabella again. I'll give it a B-.

[Buffalo Budd]

Just listened to this show the other day and I like it, won't bore you with a review since I'm not signed up for this one but I'd give it at least a 'B'.


And good one Caravan. 

[Caravan2001]

 NICU >--Kinda meager start, they sound a little tired....ok
My Soul- trying to raise the energy.  The crowd sounds pretty fired up at least. Not bad.
Black-Eyed Katy-  I like this track but this one does not come close to the versions that followed on this tour.  It's a new one so they get some slack.
Farmhouse-  I like this song and I like this version, but it does nothing for the set energy wise....
The Old Home Place- they played this?
Billy Breathes- yep, another slow one. This one sounds a little uninspired too,, but I love this song.
Cars Trucks Buses- I like this track and wish they would bring it back.  At one point it sounds all kinds of fucked up but they snap back into it and the corwd cheers.  That part was cool, makes me think (wish) the fucking up part was intentional.
Scent of a Mule- pretty lacking version, special guest and all.
Poor Heart - def not the Poor Heart from the MSU show.  This one actually suffers from having a guest.
Taste- not a favorite version.....
Hello My Baby- goodbye my baby....


Timber (Jerry) ->  They start this one out spooky and it goes places.  Especially at the end.  Def highlight and a version that will compete with most others.
Simple -> Like the way the segue into this but not much more.
Wilson > - Also like the way the segue into this, but it is pretty sloppy.  I like the placement though.
Harry Hood >- Great version that keeps going and going.  Another highlight for me.
Izabella- I love Izabella and it would have surprised me out of the Hood.  Decent version, not amazing, not terrible.
E: David Bowie-  They redeem themselves with this.  It is a solid version and always welcome in the encore slot.  Not mind blowing, but solid.

I went to the two shows before this and drove back to Vegas after Salt Lake.  I don't think this show is any worse than the Vegas show, but the Salt Lake show pwns it.  The next night is on a whole other level and is the first glimpse of the greatness that is Fall 97....I think the first three shows of the tour are basically throw aways save for the SLC Gumbo which obv roolz.  Still, this is a decent show, the Timber is tits and the Bowie is decent.  Good Hood too, but the rest did not grab me so much.  The first set just never clicks. B-....Still, I have never heard it, so I am always psyched to hear new stuff. Thanks Phil.

[Pholy M. Pia]

Am I still doing this? Yes I am. Just laggin' ass big time.

Set I

NICU - I like this song, but it seems like it must be a tough one. For Trey in particular, he just rarely seems to nail it. This is the case here. Still, not the worst, and rhythmically a peppy way to get it rollin'. >

My Soul - Good, sturdy blues rock to keep the bop bopping. Decent solo, nothing stood out pos or neg.

BEK - Sweetness for the wallowing. So far the set is a solid groove. Mike is nicely assertive. Trey and Page making funky muffins. Very laid back sounding Fish. Mike all bulbous. Smooth lead tones and lines from Trey.  This one is solid.

Farmhouse - Ah. This is fun especially with the virginal appearance status. I like the watery effects Page has going on. Pretty soloing from T. Otherwise, a cooldown when we were warm, but not hot, much less On Fiya.

OHP - D'oh. The other unneeded cooldown. I mean hoedown. They play it real good like tho.

BB - I'd be choking up a little if I was in the aud  at this point, but not for the reasons I think Trey was shooting for. Don't really mind this one usually and the playing is good and heartfelt outside the context of the set, but not here, not now.

CTB - I like this one a bunch, but it's feeling like trying to regroup to where we left off before things went drastically limp. Go Page!

SoaM - Here we have another song! With a guest! A song I like, and it's a good version, replete with banjo-y guest-i-ness! I still would have been feeling a tremendous sense of let down had I been there.

Poor Heart - Just no. Same reason as the last one. Still no probs with the playing, aside from the initial mangling. They are tight and on and whatnot, which only deepens my feeling of wasted time and opportunity. Surely some meat is coming  after all the corn and potatoes?

Taste - Sorta. Again, just not really what I was looking for, but a fine, tight, rendition of a song that I like quite a bit. The jam is nicely stretched out, with some very good work by all starting around 7 or so min in. Builds toward the peak and Fishman goes bluesy for a bar at about 8 and a half, sooper smooth. Totally worked the peak. Still pretty weak payoff for sitting through the middle of the set.

HeMyBa - Sure enough.

Set II:

Timber - A step in the right direction, intensely trippy intro w/ loops. Stealthy groove in, w/ Mike stepping down on it hard. Quick return, after the lyrics, to the loops and quiet pulse. Fish and Mike are purring and popping, and Page has a dreamy quality to his piano. Trey is all business. Fish finding fine percussive fills in the valleys of Trey's lead as Mike is keeping the time. Doubler chording begins at 9min and pulls the rhythm down to a grinding ambient buzz, with Fish and Page now flourishing. At ~ 11, Trey starts a quiet, lilting passage, in the higher register as the swarming continues. The jam takes a delicate, questing toned phrase which has nice B&R tease to phase toward the blend into >

Simple - Cool Fishman work on the segue. This song is Strident! Anthematic! And plods just a little taking the corner into the jam. Pretty enough, nothing to pool your face over. >

Wilson - Interesting transition, more loops. Not the finest ode to the Evil King, this has some pace and energy issues to my ear, but not the worst I've heard.>

Harry Hood - Another vehicular jammer. Yeah, they better after that first set. Nice extension of the intro provides lots of room for Page and Mike to do some dangerous murk lurking. Composed sect is snappy. Jam does what a good Hood should. And does it good. Does us all good. >

Izabella - Nice dirty tire-fire rawk to finish the set in much better style than the first.

fucking shitty encore break crowd noise - Truth in tagging.

David Boney - Throwing the crowd one. Excellent creeping-through-a-dark-jungle-mooded intro. The guys charge the composed section and nail it tight. What a great interaction between Page and Trey to begin this jam! As Jon comes in on the wood block, things pick up and just keep spiraling upward in light, sparkling phrases. Mike hopping from place to place to describe the boundaries. This is some real deal shit right here. By 11 min. they are hammering the noise, to bring the energy up to the tension/release sections. Great variances of tempo and theme with Page sounding lunatic keyboard spasms over Trey and Mike's distortions. Guitar flame out extreme to kick folks to the curb.


I get it, the first set is a bunch of "variety" material, and the second set is all "monsters" run together. Plus an epic Bowie encore.

I get the concept, but the execution was lacking in the first.

Some cool highlights though, and some fun stuff to review, thanks for the listen!