oysterhead - 10-26-01 - Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA

Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 22:37:54 -0800
From: Brett Kelliher brettkelliher@hotmail.com
Subject: The Greek Theatre

The Greek was the last of my three Oysterhead shows.  I also saw the opener
in Seattle and Salem.  I thought that Seattle was good, but lame crowd, Salem
= good music as well as great crowd, the Greek = powerful show, great crowd,
and an awesome venue.

Oz is ever floating never strayed much from the album version at any show,
particularly the Greek.  You can tell that Little Faces is still a work in
progress, with the Greek being the best version I heard.
Mr. Oysterhead = Great tune, this version from the Greek had by far the
longest bass solo of any of the three shows.  High energy and Les just
rolling on the bass.

Owner of the World, Armies on ecstasy, Polka Dot Rose, and Pseudo
Suicide were all great.  I noticed that Stu let the boys jam a little more
than the other shows.  Previously, whenever the other two drifted into
uncharted territory, Stu would drive them right back into the main groove by
pounding on the skins, but not tonight.
This show was the first that showed the funkin' ability of the band.  At
times, it was quite "Phishy."  The four above mentioned songs are the
ones that you get to see the true musical ability of these greats.  The other
songs have not nearly been jammed like the above four.  I would never have
guessed that Polka Dot Rose would be so jammed out.

Did I mention Rubberneck Lions?  This song was always jammed out at every
show as well, at the Greek, Les tried to tell us that we probably did not
know what the song was about, but a few of us know.

Birthday Boys was cool again, and changed up with Les supplying the last
lyrics.

The encore was amazing, no lyrics in the supposed skinny jam, not sure about
the accuracy of this report, since I do not know much about the residents,
but it did sound a lot like a Primus song.
It started with just The Stevie and The Matterhorn, with Les introducing us
to what I like to call the Stevie Wasserman.  He was talking to Stevie which
was quite amusing, then Stu came out and started banging out this incredible
beat, this must be what people are referring to as skinny.  Them Changes was
good again like Salem, with Trey dropping the jam down into some "soupy"
guitar licks before, of course, Stu brings them back.
 
Best show of the three I saw, but if you are reading this, check out how Stu
seems to control the show when you see them.  Every show ended with Stu
throwing his drumsticks into the crowd and then hugging Trey, who never seems
like he is ready to quit.  Stu might start to be getting it, but not quite
yet.  When the other two are just really rolling and connecting, he seems to
end the show on his own, and then dances in front of the stage.  It kind of
annoys me, see what you think.  Your show will ultimately be guided by Stu.
Great choice of drummer, but he needs to play a little longer.
I imagine Trey and Les going backstage after the show and continuing to jam,
and Stu sleeping.
PS.  Hardly any song was played the same way at any of the three shows,
except for shadow of a man, radon balloon, birthday boys, and Oz.
Everything else is completely improvisational and weird.  A very original
experience, and original music is hard to come by these days, but Oysterhead
is definitely original.  Have fun at your shows, I did.


Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 11:12:30 -0700
From: steve gilmore stevegilmore1@hotmail.com
Subject: Oysterhead Berkeley Show Review
 
As I walked into the Greek with an old wonderful friend I was struck by the
intimacy of the Venue. The Column backdrop to the stage, combined with the
classic steep steps, trippy stone chairs, and nicely spacious floor, along
with the saturation of musical historical energy that you can literally feel
dripping from the sky, and the Kind Northern Cal atmosphere of the people
made for nearly the perfect venue (tied with Red-Rocks now!).
North Missippie All Stars took the stage around 7:15 and rocked out in their
own special Alman Bros. way that only they can achieve, and we all can
boogie down too.   The guitarist has great technique with the slide, and
beyond their Alman style extended jams, they also incorporated Violia Blues
lyrics into what my memory believes to be the second to last song of their
set. I saw them open for WSP at Red Rocks this summer where they certainly
received a bit more of a warmer reception from the crowd, but jammed no more
then they did Friday night at the Greek. Now on to the meat of the
evening----
 
Oz Is Ever Floating*, Mr. Oysterhead**, Little Faces***, Radon Balloon,
Army's On Ecstasy??, Polka Dot Rose, Pseudo Suicide, Shadow Of A Man,
Birthday Boys****, Owner of the World#, Rubbernecking Lions##
Encore: Jam### > Hello Skinny####, Changes%
 
So yes, one set, with an encore, I was ready for this - but what would this
set feel like, look like, sound like, smell like, what would it be in person
beyond the internet set lists being emailed to me, sneered at and smiled at.
I was frozen to my spot on the second step up from the floor, my friend was
shaking her rump from the beginning, but from the first notes of "Oz" I
couldn't really dance, not because it wasn't danceable, oh no, anyone can
boogie to this groove, just as anyone can boogie to Phish, it was like the
power of the sound froze me, it was a monster. Trey launched into his first
solo during "Oz" and I looked at the kid next to me and we just grinned;
although Les takes upon a lot of the stage antics, and singing, I was a bit
surprised and very happy to see that Trey was as much a part or more of a
part of the mix, not to the extent of leadership that he exercised in Phish,
but in a new way - he completely respected the other guys, and it seemed
they kept (especially Les who took very few solo breaks throughout the show)
turning to him to rock the thing out, rip it up, juice it on.  Then the show
started to flow. "Mr. Oysterhead" was well performed but not quite as funky
as I anticipated, "Little Faces" was fast, semi-poppy and fun, then the show
took the turn I had been waiting for into the world of the strange with the
long spacey intro--->Radon Balloon, this is a beautiful song, and certainly
brought vivid memories of Phish to many a persons head, then things picked
up quickly again with "Armies", "Polka", and "Psuedo" (all containing
incredibly tight solo's changes and rhythm, with Trey's solo on "Pseudo"
breaking new ground)then, out came the "Antler Guitar" one of the neatest
toys I've ever seen Trey play with on stage, it has this awesome way of
sounding like a Korg keyboard, double turn-table, and straight guitar,
without him even playing the strings but rather waving his hands about three
inches above the antlers, while fretting with his inner thigh (I kid you
not), Antler Guitar with sustained bass notes and a solid light rhythm by
Stew brought in the creepy "Shadow of a Man", with Less wearing light
glasses and dancing strangely around the stage bobbing his head like a grunt
in the jungle looking for Charlie, very eerie, and strangely touching.
"Shadow" I believe was the defining moment of the show, and possibly of the
Oysterhead creation at this point, in my opinion it is a capsule of their
new direction, although it contains zero flashy solos, it is a great groove
that is both political, satirical, and musically intense. They lightened
things up after this (quite necessarily!) with the beautiful "Birthday Boys"
that started out with Trey alone sitting center stage with acoustic, then
with the Les and Stew coming in at the perfect moment to fill up and finish
up the song, Les even took over the lyrics at one point with his funky Peter
Framton style mic. "Owner of the World" followed, and is a great song that
reminds me a lot of an 80's radio hit in a lot of ways, then to the set
closer "Rubberneck Lions" which was really fun; Les started talking (look
out!) saying the Greek was his "favorite venue on the planet both to play
and see shows at" and that he "lives a block and a half away" and so on.
They didn't wait long for the encore, maybe five minutes, then came back out
with Trey back on the Antler Guitar and Les with this funky stick this bass
he called "steve" - Les said something to the effect that "steve" and the
Antler Guitar were going to have a conversation and he didn't know if it was
entertaining, but "it's damn interesting" - this brought smiles and cheers
from all, the vibe was so appreciative at this point for these wonderfully
creative moments we were all sharing. Thus commenced the "Jam" then into
"Hello Skinny" (Primus?), then "Changes" with Trey on vocals and ripping
super solos. And that was it, we cheered as loud as we could but with a
triple song encore could truly expect no more.
 
See you all in Denver!
oSteve Gilmore  

\Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 03:19:23 -0800
From: Joshua LeBar JoshuaLebar@hotmail.com
Subject: da greek
 
Well O well
 
This was my first dose of the Ohead..that had not come from my computer.
What a great venue.  It was so open and the pillars are sweet.  Great
enviroment for some engery to flow.  Les commented how it was "his favorite
place to play in the world...and HIS favorite place to see ashow..nuff
said..The band ...well its hard to describe....Three monster badasses
playing..and finding a way to compliment each other more than override each
other.  See the thing that is so different about this then Phis or Trey tour
is...Trey is always the most animated and pronouced when he plays..but LEs
who to me is straight out of alice and wonderland.(madhatter)  is the balance
that gives this beast a different feel.The Sticky monster funk ..filled the
Greek.  Trey was the mad doctor as always...But not in the groove Phish
way..in a twisted offbeat way..that worked because Les was able to play the
role Trey always has to.  Song highlights no really important because it was
more about the whole show vibe....Have no expectation but go to
experience.something so unique that it will develop over time like a great
lab goo concaction...they will keep finding the spots and breking the
rules...Wait for less to pull out his friend..thta he beats and lever
bends..and Im not talking abouot his bass...or treys antler  gat...you didn't
fool me bud.but the jam was great...and les said it best..the Wordsmith he
is..."I don't know if you think tonight was entertaining..But I hope you
thought it was Interesting"   For me my friend. one in the same...go Greek
theatre.


click here to return to the 2001 reviews page


hits (many)