Scab Dates
Scabdates is the second official live recording from the band The Mars Volta. It was released on November 8, 2005 and features music recorded between May 2004 and May 2005 during the 2004-2005 tour in support of Frances the Mute.
While the disc contains twelve tracks, only three of the band’s studio works are represented; many of the tracks constitute expansions on musical themes which appear elsewhere in their work, or entirely new segments altogether. For example, the lengthy exposition on "Cicatriz," which combined with its introduction "Haruspex" comprises about 48 minutes of the disc, incorporates into its lengthy jam themes which would later be used in "Cassandra Gemini" (the performance excerpted here was recorded on May 12, 2004, almost a year before Frances the Mute was released).
The Mars Volta have freely encouraged the trading of bootlegged live performances, but Scabdates was lauded by many fans for its superior sound quality and for being the first official recording that captured the Voltas’ lengthy experimental workouts during live performances. IGN however, described the experimentation as "sonic meandering which some regard as genius and others find to be a futile exercise in pretentious instrumental masturbation." No matter what one thinks of the band’s avant-garde style of jamming, it is undeniably the source of the definitive split between the fans and critics of live Mars Volta performances. Another aspect of the band’s live improvisation that was criticised was Rodriguez’s huge presence in their sound, whereas the other musicians had relatively little amount of playing time.
While the material on Scabdates is drawn almost entirely from live performances, the music doesn’t appear exactly as performed; "Part IV" of "Cicatriz" incorporates a full eight-minute, psychedelic sound collage of many other Mars Volta live performances that was not featured in the original performance, and "Abrasions Mount the Timpani" features sound samples of mewling babies and airliner announcements that Omar recorded while on the road with the band.
Track listing
1. Abrasions Mount The Timpani – 4:07
2. Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt – 5:57
3. Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt: A. Gust Of Mutts… – 2:34
4. Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt: B. …And Ghosted Pouts – 4:52
5. Caviglia – 2:46
6. Concertina – 4:17
7. Haruspex – 5:24
8. Cicatriz – 8:16
9. Cicatriz: A. Part I – 2:34
10. Cicatriz: B. Part II – 7:39
11. Cicatriz: C. Part III – 4:29
12. Cicatriz: D. Part IV – 20:0005/05/2005 – Roseland Ballroom – New York City, NY: Abrasions Mount The Timpani, Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt
05/06/2005 – Roseland Ballroom – New York City, NY: Gust of Mutts
05/12/2004 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA: Haruspex. Cicatriz, Cicatriz, Pt.I, Cicatriz, Pt.II, Cicatriz, Pt.III, Cicatriz, Pt.IV
05/13/2004 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA: Caviglia, Unknown, Concertina (Most likely from 2005 tour as Adrian Terrazas-Gonzalez, who began performing live with the band in 2005, can be heard playing saxophone.)And Ghosted Pouts (Most likely a studio recording due to incongruity in sound quality. The large cymbal crash is possibly a coverup for audio splicing