Quote:
Originally Posted by smudge1
I think most of today’s jam bands ride on the same formula. High and lows built into an 8 minute tune..whereas the older bands built their highs and lows into a 3 hour set. If that makes any sense.
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I get what you are trying to say, I think. I wonder who you are specifically speaking about when you say today’s jam bands? You mean the young up and comers (Goose, Spafford, Twiddle, etc)? Or like the post-GD but now getting older acts (Phish, SCI, moe., Umphreys)?
Personally I think there’s certainly something to both intrasong and intraset “highs and lows”. I would contend that there’s probably more talent, well talents probably not the correct word, let’s say improvisational skill in the former. I think earlier GD were excellent at this, like listen to a good mid 70s Playing In the Band. These were often a roller coaster of musical emotions. I do think later on in the GDs career there was a bit of a shift, perhaps volitionally as their group skills were less sharp, in which they needed to use song changes to accomplish that same purpose. I actually think that seems pretty common with jam bands, when they are off they use song changes/set lists to accomplish what they otherwise can accomplish when truly improving. It’s also common for the jam bands with what I would say less full band improvisational talent to use the set lists in that manner (moe comes to mind who i love and have been a favorite of mine for many years, but most of their “ups and downs” as you put it, come from song changes, segues, etc because they don’t really have that full band improv ability of like Phish, early GD, Cheese, etc).