First time reviewer-long time reader. I’ve been keeping set lists for many years but more recently have started to add detailed notes. I used to add notes but ‘sick jam’ and ‘mike cow funk’ were about the extent of them. I’ve been to every Dicks except 2021 and 2 shows from 2017. I love Dicks!
Going into D3 I was excited and appreciative. We get to the lines early for numerous reasons but being able to listen to the soundcheck is definitely one of them. The last two nights shows have been quite enjoyable and knowing the fondness the band has for this venue adds to the excitement of the impending show. Soundcheck consisted of My Home Place and Fast Enough For You (played twice). Always nice to enjoy a tasty appetizer before the main course!
Set 1 bounded out of the gate with Fluffhead. Strong cohesion from the band with Trey nailing the first composed section. The band dynamics were tight and Trey continued to execute the composed areas with a noble grace. Mike led them down a different path with some divergent bass lines and they were off into a wonderful exploratory jam. I noticed at this point that almost all of CK5s work was with the old school looking can lights. An entirely 180 degree visual difference from the 1st nights Carini opener. A true professor of visual delights he showered us in colorful swaths of beautiful lights almost entirely devoid of the dog bones-those spinning bar sections when lit white and spun remind me of the classic dog bone shape. I adore the new rig but it was cool to see his utilization of his full quiver of tools. Fluff continued with a beautiful melodic jam and finished at just over 21 minutes- what a start!
Next was the Clifton Chenier classic My Soul. I first heard this cover in 1997 at Deer Creek and loved it. It actually took me a few years to learn that it was a cover and not their song. I dig this song and this version was bouncy and tight. The energy level was kept up and finished with a nice rockin ending. Wouldn’t have seemed out of place in a hot, humid bar in NOLA at all. The Cavern that emerged next was one borne of funky waters. Atypical for sure it had a nice oozy funky feeling that permeated its entirety. I am of the opinion that Llama is appreciated best at a rapid tempo but I will say that Cavern at a different clip can be greatly appreciated. This version was nice and slinky and Mike had some dirty bass lines emerge. Fish’s drums were on point and provided a crisp contrast. Next up was Reba which lots of folks, including me, were wanting to hear. I firmly believe that Reba is the best song to pick for consistently entering into the Type 2 exploratory jam arena. This one entered it, albiet briefly, and proved why this song is one of the greats. Trey and Fish were locked in and the new bass Mike has been dialing in has been sounding better and better each show. I’ve been pining for Page and while he’s been shining in his spots-see Halfway to the Moon and Bathtub Gin-I want more. Spoiler alert-the end of the night doesn’t disappoint! As the show was progressing more and more of the new light rig was reappearing and Reba had a wonderful blend of old and new school. Reba ended and never came back-no whistling in this nearly 12 minute version. Next up was Mound! Whoa-pretty sure never at Dicks and they don’t play this song nearly enough anymore. For its age it didn’t show a lot of rust-nice and tight with some exploratory bass from Mike. He’s been focusing on some new tones and during this version he was hard at work on them. Really great to hear a Mound! A Wave of Hope started up and as the first non 1.0 song of the night it also brought even more and more of CK5s beautiful rig. This song has been a reliable jam vehicle and the crowd erupted when it started. Some nice work between Trey and Fish leading to a high-energy melodic jam. While clocking in at just about 8 minutes it was concise and coherent. Classic strong rockin ending-upbeat and colorful! Tease emerged next and one of my absolute favorite songs. I adore the little threads of Norwegian Wood teases that Trey weaves throughout it. This version was no exception and he had some delightful fretwork that had a beautiful harmonic companion from Page. Fantastic version with numerous Page/Trey dialogues. I could hear this song go on and on-but it had a graceful and succinct ending at about 8 minutes. To close out the first set Ghost rears it’s head. True to form a extremely strong percussive theme emerged lead by Fish. Mike added to that with a deep gravelly theme and they provided a killer inspiration for not only Trey and Page but also CK5. Everyone walked off the stage and the crowd was left howling for more!
The second set started with another of my favorites- AC/DC Bag. I say if this song is present in a show it’s gonna be fire!! And that statement held true again tonight. This version started off traditionally but Fish started some strong drumming themes and Trey followed suit. Page provided some eerie effects and Fish followed up with now new off tempo beats. Truly a wonderful thing to hear this band vibing off each other. Trey started using some his boomerang bounce back loop effects and we were now in a real deal jam! Mikes bass was exploratory but not obtrusive-these guys are good! They tightened it up at the end before going directly into Chalkdust Torture. The crowd goes nuts and the band bears down and cranks it up a notch. Tearing into this it gave way to a relatively gently yet highly melodic and deliberate jam with Trey leading the way. Perfect tone and note bending highlighted by the rest of the group. This ramped up slightly before entering another beautiful segue into Ether Edge. They played this twice during Fridays soundcheck and have only played it live once before. The realm that the Chalkdust jam entered was revisited again during Ether. Lots of room to grow in this song and I’m optimistic. Page was driving the beautiful song departure and as they neared the end they executed another flawless transition into 46 Days. Upbeat and happy this song stayed the path until Mike started getting into some funky territory-prairie dog funk? Dialing in his new Serek bass he found some deep grooves and took us to Funkytown on a carpet made of corduroy. Page was putting the Wurlitzer to good use and working up a sweat. Lots of great interplay going on with this jam section between all before heading back to 46 Days base camp. Big ending that had flirtations of Tweeprise-full on Dicks hose! As if the crowd wasn’t amped up enough they came at us with The Howling. EVERYONE was howling! Ripping version that actually went off into a divergent direction led by Page and his many effects. The jam that ensued made me think of the soundtrack you’d hear if you were walking down a dark alley at night behind the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz. Delightful yet deceptively sinister. They emerged from this section and returned again to the howling vocal part so everyone could play along. A light dissonance jam followed before another segue into Piper. Clocking in at almost 15 minutes this version had numerous Page led jams and delved into jam territory not always explored during this song. High energy and climactic multi-level rockin’ ending out us at the end of set 2. Wow -what a monster!
Encore started up and it seemed like the timing was a bit early-what do they have in store for us? Theme From The Bottom waded in and dove deep. Perfect interaction between music and lights put me under water and heading down. Slightly murky and compressed it was missing the high note Page staccato points but either way I’m on board! Trey utilized a nice warbly tone that exuded swimming. I knew we couldn’t be done-and what’s next but Mound! Wow another rarity! Mike and Page had some strong leads and it was great to hear this song live again-please play more often! Next up was Don’t Doubt Me. A fun and crowd favorite I thought this would cap the night. Great energetic flow. But no-here comes Evolve. Page really coming out strong in the sunset of the show and crushing his workload. I dig this tune. Can’t end here though-let’s end on Golgi! One of the best. Seeing Trey still put so much into this workhorse after all these years is inspiring. And no less than the fact that he wrote it in 3rd grade! BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. Run Like An Antelope crashes through the plate glass window at Thanksgiving and shows everyone why this is the #1 band in the land. Holy Blankenstein-I think I just broke my glavin. My face definitely had melted off at this point and I hobbled out of the venue physically rode hard but mentally tumescent. 6 song encore over 42 minutes-nothing else needs to be said. Thanks for reading! Be kind to one another. Never miss a Sunday show. Or a a Saturday show.