This week's #ThisDealInHistory is one of two clips excerpted from our 10/17/03 show at Barrymore's Music Hall in Ottawa, Ontario. Besides being Our Nation's Capital, Ottawa has long served as a must-play concert destination for me and Dan (through all our various pre-tND musical partnerships dating back to high school) and with good reason — there are a lot of music lovers in Ottawa.
We begin with a quasi-hypnotic echo-soaked intro jam to "G-nome". Dan's got some synthy filters going on and he's complementing the spaciness with some short bursts that increases in intensity at 1:25 when he and Darren pick up the pace. As noted in previous #TDIH posts, Dan is leading the harmonic progression over the build while I step back and improvise variations on the G-nome theme. We're definitely treated to a wide variety of bass tones before the main section kicks in at 2:47.
The middle jam in G-nome is always a wild card for us, stylistically speaking. It can run the gamut from pumping electro workouts (as heard on our "LIVE: LATE NIGHT 08.27.05" release) to the type of murky dub that we hear here. "Space" and "Echo" seem to be the recurring themes as I immediately return to my trusty delay pedals at 4:36. I like the sense of musical restraint and sonic sparseness here — every so often I play a few organ notes but for the most part the spacey atmosphere is dictating the jam's vibe.
I introduce the Fender Rhodes at 5:29 but quickly abandon that in favour of a lush Juno pad in support of some Moog and organ lines at 6:09. I probably decided that the Rhodes would busy things up too much and instead chose to keep the sparse, dubby environment intact. This whole section is a good example of the band endeavouring to create a musical statement while simultaneously containing themselves within the previously established stylistic parameters. We've always felt that changing scenes simply to change scenes was a bit of a cop-out; one should try and complete whatever musical mission one initially sets out to accomplish.
Dan triggers the return cue at 8:24 (actually he only plays half the trigger but we obviously got the hint) and we riff on that for a while as I incorporate the delayed keyboard bits from earlier in the jam. Those keyboard lines serve to conceptually link the previous jam section with the upcoming reprise. Dan might have also teased The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" at 9:03. From there we take that half-trigger to its natural conclusion by employing it as the stepping stone into the final section of "G-nome".
I should also note MSG's (our long-time sound engineer) contribution throughout this clip and particularly in this build. His imaginative use of reverbs, delays and filters (10:20 - 10:42 for example) definitely heightens the drama and tension prior to the final movement at 10:43. -Jamie
