Last Saturday I drove up to Milwaukee to see Lotus at the Turner Hall Ballroom which is across 4th Street from the arena where the Milwaukee Bucks play. I parked in a garage a few blocks away. It was chilly with temperatures in the teens. This venue is the reverse of Cheers with the Seafood place below it. That restaurant gives the venue a bit of an odor as you enter. There is a net below the ceiling to protect people from the crumbling. The crowd was smaller on this occasion than when I saw them in 2016 here. Marvel Years was a DJ opener that I honestly didn't pay too much attention to. My biggest gripe was the amount of talking during the music. The jamtronica crowd is younger and generally lacks concert etiquette.
For the first set I posted up near the soundboard with Jamie and Josie. I decided to not bring my setlist pad and pen. After a few songs I started keeping one on my phone. Old habits are hard to break. I knew most of the material. The first set was rather pedestrian. Travel was the highlight for me. Move Too Fast is a tune I dig on that last album. The recent direction of the band is a bit of a turn off. Using the samples on the new songs really doesn't bring out the best in the group. For set two I moved up and got closer to the stage. I was impressed by the lighting rig.
I was happy to hear a couple more rare tunes like Debris and Soma. These are two I discovered at 11/27/15 which is a favorite of mine. I enjoy the song Lead Pipe with its samples of Beastie Boys. This led into the best improvisation of the evening. Sunrain > Comptroller > Sunrain had a successful jam before going into the dance number sandwiched in between. They debuted a new song Jiggle which has potential. They pulled off a good segue with Soma > Greet the Mind. That was my first time hearing Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads. Postshow they played Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" as we filtered out into the cold Wisconsin evening. On the way home somewhere near Alpine Valley the weather took a horrible turn for the worse. By the time I reached Beloit the interstate was barely visible. I took breaks at the Pilot in Beloit where I made a late night run for the border. I'm glad they had the dining area still open. The blizzard forced me to take another break at the PETRO in Rochelle. The sun was up before I got home. Luckily the roads from I-88 back to Geneseo had one lane plowed. This is winter tour. Weather like that is going to be part of it. I'm starting to lose my interest a little with Lotus. The newer material isn't all that great. Their audience is younger and can be annoying. Still I'm glad I went. It turned into an adventure.
