Summer '14 Wrap-Up

Summer '14 was, pretty clearly, the absolute best Phish since...well, for my money, since ever. There were some specific jams and idea spaces that came up in '13 that I liked better, and I haven't listened to Fall '13 yet, but for a tour where the band can go there at will and play just about anything on their catalog with technical precision in the meantime, in addition to there being a new album of songs to develop...well, let's just say there's a reason I jumped to reviewing this tour before finishing up summer '10. It's fantastic.

But there really wouldn't be much point in reviewing all of these shows if they were perfect, so here's my wrap-up post for summer '14.

6/24: Hour long show for Live On Letterman. Varied setlist surprisingly light on Fuego material, including a solid "Undermind." Only real jam (and there is one!) is "Twist."

7/1: Fantastic tour opener. Lots of Fuego songs in a high-energy first set, and a real highlight in a blissful "Stash." The second set is mostly an excellent "Mike's" > "Simple" > "Free," "Waiting All Night" > "Ghost" -> "Groove." The "Ghost" is the highlight here, at least until what's probably my favorite "Hood" of the entire summer.

7/3: The first set is another high-energy affair with some great song choices, including an "Ocelot" I actually like as well as a great "Mound," "Roggae" pairing. Three huge jams including a "Gin" -> "Limb By Limb" where both songs go Type II and a later "Tweezer" make the second set a winner, too.

7/4: This show has higher highs and lower lows than the first two shows. The first set is a clunker, but a great "Reba" and a great, loop-filled "Melt" almost make up for it. Similarly, the back half of the second set sags, but the first half is a sonic wonder, moving from a 20-minute "Fuego" to a brilliant "Disease," into a bluesy "Twist" and then ending up on darkly funky "Light." It's a great sequence.

7/5: The first set has a little bit of everything, including a marimba lumina jam, a "Foam," and the first live "Wombat." If you like composed epics, the second set has your number. The "Carini" -> "Waves" pairing is a great start to the set, "Piper" is just fantastic, and the show also contains "Fluffhead," "YEM," and "Divided Sky."

7/8: First set has great song choices, but no standout performances except for a short "Tube" jam. A huge "Fuego" is the jam centerpiece here, obviously, but the "Tweezer" -> "Ghost" is no slouch, either, especially because of a really weird "Ghost" jam.

7/9: The first set is a disaster in set construction, but strong versions of "Stealing Time" and "Alaska" (yes, you read that right) as well as takes on "McGrupp" and "Antelope" make it palatable. Set two is like 7/8's second set in that there are a few great jams (in this case "Chalkdust" and "Twist") while the rest of the set is just filler.

7/11: Set one is a rockfest topped off by a great "Stash"; that is, if you completely discount the amazing "Gin," which comes out of nowhere with a 15 minute version that at its best recalls the effortlessness of the Tahoe "Tweezer." Set two is all about the "Steam" > "Disease." "Steam" gets super-weird. The rest of the set is pretty standard.

7/12: The first set is way more consistent than the last few shows'. "Antelope" is a loopy highlight. The second set's main attraction is the "Carini" > "Ghost" pair, but like 7/1 there's another notable "Hood" that veers off the tracks, this time for a blues jam, of all things. One of the better shows of the tour so far, along with 7/3 and 7/8.

7/13: Set one is better than most. Solid first quarter, then a Page-ified "Possum," loopy-heavy "Jim," and a wild "Melt" to close. Set two's "CDT" > "Light" > "Tweezer" makes this the best show of the year so far, though the rest of the show after is a rote "victory lap" sequence.

7/15: One of the few clunkers of tour. Check out the "Disease," but that's about it.

7/16: While it doesn't stand up to the '14 juggernauts, this show seems a bit underrated. Solid first set, with an excellent funk-laden take on "It's Ice." In the second set, "Ghost," "Groove," "Piper," and "Possum" actually all get quite weird, but none of them stay weird for long, giving the impression (via tracklength) that nothing's going on. Interesting transition show, for my money.

7/18: First set is really flat, save for a great Trey-led "Reba." I still haven't heard anyone really talk this up, but this is one of my favorite second sets of the year. Darkness, funk, consistent jamming, weird song choices...it's all happening. Great "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.

7/19: Definitely a trough after the peak of 7/18 S2. First set is standard, though with good song choices. The second set is much the same: the "Hood" gets weird again in a good way, but falls apart near the end. Similarly to 7/15, I can really recommend one song here ("Light," in this case), and you won't miss much leaving the rest alone.

7/20: A great setlist, rock-solid playing, and a candles-jam from Page on "Mule" make for an excellent first set. "Disease" opens S2 in an interesting but inconsistent way, and things seem to be moving into jukebox territory for a bit before the boys break into a jam out of "The Wedge" that is one of the best of the summer, and not just because of shock value. The "Ghost" follow-up is great, and the "Groove" is a mini-seguefest. Weird, but satisfying show.

7/25: The first set is pretty rote here, though the extended "Winterqueen" is worth mentioning. The "CDT" jam is unique in a summer's worth of "CDT" jams because of its consistent minimalist/dark feel. After that, though, the show wraps up with some little jamlets like the 7/16 show did. The highlight post-"CDT" is definitely the "Twist" -> "Circus" pairing. Another weird-but-great show.

7/26: Consistently first set, though not necessarily interesting. Great version of "Roggae" (like most of them). The second set is pretty much front-to-back amazing (I'm looking at you, "Sing Monica," for that "pretty much"). "Carini" -> "Ghost" > "Steam" is a monster, and the "Hood" is possibly a better version than the 7/1 take. Great show.

7/27: Some heresy, here, but I prefer 7/26 to 7/27. Sure, seguefests are fun, but they're way less fun when you already know the setlist and know what's coming. The first set is either normal songs being played normally or surprise songs being underwhelming in practice. The Tweezerfest is pretty awesome, and fun, but again I'd rather look to the big jams and interesting improv of the summer when I'm thinking about relistens. Had I seen this live, it probably would have been my show of the year. But I didn't.

7/29: Early 3.0-style show: rote first set, big jam to kick off second set, then a slow grind to the finish. Actually, though the S2 "CDT" goes deep, it's probably my least favorite version of the summer, which makes the show highlight the first set "Melt," of all things...

7/30: Another rote first set here, but because the song selection is so weird, it might just win you over anyway. The second set is a rocket. There's a funk suite of sorts with "Fuego," "Meatstick," and "Piper" all jumping on board before "Billy Breathes" comes out of hibernation to serve as a landing pad. That's the end of the serious improv for the set, but "Seven Below," "First Tube," and "The Lizards" keep things interesting.

8/1: Absolutely boring first set, incredible second. The "Disease" is 20 minutes of pure energy, the "Tweezer" jam is great, the mini-"Fuego" jam picks up where "Tweezer" left off, and the set closes with a "Boogie On," "Antelope" mash-up. Great stuff.

8/2: Like many of the weaker shows this tour, we're mostly in jukebox mode here except for the third quarter, when "Carini" > "Ghost" blows the damn roof off.

8/3: Fantastic tour closer. Bookends really well with 7/1, actually. The first set features great performances of a great setlist, with a few bones thrown out to hint at greater things to come. "Vultures" is extended a bit, "Gumbo" gets a funk jam, etc. Yet another great "CDT" kicks off the second set, "Scents" and "Twist" are short-but-great takes, and the "Light" > "Hood" pair is just magical, and includes one of the best, if not the best "Hood" in a tour full of great ones.

8/29: S1 is great because of the setlist gag. It forces the band to play songs that don't usually show up here ("Guyute") or at all ("Llama," "Ha Ha Ha"), and they play them well enough that it works despite nothing really notable happening in terms of improv. The monster "Simple," probably my favorite single jam since Tahoe, is the big takeaway from the second set. But the "Ghost" that follows is great, the late "Hood" is another weird-but-good '14 take, and, frankly "46 Days" was well into an amazing jam before it got seriously ripcorded.

8/30: The first set is long, and packed with great songs played well. The second set's "Disease" -> "WTU?" pair is the highlight; the "Disease" jam is one of the better ones this year, and the segue is just flawless and well done. "Carini" and "Light" are both great despite their runtimes and the encore is just a blast of Phishiness.

8/31: Only slacker of a first set at Dick's. "Wombat" and "Wolfman's" are great, but the rest is pretty standard, and without the flow of N1 or N2 to pick it up. S2, though, is an absolute monster. It depends a bit, actually, on your interpretation of a minimalist and strange "CDT" jam: brilliant or tepid? "Tweezer" > "Sand" -> "Tweezer" (double speed) > space jam > "Piper" is right up there with 7/18 and 7/26 in terms of a "themed set" that really works together. In this case, the theme is "deep space funk," and it's awesome. "Mike's" gets a serious echo-funk treatment, too, and then we coast to a stop with "Sally" > "Groove." A better first set, and this could easily be Show of the Year. As it is, it's a great close to a run that might (I still haven't decided) beat out Randall's for Run of the Year.