From: Charlie Dirksen
10/17/96 Bryce Jordan Ctr., PSU, State College, PA A lot of people weren't terribly fond of this show, if I recall from
October posts. I've heard many 1996 first sets that move me less than this one, though (Also>Funky Bitch opener? Tweezer
Reprise to close the first set? PYITE? Tweezer>Theme? ok by me..). Tweezer's opening segues out of the leftovers of Sparkle.
Typical rhythm. Standard opening. Jam segment begins at about 4:40 or so (the "Ebeneezer" chaos was extended.. nothing
exciting, though). Well. Trey comes in soloing somewhat darkly around 6 minutes. Typically tweezeresque groove. Really
nothing too exciting going on. There's a short build of sorts around 7 minutes, as if Fish wanted to kick-start the jam. Trey starts
soloing somewhat Oddly.. off-key, freakish. Mike is funking well on the bass. Page is similarly doing typical tweezeresque stuff.
Some effects from Trey around 7:50 (siren-like effect). Woo-hoo. No wonder I overlooked reviewing this version until now.. ;)
This jam is pretty chaotic around 8:30, but very typically tweezeresque, in that there's semi-dissonant screwing around in an
awfully dark, evil manner. There isn't anything especially melodious in here at all (and it is those mellifluous-theme-oriented
versions that move me). This is certainly one of the dullest versions of Tweezer I've heard in the last year or two. What a waste
of time. I apologize. At 9:24 the jam just ENDS SUDDENLY and Theme INSTANTLY begins. This was weird. This abrupt
ending was perfectly appropriate, though, given the preceding jamming, which was going NOWHERE. This Tweezer really did
absolutely nothing. Reminded me, frankly, of the Amsterdam '96 Tweezer (another recent, relatively lame version). Still, the
complexity of this groove is better than many of the Older, Simpler Tweezers. 3.5 rating. Clearly below average, and certianly
one of the lamest versions of 1994-1996, in my opinion. Theme never really goes anywhere, either, fwiw. Hmmm. Maybe those
October reviews about this set were right after all. (an easy liquidation after the Fall '96 tape offer..) two cents KingMoron420