Well, Darien Lake is a slight improvement over the lackluster Toyota Park show, though not by much. Rather than just being generally stilted and unsatisfying, it manages to evoke similarities to many of the Leg One shows I described as "average" or "workmanlike": it's a decently-played rock and roll show with one early-second-set marquee jam that dabbles in funk and abstract spaces for a few minutes.
We start off with "Sample," which is weird, because this was just played at Toyota Park. This version's got a bit more "oomph" and a bit less "oops" to it, but that's all there really is to say about it. Next is a well-played "Dinner and Movie" that's great for the novelty value alone, and it's followed by another 11-minute "Wolfman's" that stays in the standard and somewhat-satisfying type 1 funk pocket the entire time. Things finally get rolling with a flaming-hot "Possum" that does what "Possum" does best (i.e. encourage first-set ass-shaking).
The "Farmhouse" that follows is actually more than a novelty setlist call: Trey's solo manages to be both interestingly melodic and fiery at the same time, making this one of the better "Farmhouse"s I've heard in awhile. Setlist weirdness continues with pedestrian takes on "Brian and Robert" and "Sugar Shack." How much you like this part of the set probably depends on how much you like these songs in general. I love all three, so the often-flat mid-first-set part of the show could have been a lot worse, as far as I'm concerned.
Near the end of the set, we get two monsters: "Bowie" and "Gin." The "Gin" is pretty standard Trey-rock fare, but the "Bowie" really grabbed me. The band hasn't done much interesting with this song yet in 3.0, and honestly, they don't start being interesting here; however, this is a really solidly played and then jammed "Bowie" that hits all the right notes (literally) at all the right points and closes with an extremely satisfying climax. In some ways, I guess that makes it the very definition of "workmanlike," but I was fist-pumping at my desk by the end. Definitely the set highlight.
The set closes with a nice shout-out to the then-recently-passed Les Paul from Trey, and a bit of "How High the Moon" > "Golgi."
The second set follows the blueprint of a lot of later 3.0 second sets: one obvious jam-monster followed by a bunch of songs that (in theory at least) are loud, uplifting, dramatic, and seemingly meant to leave the crowd satisfied. This is pretty boring, in my opinion, but we do get a decent "Drowned" jam out of it this time.
Things are pretty straightforward until about 5:00 into the "Darien Jam," when the whole band transitions on a dime into some "Birds"-like funk space. This only lasts for about a minute or two, though, before Trey and Page start to do some more of the interesting abstract almost-clashing action that we saw previously in the Toyota Park "Number Line." While this is going on, Fish and Gordon are creating an absolutely sinister rhythm space underneath. The jam closes with a slow build up into a bliss-rock section, ultimately recalling the trajectory of a lot of the funk > space > bliss long jams of Leg One.
There's a neat transition into "Prince Caspian" next, and the "Caspian" is awesomely similar to the "Farmhouse": simultaneously very melodically creative and precise, and yet rocking at the same time. I don't know what Trey is doing with his ballad-song-soloing during this show, but I wish it happened more often.
Everything from the "Rift" to the "Antelope" is pretty standard fare, unfortunately. The "Antelope" is especially high-energy, but it's definitely not in the same category with some of the better "Antelope"s of the tour so far, and in fact there have been better ones even this week.
Things continue in a predictable vein, honestly, through the rest of the show, though the energy gets notched up a bit for the last few songs. "Suzy" features some great Mike and Page interplay and "Fluffhead" has a shredtastic peak, but aside from that and the novelty value of the "Joy" and "First Tube" closer, there's not really anything to write home (or on this blog) about.
The setlist for Comcast looks suitably wacky, though. Looking forward to seeing things get a little weirder.
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