Selection: “Golden Age->2001”

Memo’s “Other Jams” Memo: “Rock and Roll”, Only “Steam” of the year

From Steve Cicero:

This particular show is a special one for me. After surviving through heat and storms the previous two nights at Deer Creek, I was amped for the boys to return to Alpine, my home venue. I was excited not only for the show, but for the group of friends joining me for their first show. I wanted them to have the life-changing experience we’ve all experienced.

The first set is a pretty forgettable, straight-forward FIFTEEN song set. Definitely nothing to brag about, but that’s not why we’re here. Let’s go over the most overlooked second set of the summer, specifically “Golden Age -> 2001.” A segue so buttery that even Fabio would not believe. After a “BDTNL” opener (where it belongs) and a solid “Carini > Wilson,” Trey starts the “Golden Age” licks and this is where the set takes off. Based off what had been done with previous performances, I knew it was time to strap in.

The boys are on point for the entire composed section, as they have been all summer. Trey roars the solo starting around the 4:00 minute mark, slowly climbing higher and higher. At 5:35, while Fish and Mike lay down the groove, Trey eases off the gas and fades into a nice repeating riff, letting Page take charge on the keys, keeping the bliss of Trey’s solo.

It doesn’t take long for Page to do a 360 and ditch the beauty of the grand.

At 6:15, he decides to hop on the clav. It’s time to get dirty. Page continues his lead for the next minute, his fingers landing on the keys like a butterfly with sore feet. (Maybe “tired wings” would work better here? Not sure butterflies have feet….) The others, recognizing the heat that is coming from the clav, lay down a cool funk dynamic in the background. Fish, as always, keeps the group together. Shortly after the 7:00 minute mark, Trey fires shots and decides he wants back in. He and Page become one in rhythm, juggling this great funk exchange back and forth. All of this is accompanied by Mike’s beautiful array of bass missiles. All four are locked in, playing with such patience. At 9:10, Trey strikes this riff that makes me go from six to midnight with every listen. He then craps on the digi as he loves to do so much and I expect the song to slowly wash out, but I’m wrong. Trey keeps it going by striking this dark chord, very “2001”-esque. The notes are becoming longer and more steady, getting deep. Then boom. At 10:20 Trey strikes the “2001” chord and the others pick right up on it. “Holy shit, here we go.”

This was the third time “Golden Age” went into “2001,” but none were like this. The dark and spacey tones that they exited “Golden Age” with carried into “2001” so flawlessly. Now I may be a little biased, but nothing gets me more amped up than “2001.” And thanks to the great shrooms that were ingested, I was about to leap into another space time continuum.

Fish holding it down while Gordo raises the level of funk. Page and Trey take a backseat while we build. It only took a minute for Trey to scratch the strings and queue the rise. I knew it this probably wasn’t going to be the “2001” from DCU, but I didn’t care at all. I was in my happy place.

After two glorious peaks, Page takes lead on the clav around the 13 minute mark. A nice groove forms for a bit, before Trey does the infamous “2001” riff in 2012. A simple six notes that hop onto one another that Trey seemed to love in “2012,” as it appeared a few times (@KernelForbin probably knows the actual number, you can ask him). Around 14:10, Trey queues the climb and everyone is ready. It’s a short one as they dive back into the “2001” groove and Trey continues the riff. A mere fifteen seconds later and there was the final peak. It didn’t matter it was only five minutes and not transcendent. What mattered is that my friends were having a great time. The set went on to be fantastic and everyone had a night we’ll always remember. My friends said they’d go to another show, so let’s see who joins me at Northerly Island.

—————–
From Steve Cicero:

Steve, male, 27, Milwaukee. I own a dog and drink Jack Daniel’s. You can find out more by following me on twitter at @junta8710, but please don’t friend me on FaceBook. You’ll have to buy me a drink before I allow that.

Favorite Ghost: Prague 07/06/98