Setlist: 2007-09-27 - Kinetic Playground; Chicago, IL

[Hi,I'mJosh]

great time last night. highlights were definitely HLH and Spunk. Surprised no one has made mention of the breakdown in Scheme (I believe it was Scheme) where Matt started scatting with his lead organ, which he probably shouldn\'t do (or start practicing a lot) because he\'s lacking the scat skills and looked awkward the entire time, and then the whole band went into a vocal jam while Ron continued to play bass.. it actually dropped into a straight hip-hop beat with Matt literally rapping (this was pretty cool), Tim backing up with some rhymes and beats, and Adrian throwing some higher pitched sounds in. If I remember correctly that all went down after Adrian\'s drum solo in scheme. I could be wrong though, but nonetheless, it did happen.
The show opened shaky though, and the sound was 100% to blame. The bass was drowning out almost everything, especially the drums and keys. Tim still came through a bit but the mix was way off until HLH. The sound guy didn\'t appreciate me and my buddy telling him the bass had to come down but it was absolutely obvious in my opinion. It ended up working out though, and the sound quality actually went from horseshit to phenomenal during HLH.
Speaking of Harry, absolutely absurd! They stretched it out and peaked gloriously, brought it down gradually and spaced out the unfinished close. Just great shit, I can\'t wait to listen to it again. Slow Tricky Ways is the way to go, imo. It was definitely appropriate for Chicago. I think Tim\'s voice actually sounded better than it being uptempo and I\'m just generally a bigger fan of classic, blues lead-guitar pace, especially with Tim\'s limitless skills. Matt sounded okay in TW.
Question Mark was a big surprise and I loved hearing it live. Standard, I guess, but a tune I never expected to hear and I\'ve always loved it on Deuce. Score is always tasty, works as a boogie-channel every time. But I did notice that Ron seemed tired and continued to through the rest of the show. Don\'t get me wrong, he still sounded good, he\'s a professional and a damn impressive one at that, but I\'ve seen him much more into it than last night which usually works for more creativity and thump. Tim and Adrian were feeling damn good though.
Then cam Spunk. I don\'t know how long Spunk was but I completely forgot what was going on and got lost in some incredible shit for a looong time. Perhaps the rap breakdown was in Spunk actually, I don\'t know, but they went to places I\'ve never heard them, or anyone for that matter, go. When it dropped back into a specific lick of Spunk I was shocked and fell back to Earth feeling "goose-pimply alll over". Unbelievable, it\'s just hard to describe what was going on. Fuck, as I\'m thinking this I remember a jam where Matt\'s piano laid down the perfect tone for something drawn out and beautiful. Scheme perhaps? Shit, everything is getting twisted now. Scheme, anyways, was an absolute treat. People say "heard one heard em all"... I say "I wish to hear them all". The song will never get old to me, it\'s a lyricless anthem that puts me in a fucking fantasy world every time. I feel like I should be climbing a glowing copper strato, barefoot as the sun smerks at me, all the while Scheme pumping through a lush jungle-land below. Ha, that\'s ridiculous, but I love it every time. Adrian tore up his drum solo per usual.
The encore was solid closure, but not gonna lie I was hoping for more being that the bar didnt close for at least another hour. I guess I\'ll just have to settle for 2.5 straight hours of goodness.

Overall, the show was great as always. To be honest, I think Matt is a necessity to the band being that keys are a necessity to this band. The layer of the organ really allows jams to get where they need to go. I think he is clearly talented, but I\'m not going to say I was that stoked on his overall stage presence and solos as an individual. Things seemed unnatural more than a few times, especially when he stepped up to the mic. He fits in well for awhile, and others not so much. I do, however, love the fact that shit in general seems more experimental. And, once again, the organ is just so good to hear underneath the Trio. I\'ll give the show a 7.5-8, knowing they have potential to own last night in Madison and really hope they do. I also need more Oestricher to get past the awkwardness I felt watching him last night.

btw, Tim had some good banter last night, one quote about Oprah Winfrey (during Spunk? I think) that I can\'t recall specifically but was funny, and he congratulated Chicago on finally getting Fat Tire and then took a gulp of his Fat Tire.

Listen to Ron>Matt>vocal jam at the beginning of Spunk. . . . .and listen to the boys feed off of Matt\'s downtempo.  Personally, I loved it.

First time hearing them with Matt.  I must say, my tongue is still dirty from the floor of the Kinetic Playground\'s filth, provided by Matt, Tim, Adrian and Ronnie.  Thanks.

BTW, can I get rid of the "newbie" sig on my profile name.  Pec, grandfather me in!!

[WALSH]

Wow, the HLH is really good, especially the jam that begins around the 14 or so minute mark.  The segue into the Tricky Ways is almost exactly like I wanted/imagined it to be.  Even though I am a fan of the original, the slowed down version of Tricky Ways seems like the better way to go in the future.  Really wish I had gone to this midwest run, if this is the what they brought the rest of the weekend.

I wish that they explored the reggae vibe of MiaB more now that they have Striker.  It could really make that a decent cover for them to play.  This version barely grazed it and really, Matt just sounds like an afterthought during most of this version, up until he starts to state the theme on keys at about 5:55. The jam that then ensues is pretty interesting and seems like it really wants to get "out there", but for some reason they just won\'t leave the main theme of the song.

I  enjoy Matt\'s minimalist approach to Spunk coming as a counterpoint to Ron tearing up his part and building that sliding/rising bass line to a climax.  Juxtaposition was always a favorite of mine in Literature, apparently I like it in music also.  The scatting definitely didn\'t work in this version, felt like it went on forever(it is much more on point after the hip-hop beat fades).  With experimentation, comes good and bad results.  The "Chariots of Fire" tease is cool/funny.  The rap is actually pretty cool, even though it is more spoken word, however it really is interesting...keep exploring boys.  The end of Spunk, before Tim\'s banter, is very tight...good thing to hear.  Too bad Striker didn\'t continue on with that little piano intro into the Scheme, probably just needs a little more time to get comfortable with things.  

LOVE the jazz feel that Striker has brought to this band, it feels like they are reworking all of their songs right there in front of you.  I might actually get my wish now, as far as Scheme turning into the experimental/improvisational MONSTER it should be.  They are just scratching the surface on what this song could become live.  It really could be like opening a pandora\'s box(but in a good way;)).  I feel there will come a day that when Scheme is in a set, said set may only have enough time for 3, MAYBE 4 other songs...exciting!!!  Sincerly epic version of Scheme.

Ronnie is probably my MVP of this show, however, because of how much he held it down no matter what mayhem was happening.  They are playing as a single unit so well these days, that it is hard to pick an MVP, and stick with it.  You cannot help but be incredibly excited about this band right now if you are truly a fan...Hi-OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[solver]

listening for the third time i can agree with four things:
1) the bass was a tad too loud, but
2) fuck it, ronnie killed it!!
3) tw is great slow
and 4) creative noodling can have bad and good results (scatting>vocal jam w/ freestyle).

[jocelyn]

listening for the third time i can agree with four things:
1) the bass was a tad too loud, but
2) fuck it, ronnie killed it!!
3) tw is great slow
and 4) creative noodling can have bad and good results (scatting>vocal jam w/ freestyle).

Soooo.... what Walsh said.

[solver]

listening for the third time i can agree with four things:
1) the bass was a tad too loud, but
2) fuck it, ronnie killed it!!
3) tw is great slow
and 4) creative noodling can have bad and good results (scatting>vocal jam w/ freestyle).

Soooo.... what Walsh said.

correct, in short, which is why i agreed.

[Rickey Roux]

I\'m pretty fuckin\' speechless about this show.  It\'s been almost a year since I had last seen them and they just blew me away.  This and the Madison show are the two best Breakfast shows I have seen (which is only 6).  Matt\'s addition to this band is the best thing that has happened to this band in years, IMO.  Don\'t get me wrong.  I loved the orginal PB and the Trio, but Matt\'s technical prowess just allows them to go places that downright scary.   I need to go listen to this one again.  And it was great to see those two fucking knuckleheads who drove out all the way from CT.  :biggrin:

[FreeSpirit]

I\'m pretty fuckin\' speechless about this show.  It\'s been almost a year since I had last seen them and they just blew me away.  This and the Madison show are the two best Breakfast shows I have seen (which is only 6).

You Lucky Bastard!

[Rickey Roux]

You Lucky Bastard!

Yep, that\'s me and all the Midwest contingent who got a chance to see these amazing shows.

[Spacey]

You Lucky Bastard!

Yep, that\'s me and all the Midwest contingent who got a chance to see these amazing shows.

Glad you folks had a good time and got a set of ser shows. Hopefully they will be back soon.

[kyndkate]

Purdue screwed me over. They scheduled my statistics exam during a Midwest show.



Glad to see it had a decent turnout...last time I saw them was the Freakout last year!! It\'s been FAR too long.

[Spacey]

you should come out for this years Freakout. Going to be fucking insane.

[Klout]

yup it\'s gonna be a true FREAK OUT.

hop on a plane. you don\'t wanna miss it

Here is a good site. You can compare rates from the major travel sites.

http://www.bookingbuddy.com/

[Todd]

you should come out for this years Freakout. Going to be fucking insane.

I\'m available to be your travel guide :lol:

[derickw]

you should come out for this years Freakout. Going to be fucking insane.

I\'m available to be your travel guide :lol:

:slowly backs out:

[FrankZappa]

It\'s been FAR too long.

:that:

The show opened shaky though, and the sound was 100% to blame. The bass was drowning out almost everything, especially the drums and keys. Tim still came through a bit but the mix was way off until HLH. The sound guy didn\'t appreciate me and my buddy telling him the bass had to come down but it was absolutely obvious in my opinion. It ended up working out though, and the sound quality actually went from horseshit to phenomenal during HLH.

:sigh: