Trancegression Review

Page McConnell – 7/11/07 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater (1st show)
Heavy Rotation, Close to Home, Maid Marian, Everyone But Me, Final Flight, Back in the Basement, Memories Can't Wait, Complex Wind, Runaway Bride, Rules I Don't Know, Beauty of a Broken Heart
E: Strange Design*, Cars Trucks Buses
*Page solo

I started my festival weekend a little early with the Chairman of the Boards. Making the two hour drive up to Portland after work on a Wednesday is a commitment that none of my friends were willing to make. Their mistake.

Right from the opener it was plain that Page and his boys were a force to be reckoned with. ‘Heavy Rotation’ went to a place that quite frankly I didn’t think this band would be capable of. The Chairman’s keys combined with Adam Zimmon’s guitar created a swirling vortex of a jam that took the crowd by surprise with its sheer intensity.

When the song was over the crowd literally erupted with delight. The volume of the applause even took me by surprise, and it was obvious the band had the same reaction. Page was literally at a loss for words saying “Thanks…we’re…umm…really excited…to be playing music in this great room…for you.”

It was truly one of those moments you live for as a live music fan.

‘Close to Home’ was one of two songs from the album that I really wanted to hear. I was also psyched to hear the Vida Blue tune ‘Final Flight’. And following that slow number with the chooglin’ instrumental ‘Back in the Basement’ (the other) proved to be an awesome one-two punch for my taste.

The ‘Strange Design’ encore was to be expected from following the setlists, but the second number was still up in the air in my mind. ‘Cars, Trucks, Buses’ threw the crowd into one final frenzy as those who came to see Phish songs were sent home smiling.

Overall there were at least five sick jams on the night. McConnell & Zimmon lead the way and clearly share a very nice chemistry. The rhythm section of Rob O’Dea (bass) and Gabe Jarrett (drums) is solid but nothing spectacular. It’s really the keyboard and guitar stylings of Jared Slomoff in the background that holds things together when they get way out there.

Don’t get me wrong here, some of the tunes were a little sappy and slow, but in the grand scheme of things I don’t really think that matters because the extended jams were so solid (yet loose). I suppose I don’t know why other people go to shows, but I thought it was to witness something new every night. Risk taking, walking that thin line between form and formlessness, etc. In that regard I can’t understand how any live music lover wouldn’t enjoy Page’s new band.

The Aladdin Theater holds 620 people, and it was only about 75% full, but I’d say 95% of those in attendance walked away happy judging by the post show buzz outside. The other 5% were people that wanted to hear ‘Tela’, ‘It’s Ice’ and the like. To those I say move on and appreciate the man for what he’s doing, not what he’s done.

We landed in Denver around 3 PM after catching an earlier connection in Salt Lake City. This allowed us plenty of time to drive to Boulder, check in to our hotel and shop for supplies for the weekend before our first show. I only mention this because had we landed at 6 as scheduled our vacation would not have been near as relaxed.

the Disco Biscuits – 7/13/07 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre (10th show) listen
I: House Dog Party Favor*, Spy, Songs of Joy > Mr. Don
II: Crystal Ball^ > Aceetobee > Pilin' it High > Aceetobee > Crystal Ball, Spraypaint > Lunar Pursuit > Spraypaint
E: Morph Dusseldorf
* preceded by ‘King of the World’ fake out
^ preceded by ‘Seven Nation Army’ (The White Stripes) tease

Before I start in on the show I have to mention how lame Boulder was on a Friday night. Nothing going on anywhere…even at the bars. According to our bartender it was because “School was not in.” I guess so, but that did not deter what I thought to be too heavy a police a presence. It’s not that they were in anybody’s face or anything like that; they just let you know that they were there. This would be a running theme all weekend.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the Fox was how small it is. In my estimation it was smaller than the Aladdin in Portland. I later found out the capacity was 700, and I don’t doubt that every one of 700 people was slammed in there. This was not a show for the faint of heart. It reminded me a club back East with sweaty people jostling for position everywhere. Very much an East Coast Bisco vibe going on as well. After adjusting our mid-30’s Pacific Northwest mindset though, we rather enjoyed it.

We were in and ready to go at 9:15 since the ticket said 9:00. Well, the band didn’t come on until 10:00 which made for some unnecessary anxiety in the crowd. Bassist Marc Brownstein said as they came on that “People downstairs were telling me it was a madhouse out there.” And it was. The ‘King of the World’ fake out that became ‘House Dog Party Favor’ was a nice way to start and let me know that the boys were in a playful mood.

HDPF was utterly insane clocking in at 27:35. Being that these were my first shows since Jam in the ‘Dam (3/21/06), it was a nice welcome back to Bisco moment for me. I was happy to hear ‘Spy’, but apparently hardcore Bisco fans despise this tune. Whatever. ‘Songs of Joy > Mr. Don’ was also huge (31:56).

I mean, a four song first set? You’ve got to be kidding me! There was some serious experimentation going on in the Biscuits “trance fusion” way. I thought the first set was very good, but it was really just a precursor to the next two sets of Bisco we’d hear.

The second set got off to a fine start with my first ever ‘Crystal Ball’. This is a song I love and always wanted to hear, but never thought I would (only the 2nd version in 2007). But again, what came next was even better. The palindrome of ‘Crystal Ball > Aceetobee > Pilin' it High > Aceetobee > Crystal Ball’ was off the charts fantastic. Seamless transitions, ass shakin’ grooves and the best light show this side of Phish added up to pure sensory overload. Not that I’m an expert, but this was Bisco at its finest if you ask me.

The combination of travel, altitude and age had us running low on energy after the palindrome, but we stuck it out and were rewarded in kind. I’m not a big fan of ‘Spraypaint’, but the ‘Lunar Pursuit’ sandwiched in the middle sapped our final bit of stamina. Lunar was debuted this year and is among a handful of new instrumental Biscuit songs created with new drummer Allen Aucoin. Loved it!

We left mid-way through ‘Morph Dusseldorf’ because we were both failing hardcore. I couldn’t have asked for a better night of music. And Teri was so blown away that it was the first thing she talked about in the morning when she woke up. It was her “ah-ha!” moment with the Disco Biscuits, and she couldn’t stop raving about the all out onslaught that is Bisco when they are on.

Teri – “They don’t get near the respect they deserve.”

Amen.

(To listen to the Umphrey's McGee pre-Trancegression show click here.)

The drive to Copper Mountain for the festival took about two hours because there was some kind of bike race going on along the highway…in the freaking mountains! As J.J. Grey would point out during his set, Coloradoans are quite a fit bunch.

Our condo in the East Village was oh so nice. Full kitchen, fireplace and deck facing a 14,000 foot peak. As the kidz like to say, it was “pimp.” The only downer was that the hot tub was under construction. Oh well. It was a short shuttle ride (like 2 to 3 minutes) up to the main village where the music was.

Once we arrived the setting was picturesque. The stage was at the base of the American Eagle lift and the “lawn” was a ski slope. In every direction you looked there was the Rocky Mountains. Just beautiful 10,000 feet up, and sunny too.

DAY 1

J.J. Grey & MOFRO – 1:30-2:30 (1st show) listen
Circles, Footsteps > Turpentine, Lochloosa, Lazy Fo' Acre, Country Ghetto, By My Side, War, The Sun is Shining Down, Harp & Drums

The crowd was sparse for the “swamp funk” of MOFRO, but J.J. and company didn’t seem to mind. This was the last show of a long tour for them and they were headed back to Lochloosa after their set “Just as fast as they could drive.” I enjoyed MOFRO, but not as much as Teri did. To me they were no more than nice background music for a fine day in the mountains.

Lotus – 3:00-4:00 (4th show) listen
Bubonic Tonic, When H Binds to O, One Last Hurrah, Alkaline, Lucid Awakening > Juggernaut > Lucid Awakening

This was a highly anticipated set for both of us so we got right up on the rail next to keyboard/guitar player Luke Miller. This would be the second Lotus show in a row that we were right up front. NICE! Unfortunately I headed back to the condo a little disappointed. It’s not that they played bad or that the crowd wasn’t into it, but I didn’t really love their choice of songs. This is what I get for listening to all their shows from 2006 & 2007 on archive.org.

Granted they played in West Virginia the night before, so that may have had something to do with it, but ‘Bubonic Tonic, When H Binds to O’ did not get the party started like I know they can. ‘One Last Hurrah’ and ‘Alkaline’ were nice, but I didn’t feel they really got rolling until ‘Lucid Awakening’…which was great by the way. The sandwiching of ‘Juggernaut’ was also questionable in my mind. Oh well, the crowd was very full and enjoyed themselves, so that’s all that really matters.

Umphrey’s McGee – 6:00-7:30 (8th show) listen
2x2, Partyin' Peeps, Push the Pig, White Man's Moccasins > Blue Echo > Uncle Wally, Bridgeless

After some dinner back at the condo we were recharged and ready for a long night. The Umph was tight as always, hitting their changes on a dime and rocking the house like only they can. We started off up close, about 10 rows back in the mix, but the sun at 6ish in the Rockies kind of caught us off guard. So we ended up dancing side stage in the shade for the majority of this set.

I don’t really know the names of UM’s songs, but I recognize most of them when I hear them. During this show I gained a new appreciation for guitarist Brendan Bayliss’ vocals. He’s quite a band leader too. I also enjoyed watching the interplay between him and axe mate Jake Cinninger. I had never really paid that much attention before, but being that I was so close for this performance, I almost had to take notice. This set was really just a prelude for the absolute heat Umphrey’s would bring the next night.

the Disco Biscuits – 8:00-10:00 (11th show) listen
Paul Revere , Story of the World > Digital Buddha* > Story of the World > Spectacle > Munchkin Invasion , Hot Air Balloon , Gangster > Helicopters > Orch Theme > Safety Dance
E: Little Lai
* inverted

Ding-ding, it’s time for round three!

I had a feeling we’d get a ‘Paul Revere’ sometime during the weekend, and the opener seemed like very good placement. Nothing like some old school Beastie’s to get the party rolling in the right direction. ‘Story of the World’ is a highly requested song by the Bisco faithful so there were a lot of happy peeps all over the place when this one dropped. I had no clue ‘Digital Buddha’ was inverted (ending first, then beginning), but it was another first for me and Brownie’s bass bombs were shaking the mountain. The transitions kept coming, the jungle trance was flowing and ‘Munchkin Invasion’ was a perfect way to cap the opening stanza.

“Hi, my name is Sally. I'm a little munchkin.”

Anyway, after a 21:36 Munchkin a massive ‘Hot Air Balloon’ (22:24) followed and took me to another place. By this time it was dark and the Biscuits’ lights were in full effect. The combination of the best lights in the business and the powerful mind altering trance music has the ability to take you to higher plane of existence.

During the closing ‘Gangster > Helicopters > Orch Theme > Safety Dance’ I was in full on dance mode. It was so perfect I don’t think words can ever do it justice. The crisp night mountain air, insane light show, perfect vibe, Aaron Magner’s keys and Jon Gutwillig’s subtle yet commanding guitar. What can I say, it was another one of those moments. (If you were wondering, yes they closed with the Men Without Hats classic.) We went up on the hill for the ‘Little Lai’ encore, which is another great tune, to take in the lights from another angle.

The Greyboy Allstars – 11:00-1:00 (6th show)
Jungle Strut, Get Down, What Happened to TV?, Taxman, Knowledge Room, Jack Rabbit, V Neck Sweater, Still Waiting, Happy Friends, Back in the Game, Cramp Your Style, Right On, Deck Shoes
E: Quantico, VA

After strolling around the Village for a while trying to wrap our heads around what we just saw we made our way to late night pavilion and caught the end of DJ Harry. What we saw was Harry spinning Phish’s ‘First Tube’ while throwing literally thousands of glow sticks into the crowd. This led to some unfortunate glowing people, and I’m not sure the GBA’s appreciated Harry’s antics all that much since a fair share of the glow sticks ended up being hurled at the stage.

The Greyboy’s were in fine form for this one as sax player Karl Denson was having fun talking to the crowd throughout. They played a lot of stuff off their new album, as they did in Eugene and Portland this past April. The difference being that this time around they catered to the crowd’s taste by extending their jams way out there on several occasions. Teri and I hung mostly in the back and used all the extra room to get our boogie on.

We skipped the encore and headed back to the condo in a shuttle driven by a guy in a full on chicken costume. Complete with him bock-begocking into the mic as he was driving. I can’t tell you how nice it was to go “home” to an actual place rather than a tent. This is just one of the many factors that made Trancegression special.

DAY 2

Hot Buttered Rum – 1:30-2:30 (1st show)
Desert Rat > Evolution > Cuckoo's Nest > Evolution > Always Be the Moon, Pay Your Dues, Open Season, Idaho Pines, Beneath the Blossoms, Wedding Day, Busted in Utah, Angeline the Baker > Cindy

After a leisurely morning which included sleeping to 10, a home made breakfast and a hot shower it was off to the shuttle for the ride up to the stage. This would be my first time sampling the “high altitude bluegrass” of HBR and the crowd was much bigger for them than MOFRO the previous day. What makes the “Butter” different from their brethren is multi-instrumentalist Erik Yates (banjo, flutes, accordion & clarinet) and that Aaron Redner and Zac Matthews each play both mandolin & fiddle.

Unfortunately even with their plethora of talent I found HBR’s music to be…how can I say…lacking testicular fortitude. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the high & lonesome sound of Drew Emmitt and Del McCoury, but the Butter takes this to a whole ‘nother level. I think it was the persistent sissyness of their vocals that turned me off. I would have preferred some more hard charging numbers like ‘Busted in Utah’, but the vast majority of the crowd seemed to really dig them.

Zilla – 3:00-4:00 (1st show)
setlist unknown

The String Cheese people were out in force for drummer Michael Travis’ main side project. Trying to conserve energy for the night, Teri and I decided to take in our first Zilla show from up on the hill. The rest of the band is Jaime Janover (hammered dulcimer) and Aaron Holstein (bass, keys & sampler). These boys are known for playing 100% improvised shows; no setlists, no songs, etc. While they did manage to find some nice grooves along the way, I’d have to rate Zilla in the second tier of jamtronica bands. We ended up taking off with about 5 minutes left to beat the rush to the shuttle.

the Disco Biscuits – 6:00-7:30 (12th show) listen
World is Spinning > Abraxas* > Rock Candy > Sweating Bullets, Kelly Watch the Stars, 42
* inverted

After two phenomenal performances in a row, we were bound for a letdown. There had to be something about being the first closer to go on, because neither Umphrey’s nor the Biscuits seemed to fire on all cylinders when the sun was shining. ‘World is Spinning’ was a nice opener and I like the political slant of Barber’s lyrics on this one. ‘Abraxas > Rock Candy > Sweating Bullets’ was a techno dance party to be sure, but it just seemed to be lacking the same punch as the previous days. Air’s ‘Kelly Watch the Stars’ was a nice novelty to hear and ‘42’ was a proper closer. It’s not like this was a bad show overall, but it just didn’t measure up when compared to the other two.

Umphrey’s McGee – 8:00-10:00 (9th show) listen
Slacker, Miss Tinkle's Overture, In the Kitchen > Miss Gradenko > In the Kitchen, Dump City, Alex's House* > Nothing Too Fancy, Der Bluten Kat > Mulche's Odyssey > Der Bluten Kat, Wizard Burial Ground
E: Resolution^ > Svenghali# > Syncopated Strangers
* 'Unskinny Bop' (Poison) teases
^ the Disco Biscuits with Brendan Bayliss (guitar & vocals) and Andy Farag (percussion)
# full band switch to Umphrey's McGee with Jon Gutwillig (guitar & vocals)

The boys from Chicago were on point right from the jump for this one. ‘Slacker’ got things started right and ‘Miss Tinkle's Overture’ took them to the next level immediately. What followed was the best version of ‘In the Kitchen’ (song of the year winner at the 2005 Jammys) I’ve ever heard. The intro was long and drawn out building the anticipation. Then you throw in The Police’s ‘Miss Gradenko’ sandwiched in middle and you have a best version ever nominee.

‘Dump City’ kept the momentum steaming along as Teri and I moved all over the place trying to find the best vantage point we could. We were up on the hill for ‘Alex’s House’ and Teri said “They are playing ‘Unskinny Bop.’” I told her she was crazy, but I was wrong. I bow down to the keeper of all 80’s hair metal knowledge.

I really wanted to hear Alex’s and the segue into ‘Nothing Too Fancy’ was superb. NTF is probably both of our favorite UM tune, so we were gettin’ down with a vengeance at this point. ‘Der Bluten Kat > Mulche's Odyssey > Der Bluten Kat’ was pure Umph madness and the crowd was totally into it at this point, rocking out all around. ‘Wizard Burial Ground’ was debuted on 6/14/07 in San Diego and almost sounds like classic speed metal. In other words a perfect way to close a show.

When they finished I noticed it was just past 9:30, meaning they still had a half hour to burn. Teri had been predicting a collaborative encore, but even she didn’t expect what happened next. While the Disco Biscuits walking out on stage was not a total shock, what they played was. With Brendan Bayliss singing the Biscuits rocked the Umphrey’s song ‘Resolution’…and did a very nice job with it. In the middle of the jam Marc Brownstein raised his hand and handed the bass to Ryan Stasik. Then one by one the rest of UM came back out.

Being that Barber was still on stage I figured a Bisco tune was up next, but ‘Svenghali’? C’mon now! The DB have plenty of difficult compositions to play and ‘Svenghali’ has to be right up there. That said, I think the Biscuits did a better job with Umphrey’s song than the other way around. That’s not meant to be a knock on the Umph in any way, it’s just that the signature Bisco sound is a lot harder to replicate in my opinion.

After Barber exited stage right the way that Jake Cinninger led the drop on a dime change into ‘Syncopated Strangers’ epitomizes the collective cohesion UM shares as a unit. I can’t say for sure if this was the best Umphrey’s show I’d ever seen, but it is certainly in the top 2.

We had nothing left after two late nights of boogying so we skipped Pnuma (the 4th consecutive time I’ve passed on these guys) and Galactic. When you get to a certain age you are more in tune with how far you can push your body, and we were both at our limit.

Over the course of the festival we saw numerous band members just milling about like regular people. I’ve never been on Jam Cruise, but I suspect Trancegression was the same way just on a smaller scale.

Jon Gutwillig (guitarist tDB) – standing in front of us during MOFRO, in line for beer during the GBA late night and on the bumper boats after Zilla.

Marc Brownstein (bassist tDB) – in the village walking with his crew to an unknown destination after their set on day 1.

Aaron Magner (keyboardist tDB) – walking with a buddy in the village after their set on day 1.

Ryan Stasik (bassist UM) – dancing right next to us with TWO hot chicks during the GBA late night.

Jesse Miller (bassist Lotus) – chilling with his peeps by the front gate before HBR.

Nat Keefe (guitarist HBR) – watching Zilla in the mix down front.

Mike Rempel (guitarist Lotus) – sitting right behind us on the hill for Zilla.

We didn’t bother trying to chat up any of these people, nor did anyone else really (with the exception of Barber and Stasik), and honestly they all seemed to enjoy being normal fans for a while.

Since I’ve been home I haven’t read a single bad review of Trancegression anywhere on the web. The atmosphere was just so chill, the police were visible but under control, the accommodations were fabulous, the weather cooperated and the music was excellent. What more could you ask for? I can’t say that I’ll definitely be there next year (my first High Sierra is calling), but if the lineup was good I wouldn’t hesitate. I’d say as long as the resort itself didn’t mind the influx of hippies (most of which were extremely well behaved and polite) that Trancegression has a bright future as a destination event.