SET 1:

Blaze On: interesting choice of opener for this run - def seems to signal to fans not to expect any crazy setlist shenanigans… very much a ‘we’re here to chill out and have fun after BD’ type opener. Pretty long jam for a 3.0 set opener. Gets into some pretty sparse territory around the middle portion, very nice and busy playing from Mike. Not too interesting otherwise.

555: standard.

Breath and Burning: can’t imagine the crowd was too pleased with this opening sequence, lol. Once again sending a message that this is a chance for the band to let their hair down. Nicely peaked and one of the better versions out there.

Theme From the Bottom: this one gets a better crowd reaction. Some nice reverse reverb briefly in the solo that gets some cheers. GREAT smooth segue into… ->

Free: very strong version, some great theremin-ish synth work and guitar work peak.

Tube: interesting jam! Fans of 2017 synth jamming will want to check this out, some super gnarly Page soloing in the early going – but ditches this for some guitar-led peaky jamming which is pretty unique for the song. Rough transition into the shuffle section.

Roggae: not crazy about this song but this peaks HARD. Trey shredding like it’s 1998. Euphoric!

More: standard.

SET 2:

No Men in No Man’s Land: another ‘let’s let our hair down and party’ choice to open set 2. Trey making good use of pedals in the early going of the jam which quickly transitions into a bliss peak - great screaming playing at the 9 minute mark. Seems like this is going to end right then and there, but Trey has other ideas and guides the band into a minor key section. Love Page’s Rhodes-esque playing in this section, very Miles Davis. Showing why he’s the MVP of 2017. The next 8 minutes of the jam is incredibly special. Trey takes the back seat to Page and Mike who lay down an atmosphere that really needs to be heard to believed – WOW. Eerie and spacey to the extreme! Fish even takes it into 12/8 for a section, extremely special playing that feels like a prelude to the Deer Creek Simple. Suddenly Trey is back on the guitar, comes out firing with Wedge teases everywhere. Fish picks up what he’s putting down – peak incoming, friends! Standard but strong bliss playing from there on out. Everything between the 10-20 min mark is out of this world and more than makes up for some standard fare on either side. Highly recommended. >

Carini: pretty abrupt into this but the place is hyped at the placement. Funny ‘lumpy head’ quotes around the entrance into the jam. Things get going around the 6 minute mark. The start to the jam is all about Trey pushing his pedals to their absolute limits. I’m no stranger to criticising Trey’s tone from this era but it really works for this extremely doomy playing in the early going. Alien sounds everywhere. Once again Fishman giving Trey an escape route about 10 minutes in – but nope, this is BD era Trey, and he’s gonna take this as far as it’ll go. A groovy, happy jam emerges from there for a while until Trey gets possessed with the spirit of Hendrix at around 17:30 and SHREDS an effects-driven peak. Wow. Feels like it could go into Tweezer as this winds down, but then suddenly the band conjures a funky, Camel Walk-style passage out of literal thin air with Page killing it on organ and Mike stomping on the octave pedal. Immediately went back to relisten to the last 4 minutes on first pass – it’s that good. Trey unfortunately bails on this too soon for… >

Ghost: almost disappointing to hear this come out of that space at the end of Carini but the song is great so it doesn’t matter too much. Pretty standard elongated blissy version that stays in second gear for a while until Trey powers things up around 14 mins in, total shredfest for a couple minutes there. Otherwise a solid Ghost that keeps the momentum going but nothing I’d particularly recommend – not that they have anything to prove at this point in the set. >

Harry Hood: nice! Decent, meditative intro but feels like it takes the band a while to lock on this one – the ‘where do you go’ refrain is sloppy here. Jam is standard with one or two nice themes. >

Cavern: super hype coming out of the effects at the end of Hood. A little shaky but loose and fun end to a crazy set.

Encore:

The Horse > Silent in the Morning: A little rough.

Character Zero: REAL rough at the beginning.

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OVERALL: wow, what a statement show post-BD. We successfully ran the gamut through our toughest songs, we’re free now, and we’re going to play the stuff we WANT to play and play it within an inch of our lives. It’s wall-to-wall energy and crazy peaks right up until the fourth quarter. Set 1 through to Ghost is one of the most impressive stretches of music you’ll hear at any 3.0 show, but particular shouts out to Roggae and NMINML for being total all-timer versions. Will also be coming back to Carini, Tube, Breath and Burning and Free.

4 stars.