[Mike]

Well, whilst the comment was quite flippent, ive always agreed that i havent enjoyed the live material as much since the 1999/2000 era..

I know that a lot of the equipment changed for the start of the 2002 festival tour, and it created a new sound. The energy remains, but the anticipation of improvised gems has gone.

I remember reading (or hearing) somewhere that rick had been really keen on recreating the original album sounds in a live format (not sure exactly what that means, but i guess trying to recreate the original recording as closley as possible... i will try to find the interview)..

Rick has the ability to do what he wants with the sound... during 2000, they played many shows where it was just rick and karl, and they sounded terrific! Roskilde 2000 anyone? Born Slippy --> Confusion - Juanita --> Spoonman - New Banstyle --> Nuxx

It sounded really creative and fresh.

I dont think the absence of Darren has influenced much, i think its just the choice of direction that the guys have decided to follow.