“So Cedric has been listening to Yellowcard and a lot of weird bands like that so we asked him to stay home”

Omar muses just as the band has fully filed on stage at the Air Canada Centre. In truth Cedric had come down with a debilitating illness which had prevented him from performing. Instead of cancelling the show entirely Omar opted to invite long time friend and collaborator John Frusciante onto the stage and led the band through 45 minutes of purely instrumental music. Starting off with their standard show opener during this leg of the tour, Interstellar Overdrive, the band quickly launches off into disparate directions, referencing jams that appeared within other songs such as the outro jam from Roulette Dares, which itself would morph into the coda from Goliath. John Frusciante and Omar bounce solos around, demonstrating the perfect pairing they make for each other.
 
The Mars Volta have always known how to pull out trump cards in desperate situations, creating unique musical experiences out of the pieces left in front of them. A purely one of a kind performance that must be heard if not for any reason, but to witness what a band should do when a member can’t perform; just keep playing great music.