I've been sharing my ambivalence about fall tour '09 and the NYE run throughout my reviews, so I don't feel like it's really necessary to do much of an essay-form retrospective. Let's just say that I was surprised at how good summer '09 actually was, not just in the context of a band getting their footing after five years apart, but simply as a Phish summer tour compared against any other. There were goofy antics, unexpected segues, great jams, and of course technical prowess of the kind rarely seen since the 90s. I started this project as a bit of a joke to myself and 5-6 shows into tour, I'd created a blog and started tweeting based entirely on the strength of those shows and my resulting interest in hearing all of 2009 tour.
Well now I have, and I can truthfully say that my original enthusiasm only lasted about a third of the way into fall tour. It was in most ways a definite step back, save for a few outliers (11/20 S2, 11/28 S2, 12/4, 12/5, 12/29 and 12/30). Festival 8 was a great novelty, featuring an excellent cover and an amazingly engaging acoustic set, but it failed for the most part as a festival, the one situation in which Phish typically defies expectations by cutting loose in front of their die-hardest fans. What tricks there were were mostly stolen from summer '09, were retreads of already-explored territory. Most new innovation went awry, and by the end of the NYE run, I'd had much more than I'll ever need of jams that feature Type I guitar solos until the 9:00 or 9:30 mark, then segue into a few minutes of space-funk before dissolving into generic ambient textures.
It's certainly not like this part of the project was a total wash: this is still Phish, the songs are still great, and honestly some of the fall '09 setlists were the most ingenious I've ever seen just for sheer set construction. And these guys on their worst day are still better than any other band I've ever seen. But, after having my expectations transcended pretty dramatically in the summer, this was a bit of a let down. That said, I am looking forward to summer '10 and following the continued evolution of the band on a show-by-show basis.
And there were some highlights in fall tour, for sure. Like these, for instance...
10/30: The first night of Festival 8, the only Phish festival that's more about the novelty sets than the jamming. Features a typically great '09 "Stash," and a wonderful "Wolfman's" > "Piper," but is otherwise standard-good.
10/31: The highlight here is definitely the Exile set, especially the unexpected set-best "Ventilator Blues -> I Just Want To See His Face > Let It Loose." The first set is rough and the third isn't much better.
11/1: Definitely the highlight of Festival 8. The acoustic set necessitates the playing of some songs that rarely see the light of day normally, and there are a few stripped-down surprises like "The Curtain (With)" and "McGrupp." The rest of the day is average-great except for "Undermind" and "Light," which are just plain great-great.
11/18: Infectiously energetic show, but kept from being truly special by some weird setlist choices. Electric "Mountains in the Mist" and a plinko-y "46 Days" are the highlights of the first set. "Disease" features some interesting eastern inflections and other interesting jamming. Solid tour opener.
11/20: Show packed way too full of composed pieces, but there's a great "Tweezer" with a few distinct movements in its jam. In fact, the "Tweezer" > "Light" -> "Back On The Train" -> "Possum," "Slave To The Traffic Light," "You Enjoy Myself" run in this set is one of the better pieces of music these guys have put together throughout '09 and is pure Phish magic. With better setlist choices outside of the late second set, this would have been one of the '09 greats. As it is, it's still just below Albany and a few of the Miami shows when it comes to best-of fall.
11/21: In the running for my Least Interesting Show of 2009. Listen to the "Melt," though. It's a keeper.
11/22: If you're not burnt out on the typical "Rock > Space-Funk > Ambient Jam" style of '09 jamming yet, you'll like the "Drowned" > "Twist" > "Piper" > "BBFCFM." It was pretty stale to me, as was the rest of the show.
11/24: Average in the grand scheme of things, but better by far than the previous two nights. "Disease" is wonderfully weird, and there's a "Simple" > "Slave" > "Groove" run that ends with some 90s cowfunk jamming.
11/25: The second set is bogged down a little bit by the "YEM," "Esther," and "TTE" combination, but the "YEM" is great, and a weird, long, burbling "Birds" jam and a great arena-rock "Tweezer" round out the set nicely. We won't talk about the first set because there's not really anything to say.
11/27: Great setlist and excellent "song-based" playing. No jams to be found. Maybe they were storing them up for 11/28? Light has a neat, brief ambient space and "Piper" > "Tomorrow's Song" is worth a listen.
11/28: This show gets talked up, and rightly so, because of the "Seven Below" > "Ghost" combo. At around 40 minutes, it's goddamn amazing. And the "Melt" was a big part of '09 tour remaking me into a "Melt" believer. The rest of the show, though, is more of the boilerplate, jam-by-numbers stuff that I've been lamenting for most of the fall.
11/29: Interesting setlist (including "Crimes of the Mind" and a "Freebird," "Carini," "Waste" encore), but no real improv to speak of. The highlight of the show is probably a short first-set "Meat" that ends with a space jam instead of the usual funk vamp.
12/2: Features a really interesting, "Timber"-inflected "Light," as well as a satisfyingly rocked-out Type I "Tweezer," but otherwise doesn't break the usual "average-good" fall '09 mold.
12/3: Very up and down show, with a long trainwreck of a "Stash" jam in the first frame and a great, second-set "Disease" jam that creates an ambient-dissolve space that's still legitimately original and interesting after about fifty of them since Hampton. Otherwise, not much to write home about.
12/4: Consistently energetic, interesting show that despite lacking a marquee jam is one of the better all-around shows of the fall. The "YEM" has a multi-part (plinko, "Shafty" funk, etc.) jam that's worth a listen.
12/5: Similar to 12/4 in its consistency, but again there's little improv to speak of. Slow out of the gate but ultimately a very strong, Mike-driven first set. "Tweezer" -> "Light" > "Piper" -> "Free" is the highlight of set two, and maybe the post-Albany part of tour, but we also get a fiery "Antelope" later on, with antics that reference the streaker earlier on in the show.
12/28: Underwhelming even by fall '09 standards. Lots of mistakes, a disaster of a "Stash" jam, and all-around tepidness makes it a less-than-stellar start to the run. "Mike's" > "Light" is the only real highlight here.
12/29: Excellent combination of Phishy antics, great improv, excellent setlist choices, and all-around solid playing. "Reba" and "Tweezer" are probably best-of-year material. There's also a fun "Jibboo" > "Wilson" > "Jibboo" sandwich that features some heavy-metal "Jibboo" jamming.
12/30: Great highlights, but both sets sag pretty badly in the middle. First set with "Corrina" and "Dixie Cannonball," a standalone "WTU?" and a ridiculous "Bowie." The second set opens with a "Sand" that picks up right where the "Bowie" left off, and has as a centerpiece a fifteen minute long ambient "Back On The Train." Yeah, you read that right.
12/31: Like most NYE shows, this is more about quantity than quality. Early, extra-hot jukebox action leads to "Guyute," "Swept Away" > "Steep," and "Demand" > "Seven Below." "Piper" > "Simple" is probably the show highlight, followed closely by "Ghost" > "NO2."
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