A lot of real-world issues conspired to keep me away from concluding my reviews of fall tour '09 in a timely manner, but eventually I overcame all obstacles and plopped down in front of the Miami NYE run, the only time in the modern era the band has not played the last shows of the year at MSG. I was promptly greeted by a show, in 12/28, that was pretty underwhelming even by my already tepid fall '09 standards.
The show starts off promising enough, with a fiery "Sample" opener, followed by a high-energy "NICU" and a "My Soul" that is the most flawless take on the song that I've ever heard from the guys. Fourth is "Roggae," a song for which I'm pretty sure there is no bad version. Typically, I prefer a spacey and/or funky jam out of this song, and this one goes straight for the throat with big Trey-rock riffs, but there's nothing wrong with it if you're into that kind of thing. Average-great if you're not.
"Undermind" follows in the footsteps of the 11/29 version, with a big, chunky, clavinet-ful jam section. It's a bit shorter and a bit less inventive than its earlier cousin, but it fits well in the first half of this set. "Bouncing Around the Room" and "Poor Heart" are both great setlist choices in a set full of them, and they set up a long "Stash."
In a year full of great "Stash"s, this one just completely falls flat for me. It gets off to a good start, and at around 7:00 the jam moves into a neat, loop-filled space...but then it reverts back to the usual-type "Stash" jam. That is, until Trey just starts sort of hitting notes at random. This goes on for more or less the last four minutes of the jam, and while Mike tries to keep the madness boxed in with some clever basslines, it really doesn't help much. This is probably the most uncohesive, bizarre-sounding jam I've heard since I started listening to '09 tour, and it goes on way longer than it should have. This leads me to believe that maybe there's something to this jam that I'm just not hearing...but I've listened to it twice now and pretty much hated it both times. And it's not really a singular misfire, as this weirdness continues throughout the rest of the show.
The rest of the first set includes the final vacuum solo of the decade in "I Didn't Know," a "Beauty of a Broken Heart" that was clearly practiced during a band meeting that Trey wasn't invited to, and a standard "Possum." I love "BoaBH," but Trey absolutely mutilates this version. Between that and the "Stash" "jam," the second half of this set doesn't have much to recommend it, despite the strength of the first half.
The second set starts with a strong "Mike's" that features a dirtier-than-usual guitar tone from Trey and a > into "Light." The "Light" jam at first seems like it's going to go to the same random-notes place that the "Stash" jam visited previously, but at around 8:00, Trey finally gets into a groove and, chasing a fast, repetitive bass line from Mike, he helps string together a pretty interesting, minimalistically aggressive jam. The "Hydrogen" > "Groove" that follows doesn't blaze any new ground, but features Trey playing some pretty studio-flawless licks that is encouraging after the last 40 minutes or so of music.
There's not much to say about the middle of the set, but the "Makisupa" that kicks off the last third is a fun listen, with Trey putting Mike on the spot, which leads to a bass solo while the entire crowd chants "Mike! Mike! Mike!", then a "Mike's House" rap, and then, finally a clever key change that leads right into the "Hood" intro. The band follows up by playing a little bit with the usual "Hood" intro structure. The middle of the song veers a little too much into whale territory for my tastes, but it dissolves slowly into an ambient space that makes a nice, if odd > into "Contact."
Though it's nice to get a "First Tube" closer, it doesn't really lift what is for me a pretty unsatisfying show. Sure, the run of five or so songs that open the show flow really well and are a great set one listen, but when that's all you can say about a show, it's bound to be a bit disappointing. The "Mike's" > "Light" that opens the second set is interesting enough, but everything else is pretty standard. Pair that with some uncharacteristically shaky playing at random, surprisingly lengthy points throughout the show, and you'll be looking forward to 12/29 as a palate cleanser. I know I sure I am.
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