Jam Chart for shows in the city of Birmingham, AL (11 entries)
| Info | Notes |
|---|---|
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SOAMelt (9:12)
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"MLB"-like jamming by Trey early, followed by an intense, improvisational, high tempo and super-charged jam. |
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Runaway Jim (7:51)
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Great, growly tone from Trey, the jam building and bettering as Fish propels the intensity. Trey's play becomes truly dynamic, with great rhythmic melodic variation offset by huge, sweeping sustain. And Fish just crushes his cymbals. |
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Jam (11:30)
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Oteil Burbridge on bass and Stacy Starkweather on stand-up bass. Experimental jam with instrument switching -> in from "Mike's Song," and includes Trey on drums, Fish on keyboard, and some scat vocals from Oteil. |
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Cities (16:10)
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Birmingham proper finally got a "Cities" and it was one to remember. Coming as the second song of the night, the band shows they're ready to let loose. Mike leads the jam early and the slow funk gradually picks up tempo. The jam winds its way to a more contemplative space before > into "Sample". |
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Gin (23:16)
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This behemoth quickly takes on a slightly more agitated tone than your typical jam and then makes a clean break as the band spends several minutes pulling their respective strands together into a single stream and drilling down on a monolithic groove totally removed from "Gin". After pausing to take a breath around 13:00, the jam restarts in a more zen-like fashion and steadily builds until it swells to bursting and peaks in the 21st minute. |
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Runaway Jim (15:32)
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In from an amazing "Gin" (last paired 8/9/04, and definitely worth revisiting), the play here, if not an extension of the improvisation, is certainly a welcome compliment. While "Jim" has been great of late, this is a signature version featuring, at first, an extended 'conversation' between Trey and Page (on his piano), before Fish interjects, and the discussion moves in a different direction. It's not long before all converse, with Trey driving the jam with "Lope"-like intensity, before a call to end the song and set. |
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Sigma Oasis (20:22)
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In the most exploratory version since Dick's 2024, "Sigma" kicks off a fluid second set segment of thematic jamming. Interwoven melodies from Page and Trey float above 8-armed magnetic drumming from Fish, where synths meet bright chords in weightless jamming that eventually rises around 14:20 into ethereal space. Building towards a thrilling peak from Trey, filled with unique riffing, the jamming bobs and weaves while staying rooted in Page's regal baby grand. One of those jams where every time you think they're finished they seem to find a new idea before they latch onto a sustained build -> into "DWD." |
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DwD (14:47)
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Out of the gates, the straightforward jam bristles with inspiration. Around the 7 minute mark, a shift towards softer textures builds towards a gorgeous, almost plaintive segment. As textural ambience seeps into the spaces between, the music then carefully builds back up to a sludgy, minor-key, wah-filled space rock-out to close, before a quick shift > "Life Saving Gun". |
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Life Saving Gun (18:01)
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In the midst of a stunning second set, we enter the "LSG" jam like a comet ripped apart by gravity, falling inwards towards the sun, before the band fully unifies around a Krautrock beat and driving chord progression from Trey. Fishman works against the established groove to expand the jam into a more spacious affair which allows Trey to move outside the initial ideas, pushing the band outwards once more. Listen for Page to move from the Rhodes to his synth around 9:15 which reinforces the expansive playing and kicks off a segment defined by a wall of effects and interwoven anti-melodies, reminiscent of the 10/10/23 "Ruby Waves." Chaos starts to dissipate around 16min as a clearing emerges in the jam. Marked by sprinkles of melody and interwoven riffs before a fade -> to "Pillow Jets," this is a clear peak moment in "Life Saving Gun's" young career as we hear what is fully possible with the budding jam vehicle. |
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Mike's (14:02)
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Strong, fairly forceful jam that, from the jump, bends, even if it doesn't quite break. Marked, fluid shift just before the seven-minute mark serves almost as a "second" jam, with Page really toying with the song's signature theme. Play does brighten, and considerably, but a familiar 'peak' is offset by some really cool and varied work from Trey before a return to "Mike's" signature riff and a > into "Ocelot." |
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WGTYM (17:41)
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> from a AWOH. Patient, rhythmic, and hypnotic; the band takes an approach here that, while it feels familiar, is interpreted through the fresh lens of the past handful of years' inventive play and that occupies a space halfway between aggression and ambience. Fans of peak free exploration will want to seek out this version. |
Jam chart versions are selected because of improvisational and other characteristics that distinguish these from typical versions of the song.
The jam chart team has highlighted some versions with a yellow background; these are the versions the team believes to be especially improvisational, or otherwise notable.
A purple date indicates that you were in attendance.
The jam chart team has highlighted some versions with a yellow background; these are the versions the team believes to be especially improvisational, or otherwise notable.
A purple date indicates that you were in attendance.
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