The Verdict:
This show is perhaps a little stronger than the previous night's offering, but stays mostly mired in the funk (and not the good kind) that surrounds both of these weird Texas shows.
The first set starts out strong, and indeed I tweeted something to the effect that the band was coming out of the gates in a lot more cohesive a fashion than the previous night. The "Tube," "Guelah" > "PYITE" > "Steam" sequence is strong, and "Steam" even hints at a bit of a "real" jam, moving smoothly into funk (the good kind) territory. But instead of following through, the band comes to a full stop, and starts up "Poor Heart," which opens the rest of the set to jukebox tunes. I say that while acknowledging that I also love "Divided Sky," but this version is sort of creaky and painful to hear through the composed section, and the jam, while strong, isn't anything you haven't heard before.
The second set, like the previous night's, packs some flashes of brilliance in, but here they're more concentrated. After 2014, I sort of imagined I'd heard it all when it came to extended "Chalkdust"s, but this version is really unique. Your mileage might vary, but to me the minimalist, bass-led approach to the jam is something I haven't heard often in "Chalkdust" jams, and it's long: the guys stick with this space far longer than they typically would, before building to a more typical rock peak. It's sort of like the big brother to last year's underrated 7/25 "Chalkdust." The "Simple" that follows is pretty much par-for-the-course in terms of being a beautiful little "Simple" jam until, led by Trey, the guys build a long, slow segue into "Silent." Typically, this might be a momentum-killer at this point in the set, but the segue is so good by the time they transition, you just want to hear it.
Unfortunately, the rest of the set is totally rote in by-now-expected Texas fashion until the 15-minute "Hood" set closer. This guy also follows the '14 blueprint, departing from the typical structure for a "Manteca"-ish jam and then a much more frenetic and intense outro solo than Trey usually contributes. It's a great version, and gives us a second highlight from the show to enjoy. Encore-wise, "The Connection" is a cool choice, and the following "First Tube" is one of the more melodic versions that I've heard.
The second set starts here at 1:20:00:
The Live Review:
7/29/15: Second Texas show opens with a loose Tube.
7/29/15: Guelah Papyrus in the two-slot! Would love to see this in S1s more often.
7/29/15: PYITE. Loving the song selection so far in this set.
7/29/15: > Steam! Didn't see that coming!
7/29/15: The difference between this and 7/28 in terms of 'flow' (I hate that word, but you know what I mean) is night and day.
7/29/15: Trey throwing out a pretty swanky solo for a first set.
7/29/15: Nice, slow move from the solo > final vocals > half-tempo funk jam. Neat.
7/29/15: That seemed destined for a cool segue, but full stop > Poor Heart is good, too.
7/29/15: NICU is next. Falling a bit into jukebox territory here, but still strong energy.
7/29/15: I Didn't Know is fun.
7/29/15: Trey talks about being born just down the road before the vacuum solo, then introduces Fish as 'The Best Man.'
7/29/15: Now Stealing Time. Somebody definitely hit 'Shuffle' on the setlist sometime after Steam.
7/29/15: Divided Sky! Now that's nice.
7/29/15: Btw, I think that version of Stealing Time was one of the shortest ever. Maybe even shorter than the album version?
7/29/15: A few surprising and fairly cringeworthy flubs from Trey, but otherwise a great version.
7/29/15: Squirming Coil...probably as set closer?
7/29/15: Trey having some trouble here, too.
7/29/15: End set.
7/29/15: Second set kicks off with CDT. What is this, 2014?
7/29/15: Really smooth transition into a spacey-space here in Chalk Dust. Page on electric piano. Always a good thing.
7/29/15: Mike's grabbed the wheel and this is awesome. Really broken-down. Trey chording slightly. Page w/ ambient effects.
7/29/15: Quick build, now. Rock and roooooooll
7/29/15: Meditation: https://t.co/GhXu3EvCiT
7/29/15: Wind-down -B Simple.
7/29/15: -B stands for 'butt-slammed' for those of you keeping score at home.
7/29/15: Neat outro jam to Simple, which echoed the intro to Silent in the Morning.
7/29/15: Ah, good. Trey took a minute to get everyone else on board, but now -> Silent.
7/29/15: That was probably THE WORST placement of The Line I've ever heard, and I've heard every show since the debut.
7/29/15: Even on the soundboard, you could just hear the air hiss out of the crowd, almost literally.
7/29/15: After that sweet Simple -> Silent transition, you slam that shit into a Tweezer, or something. Geez, guys.
7/29/15: Birds is next. We're approach 7/28 levels of setlist weirdness at this point.
7/29/15: *approaching
7/29/15: Fuego has found its way into some weird spots this year. This is one of them.
7/29/15: 'Some days it's not worth pre-writing a setlist / Freak out and play songs / See what sticks'
7/29/15: Oh, what the hell. Julius now.
7/29/15: Ah, at least I can take refuge in Hood. Probably the set closer?
7/29/15: Neat, Manteca-ish jam in the midst of Hood. Long sustained note now by Trey.
7/29/15: Band buidling around it. So awesome.
7/29/15: *building
7/29/15: Still holding. Probably close to a minute.
7/29/15: Trey doesn't fall back into the usual outro jam, but plays a lot of high-neck machine-gun goodness. Wow.
7/29/15: This Hood and that CDT belong in another show.
7/29/15: The Connection for an encore. Whoa.
7/29/15: First Tuuuuuuube
7/29/15: More melodic solo than usual, slower tempo. I like the switch. Feels more anthemic than blow-your-ears-out.
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