RECAP: 09.11.2010 at The Mockingbird Cafe

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2010.09.11 was a great night for Chance Fisher – although this show took me awhile to really dig into, I really enjoyed the mellow style of playing shown in this show. With the new tune Square Root of One, and other bustouts/reworked songs, Chance Fisher made this show unique – and overall, a great effort by the band.

Opening with the brand new song Square Root of One, Chance Fisher started out this show with a new style of jamming. From the song’s 4min intro jam in the beginning you can already see that the band was ready to play. You can hear the Grateful Dead influence in the song from the beginning. They are connecting well in this quiet introduction before the first verse kicks in at 4:00.
 
I really like the verses to this song – they go by fast but stick in your head for awhile. The verses end at 5:07 and the jam begins.

  Starting the jam with no hesitation, the band eases into a more open style of improvisation from the start: Sam playing a big part in providing leads to guide the band forward: Sam’s playing really surprised me during this jam, he seems very energized and more up front than usual. Jud is playing with a very relaxed tone, almost in the background. Joel and AKelly are adding tone and atmosphere into the jam by 8:00. Very patient jamming underway – sounds like everybody is leading the jam equally, no real rush.

  At 8:30 Jud sustains a note as Sam begins to lead the jam once again, leading the song into funkier territory. Sounding similar to “The Word” during the jam at 9:33, the whole band is contributing to the funk, with Jud chording overtop of Sam’s bass lines. This funky jam continues for another couple minutes as Joel begins to put in fills over the jam. At 12:10 Jud adds some atmosphere to the jam shortly before he starts to bring the music back into Square Root of One’s main theme. Finding their way back into the song at 14:22, the second verse is sung and the song closes with a reprise of its opening theme, concluding at 16:40. I am very excited about this song and cannot wait to see what the band does with it in the future – I could see a Sun Guy->Square Root of One sometime soon – those two songs would fit nicely together.
 
The hard-edged Rattlesnake followed, and aside from the front portion of the song being flubbed, this rendition was fantastic. Coming off of the new jamming found in Square Root of One, Chance Fisher opened this jam up a bit more too, pushing it past its blues-rock structure into more textural, full-band jamming. Sam once again played a big part in this jam, and the ambient AKelly-led outro of the song made this one of the most unique renditions of Rattlesnake to date.
 
This ambient outro segued into A River Runs Through Her, which was one of quite a few bustouts played on this night. I wasn’t so familiar with this song, but I did enjoy this rendition. This song matched the more relaxed/open style the band was playing with well – resulting in a great version of the song.

This rendition was also special because of the bonus funk jam that starts at 7:45 and ends at 9:45. The whole band, Joel and Jud especially, really seemed to dig into the funk and make this a memorable rendition.
 
Tax Dollars followed, and I will say that even though I am a little tired of the song itself, I am happy that the placement was changed on this night from its normal second set opening slot to somewhere else. This song fit pretty well into the set and did not feel forced. The jam was good as usual – nothing too out of the ordinary but the slowed down molasses funk was nice. Sam once again, stuck out to me here. The re-worked version of this song (with the jam after AKelly’s solo) seems to be getting better after each version.

  After the “cool-down” of Aluminum Boy, we were treated to one of the other highlights in the show, Eviction Notice->Shower Song->Atrophy Road.

  Starting the funky Eviction Notice off with no flubs in the verses, the band starts the jam at 2:51. With Jud in the front of the jam providing funk riffs for the rest of the band to add on to, AKelly solos while Sam and Joel keep the pocket held down. At about 4:50 AKelly backs off while Jud and Sam begin to lead the jam, slowly building it upwards. Backing off of the build in favor of more funk, AKelly coyly leads the band into Shower Song.

Continuing with the relaxed feel of the show, Chance Fisher approached this song with a laid-back, funky feel. The jam was loose with Jud and AKelly interweaving their lines, playing off one another. Jud used the wah-pedal to thicken the funk while Sam filled the pocket with bulbous bass lines – adding flavor to the jam. The funk gave way to a quiet, piano driven outro which then segued into Atrophy Road.
 
Following the breather of Atrophy Road, Cosmic Dirigible closed the set with more laid back funk grooves. Good version of the song, although nothing in particular stuck out at me – regardless, this was a nice, high energy way to close the set.
 
The second set opened with a cover of Brokedown Palace by The Grateful Dead – while this is a tough song to play/sing, I think Chance Fisher did a good job on the cover – especially vocal-wise. I love the song.

Brokedown Palace was then followed by the “new and reworked” version of Crepes and Bananas, with a full band jam instead of the traditional AKelly/Joel middle segment. I have to say I really enjoyed hearing Sam/Jud’s work overtop AKelly’s usual soloing – this could work out well in the future if the song stays like this for good. I’d love to see what could happen if Chance Fisher decides to open this song up. Sam/Joel’s work in the jam blew me away – dance party at The Mockingbird Café.
 
Trust Me followed – this was another song I had not heard before this show. I really like it. The jam starts around 3:28, with the band wasting no time in moving the song toward a peak. Sam is toying with the song’s theme as AKelly and Jud play patiently, moving along with the musical current. 6:06 Jud begins a climb to the top of the jam, finally peaking it at 7:15, then again at 7:34.

The band is playing very triumphantly at the 8min mark, reaching a third peak at 8:09 before the jam is brought into a harder blues edged territory. Chance Fisher is clearly communicating well as each band member helps contribute to the fast-paced funk. Around 10:36, after a few minutes of soloing, a stop/start jam starts which sounds like a “Horse in the Forest” jam. From here the jam simmers down until only AKelly remains – at around 12:50 the band slowly moves back into Trust Me’s, theme, the song ends at 14:00.

  After Circles on the Ground, the set closed with a slowed-down rendition of Do What You Like. A very interesting rendition of the song, this slowed down, funked-out version certainly felt a bit more sinister than the few others I’ve heard.
 
Drenched with funk from the start, this jam takes no time to get into some serious dance grooves. With Jud using his wah-pedal and chording over AKelly’s bluesy leads, the entire band is locked in to each other as the jam sits in the bulbous funk goo for quite some time. Finally, they build out of it as Jud begins to build the jam to a peak at 7:00. Great interplay between Jud/AKelly 7:15-7:40.

With Joel adding in some extra fills, the jam turns dissonant from 8:20 on as Jud paints a psychedelic picture over the groove. Percussive darkness takes over at 9:10, a segment reminiscent of the jam from 2009.12.11’s “Plight of My Heart”- dark and menacing. Order is restored at 9:50 as the band brings the jam back up to a peak. Finally reaching the reprise of the song at 11:38, the song concludes at 12:00. Pretty dark rendition of the song – I like it.

  Overall, this was a very good show. It featured one great new original, a few bustouts, a reworked song, and most importantly a new, relaxed jamming style. As you can hear in songs like Square Root of One, Rattlesnake, Eviction Notice->Shower Song, Trust Me, and Do What you Like, Chance Fisher definitely let the jams grow naturally on this night. I am excited about the new songs and cannot wait to see how they grow as they are played more. Good stuff.

  Set I:
Square Root of One, Rattlesnake->River Runs Through Her, Tax Dollars, Aluminum Boy, Eviction Notice->Shower Song->Atrophy Road, Cosmic Dirigible
Set II:
Brokedown Palace, Crepes and Bananas, Trust Me, Circles on the Ground, Do What You Like