I see a resemblance in the first shows of tour and the order of a baseball batting lineup. The first couple batters are designed to get on base and get things moving, the 3rd and 4th slot are for clearing bases and knocking the ball out of the park.

After two shows of injecting new songs into the catalog and shaking off side projects (fare thee well & MGB) the guys came out loose and confident.

The 1st set is solid all around. A nice extra slow Yarmouth road with some extra Trey at the end. A intense pounding Free. A Reba that almost sounds more 1.0 in the solo section than 3.0. All surrounded by solid versions of songs with little to know flub.

The 2nd set has it all. It showcases the craftsmanship in creating a setlist. Most likely aided by coming out the gates with Blaze On a song that got a very positive response in Bend and it is obvious the guys are in love with this song.

Blaze on drifts off a little bit but is closely controlled by the guys.

Twist is a key song to segue into and it was smooth. What is interesting about this jam is it literally drops into type II. At the show I was confused wondering when we left Twist it's just that good of a transition.

This is the point where I say you can thank Mike for the jams.

Mike's bass was turned up loud and it's a good thing because he owned this show. After the first part of the Twist jam Trey attempted to go back and finish twist but this turned into a mere tease when Mike would not let off his bass line and Trey went with it. This happened during all the jams of the night Mike held on to it and ran with it.

The second part of the Twist jam was just pure Trey bliss.

Trey as usual plows into Light and the song itself is played extremely strong. And quickly pulses into another groovefest jam effortlessly which goes into a quick "I Know You Rider" type jam. A total nod to the bay area guys almost like a snapshot of an old western story from long ago.

Joy was amazing most people hate on Trey ballads in the middle of the jam set and I often agree. But you could tell this was special and meant to be and gave a degree of emotional texture of the set that paired perfectly.

Every Hood since Hollywood 2013 has been fantastic and this one is no exception. After some great interplay in the beginning the guys move back into a little groove after the Mr. Minor section only to once again steer perfectly into the Feel Good About Hood Section.

A little cavern after? Yes please.

I'm not one for a Character 0 encore but Trey exploded and nailed it and almost led to the whole venue burning down the place towards the end. It was the rush that every encore should be.

So with that I'll say the bar has been raised a few notches higher.

Clean segues, multiple jams, thoughtful playing, well placed songs, strong emotional backbones. What else could you possible want from a show?

5 Stars