The Verdict:
This one's up there with the two Atlanta shows and Shoreline as one of my favorites of the year so far. My Twitter review is a bit scattered for chemically-induced reasons, and maybe watching the video of the show rather than just listening to it made me more able to be tuned in to what was going on on screen, but hot damn, this was a fun show.
The first set, in what's becoming a surprising trend considering the buzz about this tour, is pretty rote. Nothing really happens that's out-of-the-box unless you count the strong "Type 1.5" "Gin" that closes the set. Oh, and Trey's "Timber" solo. That's worth a listen. Nothing else really stands out, but it's a really well-organized set that never really lets up and features a lot of songs you might like to hear in a "typical" first set and none that you wouldn't.
The second set, though, is pretty magical. It's not just the "Chalkdust" that opens and goes on to become one of the best (if not the best) jam of the year so far, or the "Tweezer" that immediately follows that's arguably even better. It's the fact that, like Shoreline, the quality never really lets up from there. There is no Jukebox Mode or fourth-quarter cooldown. Instead, we get "The Lizards" as a great segue from the "Tweezer" jam, a quick "Makisupa" with some excellent bass work from Mike, a surprise "Ghost" that's short but is still strong enough to be the keystone jam of any "normal" show, and then a "Hood" that maybe isn't as structurally interesting as most but features a beautiful take-charge solo from Trey that almost makes this more of a "Reba"-style jam than a "Hood" one. Fantastic set. I'm just going to link to the whole thing below instead of the highlights:
The Live Review:
8/7/15: ASIHTOS opener.
8/7/15: Weird to see Blossom on video. Used to go there as a kid to see DMB. Only saw one show there since 2002.
8/7/15: That was the 2010 Number Line show.
8/7/15: Trey laying down a solid solo here. Nice start.
8/7/15: Fish going to town now, too.
8/7/15: My Sweet One at number two.
8/7/15: Super-high tempo. Page destroys solo.
8/7/15: Wilson for number three. Energy level is through the roof.
8/7/15: Timber! Nice!
8/7/15: Immediate advantage to webcasts: you can actually watch Fish play, because he is a monster.
8/7/15: Trey fills are definitely at 2015 levels so far.
8/7/15: Watching a webcast also makes me think about how when I actually get to see the band live I waste a bunch of time worrying...
8/7/15: ...about stupid setlist shit and jam length. Would much rather be seeing a mediocre Phish show live than watching this.
8/7/15: Roses! Damn, great setlist so far :)
8/7/15: That Roses jam from '12 is still one of the neatest things.
8/7/15: Rift teasing. Then Trey commands Ween to get back together.
8/7/15: Rift.
8/7/15: Solid uptempo Rift. Some boobs being shaken vigorously in the front row.
8/7/15: Couch tour style advantage: you can slam a homemade Yumm Bowl and then eat a bunch of ice cream and it's all free.
8/7/15: Moma Dance is next. For some reason, that made me stand up and yell 'ZEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS!'
8/7/15: To my dog, who's trying to convince my other dog to play: 'No one on Earth wants to play with you. You have a bad personality.'
8/7/15: THE MOMENT ENDS THOUGH I FEEL WINDS
8/7/15: I'm just going to get high as hell and type the lyrics to all the songs in all caps in real time.
8/7/15: THE MOMA DANCE THE MOMA DANCE
8/7/15: THE MOMENT ENDS THE MOMENT ENDS
8/7/15: MUHAMMAD ANTS MUHAMMAD ANTS
8/7/15: Trey and Mike talking. Trey is like: 'Balzac?' and MIke is like: 'Sartre.'
8/7/15: Nellie Kane, fuck yes.
8/7/15: Mike's orange belt is freaking me the hell out, guys.
8/7/15: This song is actually Ginseng Sullivan. It only took me sixty seconds to realize that. Morning is gonna suck.
8/7/15: Long pause after Ginseng. I mean, I think it was long.
8/7/15: Somewhere between five seconds and 5-10 minutes.
8/7/15: Wingsuite
8/7/15: For when your wings deserve a rest.
8/7/15: I knew Trey's guitar would turn into that pink toothpaste before it happened.
8/7/15: Trey is drawing out the ending solo. End set?
8/7/15: I swear to god the drill just like flew up out of the ground and Mike grabbed it.
8/7/15: It's Ice!
8/7/15: Trey's struggling with the composed section. But that's okay, so am I.
8/7/15: I'm glad that the funk breakdown in It's Ice has become a regular thing.
8/7/15: Trey is teasing something. Thought it was No Men's but no.
8/7/15: For the Love of Money.
8/7/15: Gin! If this closes the set, it's a great choice.
8/7/15: Trey is going to melody town, here.
8/7/15: Fish slowly picking up the pace.
8/7/15: When I let myself think, I realize: 'Uh-oh.'
8/7/15: Great chording transition into a good ol' Type 1.5 Gin.
8/7/15: Nice use of CK5 firework effects on the backdrop.
8/7/15: He's alternating those with the lights that scared the shit out of me during the Dick's SOAM.
8/7/15: Fish is groovin'.
8/7/15: Soloing for the last 2-3 minutes has been absolutely nuts.
8/7/15: Drop back into Gin. Fantastic not-quite-wacky-jammed version.
8/7/15: A couple false 'last note's there before the real one. Guys having fun. I AM ALSO HAVING FUN
8/7/15: I'll be back in less than fifteen minutes, for real. DON'T DO ANYTHING I WOULDN'T DO
8/7/15: LIKE DRUGS FOR EXAMPLE
8/7/15: Second set time.
8/7/15: I'm ready to absorb this Chalkdust.
8/7/15: Oh man. How the serious fuck does ice cream taste so good?
8/7/15: Trey is using his 'guitar' to play many 'chords.'
8/7/15: When played in a particular sequence, they make a 'song.' #pomo
8/7/15: Red is the Keystone Light of colors.
8/7/15: I contributed to this jam by inhaling a lethal amount of weed right at the moment of the transition from Type > Type II #5thmember
8/7/15: Trey has an angry, aggressive look on his face during this solo. It scares me. #frownofdeath
8/7/15: Chalkdust second jam! #ripmikessecondjam #newhighlander
8/7/15: Crazy pitch-shifted soloing almost immediately.
8/7/15: Whoa, this jam is green and sticky. Now, moving to bliss jam.
8/7/15: Holy shit, CK5's lights are insane. I HAVE to try this at an actual concert sometime.
8/7/15: Really great rising progression from Trey. Fish picking up steam.
8/7/15: Jesus, every thing is sizzling warm and all orange.
8/7/15: In, like, a good way.
8/7/15: Trey reprising the progression during his solo. Holy COW
8/7/15: Brief, robotic interlude. Now getting darker.
8/7/15: Trey starts up another riff...teasing Tweezer now.
8/7/15: Band seges perfectly. -> Tweezer. God damn
8/7/15: LOOK WHO'S IN THE FREEZER...THE SHROUD OF TURIN!
8/7/15: Oh man, this jam immediately went purple.
8/7/15: Trey is laying down a super-funky Manteca-y riff and everyone's jamming on it. This is the best thing that's ever happened to us.
8/7/15: Being really patient about this languid funk jam. So cool.
8/7/15: Page using almost Meatstick tone now.
8/7/15: Trey is soloing in some fucking weirdo scale
8/7/15: But actually this is really good
8/7/15: Build out of that long jam finally moves into funk/loop/echo zone.
8/7/15: I bet Mike Gordon is a bass player in real life.
8/7/15: Slow, circular jam now, backed by creepy loops.
8/7/15: Okay, so these are two of the better jams of the year so far, if not the two best, and they're in the same set.
8/7/15: Camera is doing a weird 80s music video mirror effect now. At least, I hope it's the camera that's doing that.
8/7/15: Page over to clav.
8/7/15: Whoa. Extremely pretty outro jam.
8/7/15: Trey accidentally or on purpose hits on The Lizards' riff, and off we go!
8/7/15: What a landing from a great jam sequence.
8/7/15: Eat a huge bowl of ice cream, remember you're lactose intolerant minutes later.
8/7/15: See? Weed is goddamn dangerous!
8/7/15: Mike is glowing in the dark.
8/7/15: This is a reggae song. It is called 'I Want Pie Now.'
8/7/15: Nah, it's just Makisupa. Maybe the keyword will be 'Pie.'
8/7/15: Maybe I'm having trouble being objective right now, but I swear Mike pulled off an amazing solo in Makisupa.
8/7/15: I'm at that point where you can only have one eye open at a time.
8/7/15: Slow reggae jam out of Makisupa > Ghost by Trey.
8/7/15: GUYS, THE KITCHEN IS A PLACE
8/7/15: Mike is dressed like a character from the fucking Jetsons. Come on, man
8/7/15: The part in my neck feels like a cool mint Oreo
8/7/15: Jam now. Page over to electric piano.
8/7/15: Mike is going to town.
8/7/15: Ghost roars right from the usual Type I rock to FunkyTime in an eyeblink. Serious jam here all of a sudden.
8/7/15: Noise rock breakdown.
8/7/15: Hood! This S2 setlist is *perfect*.
8/7/15: Sometimes Page, while innocently singing, just makes horrible R.L. Stein monster faces.
8/7/15: Trey out in front with a solo at the start of the jam.
8/7/15: Really beautiful and awesome Hood solo from Trey.
8/7/15: Hood seemed a little short, but damn was that guitar playing for the ages. Emotive, too, not just shredding.
8/7/15: Tweeprise within S2.
8/7/15: GTBT encore. Hot damn.
8/7/15: This show is not FUCKING AROUND
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