after hauling ass from burgettestown to deer creek, it as time to do it again. unlike 2004, i made sure to leave at nice and early so we could get situated and make it in before show time. after 8 hours in chicago traffic, we barely got there on time. we had lawn seats for both nights, but after this show, i was convinced i need to upgrade to pavillion. if you are going to a show at alpine valley to listen to the music, you better get some pavillion seats! the sound in the lawn is god awful, and sometimes your company might be god awful, see the wasted frat boys i was sitting next to up to bt gin....

punch you in the eye: anyone that was feeling a little weary after two days in a row of driving got a little boogie woogie back in their step on this one.

run away jim: nice early set treat. i was rooting for a big 2nd set jim or gin, but they both found their way into this first set. anyway, this one seemed to be appropriately jammed before petering out. it didn't go too far, but it was well-received two songs into the show.

stash: the band's energy level seemed to jump up a notch on this one. not the craziest stash i've seen, but a good solid version none the less.

yamar: good mid set cool down song. gordon and page sounded good on this one.

bt gin: here we go! this one had a lot of energy and some nimble playing by trey. they did not take this one out too far, but like jim, it was a welcome addition to the set.

kill devil falls: this song just reminds me of a watered down chalk dust torture.... not my favorite

train song: nice little slow number... didn't see this one coming

farmhouse: blah

sparkle: at least it's quick

antelope: back on track. after doing their first year at deer creek without playing antelope, i figured they's bring a good one to alpine, and i was right. trey and gordon were lighting this one up. this set was starting to peter out a bit, but this one brought it right back up. very good lope

set 2:

waves: not my favorite song, but there was some nice exploration in this one before it jumped into...

sample: once again, not my favorite song, but trey and the boys seemed to be a little extra firey on this take. if you are a sample fan, this one has a much more rocking edge than most.

maze: now we are entering flavor country. this might be the best maze of the year. shoreline had a good one too, but i think this one takes the cake. page's solo rocked all 40,000 people to the bone. trey bounced off page nicely, but page is the star on this tune.

makisupa: very good makisupa. it's good to hear trey has a sense of humor pertaining to his legal woes. also, i think if you've ever been on probation, this one was particularly funny.

ghost: very nice but short ghost. this had a nice layered/textured jam. fishman and gordon layed a really nice foundation and page and trey worked all over it before dropping down into...

the lizards: this was a nice straight forward lizards. well played.

yem: i love a "vocal jam'less" yem. they tore through the composed part, and they started to play a funky little jam in the post-tramps slot that worked seamlessly into...

nicu: ah, another song where leo get's to "play it!" this nicu was strong, but unfortunately, this was the last really good song of the set.

caspian: boo... i really don't like this one, but after a hot maze, ghost, and yem>nicu combo, i needed to catch a sit down and bowl. i'm sure they'll be rocking after this...

waste: hmmmmm...back to back with caspian to end the set.

fire: here we go. a little hendrix to get us going again. nothing out of this world, but hell, i'll take hendrix where ever i can get it.

enc:

character zero: i find this song to be a little cheesey, but hey, people seem to like.... whatcha gonna do.

overall:

the first set was evenly played. everything was above average, but nothing really took off to that next level, except for possibly antelope. the second set started and ended slow, but everything from maze to nicu was gravy. this was a good first night, leaving room to step it up the 2nd night.

highlights:

1st set:
gin, antelope

2nd set
maze, makisupa>ghost, yem>nicu