The Verdict:
The second and final pre-MSG winter show of the year is a great show, provided that you enjoy particularly good second first sets in place of actual second sets.
I don't say that to be bitchy: if you're content with a lack of deep improv and love Phish music, it doesn't get much better than this. The first first set is just an avalanche of songs, as per usual in late 2010, including two Mike-sung bluegrass rarities and the debuts of both "Pigtail" and "The Birdwatcher." I like "Pigtail" as a TAB song, and was surprised to find that I liked this comparatively stripped-down take even more than their typical version.
The other highlight of the first set for me was "Stash," which continues to turn in versions that are, arguably, the jamming highlights of their respective shows (how's that for a backhanded compliment?).
The second set opens with a "Carini" that never really gets its legs entirely under it, but goes to some interesting places nonetheless, but the rest of the set sort of just settles in. "BOTT" -> "LxL" apparently gets a lot of attention, but I just wasn't feeling it, other than the segue, which was clever. I actually really liked the "Frankie Says" > "Albuquerque" segment because I love both songs and the drone that joins them together is a nice touch.
If you're not a nut for those two songs, though, there's nothing really in between "Carini" and "Hood" worth mentioning. The "Hood" is fantastic, mixing plinko and calypso styles that drive the song outside the usual box before wrapping it back up in a nice, traditional peak.
The Live Review:
12/28/10: Continuing with reviews today because later in the week my life is going to get busy and crazy.
12/28/10: I hope this is a good show because I'll almost definitely hit 5,000 tweets in the midst of it.
12/28/10: KDF opener is the exact opposite of what I was hoping for.
12/28/10: Interesting slow burn KDF explodes into a peak at the end.
12/28/10: My Mind's Got a Mind of Its Own! Wonder how long it's been since that one.
12/28/10: 56 shows.
12/28/10: Sounded like Trey was going to start Ocelot and Page started Alaska instead. #zerosumgame #phish
12/28/10: Alaska with Sarah Palin vocal samples. Okay, now that's funny.
12/28/10: For better or for worse, Trey is absolutely slaying again tonight.
12/28/10: She Caught the Katy cover, Mike on vocals.
12/28/10: Nice, short tune. Mike's vocals suit the style. Wolfman's is next.
12/28/10: Diving into the deep funk right away here. Good sign.
12/28/10: Seamless transition from the funk to a rock peak.
12/28/10: Phish debut of Pigtail, Trey gives a shout out to Tom before starting it up.
12/28/10: Mind-warpingly, Phish is doing a better job on the harmonies than TAB usually does.
12/28/10: Neat outro riff that didn't make it into the studio version and then an a cappella ending. I like it better than the official one.
12/28/10: Stash jam featuring some more of that Trey/Page linkup magic from last night's show.
12/28/10: Trey building tension with loops now.
12/28/10: Another top-shelf Stash here.
12/28/10: Bouncin' follows.
12/28/10: Bouncin' > Rift, Stealing Time.
12/28/10: Post Stash, the set is sagging a little bit.
12/28/10: First set closing with The Birdwatcher. Okay, so that's interesting.
12/28/10: Carini opens the second set. Hasn't been the improv giant in early 3.0 that it was before and has been after.
12/28/10: But I'm still hopeful for something wacky.
12/28/10: EVERYONE WAS SCREAMING WHEN THEY SAW THE LUMP
12/28/10: Jam getting chaotic around 6:30. Trey throwing notes in weird places. Mike driving.
12/28/10: Sort of ASIHTOS feel to the jam, now. Only more tempestuous.
12/28/10: I suppose it's only appropriate that my 5,000th #phish review tweet is to announce that Number Line is starting. #3.0
12/28/10: Snarkiness aside, though, this is a great take on the song. Tension-y bit in the middle and a great peak.
12/28/10: A little less predictable than most versions.
12/28/10: End of the song is butt-slammed into BOTT.
12/28/10: This BOTT would be a fantastic take if it was the first set and I hadn't already been waiting months for a real S2 jam.
12/28/10: At least Trey just pulled off an awesome -> Limb By Limb.
12/28/10: Limb By Limb goes noodly and minimalist right at the kick off of the jam section.
12/28/10: LxL was solid. Followed by The Wedge. Pretty sure the jam light is turned off for the night at this point.
12/28/10: Frankie Says!
12/28/10: Frankie doing a sort of ambient thing at the end.
12/28/10: Drone -> Albuquerque. Very cool.
12/28/10: Albuquerque > Hood. Eerie loops and such at the beginning of Hood. A bit stranger than usual.
12/28/10: Almost plinko-style start to the jam.
12/28/10: Calypso/plinko thing going on now. Awesome.
12/28/10: Seamless move out of calypso space into the outro progression.
12/28/10: Gorgeous, unique Hood to close the second set makes up for a lot in an otherwise very
2010 show.
12/28/10: Hood doesn't close the set. Bug does.
12/28/10: Instant gratification for y'all. https://t.co/Ybhzznz7nj
12/28/10: Thanks to @mkdevo, of course.
12/28/10: Shine a Light encore. Trey suddenly sounds incredibly hoarse. But it's sort of appropriate for this song.
12/28/10: The Hoarse > Silence #badpun #killme #phish
Jul 9, 2015
2010-12-30 MSG I
The Verdict:
I think my final few tweets about this show do a great job of summing up my thoughts. It's a strong show by 2010 standards as it follows the typical '09 template of One Big Jam In Set Two (as opposed to No Jams At All), and the jam itself shows some willingness to explore and innovate rather than just being a slight variation on a few of the jam styles that were prominent in late '09. So it's simultaneously encouraging looking toward 2011 and, well, another one of those shows where it's pretty fair to say you could listen to the big jam (in this case, an excellent "Tweezer") and go on your way without missing much.
Sure, the first set is yet another stellar 2010-style opening frame, and there are some interesting segues in between songs during a second set that's more like a second first set. But really, it's all about the "Tweezer" and the rest is nothing you haven't heard before.
The Live Review:
12/30/10: Cities opener. That bodes well for the three-day MSG run.
12/30/10: CDT assures us that late-fall-2010-guitar-god Trey is still in full effect.
12/30/10: Gumbo slows things back down in the three-spot.
12/30/10: Quinn! I feel like this is going to be one of those S1s where the song choice compensates for the fact that there are no jams.
12/30/10: Rough version of Quinn all the way around.
12/30/10: Halley's > Camel Walk keeps the ball rolling.
12/30/10: Maze looking to pick up the pace a bit.
12/30/10: Typically great Trey/Page tension in the middle of this Maze. Trey exploding toward the end.
12/30/10: Driver is the cooldown song after that guitar storm.
12/30/10: If I remember the last time they played this in 2010, it was a shuffle, sort of like the 'slow' version of Water in the Sky.
12/30/10: Fish is a lot more understated on this version.
12/30/10: Trey calls for a solo from 'Leo' during Driver. Gin is net.
12/30/10: 'Next,' even.
12/30/10: Gin is an extended Type I-only take so far, but Trey is shredding the crap out of it.
12/30/10: Fat Man in the Bathtub is back from Halloween.
12/30/10: Trey and Mike batter Timber into the ground, > Golgi.
12/30/10: Character Zero to close the first set with a double-encore. Weird.
12/30/10: Tweezer kicks off the second set.
12/30/10: Trey clearly said 'Jennifer Dances' twice before laughing and starting the Tweezer riff.
12/30/10: Fish and Mike are laying down an awesome foundation for Trey to develop an interesting riff over.
12/30/10: Hoo boy, this is some serious Type I madness.
12/30/10: Fading out into an interesting spacey bit, fueled by Trey loops.
12/30/10: Great bassline from Mike to drive this section. Page getting into things with the synth, now.
12/30/10: Building momentum now. Plinko-style jam.
12/30/10: Trey adding some chords that dirty up the jam a bit.
12/30/10: Jam dissolves into noise-haze. > Light.
12/30/10: Light is a Type 1 version in the typical Treypeggio mode.
12/30/10: Theme, and a possible turn back into S1-mode. Not complaining about that Tweezer, though :)
12/30/10: Neat little segue from Theme -> MFMF.
12/30/10: MFMF gets butt-slammed into a high-impact Axila I. Minus that pesky Tweezer, this is a great second first set ;)
12/30/10: FLUFFHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAD
12/30/10: Mid-S2 seems like a weird spot for Fluff.
12/30/10: 'Fluff came to New York' lyric.
12/30/10: Boogie On ends on an angry, spacey chord, which sets up an ambient transition to 2001.
12/30/10: Page is definitely bringing the weird on this version.
12/30/10: Suzy is next, and closes S2.
12/30/10: Antelope as the encore instead of the set closer.
12/30/10: Shredmaster Trey is having a grand old time with this Antelope.
12/30/10: Mike hammering the fight bell at the beginning of Tweeprise.
12/30/10: At least I think that's what it was. Who even fucking knows anymore?
12/30/10: This show was structured more like an '09 show than a '10 one: strong, standard playing
throughout with one big jam.
12/30/10: The big jam, though, didn't follow the template of '09 and went in some interesting directions, more like '11.
12/30/10: Maybe I'm just seeing transitions that aren't actually there since I know the future, but...
12/30/10: ...it seems like when the band actually (almost sheepishly) jams in late '10, it's way more interesting than most 3.0 jams so far.
12/30/10: I just wish it happened more than once a month. That Tweezer was cool, though.
I think my final few tweets about this show do a great job of summing up my thoughts. It's a strong show by 2010 standards as it follows the typical '09 template of One Big Jam In Set Two (as opposed to No Jams At All), and the jam itself shows some willingness to explore and innovate rather than just being a slight variation on a few of the jam styles that were prominent in late '09. So it's simultaneously encouraging looking toward 2011 and, well, another one of those shows where it's pretty fair to say you could listen to the big jam (in this case, an excellent "Tweezer") and go on your way without missing much.
Sure, the first set is yet another stellar 2010-style opening frame, and there are some interesting segues in between songs during a second set that's more like a second first set. But really, it's all about the "Tweezer" and the rest is nothing you haven't heard before.
The Live Review:
12/30/10: Cities opener. That bodes well for the three-day MSG run.
12/30/10: CDT assures us that late-fall-2010-guitar-god Trey is still in full effect.
12/30/10: Gumbo slows things back down in the three-spot.
12/30/10: Quinn! I feel like this is going to be one of those S1s where the song choice compensates for the fact that there are no jams.
12/30/10: Rough version of Quinn all the way around.
12/30/10: Halley's > Camel Walk keeps the ball rolling.
12/30/10: Maze looking to pick up the pace a bit.
12/30/10: Typically great Trey/Page tension in the middle of this Maze. Trey exploding toward the end.
12/30/10: Driver is the cooldown song after that guitar storm.
12/30/10: If I remember the last time they played this in 2010, it was a shuffle, sort of like the 'slow' version of Water in the Sky.
12/30/10: Fish is a lot more understated on this version.
12/30/10: Trey calls for a solo from 'Leo' during Driver. Gin is net.
12/30/10: 'Next,' even.
12/30/10: Gin is an extended Type I-only take so far, but Trey is shredding the crap out of it.
12/30/10: Fat Man in the Bathtub is back from Halloween.
12/30/10: Trey and Mike batter Timber into the ground, > Golgi.
12/30/10: Character Zero to close the first set with a double-encore. Weird.
12/30/10: Tweezer kicks off the second set.
12/30/10: Trey clearly said 'Jennifer Dances' twice before laughing and starting the Tweezer riff.
12/30/10: Fish and Mike are laying down an awesome foundation for Trey to develop an interesting riff over.
12/30/10: Hoo boy, this is some serious Type I madness.
12/30/10: Fading out into an interesting spacey bit, fueled by Trey loops.
12/30/10: Great bassline from Mike to drive this section. Page getting into things with the synth, now.
12/30/10: Building momentum now. Plinko-style jam.
12/30/10: Trey adding some chords that dirty up the jam a bit.
12/30/10: Jam dissolves into noise-haze. > Light.
12/30/10: Light is a Type 1 version in the typical Treypeggio mode.
12/30/10: Theme, and a possible turn back into S1-mode. Not complaining about that Tweezer, though :)
12/30/10: Neat little segue from Theme -> MFMF.
12/30/10: MFMF gets butt-slammed into a high-impact Axila I. Minus that pesky Tweezer, this is a great second first set ;)
12/30/10: FLUFFHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAD
12/30/10: Mid-S2 seems like a weird spot for Fluff.
12/30/10: 'Fluff came to New York' lyric.
12/30/10: Boogie On ends on an angry, spacey chord, which sets up an ambient transition to 2001.
12/30/10: Page is definitely bringing the weird on this version.
12/30/10: Suzy is next, and closes S2.
12/30/10: Antelope as the encore instead of the set closer.
12/30/10: Shredmaster Trey is having a grand old time with this Antelope.
12/30/10: Mike hammering the fight bell at the beginning of Tweeprise.
12/30/10: At least I think that's what it was. Who even fucking knows anymore?
12/30/10: This show was structured more like an '09 show than a '10 one: strong, standard playing
throughout with one big jam.
12/30/10: The big jam, though, didn't follow the template of '09 and went in some interesting directions, more like '11.
12/30/10: Maybe I'm just seeing transitions that aren't actually there since I know the future, but...
12/30/10: ...it seems like when the band actually (almost sheepishly) jams in late '10, it's way more interesting than most 3.0 jams so far.
12/30/10: I just wish it happened more than once a month. That Tweezer was cool, though.
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