I listened to this one in pieces over the course of a few days, so the review might be a little fractured. But that's okay, because that's sort of how I feel about the show, too.
Night three in Miami likely has the highest highlights of the run so far, but the middle of each set sags pretty drastically in comparison. The result is a show that will contribute quite a bit to my best-of-fall playlist, but that I'll probably never listen to in its entirety again.
The opening trio of songs here get things going in a hurry: "Soul Shakedown Party" is just a fun opener, especially for the penultimate 2009 show; Mike kills "Jim," at one point leading Trey around on a fun circular run of notes, and "Jesus Just Left Chicago" features some great clav work from Page.
It's not that I dislike "Dixie Cannonball," and I'm always all for more bluegrass-Mike covers, but this seems to zap the energy from the room. This "Faulty Plan" doesn't do anything for me either. I love the guys' cover of "Corinna," but it sounds a bit too much like "Ether Sunday" for me, and maybe belongs to TAB instead of Phish, at least as the third in a run of fairly flat songs in the middle of a damn 12/30 show. Maybe I'm just grumpy.
Anyway, shit takes off in a big way with a rare, standalone "What's the Use?". I love the hell out of this song, and even the shortish, lonely version on display here is wonderful. It's followed by "Tela," which doesn't do much to ramp up the set's energy, but at least kicks us back into "solid, mellow set" territory. Everybody has a turn flubbing in this take on the song, but it's a 236-song bustout, so I'm not going to complain much.
"Rocky Top" and a fiery "CDT" lead up to a fantastic, out-of-nowhere take on "Bowie" to close the set. The jam starts in a really melodic, mellow register to suit the rest of the set, but it follows a slow, amazingly patient build before exploding into a perfectly-executed peak that I really can't describe further without using explicit sexual metaphors. It's that good.
Anyway, the "Bowie" energy continues straight into the second set with a rare (for '09) "Sand" that more-or-less follows the same pattern: mellow, melodic lead-in to the jam, with Mike funking away underneath, and a slow build into a rock and roll peak. I realize that that description could work for about 4,000 of Phish's jams, and I'm not doing a great job of explaining why this one is especially excellent. But it is. So listen to it.
A standard-gorgeous take on "The Curtain (With)" follows, and then yet another spectacular setlist choice in "Lifeboy" in the cool-down slot. Sheesh...this Miami run isn't necessarily the greatest Phish out there, but the setlist construction doesn't get much better than these last few shows.
"Back on the Train" is the surprise of the fall/winter, if not the surprise of the year. Maybe it's second to the "Fluffhead" opener in Hampton in that category. Maybe. It's a seventeen minute "BOTT," and not only that, the vast majority of that time is an absolutely freeform, quasi-ambient jam that goes so deep into Type II territory that you'll have to check your player to see what song this started as by the 15:00 mark. In terms of sheer musicianship, it's not my favorite jam of the year, but I don't think I've heard any other jam in '09 that matches this one for sheer audacity. It's the kind of jam that a lot of people spent much of 2010 and 2011 hoping to hear again. And here it is.
As if the jam itself wasn't enough, there's also a great > "Wading" at the conclusion, featuring the song coalescing out of an ambient wash and at first actually only featuring Trey's vocals singing the refrain, and then the band harmonizing the refrain before eventually the instruments come in. It's a really beautiful half-minute or so of transition.
Now, as I've said before, I love me some Phish antics, but after such a great run of songs in the first half of this set, it's a bit of a disappointment to see the guys fall into "HYHU" > "Love You" > "HYHU." But I suppose they've earned it. Plus, Fish giving the vacuum away to a lucky fan is just good fun.
However, the slowdown puts a damper on what might have otherwise been a really explosive ending. "Free" is standard fare, and "Boogie On," though never a slouch, is also as straight-laced as can be, until the end when it seems like the boys are going to go deep and Trey ripcords them into "Run Like an Antelope."
Hilariously, though, Page refuses to stop playing "Boogie On," and this leads to a number of "Boogie On" teases scattered throughout a red-hot "Antelope" that makes up a bit for the lull mid-set.
I can see why lots of people hold the Miami run up as distinctly different and distinctly better than much of fall '09 tour. It's not really that the issues that made much of fall tour underwhelming have disappeared or even really minimized at all, but the highs that made those weaknesses bearable have become so high that it's hard to remember, after something like 12/30's "BOTT" or 12/29's "Tweezer," that a lot of the show was just boilerplate.
Let's see how 12/31 ends us up, shall we?
Jan 27, 2014
Jan 22, 2014
2009-12-29 Miami II
Miami II is, frankly, the show that I've been waiting for Phish to play since I started listening to fall tour.
It's not my favorite of the year. It's not even my favorite of fall/NYE for sure, but it's one of the only late '09 shows I've heard so far (if not the only one) that's well-played throughout, features excellent song choices, willingness to push the edges of a jam, and a little Phish-y silliness all rolled into one. This kind of thing was coming along much more frequently than I expected during the summer and has now been coming along a lot less frequently than I expected during the fall. It's good to have a return to form, especially after the monumental bummer of 12/28.
The first frame is wall-to-wall goodness, and even manages to stretch beyond the usual set one limitations a bit. "Golgi" is a high energy opener that moves directly into "Maze," a surprise in the two-spot. This "Maze" is red-hot, especially Trey's sporadic, frenetic chording over Page's solo. "Driver" is a necessary cool-down after, and it's followed but a studio-perfect rendition of "The Connection." As I've mentioned before, I love me some live Undermind, and this scratches that itch with four or so minutes of precisely-played power-pop (alliteration!).
Next is a surprisingly-placed "Wolfman's" that slowly stretches toward a peak in the standard way, but with a little more fire than usual. At this point, for me, the energy was through the roof. So if there's one misstep in this set, it's the "Ocelot" that comes next. "Ocelot" already usually slows things down with its muddy, plodding tempo, but here, on the tails of an incendiary "Wolfman's," it's even more disappointing than usual. The boys are still exploring the song at this point, and Trey "whales" away on it for a few minutes before starting up "Reba."
"Reba" would be the show highlight were it not for the ridiculous "Tweezer" that comes along in the second set. This is my favorite "Reba" in awhile, and the only real memorable one I've heard so far in '09. It starts off with Trey soloing softly over really gorgeous flourishes from Page before building into a great melodic groove that features parallel playing from Trey and Page that produces a weird echo effect (forgive my lack of music theory knowledge). This lasts from about 9:00 to 10:30, and then we get a few minutes of building to a blistering peak. This one's a keeper.
"Access Me" and "Cavern" are both a bit rough at the end of the set, but they sandwich a great "Divided Sky," so you won't hear me complaining. In all, a great set with a few legitimately interesting musical moments and a lot of energy.
The second set opens with a standard take on "KDF" that slams right into the intro riff to "Tweezer." And this "Tweezer" is an absolute monster. In a year that featured a lot of fantastic "Tweezer"s, including even one at Hampton, this one might be my favorite. It starts off in an unusually slow tempo, which makes the early jam's foray into murky, burbling funk even more rewarding. Trey latches on to a blocky riff, and eventually the band starts a vocal jam built around it! From there, Trey maintains the riff, but he and Mike switch to spacier tones, changing the jam space, oddly, without changing the notes that they're playing. The effect is great. Delay loops (and a bit of "Dave's Energy Guide") feature shortly thereafter, and the whole thing eventually collapses beautifully into an ambient space. But this isn't just any '09 ambient space; instead, it's anchored by some gorgeous melodic bass playing from Mike, followed closely by Trey, who interweaves his notes with Mike's brilliantly. There really isn't a dull moment in this thing's 16-minute run time, and in that it recalls '13-era jams more than '09. But I'm glad it's here. The "Caspian" that follows it is more straightforward than I would have preferred, coalescing out of the Tweeze-murk as it does. But it's alright.
The goofball highlight of the show comes in a "Jibboo" > "Wilson" -> "Jibboo" sandwich, which works more on audacity than on technical skill, but is still worth a listen for the uncharacteristic hard-rock "Jibboo" jam that eventually leads to the "Wilson" segue. "Jibboo" then ->s into "Heavy Things," which is an absolute '99-era barn-burner of a version. A surprisingly full "2001" and a standard-great "Slave" fill out the set. The "Jibboo" sandwich is a nice touch in this set, mixing some interesting jamming with straight-up goofiness. In any other set, it would seem a bit like a missed opportunity for a jaw-dropping segue, but following this "Tweezer," it hardly matters. The boys have already shown their chops, and they deserve to have a little fun.
"Sleeping Monkey" > "Tweeprise" close out the show.
Like I said above, there's a little bit of everything in this show. The first set is classic '09 first-set fare, and the second set is consistently good, and interesting. Tag on to that a great version of "Reba" and a legendary "Tweezer" and you've got a contender for the best show of late '09.
It's not my favorite of the year. It's not even my favorite of fall/NYE for sure, but it's one of the only late '09 shows I've heard so far (if not the only one) that's well-played throughout, features excellent song choices, willingness to push the edges of a jam, and a little Phish-y silliness all rolled into one. This kind of thing was coming along much more frequently than I expected during the summer and has now been coming along a lot less frequently than I expected during the fall. It's good to have a return to form, especially after the monumental bummer of 12/28.
The first frame is wall-to-wall goodness, and even manages to stretch beyond the usual set one limitations a bit. "Golgi" is a high energy opener that moves directly into "Maze," a surprise in the two-spot. This "Maze" is red-hot, especially Trey's sporadic, frenetic chording over Page's solo. "Driver" is a necessary cool-down after, and it's followed but a studio-perfect rendition of "The Connection." As I've mentioned before, I love me some live Undermind, and this scratches that itch with four or so minutes of precisely-played power-pop (alliteration!).
Next is a surprisingly-placed "Wolfman's" that slowly stretches toward a peak in the standard way, but with a little more fire than usual. At this point, for me, the energy was through the roof. So if there's one misstep in this set, it's the "Ocelot" that comes next. "Ocelot" already usually slows things down with its muddy, plodding tempo, but here, on the tails of an incendiary "Wolfman's," it's even more disappointing than usual. The boys are still exploring the song at this point, and Trey "whales" away on it for a few minutes before starting up "Reba."
"Reba" would be the show highlight were it not for the ridiculous "Tweezer" that comes along in the second set. This is my favorite "Reba" in awhile, and the only real memorable one I've heard so far in '09. It starts off with Trey soloing softly over really gorgeous flourishes from Page before building into a great melodic groove that features parallel playing from Trey and Page that produces a weird echo effect (forgive my lack of music theory knowledge). This lasts from about 9:00 to 10:30, and then we get a few minutes of building to a blistering peak. This one's a keeper.
"Access Me" and "Cavern" are both a bit rough at the end of the set, but they sandwich a great "Divided Sky," so you won't hear me complaining. In all, a great set with a few legitimately interesting musical moments and a lot of energy.
The second set opens with a standard take on "KDF" that slams right into the intro riff to "Tweezer." And this "Tweezer" is an absolute monster. In a year that featured a lot of fantastic "Tweezer"s, including even one at Hampton, this one might be my favorite. It starts off in an unusually slow tempo, which makes the early jam's foray into murky, burbling funk even more rewarding. Trey latches on to a blocky riff, and eventually the band starts a vocal jam built around it! From there, Trey maintains the riff, but he and Mike switch to spacier tones, changing the jam space, oddly, without changing the notes that they're playing. The effect is great. Delay loops (and a bit of "Dave's Energy Guide") feature shortly thereafter, and the whole thing eventually collapses beautifully into an ambient space. But this isn't just any '09 ambient space; instead, it's anchored by some gorgeous melodic bass playing from Mike, followed closely by Trey, who interweaves his notes with Mike's brilliantly. There really isn't a dull moment in this thing's 16-minute run time, and in that it recalls '13-era jams more than '09. But I'm glad it's here. The "Caspian" that follows it is more straightforward than I would have preferred, coalescing out of the Tweeze-murk as it does. But it's alright.
The goofball highlight of the show comes in a "Jibboo" > "Wilson" -> "Jibboo" sandwich, which works more on audacity than on technical skill, but is still worth a listen for the uncharacteristic hard-rock "Jibboo" jam that eventually leads to the "Wilson" segue. "Jibboo" then ->s into "Heavy Things," which is an absolute '99-era barn-burner of a version. A surprisingly full "2001" and a standard-great "Slave" fill out the set. The "Jibboo" sandwich is a nice touch in this set, mixing some interesting jamming with straight-up goofiness. In any other set, it would seem a bit like a missed opportunity for a jaw-dropping segue, but following this "Tweezer," it hardly matters. The boys have already shown their chops, and they deserve to have a little fun.
"Sleeping Monkey" > "Tweeprise" close out the show.
Like I said above, there's a little bit of everything in this show. The first set is classic '09 first-set fare, and the second set is consistently good, and interesting. Tag on to that a great version of "Reba" and a legendary "Tweezer" and you've got a contender for the best show of late '09.
Jan 21, 2014
2009-12-28 Miami I
A lot of real-world issues conspired to keep me away from concluding my reviews of fall tour '09 in a timely manner, but eventually I overcame all obstacles and plopped down in front of the Miami NYE run, the only time in the modern era the band has not played the last shows of the year at MSG. I was promptly greeted by a show, in 12/28, that was pretty underwhelming even by my already tepid fall '09 standards.
The show starts off promising enough, with a fiery "Sample" opener, followed by a high-energy "NICU" and a "My Soul" that is the most flawless take on the song that I've ever heard from the guys. Fourth is "Roggae," a song for which I'm pretty sure there is no bad version. Typically, I prefer a spacey and/or funky jam out of this song, and this one goes straight for the throat with big Trey-rock riffs, but there's nothing wrong with it if you're into that kind of thing. Average-great if you're not.
"Undermind" follows in the footsteps of the 11/29 version, with a big, chunky, clavinet-ful jam section. It's a bit shorter and a bit less inventive than its earlier cousin, but it fits well in the first half of this set. "Bouncing Around the Room" and "Poor Heart" are both great setlist choices in a set full of them, and they set up a long "Stash."
In a year full of great "Stash"s, this one just completely falls flat for me. It gets off to a good start, and at around 7:00 the jam moves into a neat, loop-filled space...but then it reverts back to the usual-type "Stash" jam. That is, until Trey just starts sort of hitting notes at random. This goes on for more or less the last four minutes of the jam, and while Mike tries to keep the madness boxed in with some clever basslines, it really doesn't help much. This is probably the most uncohesive, bizarre-sounding jam I've heard since I started listening to '09 tour, and it goes on way longer than it should have. This leads me to believe that maybe there's something to this jam that I'm just not hearing...but I've listened to it twice now and pretty much hated it both times. And it's not really a singular misfire, as this weirdness continues throughout the rest of the show.
The rest of the first set includes the final vacuum solo of the decade in "I Didn't Know," a "Beauty of a Broken Heart" that was clearly practiced during a band meeting that Trey wasn't invited to, and a standard "Possum." I love "BoaBH," but Trey absolutely mutilates this version. Between that and the "Stash" "jam," the second half of this set doesn't have much to recommend it, despite the strength of the first half.
The second set starts with a strong "Mike's" that features a dirtier-than-usual guitar tone from Trey and a > into "Light." The "Light" jam at first seems like it's going to go to the same random-notes place that the "Stash" jam visited previously, but at around 8:00, Trey finally gets into a groove and, chasing a fast, repetitive bass line from Mike, he helps string together a pretty interesting, minimalistically aggressive jam. The "Hydrogen" > "Groove" that follows doesn't blaze any new ground, but features Trey playing some pretty studio-flawless licks that is encouraging after the last 40 minutes or so of music.
There's not much to say about the middle of the set, but the "Makisupa" that kicks off the last third is a fun listen, with Trey putting Mike on the spot, which leads to a bass solo while the entire crowd chants "Mike! Mike! Mike!", then a "Mike's House" rap, and then, finally a clever key change that leads right into the "Hood" intro. The band follows up by playing a little bit with the usual "Hood" intro structure. The middle of the song veers a little too much into whale territory for my tastes, but it dissolves slowly into an ambient space that makes a nice, if odd > into "Contact."
Though it's nice to get a "First Tube" closer, it doesn't really lift what is for me a pretty unsatisfying show. Sure, the run of five or so songs that open the show flow really well and are a great set one listen, but when that's all you can say about a show, it's bound to be a bit disappointing. The "Mike's" > "Light" that opens the second set is interesting enough, but everything else is pretty standard. Pair that with some uncharacteristically shaky playing at random, surprisingly lengthy points throughout the show, and you'll be looking forward to 12/29 as a palate cleanser. I know I sure I am.
The show starts off promising enough, with a fiery "Sample" opener, followed by a high-energy "NICU" and a "My Soul" that is the most flawless take on the song that I've ever heard from the guys. Fourth is "Roggae," a song for which I'm pretty sure there is no bad version. Typically, I prefer a spacey and/or funky jam out of this song, and this one goes straight for the throat with big Trey-rock riffs, but there's nothing wrong with it if you're into that kind of thing. Average-great if you're not.
"Undermind" follows in the footsteps of the 11/29 version, with a big, chunky, clavinet-ful jam section. It's a bit shorter and a bit less inventive than its earlier cousin, but it fits well in the first half of this set. "Bouncing Around the Room" and "Poor Heart" are both great setlist choices in a set full of them, and they set up a long "Stash."
In a year full of great "Stash"s, this one just completely falls flat for me. It gets off to a good start, and at around 7:00 the jam moves into a neat, loop-filled space...but then it reverts back to the usual-type "Stash" jam. That is, until Trey just starts sort of hitting notes at random. This goes on for more or less the last four minutes of the jam, and while Mike tries to keep the madness boxed in with some clever basslines, it really doesn't help much. This is probably the most uncohesive, bizarre-sounding jam I've heard since I started listening to '09 tour, and it goes on way longer than it should have. This leads me to believe that maybe there's something to this jam that I'm just not hearing...but I've listened to it twice now and pretty much hated it both times. And it's not really a singular misfire, as this weirdness continues throughout the rest of the show.
The rest of the first set includes the final vacuum solo of the decade in "I Didn't Know," a "Beauty of a Broken Heart" that was clearly practiced during a band meeting that Trey wasn't invited to, and a standard "Possum." I love "BoaBH," but Trey absolutely mutilates this version. Between that and the "Stash" "jam," the second half of this set doesn't have much to recommend it, despite the strength of the first half.
The second set starts with a strong "Mike's" that features a dirtier-than-usual guitar tone from Trey and a > into "Light." The "Light" jam at first seems like it's going to go to the same random-notes place that the "Stash" jam visited previously, but at around 8:00, Trey finally gets into a groove and, chasing a fast, repetitive bass line from Mike, he helps string together a pretty interesting, minimalistically aggressive jam. The "Hydrogen" > "Groove" that follows doesn't blaze any new ground, but features Trey playing some pretty studio-flawless licks that is encouraging after the last 40 minutes or so of music.
There's not much to say about the middle of the set, but the "Makisupa" that kicks off the last third is a fun listen, with Trey putting Mike on the spot, which leads to a bass solo while the entire crowd chants "Mike! Mike! Mike!", then a "Mike's House" rap, and then, finally a clever key change that leads right into the "Hood" intro. The band follows up by playing a little bit with the usual "Hood" intro structure. The middle of the song veers a little too much into whale territory for my tastes, but it dissolves slowly into an ambient space that makes a nice, if odd > into "Contact."
Though it's nice to get a "First Tube" closer, it doesn't really lift what is for me a pretty unsatisfying show. Sure, the run of five or so songs that open the show flow really well and are a great set one listen, but when that's all you can say about a show, it's bound to be a bit disappointing. The "Mike's" > "Light" that opens the second set is interesting enough, but everything else is pretty standard. Pair that with some uncharacteristically shaky playing at random, surprisingly lengthy points throughout the show, and you'll be looking forward to 12/29 as a palate cleanser. I know I sure I am.
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