Ranking Dick’s: #8 09/03/2016 (2016 N2)
Setlist:
SET 1: Slave to the Traffic Light, Down with Disease, What’s the Use? > Maze, Farmhouse, 555, Wolfman’s Brother, Divided Sky > Rock and Roll
SET 2: Fuego > Sand > Blaze On > Simple > Twist > Theme From the Bottom > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Harry Hood
ENCORE: The Squirming Coil
Quick Lowdown: A strong, strong show from start to finish with probably the best first set of the run. The opening four songs is straight out of a wet dream. The second set is a heater from start to finish and capped by one of the most unique encores in quite some time. This is a Saturday Night special in all the right ways. Press play and dance the entire time. Scary that as good as this show is I think the other two nights are better from 2016. What a run!
Set 1 Recap: Just your standard “Slave” opener. Standard if you were around in 1988 and teleported to this show or woke up from your 80s acid trip. It felt like the show was over, yet it was just beginning. The “DWD” after “Slave” is short but a serious dance party version with a nice finished section. The real shocker is the first dead stop “WTU?” that follows. An incredibly played version that echoed around the mountain air. A rocking “Maze” caps one of the best opening 4 song runs I can remember. “Farmhouse>555” cools things down before “Wolfman’s” brings the funk. Yet another killer “Wolfman’s” at Dick’s! “Divided Sky>Rock and Roll” caps one of the best first sets of this era.
Set 2 Recap: This set is pure energy and doesn’t stop. It just doesn’t reach the heights of the other two nights from 2016. “Fuego” is pretty standard with a touch of love at the end. “Sand” is works nicely here and feature a sick sustained note from Trey that the band crushed around. “Blaze On>Simple” is the jamming meat of this set. And who doesn’t love jamming meat? The “Blaze On” gets a cool dark almost whale call lick from Trey that makes this a memorable version. It’s such a contrast to the happy upbeat melodies from the rest of the band. Tension and joy all in one. Very cool with a nice segue into “Simple”. This “Simple” has Trey quickly moving to the marimba and produces the best marimba jam to date. About halfway through Mike simply owns this jam. Definitely worth checking out. “Twist” is a rager. “Theme” carries the energy nicely and “2001” is a solid version. An excellent “Harry Hood” closes the set wonderfully. An excellent set from start to finish just never hits the magic moments. Still you can shed a couple pounds dancing to this second set.
Encore: “The Squirming Coil” is always awesome wherever it shows up. In the encore slot it is extra special. When Page leaves and Mike takes the traditional ending solo, you have something extra special. Mike kills it taboot.
The Takeaways: “Slave>DWD>WTU?>Maze”, “Wolfman’s”, “Blaze On>Simple”, “Harry Hood”, “The Squirming Coil”
This Show Summed Up in One Gif:
Score: 4.65/5