The Verdict:
This show is weird-good. It might even be weird great. What the fuck am I talking about? Read on to find out!
Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can, for example, describe a show like 10/20 in a few sentences and it immediately becomes clear why it's great. "There's a lot of fun teases in the first set, there's that weird seguefest/space jam at the end of the second set." These things are 1) weird, 2) technically impressive, and 3) unique. Describing a show like 10/19, on the other hand, doesn't really get across why it's so damn good ("There are some dark jams that are neat."), and yet I'd argue that both shows are equally awesome.
I bring this up because I think 10/23 falls into the latter category. It's hard to explain what it is that makes it a notable show, but it is one.
The first set starts off in pretty standard way, but pretty quickly turns interesting with a far-out "Tweezer" that never quite takes off entirely, but falls into that "Type 1.5" realm that elevates beyond most first set versions. The set winds up with a Phish-weird "BBFCFM" > "HYHU" > "Love You" > "HYHU" sequence and a hilarious and surprising "Tweeprise" closer that features the "Meatstick" opener's chorus vocals instead of the usual "Tweezer" vocals. There's nothing hugely impressive going on here improvisationally, but it's just fun, and it's one of Those Sets.
The guys play "Disease" for the second night in a row to open S2, but that's fine because this version packs a punch, getting strange quick and then morphing into a Tahoe "Tweezer"-like bliss rock jam before segueing into, of all things, "MFMF." The "Disease" jam itself is a highlight, but probably the best part of the show is, believe it or not, the "MFMF" -> "Caspian" -> "Halfway" -> "Boogie On" sequence. That sounds weird, and it sort of is, but the "Caspian" jam is weird and unique, "Halfway" is a stark take on the tune with alternate (unfinished) lyrics, and "Boogie On" features some extra loops and effects throughout the last few minutes that culminate in a great "Maze." Oh, and the segues are all pretty much perfect. Check this out, for sure.
Lastly, like many "Hood"s this year, the "Hood" is awesome, though it stays in the usual mode and doesn't wander like many '14 versions do. And the "YEM" that follows is the first show-closing "YEM" in awhile that feels like it's really deserved. Great show.
The Live Review:
10/23/10: While 10/19 and 10/20 were great shows, 10/22 was a return to form, so to speak. Will
10/23 suck balls? Let's find out!
10/23/10: Meatstick opener. It's like past Phish read my last tweet and responded.
10/23/10: Party Time is second. Serious bass work from Mike early on, and Page is laying down a
great organ solo now.
10/23/10: Golgi in the third spot, KDF in the fourth. Very first-setty so far.
10/23/10: Tweezer! Either the mix is different on this recording, or Mike is on fucking fire tonight.
10/23/10: Mike is driving the jam, Trey adding some neat harmonics. Page on the electric piano.
10/23/10: Mega mellow funk space in Tweezer. Mike still creating most of the notes.
10/23/10: Now a whale-y, noodly dream sequence.
10/23/10: This jam never strays too far away from Type I With Tone Changes (Type 1.5), but it's got great momentum. And in S1!
10/23/10: Studio-style wind-down at the end of the Tweezer.
10/23/10: Lawn Boy, lots of growls from someone (Page?) during Mike's solo.
10/23/10: Lawn Boy, Sparkle, BBFCFM. Definitely weird setlist flow during this show. With exception of that Tweezer, sort of a goofy set.
10/23/10: Some guy in the crowd is just SCREAMING 'THE SLOOOOOTH!' over and over again. #crowdbanter
10/23/10: Page starts up HYHU while Trey exhorts Fish to sing a song by chanting 'Henrietta! Henrietta!'
10/23/10: Fish sings half of Love You, ad libs some lyrics about the Electrolux, then attacks it face-first.
10/23/10: Band drops out, absolutely horrible-sounding solo from Fish on the vacuum now.
10/23/10: So, that was fun. Tweezer and BBFCFM > HYHU > Love You > HYHU break up the monotony of an otherwise standard fall 2010 S1.
10/23/10: Speaking of monotony, here comes Possum!
10/23/10: Very tension-and-release-filled Possum, actually. Great version.
10/23/10: Tweeprise?! Crowd is confused, no cheering.
10/23/10: I'm imagining that they're struck with the sudden fear of 'Oh shit, what if I bought a ticket to a single-set show?'
10/23/10: Okay, if you weren't confused enough yet, Tweeprise features the lyrics from the Meatstick chorus.
10/23/10: I love this band pretty much all the time.
10/23/10: Might not have been the most musically adventurous set of music ever, but Phish having fun on stage makes up for a lot of that.
10/23/10: Dude is still screaming for The Sloth. Also, someone just screamed 'PSYCHO KILLER!!!' right into the recording mic.
10/23/10: DWD opens the second set and gets weird pretty much off the bat. And I mean really weird. This is exciting.
10/23/10: Lots of loops and echoes. Trey laying out a rock solo over them.
10/23/10: Transition into bliss-mode rock. Sort of Tahoe Tweezer-ish for a minute or two.
10/23/10: Bliss rock shifts back to the loopy madness.
10/23/10: Loopy section is petering out a bit, though Mike is still laying down some excellent lines.
10/23/10: Trey pulls off a decent segue into MFMF instead of pushing for a second wind.
10/23/10: Welp, whatever else happens in this show, we've had a serious jam out of both Tweezer and Disease in one night.
10/23/10: What the hell is going to go into the jam slot tomorrow night guys? BET YOU DIDN'T THINK OF THAT AHEAD OF TIME.
10/23/10: MFMF -> Caspian. Trey started up the Caspian intro during the MFMF outro. Weird, but...unexpected, I guess?
10/23/10: This is almost more like a Simple jam than a Caspian jam. Very cool.
10/23/10: Sounds a bit like a WTU? tease from Trey. Would be a great segue.
10/23/10: Oh, shit! It's a Halfway To the Moon tease, actually. Great segue!
10/23/10: MFMF -> Caspian -> Halfway. Weird but notable sequence.
10/23/10: Instrumentation on this version is sparse.
10/23/10: Alternate lyrics from Page.
10/23/10: ...aaaaaaand -> Boogie On. Great string of segues, and some unexpected S2 songs, and a great Caspian jam. Awesome.
10/23/10: Loops at the end of Boogie > Maze. Not quite a ->, but almost keeps the streak alive.
10/23/10: Some extra machine-gun Trey at the end of that Maze. Now Wading.
10/23/10: A little spacey jamming at the end of this Piper. Definite Maze teases from Mike.
10/23/10: Just as Piper is developing (maybe), Fish hits the Hood beat. Nice, succinct version, though.
10/23/10: Hood for set closer?
10/23/10: Even as grumpy about 2010 as I am, there've been a LOT of good Hoods this year.
10/23/10: And Trey is currently dominating the 'slow build' part of this one.
10/23/10: Yup, good peak too.
10/23/10: YEM! Guess this ain't over yet.
10/23/10: Nice little Wilson-y jam in YEM, and a super-size Mike and Fish rhythm breakdown.
10/23/10: At the end of the vocal jam, someone screams 'FUCK YEAH!' #crowdbanter
10/23/10: Shine a Light encore.
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