Good morning/afternoon everybody! Pooks’ Picks Vol.1 is here and I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I had fun making it!
Push The Pig > Bob’s Cloud (4.14.05 Cincinnati, OH) 15:15 (3:03 of improv 5:34-8:37) - I picked this 2005 show opener to be the opener to kick off Vol. 1 and this is a nice funky way to open things! While the improv length isn’t much, they lay down the funk here. PtP ends at the 8:57 mark and the rest of this track is Bob’s Cloud, which I’m not that familiar with, but it keeps the funk flowing and makes for a great way to kick things off!
In The Kitchen (2.15.2012 Lexington, KY) 15:29 (9:46 of improv from 3:23-13:09) - thanks to @Yawnspterodactyl for this one! I had listened to this show years ago and forgot about it till now. Gotta love an ITK with a lot of improv. The improv section is laid back funk, which wasn’t unusual for 2012. This is a great Kitchen and definitely underrated!
KaBump (9.14.11 Concord, NH) 15:25 (12:39 of improv 1:35-7:13, 8:24-15:25) - @gatroe ’s suggestion didn’t make the cut last time only because I had a KaBump on the playlist, and I don’t do repeat songs on playlists. This version is, indeed, a nice one! The band wastes no time getting into the improv, starting it at only 1:35 into KaBump proper. It’s mostly jazzy and lightly funky - it’s a really fun listen! They get back into KaBump proper only for about a minute and then back to the same improv again for the remainder of the track. It’s hard to say if this version is considered unfinished; but to me it certainly sounds that way. Great version here!
Ocean Billy (3.06.14 Seattle, WA) 17:39 (6:00 of improv from 6:02-12:02) - In the legendary Seattle ‘14 2nd set, sitting in between the Trash Can Mantis and Junky Girlfriend is the ignored middle child of this set. I love the metallic guitar crunch in this version, although I’m quite positive the guitars were heavier in person than the soundboard would suggest. The improv here is pretty trippy - starts with a spacey almost “Echoes”-like beginning, becomes trippy metal and goes back to spacey before going back to OB proper. Great underrated version that was even overlooked by me! The song ends at the 14:52 mark - the rest is Bayliss banter about how they should come to Seattle more and then band intros.
Wappy Sprayberry (5.20.11 Gulf Shores, AL) 13:32 (5:30 of improv from the 4:10-9:40 mark) - @WOLFpacker16 mentioned this show in another thread, so me being the “investigative guy” for making these lists (it’s a tough job but somebody has to do it ), there are some great tracks in this one setter. I took the liberty of inserting some dance-metal here and Wappy fits that bill. The improv here is EXACTLY what you would expect from 2011 - uplifting electro-funk! Great ear candy for this playlist.
Search 4 (10.29.15 Milwaukee, WI) 10:20 (3:21 of improv from 2:49-6:10 mark) - @Bron-yr-Aur has never once steered me wrong and proves that yet AGAIN with this fantastic version of Search 4! The improv isn’t lengthy at all, but show me a Search 4 outside of Vancouver ‘08 that doesn’t have lengthy improv. My biggest bitch about Search 4 live is how it’s not quite as metallic as the DBS version. Milwaukee’15 said “pooks, hold my beer!”. UMPH metal at its finest.
Higgins (7.06.18 Morrison, CO) 16:21 (7:34 of improv from 3:11-10:45 mark) - @Bron-yr-Aur strikes again! This Higgins is ambient, metallic and trippy! Overlooking this was my own fault since I haven’t listened to any RR shows after the 2012 one. I wish I could have been able to edit out the Bayliss banter here.
The Linear (8.16.19 Miami, FL) 12:31 (7:07 of improv from 5:24-12:31 mark) - the 7/3 vs 4/4 battle still looms in the 2019 thread here. However, @jwelsh8 makes a case for this being overlooked. Over half of this one is improv. This is, indeed, a great version that should not be overlooked.
1348 (5.07.2016 Las Vegas , NV) 13:37 (7:52 of improv from 3:56-11:48 mark) - @OSUmBeaverPhreak mentioned this one on this very thread. This is a psychedelic metal dance party. Side story - I was in San Diego for my job at the time of this show and could not make it because I had to work that day. I would have lost my mind had I caught this in the flesh.
Wizard Burial Ground (8.29.14 Athens, GA) 17:03 (6:23 of improv from 3:35-9:58 mark) - as promised, no pussy-ass encore on my playlists, dammit! The improv section here is interesting as it comes off as as instrumental version of a soaring uplifting “Beautiful People”. Sounds weird as fuck, right? Give it a listen and you’ll see what I mean here. You don’t see too many WBGs with improv, so why not end things with this?