The Verdict:
I don't have a whole lot to say about the first night of Jones Beach that I haven't said already about most of this leg of tour. There are a few bright spots, so let's focus on those.
The first set has a lot going for it in the song choice department: "Fluffhead" opener, "Walk Away," "Funky Bitch," "Cities"...but the only real playing of note comes during a goofy "Wilson" that features Trey soloing on a plastic toy guitar and then reprising part of the solo on his Languedoc, and yet another fantastic Trey-driven "Reba."
The "Lengthwise" -> "Maze" opener is a nice bit to open S2, though by taking up the typical "jam slot" of the set it telegraphs that this is going to be yet another second set without a cornerstone jam. That said, The entirety of the Mike's Groove is probably the best and most interesting bit of playing that the guys have put together since the Greek. There have been a few one-off jams that have been better, but the middle of this set is weird, and in a good way. "Mike's" > "Simple" > "Number Line" > "Caspian" > "Rock and Roll" > "Groove" is a great sequence...for this tour at least. And I don't say that to bitchy, but just to indicate that it doesn't stand up to a lot of the better sustained jamming from more recent years (or earlier years), but in the context of summer 2010, it's definitely worth a listen.
The Live Review:
8/17/10: Going for at least part of Jones Beach I today.
8/17/10: Fluffhead opener is always a feel-good choice :)
8/17/10: 'Fluff came to New York' lyric.
8/17/10: Well, that was fun. KDF in the two-slot.
8/17/10: Cities!
8/17/10: I like how frequently Funky Bitch is popping up lately.
8/17/10: I think that Trey might have just played his Wilson solo on a plastic guitar.
8/17/10: I have no idea how they mic'd that, but it's hilarious.
8/17/10: Now Trey playing the toy guitar riff on his real guitar.
8/17/10: The upside of all of these Trey-driven shows is that the Rebas are fantastic. Walk Away is next.
8/17/10: Part of me loves hearing Trey just slay these songs, while part of me thinks it must be part of what's keeping the...
8/17/10: ...rest of the band from bothering to join in for legit jams.
8/17/10: There has honestly been basically zero serious interplay since 8/7.
8/17/10: Short Wolfman's offers up a nice, but brief, plinko-y section before switching over to more guitar shrieking.
8/17/10: Lest you think I'm oddly down on '10 here, I tend to dislike any Phish where Trey drives the bus a little too much.
8/17/10: Part of the reason I don't bother much with anything pre-'94.
8/17/10: It's really, really good, it's just not interesting.
8/17/10: Even '94 and '95 are Trey heavy, but there he's at least using his powers to drag everyone else into Weirdland.
8/17/10: Possum set closer?
8/17/10: Lengthwise -> Maze to start S2.
8/17/10: Extra-quality tension-building in this Maze.
8/17/10: Short Halley's is next, and it gets -B Mike's. That seemed like a premeditated butt-slam segue, but it was still weird.
8/17/10: That Mike's was interesting...a little more Van Halen than usual.
8/17/10: Old school segue into Simple from Mike's.
8/17/10: Lots of great interplay in the Simple, actually. Trey heads off an ambient fade out with the opening chords of Number Line.
8/17/10: Number Line might actually be heading Type II here. 6:00 in, Trey's over to funk chords and Page is on the electric piano.
8/17/10: Almost an ASIHTOS-like space before a mellow breakdown.
8/17/10: Trey has latched on to a pretty anthemic riff now.
8/17/10: Sort-of segue into Caspian.
8/17/10: First time I've said this in almost two weeks, but that was a great jam.
8/17/10: Little mellow breakdown in Caspian, reminiscent of a Simple jam. Really liking this Mike's Groove all the way around.
8/17/10: Trey tried to pull off a -> Rock and Roll there and sort of biffed it. Anyways, Rock and Roll!
8/17/10: After mega-mellow-jam time, Trey is 'finally' busting out the big guns here again on Rock and Roll.
8/17/10: Weird build happening now.
8/17/10: Rock and Roll crashes to a stop...weird, spacey vocal reprise ('It's aaaaaall riiiiiiiight') > Groove.
8/17/10: Really high-register soloing from Trey, clav work from Page.
8/17/10: This Mike's Groove contains almost entirely music from a different and far superior version of the band. I am happy.
8/17/10: Far superior to everything since 8/7, that is. And, like, 12/30/09 before that.
8/17/10: Loving Cup set closer? Great choice.
8/17/10: Show of Life'd.
8/17/10: I wish Trey would release 3 different versions of this on various solo albums so he's stop playing it with Phish. But I suck.
8/17/10: Golgi closes out the show.
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