This show reminds me a lot of Gorge I in 2011. The first 75% of that show was chock full of amazing moments that made it far and away my favorite Phish show I'd attended to that point (and it might still be my favorite). The final 25% of the show, though, was a solidly-played if boring set of songs that weren't at all bad but left a bad taste in my mouth, just because I kept thinking that if the guys had just managed to string 2-3 more great songs together, the show would have gone from being amazing to being One Of Those Shows.
After listening to SPAC I 2010, I feel the same way. This show starts off with one of the best first sets (if not the best first set) I've heard since before Hampton, flows into a great second set...and then just sort of peters out at the end. But it's still mostly awesome, and as a show in a tour that's so far been mostly about great setlist construction and consistency without major jams, it's even more epitomier than the last few (except the end, but I'll get to that).
The show starts off with "Tweeprise," an obvious reference to the previous night's two-fer encore. This seems to light a fire under the band, as they proceed to rip through "CDT," "Funky Bitch" > "Jim," "Ya Mar," "Sample," and "Axila I." None of these songs have any real surprises, but they're so solidly and confidently tossed off this part of the first set could just be a studio album, albeit with a "for newbs" theme.
This "Fluff" is not my favorite version: the composed section is mostly spot-on, but the jam just a little generic and the long song sort of takes some of the punch out of the set. Fortunately, the "Gin" that follows is a pitch-perfect Type I jam, switching things up just enough so that it's not just Trey soloing for eleven minutes, while maintaining the momentum and technical impressiveness that made the rest of the set so great. After my first listen, I called this one of the best Type I jams of 3.0 so far, and after a relisten, I'm sticking to it.
Perhaps sensing greatness, Page absolutely destroys the set-closing "Suzy," and Trey throws in a Judas Priest quote just for fun.
The second set opens with Rock and Roll, which quickly moves into a sinister, nearly ambient space, with Mike leading the way. The highlight of this jam is the point at which Fishman starts fading in and out repeatedly with a particularly "tribal"-sounding drum roll. It's a really neat effect. There's a lot more guitar looping and such here as well, and the whole thing seems like a natural evolution of the last few minutes of the Blossom "Number Line" jam. While it doesn't hang together quite as well as that jam, it's definitely the kind of sound I hope the band continues to explore throughout summer.
There's a pretty effective -> "Free" at the end of the song, and this is the band downshifting from jam territory back into slaying-the-hits territory. Again, it ain't a bad thing. "Free" is solid, "Number Line" features a "typical"-type jam with everyone firing on all cylinders, and then we get the debut of "Halfway To the Moon," a great Page song which I'd like live even more if Trey could ever figure out what to play in the background.
There's a neat little outro jam to "Halfway To the Moon" that reminds me of "Rift" a little (have they ever jammed on "Rift"?), but it segues into a "meh" version of "Caspian," and here's where the show starts to finally lose it's amazing momentum. I suppose that's to be expected when three of your four closing songs are "Caspian," "Joy," and "Show of Life." Arg. Fortunately, the penultimate song of the set is a face-destroying "Bowie" that starts off minimalist and sinister and hits its peak in a really 1.0 sort of way. There are a few distinct mini-sections to this jam, and they're all good. Highly recommended.
A three-song encore is something to write home about, I suppose, but "Coil" and "Zero" are just average-great. Of course, the closing "Tweeprise" (as opposed to the opening one) is fun, and a nice way to bookend what is largely a fantastically energetic show that anyone but the direst jam-hounds will love.
Mar 25, 2014
Mar 20, 2014
2010-06-18 Hartford II
If 6/17 was a step in the right direction when it comes to solid first-set construction, 6/18 knocks the ball out of the park. It's a different beast, for sure: where 6/17 was a triumph of quirky set construction, 6/18 is a greatest-hits set on steroids. But it still works very, very well. In fact, the first set is probably (again) the best part of this show. Unless you like "Billy Breathes." But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The first set kicks off with the old-school pairing of "Fee" > "Rift." "Rift" is a bit rough, but both songs feature above-average playing from Page especially. "Wolfman's" goes deeper than you might expect in the three-spot, with Mike burbling underneath Trey's funk-note-spray for a few particularly entertaining minutes. This is an exemplary first-set version. Nothing Type II here, but about as platonic Phish-funk as you can get.
"Summer of '89" is a really adorable song and actually featured a really neat little jam that was by turns similar to a "Water in the Sky" jam and a jazz-style thing that would have been at home on Round Room. But I have a feeling most Phish fans probably hate it because there are lyrics about feelings.
Like "Fee" > "Rift," "Foam," "Possum" is a particularly old-school pairing; there's something about the way these two are played (especially Trey's solos on "Possum") that recalls '93 to me. Anyway, it's good stuff.
"Julius" and "Cavern" are average-great, but they sandwich a weird "Reba," which is likely someone's Favorite of Ever because it's so peculiar. It's not my bag, really: it features a lot of tasteful use of the whale pedal, but maybe a little too much, and the "peak" is not so much a peak as it is a coast up to the top of a shallow hill. That said, like the rest of the first set, it's played with precision and swagger.
Set two kicks off with a standard-but-welcome "Halley's" which gets a full-band butt-slam into "Light" all of a sudden. This isn't a bad thing, by any means; "Light" gets off to a heavy, rocking start and never really lets up until the 9:00 mark, when it dissolves into space, setting up a perfect segue into "Billy Breathes."
"Billy Breathes" is one of my favorites, and I've never heard a live version match the aural perfection of the studio recording...but this one comes the closest, by far. It's excellent, and Trey replicates his fantastic solo from the album note-for-note.
This is definitely the show highlight for me, but the "Tweezer" that follows is typically solid, as well. This jam runs from a Trey-riff led funk space (starting at 6:00) to a mad cacophony of guitar loops and other effects which is one of the flat-out strangest things I've heard the band do with the song in awhile (from the 10:00 mark up till 13:00 or so). The last few minutes is yet another ambient fade-out, but the space here has a lot more in common with "real" ambient electronica and sounds a lot less "let's make sounds until we figure out what to do next." The burbling closing dissolves eventually into a > "Theme."
"Theme" is flubby as all hell, especially on Trey's part, but he also (maybe as as a result of the flubbing?) takes a unique tack with the outro solo, distorting his tone much more than usual. The "Hood" that follows is a slow-burner, but the peak is worth the journey as Trey hits on a particularly catchy riff and then rides it to the climax, then there's a neat solo Page > "Wading." I thought Trey's "Wading" solo was above average, and while "Stealing Time" initially seemed like an odd choice for a closer, this version gets shredded to pieces.
And it's...not...over! After the "Sleeping Monkey" encore, we get not one, but two "Tweeprise" encores. One is apparently to make up for the lack of "Tweeprise" at the Hersheypark show. The second gets a bit silly (see video), but it's still both hilarious and a fitting end to an already rocked-out show.
This is about as good as a 3.0 show can get without any real marquee jam. I mean, the "Tweezer" is definitely within the ranks of all the excellent "Tweezer"s we've seen since Hampton, but it's not really near the top. However, it and the rest of the show is consistently clever, well-paced, and well-played. If 6/17 was a show that failed partially because it was a Trey-heavy show that Trey had trouble following through on, 6/18 is a show where he delivers in spades. Anyway, this is one of the more impressive two-show runs the band has strung together in awhile, and I'm looking forward to hearing what's next.
The first set kicks off with the old-school pairing of "Fee" > "Rift." "Rift" is a bit rough, but both songs feature above-average playing from Page especially. "Wolfman's" goes deeper than you might expect in the three-spot, with Mike burbling underneath Trey's funk-note-spray for a few particularly entertaining minutes. This is an exemplary first-set version. Nothing Type II here, but about as platonic Phish-funk as you can get.
"Summer of '89" is a really adorable song and actually featured a really neat little jam that was by turns similar to a "Water in the Sky" jam and a jazz-style thing that would have been at home on Round Room. But I have a feeling most Phish fans probably hate it because there are lyrics about feelings.
Like "Fee" > "Rift," "Foam," "Possum" is a particularly old-school pairing; there's something about the way these two are played (especially Trey's solos on "Possum") that recalls '93 to me. Anyway, it's good stuff.
"Julius" and "Cavern" are average-great, but they sandwich a weird "Reba," which is likely someone's Favorite of Ever because it's so peculiar. It's not my bag, really: it features a lot of tasteful use of the whale pedal, but maybe a little too much, and the "peak" is not so much a peak as it is a coast up to the top of a shallow hill. That said, like the rest of the first set, it's played with precision and swagger.
Set two kicks off with a standard-but-welcome "Halley's" which gets a full-band butt-slam into "Light" all of a sudden. This isn't a bad thing, by any means; "Light" gets off to a heavy, rocking start and never really lets up until the 9:00 mark, when it dissolves into space, setting up a perfect segue into "Billy Breathes."
"Billy Breathes" is one of my favorites, and I've never heard a live version match the aural perfection of the studio recording...but this one comes the closest, by far. It's excellent, and Trey replicates his fantastic solo from the album note-for-note.
This is definitely the show highlight for me, but the "Tweezer" that follows is typically solid, as well. This jam runs from a Trey-riff led funk space (starting at 6:00) to a mad cacophony of guitar loops and other effects which is one of the flat-out strangest things I've heard the band do with the song in awhile (from the 10:00 mark up till 13:00 or so). The last few minutes is yet another ambient fade-out, but the space here has a lot more in common with "real" ambient electronica and sounds a lot less "let's make sounds until we figure out what to do next." The burbling closing dissolves eventually into a > "Theme."
"Theme" is flubby as all hell, especially on Trey's part, but he also (maybe as as a result of the flubbing?) takes a unique tack with the outro solo, distorting his tone much more than usual. The "Hood" that follows is a slow-burner, but the peak is worth the journey as Trey hits on a particularly catchy riff and then rides it to the climax, then there's a neat solo Page > "Wading." I thought Trey's "Wading" solo was above average, and while "Stealing Time" initially seemed like an odd choice for a closer, this version gets shredded to pieces.
And it's...not...over! After the "Sleeping Monkey" encore, we get not one, but two "Tweeprise" encores. One is apparently to make up for the lack of "Tweeprise" at the Hersheypark show. The second gets a bit silly (see video), but it's still both hilarious and a fitting end to an already rocked-out show.
This is about as good as a 3.0 show can get without any real marquee jam. I mean, the "Tweezer" is definitely within the ranks of all the excellent "Tweezer"s we've seen since Hampton, but it's not really near the top. However, it and the rest of the show is consistently clever, well-paced, and well-played. If 6/17 was a show that failed partially because it was a Trey-heavy show that Trey had trouble following through on, 6/18 is a show where he delivers in spades. Anyway, this is one of the more impressive two-show runs the band has strung together in awhile, and I'm looking forward to hearing what's next.
Mar 17, 2014
2010-06-17 Hartford I
6/17 is a marked improvement over 6/15, but it lacks a bit in consistency that makes it one of those odd shows where the first set is more satisfying than the second.
The show starts promisingly enough, with a flaming-hot "PYITE" into an "Ocelot" that even I actually like. This "Ocelot" is a little swankier than usual, a little slower (maybe?) and a little more Mike-powered. Trey's use of the whale here is, right at the start of the show, a lot more restrained and clever than it has been in earlier 2010 shows, and that makes a huge difference.
"Dinner and a Movie" keeps the early momentum rolling, straight into another epic "Stash." This one is a little rough through the composed section, but the jam starts off with a great back-and-forth between Trey and Page before blossoming into a slowly-building, tension-y affair that has more in common with most "Melt" jams than with "Stash."
Things slow down a bit (out of necessity) with "Esther," but we're right back on the train (so to speak) with "Walk Away." Trey absolutely decimates this version, and if you miss old-school Trey Shredzzz, I suggest you make with the clickety click right away to give it a listen. "Divided Sky" is absolutely on point, and "Walk Away" Trey comes back immediately during the outro jam, bringing his biggest rock and roll guns to bear.
"Sugar Shack" is a rare clean version, and then the rock madness continues into a best-of rock 'n' roll "Alaska" > "Golgi."
This first set is actually one of my favorites in a long time, despite the not-so-favorite song choices. It's high-energy, there's a more-than-reasonable amount of improv for a first set, and there aren't many of the typical 3.0 S1 standbys getting trotted out. This is, though, a really Trey-dominated set, and the downside of this is that when Trey's not on, the music suffers. This doesn't happen much in the first set, and so it's quite the outing. The second set, though, is a different story.
It's not even that Trey's playing during the second set is bad in any substantive way; it's just that at this point in the show it's pretty clear that the band has given him the reins, and so when he eventually wanders off course, it's all the more obvious. "Party Time" is just a mess, and while "Disease" is long, it's pretty much the standard Composition > Type I Rock > Space-Funk > Type I Rock > Ambient Jam template that we've been seeing again and again since Hampton. This particular take on the trope is rollicking, for sure, but we've all heard it before.
"Sand," on the other hand, is a different beast. This is a multisectional beast in the best tradition of more recent 3.0 jams, and while it isn't as coherent as some of the best jams of '12 and '13, it's definitely a prototype of that sort of space. You should check it out immediately if you want to hear some of the roots of 2013 jamming.
After the "Sand," though, the consistency flags a bit as Trey can't carry the entirety of the show's momentum himself. There's a clever segue (ripcord?) > "The Horse" from "Sand," wherein Trey starts up "The Horse" while Fishman continues to play the "Sand" beat underneath, but "Silent" is a rough take, "Guyute" has seen better days, and the closing "Mike's Groove" is absolutely standard. The one real standout in the back half of the second set is the "Farmhouse," which features a sort-of-jazz outro jam that sees some more clever, restrained use of the whale pedal.
This show isn't quite as consistent as 6/15, but the first set is a capital-s Scorcher, and there's a marquee jam in "Sand" (and one, arguably, in "Disease," though I wouldn't say so), and that makes up for a lot. Looking forward to the second show in the run.
The show starts promisingly enough, with a flaming-hot "PYITE" into an "Ocelot" that even I actually like. This "Ocelot" is a little swankier than usual, a little slower (maybe?) and a little more Mike-powered. Trey's use of the whale here is, right at the start of the show, a lot more restrained and clever than it has been in earlier 2010 shows, and that makes a huge difference.
"Dinner and a Movie" keeps the early momentum rolling, straight into another epic "Stash." This one is a little rough through the composed section, but the jam starts off with a great back-and-forth between Trey and Page before blossoming into a slowly-building, tension-y affair that has more in common with most "Melt" jams than with "Stash."
Things slow down a bit (out of necessity) with "Esther," but we're right back on the train (so to speak) with "Walk Away." Trey absolutely decimates this version, and if you miss old-school Trey Shredzzz, I suggest you make with the clickety click right away to give it a listen. "Divided Sky" is absolutely on point, and "Walk Away" Trey comes back immediately during the outro jam, bringing his biggest rock and roll guns to bear.
"Sugar Shack" is a rare clean version, and then the rock madness continues into a best-of rock 'n' roll "Alaska" > "Golgi."
This first set is actually one of my favorites in a long time, despite the not-so-favorite song choices. It's high-energy, there's a more-than-reasonable amount of improv for a first set, and there aren't many of the typical 3.0 S1 standbys getting trotted out. This is, though, a really Trey-dominated set, and the downside of this is that when Trey's not on, the music suffers. This doesn't happen much in the first set, and so it's quite the outing. The second set, though, is a different story.
It's not even that Trey's playing during the second set is bad in any substantive way; it's just that at this point in the show it's pretty clear that the band has given him the reins, and so when he eventually wanders off course, it's all the more obvious. "Party Time" is just a mess, and while "Disease" is long, it's pretty much the standard Composition > Type I Rock > Space-Funk > Type I Rock > Ambient Jam template that we've been seeing again and again since Hampton. This particular take on the trope is rollicking, for sure, but we've all heard it before.
"Sand," on the other hand, is a different beast. This is a multisectional beast in the best tradition of more recent 3.0 jams, and while it isn't as coherent as some of the best jams of '12 and '13, it's definitely a prototype of that sort of space. You should check it out immediately if you want to hear some of the roots of 2013 jamming.
After the "Sand," though, the consistency flags a bit as Trey can't carry the entirety of the show's momentum himself. There's a clever segue (ripcord?) > "The Horse" from "Sand," wherein Trey starts up "The Horse" while Fishman continues to play the "Sand" beat underneath, but "Silent" is a rough take, "Guyute" has seen better days, and the closing "Mike's Groove" is absolutely standard. The one real standout in the back half of the second set is the "Farmhouse," which features a sort-of-jazz outro jam that sees some more clever, restrained use of the whale pedal.
This show isn't quite as consistent as 6/15, but the first set is a capital-s Scorcher, and there's a marquee jam in "Sand" (and one, arguably, in "Disease," though I wouldn't say so), and that makes up for a lot. Looking forward to the second show in the run.
Mar 11, 2014
2010-06-15 Portsmouth
So, here we are. The first Phish show of 2010 that definitely ranks below "average-great" status.
I feel a little bad writing that, because pretty much all of this show, save for a pretty badly-botched debut of Mike's "Idea," is really solidly-played. But it's also the most jamless show that I can remember since...well, since I started listening to 3.0 with Hampton last year, honestly. So, then, while it's not a bad show, per se, there's absolutely nothing to recommend it out of the piles of shows I've listened to so far, let alone the vast majority of 2010 shows yet to come.
We start off with a fan-requested "Tube," and it's a screamer (pun intended) compared to most versions: a bit longer and a bit hotter. "Slave" is a huge surprise as the third song of the night, and this version features a more patient build than usual (especially considering it's still early S1) as well as a machine-gun Trey peak that's evocative of an earlier era (choose your favorite).
The middle of the set is pretty straightforward after this, except for a "Bag" that has the odd trifecta of a Mike-funk breakdown, a drum solo from Fish, and then a weird outro jam led by Trey. For oddity's sake if nothing else, you should give this a listen.
"Moma" is its usual sexy self and "Cold Water" is neat, if flubby, if you like the song. If not, there's nothing else worth much mention in S1 except for "Gin," which clocks in at 13 minutes and, much like "Bag" is at the very least weird if not good. It's a standard "Gin" jam until about the 8:00 mark, when Trey locks onto a weird circular riff and Fishman takes off with him. Mike and Page, oddly enough, stay firmly in the typical "Gin" space while Trey plays some majorly high-octave strangeness for a few minutes...but then finally succumbs to everyone else's lack of interest and peaks out again (like in the "Slave" earlier). In the context of a "slim pickins" sort of show, this "Gin" is a pretty neat surprise, but that's about all you're gonna get for the rest of the show.
The second set has an absolutely rocking "Wilson" and "46 Days," with a noodly "Seven Below" sandwiched between. This segment is pure, if totally straightforward, Phish. Trey's soloing is spot-on, and the shredding peaks continue to be above and beyond the usual 3.0 fare. I really like this run of songs for that, but again, if you're looking for jams, you're just not going to find them.
"Idea" is a nice setlist surprise, but as per usual, it sounds like Trey (and to a lesser extent, Page) hasn't been practicing. There's a short little outro jam that adds a bit to the song, but the first four minutes are hard to get through before you get there.
I feel totally lazy writing this, but honestly the rest of the show is pretty much what it looks like on paper. "Simple" has a nice little jam, but it's the same as 95% of all "Simple" jams, and the segue into "Joy" really sucks the air out of the set. There's a clever, Page-only > "ADITL" out of "Theme," but neither of the songs proper are exceptional versions.
This is probably the most boring review I've yet written. Sorry about that.
I'll say again, though, that this is a well-played show with some clever setlist construction, but as far as jams you can write a paragraph about? Nothing doing.
Comcast is next!
I feel a little bad writing that, because pretty much all of this show, save for a pretty badly-botched debut of Mike's "Idea," is really solidly-played. But it's also the most jamless show that I can remember since...well, since I started listening to 3.0 with Hampton last year, honestly. So, then, while it's not a bad show, per se, there's absolutely nothing to recommend it out of the piles of shows I've listened to so far, let alone the vast majority of 2010 shows yet to come.
We start off with a fan-requested "Tube," and it's a screamer (pun intended) compared to most versions: a bit longer and a bit hotter. "Slave" is a huge surprise as the third song of the night, and this version features a more patient build than usual (especially considering it's still early S1) as well as a machine-gun Trey peak that's evocative of an earlier era (choose your favorite).
The middle of the set is pretty straightforward after this, except for a "Bag" that has the odd trifecta of a Mike-funk breakdown, a drum solo from Fish, and then a weird outro jam led by Trey. For oddity's sake if nothing else, you should give this a listen.
"Moma" is its usual sexy self and "Cold Water" is neat, if flubby, if you like the song. If not, there's nothing else worth much mention in S1 except for "Gin," which clocks in at 13 minutes and, much like "Bag" is at the very least weird if not good. It's a standard "Gin" jam until about the 8:00 mark, when Trey locks onto a weird circular riff and Fishman takes off with him. Mike and Page, oddly enough, stay firmly in the typical "Gin" space while Trey plays some majorly high-octave strangeness for a few minutes...but then finally succumbs to everyone else's lack of interest and peaks out again (like in the "Slave" earlier). In the context of a "slim pickins" sort of show, this "Gin" is a pretty neat surprise, but that's about all you're gonna get for the rest of the show.
The second set has an absolutely rocking "Wilson" and "46 Days," with a noodly "Seven Below" sandwiched between. This segment is pure, if totally straightforward, Phish. Trey's soloing is spot-on, and the shredding peaks continue to be above and beyond the usual 3.0 fare. I really like this run of songs for that, but again, if you're looking for jams, you're just not going to find them.
"Idea" is a nice setlist surprise, but as per usual, it sounds like Trey (and to a lesser extent, Page) hasn't been practicing. There's a short little outro jam that adds a bit to the song, but the first four minutes are hard to get through before you get there.
I feel totally lazy writing this, but honestly the rest of the show is pretty much what it looks like on paper. "Simple" has a nice little jam, but it's the same as 95% of all "Simple" jams, and the segue into "Joy" really sucks the air out of the set. There's a clever, Page-only > "ADITL" out of "Theme," but neither of the songs proper are exceptional versions.
This is probably the most boring review I've yet written. Sorry about that.
I'll say again, though, that this is a well-played show with some clever setlist construction, but as far as jams you can write a paragraph about? Nothing doing.
Comcast is next!
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