Finishing up the final 3rd night of the band's first run at The Fillmore, the amazing new venue in Philly that had recently opened, the previous 2 nights were both great shows with high expectations heading into this show and the band most certainly delivered. Great Robots > Tunnel > inverted Great Abyss > Sound One and some unexpected covers that were a lot of fun in the 1st set but what happened during the 2nd set was something I was unsure if I would ever experience after seeing this band for 20 years. Set opens with Little Betty Boop and the gas pedal hits the floor right out of the gates and stays there for the rest of the set. Very hard and fast jam out of Boop, where you just sense something special is about to happen. The jam that builds up into what eventually becomes inverted Crickets is flat out one of the most intense and explosive Biscuits jams I ever heard led by that shaggy haired genius on guitar we affectionately call The Barber. It does not happen everyday when that man plays like that but when he does, it instantly catapults the rest of the band into the stratosphere. I have always said that the best versions of Crickets were from Fall 2001 but I can say with full confidence that this is my favorite Crickets. I stood there with goosebumps completely floored by what I had just heard and still get chills when I listen back to it. Oh and the rest of the set is equally amazing, including a really fun "Crazy Train" jam and a great stand alone Basis For A Day to close out the show. It's pretty amazing that the band is still playing at such a high level after all these years. It's shows like this one that'll always make me keep coming back for more after 20+ years of going to see these guys.
