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Music Review
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Amazon.com
Gomez must think of themselves as a live juggernaut to release a double live album as their fifth release (and first for Dave Matthews’ ATO label). Recorded over the course of a three nights at a sold-out Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco in January 2005, the British six-piece plays a bluesy, psychedelic pop that’s breezily anthemic. And yeah, they are great live. Among the highlights is a spirited and spaced-out cover of one of Nick Drake’s best and least-covered songs, "Black Eyed Dog." Some of the songs are a bit lazy (the bloozy "Fill My Cup," the stoner anthem "Get Myself Arrested") but here’s a band that’s clearly awesome in their element. They might mix up genres, but unlike their Mercury Prize-winning debut, they rarely do so in unexpected ways. That is not a diss, either; this is very smartly done, shake-your-hips-and-make-out-with-the-cute-person-next-to-you party music. --Mike McGonigal