Search - Praxis :: Tennessee 2004

The TRUE Jam Band

Mr. Richard K. Weems | Fair Lawn, NJ USA | 08/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Praxis, at first, seemed to be a band with many different faces. From the Sacrifist release, which had everyone from John Zorn to Blind Idiot God, to more stable releases like Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis), which is not only one of the best albums in the past 20 years, in my opinion, but showed that the real core of this band was not a blinding array of various names and styles, but a core of solid musicians who could play just about any style under the sun (funk, thrash, jazz, rock) and play well together.



When live, they improvised into more brilliant songs than the Edgar Winter Group could have ever HOPED to have dreamed of. When Bill Laswell took Praxis to tour, he kept primarily with a core of himself, Buckethead and Brain, but in this live recording from the 2004 Bonnaroo Music Festival, grand wizard Bernie Worrell joins in as well (which is only right, since he's the one who laid down the keyboards on Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis).



And this recording is a stellar reminder of how brilliant this lineup is. While Warszawa is a little uneven with all the turntable use, this recording is just solid playing from four musicians who make magic together. Some of the best moments are when the quartet let themselves play into a frenzy, like when they do Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun" or start out "Bent Light" with the stunning licks of "The Interworld and the New Innocence" and then take it into grand heights. "Night of the Slunk," from Buckethead's Monsters & Robots is represented here, and of course Laswell can't get through an evening without a little dub in "Optic."



But the grandest thing of them all is to hear how these four really just play off each other. Yes, Buckethead may take the shred a little too far in a track or two, and Brain's soloing just get a little wearisome here, but when all four have their retros firing and are playing the hell out of their riffs, this album shows you how "jam band" was just a misnomer for talentless thugs who didn't know how to write songs. The true Jam Band is here--Buckethead, Bernie Worrell, Bill Laswell and Brain. No more, no less. This album is a wonderful listen.

"

Incredible show! Great quality as well

Christopher M. Gallen | Connecticut, USA | 08/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was at this show and it was one of the best performances i've ever seen, buckethead is insane and sounds great with the other members. Only reason i rated this 4/5 instead of 5/5 is because not all of the songs from the show are on this album. There was a very long and involved version of "Maggot Brain" with a violinist rocking out (with heavy distortion on the violin) which i would've liked to see on this release, but nonetheless, sick!!"

Awesome!!!!

K. Horne | Hardy, VA | 04/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Seen this show live at Bonnaroo and let me tell you one of the best performances I have ever seen in my life. Definitely recommend. Had this soundboard show years ago but I guess they decided to put in on a cd. Good choice."