The Verdict:
So...I was the last Phish fan on earth to listen to the Halloween show. What did I think? Well, first and foremost, I'm going to have to listen to that second set a bunch more times before coming to a final verdict. On first listen, I found the instrumentals to be a lot more varied in tone and style than I'd expected. I thought that Page's sound samples really added a lot to the jamming beyond just being goofy jokes. And, wow. An hour or so of new, somewhat-structured jams that have since poked back into the band's sets a few times. It's all good. At this point, it's just a question of how good. But I'll worry about that later.
Yes, S2 is fantastic, and you can see my reaction below if you're really interested. The second most important piece of news about this show, though, is that it's one of the better shows of fall tour without the second set. Only Eugene and BGCA II really compare, as far as I'm concerned.
The first set's sort-of Halloween theme pushes the band into playing a lot of songs we don't normally hear, and the results are great. "Ghost" and "Scent" both feature legitimate jams, and while the rest of the set features little improv, there's a "Reba" in there and a few rarities to keep the energy flowing.
The third set, far from being the comedown it usually is at three-set shows, blows the roof off. After a standard "PYITE" opener, "Golden Age" is a fantastic, delicate jam, "Tweezer" is a mesmerizing if efficient exploration, and even "Heavy Things" is a great reading, benefiting from a perfect segue out of "Tweezer." "Guyute" is a great surprise, and things wrap up with an amazing 18-minute "Sand" that ends with another ideal ->, this time in "Tweeprise."
So, yeah. Basically 2/3rds of this show are perfect, and the other third is perfect for a first set. Brilliant!
The Live Review:
10/31/14: Okay, so this review is finally happening. #phish
10/31/14: Halloween-appropriate Buried Alive opener.
10/31/14: Ghost in the second slot. Sensing some spook-themed songs in this first setlist.
10/31/14: Really mellow, gooey Ghost jam. Trey putting in some interesting bends and loops.
10/31/14: Not mind-blowing, but better than you'd expect at the start of the show.
10/31/14: They actually played the coda/end to Ghost. I feel like that hasn't happened for awhile.
10/31/14: Scent of a Mule!
10/31/14: Mike lyric biff! Now THAT'S the scariest part of this Halloween show so far.
10/31/14: Some marimba lumina vs. Trey action going on now.
10/31/14: Trey conjuring demons on guitar while Fish switches back to drums.
10/31/14: A little extra mustard on Sample. Reba next.
10/31/14: It's actually sort of frustrating to see how good of a first set the band will play during a 'themed' show.
10/31/14: I.e. Halloween, Dick's N1, etc.
10/31/14: Clearly, they CAN play interesting first sets, they just normally don't bother.
10/31/14: The Reba is really well-played and builds to a satisfying peak. The melodic parts didn't grab me as much as many other takes, tho.
10/31/14: 46 Days!
10/31/14: Standard-rock take on 46 Days, but then...BIG BLACK FURRY CREATURE FROM MARS
10/31/14: BBFCFM > Lawn Boy is a hilarious pairing.
10/31/14: Fish gets a drum solo during Lawn Boy. Saw It Again next!
10/31/14: Short I Saw It Again, > Tube.
10/31/14: That was the fastest and most standard Tube in a really long time.
10/31/14: Saw It Again tease at 2:45, though.
10/31/14: Wolfman's is a little less funk and a little more rock than it has been lately. One of the more solid go-to S1 songs of '14.
10/31/14: S2 time. Haven't heard this yet, so I'm pretty excited.
10/31/14: The 'Intro' track sounds like something from an 80s horror movie.
10/31/14: Cool to hear #phish playing something that's a bit out of their element, sound-wise.
10/31/14: Of course, at this point, there isn't much that IS out of #phish's element, sound-wise.
10/31/14: Okay, first real song is a particularly dark, Trey-led jam with lots of screaming voices in the background.
10/31/14: I thought that the sound effects would be cheesy, but it's actually really creepy and suits the music well.
10/31/14: Second tune is a bit more upbeat. Weirdly enough, it reminds me a little of an Allman Brothers tune so far.
10/31/14: The Dogs has a pretty amazing swagger to it. Probably my favorite so far.
10/31/14: Timber is really dirty-sounding blues. Really like what Page is doing.
10/31/14: If I HAD to complain about something here, it's that Trey seems to be driving all the songs. Of course, it's only my first listen.
10/31/14: And they're great songs :)
10/31/14: Your Pet Cat is super-cool. The interplay between Trey's riff and the cat sounds is pretty amazing.
10/31/14: I think Page just took a cat solo.
10/31/14: Shipwreck is the coolest so far. Multi-part instrumental, with some backwards-speaking voice samples and loops.
10/31/14: Okay, Mike is definitely driving The Unsafe Bridge.
10/31/14: Each of these songs is so different from the others.
10/31/14: The Chinese Water Torture is a very Phish-y jam. Almost plinko-style in parts.
10/31/14: Intro to The Birds is really bluesy, too.
10/31/14: Page is using 'THEY ATTACK!' as the 'Woo!' part of a woo-jam.
10/31/14: Martian Monster mega-funk jam!
10/31/14: YOU'RE ABOUT TO BLAST OFF
10/31/14: I think this is the Phishiest part of the set.
Set III in a bit...gotta meeting.
10/31/14: Okay, so it's a little hard to react appropriately to S2, as it's just an entire set of new Phish music.
10/31/14: But I was really surprised at how varied it was, how tight the playing was throughout, and how well the samples worked.
10/31/14: Overall, really cool. Can't wait to watch the video sometime soon.
10/31/14: S3 set opener: PYITE.
10/31/14: Sounds like Trey might have actually practiced Golden Age :)
10/31/14: Trey's got a little repetitive riff going in the jam. Page is laying down electric piano textures overtop. Very minimalist.
10/31/14: Very minimalist, chill jam in general. Trey adding some loops at the end.
10/31/14: Page to clav...Trey to Tweezer.
10/31/14: Trey is totally on top of the Tweezer jam, leading with some clever melodic stuff. At about 7:45 he switches over to rhythm.
10/31/14: Stop-start type jam now.
10/31/14: Trey's locked on to a bliss-rock riff now. A couple great spaces in this jam and excellent transitions between 'em.
10/31/14: Ooh, sounds like a great -> Heavy Things is coming...and yes!
10/31/14: Guyute! Didn't see that coming. Heavy Things was short and sweet, and ended before the band started Guyute.
10/31/14: Band sounds off time-wise a few times during Guyute. But it's still AWESOME.
10/31/14: Late set three Sand! It makes me extremely happy to say that.
10/31/14: Early jam funk, moving into a Trey-led section. Trey is controlling all jams tonight.
10/31/14: His playing has been top-notch throughout, so no complaints; I just sort of miss the other guys. Feels like an early 90s show.
10/31/14: Trey is absolutely shredding the shit out of this section.
10/31/14: Plinko section coming out of the Trey-gasm's ashes.
10/31/14: Mike's bass tone is amazing.
10/31/14: Loops and echoes abound over Page's arrhythmic clav foundation.
10/31/14: Obligatory woo section to the jam, since it's 15+ minutes.
10/31/14: As someone who was in Tahoe for The Tweezer, it still makes me smile. Woo away.
10/31/14: Distorted spacey madness reminiscent of Dick's N3S2 right now...and sudden turn into straight-up blues?! Whoa!
10/31/14: That transition was about as sudden and perfect as the *planned* one that happens at the end of Tube.
10/31/14: And that HUGE Sand ends with a FUCKING -> TWEEPRISE. How often is there a segue like that into Tweeprise?! Wow, what a set.
10/31/14: Any night w/o the Halloween set and people and freaking out about this S3. As it is, it's just the cherry on top.
10/31/14: Finally finishing the encore this morning :)
10/31/14: Is This What You Wanted is right up there with Garden Party when it comes to tongue-in-cheek Phish comments on their audience.
10/31/14: It's funny AND theme-appropriate.
10/31/14: Frankenstein closer. Been awhile. Sounds like Page on keytar?
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