This week's #ThisDealInHistory is one of three clips selected from our 10/15/2003 concert in Kingston, ON.
Kingston became a regular concert destination early in the band's life. Its relative proximity to Toronto plus the large student population at Queen's University were key ingredients in helping to develop our sound through regular (and increasingly well-attended) shows there.
The track starts with a repeated two-chord keyboard line played over an ostinato bass pattern and a minimal-yet-driving drum+shaker groove. This section typifies our attempts to, through the course of a jam, explore a variety of interpretations via a single core musical idea - in this case the opening two-chord statement. It seems like I'm also trying to mess with the positioning of these two chords (particularly at 0:48 and 0:55) but eventually decide to stick with what we originally had going. Either that or I'm reaching for my drink and lose my place...
At 1:16 Dan switches to a descending bass riff as Darren moves into a slightly swung beat that we use to grow into a grander rendition of the original theme with the inclusion of an electric piano line at 2:49.
Dan lays down the trigger for "Deep Sun" at 3:43 but we either shake it off or naturally allow the music to take us elsewhere, using that electric piano theme (and key changes at 4:44 and 5:20) as a new departure point. A hand signal must have been thrown up because we build our way into "Glide" at 6:20 with no audible evidence of a trigger being played.
Last week's #TDIH also highlighted "Glide" but, as most of you know, our songs are never the same from night to night and, apart from the 90 seconds that feature the main theme, these two versions could just as easily be two completely different musical pieces.
The same goes for most of the tracks in our canon. While the setlist on paper may sometimes look similar, try playing two shows simultaneously and see how long it takes before they stop sounding identical!
Things get interesting around 7:45. I'm giving the Juno pitch-wheel a workout while adding a minimal Moog line on top, but Dan's creating the chord changes underneath as we slip into a half-time downtempo jam. At 10:37 we start messing around with the tonal centre - again I'm laying on one chord (albeit a different one than before) as Dan creates new changes which I complement via the added organ melody.
At this point I'm totally following his lead - a role switch that we developed through years and years of playing together. At any moment in the show one of us either steps back and follows the other one's direction or takes the reins and directs the jam into new territory, usually with zero advance notice and nary a hint of preparation or overt communication.
Dan introduces the trigger cue for the "Glide" reprise at 11:38 and, via some hard-tremolo electric piano lines, we end up back there to close out this week's #ThisDealInHistory. -Jamie
