The Verdict:
I wasn't as impressed by the first night at BGCA as everyone else was, apparently. And not because I'm trying to be difficult. Instead, it's just because it didn't do much to distinguish itself from most of the other shows I've listened to from this tour. When the band jams, they do it with a precision and an intention that's quite possibly unique across three decades of improvisation. And I really appreciate how amazing that is. But I'd almost prefer they sacrifice a bit of that to make these shows surprising. Part of what made summer '14 great was the amazing jamming, but it was also a sense of never knowing what might happen next. Fall '14 only really has one of those things. And damn, that's way better than nothing, and it's way better than all the "average-great" shows of '09-'12, but repetition has a way of making even brilliance seem dull.
So, here we've got a first set that's got a lot of great song choices that don't really hang together well. Those songs are played with a lot of energy but also in some places a surprising lack of preciseness. There is no improvisation to speak of. It's neat to hear "Walfredo." I like "Camel Walk" and "Brian and Robert." "Party Time" gets funked out a little bit. That's all.
And, also keeping with the template, we have a second set where brilliant, short jams are joined together by tenuous segues that are either clever or total ripcords, and a section of the set (either the middle or the end) sags and veers into jukebox territory. It leaves you wanting more but feeling bad that you're not happy enough with what you have.
"Sand" is a really interesting S1 version of the song. I recommend it, but don't come in expecting a huge space jam because it's not there. Trey is a monster on "Birds" > "WAN," making that sequence more interesting than it might look on paper. "Ghost" reminds me of the "Chalkdust" -> "Ghost" bliss jam from 10/21, and "Seven Below" gets a great, guitar-led reading. "2001" is pure old-school Phish funk in the best way, but it's paired with the worst, most tenuous "Slave" I've heard in a really long time.
The Live Review:
10/27/14: Walfredo opener! Perfect!
10/27/14: Ocelot in the two-spot. I suppose it's a good early choice for SF, but still assuming it'll be boring.
10/27/14: Okay, have to admit that Trey is on top of his game with the screechy, almost-whale-y Ocelot tone here.
10/27/14: How's that for damning with slight praise? :)
10/27/14: Camel Walk!
10/27/14: Really slow, grungy Simple tease from Trey.
10/27/14: Axila I is next. High-energy, mostly old-school S1 so far. Would Axila II count as a bustout at this point? Would love to hear it.
10/27/14: Rift! Also known as Most Played S1 Song This Year.
10/27/14: A quick trip to @phishnet would probably prove me wrong, there, but it sure feels that way.
10/27/14: Rift was one of the weaker takes of the year, fwiw.
10/27/14: This tension-y version of Maze is chord-filled, in the vein of the awesome Eugene version.
10/27/14: Brian and Robert! I'll never get sick of this one.
10/27/14: Decent tension-y Stash. Pretty standard. S1s seem to be moving away from improv (again) and focusing on song choice + energy.
10/27/14: Which is fine, but I'd sure love more S1s like the Eugene one.
10/27/14: Page on clav for Party Time mini-jam.
10/27/14: That Party Time seemed to go a bit longer than usual.
10/27/14: Trey shreds a short 46 Days, and end set.
10/27/14: Sort of a weird set in terms of flow. Lots of great songs getting played (mostly) well.
10/27/14: So, really nothing to set it apart from most fall '14 S1s.
10/27/14: Seemed like there were more surprises in the first half during summer shows. But there have been some killer S2s in fall so far...
10/27/14: Sand! Love this as a S2 opener, though it always makes me think I'm listening to an early 2000s TAB show for a minute.
10/27/14: This one rides the train to heavy distortion and clav Funkytown right away.
10/27/14: Trey-loop section breaks away from the funk a little, but afterward Page shifts back to the clav. Loops + clav = happiness.
10/27/14: Trey breaks into a cool melody part, but that actually seems to break the jam, somehow. Everybody stops, then suddenly > Birds.
10/27/14: Trey just dropped some VERY 90s style playing into that Birds. WAN is next. Great choice for a needed cool-down.
10/27/14: Another great solo from Trey on WAN.
10/27/14: Trey is either playing slightly out of key (on purpose) or using some sort of modulator for Ghost. Either way, wow.
10/27/14: Not playing wrong notes, definitely doing it on purpose. My money's on an effect of some kind.
10/27/14: This off-key thing is freaking me ouuuuuuuuuuuuuut.
10/27/14: Early off-key dissonance jam fading into melodic, mellow space.
10/27/14: Still very melodic jamming, but with Fish heavy on drums.
10/27/14: Page on electric piano now.
10/27/14: Angry, Steam-sounding jam emerging now.
10/27/14: Jam winds to a natural close, > Bug.
10/27/14: That was an appropriately epic ending to Bug.
10/27/14: Really pretty Page-led jam coming out of this Seven Below. Jazzy.
10/27/14: Now we're back in straight-up Trey-rock-shredding territory, but he's doing a hell of a job of it.
10/27/14: Jam doesn't get too weird, but is amazing the whole way through despite being sort-of Type 1.5.
10/27/14: I Didn't Know is next. Weird placement, but who cares. Great 'song.'
10/27/14: Late-set CDT, though something tells me that this one isn't going to go deep.
10/27/14: Trey shredding again. He's been ON FIRE during this set. If you miss guitar-centered #phish, check this set out.
10/27/14: Short CDT. 2001 next!
10/27/14: Super old-school dirty funk happening here. Almost two minutes in and no 2001 riff in sight.
10/27/14: Reminds me of the Dick's Mike's jam.
10/27/14: Hmm. After that awesome 2001, a shaky and perfunctory Slave ends the set.
10/27/14: Take Me Out To the Ballgame instrumental to start off the encore.
10/27/14: Winterqueen, ADITL is probably the weirdest encore combo in THE UNIVERSE
10/27/14: Incidentally, hearing A Day In the Life live is one of my few #phish wishes that the band hasn't already answered.
10/27/14: Maybe at the four-night Gorge run this summer? :)
10/27/14: And that's that. Another weird-ish show in the way 10/25 was weird...but there were a few monster jams stuck in there.
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