So, I never did a wrap-up post for Summer I 2010, despite the fact that I finished reviewing the individual shows in June. I'm going to do one now, but be aware that it's not coming much from memory of having listened to the shows recently, but more just from re-reading my reviews.
What I do remember of Summer I 2010 (and what re-reading reviews confirms) is that during this period, Phish pretty much abandoned the idea of jamming in its entirety, save for the occasional fifteen minute song that took the usual Type I > Funk > Rock > Ambient Fadeout structure of most of '09's big jams. They focused instead on high energy playing, great song choices, and just having fun. Many of these shows, on their own, are really fun, exciting listens. After a whole tour of it, though, I sort of wanted to blow my brains out. Yes, we get it. You can play these songs. But the improv, the thing that makes live Phish most interesting, is almost entirely missing after the first few shows. Fortunately, things pick up rather quickly during Summer II, so I guess there's that. Anyway, here are the highlights, such as they are:
6/11: The first three or so shows of the tour are actually pretty fantastic. The first set of the opener is ninety minutes in nine songs, and it's all a huge, high-energy affair. The second set has a few legit jams in "Light," and "Ghost" > "Limb By Limb."
6/12: Interesting version of "Stash" and a strange, mini-jammed "Groove" set closer in the first set. The second set opens with a monster "Rock and Roll" that's frankly kind of boring despite its length. Fortunately, the extended "Hood" that follows is "above-average-good," and the "Number Line" after that is one of the best jams of the year, even though it's really only the last five minutes or so that get crazy.
6/13: Consistently energetic show with some great setlist choices. The "Melt" at the end of the first set gets briefly interesting. The second set's "Drowned" > "Tweezer" -> "Twist" > "Piper" sequence is worth a listen, though it's the beginning of a move from legit jams to segues and weird setlist turns that hangs over most of the rest of this leg of tour.
6/15: Totally jamless. Weird "Bag" that's maybe worth a listen. There's a bit of "Gin" toward the end that gets interesting. Otherwise, totally rote show.
6/17: Great first set, in a first set sort of way. Trey destroys "Walk Away" and "Divided Sky." "Stash" is sufficiently weird and the jam gets a little "Melt"-y. "Sand" from the second set is worth a mention, as it sounds shockingly like a 2013 jam, like you literally turned on shuffle without realizing it and we jumped a few years into the future. But much of the rest of the show is the band giving Trey the reins and Trey sort of shrugging awkwardly.
6/18: This is about as good as a Phish show can get without a marquee jam. Everything's played well, the setlist is fantastic, etc. "Light" -> "Billy Breathes" is gorgeous, even if the "Light" is short. The "Tweezer" is worth a listen, though I'm not sure it quite qualifies as a "marquee jam" to offset the rest of the (really good) jukebox playing.
6/19: First set is amazing within the confines of a usual first set. Fantastic Type I "Gin" jam, fantastic song selection, Page destroys the "Suzy" closer. "Rock and Roll" opens the second set on a high note, but the rest of the set devolves back into "rocking out the first set" territory.
6/20: Consistent but straightforward first set with a "Roggae" highlight. "Drowned" -> "Swept Away" -> "Steep" is masterful, but that's about all that's worth noting from another mostly rote show.
6/22: The first set is all Trey Shredz and "Dr. Gabel." "Sally" -> "Light" -> "46 Days" is a great second set sequence, but that's the extent of the highlights.
6/24: The epitome of jamless, high energy 2010 Phish. Strong "Bowie" opener, strange "Timber" sort-of jam...and "The (fucking) Rover"! And it's a great cover. The second set is a bit weird and inconsistent, and settles into a composed-song groove for the last 45 or so minutes, but before that there's a bit of an interesting "Twenty Years" jam > a solid "Hood."
6/25: Finally somewhat of a strange show! Lots of very old songs and very new songs in the first set. The second set "CDT" goes deep (shades of '14) though it's a bit hollow for all its length. The "highlight" of the set is a "2001"/Michael Jackson seguefest that, like most seguefests, was probably way better live than it is on tape. On tape, it's a rickety, sort of goofy affair that fortunately lands in a "Light" that actually goes somewhere interesting. Inconsistent show, but one with some improvisational high points, finally.
6/26: Set one is standard-great in the mold of most of the summer 2010 first sets so far: solid playing, great song choices, nothing interesting. The second set is a bunch of old-school songs rocked out in old-school fashion, including a fantastic "Rock and Roll" jam and one of the better "Tweezer"s of the season.
6/27: The first set is a weird but effective mix of eccentric songs like "Walfredo," "Tela," and "Mellow Mood." In the second set, a rocking "Meatstick" leads into "Saw It Again," which we do in fact see again (and again) throughout the rest of the set. "Piper" -> "Ghost" is gorgeous, and the halfhearted "Jumpin' Jack Flash" that follows is icing on the weirdly satisfying cake. One of my favorites of the leg, for sure.
6/29: Back down into the doldrums in this show, from the heights of the previous 2-3. The whale pedal is absolutely out of control here, and the songs suffer for it. No highlights really, save for a few minutes of the "Simple" and a bit of funky space in "Groove."
7/1: Lack of energy makes the usual paint-by-numbers 2010 S1 boring. All that's really worth mentioning is a brief-but-thorough "Light."
7/2: Back to the usual "fun" 2010 first set here. Great moments in the second set including a vocal jam in "46 Days," a dark "Twenty Years Later," and more vocal jamming in "YEM," but alas, still very little improv.
7/3: Lots of old and rare songs in yet another good-but-boring first set. There is a long jam here in "Rock and Roll," but it's a clunker. The highlight of the show is probably the "Caspian" > "Tweezer" sequence.
7/4: Yet more oldies-but-goodies in this first set. The second set is one of the better ones of tour, which honestly isn't saying much after this leg. For example, there's a high-octane "Disease" > "Piper" > "Ghost" sequence, but across all three of those songs, there's no Type II to be seen. Oh well.
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