Maybe it's because it was a little underwhelming as my last show of the year in a year that included a fantastic Dick's run and the previous night's outstanding Eugene show, but the Seattle show was underwhelming for me live. I've come to appreciate it a little more after a relisten, but it falls pretty hard into that category that I put 7/16 and 7/25 in. Basically, it's a perfectly well-played show where the band seems to focus more on clever segues, interesting one-off songs, and weird, short jam spaces. Really, if you have no stake in hearing the band play huge, wide-ranging explorations, this should be a pretty great show, much like 7/16 or 7/25. Unfortunately, the playing here is uneven enough that it really accentuates the lack of a showcase jam to eclipse the rough parts. That's not to say there aren't some neat bits, because there are, but definitely not a triumphant end to my 2014 touring.
The "Cavern" opener is neat. "Wilson" is a bit a letdown, considering the history behind the song, Phish, and Seattle at this point. I wasn't really expecting a 20 minute version or anything, but some banter from Trey or something would have been nice.
The rest of the set is really straightforward and predictable, and, frankly, sloppier than you'd expect with all of these rotation songs getting played and none of them really stretching into anything interesting. "Sugar Shack" is an interesting exception, and in this version Trey even nails his parts. The closing "Gin" stays Type I, but bounces around in its cage in some interesting ways. A little of Dick's-style funk in the "Wolfman's" gives the set just enough bite to entice you back for more in the second set.
I like the "Disease" jam, honestly. It's short, but pokes out in a few interesting directions. Then Trey swings the jam into "Golden Age" and proceeds to butcher it. From here, the guys spend most of the rest of the set bouncing from idea to idea with little to show for it. "Fuego," "Light," "46 Days," and "Sand" all have fun little mini-jams, but none of them get space to develop. If that's enough for you, then this will likely be a hot set. None of the improv here is bad, but it's hard for me to avoid having that "What if?" response when I hear something like the "Sand" outro jam.
The obvious highlight here is the segue from "Light" -> "Cities," and the ensuing weird version of "Cities." But even that is a bit of a bummer, as the band obviously tries to finish the "Light" -> "Cities" -> "Light" sandwich at the end of the song, but Trey rides right over them to start "46 Days." It's sort of painful to hear and again raises that "What if?" question. That pretty much sums up this show for me, honestly.
The Live Review:
10/18/14: Here we (finally) go with a Cavern opener!
10/18/14: Think I might have actually just heard a Mike's Drill opener before Cavern.
10/18/14: Cavern is sort of weird as an opener. Everytime I hear it, I hear a set or show closing.
10/18/14: Trey struggling a bit with Wilson.
10/18/14: Kind of an anticlimactic take on Wilson, considering it's Seattle and all.
10/18/14: Rift!
10/18/14: Trey's struggling with Rift, too. Everyone sounds really tired. Maybe it's just the mix?
10/18/14: I do remember this show getting off to a slow start, fwiw. So maybe it just sucks.
10/18/14: Maybe Moma will get Trey back on track. It usually does.
10/18/14: Standard Moma with Trey dragging out a loop a bit at the end. Next up, The Line.
10/18/14: Eugene 1st quarter was standard but interesting song choices. This is just kinda boring.
10/18/14: Little bit o' heat in that outro jam. Maybe things'll pick up a bit now?
10/18/14: SUGAR SHACK. Seems like a big risk considering Trey's playing so far. We'll see.
10/18/14: They're...actually...doing...it! A nearly perfect live version of Sugar Shack!
10/18/14: Monster Lawn Boy solo from Cactus.
10/18/14: Kill Devil Falls. This first set isn't really worthy of 2014 so far. More like 2009 or 2011.
10/18/14: The years of first set purgatory. 2010, I'm learning, was the year of second set purgatory :)
10/18/14: Okay, after having said that, I have to admit that the KDF has a little extra oomph to it this time around.
10/18/14: Non-jam standout of the summer is next: Wolfman's.
10/18/14: Rhythm section leading in this Wolfman's jam. Trey's echoplex in play.
10/18/14: Sounds like Dick's funk in here all of a sudden.
10/18/14: Typical rock peak to end the jam. Good version, though.
10/18/14: Sparkle: the other song (with Rift and Wolfman's) that's been played during 4,000 first sets this year.
10/18/14: Gin.
10/18/14: Jam off to a mellow start.
10/18/14: Really neat almost Simple-like section starting at 8:00. Doesn't last long, though.
10/18/14: Smooth build into a great rock peak. Nothing revolutionary, but a solid somewhat-jammed-out version.
10/18/14: The last few songs of this set are more up to 2014 S1 standards, thankfully.
10/18/14: End set.
10/18/14: Disease opener for S2.
10/18/14: Trey ripping into the jam with some great melody lines. Mike backing up. Band sounds totally different from S1.
10/18/14: Trey just snuck a bit of the Fuego riff into the jam, maybe totally by accident. Going minimalist now.
10/18/14: Some solid loop/chord action in this jam.
10/18/14: Now Fish is driving. Trey adding some space-age licks.
10/18/14: Trey just sort of hit part of the riff for Golden Age and then suddenly >'d that fucker like it was gonna get away.
10/18/14: Neat Disease jam, though.
10/18/14: Trey's guitar isn't really featuring at all on this Golden Age. And when it does, it's a bum note. Now he forgot the lyrics.
10/18/14: Maybe not the best segue decision.
10/18/14: Really neat, very short jam space with some Page piano, Mike bass driving, and Trey sending out weirder echoes than usual.
10/18/14: Page-led > Fuego.
10/18/14: Type I jam only out of Fuego, but it's a good one.
10/18/14: Heavy loop-based outro. Some drill, too. Spooky.
10/18/14: Here comes Light!
10/18/14: Trey stringing together some great little rhythm runs here in this Light.
10/18/14: End of the Light almost sounds like Mike is trying to start a -> Cars Trucks Buses.
10/18/14: Instead it's a great -> Light.
10/18/14: Shit! On relisten, just realized the rest of the band was going -> Light after Cities. Trey derailed with a stupid > 46 Days.
10/18/14: It shouldn't piss me off in retrospect, but it does. Light -> Cities -> Light would have been fantastic.
10/18/14: 46 Days is the S1 version, or the version they play near the end of the show when they're resting on their laurels.
10/18/14: Unfortunately, not a lot of laurels for this show.
10/18/14: Mellow move from 46 Days to Sand.
10/18/14: Sand is in full-on funkland mode.
10/18/14: Funk moves smoothly into a blissed-out type space.
10/18/14: This is gonna shock you, but premature > Number Line.
10/18/14: Pretty weird, rhythm-y Number Line jam instead of the usual noodle-fest.
10/18/14: Bold As Love closer is location-appropriate.
10/18/14: Encore is Meatstick (yay!) > Zero (boo!).
10/18/14: Of course since I've been ragging on Zero all year, they'd close with it at the last show I attended for the year.
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