The Verdict:
Two great shows in a row in 2010 is nothing to sneeze at, though I gotta say that if I had a time machine I'd go back and insist that 10/19 get the DVD release instead of 10/20.
That gripe expressed, the first set is one of my favorite first sets in post-2000 memory. In fact, it works better as a second set than the actual second set does. "My Soul" and "Vultures" are both stand-out versions, the "Wolfman's" -> "Cities" sequence stands up to the same sequence as it's found on Slip, Stitch, and Pass, and "Guyute" kicks off a back half of the set that sees "Guyute," "Bowie," and "Wilson" all played within and around each other in a major yarn ball of teases. "McGrupp" and a short-but-sweet "Saw It Again" set up a big set-closing "Antelope." Words don't really do justice the amount of playing around the band does in this set and how loose they sound while doing it. Just listen to the whole thing.
The second set, unfortunately, doesn't really live up to the promise of the first set. Trey absolutely beheads the opening "Drowned" jam just as it's taking off, and minus a few minutes of interesting "Sand"-based jamming, things never really recover until "Split" kicks on. Granted, what follows there is a great "Split" -> "Have Mercy" -> "Jam" > "Piper" -> "Split" sequence that, put together with 10/19's mid-S2 sequence almost makes up for the majority of fall tour suckage singlehandedly. But this set is more Great Jam Sequence Surrounded By Standards than Great Set All Around.
Either way, though, I'm damned happy to listen to these two shows in a row and I'm looking forward to wrapping up fall tour on a positive note, now.
The Live Review:
10/20/10: Trying to fit a review of the whole Utica show into the last three hours of work. Whooo!
10/20/10: My Soul to open. Slow tempo, extra blues. Mike is up in the mix.
10/20/10: My Soul was great, now an extra-spicy version of Stealing Time.
10/20/10: Trey sounds like he's trying to start up PYITE at the beginning of Stealing Time, and then again after, but Page starts Vultures.
10/20/10: That's weird and doesn't happen often. On the other hand, fucking VULTURES. One of my favorite Phish songs.
10/20/10: When they played it in SF in '13, I'm pretty sure I didn't stop screaming the entire time. Which I suppose defeated the point.
10/20/10: POTATO TO THE THROAT
10/20/10: Proto-'Woo' jam at the end of Vultures.
10/20/10: Wolfman's, complete with vocal/guitar jam.
10/20/10: Only clav and vox now. Awesome.
10/20/10: This is one of those jams that just makes me want to hug everyone in the band because it is just so awesome and happy.
10/20/10: It just keeps going. S1 Wolfman's is my favorite jam of fall tour so far.
10/20/10: Nine minutes, but it blows away anything longer. That's what she said. #sorry
10/20/10: -> Cities!!!
10/20/10: 'A lot of ghosts in Birmingham...bridges.' Hilarious flub.
10/20/10: Great Wolfman's -> Cities combo. > Guyute.
10/20/10: This isn't the cleanest Guyute around, but it's fast and high-energy, so that can be forgiven.
10/20/10: Guyute > Bowie. Band playing Guyute outro riff over Fish's Bowie beat.
10/20/10: This is extremely creepy.
10/20/10: Synth now. Guyute outro vocals from Trey.
10/20/10: Dave-Guy Bowyute.
10/20/10: Trey teases Guyute in Bowie breakdown.
10/20/10: Wilson tease in the jam. Crowd chanting 'Wilson!'
10/20/10: 'Bouncing like a newborn elf' from the band, 'Wilson!' from the crowd, layering over each other. Amazing stuff right here.
10/20/10: Another Wilson-chant-bit near the end of the jam.
10/20/10: End of Bowie -> Guyute reprise -> Wilson.
10/20/10: If 10/19 and 10/20 are an apology for every other show of fall tour, apology accepted.
10/20/10: Guyute teases in Wilson.
10/20/10: More Guyute teases.
10/20/10: 'I must inquire Guyute, can you still have any fun?'
10/20/10: Guys cracking up on the outro vocals.
10/20/10: > McGrupp!
10/20/10: What the hell is this band and what has it done with 2010 Phish?
10/20/10: This would be an incredible first set in 2014.
10/20/10: McGrupp > Saw It Again. Weird, but that's okay. Two great songs.
10/20/10: Guyute teases at the end of Saw It Again, with creepy 'Saw it again!' vocals.
10/20/10: Trey starting up Antelope over Page's synth effects.
10/20/10: Of course, more Guyute teases in the Antelope intro.
10/20/10: Great, high-octave tension bit in the Antelope jam proper.
10/20/10: Okay, I'm only going to get to one set today. Sorry!
10/20/10: S2 review and thoughts on 10/19 and 10/20 tomorrow.
10/20/10: Best S1 in recent memory, S2 starts with Drowned.
10/20/10: Drowned is actually sort of anemic compared to the first set. Standard Type I jam transitioning into some funk chording.
10/20/10: Moving into a darker space, Mike and Page driving.
10/20/10: And Trey just pulled out a massive ripcord > Sand. That was a bad one.
10/20/10: That moment when you can just feel them starting to gel perfectly and Trey hauls off and punches you right in the fucking nuts.
10/20/10: Trey's laying way back in this jam. Clav and bass up front.
10/20/10: Maybe he's ashamed of himself, AS HE SHOULD BE. BAD TREY! BAD!
10/20/10: Standard rock jam > some weird alien-sounding high-octave shit. I like this Sand.
10/20/10: Crazy loop effects > Theme. Loops over the Theme intro.
10/20/10: Axila I after a standard Theme. S2 is weird so far, barring a great Sand.
10/20/10: Birds. This might be one of those rare shows with a strong S1/weak S2 combo.
10/20/10: Extremely...umm...'loose' version of Tela is next.
10/20/10: Late-set Split.
10/20/10: Trey just modulated the hell out of something and now we're Type II. About 5:30 in.
10/20/10: Looping space into something almost ambient.
10/20/10: Trey singing lyrics to Have Mercy over the cacophony. Band fades out, comes back in.
10/20/10: Playing slowly morphs into a reggae beat.
10/20/10: Beat quickly fades back out into another dreamy jam sequence.
10/20/10: Jam sounded a little like Steam there for a minute.
10/20/10: Jam gets more and more driving...closes with Fish starting up what sounds like the Groove drumbeat, then immediately fading.
10/20/10: Trey starts Piper. Relatively long build to lyrics.
10/20/10: Page and Mike push the jam into rapid-fire territory at around 4:30.
10/20/10: Electric piano washes are really making this mellow jam space work, now.
10/20/10: Effortless move into more funk. Sounds like Birds.
10/20/10: Oh, it is. Trey is playing the melody line from Birds.
10/20/10: Fish building up the drums. Mike definitely teasing My Soul.
10/20/10: -> Split reprise.
10/20/10: Split > Slave.
10/20/10: The mellow part of that Slave featured some extra-good Trey and Mike interplay. End set.
10/20/10: GTBT to close a show where, indeed, the first set was better than the second. That Split -> Have Mercy > Piper -> Split...
10/20/10: ...was something else, though, for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment