The success of De-Loused In The Comatorium was an unexpected surprise for the band and the fans alike. The band had managed to get to mainstream media while providing an album that wasn't easily accessible at first, but that had a lot to unpack within its many layers of detail. The band had decided to undertake a tour in promotion of their album, consisting on the entirety of De-Loused being played with Concertina as a closer, to show their technical ability to replicate studio qualities on a live setting. The tour went wonders, creating some bootlegs like the live recording at the Electric Ballroom, despite the band not feeling at their best onstage, and they had a bright career ahead. However, they were recovering from the loss of a beloved friend and founding member, Jeremy Michael Ward, who tragically died one month before the release of the album. The song Televators would be dedicated to him in the tour after the release of the album, and the band would continue their run carrying his name in high regard. His memory would be carried on, mainly due to the fact that some of his contributions and collaborations with the band and Omar were shelved for future projects. One example of that is the fact that the main concept for the band's second album was pitched and started by Jeremy, and the band had already started playing that early material, but the fans didn't know just yet.
It is no secret that this was a usual thing for the band. Omar was, and still is, a man obsessed with writing his music, and starting very early on in the Volta's run there were versions of songs from the debut being played (just looking at the 2001 performances of Cicatrix, Inertiatic and Roulette should she enough to get an idea). The elaboration of tracks, creating them on a relatively slow pace, adding new things and removing others, with the fans now knowing if what they are listening to is a jam or a new song. All of this mixed with the characteristics of a Volta live show, full of energy, intensity, technicality, chemistry; a complete dominance of the stage. After that initial De-Loused tour, the attitude became more positive and the live experimentation and jamming started to take a much bigger role in their live shows, extending some tracks to a big extent but offering a lot in the process, and one great example of this is their August 29th performance at Lowlands Festival.
Almost fifty minutes of performance, with only three songs being showcased here. This would be one usual setlist at that time, with Roulette Dares, Cicatriz ESP, and Drunkship of Lanterns being played, with extended jams (or that is what was thought at the time). The song sections are still the usual, but what sells the performances are the segments that would end up becoming parts of Frances the Mute. While on Roulette Dares the end section is simply extended with a much more melancholic improvisational section, Cicatriz is the track where one can see early snippets of the sophomore album, more specifically of Cassandra Gemini. These versions of Cicatriz relied heavily on the atmospheric and technical side of The Mars Volta, but an evident evolution was perceived. The song was being much more immersive, with layers of detail that made up for a great experience, making Cicatriz a definite standout of the concert, despite it being a long track with a lot to digest onstage. It is well known that Frances was started to get composed in the road, so the slowed down version of one of the segments is really something to be appreciated. It is very different to the end product, but it starts to take form and its performed with a lot of passion and coordination between the members, with improvised lyrics and riffs (even an early look at some of the actual lyrics), but with every instrument being played to its full potential on what would seem like a simple improvisation passage. Everything has a reason to be, and that is something that is really nice to appreciate in retrospective to the creative process of the band. Drunkship of Lanterns has the known Cygnus...Vismung Cygnus's "Facilis Descenus Averni" as the atmospherical jam, and it is easy to see that it is definitely leading to a completely different track, but for what it was, it really showed a side of the band with a big interest in expanding their sound with experimentation. Not everything is perfect, but the band starts taking the next steps towards bigger things to come for their studio and live performances, being much more loose with their ideas, while increasing their overall chemistry.
This is not a completely essential concert, but it is a highly enjoyable visual and audio bonanza of a band that is slowly growing in ambition, complexity, passion, and energy. Their live presence is certainly something highly unique, and hearing these great songs performed on a special way makes watching this a completely worthwhile experience. Fortunately, the concert is available to watch on youtube, getting to appreciate the work that the band put on the music. The group was slowly recovering from what had happened, and they showed that The Mars Volta was not a one project wonder, with a lot of expectation for what the future of the band would be like.
Highly recommended to any fan eager to see their evolution.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Favorite Track: Cicatriz ESP
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