Taper’s Choice honored fellow jam act Twiddle and Phish‘s legacy of setlist shenanigans in Colorado last night. The quartet consisting of guitarist Dave Harrington (DARKSIDE), bassist Alex Bleeker (Real Estate), drummer Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend) and keyboardist Zach Tenorio-Miller used the first letter of each song played at an Osiris Live event held at Denver’s Larimer Lounge to spell TWIDDLE.
Presented by JamBase partners Osiris Media, the evening began with a conversation featuring Taper’s Choice hosted by Brian Brinkman and Jonathan Hart. The four-piece then chose “The Dave Test (Yes)” to open and followed with the deep psychedelia of “Walking Around.” Next came Tenorio-Miller’s “Impossible Sound” piece before Taper’s Choice dug in on “Darkness At The Edge Of Midtown” for over 15 minutes. Phish bassist Mike Gordon attended the concert but did not guest with the band.
By the time Taper’s Choice landed on “Doner Wrap,” it became clear the setlist was nodding to both Twiddle and Phish history. Phish kicked off their first concert at nearby Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in 2011 with the “S” show to start a tradition of setlist antics that continued through 2015. The wild instrumental “Doner Wrap” spanned 20 minutes and was laden with inventive twists and turns within the improvisation. Next up was an equally adventurous “Lilac Palace.” Taper’s Choice closed the set with “Every Bubble” and treated fans to a “quick lick,” aka a concise “Lick The Toad,” for the encore.
Listen to an audience recording of last night’s show taped by Matt Dwyer:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch8j1kyj30B/
Setlist (via Archive.org)
Set: The Dave Test, Walking Around, Impossible Sound, Darkness At The Edge Of Midtown, Doner Rap, Lilac Palace, Every Bubble
Encore: Lick The Toad
