Recorded: 1994
Tracks: Workin’; To Give; Vagrant; Waterfall; Naked and So…; Simple Way
Best tracks: Waterfall > Naked and So… > Simple Way
Track to skip: none
This is another live FM show I picked up from their bassist Chris. If you’re reading this, Chris, thank you! For me this is a classic Flat Mass show and it’s one that I point to “this is what I want to do musically”. Flat Mass is one of my biggest musical inspirations and this gig shows exactly why. The power I felt in seeing them live is on full display here, esp. in the last 3 songs. The songs don’t actually segue here (>), but that trio is the essence of this show.
First off, this is a great soundboard recording – everything sounds perfect. Workin’ starts the set off and it’s the weakest of the bunch. I’ve come to appreciate it over the years, and the stuff near the end is really cool, but on the whole it’s not my favorite song they wrote. To Give is much better, but they really get going on Vagrant. An excellent live version of this opening track off the Naked and So… CD (first version, anyway). Vagrant was always one of my favorite songs of theirs and the live versions always kicked it up several notches. From a live performance stand point, I love how the drums and bass immediately launch into this following To Give while Jason talks to the crowd. I’ve always liked it when bands don’t take a couple of minutes in between songs while the singer blabs on about nothing. This reminds me of the first Flat Mass show I saw – they played for 45 minutes and there were only 2 breaks in the songs. They didn’t only play 3 songs that night, but they wove them together so seamlessly that it just seemed that way. Anyway, it’s done with great effect on Vagrant and from this point forward this show is just in the stratosphere.
Waterfall is extended from the studio version and it really helps the song out. It’s interesting to hear this early version of the track without lyrics. It’s an excellent song that leads into Naked and So… (not on the album of the same name) which is by far one of FM’s cooler tracks. They really extend this one and it features some incredible improvisation from the band. They were so telepathic in their playing, it’s really like they were one singular brain on stage. The set closer, Simple Way…well, hell, even better than Naked & Waterfall. Jason Weisenburg’s use of the delay pedal on this is inspired and very few guitarists can keep up this level of speed and accuracy with a delay going. From the first note on, this song is slung into action and tight as hell all the way through, until they come to the last note and stop on a dime. These guys do not mess around here. It’s intense and almost chaotic, but they effortlessly hold everything together. I’d equate it to a roller coaster in the dark, with a one-note stop.
As good as this show is, it still doesn’t compare with a few that I saw live which were just transcendent. As far as live shows committed to tape, this one is my favorite. It’s a perfect representation of what this band was about live.
Rating: 95
May 18, 2009, 
2:47 pm
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