2011-06-18 Raleigh

The Verdict:
The relative awesomeness of 6/17 and the one-two punch of "Cars, Trucks, Buses" and "Peaches" to open made it hard not to have high expectations for the rest of 6/18 in Raleigh. Most of the show, unfortunately, ends up treading tried-and-true 2011 territory. There are a few neat bits, though.

After the opening pair, the momentum continues with a great "Bag," then "Guyute," a machine-gun "Possum," and a great "Halley's" that starts to extend into some interesting places...before Trey guts it with a weird transition into "46 Days." It's a really strange call and seems to sort of throw off the rest of what starts as a really ripping first set.

Surprisingly, "Twist" opens the second set, and despite only running for about seven minutes before coasting to a natural death, it packs a lot of strangeness into its short running time. You're never going to see it on anyone's jam chart, but I recommend you give it a listen anyway. Maybe the highlight of the show, surprisingly, is a "Caspian" that goes the drone-jam route, before dissolving perfectly into "Esther," of all songs. Yes, that's "Caspian" -> "Esther."

"Been Caught Stealing" is a hilarious cover, and well done.

"Piper" goes the "Twist" route, packing a lot of interesting jamming into a very short space before getting segued into "MFMF." And, just when you think it's time to pack it in for the night, "SOAM" goes way deep, breaking down into a minimalist jam that's either really great or really aimless and boring. You choose.


Really, if you're not focused on running times, this show is consistently more interesting than 6/17, there just isn't that big double-jam sitting at the beginning of the second set here. Comparisons aside, though, it's just nice to see the band doing something other than what they've been doing for the last few weeks. I'm actually excited to listen to 6/19 before heading into Super Ball.

The Live Review:
6/18/11: So, 6/17 was actually a decent show. Not *great*, mind you, but worth a mention amidst the last ten shows or so.
6/18/11: Curious to see if the boys continue ramping up in preparation for Super Ball.
6/18/11: Cars, Trucks, Buses opener.
6/18/11: Peaches is next! Crowd goes nuts. Trey struggling a bit, though.
6/18/11: Bag next. Loving this setlist so far.
6/18/11: Neat trilling solo from Trey in Bag. Page echoing on piano.
6/18/11: Guyute!
6/18/11: Machine-gun Trey all over this Possum.
6/18/11: Halley's is next, and is stretching its legs a little bit in the jam.
6/18/11: Whoa, serious ripcord from Trey into 46 Days.
6/18/11: Pretty standard rock 46 Days > Divided Sky.
6/18/11: Great take on Divided Sky...followed by Curtis Loew!!
6/18/11: Looks like Antelope is going to close the set.
6/18/11: Set two opens with Twist. What is this, 2015?!
6/18/11: Slow, deliberate take on Twist. Developing slowly. Lots of good interplay.
6/18/11: That was just about as much quality Twist as you can pack into seven minutes. Rift is next.
6/18/11: Prince Caspian seems like an odd choice.
6/18/11: This one's getting extended a bit though, into what almost seems like a Simple jam, with Trey and Page paralleling each other.
6/18/11: Ambient drone now from Trey.
6/18/11: -> Esther! That was neat.
6/18/11: I always forget how creepy this song is.
6/18/11: Trey bringing Brian Brown out on stage after Esther.
6/18/11: Trey getting Mike to ring the fight bell now.
6/18/11: Okay, I have never heard this Been Caught Stealing cover before, but it is hilarious and awesome.
6/18/11: Piper is next.
6/18/11: Lots of pitch-shifted noodling from Trey in this Piper jam.
6/18/11: Page was just taking that jam to a pretty interesting place with his synth, but Trey pulled a -> MFMF. Which is cool, I guess.
6/18/11: MFMF > KDF.
6/18/11: A little extra mustard on that KDF, especially for late S2.
6/18/11: Late-set SOAM is opening up into a really melodic bliss jam, of all things.
6/18/11: Page keeping an ominous-sounding piano riff going in the background.
6/18/11: We've departed pretty much completely now from the SOAM structure and are Type II. Very rhythm-heavy.
6/18/11: A lot of Trey's soloing up to this point seemed sort of wandering and aimless, but maybe you're into that sort of thing.
6/18/11: Really grungy guitar now.
6/18/11: Return to the theme now. That was really weird, and possibly good. Will probably have to listen again.
6/18/11: Golgi.
6/18/11: Aaaand First Tube will close S2.
6/18/11: GTBT to close.
6/18/11: A weird show, but between 6/17 and this show, it at least feels like the band is *trying* to make something happen now.