Transformations is the first release by the new Particle, or was, until RANA vet Scott Metzger announced his joining the band as a co-lead-guitarist would in fact be only temporary. These things happen, though, and Metzger's departure doesn't really lose ground for the transitional Particle, per se. With only eight months under their belt as fulltime members, Metzger and Ben Combe were/are only in the break-in phase of the band.
This latest DVD/CD release documents the new (now old) Particle's February 2006 coming out parties at L.A.'s Henry Fonda Theater and San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. With Metzger now gone, however, they feel more like an intermission than the start of the next act of Particle: a guest-laden blowout (L.A.) and a feeling-things-out show (San Francisco) that do much to reestablish the band in the post-Charlie Hitchcock era, but don't answer all that many questions about where it goes from here. Despite inclusions of their original, now Particle-fied material, Combe and Metzger feel as much like guests as Joe Satriani, Blackalicious, Robbie Krieger, and DJ Logic. With Metzger's departure, for now, savor this collection for its fun factor, and not for its somewhat obscured insight into the band's future.
While both the audio and video discs cover the same two nights, each release has it’s own distinct identity, with some obvious overlap. The DVD is the full L.A. show, whereas the CD is mostly comprised of San Fran, with a touch of L.A. highlights. If you miss the CD, you don't get the ripping "Fiyo on the Bayou" from San Francisco. If you miss the DVD, you don't get the all-hands-on-deck take on Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" that closed the L.A. gig. But both get you the Satriani-and-Logic-abetted "W," which looks great and sounds better. It's the best of the guest collaborations, although the Doors' "L.A. Woman" with Krieger is a nice intersection of the band's break-it-open/techno reinvention. Blackalicious' contributions are overall somewhat middling, as Beck's "E-Pro" is an interesting choice if nothing too exploratory.
Additional DVD extras include band interviews, photo galleries and some good insight on the preceeding band shift. They even throw in some extra footage that talks about the band's improvisational modes ("Triple Threat," "The Sweeper") and collaborative spirit (a breakdown of Satriani's appearance on "Simulator").
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