The Verdict:
I remembered this show as the best of the west coast jog this year, but upon relisten didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Gorge I. There's nothing wrong with it, for sure, and it's definitely a more varied and interesting show than even the excellent 7/18 show from the previous night. Its charms are just a little more...subtle...than I remembered.
Like night one, the first set is a series of cleverly chosen songs, delivered well. The one difference is that there's no particularly standout track (like "Ya Mar" or "Possum" from the previous night) to set this opening set apart from so many others. Sure, "Cities" briefly gets into some slinky funk, "Wombat" gets extended a bit, and "Split" acquits itself well, but it's nothing you haven't heard before.
The magic here is in the second set. There's no real tentpole jam like "Sally" from night one, but this is one of those latter-day 3.0 "all killer, no filler" sets, and that makes up for the lack of a single monster jam in my book. At least mostly.
The longest and arguably most interesting jam of the night kicks off the set when "Disease" goes deep. After a lengthy Type I section, Trey leads the band in a great jam that skirts the edges of typical bliss jam territory without falling in, and then there's a pretty clear "Under Pressure" tease from Trey that drives the band into a new space before things slow down and segue into "Fuego."
The departure from the "Fuego" jam isn't as pronounced as something like the Dick's '15 version, but it features some heavy "Bug" teasing, which makes it unique. Next up is "Ghost," which does head to a pretty blissed-out zone without much hesitation and ends in a massive peak before seguing into "Scents."
"Scents" is a gorgeous cooldown jam, not letting up on the improvisation, but heading somewhere similar to the first few minutes of your typical "Simple" jam and staying there for awhile before building slightly and transitioning into "Light." "Light" proper starts to go the typical space-funk route before the calypso style becomes a bit more pronounced, even, than usual and the guys actually sing and play through a version of "Manteca" before ending the song. Probably not a strong argument to be made for "Light" -> "Manteca" -> "Light" here, but you could make a case for it.
The jam fades out into ambient space from there before "No Quarter" starts up, and this is one of the best-played, best-rocked-out versions the band has played thus far. Follow that with "Fluffhead" as your victory lap and a set-closing "Bug" that calls back to the jam in "Fuego" and you've got a pretty perfect set. It doesn't have the depth of something like 7/24/15, say, but it never lets up, and each song has some notable improv. The "First Tube" closer doesn't hurt, either.
The Live Review:
7/19/16: Alright, so after this show in person I was ready to call it one of the best shows I've ever seen. Excited to hear it again.
7/19/16: CDT opener.
7/19/16: Trey is taking this CDT to town. No warmup needed.
7/19/16: Free is next. Harmonies sounding good.
7/19/16: Standard take on Free > Breath and Burning.
7/19/16: You might love or hate the 'Rage with Page' line in this song, but the crowd roar that goes with it is awesome.
7/19/16: Early Theme From the Bottom.
7/19/16: Trey nails the composed solo heading into the jam. I remember losing my shit when that happened live. Love that riff.
7/19/16: > Cities. I love Cities, but have never heard a real jammed-out version live.
7/19/16: Was definitely feeling like this one was going to go deep, but no. Certainly would have kicked the first set up a notch.
7/19/16: Some Slip, Stitch, and Pass-style funk jamming to start off.
7/19/16: Easy funk continues. Cue echoplex.
7/19/16: Too-brief Cities, but nice landing in Maze.
7/19/16: It never really comes through on tape, but Maze is a great 3.0 song to see live. Super tension-and-release with Page and Trey.
7/19/16: This one is a great version. The Eugene '14 version had energy through the roof.
7/19/16: Wombat! always fun when the wombat comes out.
7/19/16: Wombat getting extended a bit. Great workout from Fish.
7/19/16: SoaM is next. Relaxed, loose feel to the beginning of the jam.
7/19/16: Takes a melodic route to get there, but the jam eventually reaches some epic, dissonant proportions.
7/19/16: Sparkle is a hilarious follow-up to Split.
7/19/16: > ASIHTOS.
7/19/16: Space Oddity for the set closer.
7/19/16: A bit unevenly paced like a lot of S1s lately, but great energy.
7/19/16: Cities and Wombat if you like the funk. Split was pretty interesting.
7/19/16: Regardless, high-energy going into the S2 opener. Disease.
7/19/16: Transition from Type I to space funk at about 8:30. Fish shuffling on drums.
7/19/16: Modulating into a more melodic, uplifting space now.
7/19/16: Trey using the pitch shifter now to great effect. Buoyant jam without moving into typical bliss territory.
7/19/16: Lengthy riff on Under Pressure by Trey.
7/19/16: Build up to some crazy feedback echoes from Trey. Settling back down now.
7/19/16: > Fuego.
7/19/16: Super-slow tempo.
7/19/16: Trey is very close to the Bug riff in this Fuego jam. Ah, there it is.
7/19/16: Neat Bug-style outro jam. Quieting down a bit now.
7/19/16: Quiet, Simple-like jam for a minute or so, now back to the Bug-jam-thing.
7/19/16: > Ghost.
7/19/16: HYHU-ish riff from Trey during the Ghost break.
7/19/16: Neat, dirty Ghost jam picking up speed now. I feel Bliss Jam action coming.
7/19/16: Fish is killing it with a disco beat.
7/19/16: Recalling the end of the Disease jam with this crazy peak.
7/19/16: > Scents.
7/19/16: Really pretty, slow-paced jam out of Scents. Nice breather for a minute.
7/19/16: Nice build. > Light.
7/19/16: Nice, non-arpeggiated Light jam.
7/19/16: Light jam now with Manteca lyrics!!
7/19/16: Manteca jam fades out. Almost ambient now.
7/19/16: Trey with more Manteca lyrics over Page's organ.
7/19/16: -> No Quarter.
7/19/16: No Quarter lands nicely in Fluffhead.
7/19/16: Bug proper ends the set.
7/19/16: Bug is one of those great songs that gets shit on because it's often so badly placed in a set. This is great placement.
7/19/16: First Tube encore.
7/19/16: Second set was one of my favorites in a long while.
7/19/16: First set was a little weaker than I remembered it being, while still being solid.
7/19/16: Wouldn't necessarily dethrone a show like 10/17/14 or 7/24/15, but still one of the best shows I've seen.
7/19/16: On to the wacky third night of BGCA next, where first sets are amazing and second sets are hilariously bad.
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