There’s a sense of ritual that accompanies any concert and in a theatre venue such as here at Teatro Metropolitan that aspect is certainly amplified. The opening thunder of Conundrum could almost be an offering at the beginning of an arcane ceremony, and sure enough, some strange and unexpected happens in its wake. The board mix on Thela is all over the place. With guitars and drums and vocals at very different levels, it sounds as though it’s the product of an extensive remix. With hip-hop-style scratching from Belew’s guitar rasping abrasively in the background, an eerie soundscape that would normally be in the background floats imperiously to the centre. As levels move around attention shifts between the different components that make up the Double Trio. One thing you can guarantee: you’ve never heard Thela Hun Ginjeet sound like this before. During the soundscapes Interlude that follows, whatever adjustments that were needed on the board have been done and everything is pretty much back where you’d expect. In a way, it’s almost a pity, as this kind of wild card mix certainly enables one to listen to a show in an entirely new way. It’s worth noting that the short improv after Schizoid Man sounds and feels like it could be an excerpt from a future ProjeKct Two live show. It’s also worth noting that despite various audio struggles encountered by different sections of the group during their stay in Mexico, this one and the other shows in the venue formed the basis of disc one of 2001’s Vrooom Vrooom double album set.
