This entire show smokes, and the recording is top level.  Came in to write this review just because of the Head On Pill.  30+ minute monster that is destroying me right now.  totally forgot it was still the same song halfway through then comes the cellophane.  Am I In Heaven quotes, even though I keep thinking Altered Beast.  Stu takes a seat for some great improv, this segment is fantastic.  Rattlesnake tease is kinda predictable but no one is complaining.  Great flute work adds another dimension, then Joey takes over but it doesnt last nearly long enough.  There was a great lepreuchan dance type jam going.  Ate the Wrong and back into Pill, and Cavs with the drum machine from hell beat to peoperly rip the head off this monster performance.  Outstanding show

audio/video could be better, but the show is complete.  I think my aud matrix is an improvement over the 2 sources singularly.  Strong opening with Mind Fuzz Suite, Cellophane gets this set where it needs to be and Planet B keeps up the intensity.  We hit a lull for a bit, but this Sea of Trees is great, it just grabs you, hot fire, love it., the background drone is the moment where something forms out of nothing, primordial, the oozing backdrop to greatness, all thoughts of audio issues are resolved, this was worth the wait/chompers from earlier, enter the clappers right on que.  shakes head and sighs.

 

An interesting jam develops toward the end of dripping tap, then we even get a Fame (David Bowie) jam.  Even after that the end of Tap is fantastic.  Dedicated to Cat Stevens?  

The Sea of Trees > Am I In Heaven? is really the high point of this recording, it really stood out to me, but the entire set is top notch.  There should be a few more  >'s in the setlist.  The audio quality could be better, but once you accept it for what it is this show is a pleasure to listen to.

Set 1 of this show has keyboard technical difficulties.  Hot Water through People-Vultures isnt great.  The Microtonal Segment (KGLW Intro through KGLW Outtro) is the best part of set 1, Venusian 2 through MFTR is solid.  Set 2 is well played, but lacking in uniqueness until Dripping Tap.

Crumbling Castle gets the ball rolling, but the show hits liftoff during an unrelenting Venusian 2.  The fifth live version of Predator X is heavy, but short and acts as an intro for Mars For the Rich.  The crowd is amped and the band is into it.  The blow up alligator stands no chance as Amby climbs up on the speaker stack and poses like a gargoyle taunting the crowd.  Hot Water has an extended intro, and softens the vibe considerably, coming to an almost complete stop at one point, this might be due to a keyboard issue  It never really recovers, and just peters out.  Its noteworthy that Joey tries out the flute during the outtro, which is replaced by an extended spacey Shanghai intro.  The monitor feed addresses a keybaord issue which likely results in the abbreviated Shangahi, as they quickly move into People-Vultures.  Setlist should read People-Vultures > Mr. Beat > Persistence.  Mr Beat has Joey playing something unusual (I think its Joey)

A spacey segue into Persistence likely has more to do with attempting to remedy the keyboard situation, but once Persistance finds its groove we are back in business. We are at the 55 minute mark and this set still hasnt found its spot.  Enter Microtonal portion of the show.  KGLW (intro) > Oddlife acts as a reset of sorts as the band recovers from equipment issus, and gives it another go.  Oddlife is fairly standard, but gets Amby warmed up (Its an Oddlife, til you get it right) for Billabong Valley (which contains a Sleep Drifter tease).  Billabong recalls the energy that opened the show, as Amby is front and center with banana in hand while Stu retreats to keys.  Nuclear Fusion shifts Stu back to banana, and Gasbar is summoned for the intro vocal.    Consider notating Nuclear Fusion > Pleura.  Pleura is standard and well played, the crowd begins clapping and the band starts  KGLW outtro to conclude the first set of tonights 2 set marathon show.  

Time to suck some flourdie.  The Mind Fuzz Suite sounds great, there is a Dripping Tap tease before Cellophane. Stu plays flute before I'm In Your Mindfuzz, I'm not sure if this is typical.  Mind Fuzz Suite comes in at 13:00 in length, the entire thing is phenominal.   Plastic Boogie is concise, standard.  Amby works the crowd before Magenta Mountain, this version is well played, I didnt notice anything unusual.  Planet B is well played but fairly standard as is Gaia.  The River is dedicated to Ambrose's ass, it feels like an extended version. Blame it on the Weather and Work This Time both sound pretty standard.  Dripping Tap is an atypical, unique version

Setlist should read: I'm In Your Mind > I'm Not in Your Mind* > Cellophane > I'm In Your Mind Fuzz, 



*Dripping Tap tease

3rd ever Maraton Show according to Joey, although something about Venesuela 

Robot Stop > Hot Water > Big Fig Wasp > Gamma Knife, People-Vultures, The Garden Goblin, Let Me Mend The Past, Trapdoor, Sadie Sorceress, Static Electricity, East West Link, Honey tease > Sleep Drifter tease > Rattlesnake tease > Sleep Drifter > Rattlesnake tease > Honey > Sleep Drifter > Billabong Valley tease > Honey,  The Great Chain of Being, Planet B, Digital Black > Han-Tyumi el Ciborg Confundido> Soy Protein Munt Machine > Vomit Coffin > Murder of the Universe

Robot Stop opener (6:00), high energy clean transition into Hot Water (11:15).  Full speed ahead transition into Big Fig Wasp, this is killer. Flawless. clench teeth bang head! GAMMA! (15:40) stop in music before People-Vultures (20:00), audio degrades substantually during People-Vultures.  Trapdoor is extended, 2 flute sections, the latter seems unusual to me, but it might not be. Ole, Ole, Ole chant from crowd before sadie Sorceress, 37:00 start Sadie Sorceress  42:43 start Static Electricity, fun version wish the audio was better. East West Link takes us to a a whole lot of teases.   All Han-Tyumi narration is in Spanish

Audio and video of the entire show exist, audio degrades quite a bit during People-Vultures, but is still worth checking out for Tease Extravaganza after East West Link. length 1h 32min 34sec

LSSF First known appearance in 4.5 years, shelved since 12/11/17.  How can you not like this song? and this version is a monster at 15:20.   Gotta love the Lets Go Crazy (Prince) quotes before Dripping Tap.  This version of Tap hits all the right spots, upbeat, hyper focused, comes back around for a dirty second half, it just keeps going, and going, and going.  clocking in around 15:30. Woo Hoo Hoo!   Excellent version

 

this video cuts to Bitter Boogie. Sexual Healing quotes from Amby, 20:00

 

there is video of 50:51 of this show

my first show, most of it hangs out on the dark side

Starts off with the rare combo of Venusian 1, Venusian 2, this show comes out of the gate swinging, both are well played standard versions of under 5 minutes each.  Slow Jam 1 softens things up a bit and develops nicely with some Iron Lung quotes as a jammy vibe develops, stretching the song out to 15:30.  The band is patient, as they work their way back from the Iron Lung quotes, Amby provides a little Chicago shoutout, which gets a crowd response, but straight back into the earlier patient groove.  

Time to cash those cheques.  I was blown away by Grim Reaper at this show, its the first live lasting impression I have of Gizz.  Amby channels his inner Belushi and has the crowd in the palm of his hand.  White pants Aussie power move on full display, and the crowd is BOUNCING, led by Stu.  Oddlife, I really like this one, my live introduction to the banana.  Just forbodding enough to make it dangerous and enticing.  Amby on vocals and the pace quickens and ends in setlist malfunction.  Jimi Hendrix shoutout > The Book.  I appreciate the Oddlife, The Book combo immensely now, at the time, not so much.  The drum solo doesnt do much for me, but it is fun to see the band all get down and watch Cavs.  The drop back into The Book is amazing.  That was nice.

Doom City switches the vibe, but just for 30 seconds. Doom City is such a great song I forgot to make notes.  The debut of Lava, sticky like peanut butter.  starts off with an inspired and meandering opening, i cant remember if the album version is like this.  There is an eerieness to this entire show that is pretty well summed up in that Lava intro.  Its that fine line between danger and excitement, and the risk of getting caught, but just squeaking by, knowing that if you arent hurting anyone and you mean well then its fine.  And it builds, the cycle begins, and the light grows brighter, and its mysticism, and its progress, and its the inevitable. Wrapped up with Stu and Joey facing Cavs, always a good sign.

Ambergris, like a satanic lounge act playing on a cruise ship in hell, on a lake of Lava as mentioned previously in the setlist.  Joey nailed that solo, btw. They tell a story about Woodstock 99 before Preseumpous, but I cant tell what is being said.  The lounge act on the boat from hell is morphing, think caterpillar to butterfly, but who the fuck knows with these guys.  The most danceable groove of the night develops, and Joey summons some 1970's funkateers playing in double time.  Ambys vocals hit just right, the morphing is almost complete, enter the Lord of Lightning .

Leah Senior melds perfectly, and that eerie vibe is back in full force, only to enter a torrential rain, complete with a guy in the sky launching nonagon lightening bolts down on anyone unluckey enough to be below.  Lightning!  Woooooo!

enter The Balrog, the guitar lick before they go into it proper is great.  I really disliked this song at first, but its grown on me alot.  Well played version, Stu gets some nice guitar moves going.  This is 1 of only 2 with Narration by Leah, and its a fairly rare song to begin with.  A little trapdoor tease before it ends?

Iron Lung, only the 7th time played but already well on its way to being a setlist anchor, clocks in at 11:32, and just when you think things are back to normal, the eeireness is back curtesy Amby's vocal delivery and surrounding chaos, slowly workling its way back to the chorus? like the chaos of the last 4 minutes never happened.  great ending, great earlyish version of the song

FAFYL - The longest song of the night at 15:51, brings a finality with it.  Its a recap of the eerie and bizarre story we just witnessed.  But the perspective is of hope for the future, and is undoubtedly uplifting, in sharp contrast to almost everything else played tonight.  This is all the sunlight pouring out at once, its the final effort, twisting and turning, convulsing.  The translation of some deep cosmic stream of information, needing to be refined and translated.  Twisting knobs, pulling leavers, knowing you are not in control, and being unable to say no. Float Along Fill Your Lungs.  Breathe a Deep Breath.  the spaceship has landed.  done.

This is a masterfully written setlist, but I could definately see why people would avoid this show.  There is a multicam video of this show, and 2 audio sources.  I had this video on youtube, it is no longer there 

watching this one right after 8.19.23

06.17.08.19, no such thing as coincidences.

Robot Stop opener, sets the tempo, spurred along by some exceptional flute work from Stu, into Hot Water.  Although the playing is exceptional the confidence just isnt there, but the crowd is into it.  Hot Water just sort of collapses, but Stu tries to resusitate it with a flute outtro.  Some brief banter with the crowd, loses the momentum we had, but Amby's delivery on Grim Reaper lyrics quickly sets things back in motion.  This suffers from too many members trying to talk over each other, its muddled but we thankfully get back on track quickly.  Grim Reaper just sort of ends, enter Mars For The Rich.  The band is starting to gel, its impossible to not bang your head at this point.    Well played MFTR, but short, leads to a false start into Hell.  Hell is solid, perhaps brief, but leads into some vibe killing banter, take a step back people. 

Excellent opening to Planet B, gets the vibe right back where it needs to be, open your eyes and see!   32 minutes in and although the playing has been solid, the flow could be better.  The maybe 5 minute Planet B could have been stretched a bit.  The crowd needs some convincing about Tool it sounds like.  

Unpopular opinion, Gaia Isn't one of my favorites, and the band feels disjointed, everyone is playing well, but something is missing.  Cavs drum solo is well executed, and the second half of Gaia is superb, but leads into more awkward banter.  Magenta Mountain starts at 42 minutes in, so far flow is seriously lacking but the playing has been great for the most part.  Maybe its Stu's guitar, I guess that is the Holy Explorer replacement?   This Magenta Mountain is nice, its light and airy, and it rolls.  Maybe what has been missing is that this set has too much variety.  It feel like a bunch of songs rather than a set.  I am comng to appreciate Joey on keys much more than I have in the past, the band is giving each other room, but again with the banter.

Enter the Garden Goblin, 51 minutes in. and its over by 54:30, not nearly long enough for the Goblin to get into trouble.  Work This Time acts as the anti climax, slowing the pace to a crawl, its a great song, but only adds to the collection of songs being played tonight.  The Dripping Tap comes in around 11 minutes, and the band finally may have achieved cohesiveness, gotten over nerves, whatever.  The crowd is having a great time, Dripping Tap is getting the job done and the band is definately ending on a high point, but the path here was indirect and meandering. 1h 15min, great audio and video available of this one

Rock Music and Heavy Metal For Ya!

This is the set by which all other festival sets should be judged, a high water mark for appreviated sets.

Gila Monster is balls to the wall from the get go,  but a fairly standard 5 minute version.  Converge picks up right where Gila Monster left off, straight ahead, and in your face, the crowd is noticeably responsive, a nice change from previous festival sets this tour, its hard to say no to the relentless pounding of Converge and when it seuges into Witchcraft there is no turning back.  By the 16 minute markthe crowd is going full bore, pretty remarkable for a festival crowd.

Cavs builds tension as the pit expands and Joey looks on approvingly, Michael Cavanagh is a machine.  This Self Immolate makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, at the 21 minute mark the band is destroying everything in sight, Venusianly.  Auto cremate, self immolate. Like a bird in a cage; airostat-habitat. To motion I am slave. Give Me Hell I Want That!  Light em up Terry indeed.

Its only a matter of time before we get a Hendrix cover, but until then a heavier than normal This Thing just keeps the freight train rolling, Harmonica blaring, and hellish vocal from the conductor.  There's no stopping what this is and the crowd is clapping in unison still hanging on for dear life as this pause is only temporary.   30 minutes into the set and this is the set dreams are made of; and right on que, Dripping Tap quotes, fuck yes!  Absolutely rediculous, Joey screaching away on the V, The train whistle is a harmonica, and This Thing is back on the tracks after the drip Tap detour, no one misses a beat, all members firmly working in unison as the tempo keeps increasing, but then, drip, drip drip.  Fuck Yeah Mates!

Into Garden Goblin, pulsating ahead, and dispite being a massive change from the last 35 minutes, the attitude is still there, Amby is feeling it, and Cookie is boppin like a man that has located his dog.  Enter Hypertension, ok lets do it.  This is a band locked in, each of them look it, this video is fantastic, move over Bonnaroo 22, you are a child compared to this.  Stu and Joey face Cavs and they are both ripping it, see through backwards facing eyes.  Sticky red death, Woooooooooo!

This is an unrelenting Hypertension, and the crowd response to Stu, "Alright lets turn it down."  Enter guest Saxophoneist Oscar Carls.  and it ends, this crowd is 100% on board, a total 180 from 48 minutes ago.  "You Guys Keep Showing Up and We'll Keep Playing!"

 

Magma, a song that just keeps getting better every time it is played will close the set.  Cavs locked in, Stu arms in a V, victorious, they all know this set has absolutely destroyed, and this is the Magma on the Cake From Hell.   Oscar Carlos fits in perfectly, from a band that almost never has guests, this is an amazing treat.  As Stu screams "Immmmmmooorrrrrrrtaaallllll" the pistons continue pumping, and the six headed beast has grown a seventh head.  The final verse is reaching the crescendo of a set that has consisted of an incredible energy; the band crowds around Cavs , and they bring it to a close.  This crowd knows they have just witnessed something truely exceptional, 59 minutes and i'm left speechless, its that good.  

Seek out the proshot video, great sound and the editing on this is supurb.  It really doesnt get any better

 

Festival Set opens with a solid, high energy Dripping Tap, a great version, but fairly standard.  Iron lung slows things down and is a solid but fairly straight forward version.  Energy returns with Evil Death Roll, dark and dirty, although it heads into a rather bright jam on The Dripping Tap theme, EDR jam settles back into its dark aura, with a mighty howl by Stu, the way life should be, grinning ear to ear.  a pretty standard Ice V makes way for an uplifting and airy Magenta Mountain, which turns slightly ominous setting the stage for Amby's lead on The Grim Reaper "i want to smell your French sweat;" there you have it.  Grim Reaper is peppered with Amby quotes, as he channels his inner Mike D? Intergalactic Planetary.

The second Mars For the Rich of the tour puts us squarly back in EDR territory, which I kinda wish never left.  This is the hard pounding, nose to the grindstone Gizz that never fails to bring the heat, but this suscinct version pairs nicely with a powerful Planet B, which makes baby Jesus cry because its not nearly long enough, festival setlist, sigh.

The eighth live version of Supercell, makes me feel bad for Amby's little cymbol which is thrashed relentlessly as usual.  At the end a minor drum solo from Cavs leaves room for a brief five minute version of Gila Monster to end the show.  The entire set is just under 88 minutes, and proshot video of the entire show exists