Great show here... the band is firing on all cylinders.
With such a(n understandably) tight rotation of songs, it's impressive they've been able to make each version truly unique. Not all jams hit, but more do than don't at this point. Speaks volumes about this band and Mike.
Despite this show featuring only one new-to-Mike song (When It Falls), every extended song had highlights.
The opening jam was the sole exception - not much to write about there. BUT, the music starts to get interesting around 6 minutes into Watermelon (which is quickly becoming a reliable jam vehicle, if you haven't noticed). Ever so subtle Reprise tease (or total coincidence - you be the judge) around 13:40 from Mike.
BDF wastes no time getting interesting with Cory and Nick pushing the jam initially. It stays that way throughout with Mike and Jordan hoping on board eventually - good version.
Another successful jam ensues in GITL. First half features excellent Cory, while the back half features jamming that's somewhat atypical for Spafford. Dark, brooding, guitar-lead-but-all-on-board, pink floyd-esque goodness. Slam dunk into Machine Elves to close this strong opening set.
Jordan and Nick set the table for some gorgeous piano work in When It Falls - the first version of the song with Mike on guitar.
Jordan and lead the band out of the song portion of Take a Picture and a really nice jam ensues. Quiet at first, with Jordan being the "loudest" and the band working around him. Eventually Cory speaks up - it's at this point I'm realizing the utility Cory displays in this show. I believe in each jam he's taking the lead, he's doing so with a different instrument and achieving positive results with each. Guy's a national treasure! While Cory does his thing, Mike is lying in wait. At precisely the right moment Mike picks up and launches them into a whole band, thematic peak. Despite this being one of the core covers in this shortened rotation, they're finding ways to make it interesting (and in this case, fantastic, too) each time.
Plans... Excellent version with some killer Jordan right after the song portion ends. Per usual, Nick picks up the pace; Cory and Mike intertwine to work around Jordan - an extraterrestrial dance party ensues. This version ends in a bit of miscommunication which results in a slightly disjointed peak. These types of misteps have been extremely rare; I would have expected a lot more of this with such a short lead time.
The show ends with a masterful segue from LOTR into Mad World.
Spafford is making the most out of the lemons, that's for sure.
