Halfway through the week and just going through the motions? Why not go through the Cycles with some #FreeMusic!?
Cycles low-key ragers at Zio’s Alley Bar have become one of my favorite traditions. Nothing like wondering “What should I do tonight?” and then seeing “Cycles @ Zio’s; Free” – these are the types of shows that you can appreciate as a fan on plenty of levels. The band tends to have a looser feel at these shows, extending songs a bit longer than they normally would, taking bigger risks, polishing newer material and basking in a crowd packed to the gills with friends.
The show kicked off with the newer tune “Oh Whale” – a commanding song with a ball of melodic riffs that showed itself some new character as a set opener. After a superb version of “I Am You” which delved into dark territory and contained a patiently built jam, we got to see “Swing Bells” which I hadn’t witnessed since their Knew Conscious show over a year earlier! The band then launched into a funky start to “Figure It Out”. During the stops the crowd interaction makes me really love this recording. “Figure It Out” is the perfect song for a solid Audience feed. The band segued into the club classic “Better Off Alone” before crashing back into the ending of “Figure It Out” in a dizzying display of genre melding madness. Next up was an extremely tight take on the instrumental “The Call”. Instrumentals like these come to sum up the many parts that make Cycles’ sound so unique. Progressive instrumentals, club dj covers, magnificent songwriting. But I digress…
We then saw another showing of the new Patrick original “Water”. With each playing I enjoy the different segments more and more and this particular version really shows off some awesome pocket playing from the entire band as they lock-in with the sonic soundscape being laid down by the guitar. At around the 5:00 minute mark there is a beautiful almost shoegze-like reverb-loop jam that shows hints of what the song could potentially become as an improv vehicle. But before the segment could evolve any further the band segues into “Get Up Out Your Head”, one of the band’s tried-and-true jam vehicles. While this particular version wasn’t as expansive as the others, it proved a nice transition from the dark metal storm of “Water” to the more laid back thematic riffs that make up “Get Up Out Of Your Head”. After a powerful version of “Left Hand Path” which featured some of the newly added samples and an especially emotive vocal performance from Tucker, the band performed another one of my favorite instrumentals, “Soulfuckah”. This like “The Call” earlier in the set, shows its age as the band nailed the transitions and showed off their ability to perform complex pieces as a unit. It also featured a smooth J.Dilla jam which any fan could appreciate. The first set also featured another appearance of the Foxygen cover” Shuggie” which has quickly become a fan favorite, myself included. “Shuggie” then blended into the jam of the evening, a deep take on “Jade”. Cycles has so many suitable speeds…super blissed out, frantic as fuck, dark and swampy…but this particular jam begs the question…why not all three? This might be the best version of the song…so far. The set then closed out with solid renditions of “The Mess” and “Wait” which showed the crowd the band had no intentions of slowing down for the second set, and they sure didn’t.
The second set opened with “Blue” which was a fan request by Michael Bender. One among many in the arsenal of stellar instrumentals Cycles has at their disposal. With the newly added drum claps, the song is given a new shape and thusly adds a new layer to Cycles’ sound. When Wood kicked into the opening drums of “The House”, you could tell this was a much rowdier crowd than at the beginning of set 2. Immediately this version sounds a bit more atmospheric than usual, with rising reverb and machine gun guitar riffs, the band came out the gate swinging, ready for the second set. Next up was possibly the second best jam of the evening, “Everything Must Go” was welcomed by Irish “Oh Yeahs” which I can only assume from a drunken Friday night crowd is a sign of approval. The jam segment brings the band to a point of almost pure vibration, while random samples melt into the fold. The dreamlike sequence is almost hypnotic and another sum of hte many parts that make Cycles great.
The party continued as the band segued right into “Mean Dog”, the one Cycles song that when it hits, it has you anticipating what’s next. The song is usually sandwiched with something so what would it be tonight? Well why not the turn-of-the-century club classic “Around The World”? Further cementing Cycles in my mind as the band with the most incredible cover selection, this performance hit this drunken crowd like a free pizza. While the riff didn’t ever quite take off – the crowd certainly appreciate the sentiment and raged it anyway. After another solid rendition of “Music For Free”, the band played another of their common vehicles, the Les Claypool tune “One Better”. At my first Cycles’ show they covered this and at that moment I thought, “Well holy shit, that’s pretty cool”. I still think that every time I hear it. This version has a real compact but fluid jam that is another sum of Cycles’ greatness…their ability to make tiny jams feel huge. Segments that usual take bands 10-15 minutes to get to, it feels like Cycles can naturally get there in 5. It makes for big moments at constantly the right time. The set closed out with the one-two punch of “The Reckoning > Chapanga”. The former which contained some pretty abstract playing in the center, deconstructing and reconstructing itself before seguing into the latter which always provides the perfect outro for a set. It’s melodic, its big, its blissful, sometimes it even calls for a friend, all the stuff that make Cycles great.
Cycles | 2018-09-07 | Zio Romolo’s Alley Bar, Denver, CO
-= Set 1 =-
01. Oh Whale
02. I Am You[1]
03. Swing Bells[2]
04. Figure It Out[3] >
05. Better Off Alone (ATC cover) >
06. Figure It Out[3]
07. The Call
08. Water
09. Get Up Out Of Your Head
10. The Left Hand Path
11. Soulfuckah[4] >
12. Shuggie (Foxygen cover)[5 ->
13. Jade >
14. The Mess
15. Wait
-= Set 2 =-
16. (Set 2 Intro)
17. Blue >
18. The House
19. Everything Must Go >
20. Mean Dog[6] >
21. Around The World >
22. Mean Dog
23. Music For Free[7]
24. One Better
25. The Reckoning[8] >
26. Chapanga
Show Notes: Show was announced the day prior. Free admission. At the end of the show it was announced Cycles would be opening for Spafford on 10/27/18 at The Ogden Theatre.
[1] “I Am You” contained samples from the movie “IT” (2017).
[2] “Swing Bells” contained an “I Am You” tease in the intro.
[3] There was a false start prior to “Figure It Out”. It also contained “Better Off Alone” (Alice Deejay) teases.
[4] “Soulfuckah” contained a J.Dilla jam.
[5] “Shuggie” contained teases.
[6] “Mean Dog” contained a sample of “Better Of Alone” (Alice Deejay).
[7] “Music For Free” contained a “Cars” (Gary Numan) tease.
[8] “The Reckoning” contained a sample from “Changes” (2pac) and contained “Estimated Prophet” (Grateful Dead) teases.
Thanks to Cycles and Zio’s Alley Bar for being cool with taping/sharing shows. Go see live music and tip your bartenders! #spacetapes
LINK: https://archive.org/…/Cycles2018-09-07.AKG.P170.AUD.SBD.Mat…
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