The Verdict:
Very similar to the 6/5 show, 6/7 presents an excellently constructed first set played with a lot of verve, and then a second set that doesn't live up to the promise, offering a tiny bit of interesting improv and otherwise a bunch of head-scratcher song choices and blown segues.
Other than the odd "Stealing Time" closer, set one is coherent and fun. "Llama" and "Moma" are a great one-two punch to open the set. "Cities" and "David Bowie" both get extended a bit, and "Instant Karma!" makes for a great, brief cover break between them. One-off cover "Rhymes" (taken from Mike's band's repertoire) fits the band surprisingly well and should have totally been played more than once during this tour. And "Divided Sky" is, well, "Divided Sky."
Set two opens, confusingly, with "BOTT," but then moves via a pretty disastrous segue to a 16-minute "Rock and Roll," which itself is clearly the highpoint of the show. After a few minutes of quality Trey soloing, the jam moves into a more rhythm-driven zone and stays there before blasting into a dark, bluesy section that brings Trey to the fore again. There's a few interesting spaces here and it's definitely worth a listen. The landing in "The Mango Song" is pretty great, too. From there, though, things get a bit weird. Following "Mango" with "Bug" does the set no favors, and though "Pebbles and Marbles" is one of the rare well-played live versions, it still feels a bit like we're in wind-down mode during the song. Rounding out the set are a short "Halley's" and a short "Meatstick," and while the set-closing "Antelope" features some fun teases, it doesn't do much to keep the back half of this set from feeling a bit empty.
Rarely do I talk much about the encore, but this "Suzy" is super fun, includes some "Page's house!" antics and some more Mike-led jamming. Worth a listen.
The Live Review:
6/7/11: Llama opener. That's awesome.
6/7/11: Tempo is somewhere between the studio version and the slow Llama of '15.
6/7/11: Page taking a nice pass on an organ solo to start.
6/7/11: A particularly chunky-sounding Moma Dance is next.
6/7/11: Trey going to town on the Moma outro solo.
6/7/11: Possum!
6/7/11: I hate to say it, but '11 Phish definitely makes the first-setty first set more fun than '15 Phish.
6/7/11: This isn't interesting, but it sure is fun to listen to. A lot more bounce and energy to the tunes than there tends to be nowadays.
6/7/11: Seriously, this Possum is crazy and more energy than they've brought to the song in the last three years.
6/7/11: Cities! Loving the song choices so far.
6/7/11: Cities funk jam getting extended a little bit.
6/7/11: Instant Karma! is next. Thought for some reason that the version they played in August '11 was the debut. Guess not.
6/7/11: Mid-set Bowie. Odd choice, but here we go!
6/7/11: Long, but standard and well-played version of Bowie. A cover of Al Green's 'Rhymes' is next. Looks like it was a MGB song.
6/7/11: Before Phish covered it, I mean.
6/7/11: Divided Sky. Also seems like weird placement.
6/7/11: Oddly enough, set continues with Stealing Time.
6/7/11: Okay, end set.
6/7/11: Weirdness continues as set 2 starts with BOTT.
6/7/11: Ending of BOTT sort of awkwardly wrangled into the opening of Rock and Roll. Takes Trey 90 seconds to find the right rhythm.
6/7/11: There should be a separate symbol for segues that are a good idea in theory but then fall flat. Maybe "!>?"?
6/7/11: Or maybe just >...?
6/7/11: Trey solo transitions nicely into a burbling, Mike-led jam.
6/7/11: Trey adding what I will unironically call 'accent guitar.'
6/7/11: Angry, bluesy space opening up now. Pretty cool.
6/7/11: Rock builds to a noise crescendo. Pretty interesting jam, actually.
6/7/11: Great landing in The Mango Song.
6/7/11: Bug is next. Another odd choice.
6/7/11: A fast-paced and surprisingly competent live take on Pebbles and Marbles is next.
6/7/11: Doesn't really do much to alleviate the feeling that the song choices in this show are pretty random and haphazard...
6/7/11: ...but it's a great take on the song.
6/7/11: Halley's Comet, weirdly at the near-end of the show.
6/7/11: Entering the Halley's jam, Trey tried something that...didn't work. Really quick key change, lost everybody, then > Meatstick.
6/7/11: I wonder what was supposed to happen there.
6/7/11: Short Meatstick lands in Antelope. Probably to close the set.
6/7/11: Meatstick and Bug teases in Antelope intro.
6/7/11: I *think* that was a Divided Sky tease.
6/7/11: Great, straight-laced take on Antelope. Fish was just introduced as being 'on cymbal.'
6/7/11: Suzy encore.
6/7/11: Trey teases Meatstick during the solo. Now Page does it.
6/7/11: Trey going nuts with the MOASETACK teases.
6/7/11: Trey exhorts Page to 'take us to your house!' and Fish jumps on the woodblock.
6/7/11: Mike laying down a really grungy bassline now. Page playing piano over it.
6/7/11: That was a fun encore.
6/7/11: We've had non-jammy shows where the energy/song selection is enough to elevate that show anyway...
6/7/11: ...and shows where despite monster jams, the rest of the show is so lackluster it drags everything down...
6/7/11: ...this is the rare show with almost no jamming, but high-energy playing that nonetheless has so little flow that it sort of sucks.
6/7/11: I liked the Rock and Roll jam, and the Rhymes cover. You could do worse than the Cities, Bowie, and Suzy.
6/7/11: There was a rare decent-played-live Pebbles...and that's about it.
Mar 30, 2016
2011-06-05 Riverbend
The Verdict:
After a brief digression into awesome in Detroit and Cleveland, Phish seems determined to revisit the doldrums of 2010 in Riverbend. Like much of 2010, sheer enthusiasm is forced to substitute for a particularly interesting or well-built setlist and substantive jams. If you've never heard a Phish show before, this kind of playing will likely blow you away. But, as I so often wrote while reviewing summer 2010, for serious fans this sort of show will simply get passed over.
That said, there's enough variety and sheer momentum during the first set of offset the lack of interesting playing. It's a solid, old-school setlist where "PYITE," "Taste," a slightly-altered "Mound," and an extended "Fee," among others, make an appearance. "Reba" is notably, too, for its somewhat unusual full-band jam instead of the usual Trey-led soloing.
It's really during the second set, when expectations are generally (and understandably) higher when this approach doesn't really cut the mustard. "Carini" opens set two, but gets cut surprisingly short for a botched transition into "Tweezer." "Tweezer" goes the plinko route and presents an interesting jam, actually, before a noise rock coda transforms into a decent "Free." "Crosseyed" follow the same fate as "Carini," going nowhere before making an awkward transition, this time into "Light," but like "Tweezer," "Light" spends a few minutes in an interesting space, making it the other improvisation highlight of the show. "YEM" seems like an unearned victory lap in this case, but nonetheless, the jam portion of the tune is heavily led by the rhythm section, and that makes it worth a listen if you're into that sort of thing.
The Live Review:
6/5/11: Alright, here we go. Bag opoener.
6/5/11: 'opener,' even
6/5/11: Nice high-neck trilling at the end of Bag > PYITE.
6/5/11: Gin is in the three-spot. Loving the setlist so far.
6/5/11: Nice, rocking Type I Gin. A fun slow-down style ending.
6/5/11: Taste! I feel like we don't hear that one very often anymore.
6/5/11: I love Fish's drumming during the Trey solo part in Taste.
6/5/11: Kind of an early/rough ending for Taste.
6/5/11: A little Lawn Boy to cool down, now.
6/5/11: Mound!
6/5/11: Slightly extended, weirder-than-usual take on Mound.
6/5/11: Jibboo is next, with a jam that Mike is totally dominating.
6/5/11: > Reba.
6/5/11: Reba jam is more democratic so far than the usual Trey-solo-led version.
6/5/11: Okay, now Trey's ripping it.
6/5/11: That was a highlight version of Reba, for sure. No whistling ending.
6/5/11: FEEEEEEEE
6/5/11: Trey on the megaphone.
6/5/11: Little harmonics jam unfolding at the end of Fee.
6/5/11: Well, that was neat. > Number Line.
6/5/11: YOU DECIDE WHAT IT CONTAINS
6/5/11: ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE
6/5/11: I HAVE OFFICIALLY DECIDED THAT IT CONTAINS AN ENTIRE FREE PIZZA
6/5/11: 100% caffeine + 0% food = shitty all caps reviews
6/5/11: End set.
6/5/11: Definitely one of those sets where the energy and song selection elevated what was otherwise a pretty straightforward frame.
6/5/11: Carini to open S2!
6/5/11: Trey cuts Carini's throat to start Tweezer. For a second there, it sounded like a ->, but in the end he lost the rest of the band.
6/5/11: Tweezer funk jam starting up. Back to standing desk mode.
6/5/11: Going into the plinko zone, now.
6/5/11: Coming out of the plinko jam, Trey sets up a really tension-y solo that dissolves nicely into standard rock. 6/5/11: Okay, the transition to Free was a lot more natural than the previous one.
6/5/11: Crosseyed!
6/5/11: Crosseyed is a pretty great, short Type I version. Ends with some crashing chords that Trey sort of awkwardly >'s into Light.
6/5/11: Light jam is mostly arpeggios so far.
6/5/11: Neat little jam forming now. Almost sounds a little like Meatstick.
6/5/11: Nicely thought-out segue into Boogie On, there.
6/5/11: Super-short Boogie On. Julius is next.
6/5/11: That awkward moment when YEM comes late in the second set of a subpar show.
6/5/11: Okay, gripes aside, the jam in this YEM is something different than the typical funk, driving mostly by the rhythm section.
6/5/11: That in and of itself makes it worth a listen in my book.
6/5/11: End set.
6/5/11: Loving Cup > Tweeprise encore.
6/5/11: Strong first set, but another ripcord-ful second set. How well those segues worked is probably going to dictate how you feel.
6/5/11: I like Tweezer, YEM, but everything else was S1 playing joined by really rough transitions. Weird set for the most part.
After a brief digression into awesome in Detroit and Cleveland, Phish seems determined to revisit the doldrums of 2010 in Riverbend. Like much of 2010, sheer enthusiasm is forced to substitute for a particularly interesting or well-built setlist and substantive jams. If you've never heard a Phish show before, this kind of playing will likely blow you away. But, as I so often wrote while reviewing summer 2010, for serious fans this sort of show will simply get passed over.
That said, there's enough variety and sheer momentum during the first set of offset the lack of interesting playing. It's a solid, old-school setlist where "PYITE," "Taste," a slightly-altered "Mound," and an extended "Fee," among others, make an appearance. "Reba" is notably, too, for its somewhat unusual full-band jam instead of the usual Trey-led soloing.
It's really during the second set, when expectations are generally (and understandably) higher when this approach doesn't really cut the mustard. "Carini" opens set two, but gets cut surprisingly short for a botched transition into "Tweezer." "Tweezer" goes the plinko route and presents an interesting jam, actually, before a noise rock coda transforms into a decent "Free." "Crosseyed" follow the same fate as "Carini," going nowhere before making an awkward transition, this time into "Light," but like "Tweezer," "Light" spends a few minutes in an interesting space, making it the other improvisation highlight of the show. "YEM" seems like an unearned victory lap in this case, but nonetheless, the jam portion of the tune is heavily led by the rhythm section, and that makes it worth a listen if you're into that sort of thing.
The Live Review:
6/5/11: Alright, here we go. Bag opoener.
6/5/11: 'opener,' even
6/5/11: Nice high-neck trilling at the end of Bag > PYITE.
6/5/11: Gin is in the three-spot. Loving the setlist so far.
6/5/11: Nice, rocking Type I Gin. A fun slow-down style ending.
6/5/11: Taste! I feel like we don't hear that one very often anymore.
6/5/11: I love Fish's drumming during the Trey solo part in Taste.
6/5/11: Kind of an early/rough ending for Taste.
6/5/11: A little Lawn Boy to cool down, now.
6/5/11: Mound!
6/5/11: Slightly extended, weirder-than-usual take on Mound.
6/5/11: Jibboo is next, with a jam that Mike is totally dominating.
6/5/11: > Reba.
6/5/11: Reba jam is more democratic so far than the usual Trey-solo-led version.
6/5/11: Okay, now Trey's ripping it.
6/5/11: That was a highlight version of Reba, for sure. No whistling ending.
6/5/11: FEEEEEEEE
6/5/11: Trey on the megaphone.
6/5/11: Little harmonics jam unfolding at the end of Fee.
6/5/11: Well, that was neat. > Number Line.
6/5/11: YOU DECIDE WHAT IT CONTAINS
6/5/11: ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE
6/5/11: I HAVE OFFICIALLY DECIDED THAT IT CONTAINS AN ENTIRE FREE PIZZA
6/5/11: 100% caffeine + 0% food = shitty all caps reviews
6/5/11: End set.
6/5/11: Definitely one of those sets where the energy and song selection elevated what was otherwise a pretty straightforward frame.
6/5/11: Carini to open S2!
6/5/11: Trey cuts Carini's throat to start Tweezer. For a second there, it sounded like a ->, but in the end he lost the rest of the band.
6/5/11: Tweezer funk jam starting up. Back to standing desk mode.
6/5/11: Going into the plinko zone, now.
6/5/11: Coming out of the plinko jam, Trey sets up a really tension-y solo that dissolves nicely into standard rock. 6/5/11: Okay, the transition to Free was a lot more natural than the previous one.
6/5/11: Crosseyed!
6/5/11: Crosseyed is a pretty great, short Type I version. Ends with some crashing chords that Trey sort of awkwardly >'s into Light.
6/5/11: Light jam is mostly arpeggios so far.
6/5/11: Neat little jam forming now. Almost sounds a little like Meatstick.
6/5/11: Nicely thought-out segue into Boogie On, there.
6/5/11: Super-short Boogie On. Julius is next.
6/5/11: That awkward moment when YEM comes late in the second set of a subpar show.
6/5/11: Okay, gripes aside, the jam in this YEM is something different than the typical funk, driving mostly by the rhythm section.
6/5/11: That in and of itself makes it worth a listen in my book.
6/5/11: End set.
6/5/11: Loving Cup > Tweeprise encore.
6/5/11: Strong first set, but another ripcord-ful second set. How well those segues worked is probably going to dictate how you feel.
6/5/11: I like Tweezer, YEM, but everything else was S1 playing joined by really rough transitions. Weird set for the most part.
Mar 13, 2016
2011-06-04 Blossom
The Verdict:
This show makes a great pair with 6/3. There's no huge jam here like the "Disease" last night, but the band never lets up, and there are plenty of smaller-scale surprises in the second set this time around.
Much like the previous night, verve and setlist construction make up for the fact that S1 is really devoid of any improv. "Guyute," "FYF," "Foam," "Rocket In My Pocket," and "Guelah" all show up, and "Antelope" gets extended a bit, including a goofy band-intro thing by Trey in which he "O-Esquandolas"'s everyone's names.
S2 starts slowly, with a by-the-book "Birds," but things get weird quickly after, during, of all songs, "Possum." Trey starts bending some notes, and before you know it, the entire band is downshifting tempo, then upshifting again, and so on until the song/jam has pretty much been completely deconstructed. It's awesome. "Steam" gets debuted after with a solid version, and the following "Piper" jam is headed into interesting territory before Trey (forgivably) makes a great -> "The Lizards." The highlight of the set, though, is certainly the second half. "Sneakin' Sally" gets a legit jam, going plinko at first and then moving into fuzz-rock territory. "Hood" is the last big song here and if it's not enough that it's a great version by itself, "Have Mercy" gets comfortably slotted into the jam midway through. Like I said, it's that kind of set. There's a lot to like here even if there isn't a twenty-minute jam to be found.
The Live Review:
6/4/11: KDF opener.
6/4/11: KDF is standard fare, but Guyute is in the two spot. Interesting.
6/4/11: Not much to say about Guyute, since all versions are the same. By which I mean all versions are awesome.
6/4/11: Guyute > Fuck Your Face!
6/4/11: > Foam! Damn, loving this setlist.
6/4/11: Foam seems to be a bit extended. So far, Page taking the lead on piano.
6/4/11: Great Foam. That might be one to bring back this year :)
6/4/11: Ocelot next.
6/4/11: Ocelot starts off a little less Trey-shredding and a little more full-band before Trey takes over. 6/4/11: Rocket In My Pocket cover! Nice!
6/4/11: Solid BOTT > Guelah Papyrus.
6/4/11: The flow and song choices here definitely make it one of those S1s that are great without a surprise jam.
6/4/11: Late-set Tube. Another great choice.
6/4/11: Grungy clav interlude.
6/4/11: Antelope to close the set.
6/4/11: Extended intro, muted little jam immediately afterward, Streets of Cairo.
6/4/11: Different band members get introduced and take a solo, including Toph, before the outro. 6/4/11: S2 starts with a standard Birds.
6/4/11: Lots of bending from Trey in Possum. Maybe a tempo change, too?
6/4/11: Yeah, definitely some playing with tempo now.
6/4/11: Neat little deconstruction of Possum.
6/4/11: Mike's vocals drawn out to match the tempo downshifts.
6/4/11: This is fun.
6/4/11: Steam! Debut, if I'm not mistaken.
6/4/11: Extended 'steam' effect at the end of the song. Piper intro starts up under it.
6/4/11: Piper breaks down and heads into a piano-led muted section.
6/4/11: Just as a gorgeous-sounding jam gets underway, Trey makes a -> The Lizards.
6/4/11: But it was a really nice segue, and it was into The Lizards, so I guess it's okay.
6/4/11: Sneakin' Sally is next! Big-time vocal jam early on.
6/4/11: Jam going plinko now.
6/4/11: Trey's tone getting a little harder now while Page keeps up the plinko.
6/4/11: Noise rock now. Pretty interesting, fuzzy jam.
6/4/11: Fuzz at the end almost sounded like it could go back into Steam, but instead Fish pulls out Hood.
6/4/11: Loving the solo Trey is laying down at the beginning of the jam here.
6/4/11: Sudden > Have Mercy in the middle of the Hood jam. I remember that being smoother. Ah, well. Still awesome.
6/4/11: > Hood.
6/4/11: Some Have Mercy teasing during the Hood solo now.
6/4/11: The Lizards tease.
6/4/11: End of Hood flows right into Zero.
6/4/11: Slowdown at the end of Zero a la the earlier Possum.
6/4/11: Trey ends Zero with the Smoke on the Water riff, because it's just that kind of show. 6/4/11: Slave encore!
6/4/11: I wonder if anyone will ever read that tweet and misinterpret it as an excited call to return to slavery. I hope not.
6/4/11: This Slave is staying chill longer than usual. I kind of like it that way.
6/4/11: Well, that show was about as good as it gets without a tentpole jam. Nice reminder that you don't need a 25 minute slab of improv...
6/4/11: ...for a fantastic Phish show.
This show makes a great pair with 6/3. There's no huge jam here like the "Disease" last night, but the band never lets up, and there are plenty of smaller-scale surprises in the second set this time around.
Much like the previous night, verve and setlist construction make up for the fact that S1 is really devoid of any improv. "Guyute," "FYF," "Foam," "Rocket In My Pocket," and "Guelah" all show up, and "Antelope" gets extended a bit, including a goofy band-intro thing by Trey in which he "O-Esquandolas"'s everyone's names.
S2 starts slowly, with a by-the-book "Birds," but things get weird quickly after, during, of all songs, "Possum." Trey starts bending some notes, and before you know it, the entire band is downshifting tempo, then upshifting again, and so on until the song/jam has pretty much been completely deconstructed. It's awesome. "Steam" gets debuted after with a solid version, and the following "Piper" jam is headed into interesting territory before Trey (forgivably) makes a great -> "The Lizards." The highlight of the set, though, is certainly the second half. "Sneakin' Sally" gets a legit jam, going plinko at first and then moving into fuzz-rock territory. "Hood" is the last big song here and if it's not enough that it's a great version by itself, "Have Mercy" gets comfortably slotted into the jam midway through. Like I said, it's that kind of set. There's a lot to like here even if there isn't a twenty-minute jam to be found.
The Live Review:
6/4/11: KDF opener.
6/4/11: KDF is standard fare, but Guyute is in the two spot. Interesting.
6/4/11: Not much to say about Guyute, since all versions are the same. By which I mean all versions are awesome.
6/4/11: Guyute > Fuck Your Face!
6/4/11: > Foam! Damn, loving this setlist.
6/4/11: Foam seems to be a bit extended. So far, Page taking the lead on piano.
6/4/11: Great Foam. That might be one to bring back this year :)
6/4/11: Ocelot next.
6/4/11: Ocelot starts off a little less Trey-shredding and a little more full-band before Trey takes over. 6/4/11: Rocket In My Pocket cover! Nice!
6/4/11: Solid BOTT > Guelah Papyrus.
6/4/11: The flow and song choices here definitely make it one of those S1s that are great without a surprise jam.
6/4/11: Late-set Tube. Another great choice.
6/4/11: Grungy clav interlude.
6/4/11: Antelope to close the set.
6/4/11: Extended intro, muted little jam immediately afterward, Streets of Cairo.
6/4/11: Different band members get introduced and take a solo, including Toph, before the outro. 6/4/11: S2 starts with a standard Birds.
6/4/11: Lots of bending from Trey in Possum. Maybe a tempo change, too?
6/4/11: Yeah, definitely some playing with tempo now.
6/4/11: Neat little deconstruction of Possum.
6/4/11: Mike's vocals drawn out to match the tempo downshifts.
6/4/11: This is fun.
6/4/11: Steam! Debut, if I'm not mistaken.
6/4/11: Extended 'steam' effect at the end of the song. Piper intro starts up under it.
6/4/11: Piper breaks down and heads into a piano-led muted section.
6/4/11: Just as a gorgeous-sounding jam gets underway, Trey makes a -> The Lizards.
6/4/11: But it was a really nice segue, and it was into The Lizards, so I guess it's okay.
6/4/11: Sneakin' Sally is next! Big-time vocal jam early on.
6/4/11: Jam going plinko now.
6/4/11: Trey's tone getting a little harder now while Page keeps up the plinko.
6/4/11: Noise rock now. Pretty interesting, fuzzy jam.
6/4/11: Fuzz at the end almost sounded like it could go back into Steam, but instead Fish pulls out Hood.
6/4/11: Loving the solo Trey is laying down at the beginning of the jam here.
6/4/11: Sudden > Have Mercy in the middle of the Hood jam. I remember that being smoother. Ah, well. Still awesome.
6/4/11: > Hood.
6/4/11: Some Have Mercy teasing during the Hood solo now.
6/4/11: The Lizards tease.
6/4/11: End of Hood flows right into Zero.
6/4/11: Slowdown at the end of Zero a la the earlier Possum.
6/4/11: Trey ends Zero with the Smoke on the Water riff, because it's just that kind of show. 6/4/11: Slave encore!
6/4/11: I wonder if anyone will ever read that tweet and misinterpret it as an excited call to return to slavery. I hope not.
6/4/11: This Slave is staying chill longer than usual. I kind of like it that way.
6/4/11: Well, that show was about as good as it gets without a tentpole jam. Nice reminder that you don't need a 25 minute slab of improv...
6/4/11: ...for a fantastic Phish show.
2011-06-03 Clarkston
The Verdict:
The Clarkston show returns us to early Bethel territory: that is, it's freaking awesome. The first set doesn't have any real improv to speak of, actually, but the energy (Trey's especially) and the song choices make this the rare set where the enthusiasm overcomes the fact that the band never really ventures out of the box. It's great to hear "Tela," and "Chalkdust" goes Type 1.5 in a way that's worth a listen.
The second set is a six-song affair, with the "Disease" -> "Fluffhead" -> "Bowie" sequence taking up around 50 minutes (!). The "Disease" is the tentpole jam of the show, and maybe of the summer so far (discounting the "Waves" soundcheck in Bethel). Rather than describing it again, I'll just put the band-released video below, but it's a great study in maintaining flow and momentum in improvisation over 25 minutes. "Fluffhead" is its usual self, but "Bowie" also gets extended a bit, and while it's not a 90s "Bowie" by any means, by the song's 3.0 standards, it gets way out there.
Phish - 6/3/11 "Down With Disease" from Phish on Vimeo.
The rest of the set is more or less a victory lap, but that's excusable when you get that much fire in an opening set and an S2 that kicks off with this sort of trifecta.
The Live Review:
6/3/11: Wolfman's opener.
6/3/11: I keep forgetting you can do this now. https://t.co/P2lhwi5Evu
6/3/11: Mike leading right off the bat.
6/3/11: Trey follows that up with a pretty perfect show-opening rock solo.
6/3/11: Trey keeps the guitar madness rolling through an excellent take on Funky Bitch.
6/3/11: Crazy version of Sample > NICU.
6/3/11: Happy birthday at the end of NICU.
6/3/11: Err...Happy Birthday tease, I mean. Then a hard-rock ending reminiscent of Carini.
6/3/11: Mike's Song!
6/3/11: I will never, ever get sick of that Mike bass riff and then Trey coming in over it to start the jam in Mike's.
6/3/11: Trey certainly doesn't make as much room for the rest of the band in 2011 as he did in 2015, but he sure plays more notes.
6/3/11: As a result, this Mike's is fantastic, despite staying Type I.
6/3/11: > Hydrogen! I definitely miss hearing this one. Second Mike's jam > Hydrogen would be great this summer.
6/3/11: Hydrogen is a little sloppy, but purty nonetheless. > Groove.
6/3/11: Everyone catching their breath after Groove. It's been nonstop so far.
6/3/11: TELA!
6/3/11: Love Tela, in case you couldn't tell. Chalkdust is next.
6/3/11: Ooh, Chalkdust getting a little Type II-y.
6/3/11: This is not a 2014-2015 Chalkdust by any means, but there's a broken-down, alt-scale jam in the middle that's great.
6/3/11: Okay, that was a crazy Chalkdust. The Wedge is next.
6/3/11: Trey shredding THE HELL out of The Wedge to end the first set. Second set should be really fun.
6/3/11: Disease opens S2.
6/3/11: Lots of shredding and playing around with scales early in the Disease jam, a la the earlier Chalkdust.
6/3/11: Getting a bit plinko-y now.
6/3/11: Trey riff sounding a bit Ghost-intro-like.
6/3/11: Ambient-drone section now. Page banging out piano chords over it.
6/3/11: Fuzz building.
6/3/11: I get the whole 'Love Supreme Jam' thing now. Fuzz jam and follow up based on two chord chant bit from the song.
6/3/11: Of course, by that logic it's also a jam 'based on' Heavy Things.
6/3/11: Mike sticking with the bassline and Trey and Page laying down some gorgeous melody playing over it.
6/3/11: So that was fun. Amazing 25 minute jam with a perfect -> Fluffhead.
6/3/11: Great Fluffhead outro solo descends into noise, which translates in turn to an arguable -> Bowie.
6/3/11: Playing around with the intro like it's 1996.
6/3/11: Great intro, confident composed bit...now for the jam.
6/3/11: Tela tease.
6/3/11: Great, slowly building rock jam so far.
6/3/11: I didn't know that they played Bowies like this in 3.0.
6/3/11: So, these days my enthusiasm has dimmed a bit for the longer composed pieces, but... 6/3/11: That set just opened with a 58-minute long Disease -> Fluffhead -> Bowie sequence. That's no joke, guys.
6/3/11: That is some serious 2015-level shit.
6/3/11: Waste is next, because presumably thousands of people on the lawn blew out their quads over the previous hour and need to sit.
6/3/11: Spacey little reprise of the Waste outro leads directly into 2001.
6/3/11: Lest you thought they'd phone it in after that first hour.
6/3/11: Great little funk riff happening now.
6/3/11: Short, punchy little 2001 -B Cavern.
6/3/11: Cavern ends the second set.
6/3/11: Yes! GTBT encore!
6/3/11: In some ways, I think 5/27 and 5/28 were more interesting, but this is the best full show of the year so far. Love it.
6/3/11: THUNDEROUS Good Times Bad Times to close. Wow.
6/3/11: You're welcome. https://t.co/Qo7qAW9mNM
6/3/11: There's also this: https://t.co/IVMYnSxNmO
The Clarkston show returns us to early Bethel territory: that is, it's freaking awesome. The first set doesn't have any real improv to speak of, actually, but the energy (Trey's especially) and the song choices make this the rare set where the enthusiasm overcomes the fact that the band never really ventures out of the box. It's great to hear "Tela," and "Chalkdust" goes Type 1.5 in a way that's worth a listen.
The second set is a six-song affair, with the "Disease" -> "Fluffhead" -> "Bowie" sequence taking up around 50 minutes (!). The "Disease" is the tentpole jam of the show, and maybe of the summer so far (discounting the "Waves" soundcheck in Bethel). Rather than describing it again, I'll just put the band-released video below, but it's a great study in maintaining flow and momentum in improvisation over 25 minutes. "Fluffhead" is its usual self, but "Bowie" also gets extended a bit, and while it's not a 90s "Bowie" by any means, by the song's 3.0 standards, it gets way out there.
Phish - 6/3/11 "Down With Disease" from Phish on Vimeo.
The rest of the set is more or less a victory lap, but that's excusable when you get that much fire in an opening set and an S2 that kicks off with this sort of trifecta.
The Live Review:
6/3/11: Wolfman's opener.
6/3/11: I keep forgetting you can do this now. https://t.co/P2lhwi5Evu
6/3/11: Mike leading right off the bat.
6/3/11: Trey follows that up with a pretty perfect show-opening rock solo.
6/3/11: Trey keeps the guitar madness rolling through an excellent take on Funky Bitch.
6/3/11: Crazy version of Sample > NICU.
6/3/11: Happy birthday at the end of NICU.
6/3/11: Err...Happy Birthday tease, I mean. Then a hard-rock ending reminiscent of Carini.
6/3/11: Mike's Song!
6/3/11: I will never, ever get sick of that Mike bass riff and then Trey coming in over it to start the jam in Mike's.
6/3/11: Trey certainly doesn't make as much room for the rest of the band in 2011 as he did in 2015, but he sure plays more notes.
6/3/11: As a result, this Mike's is fantastic, despite staying Type I.
6/3/11: > Hydrogen! I definitely miss hearing this one. Second Mike's jam > Hydrogen would be great this summer.
6/3/11: Hydrogen is a little sloppy, but purty nonetheless. > Groove.
6/3/11: Everyone catching their breath after Groove. It's been nonstop so far.
6/3/11: TELA!
6/3/11: Love Tela, in case you couldn't tell. Chalkdust is next.
6/3/11: Ooh, Chalkdust getting a little Type II-y.
6/3/11: This is not a 2014-2015 Chalkdust by any means, but there's a broken-down, alt-scale jam in the middle that's great.
6/3/11: Okay, that was a crazy Chalkdust. The Wedge is next.
6/3/11: Trey shredding THE HELL out of The Wedge to end the first set. Second set should be really fun.
6/3/11: Disease opens S2.
6/3/11: Lots of shredding and playing around with scales early in the Disease jam, a la the earlier Chalkdust.
6/3/11: Getting a bit plinko-y now.
6/3/11: Trey riff sounding a bit Ghost-intro-like.
6/3/11: Ambient-drone section now. Page banging out piano chords over it.
6/3/11: Fuzz building.
6/3/11: I get the whole 'Love Supreme Jam' thing now. Fuzz jam and follow up based on two chord chant bit from the song.
6/3/11: Of course, by that logic it's also a jam 'based on' Heavy Things.
6/3/11: Mike sticking with the bassline and Trey and Page laying down some gorgeous melody playing over it.
6/3/11: So that was fun. Amazing 25 minute jam with a perfect -> Fluffhead.
6/3/11: Great Fluffhead outro solo descends into noise, which translates in turn to an arguable -> Bowie.
6/3/11: Playing around with the intro like it's 1996.
6/3/11: Great intro, confident composed bit...now for the jam.
6/3/11: Tela tease.
6/3/11: Great, slowly building rock jam so far.
6/3/11: I didn't know that they played Bowies like this in 3.0.
6/3/11: So, these days my enthusiasm has dimmed a bit for the longer composed pieces, but... 6/3/11: That set just opened with a 58-minute long Disease -> Fluffhead -> Bowie sequence. That's no joke, guys.
6/3/11: That is some serious 2015-level shit.
6/3/11: Waste is next, because presumably thousands of people on the lawn blew out their quads over the previous hour and need to sit.
6/3/11: Spacey little reprise of the Waste outro leads directly into 2001.
6/3/11: Lest you thought they'd phone it in after that first hour.
6/3/11: Great little funk riff happening now.
6/3/11: Short, punchy little 2001 -B Cavern.
6/3/11: Cavern ends the second set.
6/3/11: Yes! GTBT encore!
6/3/11: In some ways, I think 5/27 and 5/28 were more interesting, but this is the best full show of the year so far. Love it.
6/3/11: THUNDEROUS Good Times Bad Times to close. Wow.
6/3/11: You're welcome. https://t.co/Qo7qAW9mNM
6/3/11: There's also this: https://t.co/IVMYnSxNmO
2011-06-01 Holmdel II
The Verdict:
6/1 is the third show in a row that falls into a very 2010-shaped pit. That is to say, it's a show with all the positives and negatives that I pointed out in my reviews of pretty much every 2010 show. Which also means it's mostly not worth a relisten unless for some reason you really enjoy jukebox-style shows with no surprises and very little improv, albeit played with a lot of gusto and technical expertise.
The high point of S1 is probably the "First Tube" opener, just because it's such a rocker. To be fair, much of the rest of the setlist is at least interestingly built, but nothing terribly exciting happens. The low point is probably the "Heavy Things" > "Jibboo," not because there's anything wrong with either song, but when they're played back-to-back it becomes obvious that they're pretty much the same song. Oh, and "Split" gets a bit of a legit jam, building some hope for the second set.
But, yeah...about that second set...it's a weird one. The highlight is really the transition from a Type I "Tweezer" jam into the debut of "No Quarter." If you've heard Phish play "No Quarter" before, there's not much here for you. With a setlist like "Tweezer" > "No Quarter" > "Carini" > "Piper" > "Twist" > "Ghost," on paper this looks like the best set ever from my perspective. Unfortunately, consistently surprising and aggressive ripcords ruin the day. I'm not one to throw that term around lightly (as many fans are); I appreciate Trey's feeling that a jam is done before "we" think it's done, or him hitting on what seems to him to be a segue that can't be passed up when we're hoping for ten more minutes of a jam first...but there are definitely some "What the hell were you thinking?" ripcords from time to time, and they come up multiple times in this set. The only real jam moment here, believe it or not, comes in the "Twist," which actually gets plinko'd out for a few minutes...and that's it.
The Live Review:
6/1/11: Alright, lets see if this show can get the taste of 5/31 out of my mouth. First Tube open is a great start.
6/1/11: It's actually weird when First Tube opens. I think of it so much as a set closing song that now I'm confused that there's more show.
6/1/11: Trey shreds the crap out of Stealing Time, including some interesting scale changes. 6/1/11: Another tight but straightforward first set so far. Camel Walk, Heavy Things, Gotta Jibboo. 6/1/11: Heavy Things and Jibboo seem so much like the same song already that it's weird when they play them together.
6/1/11: Wilson...and then Seven Below!
6/1/11: Seven Below 'jam' is basically just a solo from Trey. A little bit of tacked-on electric piano from Page at the end, though.
6/1/11: Yeah, that was a bit underwhelming. KDF is next.
6/1/11: Axila I, then Split to probably close the set.
6/1/11: Sorry for the lack of commentary on this set, but there's not much to say about it. Very 2010.
6/1/11: Okay, so the Split incorporates some loops and a lot of fake-out tension builds. Nice jam, a bit out of nowhere.
6/1/11: Also, amazing peak.
6/1/11: Fish beating his cymbals to death.
6/1/11: Suzy now. Guess that wasn't the set closer after all.
6/1/11: End set
6/1/11: S2 opens with Tweezer. Can't beat that with a stick.
6/1/11: The interplay of Trey and Mike early on in this Tweezer sounds more like 2011 than 2010. So that's heartening.
6/1/11: Okay, I take it back. We stay in Tweezerland pretty much the entire way through, but Trey's muscling a great Type I jam out of it.
6/1/11: Ambient fade sets up a nice -> to the first No Quarter.
6/1/11: Hearing the crowd freak out when they realize what's happening is great.
6/1/11: This version seems to be jammed out a bit more than later versions.
6/1/11: Carini seems like a natural follow-up.
6/1/11: Standard Carini lands in Piper.
6/1/11: Well, Trey abandoned Carini for Piper a little prematurely...
6/1/11: ...but he absolutely fucking GARROTTED the Piper jam for Twist.
6/1/11: Plinko Twist jam! Trey still laying down some blues riffs overtop.
6/1/11: After a few solid minutes, Twist goes the way of the 2009 ambient washout ending. 6/1/11: Oh man. On this one, Trey himself starts up a neat melodic bit and then ripcords himself > Ghost.
6/1/11: If you would have told me before today that I'd hate a set that went Tweezer > No Quarter > Carini > Piper > Twist > Ghost...
6/1/11: Trey threw a No Quarter tease into Ghost.
6/1/11: Reprising the riff now during the Ghost drop.
6/1/11: Okay, this is officially the ripcord set.
6/1/11: Seven minute Ghost, and literally just as the jam was building, Trey cut it off for a Number Line that he just forgot the words to.
6/1/11: The only thing that could save this set now is a 20 minute No Men, but they haven't written it yet. Non-quantum songwriting'd!
6/1/11: In the ultimate irony of the set, Number Line is being brought to a boil and is set to be the longest jam aside from Tweezer.
6/1/11: Show of Life is the dagger to the heart of this show.
6/1/11: Can you tell I'm not a huge fan of this one? :)
6/1/11: I am still gonna dance to this Tweeprise though. Unless Trey ripcords it for Character Zero.
6/1 is the third show in a row that falls into a very 2010-shaped pit. That is to say, it's a show with all the positives and negatives that I pointed out in my reviews of pretty much every 2010 show. Which also means it's mostly not worth a relisten unless for some reason you really enjoy jukebox-style shows with no surprises and very little improv, albeit played with a lot of gusto and technical expertise.
The high point of S1 is probably the "First Tube" opener, just because it's such a rocker. To be fair, much of the rest of the setlist is at least interestingly built, but nothing terribly exciting happens. The low point is probably the "Heavy Things" > "Jibboo," not because there's anything wrong with either song, but when they're played back-to-back it becomes obvious that they're pretty much the same song. Oh, and "Split" gets a bit of a legit jam, building some hope for the second set.
But, yeah...about that second set...it's a weird one. The highlight is really the transition from a Type I "Tweezer" jam into the debut of "No Quarter." If you've heard Phish play "No Quarter" before, there's not much here for you. With a setlist like "Tweezer" > "No Quarter" > "Carini" > "Piper" > "Twist" > "Ghost," on paper this looks like the best set ever from my perspective. Unfortunately, consistently surprising and aggressive ripcords ruin the day. I'm not one to throw that term around lightly (as many fans are); I appreciate Trey's feeling that a jam is done before "we" think it's done, or him hitting on what seems to him to be a segue that can't be passed up when we're hoping for ten more minutes of a jam first...but there are definitely some "What the hell were you thinking?" ripcords from time to time, and they come up multiple times in this set. The only real jam moment here, believe it or not, comes in the "Twist," which actually gets plinko'd out for a few minutes...and that's it.
The Live Review:
6/1/11: Alright, lets see if this show can get the taste of 5/31 out of my mouth. First Tube open is a great start.
6/1/11: It's actually weird when First Tube opens. I think of it so much as a set closing song that now I'm confused that there's more show.
6/1/11: Trey shreds the crap out of Stealing Time, including some interesting scale changes. 6/1/11: Another tight but straightforward first set so far. Camel Walk, Heavy Things, Gotta Jibboo. 6/1/11: Heavy Things and Jibboo seem so much like the same song already that it's weird when they play them together.
6/1/11: Wilson...and then Seven Below!
6/1/11: Seven Below 'jam' is basically just a solo from Trey. A little bit of tacked-on electric piano from Page at the end, though.
6/1/11: Yeah, that was a bit underwhelming. KDF is next.
6/1/11: Axila I, then Split to probably close the set.
6/1/11: Sorry for the lack of commentary on this set, but there's not much to say about it. Very 2010.
6/1/11: Okay, so the Split incorporates some loops and a lot of fake-out tension builds. Nice jam, a bit out of nowhere.
6/1/11: Also, amazing peak.
6/1/11: Fish beating his cymbals to death.
6/1/11: Suzy now. Guess that wasn't the set closer after all.
6/1/11: End set
6/1/11: S2 opens with Tweezer. Can't beat that with a stick.
6/1/11: The interplay of Trey and Mike early on in this Tweezer sounds more like 2011 than 2010. So that's heartening.
6/1/11: Okay, I take it back. We stay in Tweezerland pretty much the entire way through, but Trey's muscling a great Type I jam out of it.
6/1/11: Ambient fade sets up a nice -> to the first No Quarter.
6/1/11: Hearing the crowd freak out when they realize what's happening is great.
6/1/11: This version seems to be jammed out a bit more than later versions.
6/1/11: Carini seems like a natural follow-up.
6/1/11: Standard Carini lands in Piper.
6/1/11: Well, Trey abandoned Carini for Piper a little prematurely...
6/1/11: ...but he absolutely fucking GARROTTED the Piper jam for Twist.
6/1/11: Plinko Twist jam! Trey still laying down some blues riffs overtop.
6/1/11: After a few solid minutes, Twist goes the way of the 2009 ambient washout ending. 6/1/11: Oh man. On this one, Trey himself starts up a neat melodic bit and then ripcords himself > Ghost.
6/1/11: If you would have told me before today that I'd hate a set that went Tweezer > No Quarter > Carini > Piper > Twist > Ghost...
6/1/11: Trey threw a No Quarter tease into Ghost.
6/1/11: Reprising the riff now during the Ghost drop.
6/1/11: Okay, this is officially the ripcord set.
6/1/11: Seven minute Ghost, and literally just as the jam was building, Trey cut it off for a Number Line that he just forgot the words to.
6/1/11: The only thing that could save this set now is a 20 minute No Men, but they haven't written it yet. Non-quantum songwriting'd!
6/1/11: In the ultimate irony of the set, Number Line is being brought to a boil and is set to be the longest jam aside from Tweezer.
6/1/11: Show of Life is the dagger to the heart of this show.
6/1/11: Can you tell I'm not a huge fan of this one? :)
6/1/11: I am still gonna dance to this Tweeprise though. Unless Trey ripcords it for Character Zero.
Mar 3, 2016
2015 and Early 2016 Wrap-Up
Ever since 2011 or so, Phish has been on an upward trajectory. 2009 was a solid comeback year, for sure, and the technical chops were there, but the improv was lacking. There was a lot of interesting improv that year (despite what you might read elsewhere), but by the end the long jams were becoming formulaic. The "answer" in 2010 was to ditch jamming more or less altogether and focus on playing fun, flowy shows...with lots and lots of whale pedal. From the Bethel "Waves" on, though, the band has been consistently putting on shows that stand up to their typical 1.0 and 2.0 output, and since 2013, depending on your taste, they've been putting on shows that match and at times exceed the highlights of those eras.
It makes sense then that 2015 is a high water mark (if not the high water mark) for Phish. And if I learned anything from listening to all of 2015 and 2016 (thus far), it's the power of hype. This tour was, by far, my favorite one that I've listened to yet...and at the same time it didn't come anywhere near to matching the way people have talked about it. And that's okay. Frankly, Phish "fans" usually spend so much time picking apart even the best shows that it takes the fun out of reading reviews. It was refreshing to feel, for once, as if I was being the pessimist while everyone else was basking in the MagnaGlow.
But, yeah. Hype or no, summer tour 2015 was serious fire, and the following few one-off runs built on the main tour in interesting ways. And I am so pumped for 2016
That said, here are some brief thoughts on each show, for your consumption.
7/21: All about the debuts. A bit uneven taken as a whole. "Ghost" and "Fuego" stretch a bit, but not much. The easy highlight is the "No Men" > "Groove" -> "Boogie On" sequence near the end of the second set.
7/22: More debuts, rounding the most adventurous run of the year purely in terms of the setlist. Six-song second set that's actually surprisingly light on jams but features the weekend highlight in an evil, evil "Simple." "Gin" encore almost goes all the way There, too.
7/24: First very 2015 show of 2015. And one of the best. First set is pretty standard save for an excellent late "Reba." The second set opens with the 50-minute sequence of "Blaze On" > "Twist" > "Light" that is just phenomenal. If that's not enough, the six-song set also features an extended, Type II "Hood."
7/25: High-energy show but not as jammy as the top-tier 2015 shows. "No Men" gets jammed out a little, and there are great segues between "Carini" and "Tweezer" as well as from "Tweezer" -> "MFMF." Some fun antics bolster "YEM."
7/28: Disorganized and as a result, the energy is inconsistent throughout the show. 75% of this is filler, but the third quarter's "46 Days" -> "The Dogs" -> "46 Days" > "Piper" > "Ghost" > "Shade" is an absolute must-listen.
7/29: S1 starts strong but quickly moves to jukebox territory. S2's "Chalkdust" is a monster and takes its big jam to a unique space. "Hood" also goes deep a la its best 2014 versions. Everything in between is skippable except for the great segue between "Simple" and "Silent."
7/31: The opening set is impeccably constructed and there's a "Ghost" jam in there that definitely belongs in a second set. Easily the best first set of the tour so far. The second set continues the momentum with a "best-of" monster jam out of "KDF," which leads in turn to a "Martian Monster" > "Twist" sequence which is great, though not quite as interesting as the 7/24 third quarter. Finishing off with an amazing "Gin" helps vault this show up the rankings, though.
8/1: Slightly less impressive first set than N1, but it's still a strong showing. The second set also doesn't quite offer up as many highlights, but the concentration of excellence in the "Tweezer" and the super-dark "Carini" is not to be missed.
8/2: The first set is similar to 8/1's: solid, but definitely second-tier in the context of this tour. The success of the second set sort of depends on whether you find the "Seven Below" to be brilliant or tepid. The "Disease" is great, though, and worth a listen.
8/4: A great show, but doesn't really live up to the hype. The first set doesn't have much going for it that's outside of the box other than a few minutes of plinko-style jamming in "Wolfman's." The second set opens with a fantastic "Golden Age" jam, but then things slow back down until the "Mike's" second jam. It's great to see a "Mike's" second jam again, but honestly there are many, many better jams from 2015 in general and even this show in particular that are more interesting than this one. "Piper," for example. And the "Groove," which is easily the most engaging jam of the show and a "best of" candidate for the tour in general.
8/5: The only point of interest in this first set is a strong debut of Mike's "The Last Step." The second set starts off slow, but the "Disease" gets things rolling finally, and the momentum carries over into an echo-funk take on "Sand." But that's about it. This is one of those "one and done" shows in terms of jamming.
8/7: Amazing show. Despite the fact that the first set is pretty rote except for a Type 1.5 "Gin" that comes late. The one-two punch of "Chalkdust" and "Tweezer" to open the first set provides us with quite possibly the best two jams of the year so far back to back. But it's not over there, because "The Lizards," a great "Ghost," and a "Reba"-esque "Hood" follow. Whew.
8/8: If you really enjoy "Maze," "Mercury," and/or "Reba," then this show opens with a strong first set. Otherwise, it's yet another opening frame that breaks down after the first few songs. There are some nice jam moments in the second set, but they're spread out across a bunch of songs and there's no tentpole jam to look to. If you need a twenty-minute jam to like a show, you'll be disappointed, but if you don't, there's a lot to like here.
8/9: The first set features a lot of rarities, which makes for a satisfying setlist while also introducing more flubs and missed calls than usual. The second set doesn't have much worth mentioning except for another strong "Tweezer" jam and a "Mike's" second jam that finally fulfills the promise of...a second "Mike's" jam. Unlike 8/4, this one goes places, and it's fantastic.
8/11: Best first set of the year so far. "Martian Monster" references are intertwined throughout, after a "Martian Monster"/"Skin It Back" mashup early on. "Ghost," "Scent," and "Bowie" are all strong, jammy takes as well. In the second set, "Fuego" Goes Deep and lands in bliss territory. The following four songs all poke their toes into the water, but never wade out too far, and then it's jukebox territory from there on. A consistently interesting show, though. Not top-tier, but pushing toward it.
8/12: First set is strong, and anchored by a jammed-out, echo-funk "Cities." And then there's the five-song second set. "Gin," "Hood," and "No Men" are pretty standard by 2015 parameters, but even that's saying something in a way. That said, "Twist" and "Scents" recall 8/7 in how they are both enormously satisfying jams and they happen back to back. That the rest of the set is also made up of long jams just helps catapult 8/12 into the top tier of 2015 shows.
8/14: Slow "Llama." That's all you need to know about the first set. The second set features another "Golden Age" that gets way out there, and that's the main highlight of a 2015-average show, though the "Ghost" > "No Quarter" sequence that happens later ain't bad.
8/15: This is my pick for show of the year pre-Magnaball. The first set is solid all the way through, and though there aren't any weird highlights (minus a jammed-out "Antelope"!), the sum total of great setlist choices and strong playing puts it in "best of" territory. The second set is a perfect marriage of long jams and jams-n-segues, with a huge "46 Days," a "Steam" -> "What's The Use?" -> "Steam," a monster "Piper," and a "Tweezer" that includes a performance of "NO2" within the song. I love this set.
8/16: Might be the worst show of the tour, weirdly enough. Things don't really get rolling until about three songs before the end of S1. S2 just sounds mostly tired, and none of the songs ever really take off (for example, there's a twelve minute Type I "Disease"), except for a delightfully weird "Light."
8/21: The "second leg" of Phish 2015 kicks off with one of the strongest shows of the year. The first set trumps any that have come before, with a legit "Simple" jam as the opener and later on a "Gin" that stands up with anything that's been jammed this year. The "Chalkdust" that opens the second set reprises the territory the "Gin" explored, "Ghost" satisfyingly revisits the 8/16 "Light" jam, and the "Hood" at the end continues the two-year tradition of weird-good "Hood"s. In all, quite a start for the festival.
8/22: This four-set day is the easy pick for show of the year. Not only does it feature a mind-boggling "Drive-In" jam for the fourth set, which in my opinion is one of the more musically interesting festival jams the band has ever put together, there's little lag in the three sets of "normal" music that come before that. Well...okay, that's not entirely true. The only real highlight of S1 is a jammed-out "Antelope," and S2 takes a bit to get going. "46 Days" and "Tweezer" -> "Caspian" are both huge jams, though, that more than make up for the slow start. Rather than taking a victory lap in S3, they lay down quite possibly the best "Blaze On" of the year, and then take that echo-y, loopy template and apply it to the next three songs as well, including a huge "Light." Wow.
8/23: Night three of Magnaball has a lot to live up to, and in some ways it doesn't quite make it. S1 is strong despite never venturing too far out the box save for a few minutes' worth of "Stash." S2 is the total package, with a big jam in "Disease," great exploratory versions of "Scents" and "WTU?" (!), and then a "Mike's Groove" that sandwiches in "Fuego" and "Twist" before ending on a "Groove" that reprises the set-opening "Martian Monster." Anywhere else in the tour, this show would be a beast, and that it seems like a letdown here only shows how amazing 8/21 and 8/22 were.
9/4: The first night at Dick's is full of strong playing hamstrung by what seems like a lot of missed opportunities. "Ghost" and "46 Days" both stop just short of going deep in the first set, though "Gin" gets there in style. The second set starts with a "Wolfman's" Type II jam (yeah, you read that right) and features two great jams in "Blaze On" and "Golden Age" and a short-but-fantastic take on "Fuego" that gets really dark.
9/5: The second set is mostly in the rote category, save for one of my favorite takes ever on "Split," which comes at the end. "Chalkdust" starts off the second set with one of the best versions in awhile, then segues nicely into "Twist." Unfortunately, "Twist" doesn't break entirely free of earth's gravity and thus we don't quite get "Cheezer" or "Tweezerpants" levels of improv here. "Mercury" gets jammed out for the first time and like 9/4's "Fuego," "Light" gets a short take that's nonetheless worth listening to for its immediate depth. Don't pass up the "Hood" encore because it's under 10 minutes, either. Seriously, don't.
9/6: There are a few interesting song choices in the first set, especially "Scent" > "Saw It Again," but it's more 9/5 than 9/4. Set two opens with the bliss jam of the year in "Disease," and then "Carini," "Piper," "Tweezer," and "2001" all come up a bit short individually, but each has a little to offer when you take them as a whole. Minus the "Disease," it's really another one of those "Do you really need 25 minute jams for a show to be good?" kind of sets. Then there's the THANK YOU encore, of course. That's in a whole other atmosphere by itself. Especially if you were there.
12/30: Starts the MSG trend of underwhelming first sets. Then the second set blows everything away. "Chalkdust," "Gin," and "Groove" -> "What's The Use?" -> "Groove" are all "best of"-level jams, and the only real mark "against" the second set is that "Ghost" gets interrupted mid-jam to introduce a new song before seguing cleanly back into the jam to finish.
12/31: Like 12/30, roughly the first half of this show is really straightforward. It's not until about halfway through the second set that the magic happens. But boy, does it happen. "KDF" goes super-weird, and I love it. The later "Twist" is on par with the previous night's big jams in terms of epicness and raw rock power, and then the third set offers up nearly forty minutes of quality jamming between the two 2015 debuts "Blaze On" and "No Men." The show slows down a bit before the end, but that's four huge jams over 1.5 sets of music.
1/1: This show follows the template of the previous two in a sense: first set not so great, second set much better. However, the bar is a little lower in both cases. The first set loses the energy and flow that made the 12/30 and 12/31 opening frames enjoyable in spite of their rote-ness, although the "Undermind," which features a weird jam and teases of many of the first set songs, is worth a listen. "Disease" and "Light" are the big jams in the second set, and while they don't uncover and new territory, they're both satisfying "greatest hits"-style jams in the 2015 mode.
1/2: The first set here also doesn't tread new ground, but it's almost entirely mid-90s era songs played in the style of that time, which, whether intentional or not, is neat to hear. You could almost imagine the guys playing this as a second JEMP Truck set. The "Tweezer" in S2 is just stupefying, and should be in on any best-jam-of-the-year conversation. And yet the band doesn't rest after that huge performance, also offering takes on "Sand" and "Hood" that are worth repeated listens.
1/15: There aren't really any highlights in the first set here, but there's definitely an energy and a verve that's been absent in first sets since August '15. Redemption is coming, though, in that the second set features two amazing sequences in "Drowned" -> "What's the Use?" and "Sand" -> "Ghost" -> "2001." And people say that this run isn't worth listening to!
1/16: The first legitimately interesting first set in awhile. I love the slow-tempo, gooey "Camel Walk," and the "Cities" is way too interesting a jam to be in the first set, even before it segues into a similarly interesting "Light." Also: echo-funk "Timber." "Golden Age" opens the second set and is a bit of a reprise of the Dick's version, minus the hideous flubbing. "Caspian" doesn't go all the way There like the Magna version, but it's definitely coming out of its shell more and more as time goes on. "46 Days" > "Twenty Years" gives you your quota of dark, ambient jamming, and an extended Type II "Hood" puts the exclamation point on another show that really should get more props than it does.
1/17: Another strong first set (three in a row), though there isn't as much meat as 1/16's. You should listen to the "Moma" for the vocal jam and slight ambient bit (!) before a nice segue into "Saw It Again." How much you like the second set probably depends on how much you like "Shipwreck" teases. I really, really love this "Disease" jam, because the samples and the jam that builds around them take Phish music in a different direction than I've ever heard it go before. They're not reinventing the wheel here, but at times I almost felt like I was listening to one of my favorite electronic artists instead of Phish, which is neat and speaks to their jaw-dropping versatility. The other big tune to get injected with "Shipwreck" samples here is "Crosseyed." Though both of those tunes go to some great places, overall this show is a bit slimmer pickings than 1/16 and 1/15 if you're looking for extended improv.
It makes sense then that 2015 is a high water mark (if not the high water mark) for Phish. And if I learned anything from listening to all of 2015 and 2016 (thus far), it's the power of hype. This tour was, by far, my favorite one that I've listened to yet...and at the same time it didn't come anywhere near to matching the way people have talked about it. And that's okay. Frankly, Phish "fans" usually spend so much time picking apart even the best shows that it takes the fun out of reading reviews. It was refreshing to feel, for once, as if I was being the pessimist while everyone else was basking in the MagnaGlow.
But, yeah. Hype or no, summer tour 2015 was serious fire, and the following few one-off runs built on the main tour in interesting ways. And I am so pumped for 2016
That said, here are some brief thoughts on each show, for your consumption.
7/21: All about the debuts. A bit uneven taken as a whole. "Ghost" and "Fuego" stretch a bit, but not much. The easy highlight is the "No Men" > "Groove" -> "Boogie On" sequence near the end of the second set.
7/22: More debuts, rounding the most adventurous run of the year purely in terms of the setlist. Six-song second set that's actually surprisingly light on jams but features the weekend highlight in an evil, evil "Simple." "Gin" encore almost goes all the way There, too.
7/24: First very 2015 show of 2015. And one of the best. First set is pretty standard save for an excellent late "Reba." The second set opens with the 50-minute sequence of "Blaze On" > "Twist" > "Light" that is just phenomenal. If that's not enough, the six-song set also features an extended, Type II "Hood."
7/25: High-energy show but not as jammy as the top-tier 2015 shows. "No Men" gets jammed out a little, and there are great segues between "Carini" and "Tweezer" as well as from "Tweezer" -> "MFMF." Some fun antics bolster "YEM."
7/28: Disorganized and as a result, the energy is inconsistent throughout the show. 75% of this is filler, but the third quarter's "46 Days" -> "The Dogs" -> "46 Days" > "Piper" > "Ghost" > "Shade" is an absolute must-listen.
7/29: S1 starts strong but quickly moves to jukebox territory. S2's "Chalkdust" is a monster and takes its big jam to a unique space. "Hood" also goes deep a la its best 2014 versions. Everything in between is skippable except for the great segue between "Simple" and "Silent."
7/31: The opening set is impeccably constructed and there's a "Ghost" jam in there that definitely belongs in a second set. Easily the best first set of the tour so far. The second set continues the momentum with a "best-of" monster jam out of "KDF," which leads in turn to a "Martian Monster" > "Twist" sequence which is great, though not quite as interesting as the 7/24 third quarter. Finishing off with an amazing "Gin" helps vault this show up the rankings, though.
8/1: Slightly less impressive first set than N1, but it's still a strong showing. The second set also doesn't quite offer up as many highlights, but the concentration of excellence in the "Tweezer" and the super-dark "Carini" is not to be missed.
8/2: The first set is similar to 8/1's: solid, but definitely second-tier in the context of this tour. The success of the second set sort of depends on whether you find the "Seven Below" to be brilliant or tepid. The "Disease" is great, though, and worth a listen.
8/4: A great show, but doesn't really live up to the hype. The first set doesn't have much going for it that's outside of the box other than a few minutes of plinko-style jamming in "Wolfman's." The second set opens with a fantastic "Golden Age" jam, but then things slow back down until the "Mike's" second jam. It's great to see a "Mike's" second jam again, but honestly there are many, many better jams from 2015 in general and even this show in particular that are more interesting than this one. "Piper," for example. And the "Groove," which is easily the most engaging jam of the show and a "best of" candidate for the tour in general.
8/5: The only point of interest in this first set is a strong debut of Mike's "The Last Step." The second set starts off slow, but the "Disease" gets things rolling finally, and the momentum carries over into an echo-funk take on "Sand." But that's about it. This is one of those "one and done" shows in terms of jamming.
8/7: Amazing show. Despite the fact that the first set is pretty rote except for a Type 1.5 "Gin" that comes late. The one-two punch of "Chalkdust" and "Tweezer" to open the first set provides us with quite possibly the best two jams of the year so far back to back. But it's not over there, because "The Lizards," a great "Ghost," and a "Reba"-esque "Hood" follow. Whew.
8/8: If you really enjoy "Maze," "Mercury," and/or "Reba," then this show opens with a strong first set. Otherwise, it's yet another opening frame that breaks down after the first few songs. There are some nice jam moments in the second set, but they're spread out across a bunch of songs and there's no tentpole jam to look to. If you need a twenty-minute jam to like a show, you'll be disappointed, but if you don't, there's a lot to like here.
8/9: The first set features a lot of rarities, which makes for a satisfying setlist while also introducing more flubs and missed calls than usual. The second set doesn't have much worth mentioning except for another strong "Tweezer" jam and a "Mike's" second jam that finally fulfills the promise of...a second "Mike's" jam. Unlike 8/4, this one goes places, and it's fantastic.
8/11: Best first set of the year so far. "Martian Monster" references are intertwined throughout, after a "Martian Monster"/"Skin It Back" mashup early on. "Ghost," "Scent," and "Bowie" are all strong, jammy takes as well. In the second set, "Fuego" Goes Deep and lands in bliss territory. The following four songs all poke their toes into the water, but never wade out too far, and then it's jukebox territory from there on. A consistently interesting show, though. Not top-tier, but pushing toward it.
8/12: First set is strong, and anchored by a jammed-out, echo-funk "Cities." And then there's the five-song second set. "Gin," "Hood," and "No Men" are pretty standard by 2015 parameters, but even that's saying something in a way. That said, "Twist" and "Scents" recall 8/7 in how they are both enormously satisfying jams and they happen back to back. That the rest of the set is also made up of long jams just helps catapult 8/12 into the top tier of 2015 shows.
8/14: Slow "Llama." That's all you need to know about the first set. The second set features another "Golden Age" that gets way out there, and that's the main highlight of a 2015-average show, though the "Ghost" > "No Quarter" sequence that happens later ain't bad.
8/15: This is my pick for show of the year pre-Magnaball. The first set is solid all the way through, and though there aren't any weird highlights (minus a jammed-out "Antelope"!), the sum total of great setlist choices and strong playing puts it in "best of" territory. The second set is a perfect marriage of long jams and jams-n-segues, with a huge "46 Days," a "Steam" -> "What's The Use?" -> "Steam," a monster "Piper," and a "Tweezer" that includes a performance of "NO2" within the song. I love this set.
8/16: Might be the worst show of the tour, weirdly enough. Things don't really get rolling until about three songs before the end of S1. S2 just sounds mostly tired, and none of the songs ever really take off (for example, there's a twelve minute Type I "Disease"), except for a delightfully weird "Light."
8/21: The "second leg" of Phish 2015 kicks off with one of the strongest shows of the year. The first set trumps any that have come before, with a legit "Simple" jam as the opener and later on a "Gin" that stands up with anything that's been jammed this year. The "Chalkdust" that opens the second set reprises the territory the "Gin" explored, "Ghost" satisfyingly revisits the 8/16 "Light" jam, and the "Hood" at the end continues the two-year tradition of weird-good "Hood"s. In all, quite a start for the festival.
8/22: This four-set day is the easy pick for show of the year. Not only does it feature a mind-boggling "Drive-In" jam for the fourth set, which in my opinion is one of the more musically interesting festival jams the band has ever put together, there's little lag in the three sets of "normal" music that come before that. Well...okay, that's not entirely true. The only real highlight of S1 is a jammed-out "Antelope," and S2 takes a bit to get going. "46 Days" and "Tweezer" -> "Caspian" are both huge jams, though, that more than make up for the slow start. Rather than taking a victory lap in S3, they lay down quite possibly the best "Blaze On" of the year, and then take that echo-y, loopy template and apply it to the next three songs as well, including a huge "Light." Wow.
8/23: Night three of Magnaball has a lot to live up to, and in some ways it doesn't quite make it. S1 is strong despite never venturing too far out the box save for a few minutes' worth of "Stash." S2 is the total package, with a big jam in "Disease," great exploratory versions of "Scents" and "WTU?" (!), and then a "Mike's Groove" that sandwiches in "Fuego" and "Twist" before ending on a "Groove" that reprises the set-opening "Martian Monster." Anywhere else in the tour, this show would be a beast, and that it seems like a letdown here only shows how amazing 8/21 and 8/22 were.
9/4: The first night at Dick's is full of strong playing hamstrung by what seems like a lot of missed opportunities. "Ghost" and "46 Days" both stop just short of going deep in the first set, though "Gin" gets there in style. The second set starts with a "Wolfman's" Type II jam (yeah, you read that right) and features two great jams in "Blaze On" and "Golden Age" and a short-but-fantastic take on "Fuego" that gets really dark.
9/5: The second set is mostly in the rote category, save for one of my favorite takes ever on "Split," which comes at the end. "Chalkdust" starts off the second set with one of the best versions in awhile, then segues nicely into "Twist." Unfortunately, "Twist" doesn't break entirely free of earth's gravity and thus we don't quite get "Cheezer" or "Tweezerpants" levels of improv here. "Mercury" gets jammed out for the first time and like 9/4's "Fuego," "Light" gets a short take that's nonetheless worth listening to for its immediate depth. Don't pass up the "Hood" encore because it's under 10 minutes, either. Seriously, don't.
9/6: There are a few interesting song choices in the first set, especially "Scent" > "Saw It Again," but it's more 9/5 than 9/4. Set two opens with the bliss jam of the year in "Disease," and then "Carini," "Piper," "Tweezer," and "2001" all come up a bit short individually, but each has a little to offer when you take them as a whole. Minus the "Disease," it's really another one of those "Do you really need 25 minute jams for a show to be good?" kind of sets. Then there's the THANK YOU encore, of course. That's in a whole other atmosphere by itself. Especially if you were there.
12/30: Starts the MSG trend of underwhelming first sets. Then the second set blows everything away. "Chalkdust," "Gin," and "Groove" -> "What's The Use?" -> "Groove" are all "best of"-level jams, and the only real mark "against" the second set is that "Ghost" gets interrupted mid-jam to introduce a new song before seguing cleanly back into the jam to finish.
12/31: Like 12/30, roughly the first half of this show is really straightforward. It's not until about halfway through the second set that the magic happens. But boy, does it happen. "KDF" goes super-weird, and I love it. The later "Twist" is on par with the previous night's big jams in terms of epicness and raw rock power, and then the third set offers up nearly forty minutes of quality jamming between the two 2015 debuts "Blaze On" and "No Men." The show slows down a bit before the end, but that's four huge jams over 1.5 sets of music.
1/1: This show follows the template of the previous two in a sense: first set not so great, second set much better. However, the bar is a little lower in both cases. The first set loses the energy and flow that made the 12/30 and 12/31 opening frames enjoyable in spite of their rote-ness, although the "Undermind," which features a weird jam and teases of many of the first set songs, is worth a listen. "Disease" and "Light" are the big jams in the second set, and while they don't uncover and new territory, they're both satisfying "greatest hits"-style jams in the 2015 mode.
1/2: The first set here also doesn't tread new ground, but it's almost entirely mid-90s era songs played in the style of that time, which, whether intentional or not, is neat to hear. You could almost imagine the guys playing this as a second JEMP Truck set. The "Tweezer" in S2 is just stupefying, and should be in on any best-jam-of-the-year conversation. And yet the band doesn't rest after that huge performance, also offering takes on "Sand" and "Hood" that are worth repeated listens.
1/15: There aren't really any highlights in the first set here, but there's definitely an energy and a verve that's been absent in first sets since August '15. Redemption is coming, though, in that the second set features two amazing sequences in "Drowned" -> "What's the Use?" and "Sand" -> "Ghost" -> "2001." And people say that this run isn't worth listening to!
1/16: The first legitimately interesting first set in awhile. I love the slow-tempo, gooey "Camel Walk," and the "Cities" is way too interesting a jam to be in the first set, even before it segues into a similarly interesting "Light." Also: echo-funk "Timber." "Golden Age" opens the second set and is a bit of a reprise of the Dick's version, minus the hideous flubbing. "Caspian" doesn't go all the way There like the Magna version, but it's definitely coming out of its shell more and more as time goes on. "46 Days" > "Twenty Years" gives you your quota of dark, ambient jamming, and an extended Type II "Hood" puts the exclamation point on another show that really should get more props than it does.
1/17: Another strong first set (three in a row), though there isn't as much meat as 1/16's. You should listen to the "Moma" for the vocal jam and slight ambient bit (!) before a nice segue into "Saw It Again." How much you like the second set probably depends on how much you like "Shipwreck" teases. I really, really love this "Disease" jam, because the samples and the jam that builds around them take Phish music in a different direction than I've ever heard it go before. They're not reinventing the wheel here, but at times I almost felt like I was listening to one of my favorite electronic artists instead of Phish, which is neat and speaks to their jaw-dropping versatility. The other big tune to get injected with "Shipwreck" samples here is "Crosseyed." Though both of those tunes go to some great places, overall this show is a bit slimmer pickings than 1/16 and 1/15 if you're looking for extended improv.
Mar 2, 2016
2011-05-31 Holmdel I
The Verdict:
Unfortunately, the downward trend continues at the first Holmdel show. This is the rare show where the first set has more to offer than the second, and in this case it's not a good thing. This could easily be mistaken for a mid-2010 show, and in listening to it I was transported back to when I was writing review after review that essentially said the same thing: that the band was technically proficient and played with a lot of energy, but had all the improvisational gusto of a greatest hits jukebox on shuffle.
During the first set, the shuffle setting is rewarding. It's especially fun to hear an early "Rock and Roll," a S1 "Sand" gets completely blown up by Trey, and "Tube" dabbles in plinko jamming before ending much too soon.
The second set is almost entirely an improv desert, and the great setlist construction that offset this during the opening frame is gone. "After Midnight" gets extended to twelve minutes, but it never goes any further than Trey soloing over the song's progression, "Possum" is oddly placed, "Drowned" takes a few minutes to put a dark spin on the new melodic outro jam trend (with a jam that sounds weirdly like "What's the Use?") before seguing into a pretty standard "Maze." The odd couple of "Dirt" and "Alaska" set up an equally weird set closer choice in "YEM."
Honestly, the only highlight here (unless you count a few minutes of solid soloing from Trey and then Mike in "YEM") is the "Drowned." The rest of the show you're going to feel like you've heard before.
The Live Review:
5/31/11: Chalkdust opener.
5/31/11: Plain old ripping Chalkdust to start. Roggae is next.
5/31/11: Interested to see how this goes compared to 2015 Roggaes.
5/31/11: Not as varied as a lot of recent versions. Just a LxL-sounding solo for a few minutes and then back to the composed ending.
5/29/11: Pretty standard PYITE follows Roggae.
5/29/11: PYITE > Moma. So far, so normal.
5/29/11: Someone (Trey?) is totally in the wrong key.
5/29/11: Okay, now he's back where he should be. That was hurting my brain.
5/29/11: A BITING RAIN TAKING THE MAIN
5/31/11: Go back in time and change the date on those last five tweets to 5/31.
5/31/11: Maybe I'm subconsciously pining for 5/29 because it was a much more interesting show at this point than 5/31.
5/31/11: Though, I pretty much love Moma Dance every time no matter how rote it is. I'm a sucker.
5/31/11: Ooh! Rock and Roll! Now THAT shakes things up a little.
5/31/11: Seriously rocking...umm...Rock and Roll. Nice placement, but no real jam.
5/31/11: Trey dedicates the next song to 'Max, with lots of love, and to family and friends.' Really want him to jump into Carini now.
5/31/11: Sand.
5/31/11: Trey laying down a catchy riff and Page echoing him on the electric piano.
5/31/11: Trey is giving his guitar the bends.
5/31/11: Sorry, that was fucking terrible.
5/31/11: This is what I like to think of, in my stupider moments, as 'Type I with extra cheese.'
5/31/11: But pathetic attempts at humor aside, dude is blowing up that Languedoc.
5/31/11: Trey threatens to take us to Page's house.
5/31/11: Apparently that means Tube. I can see that connection. Might there be some clav in our near future?
5/31/11: YUP. THERE IT IS.
5/31/11: Neat little plinko style jam cut too short, as is the EVERLASTING TRAGEDY of every version of Tube in recent history.
5/31/11: Divided Sky! One immediately obvious difference between '11 and '15 is the presence of these longer composed pieces.
5/31/11: Oh shit, Trey just biffed harder than I've ever heard him do on Divided Sky. Ouch.
5/31/11: Crowd cheers it off, though, which is awesome. Trey says 'I did that on purpose!'
5/31/11: Spends about a minute not playing, then jumps back in during the next section.
5/31/11: Aside from the bizarro-world flub at the beginning, the rest of DSky is pretty standard.
5/31/11: Character Zero set closer.
5/31/11: Okay, so y'all know how I typically feel about Zero. But that was a notable rock-and-roll take.
5/31/11: After Midnight opens the second set. That's interesting.
5/31/11: This song will always make me think of the 9/6/15 encore now. Which is a good thing.
5/31/11: After Trey's solo, the end of the song getting extended a little.
5/31/11: Driving riff from Trey now. Fish picking up the beat.
5/31/11: Extended After Midnight 'jam' now, though it's sort of just Trey soloing again.
5/31/11: Page gets on the organ and plays something interesting just as Trey is petering out.
5/31/11: This entire show could be filed under that 'Missed Connections' section of your local newspaper. #phish #winsomelosesome
5/31/11: Opossum.
5/31/11: That's what I'm calling it now. And I refuse to reconsider.
5/31/11: Some fun Trey/Mike interplay here.
5/31/11: Solid Opossum > Drowned.
5/31/11: Typical Trey solo heading into something approaching a space funk jam...maybe.
5/31/11: Mike going to town over some loops and some synth.
5/31/11: Almost sounds like a synth-y version of the Ghost intro.
5/31/11: Outro jam a bit like the two Waves from Bethel, but a little darker instead of uplifting.
5/31/11: WTU? tease from Trey.
5/31/11: Almost a Floyd-like jam now, led by an intense bass line.
5/31/11: I'm starting to see where maybe the 8/5/11 Rock and Roll came from.
5/31/11: Wall of noise resolves into the Maze beat.
5/31/11: Maze is extra tension-y this time around.
5/31/11: Pretty sure a guy just yelled 'Play something!' after Maze on the sbd.
5/31/11: Purty Dirt follows Maze. Nice Mike bass solo in dere.
5/31/11: Alaska next.
5/31/11: What a weird set. Standard Alaska. Now YEM. On night one?
5/31/11: I'm pretty sure someone is yelling in Japanese on the sbd.
5/31/11: In the crowd, I mean.
5/31/11: Page is absolutely tearing it up during the tramps section.
5/31/11: Trey laying down one hell of an outro solo here.
5/31/11: Now Mike is taking a solo!
5/31/11: Yakety Sax tease from Mike during the solo. That's funny.
5/31/11: Fire encore.
5/31/11: So, that show might as well have been 5/31/10, for all the progression it showed beyond the many, many staid shows of last year.
5/31/11: To put the broken reviewing-2010 record back on: lots of technically spot-on, high-power playing (minus the DSky)...
5/31/11: ...a few interesting setlist choices (though, seriously, who thought up that S2?)...
5/31/11: But a definite and jarring step back from the great Bethel run. Hoping for better tomorrow night.
Unfortunately, the downward trend continues at the first Holmdel show. This is the rare show where the first set has more to offer than the second, and in this case it's not a good thing. This could easily be mistaken for a mid-2010 show, and in listening to it I was transported back to when I was writing review after review that essentially said the same thing: that the band was technically proficient and played with a lot of energy, but had all the improvisational gusto of a greatest hits jukebox on shuffle.
During the first set, the shuffle setting is rewarding. It's especially fun to hear an early "Rock and Roll," a S1 "Sand" gets completely blown up by Trey, and "Tube" dabbles in plinko jamming before ending much too soon.
The second set is almost entirely an improv desert, and the great setlist construction that offset this during the opening frame is gone. "After Midnight" gets extended to twelve minutes, but it never goes any further than Trey soloing over the song's progression, "Possum" is oddly placed, "Drowned" takes a few minutes to put a dark spin on the new melodic outro jam trend (with a jam that sounds weirdly like "What's the Use?") before seguing into a pretty standard "Maze." The odd couple of "Dirt" and "Alaska" set up an equally weird set closer choice in "YEM."
Honestly, the only highlight here (unless you count a few minutes of solid soloing from Trey and then Mike in "YEM") is the "Drowned." The rest of the show you're going to feel like you've heard before.
The Live Review:
5/31/11: Chalkdust opener.
5/31/11: Plain old ripping Chalkdust to start. Roggae is next.
5/31/11: Interested to see how this goes compared to 2015 Roggaes.
5/31/11: Not as varied as a lot of recent versions. Just a LxL-sounding solo for a few minutes and then back to the composed ending.
5/29/11: Pretty standard PYITE follows Roggae.
5/29/11: PYITE > Moma. So far, so normal.
5/29/11: Someone (Trey?) is totally in the wrong key.
5/29/11: Okay, now he's back where he should be. That was hurting my brain.
5/29/11: A BITING RAIN TAKING THE MAIN
5/31/11: Go back in time and change the date on those last five tweets to 5/31.
5/31/11: Maybe I'm subconsciously pining for 5/29 because it was a much more interesting show at this point than 5/31.
5/31/11: Though, I pretty much love Moma Dance every time no matter how rote it is. I'm a sucker.
5/31/11: Ooh! Rock and Roll! Now THAT shakes things up a little.
5/31/11: Seriously rocking...umm...Rock and Roll. Nice placement, but no real jam.
5/31/11: Trey dedicates the next song to 'Max, with lots of love, and to family and friends.' Really want him to jump into Carini now.
5/31/11: Sand.
5/31/11: Trey laying down a catchy riff and Page echoing him on the electric piano.
5/31/11: Trey is giving his guitar the bends.
5/31/11: Sorry, that was fucking terrible.
5/31/11: This is what I like to think of, in my stupider moments, as 'Type I with extra cheese.'
5/31/11: But pathetic attempts at humor aside, dude is blowing up that Languedoc.
5/31/11: Trey threatens to take us to Page's house.
5/31/11: Apparently that means Tube. I can see that connection. Might there be some clav in our near future?
5/31/11: YUP. THERE IT IS.
5/31/11: Neat little plinko style jam cut too short, as is the EVERLASTING TRAGEDY of every version of Tube in recent history.
5/31/11: Divided Sky! One immediately obvious difference between '11 and '15 is the presence of these longer composed pieces.
5/31/11: Oh shit, Trey just biffed harder than I've ever heard him do on Divided Sky. Ouch.
5/31/11: Crowd cheers it off, though, which is awesome. Trey says 'I did that on purpose!'
5/31/11: Spends about a minute not playing, then jumps back in during the next section.
5/31/11: Aside from the bizarro-world flub at the beginning, the rest of DSky is pretty standard.
5/31/11: Character Zero set closer.
5/31/11: Okay, so y'all know how I typically feel about Zero. But that was a notable rock-and-roll take.
5/31/11: After Midnight opens the second set. That's interesting.
5/31/11: This song will always make me think of the 9/6/15 encore now. Which is a good thing.
5/31/11: After Trey's solo, the end of the song getting extended a little.
5/31/11: Driving riff from Trey now. Fish picking up the beat.
5/31/11: Extended After Midnight 'jam' now, though it's sort of just Trey soloing again.
5/31/11: Page gets on the organ and plays something interesting just as Trey is petering out.
5/31/11: This entire show could be filed under that 'Missed Connections' section of your local newspaper. #phish #winsomelosesome
5/31/11: Opossum.
5/31/11: That's what I'm calling it now. And I refuse to reconsider.
5/31/11: Some fun Trey/Mike interplay here.
5/31/11: Solid Opossum > Drowned.
5/31/11: Typical Trey solo heading into something approaching a space funk jam...maybe.
5/31/11: Mike going to town over some loops and some synth.
5/31/11: Almost sounds like a synth-y version of the Ghost intro.
5/31/11: Outro jam a bit like the two Waves from Bethel, but a little darker instead of uplifting.
5/31/11: WTU? tease from Trey.
5/31/11: Almost a Floyd-like jam now, led by an intense bass line.
5/31/11: I'm starting to see where maybe the 8/5/11 Rock and Roll came from.
5/31/11: Wall of noise resolves into the Maze beat.
5/31/11: Maze is extra tension-y this time around.
5/31/11: Pretty sure a guy just yelled 'Play something!' after Maze on the sbd.
5/31/11: Purty Dirt follows Maze. Nice Mike bass solo in dere.
5/31/11: Alaska next.
5/31/11: What a weird set. Standard Alaska. Now YEM. On night one?
5/31/11: I'm pretty sure someone is yelling in Japanese on the sbd.
5/31/11: In the crowd, I mean.
5/31/11: Page is absolutely tearing it up during the tramps section.
5/31/11: Trey laying down one hell of an outro solo here.
5/31/11: Now Mike is taking a solo!
5/31/11: Yakety Sax tease from Mike during the solo. That's funny.
5/31/11: Fire encore.
5/31/11: So, that show might as well have been 5/31/10, for all the progression it showed beyond the many, many staid shows of last year.
5/31/11: To put the broken reviewing-2010 record back on: lots of technically spot-on, high-power playing (minus the DSky)...
5/31/11: ...a few interesting setlist choices (though, seriously, who thought up that S2?)...
5/31/11: But a definite and jarring step back from the great Bethel run. Hoping for better tomorrow night.
2011-05-29 Bethel III
The Verdict:
Bethel night three is one of those shows with two first sets. It retains a bit of the magic that made the first two nights of the Bethel run such good shows, but it's not quite enough to bump it up to the same level.
The first set doesn't go anywhere interesting like the first two Bethel S1s did, but it's really well-constructed and never lets up. The highlights are definitely the "46 Days" > "Twenty Years Later" which at least gestures toward a little jamming, and then the set-closing "Antelope," which is rife with "Curtis Loew" teasing early on.
The second set looks better on paper than it is. The only real improvisational highlight (and I use that term loosely here) is the "Simple" in the midst of the "Mike's Groove," which starts the typical way but then heads to a gorgeous melodic outro not unlike the ones offered up at the ends of the two Bethel "Waves"s. Everything else is well played but never gets weird, and the tasty-looking combo of "2001" > "Light" > "Slave" seems especially pedestrian, particularly when you consider how that combo plays out in my imagination.
In all, though the band plays with the same verve they've brought to every show so far this year, this one falls flat on pretty much every other front and is a weird blemish on what began as a fantastic three-show run.
The Live Review:
5/29/11: Bag opener for N3.
5/29/11: Is there much better than a well-played AC/DC Bag opener? Probably not.
5/29/11: > Sample.
5/29/11: It's way more fun to dance to Phish in your office when you know you've got at least some tickets sewn up for summer.
5/29/11: Rift!
5/29/11: Great, first-setty action so far.
5/29/11: I do not know why I dislike Ocelot. But I do.
5/29/11: Okay, clearly it's been too long since I've seen Phish because I'm even dancing to Ocelot.
5/29/11: In my defense, this is an especially slanky version.
5/29/11: Lots of great not-Trey playing in this version. Though Trey's no slouch either.
5/29/11: Ya Mar next. Solo coming from 'Leo's house!'
5/29/11: Timber!
5/29/11: 2015 Phish should have taken some setlist-writing tips from 2011 Phish.
5/29/11: Oh Kee Pa > Suzy. Love it!
5/29/11: Really rocking little mini-jam in Suzy, > 46 Days.
5/29/11: 46 Days jam getting a little spacey post-vocal-refrain. Page on organ, Mike driving.
5/29/11: Jam doesn't really go anywhere and Trey resolves it into Twenty Years Later.
5/29/11: Have I mentioned less than 100 times how much I love the outro to Twenty Years Later?
5/29/11: Curtis Loew!!!
5/29/11: I love that Page sings this song because I love what Trey does in the background the entire time.
5/29/11: Okay, back to Curtis Loew now that I'm breathing normally again.
5/29/11: Antelope with some serious Curtis Loew teasing by Trey.
5/29/11: This is definitely not a bad first Antelope of the year.
5/29/11: End set.
5/29/11: S2 starts with Mike's Song.
5/29/11: Troy is laying down a serious solo here.
5/29/11: Old school butt-slam into Simple!
5/29/11: The Simple jam is wonderfully twine-y.
5/29/11: Judicious application of the whale pedal now propelling the jam.
5/29/11: They are really loving this gentle, slowly-developing melodic outros this year. Melodic outros are the new ambient washout!
5/29/11: Just breaking into the Groove jam, Trey yells 'Speed it up!' to Fish.
5/29/11: M00tst0ck
5/29/11: FLUFFHEAD FLUFFHEAD FLUFFHEAD FLUFFHEAD
5/29/11: Joy after Fluffhead always seems like a great combo to me.
5/29/11: Weird drumming/bass ambient introduction, and then > 2001.
5/29/11: Relatively funky 2001 segues into Light.
5/29/11: This is full-on Treypeggio city.
5/29/11: Ah, the old ambient fade after a plain Type I jam.
5/29/11: > Slave.
5/29/11: Excellent, patient Slave to close set 2. Loving Cup encore.
5/29/11: Ooh! The missing Tweeprise from night one!
5/29/11: Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.
5/29/11: End show.
5/29/11: Well, that show didn't really stand up to the first two, though it was still quite good.
5/29/11: High energy, but very first-setty S1, missing any of the surprises of the first two nights' opening sets.
5/29/11: S2 was well-played, too, but the weirdest things ever got was a bit of noodling in Simple. More like a 5/27 or 5/28 S1. Oh well.
5/29/11: Still a fun listen. Looking forward to more.
Bethel night three is one of those shows with two first sets. It retains a bit of the magic that made the first two nights of the Bethel run such good shows, but it's not quite enough to bump it up to the same level.
The first set doesn't go anywhere interesting like the first two Bethel S1s did, but it's really well-constructed and never lets up. The highlights are definitely the "46 Days" > "Twenty Years Later" which at least gestures toward a little jamming, and then the set-closing "Antelope," which is rife with "Curtis Loew" teasing early on.
The second set looks better on paper than it is. The only real improvisational highlight (and I use that term loosely here) is the "Simple" in the midst of the "Mike's Groove," which starts the typical way but then heads to a gorgeous melodic outro not unlike the ones offered up at the ends of the two Bethel "Waves"s. Everything else is well played but never gets weird, and the tasty-looking combo of "2001" > "Light" > "Slave" seems especially pedestrian, particularly when you consider how that combo plays out in my imagination.
In all, though the band plays with the same verve they've brought to every show so far this year, this one falls flat on pretty much every other front and is a weird blemish on what began as a fantastic three-show run.
The Live Review:
5/29/11: Bag opener for N3.
5/29/11: Is there much better than a well-played AC/DC Bag opener? Probably not.
5/29/11: > Sample.
5/29/11: It's way more fun to dance to Phish in your office when you know you've got at least some tickets sewn up for summer.
5/29/11: Rift!
5/29/11: Great, first-setty action so far.
5/29/11: I do not know why I dislike Ocelot. But I do.
5/29/11: Okay, clearly it's been too long since I've seen Phish because I'm even dancing to Ocelot.
5/29/11: In my defense, this is an especially slanky version.
5/29/11: Lots of great not-Trey playing in this version. Though Trey's no slouch either.
5/29/11: Ya Mar next. Solo coming from 'Leo's house!'
5/29/11: Timber!
5/29/11: 2015 Phish should have taken some setlist-writing tips from 2011 Phish.
5/29/11: Oh Kee Pa > Suzy. Love it!
5/29/11: Really rocking little mini-jam in Suzy, > 46 Days.
5/29/11: 46 Days jam getting a little spacey post-vocal-refrain. Page on organ, Mike driving.
5/29/11: Jam doesn't really go anywhere and Trey resolves it into Twenty Years Later.
5/29/11: Have I mentioned less than 100 times how much I love the outro to Twenty Years Later?
5/29/11: Curtis Loew!!!
5/29/11: I love that Page sings this song because I love what Trey does in the background the entire time.
5/29/11: Okay, back to Curtis Loew now that I'm breathing normally again.
5/29/11: Antelope with some serious Curtis Loew teasing by Trey.
5/29/11: This is definitely not a bad first Antelope of the year.
5/29/11: End set.
5/29/11: S2 starts with Mike's Song.
5/29/11: Troy is laying down a serious solo here.
5/29/11: Old school butt-slam into Simple!
5/29/11: The Simple jam is wonderfully twine-y.
5/29/11: Judicious application of the whale pedal now propelling the jam.
5/29/11: They are really loving this gentle, slowly-developing melodic outros this year. Melodic outros are the new ambient washout!
5/29/11: Just breaking into the Groove jam, Trey yells 'Speed it up!' to Fish.
5/29/11: M00tst0ck
5/29/11: FLUFFHEAD FLUFFHEAD FLUFFHEAD FLUFFHEAD
5/29/11: Joy after Fluffhead always seems like a great combo to me.
5/29/11: Weird drumming/bass ambient introduction, and then > 2001.
5/29/11: Relatively funky 2001 segues into Light.
5/29/11: This is full-on Treypeggio city.
5/29/11: Ah, the old ambient fade after a plain Type I jam.
5/29/11: > Slave.
5/29/11: Excellent, patient Slave to close set 2. Loving Cup encore.
5/29/11: Ooh! The missing Tweeprise from night one!
5/29/11: Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.
5/29/11: End show.
5/29/11: Well, that show didn't really stand up to the first two, though it was still quite good.
5/29/11: High energy, but very first-setty S1, missing any of the surprises of the first two nights' opening sets.
5/29/11: S2 was well-played, too, but the weirdest things ever got was a bit of noodling in Simple. More like a 5/27 or 5/28 S1. Oh well.
5/29/11: Still a fun listen. Looking forward to more.
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