What we have here is a heck of a tour opener. The first set especially is Fuego-heavy, as you might expect, but the new songs play well with the old. While none of them go deep, "Fuego," "Halfway To the Moon," "Wingsuit" and "555" are all energetic variations on their studio versions. "Wingsuit" is especially solid, with the (slightly) extended jam at the end adding extra punch to the song. The oldies are all played competently as well, with "Stash" even getting a short little bliss jam that's above and beyond the usual 3.0 treatment.
The second set is mostly made up of a unique Mike's Groove that runs from "Mike's" > "Simple" to a better-than-average "Free," a first-time-sandwich "Waiting All Night," and then a "Ghost" that packs a huge wallop for its short running time and then ends in a brilliant Fish-driven segue into "Weekapaug." The centerpiece of the set, though, is really the late "Hood," which is 18 minutes of jamming in a style that's reminiscent of the best parts of late summer '13 and fall '13. This is that turn-on-a-dime, wide-open jamming that the band excelled at last year, and it's back in spades. This is an easy tour highlight, and it's only the first show. Things are looking up.
The Live Review:
7/1/14: Stealing Time seems like an odd choice for a summer tour opener with a new album just out. But there it is.
7/1/14: Stealing Time = totally standard.
7/1/14: Ooh, Fuego at number two. Great to hear these songs live, but strange at the same time that they're lacking the studio polish.
7/1/14: Weird to say that about a Phish album as if it's a bad thing, but that is just a damn well-made album.
7/1/14: Viking warriors with animal heads.
7/1/14: Fuego is played pretty by-the-book. The BOTT that follows has a little extra swagger to it, though. More full-band than just Trey.
7/1/14: Halfway To the Moon! This and 555 are probably my album favorites.
7/1/14: Trey just did a neat harmonic-style fill at the end of the first verse that I don't think is on the album.
7/1/14: Solid live version of the song, all told.
7/1/14: It's fun to see how the old songs mix with the new. The Wedge is next.
7/1/14: The Wedge gets a slightly extended jam, as seems to be a trend lately. The guys are sounding pretty
tight for a night one.
7/1/14: Hell yes. 555.
7/1/14: Much faster tempo than the album version. I like it.
7/1/14: Stash is next. Maybe we'll get a first set jam?
7/1/14: Neat, seamless transition into a brief blissed-out section in this Stash. Major key (I think).
7/1/14: Okay, yeah, this has turned into a legit jam. Wow. That happened fast. We're like half a set into summer.
7/1/14: Bouncin' is a nice interlude. Next: Birds of a Feather.
7/1/14: Birds sounds a bit more democratic than usual, too. Trey doing some interesting chording, Page is sort of leading the charge.
7/1/14: Wingsuit to close S1. That drop into the outro jam is just the best thing. Can't wait to hear it live.
7/1/14: Great to hear that jam extended just a little bit, too. Though at some point soon, it's gonna go DEEEEEEEP
7/1/14: Second set starts with Mike's.
7/1/14: Drop into the jam here is a lot funkier than usual. No sign of Trey until about 30-45 seconds in.
7/1/14: No second jam in the first Mike's of the year, at least :)
7/1/14: Appreciate the classic > Simple, though.
7/1/14: Really solid, though short Simple jam. Usual style, but departing into something spacier in last two minutes.
7/1/14: Fish with a jazzy beat, everyone else is in ambient mode.
7/1/14: Pretty tasty segue into Free. The first true test of '14 Phish. Will Free be slow and boring?! Let's find out!
7/1/14: Okay, that was somewhere between a 1.0 Free and a 3.0 Free. But not a 2.0 Free. Good, though.
7/1/14: Long pause, then Waiting All Night.
7/1/14: Trey's expanding a bit melodically on the middle part of the song.
7/1/14: Ghost next! The opening seems heavier on the clav than usual. Early jam is slow, exploratory.
7/1/14: This is a really interesting space, and they got there without the obligatory 6-7 minutes of Trey noodling.
7/1/14: If 2014 turns out to be the year of the Instant Jam, I will do the opposite of loudly complaining.
7/1/14: Oh. Awesome, AWESOME segue out of the Ghost into Groove. Holy hell, I'm sorry I missed that one live.
7/1/14: Super funky take on Groove here. Seems like Fish is driving the jam direction a lot more than in the past. In a good way.
7/1/14: Harry Hood just immediately went out into left field, in a really good way. Super-spacey jam. Hollywood Hood reprise?
7/1/14: Jam sounds like a Round Room outtake.
7/1/14: Maybe this show has been a bit jam-lite, but I'm stoked to see a marquee jam show up near the end of the show.
7/1/14: As opposed to in the first and/or second slot in S2, like every other show since 2004.
7/1/14: Wow, that was some serious late summer '13/fall '13 jamming there. Easily on par with the Hollywood Hood. Slamming away on Cavern.
7/1/14: A typically swinging Julius to close.
7/1/14: Overall, this was a great tour opener. Consistently good playing, excellent set construction, good use of new songs.
7/1/14: Pretty much constant energy throughout, some interesting little jamlets (Stash, Simple, Ghost), and of course that Hood. THAT HOOD.
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