The Verdict:
Both of these Texas shows are weird. And not entirely good-weird. Considered in the context of the tour as a whole, they get even weirder. The closest comparison to them is probably the Bend run, but even there, there's a verve to the band's (and especially Trey's) playing, the jams are there, they're just writ small, and the debuts and setlist surprises keep things interesting. I can't say the same for these two shows, unfortunately. But, hey, there are anomalies even in every excellent tour. And it's not as if these two shows don't have some highlights worth digging into at the expense of the rest.
The first night is mostly comprised of first-set-style songs played well, but not in any sort of discernible order. As a result, the energy is all over the place, depending on which song is currently playing. I like "Dirt" and "Sugar Shack" more than the next guy, but whoever thought to build the middle of the opening frame out of "Lawn Boy," "Bouncin'," "Water in the Sky" > "Dirt," "Devotion," "Sugar Shack" was high on some especially relaxing stuff. The set-closing "Antelope" is the most anaemic version I can remember hearing in a long time, so even that doesn't help. The back half of the second set is the same: song choices and playing that make it seem like the band has confused the fourth quarter with the first one.
All that said, though, I still don't think this show deserves the brutal sub-3 rating it currently has on phish.net. Why? Because the third quarter is fantastic. "The Dogs" gets sandwiched into a "46 Days" that comes back after the "Dogs" jam to float around in a beautiful, ethereal space for a few minutes before "Piper" begins a slow-for-3.0 build version. "Piper" heads into "Ghost" territory a few minutes before actually seguing into the song, and "Ghost" proper moves from a Bend "Simple"-style jam into something that almost sounds like "Runaway Jim" before moving perfectly into "Shade." That the rest of the set then ends up being a "cooldown song" doesn't necessarily detract from the brilliance of putting "Shade" at the end of this gorgeous sequence.
The rest of this show is, I hate to say, pure filler, but that sequence should be on everyone's summer highlight list.
No individual song videos on YouTube, but jump to 1:23:00 here to see the opening of the second set:
The Live Review:
7/28/15: Ahhh the dulcet tones of a Party Time opener.
7/28/15: Often seems to signal a subpar show. Hopefully that isn't the case here.
7/28/15: This is the first show of the summer I've reviewed that I didn't attend. Should be interesting.
7/28/15: Party Time sounds a little more languid and funky than usual.
7/28/15: Page takes an organ solo, now a Trey solo.
7/28/15: Free jam is equally sort of sparse and slow. Not necessarily a bad thing. Just sounds different.
7/28/15: Halley's. One of those #phish songs that I never enjoy because I'm always wondering 'WILL THIS BE THE ONE THAT THEY JAM ON???'
7/28/15: Fiery Halley's solo -B Wolfman's.
7/28/15: Trey is going full-on machine gun at the end of this Wolfman's. Short, and one of least interesting versions I've heard in awhile.
7/28/15: But, yeah, that guitar was TERRE HAUTE
7/28/15: Possum is led by a series organ solo from Page. Trey chording over.
7/28/15: Lawn Boy.
7/28/15: Lawn Boy > Bouncin' is probably not anyone's new favorite setlist call.
7/28/15: Fast version of Water In the Sky.
7/28/15: Holy Dirt!
7/28/15: Such a gorgeous song. And Trey is nailing the solo.
7/28/15: For a lot of people, set is probably coming apart at this point, but I love Devotion. First air guitar solo of the school year.
7/28/15: I took a little #phish hiatus after listening all the way to Dick's and back and then climbing Whitney. The silence was nice.
7/28/15: And now it's great to be back :)
7/28/15: I have these times when I think 'I love so much music, why spend so much time listening to one band?'
7/28/15: Then I get about a third of a way through a show and think 'Oh. Right.'
7/28/15: Sugar Shack! This is another of my favorite S1 songs, when Trey doesn't murder it.
7/28/15: This seems like a really long S1. Might just be because I'm trying to review w/o looking at the playlist during for the first time.
7/28/15: Antelope will presumably close the set.
7/28/15: Eww. Trey botches the chord that transitions from the intro to the jam.
7/28/15: Sure, everyone messes up from time to time, but that's some iconic shit, and stands out more.
7/28/15: I hate using this word in general, but that was the most milquetoast version of Antelope I've heard in a long time.
7/28/15: 46 Days opening the second set.
7/28/15: Wooooooo! 46 Days -> The Dogs!
7/28/15: Holy goddamn 46 Days -> The Dogs -> 46 Days!
7/28/15: Spacey, almost 2001 jam now.
7/28/15: This is such a great little jam.
7/28/15: 7/28/15: jam > Piper.
7/28/15: https://t.co/EqgMydCayk
7/28/15: Piper has a nice, slow wind up and moves seamlessly into a fast, chordy jam. I might submit Fish as early tour MVP.
7/28/15: Winding up in an ethereal jam. Fish hitting the blocks. Aaaaand...GHOST
7/28/15: This whole sequence has been fucking nuts. Love it.
7/28/15: Slow, slanky sort of Ghost jam. Sound like it could potentially go Bend Simple at any moment.
7/28/15: And now it sort of is.
7/28/15: Slow roll into a blissful, almost Runaway Jim-like progression/riff/thing.
7/28/15: Lots of moving around in that short jam. But it was great.
7/28/15: And lands in Shade, which is just perfect!
7/28/15: Gotta Jibboo might signal that the madness is over. That was a great run of songs, though, for what's probably most of S2.
7/28/15: A little call and response between Page and Trey.
7/28/15: WAN. What a weird fucking show.
7/28/15: Good Trey solo in this version.
7/28/15: Missing the bass bombs tho. C'mon Mike!
7/28/15: Blaze On. Love the song. Seems like weird placement. But that could sum up most of this show, technically speaking.
7/28/15: Short version. Nice, compact solo from Trey tho.
7/28/15: Wading now. What the serious fuck is going on with the setlist in this show?
7/28/15: Bowie next. Maybe the set closer? Who knows? Maybe they'll encore with NO2 -> FEFY > BBFCFM > Mock Song.
7/28/15: Almost delicate, noodly section of Bowie lasts quite a long time. Trey chording now over the build-up to the finale.
7/28/15: Suzy after Bowie.
7/28/15: Ah, and Austin did get our Tweeprise from The Forum. I'd been wondering about that.
7/28/15: Loving Cup, a pretty inappropriate-seeming choice, is the encore. Which seems appropriate. What a weird show.
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