Pretty badass show on paper alone since I was chasing a lot of those old school heavy hitters like It's Ice, Coil, YEM, Divided Sky, PYITE. I was on some killer LSD too. Damn! Nah it wasnt quite the same type of rager as the previous 3 shows in terms of out there jamming but the 3.1 is surprising. This definitely beat N2 of Beer Creek for me, and I was at both gigs.
Of course, being at the show and listening back are different things, but I'd still take this over N2 DC, Arkansas, and tonight's Hershey gig as of writing this on 8/11. There are some snoozers peppered throughout the first set like Undermind, new Mike tune Mull, and About to Run, which was definitely a run to the beer line. I had high hopes for Halley's after the exploration as of late, but it was standard. Still, there was some good jamming in Number Line, and the tightness displayed in Alpharetta wasn't diminished at all in tunes like Divided Sky, It's Ice, and Coil. Set two lacked the big 20+ min jam centerpiece of the previous shows, but NMINML, Ruby Waves, Possum, and even Light all have some great jamming, just not focused all in one or two songs. Of course Light especially is a lame song, but after a good jam we're rewarded with an outstanding YEM that's tighter than many recent versions and almost reaches the 20 minute mark like a good YEM should. Loving Cup encore rocked as well.
I don't really "rate" shows (I would rather rate individual albums or live albums but a full concert is different) but this one is definitely worth another listen. Don't let the lack of a 20 or 30 minute set 2 jam deter you from checking this one out.