Since 2004's
Dog was the hardest rocking album
Mike Keneally had released up to that point, it came as no surprise that the subsequent tour ("Guitar Therapy") had the band "bringing the rock" to venues across the U.S.
Keneally's a monster guitar player with an utterly personal style, and his songwriting is equally idiosyncratic, to say the least (just check out the very weird "Spoon Guy"). He's got a band who can easily negotiate the trickier musical passages as well as follow his lead when it comes to dynamics or improvisation, all the while flat-out rocking.
Guitar Therapy Live is a great document of what these guys can do on any given night. It's got a raw, live sound with clearly separated guitars and everything mixed loud. In his always-entertaining liner notes,
Keneally comments that he was "overplaying on every single solo," which, of course, is pretty much what
Keneally fans are after. They won't be disappointed.