Earlier this year, the Tahoe Tweezer unseated the 12/31/95 "Reba" as my all-time favorite Phish jam. I'm a little biased because I was actually there for the former and not for the latter, but it's my favorite instance of jamming from the band out of all of the ones I've heard so far, hands down. Yet, I saw all eight shows of the west coast run that spawned the Tweezer and Tahoe II was probably my 6th or 7th favorite show overall. I feel similarly about this second Albany show.
The "Seven Below" > "Ghost" combo to start the second set is just mind-blowing. In '09 terms, it's like jamming from another planet, from the past (or, considering how much it sounds to me like a pared-down version of some of the bigger '13 jams, the future). It's like nothing else the band has played in '09, at least thus far. Plus, "Seven Below" and "Ghost" are probably my two favorite Phish songs to see jammed out, so that's a little extra bonus for me. This segment of the show is just as good as everyone's been telling me it is. The rest of the show, though, is largely more of the boilerplate Fall '09 stuff that I've been so bummed out about recently.
The first few songs are standard, then we get a major "d'oh!" moment when Trey tries to start "Uncle Pen" and totally biffs the intro. It's a little funny because he clearly started playing the song on 11/27 before calling an audible and going with "MMGAMOIO" instead...apparently he forgot to practice overnight. Anyway, he recovers and it's a perfectly serviceable version of the song, but it sort of speaks to how most of the rest of this first set runs: Fall '09 Super-Song-Choice Mode is still engaged here, but so is Fall '09 Sloppy-Playing-And-Uninspired-Solos Mode. So. Yeah.
"Sanity" is a great choice for the four-slot, and getting a following "Foam" and then "Walk Away" > "NICU" is awesome in theory, but even the "Walk Away," while solidly played, doesn't reach its usual frenetic rocksplosion heights. I'm happy to hear "Vultures," but this version is a slopfest. "Number Line" is short, but features what is, frankly, one of the best, most consistent flat-out rock solos I've ever heard from Trey. So there's that.
Aside from the "Number Line," though, the only highlight of the first set is "SOAM," but what a highlight it is. On any other night, without the massive opening pair of songs coming in set two, this "Melt" would be the highlight of the show, or even the run. I've really come around recently on this song in general, but part of what's historically put me off about it is that the jams get too abstract, too sharp-edged too fast, and while I'm all for exploratory jams, there's typically nothing to really latch on to that resembles music or emotion in a "Melt" jam. It's like watching two robots beat the shit out of each other: it's loud and abrasive and a little terrifying and you have trouble looking away, but it doesn't really make you feel anything.
This "Melt," though, manages to strike a balance between the jam's usual abrasiveness and a melodic quality that makes it more approachable without taking out the heart of what makes a clangy, bangy "Melt" jam (in theory at least) a "Melt" jam. And, in case you couldn't tell, I love it.
The second set is purely all about the "Seven Below" > "Ghost." Typically I would spend a bunch of time here explaining each jam step-by-step, but in this case this duo is so goddamn essential to Fall '09 that I'm just going to link to them and assume that if you don't know them already, you'll go listen now. It's fine. I'll wait.
Back? I'll wait for you to put your socks back on.
Okay. "Cool It Down" is a neat bustout, but honestly the rest of the second set was just sort of filler for me. Like with the Tahoe Tweezer, I vaguely remember being happy that they played "Tela" after, and then I promptly forgot what the rest of the set even was because I was busy picking my jaw up off the floor.
The encore "YEM" is a great victory lap version, though. First of all, YEM encore. Second of all, this "YEM" is like your mom: everyone gets a turn, and they're all sexy. "YEM" is typically a song that doesn't do much for me outside of the awesome composed sections, but lately (in '09) the guys have been doing some interesting things with it. That continues to hold true here.
So yeah. While this show is not strong overall, to the point that I'm willing to recommend you just skip it beyond the "Melt," "Seven Below" > "Ghost," and maybe "YEM," Those highlights are so high that this is probably, by default, the high-water mark of Phish for fall. Maybe the entirety of '09, though I'm still pretty partial to the Gorge since it was my first show.
On to the last pre-MSG, pre-NYE show of the year!
No comments:
Post a Comment