Great American Music Hall 23 October, 2002 Set 1 ??? (slow, composed)
?!?!?!?
Rhythm-a-ning Brand new Brad song Rhythm Changes
Set 2
From Russia With Love (sax: Tim)
You Might Say (?) ? instrumental ? STTN E: Beetle> Gentlemen, this is my stop. Thanks for the ride and I�ll be seeing you soon I hope. This was a great night to end on and the boys played a bunch of songs I had yet to hear after the past weekend. A perfect pre-show for me was coming back to the Bay to see the Giants manufacturing a run in the bottom of the eighth to go on top for good, I was ready for the Slip for one more night, this time in a room full of memories. Can�t say enough about the room, a real special space and wonderful to see BAM on the marquee out front. Heading to the show with Kirsten, I found some old friends from Santa Cruz outside the GAMH. Once again I walked in just as the opener was packing up (good thing I caught the Ovulators!), but the room was well primed yet again (quite aromatically in fact!). A good amount of people for a Wednesday, but not too crowded. Juuuuuust right! They were carrying the opening band�s Rhodes off the stage as I got there, reminding me just how nice that Weight of Soloman in Portland was! There was a big canvas set up next to Brad�s 12-string, so I knew Jay was up from Santa Cruz to paint for us. The first set had a bunch of tunes I didn�t know, and I was impressed. Brad sound great all night and I�ll say again how clean his tone is these days, a great improvement that streamlines the sound, but all in all Andrew took the set. The boys opened with a solid tune I had never heard before. Nice slow 6/4 groove, loose yet obviously composed. Brad was on the black Strat that he�s been playing, and Andrew picked up his weird black box that he plays at the beginning of Nashua Rose. After a few minutes, it came to a pause and Andrew segued into another tune I can�t name (sounded familiar enough that they may have snuck it by me at the Fez). Marc played the melody of the head, and this one really got the show going for me. I don�t exactly know how to best describe it, but there was a LOT of space in it, and there was a jubilance that almost reminded me of Nelly Jean. Next followed a solid Rhythm-a-ning that showed me just how much difference Brad�s sound makes, and he used the next song to sing a �Brand new song� they had played instrumentally with Reid Mathis (any help on this?). Anyway I was a little distracted and didn�t really catch any of the lyrics, but considering how his recent songs have been, I can�t wait to hear this one. The set closed with a great Rhythm Changes, probably better than the other two I saw this week. Marc took an extended solo on the white fretless he played the whole set, and Andrew followed in suit for a huge crowd response. The boys came on for the second set to hollers of �Go Giants!� and �Go Angels,� and I think I heard some kindly soul say, �Hey, no booing.� Marc was playing the red EBO for the first time tonight, and BAM opened with From Russia With Love with a sax player I didn�t know (Brad said his name was Tim something or other), and it was a tight fit! Marc layed down a solid groove and Tim took an energetic solo. The crowd was getting down pretty good by the time the tune ended. The next one was a song I can�t name, but I�d guess it was called You Might Say or something. I caught a few lines: �Drowning as I am in the emptiness� �Those kind of ventures are beyond my control� and �Steady as I am� (repeated). It sounded familiar, but who knows what that means. Then was another instrumental where the bass (the fretted wood finished one this time) sounded a bit like Impressions, but Brad was playing something else. Good jam in this one, and Marc really turned it up here, and for the whole second set. Got us moving, and really pushed hard. I realized it was after midnight and took this opportunity to get share a shot of tequila with Adrienne for her 21st birthday. Brad announced this next one as one Sam has probably heard enough,, and jumped into Sometimes True to Nothing. It ended the set with a bang, and this version had a longer jam at the end than the ones over the weekend. The crowd easily coaxed the band back onstage at about 12:45, so I was thinking this would be a good encore, maybe more than previously expected. After fooling around with the slide for a bit Brad kicked into Beetle to the Badlands. They had some jerking stop-start rhymic disturbances and started just plain fucking around for a little bit when a woman yelled something like �Come on, guys,� and they kicked right back into a more �conventional� rhythm. Brad used this as an opportunity to address the �irony� in Beetle singing about the cars that use the oil someone (I�ll leave the name up to Brad and your imagination) ready to fight over. The next one was a GREAT song I had heard them play at the Sweetwater in July. I couldn't find the setlist on SlipBase, any help? It was at the end of the second set in Mill Valley, I think. Anyway I LOVE this song, and want to hear it more and learn its name. All said, this show really showed me how many songs these guys are writing. In addition to the three or four songs I had already heard that were new but not on the album, there were three more in the first set (where there were no songs from Angels) and more later in the evening. I think they really stepped up for this big show at the GAMH, and played really well. At a few points, it sounded like they were conscious of it, but most of the time they were just laying down a TIGHT Slip show. Lots of exploration, lots of space, and everyone getting a chance to push it hard in one direction or another. It was great to hear these guys again this weekend, and every time I give them a little time to grow between shows, they never cease to amaze. Adam PS BAM will give Southern Cali something to look forward to this weekend, even if it�s not a World Series title! _________________________________________________________________ Internet access plans that fit your lifestyle -- join MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp --------------------------------------- ** Theslip.net just got better - http://www.theslip.net ** Web archive at http://email.theslip.net ** To unsubscribe: Send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the text 'signoff theslip' in the body of the message
