As the Tortoise show grew near, the sky began to mirror the stage crew, who were a flurry of activity setting up. Many looked to the quickly moving clouds with furrowed brows, expecting the worst - more rain.

But to everyone's surprise and delight, the deep indigo of night began to appear as Tortoise slid through their set. With vibraphones and sequencers augmenting the traditional drums and guitars, Tortoise's set fit the post-rock profile: guitar-based music with elements of classical, minimalist elecronica and jazz.

Their mutli-instrumentalist talents were on proud display, often switching instruments in a fashion not unlike a volleyball team, with one drummer going to the keyboards, the keyboards going to the bass, the bass going to the vibes, etc. These were musicians' musicians, in that they were truly playing for themselves and not for any audience. If you are aware of that going in, it becomes much more enjoyable.

Most of the set was sleek, art-house musings that rarely broke into a gallop. There were the occasional guitar riffs and solos that "rocked", essentially, but it all seemed too calculated for fist-pumping. As planned as it seemed, they weren't prepared for what happened next. Their sampler had a wiring problem, and went completely kaput. This threw them entirely off course, since loops from their sampler made up a vital element to most of their set. Although they made a noble recovery, (playing music the old fashioned way - with instruments like guitars and drums) their set has fizzled somewhat Not merely because their sampler broke, but because of their struggle to adapt to it. They certainly had no plan B, and it showed. It's too bad, however, since Tortoise are a prime example of the future of modern music. A sort of chamber music for the jilted generation, if you will.