So another new venue for me. The Iron Horse is a little hole-in-the wall in Northampton MA.
Not a bad place at all and actually perfectly conducive to a Breakfast show. The room itself has tables on the left as you come in with a bar in the back and a sunken rectangular dance floor funneling the crowd towards the band on stage.
This was a noticeable aspect as from the get go the band and crowd were "locked in".
The opening salvo of Jam>WUIAC>Jam>Tunage instituted a damn riot in my dancing bones! The opening jam had Matt playing all sorts of wacky synth notes with Tim playing over and under them boomerang style. Ron\'s bass line was silky smooth with Adrian leading the pack with the beat. It lasted a few minutes like this until Tim pushes a little and the band is BAM! OK let\'s go! It then ascends to rock goodness in seconds with peaks and peaks leading to another slower but driving beat than back up to hard driving Rock and Roll! I mean they explode into madness! Tim just wailing away and Matt banging out notes Ron just keeping it down and Adrian pushing and pushing the rhythm and then a DROP seamlessly into WUIAC! ARE U SER!(one of many that night!)
WUIAC was freakin\' incredible as it always is. The band did not stop and went into another jam that was very Tunage heavy and I got excited as I finally got to hear this wonderful song live as they went into it. I really have not been a big fan of this song mostly due to not hearing many and not seeing one until now. Wow this song is fantastic. It\'s about getting down to music and that I did. The aggressiveness of this song is pure Breakfast in the jams and forces the crowd into utter abandonment of inhibition. The breakdown part is silky sweetness and lets ya rest up a bit while still getting down. Matt\'s playing in this part is joyous to hear. The melodies he lays down for the band to play over are simply beautiful. Then he starts to rock out as the jam gets deeper and deeper and I swear the jam that follows should be called Fire on the Mountain JAM! It breaks and back into Tunage proper.This song got me as I had flown out from the other coast("People party coast to coast").
Then MOXIE EPOXY. I was stoked to hear this as I really like a bunch of the songs on the album but rarely listen to it for various reasons.
Psygn was so nice to hear with Matt on Keys. It added so much to the layering this song benefits most from. The vocal jamming leading into the first jam is perfect and it just steadily built from little tweaks and quirky note jams to coalesce into an ascending melody lifting me higher and higher. This jam had Tim wailing away as the band swirled musically around his playing into minor chord madness and back into majors and happiness! Not the longest or most involved version but so tight it was ridiculous.
Future Peek another song that has benefited from Matt\'s addition to the band. The opening harmonies were a bit off but whatever. The opening of this song needed keys so bad and to have them now just makes this song so solid. This song is all about the jam as the centerpiece of it and it has developed into something special. The heights to which it builds only to drop so seamlessly into a loping gallop are astonishing. The playing between Matt and Tim at this point is nothing short of spectacular. It is a driving lead by Tim with Matt pushing and pushing and then Ron drops in and one realizes Adrian has been the one driving this whole insane jam until it blows in such a cathartic manner one can only scream in joy. The end verse repeating "Learning the hard way" let\'s you ride that out!
Having heard a rather twisted version of Honey Butter the night before I was ready for a straightforward reading of this song. As I usually skip this song on the CD and some shows until the jam. Tonight the band had my attention so much I danced right through anything I do not like about this song. Tonight the jam was spiraling, twisted and very psychedelic with Matt leading the band back to the songs conclusion.
Good Things was up next and was as usual beautiful and tear jerking. It changes very little show to show but it\'s a song that really does not need to. The jump right into Surreal Radio turned the crowd around in seconds from contemplative fidgeting and swaying to full on rocking out! Surreal Radio is just a pure rocking vehicle for the band to just lay it down. Right into Tricky Ways(the regular version) and my dislike for this song was abated for the first few measures as the band was that on fire! I do not have a full review of this song as I listened to it outside though I do remember some people dancing pretty good to it so I think they played it as well as a song like that can be played(plain blues number).
Intension was a monster that would not let up as it is supposed to be. I almost lost my voice during this song as I basically lost it screaming the lyrics along with Esther and various folk! The breakdown in this song benefits so much from the addition of Matt it is silly. They really showcase their listening skills within this jam as each member takes the main theme and twists it around for a bit until all 4 of them wail it out in unison into a driving beat back into the song which just drives harder and harder to the end. Simply amazing!
Adrian\'s Drum Solo was nice to view from that close and he gave quite a performance. Then for the absolute highlight of this show for me, The Late and The Great. This version was simply the best version I have ever heard. It had everything I desire in the song and The Breakfast. The singing was on point, the playing stellar and they added a depth to the end jam that had the entire place hitting the ceiling! The version of Overexposure may have suffered a bit from the prior songs ownage if played by any other band than The Breakfast. Overexposure was a delight to hear with it\'s variety of rhythms, the insane free for all jam in the middle after the incredible jamming from Ron leading into it and the weirdness following that back into the driving beat that made the entire crowd move as one with Tim playing these warbling notes that were just crazy to hear. Then the jam again ascends to weird spacey playing with Adrian drumming so fast it\'s truly mind blowing as they explode into a full on dance beat that just would not let go! WOW!
The encore had me thinking Superfly as they began it with a vocal/beatbox jam. Tim\'s Spider-Pig references were very funny to hear. Then hearing/seeing a longtime Breakfast fan like Freddiewah screaming for LDZ and then being so pumped when they busted into it was classic.
LDZ kicked ass to end the night in rocking fashion!
This is why I fly out to see this band.
Too bad for this show the band covered a Phish album the next night.
The playing and energy is way above par.
This show is perfect Breakfast.
