Soft Machine at Yoshi's, June 24, 2024

Yoshi's presents Soft Machine
Jack London Square, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland, CA 94607-3506 USA
8:00 PM, Monday, June 24, 2024

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[7:58 PM] {lights down}
[8:00 PM] {house introduction; band out}

1. [8:01 PM] Penny Hitch
2. [8:09 PM] Burden of Proof
   [8:16 PM] {Greetings from JE; back- and fore-announcements}
3. [8:18 PM] The Visitors at the Window
   [8:25 PM] {JE introduction}
4. [8:27 PM] The Tale of Taliesin
5. [8:33 PM] Heart Off Guard »
6. [8:38 PM] Broken Hill
   [8:42 PM] {JE introduction & hippie story}
7. [8:44 PM] Fourteen Hour Dream
   [8:50 PM] {JE band history & performer introduction}
8. [9:02 PM] Joy of a Toy
   [9:04 PM] {JE introduction}
9. [9:05 PM] Kings and Queens
   [9:09 PM] {JE introduction of final medley}
10. [9:09 PM] The Relegation of Pluto »
11. [9:10 PM] (drum solo) »
12. [9:14 PM] Hidden Details »
13. [9:15 PM] Tarabos »
14. [9:16 PM] Hazard Profile Pt.1 »
    [9:20 PM] {applause at end of set}
    [9:21 PM] {bows and thanks‚ JE introduces everyone again‚ more thanks‚ then all off}
    [9:21 PM] {show ends}

Soft Machine

• Fred Baker: fretless bass;
• John Etheridge: guitar;
• Asaf Sirkis: drums;
• Theo Travis: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, keyboards, Fender-Rhodes electric piano.

I was a little surprised to claim the nearest-to-the-venue parking space AND the front-of-the-GA-line spot when when we showed up tonight a little after 7 PM, shouldn't there be more music freaks out for this rare NorCal appearance by the legendary Soft Machine? Happily, the next person that showed up was our pal Michael Parish, and by the time doors opened, the wait line had grown respectably long.

Once we were all inside, Yoshi's looked pretty full if you overlooked the fact that the upper level was closed and most tables had at least one open seat. At least those present were enthusiastic about the event. Lots of greying long hairs in attendance tonight, plus a sprinkling of curious younger folks.

I thought the show was quite strong overall, with relatively little gratuitous musical wanking, and plenty of interesting thrashing about. John Etheridge is definitely a top tier guitarist in my book! The other guys did an admirable job backing him up, with Theo showing himself to be a worthy musical sparring partner at multiple times during the set. I was especially impressed at the span of the setlist: I'd imagined that tonight's show would be 90% drawn from the new Other Doors album, but it turned out that twice as many tunes came from other releases. Heck yeah! Good stuff!!

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2024 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2024 event list! ☸ On to the next event!