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...