Night 2 at the Garden, and already, it’s clear that the boys were in the mood to rip shit up, big time. They work in the ass-kicking business, and business is good.

Sample in a Jar is standard, but a fine way to open a show. Bag is pretty great, it has a nice type-1 jam, perfect for the start of a show. Trey is playing really well here > an excellent Moma Dance. The intro is extra funky this go around. This Moma is very lax, and gains tension very slowly, making the climax that much more satisfying. Fish is feeling very exploratory, and I’ll always support that. This is a great Moma > A standard Rift, but very well played. Lots of energy > A very dark Caspian. This one starts off extremely atmospheric, mostly due to Fish’s stellar playing. The guys just seem really happy here in the beginning, and that makes me happy (that won’t last for long). Trey does some truly mindbending stuff around halfway in, and the band begins to show their dark side, and the jam turns mean. The hell being raised here is unmatched. This Caspian comes from an alternate reality where he turns evil, and wreaks havoc upon Narnia. Monsters is next, and this one is very well executed. Trey proves to everyone that his voice has improved from the night before and, damn, it really hits hard. His solo is just amazing, it’s so choice. I recommend everyone listen to it, if you have the means. Runaway Jim is very, very solid. Some great exploration by everyone in the beginning. The jam that ensues is thoughtful, and is a nice gradual climb to the peak. The middle is when shit goes sideways, and Trey turns on his malfunctioning sounds. It gets downright eerie for a minute, as all the guys become increasingly dissonant. However, they manage to tie it back together, and group up for a nice climactic ending. This is a really good Jim. YEM is solid as well, it hits every mark a YEM should. There is an excellent Fish display during the end, before/during Mike’s solo (which is also really good). Just a fantastic display all around. We get a nice vocal jam, and Fish starts up -> Ghost while the vocal jam is still happening.. brilliant. This Ghost has a lot of energy, and is more rock oriented. A perfect end to a perfect set.

Bathtub Gin is kinda short, but very sweet. Mike takes the jam in a cool direction > an absolute beast of a Ruby Waves. This jam is very interesting in that the tone of the jam fluctuates between these moments of energy and rage, and these episodes of pure beauty and bliss; it weaves the two seamlessly together to make a perfect jam. The first 10 minutes or so is pretty tame, they’re just riding the energy and constructing a concise groove. However, at about 13 minutes, the jam takes a slower, more reflective tone, as Trey does some Gilmour-esque effects. Floyd is a great way to describe this section, psychedelia at its’ finest. There’s some great Frankie Says quotes from Trey. However, this moment of calm slowly evolves into a storm; a complete typhoon of sound. But it slows down yet again, and turns into a beautiful, joyous soundscape. Page completely stole my soul at about 22:00-24:00. This blissful moment slowly evolves into a funky groove, with Page and Mike paving the way. It’s almost reminiscent of ‘97-style funk, but it becomes something much bigger than that, as the science lab noises start happening, and the jam goes full sci-fi, but snowballs into a dark, angry ending. This jam is perfect in every way. Listen to it immediately. Waste is standard, but was desperately needed after that behemoth. Fuego takes no time to get weird, as Mike lays down the coolest crunch sound effect I’ve ever heard from him. The jam is concise and intense, and I like it a lot > Crosseyed and Painless is above average, and Fish is certainly the highlight. This is a lot of great energy to end a set.

Bold As Love is a nice choice, and this one is really sweet. The guys are lovin it.

Overall, this show has so much more meat than N1. Not that night 1 was bad, but this show completely blows it out of the water. Almost everything here is a highlight. Fish is really the powerhouse of this show, I think he takes hold of most the jams. If this is how hard they’re going on Night 2, then I’m excited to see what they can do the next two. Check out the whole first set, and the monstrous Ruby Waves. Sorry about my long reviews.