The Mars Volta @ ZEPP, Tokyo, 21/11/2006, flac, dime/megaupload

www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=382760

The Mars Volta
November 21, 2006
Zepp, Tokyo, Japan

Source: SS DSM 6S/L > PA-6CL3 > Sony TCD-D8
Transfer: DAT(M) > CDR(?) > EAC > WAV > CD WAVE > FLAC


Setlist:

Disc One:
01 [15:55] Rapid Fire Tollbooth
02 [15:57] Jam Part One (incl. Jacob Van Lennepkade)
03 [15:19] Jam Part Two
04 [09:32] Jam Part Three
05 [10:04] Jam Part Four
[1:08:30s]

Disc Two:
01 [12:16] Viscera Eyes
02 [13:10] Day of the Baphomets
[25:26]

[1:33:56s]

*****
Five years later, it seems appropriate to share this out. This is truly a gem of a recording, not only from the recording quality side but also because of the "extensions" in these solo shows. Unlike the RHCP opening slots of the festival dates (Vegoose and Corona), this one contains an extended Rapid Fire, an extension of an already extended Jacob Jam (with the never before heard "Part Four" embedded at the end).

I would have liked to write a full review, but time has not permitted me to do so and I'd rather point you to Comatorium member Seyon's review of the show, as he witnessed it in person. It is well written and you can tell he really felt the energy in this performance.

Enjoy and share freely, but never sell.

PLEASE ALLOW ONE DAY TO POST LINKS TO MEGAUPLOAD ETC. I would like to raise my ratio at DIME and having it available there, exclusively, it allows me to upload to a large number of users. I would assume by tomorrow midday or evening (EST) it will have peaked and then we can spread it wide on the sharing sites. Thanks for understanding.

Yay!!! The Coma is alive again. I wrote this review right after the Tokyo show, thinking I could post it immediately. Oh well, better late than never, right?

----------------

Okay, just got home from my long trek to and from Tokyo to see you-know-who. All I can say is:

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

I thought I knew what to expect from listening to recent bootlegs, and while I was right about the song list, the band's performance was otherwise completely unexpected.

The Zepp Tokyo, located in Odaiba, is a great venue in a great place. Hands down, the best sound I've ever heard at a rock show. I was ten feet away from the stage, leaning back against a divider that separated me from the next section, and I could hear everything beautifully. This is, in fact, my new favorite way to listen to a concert (leaning back, absorbing everything, completely undisturbed), and I hope that the Zepp Nagoya has the same setup. Hopefully there are no wannabe slam dancers at that show either, as these two guys in front of me were just going wild and I made frequent efforts to keep them from hitting this nice japanese girl next to me who was just trying to enjoy the show like everyone against the railing was. On the whole though, the japanese are a great audience.

As the show began, the Fistfull of Dollars intro was the same, although this time when the band came out at the climax of the song, the HUGE backdrop was raised as well, making for an awe-inspiring moment. After the song died down, Omar, Cedric, and Juan leaned in close to Deantoni, and then EXPLODED into Rapid Fire Tollbooth. The main section went as expected (although with much more energy then ever before), and some wannabe Japanese punks tried to cause some trouble by slam dancing, something they would repeatedly do, but they were easily ignored, and I was able to, for the whole concert, focus in as I never have before.

After seething solos from Omar and Adrian, something unexpected happened. Rather than going back into the chorus, the sound dropped out completely, with just Juan quietly tapping the riff, and Deantoni keeping time with near-silent hi-hat hits. This was the first of several ultra-quiet, beautiful moments where the band really brought something truly new and incredible to their sound. It began with a sparse, but fucking ace solo from Omar, one which I can safely say is the best I've heard from him at any of the shows I've been to. Following this, he and Cedric would face each other, less than a foot apart, and would do call-and-response. To call this part incredible would be a tremendous understatement. I'd tried to get it on video, but I just managed the last few seconds of it. Basically, Omar or Cedric would sing/play a lick, and then the other would repeat it back perfectly. After ten or so of these, they would change so that one played a lick, and then the other responded with a new line that followed perfectly. It was a beautiful moment, one they would repeat again in the show later. At another point, Cedric softly resang both verses of the song, and it was crystal clear, so if a recording of this ever surfaces (it won't because security was hardcore), Sgriska would be all over that. After some quality time in quiet-groove mode, the song blew up again, with one more monster solo from Omar, and then a tremendous final chorus. There was a minute or so of silence before the big jam began, something common between each song. The band really seems to be moving away from the between-song chaos, for better or for worse.

Regarding the jam, I would like to draw special attention to the intro, or as I'm going to call it, The Apocalypse. Omar and Juan huddled around Deantoni, and then for about 5 seconds they would play what seemed to be the most intense shit they possibly could manage. Then they would stop for a few seconds in complete silence. Then on again, about 5 or 6 times. Seriously, people, this is what you will be hearing if you are around of the End of Days. Awesome.

In the middle of the final round of insanity, the abruptly shifted into the driving force of intensity that is the new version of Jacob Van Lennepkade. I'm not sure what the chord is, but it's about as tense and epic-souding as a chord can possibly get, and it also helps the the riff is in 18/4. Fucking 18/4. I love Omar. Hearing the awesome Jacob melody played over this by Omar and Adrian is enough to give anyone goosebumps, unless your ears are made of coal. Again, after a long bout of insanity like this, the song got quiet again. Again, I was surprised, since I had not heard anything like this on the bootlegs. There was no call-and-response this time, instead, there was something incredible from each member of the band, and about 15 of these moments from Cedric. For some members, it was simply an awesome solo or, in the case of Ikey and Paul, crazy sound effects, for Juan, the same groove that we know and love him for, from Deantoni for his outstanding cymbal work, from Omar it was choice rhythms played over the main riff, and from Cedric it was onstage antics and singing like you've never seen before. Handstands, freezes, jumping from amps, ridiculous handling of the microphone and stand (this is not new but I'd never seen him in person as crazy as this), and to top it off, he held up the fan intended to cool him and put it in front of the mic, which confused me until he made like Tommy Boy/Darth Vader and started singing through the fan.

Let me repeat that: Cedric sang through a fan.

Following a rise in intensity, the band would alternate between the main riff and a rising-note riff that is injected into various parts of each section of the jam. Omar would signal, often by holding up a number, and then they would play for the corresponding amount of time. Juan had a big grin on his face the whole time, and following just enough time to put the whole audience on edge, they launched into the 4/4 riff that has been the centerpiece of most of their shows with Deantoni.

Though this section held little surprises after hearing many versions of it on bootlegs, I really felt the groove hear more than ever before. Here is where they best demonstrated why they are jamming on unchanging, looping riffs (which some of the older Coma members have been complaining about). They have moved away from constant shift is musical ideas in favor of a constant shift in musicality. Basically, they take one idea, and then milk it until it's nearly dry of every idea, emotion, and energy they can find in it. This was when, after it quieted down, there was another beautiful moment between Omar and Cedric. Every band member gets to spread his wings, and it really is an incredible thing to view onstage.

This section was also host to my favorite moment of the show. In the middle of peak intensity, Omar cuts everyone off and Adrian goes wild, completely on his own. His improv ideas on the saxophone have really come into their own, and it is a joy to hear him shine. However, that was not the best part. The best part was, as Adrian soloed, Omar called back in the band. Then, after playing the riff a few times, he cut them off again. Then brought them in for another go at the riff. Then off. Then on, but only for a part of the riff. Then off. Then on but extremely briefly. The off and on for seemingly random moments that seemed orchestrated to make the audience as tense as possible. This was so awesome, so genius, and so fun to watch that by the end I was laughing with utter joy and wiping tears from my eyes. Thank you, Mars Volta.

Following the main riff was another choice segment, what I am going to call the Instrumental Latin Funk Rock groove. Cedric takes a break here as Deantoni puts on a great beat while Juan solos. Juan being, in my opinion, the most talented member of the band, seeing him go wild on a great bass solo is always a high point. Towards the end of that, Marcel bongo'd it up, and Ikey had a solo that I could hear really well (I could hear everyone really well, this venue's sound ruled).

Following this, there was one final section based around the syncopation of the Coda of Drunkship, which was pretty awesome, and the band continued to put on a great display, quieting down and rising at the best possible moments to keep things interesting, and eventually stopping really abruptly. Unfortunately, I got really hungry during this section and it actually distracted me a bit, so I can't remember all that happened here as well. Rest assured it was still awesome.

After the abrupt silence, the familiar Viscera Eyes drum machine slowly increased in volume until the band joined in. This is the first time I truly "got" this song live. I love the album version, but live I was never feeling the energy until now. Basically, the album version is like a stadium-rock anthem at the beginning, while the live version is all about the groove. And groove they did. This is great first section to dance to, and focusing in to the little details and flourishes added by the members. I still have complaints about Cedric's voice in this section, though. Really, he just needs to open his throat more and make his voice less constricted and nasal, it just sounds uneasy, especially (mostly, really) during the chorus. It confuses me because he goes waaaay higher in the jam and later on in the Viscera, but he opens his throat it is dead-on. But pay no attention to my one complaint if it makes you unhappy, the whole point is to relish in amazingness of the show. The end of the song was most notable: for the end, when Cedric sings again, he went behind the Drums and stood and the elevated platform where the now-absent crazy light effects machine thing once stood, and there, high above the band, he wailed about shaking arcs, pneumonic tongues, and burial grounds. I snuck a picture of the moment, I will post it soon.

And finally, what can I possibly say about Day of the Baphomets? Every day this song becomes more and more my favorite from Amputechture over Tetragrammaton, and hearing this version only aided to that. Deantoni owns the shit out of this song. The beginning, when I'm usually focusing on Juan, the awesome look on his face, and his fabulous solo, my attention was often stolen by Deantoni's great snare work. All the while the whole audience is clapping along to the ongoing syncopation that drives the song. The main section of the song is basically note-for-note, which is perfect in my mind. Then, in the solo section between "how long must we fold by hand?" choruses, Deantoni and Juan really changed things up, playing completely different underlying groove. Whether or not I liked it more than the original, I cannot say, but it was great to hear a truly fresh take on a familiar section. The crowd got rowdy, which was mostly funny, because Japanese suck at moshing, and nearly every crowd surfer was dropped, which I couldn't help but laugh at, because they are trying so hard to be Western but they are just making fools of themselves and getting injured in the process, something that I wish would happen to every crowd surfer (note: if you crowd surf, I hate you, and you are making my show less pleasant). Non of this, even some thrown water-not-urine-filled bottles, could stop the near infinite amount of energy they band had created, which was fully unleashed in the final notes of the song to a completely flattened audience. Thank you, Mars Volta, I cannot wait to see you again on Friday.