The buzz around the parking lot was one of great wonder. No repeats? For as long as possible? No one knew exactly what to expect. Lists of songs that were "available" were making there way around the lot. Destiny, Alumni and Forbin's were all "locked" according to most. When we finally made our way into the venue, at about 5 PM(matinee), the lights were going down. NICU came out first and got the crowd moving, as always. A very standard version, without much jamming, just a good, solid opener. Right on its heels came Roses. This is where this set excelled. The Roses jam soared to new heights, until Trey began a somewhat distinctive riff. Letter to Jimmy Page was to be the first of our bustouts. Note perfect, they nailed. Llama and Meat followed, keeping the energy levels high, but doing nothing out of the ordinary. Thunderhead, another somewhat rare tune came next and reminded many of the Burgettstown show from summer 03. Guyute was the definition of standard. They played it perfectly, no flubs at all, so that made it special. Then Bye Bye Foot, a song never played on the west coast and many in attendance didnt recognize it. But the Fishman tune floated in and then left, leaving behind many Pink Floyd solos. Birds of a Feather just raged. Absolutely raged. It didnt go off into space or anything, just straight up rock. Just for odd placement, Tweezer Reprise, in the middle of the set. Truly bizarre. The rest of the set offered nothing noteworthy, just some fun versions of fun songs.
We felt a little cheated with this set, although it had its share of bustouts, nothing really moved us(save for the Roses). Second set however would feature some of the setlists aerobics that the early tour shows have.
It opened with a very strong Bathtub Gin, very akin to the Great Went version, soaring to unreachable heights, before settling on a mellow groove and moving to Jesus Left Chicago. During this version, which was unfinished, Trey soloed first, tearing the roof off of the LA SPorts Arena. When Page took his solo, Mike wrestled control of the jam away from him and led the band into the awesome Ain't Love Funny, a JJ Cale song forgotten since the Alpine Valley show of 97. A simply sublime run of music. After what seemed like an eternity, Trey started Piper. After the lyrics, it didnt take them long to settle into a funky 70s type groove. Staying Alive, introduced by Page on clavi first, had the entire band loving the funky soul they were creating. Almost seamlessly, Crosseyed emerged. The jam went to some spacey places, out of which Shafty flowed. The Shafty groove continued after the lyrics, after which both Catapult and Kung were recited, almost in unison. One line of Catapult, then one line of Kung. I suppose the list could read Catapult>kung> Catapult>Kung>Catapult>Kung>Catapult>Kung, etic etc, but that would take too long. Out of the Shafty groove, N2O emerged, spacey and dark, with Mike reciting his lines with extra passion. Then Revolution 1, closing out the set in style. When it came time for an encore, Ride Captain Ride got the biggest reception of the night. Page sang with more soul than he has in years.
This show was solid from top to bottom, featuring a lot of rare tunes and some inspired playing especially on Roses, Gin, Crosseyed, Birds and Piper>Stayin' Alive. Tonight is going to be interesting..........
- TMBG NICU |
