Like I said, these were supposed to be my first shows, so it was almost a bit like seeing what could have been, if you will.

SET ONE:

Slave oddly opens and DWD > WTU oddly follows. I don't know if you can tell, but those three being in a first set, let alone opening the entire show, is kinda odd. But, they're fairly standard versions, as are the Maze, Farmhouse and 555 that follow, before Wolfman's kicks some ass, getting funky complete with Gordo's slapping before getting more melodic with some lovely playing from Trey before going back to the Wolfman's theme, tying up a nice if compact version. Then, my all time favorite song, The Divided Sky was played. I would have totally flipped my shit if I was there, alas I was sitting on the couch at 4AM. Rock and Roll capped off an overall concise and excellent first set.

SET TWO:

Fuego began the second set, which the band have tried to jam out multiple times, especially this year, but frankly it's never worked for me, and one was no exception, despite a nice and spacey outro. Sand emerged from it's depths, and ...did nothing. I feared that we had one of THOSE Summer 2016 sets coming up (i.e one or two attempted jams that go nowhere before the song-yness kicks in), but Blaze On, which in it's short lifespan has had some fine jams, showed that the band was at least going to try and jam instead of petering out with a jukebox set, and boy did they put up one hell of a fight.

The jam started slowly but surely, with Trey using the echoplex, before it became more frenzied and discordant, then getting clearer and more melodic before >'ing into Simple, which, like Roggae, has had numerous fantastic, beautiful and melodic Type I versions this year e.g Syracuse. This version was excellent and spacey, with Trey's effects and Page's grand at the start sounding fantastic, as was the latter's work on the CS-80 as the jam went deeper. Trey hopped on the marimba towards the end, but here it wasn't nearly invasive, obnoxious or annoying, though it did feel a little off kilter, but it pushed the jam into more rhythmic territory, before Trey started up Twist.

Twist was just classic peaking fire. It's quick, but fulfilling unlike a good few peak-y jams as of late. I won't go through it as it progressed, it follows a formula that's tried and tested, but it's still a pretty great version, check it out. Theme followed, one of the first fifteen or so tracks I first heard from the band, so I got nostalgiac and thought about how one day, I'll see them and dance my proverbial socks off. A man-child can dream, right? Anyway, this version is pretty solid: The harmonies were tight, Page's organ work was excellent and it provided a great soundtrack as the night sky outside began to get more blue, when suddenly, 2001 started up. Now THERE'S A SOUNDTRACK TO THE RISING SUN.

Hood capped off the set. The jam section was gentle and the Trey/ Page interplay was delicate and excellent per usual, as was the peak, making for a pretty darn good version. The show encored with Coil, during which the sky outside was red. It was a sight to behold.

OVERALL: This might just be Show of the Year. It flows very well consistently ,even though it may not have the longest or the most out there jams. As an overall show back to front, it is just brilliant and totally must-hear.

HIGHLIGHTS: Simple (version of the year), Twist

RATING: 4.5/5