Lest the last few shows' reliance and average sets sprinkled with killer jams make the greedy part of you want a show that's both frighteningly consistent and full of ridiculous jams, N2 of Randall's is here for you. The first is lacking a monster like the "Gin" from N1, unfortunately, but the song choice is excellent and the playing is consistently top-notch. "Devotion" and "Halfway To the Moon" get their best readings yet, "ASIHTOS" is shredded absolutely to death by Trey, and the "Antelope" disappears under a curtain of loops and wonderful feedback.
Everything about S2 is better than almost all things. There's no real jamming in "PYITE," but the band stretches out the intro and for a moment it's not clear whether they're going to return to the song, until they do, and then give it an amazingly confident reading. The "Carini" > "Ghost" pair is just absurdly good, as "Carini" goes the space jazz route, sounding like a "Simple" jam that's been fired into the stratosphere, and the "Ghost" heads into ultra-reverby funk territory before landing perfectly in "Wingsuit." If this awesome trifecta wasn't enough, next is a note-perfect Type I version of "Rock and Roll" and yet another extended "Hood," this time with a blues jam, of all things.
Just in case you're not dead yet, there's a triple encore featuring "Tube" and "First Tube."
My god. N3 coming up next.
The Live Review:
7/12/14: Pure S1 opening rock from a Bag > 46 Days combo to start.
7/12/14: Coordinated chanting for PYITE.
7/12/14: Yarmouth Road!
7/12/14: Trey is doing that Halfway To the Moon thing where he just plays slide notes that clash slightly with the rest of the song.
7/12/14: Can't someone just write fucking parts for him for these songs so he doesn't drag them down everytime? Page? Scott? Mike?
7/12/14: Devotion To a Dream is currently entering the ranks of the Solid First Set Rockers. I'm okay with that.
7/12/14: I wish Sing Monica would do that, but so far it sucks live. Which is weird because the studio version is hilariously good.
7/12/14: Free is sounding a little better lately. I mean, it's still stuck in the S1 < 8 minute closet, but maybe it'll bust out someday.
7/12/14: My Sweet One! Aww, that's cute.
7/12/14: Band biffs ending to BOTT, Trey restarts w/ 'We haven't used that ending in a long time...' :)
7/12/14: Crowd now chanting 'One more time!' Band obliges. Hilarious.
7/12/14: Despite my earlier bitching, that was a good Trey-outing on Halfway.
7/12/14: I'm starting to think Sparkle is going to be the dark horse Most Times Played winner this tour.
7/12/14: That ASIHTOS was way too short, but featured a lot of thematically-appropriate whale pedal (get it?).
7/12/14: The Line's outro jam gets me every time.
7/12/14: Antelope to close S1?
7/12/14: YEAH, BIG FUCKIN' SURPRISE THERE
7/12/14: Aw, he dedicated it to the Dude of Life's children, who are at their first Phish concert. Now I feel like a dick.
7/12/14: That Antelope was actually pretty psychotic.
7/12/14: The screamers finally get their wish as S2 opens with PYITE. Trey and Fish playing with the intro a bit.
7/12/14: Trey struggling a little with the composed part, but overall this is a solid version, bolstered by the extended intro.
7/12/14: > CAAAAAAAAAAAARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
7/12/14: This is a surprisingly straightforward, rocking Carini, at least at the 6:00 mark.
7/12/14: Okay, now things are getting weird. Page synth, Fish slowing the beat.
7/12/14: This is what a Simple jam would sound like if you blew it out the airlock into the vacuum of space.
7/12/14: This jam certainly isn't changing the world, but it's absolutely a blast to listen to.
7/12/14: Death Jazz > Fade Out >
7/12/14: Rarely these days does a Ghost start out as 'rocking,' but this one sure has.
7/12/14: Page and Trey are batting the ball back and forth early on.
7/12/14: Now moving into some straight-ahead rock territory, but good straight-ahead rock territory.
7/12/14: Lots o' loops at the 10:00 mark.
7/12/14: Now it's a funky, Twist-like jam.
7/12/14: Reverb funk?
7/12/14: Once again, a great landing in Wingsuit.
7/12/14: That Wingsuit was the best Wingsuit. Effortless move into Rock and Roll. This set is enormous.
7/12/14: Short RnR, but Trey shredded the HELL out of it.
7/12/14: We're back in blues-jam mode here for another Type II Hood, of all things. Awesome.
7/12/14: Great return from the jam to the conclusion in Hood.
7/12/14: It's not as weird as the 7/1 version, but I think I like it better anyway.
7/12/14: Tube for the encore!
7/12/14: Joy'd.
7/12/14: First Tube! Triple encore!
7/12/14: Wow. That second set/encore is what the kids would call 'totes ridic.' Randall's is gonna give SPAC a run for its run money.
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