Luke's Picks
This is optional, but once we have the individual pages created this is where the “heres why we curated this list” descriptions would go.
The Mars Volta
Live in Toronto, Canada
September 25th, 2006
Air Canada Centre
One of the most unique shows of the catalog: After touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers for most of the tour, Cedric came down with an illness but instead of cancelling the gig John Frusciante joined them on stage and 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.
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group
Live in Niigata, Japan
July 28th, 2007
Naeba Ski Resort
A legendary one-off Omar Rodriguez-Lopez group show. 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 Tollbooth is the first to feature the “Never Heard a Man Speak Like This Man Before” line that would appear in later in Goliath.
The Mars Volta
Live in Berlin, Germany
March 01st, 2005
Huxleys Neue Welt
From the moment the band takes the stage this show pulls you in with a gravity unlike any other in the catalog. Take the Veil has a blistering rendition of the epic helicopter jam and Drunkship is sheer perfection. This show was also very early in the Frances The Mute tour which makes it all the more amazing that they were performing in such perfect lock-step.
At The Drive-In
Live in Chicago, Illinois
August 05th, 2012
Grant Park
Enter Cedric the Entertainer (no not that one). Plagued by technical difficulties Cedric is challenged with keeping the eager Lollapalooza audience engaged in between multiple gear failures. Diatribes about chanklas and old Chicago venues help connect solid takes on old classics.
De Facto
Live in Los Angeles, California
January 03rd, 2001
The Smell
The dank aura of any De Facto show is enough to drown, and this show is no different. Tight renditions of De Facto classics like Cordova and Hoxadrine generate a dream like state. It is strange to consider that this was only two months before The Mars Volta would take the stage. That said, there are some ever so subtle hints of what is to come with Ikey’s blistering key work and Jeremy’s hypnotic audio manipulations.
Omar, John & Flea
Live in Hollywood, California
May 18th, 2004
Knitting Factory
Throughout the history of At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta, and beyond there are these remarkable one-off shows peppered along the way. Whether it is an Omar and Jon only jam session, a jazz quartet of Juan, Cedric, Adrian, and Money Mark, or this fantastic jam featuring Omar and two legends of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The weaving nature of their music is so engaging, yet tragic as we never got a studio take of these songs that were once teased as “Omar! Omar!, Omar!”
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Live in Glendale, California
February 12th, 2003
The Scene Glendale
Jon Theodore and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez get together and rip through some ferocious improv for about 30 minutes. Need we say more?
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet
Live in Cologne, Germany
November 14th, 2005
Gebaude 9
An amazing concert featuring music from Omar’s second solo album. Damo Suzuki of Can fame was there on this day to perform on Please Heat This Eventually. The performance of which is the backbone for the eventual EP release of the same name.