The Verdict:
I almost feel as if the last night of the Dick's run needs two reviews: one that includes the encore and one that doesn't. Having been there in person, The Encore was a huge surprise, hugely exciting, and one of my favorite concert moments ever. On tape, minus the element of surprise and the always-elusive and controversial I-Was-There Factor, it's a sort of funny, random string of roughly-played songs that closes out a tour known for its jams and the third night of a final summer run that's been surprisingly sparse at doling those jams out.
As I said at the beginning of my Dick's I review, and have been saying since, it's hard to consider these shows outside of the long shadow of Magnaball. If you're able, you'll find all three of them have a lot to like, though they all err toward the mini-jams-and-segues style of 2014-2015 Phish more than the monster jams style of 2014-2015 Phish. This run should certainly be more highly regarded than it is, but at the same time I can absolutely understand why it's not. Dick's III is certainly an emotional exclamation point to summer tour, but a musical one? Not as much.
The first set is an amalgam of the first two nights' opening frames: there are some legitimate highlights, but they're sprinkled all over and then mixed liberally with lots of absolutely standard S1 fare. On a normal night, sure, I'll take it, but closing out the tour, at Dick's, a mostly-phoned-in first set sticks out like a sore thumb.
That said, "The Landlady" is a great bustout, and it's played extremely well, with Trey digging in for some monster opening riffs. "Seven Below" is a surprise call, and though its jam never leaves the box, the song itself is weird enough that that box is larger than it is for many of Phish's more predictable songs. This may be my favorite part of the set.
Trey goes to town on "Caspian," and while, yes, it's still just "Caspian" and not the Magnaball "Caspian," I'd suggest a listen. If you like "Scent" in its recently-expanded, marimba-driven mode, you could do worse than this version, especially because it dumps out into a raucous version of "Saw It Again."
The second set is, in a way, a perfect example of what 2015 Phish has been all about. You have a stupid-good, extended bliss jam in "Disease," and then the rest of the set is comprises of smaller, interesting spaces joined by powerful segues and a relentless flow. It's easy for me to feel "Carini" or "Piper" could have gone deeper, or to be disappointed that the Dick's "Tweezer" didn't blow the roof off, but all three of those songs have something going for them: "Carini" is complex, if brief, "Piper" channels (and maybe teases?) the end of the "Disease" jam's bliss, and "Tweezer" gets the echo-funk treatment. Add in a sparsely funky, longish "2001" and you've got a second set that really can't be faulted for anything but track length. And knocking it for that might be missing the point of 2015 Phish. Maybe.
The second set starts at 1:33:00:
Then there's the encore. It's perfect and beautiful and you had to be there. Sorry if you weren't. Just watch it again, because I can't say anything that hasn't already been said:
The Live Review:
9/6/15: Dick's 3 opening with super-rare Landlady.
9/6/15: Rare, at least, to hear on its own, minus the PYITE sandwich.
9/6/15: Nice take, too. Free is next.
9/6/15: Free is its usual loud, messy self, crashing around and being sort of annoying but not apologizing.
9/6/15: I swear, nowadays Trey doesn't touch his guitar for like 33% of that song. I wonder why.
9/6/15: Moma!
9/6/15: Fiery but in-the-box version of Moma leads directly into an uptempo Seven Below.
9/6/15: Driving variation on the main Seven Below riff leading off the jam.
9/6/15: That one never got too weird, but Seven Below jams, even first-set ones, are always interesting. Caspian next.
9/6/15: Caspian is super short, but gets rocked THE HELL out. Wow.
9/6/15: Smooth segue into Number Line.
9/6/15: Number Line is in the vein of most 2015 versions, with the high-neck trilling peak at the end.
9/6/15: Number Line, The Line. Not a fan-favorite setlist call there.
9/6/15: gf: 'I really like 'The Line.' me: 'Yes. That is the best Phish song. That is the song everyone wants them to play at the concert.'
9/6/15: I hate laser beams.
9/6/15: Scent + marimba lumina is always a good time.
9/6/15: Saw It Again, setlist surprise edition!
9/6/15: Short but neat version leads into Halfway To the Moon.
9/6/15: S1 closes with Birdwatcher and Frankenstein.
9/6/15: That S1 was sort of combination of the best and worst of the previous two nights'.
9/6/15: It had all the aimless variety and lack of flow of N2's opening frame, but a lot of the verve and solid playing of N1's.
9/6/15: Aside from The Landlady, though, only real highlights were the peak on Caspian and the Seven Below mini-jam.
9/6/15: Wilson opens the second set.
9/6/15: Disease emerges from the Wilson-ending fuzz, and the jam is straight rock and roll to start. Page all over the place on piano.
9/6/15: Solo taking a darker turn. Page to electric piano.
9/6/15: Heavily distorted, spacey tone from Trey now. Page back to piano.
9/6/15: Circular beat from Fish.
9/6/15: Trey chording a bliss-y little riff, coming up out of the murk. Electric piano washes and lots of snare complimenting.
9/6/15: Aaaaand Trey just pulls this absolutely magical fucking riff out of absolutely nowhere right at 12:00 and here we go.
9/6/15: Picking up speed now.
9/6/15: Loops in with the riff now.
9/6/15: Machine gun Trey is paying us a visit for the big peak.
9/6/15: Rockets out of the riff into a meaty series of chords.
9/6/15: That sounded like it was supposed to go somewhere, but it doesn't. > Carini.
9/6/15: WALRUS ON YOUR FACE WALRUS ON YOUR FACE WALRUS ON YOUR FACE WALRUS ON YOUR FACE WALRUS ON YOUR FACE WALRUS ON YOUR FACE WALRUS ON YO
9/6/15: Carini is getting the 2015 Angry Guitar Loops Jam treatment here.
9/6/15: Lots of satisfyingly angry jamming later, things are mellowing out...and Trey pulls out some Steam.
9/6/15: Steam goes short and Type I, and we go into Piper almost immediately.
9/6/15: I'm pretty sure Trey just teases the Disease jam riff in Piper, and now the jam is taking a really similar direction.
9/6/15: Trey singing 'Rockin' Down the Highway' over a little peppy rock jam that emerged in Piper. Then, > 2001.
9/6/15: 2001 also gets the echo-loop treatment, to great effect. This is the best 2001 in awhile. Long and patient, funky.
9/6/15: Did I mention it's longer than four minutes?
9/6/15: Tweezah.
9/6/15: Some really wacky chording stuff from Trey in what's usually the boring part of Tweezer.
9/6/15: Thus the inevitable echo-funk version of Tweezer comes into being.
9/6/15: Oh, and it's awesome.
9/6/15: Tweezer jam hits a lull and Trey starts up The Horse.
9/6/15: Weird that he began the song with the guitar riff, but then Page took over on piano during the vocals.
9/6/15: > Silent.
9/6/15: Nice, by-the-book Slave to round out the second set.
9/6/15: Time for The Encore.
9/6/15: Chants for Fluffhead after Tweeprise. Missed that at the show. I feel like Harpua is probably even better.
9/6/15: I loved the inclusion of After Midnight here. As a huge Phish fan who will likely never be able to afford MSG or a festival...
9/6/15: ...this might have been the only time I get to see the band play until midnight, so the tune felt like a neat acknowledgment of that
9/6/15: NO2 is fun. I really enjoyed everyone gathering around Page for Keyboard Army, though.
9/6/15: Gave a real communal feel to the song that wouldn't have been there if everyone had had their own keyboards.
9/6/15: 'I love having a pet. I love having a cat. I love having a pet cat. I wonder how long people have been keeping cats as pets?'
9/6/15: The funniest part of the whole encore, imo :)
9/6/15: > Your Pet Cat.
9/6/15: Nevermind. Mike eating the cat is absolutely the best part.
9/6/15: People who complain that this encore sucks because they sort of botch Once in a Lifetime are missing the point.
9/6/15: Love that they bring back 'A doooooooog!' at the end of Once In a Lifetime.
9/6/15: United To Stand to close.
9/6/15: Really should be seen rather than just heard, if you want to. https://t.co/CziR46FJAW
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