The Verdict:
The second Gorge show is definitely a step back from the first, but maybe that was inevitable. That said, the guys manage to put together a show that, though lacking any legit jams, still passes the bar for the typical 2011 show by quite a bit.
The first set does nothing interesting, unless you count the cover of "On Your Way Down," but it strings together a series of great songs and Trey and the rest of the band (but especially Trey) blast through them at white heat. It's one of those sets where they blast out of the gate with the first few songs and you wait for the comedown, but then suddenly it's "Fluffhead" and you realize that they're just not going to let up. Even with no jams, that makes this set worth a mention.
S2 tries to get the ball rolling with a "Tweezer" that edges out in a few different directions, but never deviates all that much before ultimately seguing into "Caspian." The following "Sand" meets just about the same fate: lots of potential but no follow-through. Until, at least, Trey leads the band back into "Tweezer" flawlessly. Unfortunately, that segue is probably the highlight of the set. If you're intrigued by novel setlists, the show proper ends with two big-S1 songs ("Reba" and a tease-heavy "Antelope") and "Sanity" is part of the three-song encore.
I write these things like I'm hedging, but I don't mean to be. S1 delivers a pretty much perfect opening set. Then the second set delivers another pretty much perfect S1. There's something worth getting excited about there. You won't ever really need to listen to any of this show more than once, but you should probably listen to it once.
The Live Review:
8/6/11: Time for Gorge 2!
8/6/11: Possum opener.
8/6/11: Standard Possum. Next is Moma Dance.
8/6/11: No surprises yet, but band is really high-energy after Possum, Moma > Sample.
8/6/11: LxL, Ocelot continue a nicely first-setty S1.
8/6/11: Slowed-down version of Ocelot > Poor Heart. That's sort of a neat combo.
8/6/11: On Your Way Down! Love this cover.
8/6/11: Trey ripping up the outro solo.
8/6/11: Wolfman's Brother!
8/6/11: Trey developing a riff in Wolfman's that sounds a bit like Black Dog. Might be a Black Dog tease.
8/6/11: Sorry, Heartbreaker, not Black Dog. Take my music license away.
8/6/11: Plinko outro after a big Trey rock solo.
8/6/11: Shuffle beat on the outro from Fish sets up an arguable -> Maze.
8/6/11: Okay, that Maze was pretty crazy.
8/6/11: > Wilson.
8/6/11: Looks like S1 is going to end with Fluffhead.
8/6/11: End set.
8/6/11: Good ol' Type I CDT starts the second set.
8/6/11: Tweezer!
8/6/11: Fish switches up the beat for the jam. Trey on the wah pedal. Maybe headed to Plinkotown?
8/6/11: Type I jam winding down now. Mike taking the lead.
8/6/11: Some spooky loops as a brief callback to Storage Jam land.
8/6/11: > Caspian.
8/6/11: Short, noodly Caspian -> Sand.
8/6/11: Plinko time in Sand almost immediately.
8/6/11: Page playing almost jazzy fills now on the electric piano.
8/6/11: Trey shredding Sand now.
8/6/11: Sand peak -> Tweezer.
8/6/11: Page laying some nice piano over the main Tweezer riff.
8/6/11: Winding down now?
8/6/11: > Birds.
8/6/11: Waste is a nice landing after that sequence.
8/6/11: Waste > Golden Age.
8/6/11: Can't they just play Golden Age a half- or whole-step lower so somebody, anybody can actually hit that high note in the chorus?
8/6/11: Brief, contained Golden Age with an outro after a short Trey solo.
8/6/11: Reba! Didn't see that coming.
8/6/11: Which is hilarious, since I was AT this show.
8/6/11: Pretty standard (which means good) Reba.
8/6/11: Whistling ending.
8/6/11: Antelope. Very S1 end to the S2.
8/6/11: Trey trying to whistle the Reba riff over the Antelope intro.
8/6/11: It's not working, but I appreciate the attempt.
8/6/11: Tweezer riff tease now.
8/6/11: Sand tease now.
8/6/11: Golden Age tease/jamlet now in the middle of Antelope.
8/6/11: End S2. Encore opens with Suzy.
8/6/11: Rowdy Suzy > Sanity.
8/6/11: Fish gets in a few 'What?!'s during the screamy part of Sanity.
8/6/11: Tweeprise.
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