by John D. Luerssen
Oakland-based art rockers Sleepytime Gorilla Museum have always bordered on avant-garde, but with Live they largely extract music from their recorded equation, which results mostly in ineffective noise like Carla Kihlstedt's caterwauling and Nils Frykdahl's stage speak. If SLG's 2001 debut, Grand Opening and Closing, was an astonishing collision of sound styles, too much of this concert collection is bogged down in banter. The haunting melody of "Babydoctor" and the stomping, textured noise of "Sleep Is Rong" are exceptions to this notion, qualifying as the only real songs here. On-stage, they're reportedly the real deal, using unique costumes and impromptu antics to score accolades, but unless you're an obsessed devotee, there's just too little musical value here to warrant repeated listening.