So, here's a new thing. After all the community hubbub about Phish's Jazz Fest performance last week, I thought I'd go back and give the show a listen using the Live Phish mobile app, and in the process ended up having a bit of fun tweeting as I was listening. So, I thought I'd convert my thoughts into an actual review. This being a one-off show, I feel like I can do that without shattering the rules of the space-time continuum.
So, first off, I have to say that considering that this is a festival show featuring 3.0 Phish, this is a great, great show. In the last few years, the boys have of course played your Bonnaroos, your Outside Landses, and so on, and in the process have gathered a bit of a reputation for playing these shows safe, not bringing a lot of improv and sticking to rotation staples throughout. Presumably they do this partially in the interest of non-fans, to give them some fun, not overly weird music to dance to, and because, at least when it comes to one-off festival shows, I imagine it's fun to just get up on stage and play a big, dumb goofy rock show and have a good time with your bandmates.
Of course, the idea that the band and/or non-Phish fans might be having fun at a show at the expense of the ever-looming 55-minute "Carini" enrages a certain portion of Phish fandom more than the Holocaust. So, rather than having a fun spring show to enjoy, by the time there've been 19 million snarky conversations about who saw Phish in the 80s more and therefore who is more qualified to decide what everyone else is allowed to enjoy, a bonus show ends up seeming like a chore.
But, I'm happy to report, that if you can ignore all the (non) hype, this is a very good show.
Sure, the first set is about as typical as you can get when it comes to song selection. But, the opening one-two punch of "KDF" and "Moma" is all fire, and it's obvious to hear that the boys are having a great time, even if the fans in the audience are rolling their eyes and streaming Hampton '97 on their phones. I do have to nitpick on "Rift," though, because it's absolutely one of those songs where the joy is in the spontaneous, effortless execution of its composed parts (for me, at least), and Trey just can't Go There anymore. He doesn't really seem to have this problem with any other song, but this one always just falls apart partway through and I'd almost be happier if they just stopped playing it and left us to our memories. Ironic for me to say that after what I was just bitching about earlier, I guess, but there it is.
"Wolfman's" is just lawn-perfect, slow funk. If you like your "Wolfman's" uncomplicated, but full of molasses, this one's for you. There's a mid-set "Party Time" surprise to put just enough distance between "Wolfman's" and "Ocelot" to mask the fact that "Ocelot" is obviously just "Wolfman's Shuffle," and this "Ocelot" deserves extra mention for MVP-of-the-night Fishman and his fleet flying all over the kit.
"Funky Bitch" features the Page solo to end all Page solos (as it usually does), and then we're on to a notable (if short) take on "46 Days." This version features all kinds of Fishman acrobatics during the intro, and then much of the rest of the song (including the jam) has a surprisingly minimalist feel to it. I can't describe it, really, but other people mentioned it during the stream, so I don't think I'm crazy. It sounds very stripped down, reliant on percussion, almost like it might sound if played during a Trey Trio show in the early 2000s. It's worth a listen for that reason alone, notwithstanding some solid Trey Shredz action late in the song.
This was my first time hearing "The Line," and I really enjoyed the melody. The outro jam is Page-led, too, and reaches for (and almost achieves) the sound of one of the many great mid-90s ballad outro jams. The set closes with a standard "Zero."
The S2 opening "Disease" wastes no time at all getting into a weird space. This isn't one of those 15+ minute jams where you can skip directly to the 9:00 mark and not miss anything. Like they did in much of late '13, the boys dive into the deep end right away, and the ideas come fluidly and fast. Even though it doesn't end up being as effective as many of the best jams of '13 overall, the technique and mind-meld that created all those jams is obviously still at work, warding off any concerns of rust over the long break.
Trey and Page share the lead early on, with sparse, mellow melodic parts that are juxtaposed with Fish's driving beat. Page takes control shortly, and Trey backs him up with some whale that made me wonder if I was hearing a '10 show instead of a '14 one. As if the comparisons to '10 weren't already easy to make, the next space in this jam is a loop-based one, building out of a Page piano riff that Trey develops into a full-on jam.
Maybe it was just the stream on the app I was using, but for me, this jam ends with a perfect on-a-dime stop > "Birds." The "Birds" itself is pretty boilerplate, but when "Twist" starts up next, Trey weaves the "Birds" melody into the slow, syrupy intro to the song in that effortless way that makes us all love the best Phish so much. Fishman is in full force during what turns out to be a slow, bluesy sort of "Twist" jam.
"Sparkle" and "Free" follow, and both are just about as you would expect them to be. They aren't bad, but if there's a lull in the second set, it's right here.
Fortunately "Light" comes in next, and goes further than you might expect from a mid-set jam. It starts off whale-heavy again, but quickly makes a turn into darker territory that becomes reminiscent of a slower "Timber" jam. Then there's another, beautifully organic change to a blissful ambient space that hovers for a bit before resolving into "Sand."
This "Sand," like the "46 Days" in the first set, sounds different to me, for whatever reason. It sounds stripped-down, and smaller, but in a way that really lets the guys get at the heart of the song in a way that they can't do as well when the sound is fuller...if that makes any sense. In this case, the heart of "Sand" is slow, dirty, and funky. And it's great.
Now, I'll have to give this "Hood" a relisten because while I agree it's not the best version of the song I've ever heard, I don't understand why it's gotten the hate it has over the last week or so. Sure, it's whale-y, sure, it doesn't follow the usual "Hood" jam pattern very well...but it's not, to my ears, badly played. It strikes me as strange that many Phish fans will complain about the lack of new songs because all the old ones get played the same every time, but then those same fans will pile on a "Hood" like this for...not sounding like it usually does. How does that make sense?
Anyway, it sounds like the boys are just trying to switch up how they play some of these older songs ("46 Days," "Sand," "Hood") a little, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
After "Hood," the show wraps up with a straightforward "Cavern," the always-charming "Grind," and the venue-appropriate "Julius."
Really, when you consider that this show features two pretty serious 2013-style jams and three oldies-but-goodies played in interesting new ways, along with a solid performance and great song selection overall, I don't see why this wouldn't fit in perfectly well in the middle of summer '13 tour. It's a great show, and it's bizarre to me that people aren't enjoying it as such. Ah, well. Maybe by the time Dick's rolls around they'll all remember that we're having fun...
Note: I'll try to remember to go back and add video to this post as it becomes available.
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