2010-06-26 MPP I

So, things have finally begun to take a bit of a turn, it seems.

Even though I could easily list, say, five or ten shows from summer '09 that are better than anything so far in summer '10, this run got off to a great start with Toyota Park and Blossom...now, a few weeks later, this is the first show that I would consider placing with the best of summer '09. I actually just finished listening to 6/27, and in some ways it's even better, but this is a good start down the path toward a Phish that it's possible to listen to for nine hours a week without zoning out in boredom, which is something that I've been doing a lot lately.

The first MPP show kicks off with a great summer-on-the-lawn combo of "Crowd Control," a scorching "KDF," and "Bag." Then Trey struggles his usual struggly way through "Sugar Shack." But the rest of the set is back to the usual solidly-played, very-slightly-unpredictable but well-plotted S1 that we've been hearing for most of the tour. "Tube" gets played by massive, loud audience request, then we get a neat cover of "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" complete with Mike-bass waltz outro jam. "Stash" continues to be a first-set standout, as this version is all energy, a hectic movement from tension-building whale > tension-building shredding > great peak back into the main riff. If you like your "Stash"s hot instead of spacey, you could definitely do worse than this version.

At this point in the set, Trey's rock-shredding ability is really on-point, and it carries the band through great versions of "Number Line" and "46 Days" as well. "Suzy" tops off the set.

The S2-opening "Rock and Roll" goes deep in a big way, matching and then improving on last night's "Chalkdust" by having more distinct sections and smoother transitions. The first ten or so minutes is yet more Trey Shredz action, but then we quickly drop into a spacey, ambient-type jam that actually doesn't lead immediately into the next song. Mike leads the band in a bit of circular-riff calisthenics that terminates in a brief wall of organ noise from Page and then Trey leading everyone to funk-town with a catchy riff. The song eventually culminates in a brief but very dark jam space, before Trey starts up the opening to "Free." This is easily one of the best jams of the year so far, beaten out maybe by the 6/11 "Ghost."

The "Free" itself is the typical 3.0 Mike-based version, and then there's a surprise when "FEFY" rears its mellow, gorgeous head. This version features an extended outro solo that recalls '94-era Trey-ballad-soloing, but then there's a > "Sparkle" to reinforce the old schoolness.

Mid-set we get the best surprise of all surprises: a 15-minute "Tweezer"! The first half of the jam is whale-inflected funk, but then there's a really interesting space wherein Mike and Page handle all of the melodic duties while Trey just builds a huge wall of noise from pedals and effects. The effect is a very tension-heavy "Tweezer," which keeps the '94 vibe of this set rolling in an awesome way. Trey picks out the opening notes to "The Horse" through the feedback of the "Tweezer" jam, and we're off to "Silent in the Morning."

So yeah. Basically, if you miss old school Phish, then this set is the best set of the year so far.

Lest you think the set is over, though, there's still a strong "Wolfman's" > "Slave" pairing to go, and then "Tweeprise" as the set-ender instead of the encore.

The encore itself is the frustrating combination of "Show of Life" > "Good Times," but it really doesn't matter at this point. Taking into consideration my bias toward Blossom as it was my third Phish show, this is, to the objective part of my brain, the first "real" Phish show of the year. And 6/27 ain't bad, either. Suddenly I'm looking forward to the rest of tour, and not just trying to rush to Leg 2...

2010-06-25 Camden II

If Camden I was the epitome of the consistently-good-but-sort-of-boring show that Phish has been playing for the last eight nights, Camden II is the band finally slipping out of that pleasantly plain rut and finally reaching for some new territory. The experiment isn't a complete success, but just the fact that there is an experiment is enough for me at this point.

The first set is a weird one, half great old songs ("Alumni" > "Letter To Jimmy Page" > "Alumni," "BBFCFM," "Jim," "SOAM," "The Sloth" and "Golgi"), one-third new songs ("Summer of '89," "Army of One," "TTE," and "Free Man in Paris"). It's almost all good, save for the usual "TTE" doldrums and some serious sloppiness from Trey on "Army of One," but it's just a strange mix of songs, especially since the guys have been totally nailing it lately when it comes to setlist-building. Personally, I like it, but the lack of a consistent pace might be a point against it for some listeners.

Phish - 6/25/10 "Alumni Blues > Letter To Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues" from Phish on Vimeo.

For me, the first half of the set is just fantastic, while "Free Man" is a surprisingly well-done cover and features a little outro jam. "Summer of '89" is really growing on me as a well-done, slow-down, summer-ballad kind of song, and the "SOAM," in the midst of a setlist that mostly recalls the mid-90s, is played like a version from that era.

If the first set exceeded the low(ish) expectations I had after glancing at the setlist, though, the second set fell quite a bit short of what I was hoping to hear. This set's been talked up to me a number of times, and with a Michael Jackson seguefest strung throughout "2001" and a 17 minute "CDT" (one of my favorite jam vehicles; see Dick's this year and Brooklyn '04, for example), it seemed like an easy favorite.

While the "Chalkdust" definitely has length going for it, it seemed to be lacking the intention of the best Phish long-jams. There are a lot of sections in this jam, including a whale-based "Light"-type jam, a guitar loop jam, a section that contains probably the weirdest collection of tones I've ever heard the band play together, a reverb-rock section, a funk section, and a Mike-led softer section...but there's nothing really to connect them. Each of these parts are neat little spaces by themselves, but the jam as a whole sounds like the band jumping from idea to idea, abandoning each one as it sinks beneath their feet. The way this tour's been going so far, improv-wise, I hesitate to criticize some actual experimentation and I'm honestly really glad to hear it at all. But this isn't the greatest 17 minutes of Phish you're going to hear.

Phish - 6/25/10 "Chalk Dust Torture" from Phish on Vimeo.

Trey propels everyone through super-short versions of "Caspian" and "Heavy Things" next, as if he's got a schedule to keep and that 17 minute jam put him behind. But then it's actually "Alaska," of all songs, that pushes the band back into WeirdLand. Trey uses the whale pedal extensively at the end of an better-than-average rock jam, causing the whole band to dial down the tempo and move into a gooey, dark space that turns into "2001" very organically.

The much-vaunted MJ sequence that pops up here seems like sort of a "You had to be there" moment. Sure, it's clever to weave bits of "Thriller," "Billy Jean," and "Wanna Be Startin' Something" into "2001," but this is more a Wacky Phish Moment than a Major Jam Moment. Trey doesn't know the words to "Billy Jean" or really the main riff to "Thriller," but damn if he doesn't try them anyway. The entire thing is sort of awkward and fun, which in a way is part of the point of Phish, but definitely don't come here for any sort of musical virtuosity.

Fortunately, the improv part of the show continues with a short-but-brilliant "Light" that quickly moves into a circular-riff jam before dissolving into a robotic-sounding space reminiscent of the weird "Psycho Killer"/"Pong" thing from '09. The remainder of the show is perfectly serviceable rock and roll from there, though.

In all, this show gets more points for style than for execution, but there are a few truly brilliant moments (in the "Chalkdust," in Mike kicking into the bass riff from "Billie Jean," in "Light") worth listening to. Hopefully this is the sound of the band breaking out of the mold a bit going into the last leg of Summer I.

2010-06-24 Camden I

As I said in my show wrap-up tweet for this show: "Just when I think Phish can't get any better at playing a great, fun, totally jamless rock show, they do." I've been slowly and repetitively documenting this long string of shows that has highlighted the band's ability to weave a bunch of fun, well-played songs into the quintessential "average-great" summer show ever since Blossom, and with the first night in Camden, they hit a new high in this regard. The downside is, of course, that there's nothing at all here to sink your teeth into, and after about five or six shows like this, it gets a bit "been there, done that." That they're consistently getting better at playing this kind of show is, I suppose, a lot less exciting to experience sitting at home four years later than it was out on the lawns as it was happening.

Anyway, Camden I kicks off with "Bowie," an early sign that maybe tonight is going to be different (it's not). Though the "Bowie" would be a standard version late in a second set, as an opener it's technically precise and is delivered with much more heat than you'd expect. "Stealing Time" is standard, but "Water in the Sky" and "Ocelot" both deviate successfully from their usual mini-jam templates, with whale-laden and blues-rock-laden jams, respectively. "Uncle Pen" is my favorite Phish bluegrass cover, and though this version is extra sloppy, it's still a welcome sight in the setlist.

The high-energy combo of "Boogie On" and "Gumbo" is pure summer, but then things finally get mildly interesting with "Timber," of all songs. Trey uses the whale to excellent effect again, here, and Page backs him up with some overlaid synth that lends this jam a much spacier and more angular sound than usual. Highly recommended.

"I Didn't Know" gave me the opportunity to tweet "Timber was REALLY good. Now Fishman attempts to put a curse on the Flyers through his I Didn't Know vacuum solo. In a good way," which I guess is a good thing. The crowd then begins to chant "Let's go Flyers!" over the vacuum solo, and hilarity ensues.

Standard takes on "Birds," "Bouncing," and "Reba" round out the set...but wait! There's a cover of Zeppelin's non-radio-hit "The Rover" out of the blue! And it's damn good, too!

Normally any S2 that started with "Disease" -> "Crosseyed" is going to make me squeal with delight, but this ain't 2013 (or even 2012, or 1998) here, folks. Both songs are long, sure, but they're each typical Type I soloing until the final minute or two when there's a clever but too-short transition into a different type of jam space. "Disease" dissolves into a funk jam that sounds like it's certain to turn into "Ghost" before a great segue into "Crosseyed," which melts into drone-space in turn before...Trey chops out the chords to "Nothing" out of nowhere. Now, I really like "Nothing," as it always seems to summon Trey's inner melodic solo-master. But...jeez. We're not talking Gorge '13 > "Roggae" level ripcording here, but it's awkward and frustrating to hear.

Fortunately, "Twenty Years" and "Hood" make up for this less-than-thrilling set opening, at least a bit. "Twenty Years" is maybe the jam highlight of the night, with another Oysterhead-y section kicking off around 6:00 and then a build-up of static with a bunch of quick bass runs bouncing along over top of it. It doesn't last long, but it's a really great moment (or two) before Fish starts up the "Hood" intro.

There's nothing about this "Hood" that's going to change the world, but it's got a nice, patient build into an extended climax that features both flawless machine-gun Trey and flawless whale-pedal Trey. So if you like "Hood"s, you should probably check it out.

After this, we wind to a stop. It seems funny to say "wind to a stop" when the set closes with "Fluff" > "Julius," "YEM," but that's what it feels like. I'm sure this was/is somebody's ideal S2 conclusion, and live it probably played beautifully. But on tape, for me, it's wrapping up over a week of improvless shows with 40-45 more minutes of heavily scripted playing. I hate to be all grouchy, but I could do with a 17-minute "CDT" right about now (foreshadowing!).

2010-06-22 Mansfield

Two reviews in one day! As if my reviews of Summer '10 weren't already getting repetitive.

Anyway, 6/22 is a bit of an improvement on the run of shows pretty much since Blossom that haven't had much to recommend them except really consistently solid playing and brilliant setlist construction. Of course, since we're talking Phish here, the "except" there should probably be in quotes. None of the shows have been bad, but they've been largely similar and predictable. Mansfield starts to change that, a lit o bit (ha!), but we've still got a ways to go until we're reaching the heights of Summer '09 here.

So, "Lit O Bit" is the cover du jour, and it serves as the opener. This cover actually suits Phish quite well, and though they have a little difficult with it on its first time out, it could be a regular-rotation song and fit right in, methinks. "Camel Walk" falls neatly into the two-slot, seeming like a natural extension of the opener, and then a perfect summer-on-the-lawn version of "Possum" rounds out the first three songs.

The guys bring out the big guns next, with "Divided Sky," but aside from the early-set surprise, there's nothing to really recommend this particular version. Things get a little weirder after that, with a "Dirt" that features a brief but ethereal outro jam and the second "Sample" in a row that out-rocks any standard version by a large margin. "KDF" is a slightly extended version that really briefly takes a foray into spacey territory (literally, for about 20 seconds or so) before exploding into another of what's becoming a huge pile of satisfying Trey-Rock-God guitar peaks so far in this tour. It's like the whale and the shredding somehow feed off of each other, man.

"Dr. Gabel" is an interesting song, with surprisingly confessional-sounding lyrics and a catch (to me) verse melody. The chorus could use some work, but it seems like the song got shelved after this playthrough. Sort of sad. I really like what Page is playing throughout the last few minutes of the song as well. We close S1 with "Antelope," which has by this point settled into a by-the-book set-closing template of sorts and, while spot-on, doesn't capture the pure fury a lot of the Summer '09 versions had.

"Mike's Groove" is a welcome start to the second set, even if this is about as standard a take on the song sequence as you can get. I've really liked the reliance on the old-school "Hydrogen" sandwich in the last few playthroughs of this suite of songs, and this one sticks to it.

The one real point of interest in this show (and the one thing that makes it stand out a bit from the previous few nights) starts next. The increasingly-rare "Sally" is always a welcome setlist addition, and this version gets extended to about ten minutes, featuring a sort-of plinko space for the jam, which sets up a clever segue into "Light." The build to this segue is pretty obvious and satisfying, and Trey sort of hams it up by slamming out the chords a bit early, but hey, at this point my bar is a bit lower than usual, so I'm happy. "Light" itself is a pretty standard take on the song, all Trey runs that don't really string together or build toward anything, but sound Pretty Cool nonetheless. Slather on a little bit of the whale and you're good to go.

Toward the end of the short jam, the band takes a turn for the dark except for Page, who stays on a brighter-sounding, almost circus-y organ tone, creating a creepy effect. From this space emerges a really slow and brilliant segue into "46 Days," which features a short Type I and then a vocal outro jam that's got a sort of soul/R&B vibe. Honestly, aside from the surprise vocal jam, none of these three little jams blew me out of the water, but the confidence with which they're strung together and the segues themselves make up for a lot.

The guys shift back into a lower gear for the rest of the show after this, though: standard takes on "LxL," "Golgi," and "Slave" before a better-than-average version of "Loving Cup." Once again, we get a "First Tube" closer, but it doesn't feel deserved this time; rather than feeling like the capping off of an excellent show, it made me think "Where was this band for most of the second set?"

Overall, a little cleverness is starting to seep through the edges in this show, but the name of the game is still Consistency.

2010-06-20 SPAC II

As summer '10 continues on, I've realized I'm starting to think of the three major Phish tours I've listened to as a result of this project in distinctly different ways. If I was to describe each tour in an appropriate tweet-size sentence, they would go something like this:

Summer '09: Inconsistent setlists, sloppy playing, but with big jams.
Fall '09: Better but not great setlists, pretty consistent playing, but with no jamming.
Summer '10: Very well-constructed setlists, spot-on playing, but no sign of the jams.

SPAC II just reinforces this summary, really. The first half of S1 is just a fantastic run of songs, but there's nothing really to write about if you've heard any of these songs before. "Brother" functions well as a fun opening number, "Bag" > "Back on the Train" is a solid pairing, and "Undermind" and "Cities" are both great S1 songs, though hearing them back-to-back just made me reminisce about some of the more interesting places they've both gone recently.

"Gotta Jibboo" seems like it will be promising, with Tony Markellis on bass and Mike playing a second guitar; however, I'm not sure if it's just the Live Phish mix, or the live mix itself, but I don't hear Mike at all during the tune, and the bass riff is straightforward enough (and Tony does so little with it), that this sounds like your typical version, despite the interesting setup. Trey takes it through its usual Type I paces and that's that.

"Roggae" is one of my all-time favorite S1 songs, especially after the '11 Gorge version and the fantastic '13 Gorge version that still, alas, only exists in my imagination. This take features some really great jam-leading action from Mike (who seems to be leading jams more and more these days), but its undercut a bit by some generic whale jamming from Trey. That's the easy highlight of a consistent-but-straightforward S1, unless you like "Sleep Again" like I do, in which case there's another rare Phish version of the tune here that Trey predictably fumbles on (even his own side project songs are unlearnable, it seems).

If Summer '10 has been all about the consistently good setlist-building, then a surprise like "Carini" > "Mango Song," is actually welcome. This "Carini" doesn't do much new until its last minute or so, when it spins out of a Type I jam into a half-hearted reprise of the Blossom "Number Line" jam, but the "Mango Song" segue is hilarious (just because it's so unexpected). "Drowned" is the centerpiece jam of this show (as much as there's been a centerpiece jam in any show since Toyota Park/Blossom), and it's a good 'un, all things considered. It follows the typical Type I rock > Space Funk > Ambient Fade template that I've complained about so much lately, but with a few flourishes that makes this take on the form sound new. There's some very Oysterhead-y Trey soloing in the funk section, for instance, and Mike lays down some great bass melodies over the ambient fade, and a series of overlapping guitar loops set up a fantastic segue into "Swept Away" -> "Steep." There were many better jams than this in '09, but this is one of the first few must-hear pieces of Phish music in '10.

Phish - 6/20/10 "Saratoga Jam #2 > Swept Away > Steep" from Phish on Vimeo.

"Makisupa" blends cleverly into "Piper," with some "Policeman!" lyrics overlapping with the "Piper" intro riff, but "Piper" itself is more or less a standard take, minus a quick fadeout that sets up a > "2001." "YEM" is fast and satisfying, if a little sloppy.

Sorry if this review seems a bit perfunctory; I keep running into this problem of feeling like I'm saying the same things about every show lately, and through doing that implying that all the shows are interchangeable and therefore bad. They're not bad, though they might well be a bit interchangeable.

Anyway, I'm listening to the Mansfield show now, and while it's hardly a return to improvisational form, so far it's quite an improvement. So that's good. Oh, and this whole show exists on YouTube. So there's that, too.