Boots for beginners - Amputechture Era
The Mars Volta
Live in Petaluma, California
August 09th, 2006
Phoenix Theater
Let’s start the best of the Amputechture Era with a Blake Flemming show. Although Omar and Cedric love to dog on Blake’s brief tenure in the band (despite praising him as the OG drummer that Theodore lifted everything from back in 2006), I think he didn’t get a fair shake. He is a solid drummer and his shows aren’t bad. I think with more time he would have been a solid fit. There were very few headlining shows with Blake. This or the show before it (at the Catalyst) are both fine examples. The Catalyst gig does have a near complete concert video too. Either way you get a decent take of Day of the Baphomets and Frances the Mute. Also, bearded Cedric is hottest Cedric.
The Mars Volta
Live in Toronto, Canada
September 25th, 2006
Air Canada Centre
Cedric was sick so instead of cancelling the gig John Frusciante (They were opening for Red Hot Chili-Peppers for much of this tour) joined them on stage and they ripped a 45 minute set of instrumental jams starting with a cover of Pink Floyd’s Interstellar Overdrive (Syd Barret had just passed in 2006) and ending on a Roulette Dares jam.
The Mars Volta
Live in Las Vegas, Nevada
October 28th, 2006
Sam Boyd Stadium
Vegoose festival is one of my favorite shows of all time. By this point Blake had already been dropped and Deantoni Parks (remember that name) had come in to play a few shows with them. He was still fulltime with KUDU and could not commit to the Volta.
This was an interesting set of shows where the band played an hour rendition of the “Jacob Jam”, a collection of different riffs with soloing and chaos layered on top. Part of me has always wondered if it was just riffs to pad time or an unfinished album that they were working on.
The Mars Volta
Live in Mexico City, Mexico
November 11th, 2006
Estadio Azteca
Like Vegoose, but the Jacob Jam is shorter and the audio is pro quality. There is also a near complete video of the performance. Some people prefer the more condensed version of the Jacob Jam…and others….
The Mars Volta
Live in Tokyo, Japan
November 21st, 2006
Zepp Tokyo
Want the full version. This was one of Deantoni’s last shows until his return in 2010. Jacob Jam has changed some and this is the only show with every motiff. The band sounds pretty tight all things considered. This was a pretty legendary exclusive boot for many years. Fortunately it is out in the public now.
The Mars Volta
Live in Sydney, Australia
March 15th, 2007
Hordern Pavilion
Exit Deantoni Parks, Enter Thomas Pridgen. Pridgen was pretty rough during his time on this tour, but the energy is undeniable. This is one of the earliest appearances of Wax Simulacra (known at the time as Idle Tooth). The pre-Wax jam soundscape thing going on is truly sinister, squishy and gross sounding. This show is also much better than the Troubadour show that is frequently hyped due to being a soundboard.
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group
Live in Niigata, Japan
July 28th, 2007
Naeba Ski Resort
A legendary one-off Omar Rodriguez-Lopez group show. While the line-up was never replicated again this really seems to be a coda to the 2005 ORLG. La Tirania De La Tradicion is worth the price of admission alone with Cedric wildly howling about how he can see Peter’s house from up here. This rendition of Rapid Fire is the first to feature the “Never Heard a Man Speak Like This Man Before” line that would appear in The Bedlam in Goliath. This show was filmed as well, mostly just a camera capturing the video screen from the side of the stage. It works well.