The Verdict:
The first night at Northerly Island is really a "tale of two sets" sort of affair. The first set is as first-setty as they come, minus an out-of-nowhere brilliant, Trey-led "Reba." Even the typical S1 giant "Stash" falls pretty flat.
But then, the second set comes, and it's probably my favorite full set of Phish music so far this year, and maybe going back further than that. It's not just that they jam out "Golden Age" into a beautifully dark, groovy place over 17 minutes, it's that the rest of the set then follows that jam style, that tone, to a tee, until the closing "CDT" > "Slave," which just serves as a cherry on top of a fantastic funk...cake? Pie? I'm not sure what the cherry goes on top of in that idiomatic expression.
I went back and read up on this show a bit after listening, and am just floored that nobody seems to have responded to it the way I did. The second set was absolutely bonkers-good, and to be this excited about it when it passed mostly without comment by other fans makes me feel a little like I might be crazy. But man, that "Golden Age" jam. The chorded-out "Mango Song." The transition from a white-hot "Sand" into "Piper," into some crazy "Piper"-jam/"Halley's" mashup into a fucking jammed-out "Wombat." Absolutely deranged. I love it. I'm not even going to fucking link to the songs on Phishtracks. Instead, I'll just embed the entire second set below. Just watch it. You're welcome.
The Live Review:
7/18/14: Extra slanky 555 to start.
7/18/14: Extra mustard on the KDF. Trey is sounding the complete opposite of 7/16's S1, here.
7/18/14: Obligatory Bouncin' > Reba.
7/18/14: Reba's composed section is a little rough, but Trey takes the lead in the jam right away with some gorgeous melodies.
7/18/14: Short but VERY sweet Reba, there. Check it out.
7/18/14: Weird placement for Waiting All Night. Harmonies are a bit off, but not a bad version.
7/18/14: Halfway To the Moon, Sparkle. I'd be lying if I said this was a brilliant example of setlist construction.
7/18/14: By and large, they're playing well, there are just many more compelling S1s to choose from so far this summer.
7/18/14: That said, love the syrupy 555 and the Reba.
7/18/14: Sample keeps the jukebox rolling. Or whatever it is that jukeboxes do.
7/18/14: Interesting little build in the middle of what might be the shortest version of ASIHTOS ever.
7/18/14: At this point, the 'good rhythm jamming from Trey' comments are becoming redundant, but he's nailing this Stash so far.
7/18/14: Squirming Coil to close an entirely average S1 (except for that Reba).
7/18/14: GOLDEN AGE OPENER OH HOW I'VE MISSED YOU GOLDEN AGE
7/18/14: This is gonna shock you, but Trey is having lyric issues.
7/18/14: Mini-Type I jam drops quickly back into the song's main groove.
7/18/14: Really dirty, dark groove emerging at 8:30. I really dig this a lot.
7/18/14: Often said the last few minutes of the 6/17/04 Moma is my favorite style of #phish jam.
There's been a lot of that type this year.
7/18/14: Loops and clav! Best summer '14 combination right there :)
7/18/14: Oh, this is just the best kind of #phish jam right here. Love it.
7/18/14: Trey gives a bit of an extended chord-jam to The Mango Song. Nice!
7/18/14: Sand, to keep the funk train rolling.
7/18/14: Okay, I've been pretty lenient on Trey with ripcords this summer, but that was a pretty brutal cut into Piper.
7/18/14: Page was just gearing up for some electric piano awesome...had they waited another minute or two, might have been a great -> but NO
7/18/14: So far, Piper jam has been Funk > Woo Jam > Space Funk. Pretty neat, w/ extra juicy Mike parts.
7/18/14: Sorry, that sounded gross.
7/18/14: Transition into something that sounds fairly 2001-esque. Neat.
7/18/14: Great segue into Halley's, which they had sort of mistakenly starting playing anyway during the jam.
7/18/14: Would like to have seen where that Piper jam went, but that was an irresistible segue.
7/18/14: Great, almost vox-only breakdown in Halley's.
7/18/14: Excellent segue into Wombat. This is friggin' awesome.
7/18/14: Holy groats! This Wombat jam just went into a dark space groove. These jams are all right up my alley.
7/18/14: Seems weird in the middle of summer '14 to hear a 7-minute CDT, but there it is. Good version, though.
7/18/14: Shit, forgot to finish 7/18. Slave comes at the end of that mind-boggling second set.
7/18/14: Really mellow opening to the jam. Mike leading with some great melodic bass runs.
7/18/14: Kind of a rush to the peak, but typically beautiful version of Slave. Now, super-slow-tempo Julius as an encore.
7/18/14: Page is working the organ instead of the typical Trey-led guitar jam. Kind of neat. Low-key for an encore, though.
7/18/14: Not a great show all the way around, but good god that second set! Probably my favorite set of the year so far. Groovetastic.
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