So I’m gonna get a little personal here. On 5/23/22 my son, Ash Rivers was born in Birmingham Alabama. He stormed into the world about two weeks early and all signs pointed to a happy and healthy child. Just 2 years prior, my first son, Arlo, suffered from high bilirubin when he was born and had to be treated with photo therapy. It appeared Ash has avoided this fate and was released from the hospital just 36 hours after he was born. Cut to Saturday and after a check up with the pediatrician, we were told that it was straight to the NICU for light therapy just like his brother.

High bilirubin is common and super treatable, but bringing your week old child to the NICU is no fun. Knowing that my wife and I, just a few hours from OB wouldn’t be able to enjoy the shows and trying to ease both our worries, I told her that the band would tap into the universal nature of Human experience and referencing some spiritual dissonance be compelled to drop an NICU for little Ash while he was rocking it photo therapy style in Birmingham in the NICU. And we would order up some Jersey Mike’s subs to enjoy it all with.

Well, cut to last night and after a raucous Character Zero opener that went type two from the GET, the mighty (Jersey) Mike’s Sandwich ensued and after quality romps through the jam section and a slew of other notable cuts, landed on the opening licks of NICU. We had called and the universe answered with a resounding YES!

Thanks for taking the roundabout journey of a read on this very personal story connecting the universe and this here narrator to last nights show.

Mahalo Nui

Whoever the F is giving these show bad ratings didn't listen to these shows. They are really good. Maybe no great but all were above a 4.0 for one reason or another. Again, not a 4.5 worthy but who the hell really listened to these shows and thought anything below 4 was a proper rating. I don't get it.

I've enjoyed them and I'd put money on any fan from any era enjoying them too.

I came on here to praise the brilliant weirdness of last night's Tweezer. I really thought that it was great, and a good companion-piece to some of the material from Friday night.

But I'm so struck by MGOLIA6's review, and I really don't think there's anything to add to it. I love the narrative point-of-view and the warmth and the candidness of that piece. What a great story, what a great reflection. Cheers to you and yours, @MGOLIA6!

Criminally low rating off the bat, will go up when people actually listen and realize that this show packs a punch!!! that whole set 2… the Tweezer itself is worthy of all the praise. Devolves into a formless space jam, reminiscent of the 12/30/17 steam. Flawless transition into plasma , and a Wolfmans taboot. Will be listening to this show a lot !

I thought this show was fantastic. Zero opener was wild enough - taking it out and around the block was just sublime. Mike's in the two slot confirmed that this was going to be one of those nights where anything is possible and (almost) everything feels effortless. A well-placed Bouncing kept the 1.0 vibes strong before a fiery KDF and elegiac Winterqueen brought some tonally-varied 3.0 flavor. The rest of the set was solid with an always welcome Funky Bitch and a Weekapaug closer to finish what Mike's had started early on.

The second frame kicked off with a couple of Nectar cuts in Landlady and Tweezer. The latter got deep and weird and set the stage for an incredible Wolfman's, a jam that went to a lot of different places before peaking with a gorgeous Trey riff that reminded me a bit of the anthemic climax of my beloved Camden Sand from 6/7/09. Miss You was a perfect breath followed by a fairly standard Maze (shoutout to Leo for some feisty organ work) and a Hood that was anything but boilerplate. After giving thanks to Mr. M, the ending buildup was so patient, beginning with some sublimely melodic bass work from Mike that felt somewhat reminiscent of his tasty playing at the end of Waste. Trey kept it clean with rhythmic, dreamy lines as Fish gently increased the intensity. As Trey kicked in his Tube Screamers, the group vocal outro arrived lamentably too soon as, to my ears, the boys were just on the cusp of breaking through to that next place. That noted, hard - if not impossible - to complain when the exploration was consistent and consistently generous throughout the entire evening.

And, gosh, if it all sounded - and felt - this transcendent on a laptop, I can only imagine what it like to be there. What a gig. Love this band so much and am counting the days until Bangor.

The first set had some nice song selections. Character Zero opener was taken for a bit of a ride and there are nice versions of songs like Mike's and Kill Devil Falls. The second set is great too. Landlady was a surprise second set opener, and the following Tweezer was absolutely insane live. Songs like Wolfman's and Maze are nice to hear, even if they did not go far beyond the song itself.

A good show all around. Although nothing else quite gets to the level of the Tweezer, it's still a good overall listen.

Best show of the tour. Micro jams I believe they are called. And that Tweezer?? Please! Take it even stranger.

I could break it all down but there are enough surprises tucked in there that it would be perferred if you discover them for yourself. After all, that's what the fun is all about. So do I have enough words now for the bot to allow me to post this? Don't consider it a review. It's just thoughts of a fan that keeps coming back to this show more than any of the others. A keeper.