I'd just like to take this time to say a few things about the MGB show my crew and i attended at Webster Hall last night. Needless to say, this is my opinion, and what i say may not necessarily reflect the views or general perception of this event held by others. That aside lets get into it:

Strictly in terms of the music, i thought this show was pretty great. The first set was fairly slow until the last 2 or 3 songs but the second set was really just awesome right through to the end. It was my first time seeing MGB and Scott Murawski, who i'd been planning to go see play for a while now and i was really impressed not only with their compositions, but also with the cohesion of the group. As i watched them play i felt i could clearly make out that it was MIKE GORDON's Band, it was his show, his lead, however that dynamic created an awesome environment for some great group flow without worrying about flashy solos and rip cords being pulled on jams.

OTHER Band Members: I'd never seen any other these guys play before but heres a few things i really enjoyed. The Keyboardist Tom had some AWESOME energy! I was loving him going crazy, jumping up and down, standing up, pointing at people in the band and in the crowd, plus his singing was pretty nice too. The percussionist Craig was just ON POINT the whole night. Craig was locked into everything the band was doing, also at one point i think he was playing an LED Shamisen/Sangen ( japanese like guitar) which was pretty awesome. Drummer Todd was just a machine, again very tight playing, plus i have respect for any professional touring drummer who plays kit with a traditional hand grip, DUDE HAS GOT SOME FEEL.

Notes about the sound/event/venue: i arrived a little later then the EARLY crowd but there was a huge line all the way down the block and the way the event/security handled it was poor at best. Took way to long to get inside and manage people getting/cutting/staying in line. Guy was asking to ID people then yelling at people for waiting them to be ID'd by him saying "there are other guys up ahead to ID you." Once we finally got inside i remembered why i don't go to Webster Hall that much anymore. It was a total shit show, packed wall to wall, sweating our asses off, poor spacing of walls, pillars, and bars.... we headed up to the balcony for the end of the first set/ whole second set and had a much better view/ much more space. The balcony was bouncing and the bar behind us was just crowded enough so people were almost falling off the balcony into the sound/lighting booth.

Additionally there were several instances where the sound was clipping, speakers bugged out or had feedback. I'm also pretty sure there was a point when Mike attempted to play his steel string guitar and it was legit not even plugged in so he just went back to his bass.

Highlights to me were: Spocks Brain, Face, 555, Long Black Line, Use of LED ( pickup activated) Guitars/Bass, and the light up/audible floor pads audience members in the front row were able to use at certain times.