The Verdict:
Though both shows in this run are fantastic, 7/31 stands above 8/1 as real best-of-tour material (at least so far). I still slightly prefer 7/24 because the second set had a longer and more interesting run of pure, free-form jamming, but I have to admit that the "KDF" jam here is just flat-out better than any of the three Shoreline jams, and the first set of 7/31 blows the first set of Shoreline away.
In the first set, I love the "Caspian" opener, unironically. It's a standard version but a great choice that makes a good one-two punch with the "No Men" that follows. The "Ghost" is absolutely a second-set jam, three songs into the show. The rest of the set is pretty standard, but the energy and playing stays
exceptionally strong throughout, and there are lots of little touches
that make it one of the best first frames of the tour so far. "Moma Dance" doesn't get "jammed out," technically, but the band plays a bit with tones and gives the staple a different feel than usual. "How Many People?" gets extended a little on its second outing, and a comment by Trey about "picking up the tempo" after "Rift" leads to a "Mike's" intro where the tempo is played around with liberally. The "Groove" ends the set with a bang, and you know something excellent has to be coming during S2.
And it does. The "KDF" is a masterful, long jam, covering loopy textures, near-ambient territory, metallic, creaking robot-rock, a huge octave-shifted solo from Trey, and ultimately a fade-out that leads into "Martian Monster." The "Martian Monster" is the most interesting take yet, for my money, with lots of chording by Trey, a sample jam from Page, and a fantastic bassline from Mike holding the whole thing down. Like "Martian Monster," "Twist" is a bit short, but it also covers a lot of ground, heading smoothly out of the composed bit a soaring, melodic space. "BOTT" is a slight hiccup, but then they're back at it with a top-shelf "Reba" and then a "Gin" that gets way out there by the standards of the song. The encore brings the whole thing home with "Farmhouse" > "Zero," which I have to assume is a sick joke.
Again, the obvious comparison to make here is to Shoreline, and while I felt that the first three songs in that S2 went deeper and weirder, none of them reached the depths of "KDF," and the "Martian Monster" > "Twist" section is no slouch, and neither is the "Gin." I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's more volume here, but maybe slightly less quality. But hell, it doesn't matter does it? This is real-deal 2015 Phish, so you need to hear it.
The Live Review:
7/31/15: Prince Caspian opener! There's a way to piss people who aren't me off!
7/31/15: Pretty standard Caspian, ends with a little loop section.
7/31/15: Nice landing in No Men!
7/31/15: No Type 2, but a lot of ground covered in 7 minutes. Great chording from Trey, Page taking the lead near the end.
7/31/15: Mike MVPing it the entire time.
7/31/15: Ghost!
7/31/15: Nailed the drop, and Mike is singing the high harmony. Sounds like 1998 in here all of a sudden.
7/31/15: Switching off between great leads from Trey and Mike.
7/31/15: Guys, this is a serious Ghost jam. Third song of the show.
7/31/15: Three songs in, two jams already. Wow.
7/31/15: And this Ghost is serious second-set shit. No messing around. Trey laying down a perfect, composed-sounding solo.
7/31/15: 2015 Fish being 2015 Fish. Driving that shit.
7/31/15: Perfect drop back into Ghost riff. Crowd goes nuts. Slow-down ending?
7/31/15: Trey definitely played the Roggae riff at the end of Ghost. But then they stopped. Maybe just a coincidence.
7/31/15: The Wedge.
7/31/15: The Wedge was pretty standard. > Moma. On the upside, Trey's tone on this Moma is dirty as hell.
7/31/15: Whoa. Almost plinko jam during Fish's vocals. Continuing during Trey's. This might be the weirdest 3.0 Moma.
7/31/15: Admittedly, that ain't sayin' much, but this is cool.
7/31/15: How Many People Are You? Nice!
7/31/15: Definitely laid the foundation for an awesome jam at the end of the song. Would LOVE to see that happen in 2016.
7/31/15: Rift next.
7/31/15: Trey, after a too-fast, sort-of-flubby Rift: 'We'd like to pick up the tempo now!'
7/31/15: Hoping WAN is next :)
7/31/15: Ooh, Mike's!
7/31/15: Fish playing double-time on drums...Trey responds by slowing the song waaaaaay down. This show is goddamn awesome.
7/31/15: Now a reggae version of the intro, complete with Trey reggae screaming.
7/31/15: Super-dirty tone from Trey during the Mike's solo.
7/31/15: Hydrogen!
7/31/15: GROOOOOOOVE
7/31/15: Great '15-style soloing from Trey.
7/31/15: Trey is making this into a monster Groove.
7/31/15: S2 KDF opener.
7/31/15: Mass of chording and loops overtaking the jam now.
7/31/15: Dark, reverb-y chords now.
7/31/15: Serious rock and roll machinery creaking along here.
7/31/15: Trey is laying down a great octave-shifted solo. Page on electric. Mike drone.
7/31/15: This sounds like Shoreline/Forum jamming on steroids.
7/31/15: Seamless move into a great Trey rock solo.
7/31/15: Heading back into Manteca-y territory again. Fishman is a monster.
7/31/15: Trey playing a building riff now.
7/31/15: Great rock peak, now backing down again.
7/31/15: Extended, loopy fade-out...MARTIAN MONSTER SAMPLE
7/31/15: Page is jamming on the vocal samples after a bassy breakdown.
7/31/15: Just put on my headphones, hit play, heard 'BECAUSE OF THE INCREDIBLE SPEED OF YOUR ROCKET' and then a student walked in.
7/31/15: This is my favorite Martian Monster, I think.
7/31/15: Great Mike bass, Trey deconstructing the song with chording, loops, Page solo, shit.
7/31/15: Twist next. Early bluesy noodling in the jam from Trey.
7/31/15: Smooth transition into a gorgeous, melodic space. Page on electric piano.
7/31/15: This is almost like a Simple jam, now.
7/31/15: Trey is just ripping it up melodically here. Small build, but Trey takes over with another solo. So good.
7/31/15: Nice landing in a -> BOTT.
7/31/15: Standard BOTT with a sort-of -> Reba.
7/31/15: Fantastic melody playing from Trey in this Reba. Notes fucking flying everywhere.
7/31/15: Trey whistling tease and then Page tease of Reba during the beginning of Gin.
7/31/15: Oh, and the Reba was amazing.
7/31/15: Trey soloing and scatting along with the solo now.
7/31/15: Entering 70s rock territory.
7/31/15: Trey entering rock-dragon mode now.
7/31/15: Oh man. Super-bliss-rocktown jam, still nosing around the Gin progression.
7/31/15: Trey whistling the Reba outro, Mike singing 'Don't go back to Kill Devil Falls' and Fish screaming over the Gin ending.
7/31/15: Encore is Farmhouse, Character Zero. Every show this summer has a clever encore except the ones with excellent S2s.
7/31/15: It's like they're trolling us. 'Five-song second set? Show of Life encore!'
7/31/15: Awful purty solo from Trey in the Farmhouse, tho
7/31/15: So, that was a pretty amazing second set. Not as jammy as Shoreline, but almost as good. KDF and Twist were the highlights.
7/31/15: On the other hand, this first set is by far the best one of the year so far.
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