The Gorge Night 2

Again, I remember this release as being entirely forgettable, but I have a different perspective today. The setlist is, dare I say, even better than the one from the previous night, and somehow Dave kept the vocal frogs at bay for almost the entire show. GRACE wouldn't be my pick for an opener, but it's a stunningly beautiful performance—DMB at its absolute best. STONE and PIG are both very strong even if not GOAT candidates. RHYME really kicks it up a notch; what a great era for this song. CAPTAIN is Dave's low point for the night; the music is great, but the vocals are quite rough. The run from NANCIES through WHAT WOULD is very strong. CRUSH is outstanding and probably my highlight of the night. KIT KAT is far from the best-ever performance of the song (the lyrics are mostly nonsense), but the music is great, Stefan in particular. Nothing wrong with the JIMI to WHERE ARE YOU run, although it's a bit of a step down for me. TWO STEP kicks it back up: Butch is wonderful on it and Carter and Stefan add so much interest with their fills, although at 18:30 I find myself wishing it were shorter. One of the best things about Spring/Summer 2002 was the variety of solo E1s (8 in total), and while I love CRY FREEDOM, Dave loses the plot on song structure, guitar, and lyrics twice. WHAT YOU ARE is a good but not great encore closer. All in all, a very solid show.