The Verdict:
The second Alpine show wasn't quite as satisfying as the first for me, though it seems like the general opinion on phish.net would disagree with me.
Admittedly, the first set is great from a setlist perspective. The song choices are just fantastic, including a "Very Short Fuse" opener, a "Forbin's" > "Mockingbird" sequence with some fun bird-shit-related narration, and a spacey "Brian and Robert." The problem, as I expressed during the live review below, is that Trey, and to a lesser extent the rest of the band, struggle with a lot of these rarities to the point that it sort of took me out of the show a bit. I'm sure that this set was incredibly fun live, and it's easier to be more critical when you can hear the details at home on the SBD, but there it is. It doesn't help either that the set closes with a "Split" that, in a year with some great versions, follows a completely predictable path.
Set 2 starts off with "Antelope," which is pretty weird, and other than that it actually follows a pretty similar path to 8/8's second set; it just doesn't have the same energy or flow, which makes it seem a bit pale by comparison. Pretty much everything in this set, with the exception of "Tweezer" and the second jam in "Mike's" is played completely straight. Fortunately, the second jam in "Mike's," although emerging in the weird 2015 way instead of the more organic "original" way, is totally weird in one of those "I've never heard Phish make these sounds before!" ways, and "Tweezer" is a phenomenal version that, in any other year, would be near the top of everyone's list for the whole summer. So you've got a little to dig into there. Honestly, though, the first set is better than the second, and the degree to which you'll appreciate the show overall has a lot to do with how much you enjoy setlist rarities and how much you can overlook some pretty serious flubs over the course of a 90 minute set.
The Live Review:
8/9/15: Noodling from Trey pre-opener. Now some clav.
8/9/15: Fuse sample. Crowd goes nuts. Very Long Fuse first.
8/9/15: Forgot how mellow this tune is. Awesome.
8/9/15: Holy shit, Forbin's.
8/9/15: Trey narration referencing how short his narrations are these days, and story about sleeping in the lot overnight.
8/9/15: Trey got shit on by a bird. Threatens audience with vengeance from the 'second shitter' on the 'grassy knoll.'
8/9/15: Trey struggling mightily with the arpeggios here. Great narration, though.
8/9/15: Brian and Robert! No way!
8/9/15: Lots of loops and echoes Fish using a different beat than the studio version.
8/9/15: Saw It Again! Holy this setlist!
8/9/15: Second solo plus insane shouting after the 'end' of Saw It Again.
8/9/15: Long pause after Saw It Again.
8/9/15: Esther! Holy crap.
8/9/15: Trey struggling a little again here, but great to hear this tune nonetheless.
8/9/15: Weigh is next.
8/9/15: 'Woo's during Weigh.
8/9/15: The Sloth!
8/9/15: Sanity is next. The hits just keep on coming.
8/9/15: This is fantastic setlist, but it's worth mentioning that this is the sloppiest I've heard Trey sound in a long time.
8/9/15: Almost definitely, it's because of the rare songs, but it takes a little bit of the piss out of the set.
8/9/15: Fuse samples and loops in the Sanity 'jam.'
8/9/15: Split maybe as the set closer?
8/9/15: Slow, really syrupy jamming to start.
8/9/15: Jam is sort of hinting at some of the darker, angrier Splits from later in the summer, but not quite getting there yet.
8/9/15: Second set opens with Antelope. That's weird.
8/9/15: Pretty pedestrian Antelope. Great peak, though.
8/9/15: Carini is next. Some typical soloing fuzzes out into something softer. Page to electric piano. Mike building a great bassline.
8/9/15: Not much happening here. Trey pulls the cord and moves to Waves.
8/9/15: Short Waves, but an ambient outro that sounds like Trey is starting up Tweezer a minute or two early.
8/9/15: Nice segue out of Waves, there.
8/9/15: Lots of echo-y goodness from Trey early on in this jam.
8/9/15: Tweezer is getting the Dick's Mike's Song '14 treatment here. Plus some synth from Page.
8/9/15: Page actually leading a little now on the electric piano.
8/9/15: Really driving, bliss-y progression emerging now.
8/9/15: This is badass.
8/9/15: Jam lands in Dirt. Second Dirt of the season, I think.
8/9/15: Mike's getting a bass solo. Neat!
8/9/15: Late-show Mike's to follow Dirt.
8/9/15: Manteca-y solo from Trey in an absolutely filthy tone to start.
8/9/15: Rest of the first jam is pretty straightforward. Second jam starts weirdly, like in Nashville. BUT IT STARTS
8/9/15: Page to clav. Money time.
8/9/15: Funk jam with staccato chords. Really hard to describe but Oh Shit awesome.
8/9/15: Crowd filling in with 'Woo's.
8/9/15: I've said it before, and I'll say it again: he who fears the 'Woo' has no real joy in his heart.
8/9/15: Jam fades out, > Blaze On.
8/9/15: Standard Blaze On, but nice to see it in the Mike's sandwich.
8/9/15: Extremely short but hot Groove.
8/9/15: Reprise to close the set.
8/9/15: Forgot to mention last night that the encore was Contact, Frankenstein.
8/9/15: Weird, weird show. If you're a 'repetitive setlist' complainer, you'll love it.
8/9/15: S1 setlist was totally out there, but so was Trey. I typically point out flubs just because I feel compelled to as a reviewer...
8/9/15: ...but they don't usually bother me. His playing was so rickety on all the rarities in S1, though, that it took away from the fun.
8/9/15: Like 8/8's S2, this S2 had great flow and energy, but not nearly as much to dig into.
8/9/15: The Tweezer was really special, and so was the second Mike's jam, but everything else was pretty rote.
8/9/15: Frankenstein closer sounded like Trey had never played it before.
8/9/15: Band was clearly loving being in Alpine, but just listening on tape it was one of my least favorite shows of tour so far.
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