The Verdict:
I've jokingly called this show the worst Phish show. While that's a bit of an exaggeration, it's definitely the worst Phish show I've seen live. It's essentially two sets of the disjointed, weird, improv-less second set from BGCA III. Add to that some severe dehydration (see my tweeted story below) and it's a recipe for discontent. But, considering that this show has just barely cracked a 2.5 on Phish.net, maybe I'm not crazy for disliking it so much (it has about the same rating as the first Coventry show, for perspective).
There's not much to say that the live review below doesn't already say. The first set isn't so bad, as it opens with a strong "Moma Dance," contains a "Paul and Silas" bustout, and some great work from Page on "Heavy Things." The problem is that the set is lacking any sort of improvisation whatsoever and every song feels like a completely predictable choice with the exception of the aforementioned "Paul and Silas."
The second set starts with "Axila I," which sort of presages the kind of set it's going to be: mostly first-set songs with a few brutally axed jam vehicles to up the frustration factor.
That said, if I'm being honest, the following "Fuego" jam is Type I only, but still great. Trey gets an absolutely dark and evil distorted tone that he plays with for a few minutes before setting up a flawless segue...but it's into "BOTT" and from there the guys seem to think it's just the first set again. "Caspian" seems like it might be about to go somewhere, but it cut in half in favor of starting "Waves." "Waves" stays Type I but winds down into a pretty space...which ends in "Joy" and drops the energy level through the floor again. Then there's some more inexplicable first set songs and some instrument switching in "Scent of a Mule," but who cares at this point in a show like this...
The "YEM" closer just feels weird. And that's the best, vaguest word I could use to describe this show: weird. Even as I've described it above, it likely doesn't sound that bad, but both in person and on the tape something just feels off about the music all night long, and it's a pretty uncomfortable listen.
The Live Review:
7/22/16: Some background: this was my 35th Phish show, on my 35th birthday, in Los Angeles. 7/22/16: I'd just finished a huge road trip for my honeymoon and immediately jumped on tour after at the Gorge.
7/22/16: I was a little worn out from all the driving, but pumped after BGCA and looking forward to #35.
7/22/16: Long story short, I went hiking solo in the San Gabriel mountains before the show, it was 105 degrees, and I got heatstroke.
7/22/16: Spent three hours recovering on a beach in god knows where, then got to the show and sat down just as Moma hit.
7/22/16: It proceeded to be the worst show of Phish's I've seen since I started going to shows, and the only show I almost walked out of.
7/22/16: The fries and nachos and bottled water at the venue were AMAZING though. No joke. 7/22/16: So that's my story. Moma opener.
7/22/16: Despite all my grumping, is there a better first-set Phish song than Moma Dance? 7/22/16: Someday when I'm 80 years old, I'll remember S1 on-the-lawn-in-the-sun Momas as well as I remember the Tahoe Tweezer.
7/22/16: You don't have Phish without both of those, together.
7/22/16: > Sample.
7/22/16: I did get a Paul and Silas during this show, though, so there's that.
7/22/16: Super high-tempo Yarmouth Road is next.
7/22/16: Nice little Mike-led jam for a few minutes there in Yarmouth.
7/22/16: KDF next.
7/22/16: > Horn.
7/22/16: Page just nailed a great solo during Halfway To the Moon.
7/22/16: Heavy Things is next, and features an extended Page organ solo.
7/22/16: > Blaze On.
7/22/16: Short Blaze On. Nothing really getting stretched out in this set. High energy, though.
7/22/16: If I had to pick a highlight, it might be Heavy Things.
7/22/16: Stash next. We're going to have to open things up a little now whether Trey likes it or not :)
7/22/16: High-energy but straightforward take on Stash crashes right into Cavern, which plows into Antelope.
7/22/16: It's worth mentioning that as a first set, this ain't bad. It's way more predictable than the last few shows'...
7/22/16: ...but there's nothing bad about it, and it's got a momentum that's comparable to 7/20 S1.
7/22/16: This Antelope came from a different show. Great set closer.
7/22/16: Axilla I starts off the second set. So that's interesting.
7/22/16: Fuego in the two-slot.
7/22/16: Some evil, distorted soloing from Trey during this Fuego jam.
7/22/16: Staying Type I, but definitely getting EVIL.
7/22/16: Nice -> BOTT out of the developing jam.
7/22/16: Can't really fault that one as a ripcord because it was super-smooth.
7/22/16: Short and sweet Saw It Again next.
7/22/16: Prince Caspian next. Nice interplay between Trey and Page for a bit, tho it's feeling like another one of those dartboard setlists.
7/22/16: Caspian jam cut immediately for Waves.
7/22/16: Some jaunty chording from Trey in the Waves jam.
7/22/16: Compact take on Waves fades out into a pretty, Simple-jam-like space, and then transitions into Joy.
7/22/16: The Wedge.
7/22/16: Late-set Scent of a Mule with some marimba lumina action from Trey (I assume).
7/22/16: I think that maybe he and Fish are playing it together at the moment.
7/22/16: Rock and Roll seems like a weird choice, but okay.
7/22/16: Rock-out peak to end Rock and Roll, similar to the end of Antelope in S1.
7/22/16: Second summer in a row that Phish has played a pretty below-average show at the Forum and closed with YEM.
7/22/16: Feels a little like an apology. OH HERE'S ONE SONG YOU'LL LIKE
7/22/16: Great Mike-led percussion jam right at the end of YEM.
7/22/16: Weird setlist continues with an encore that goes Boogie On, Bouncin', Golgi.
7/22/16: fwiw, Boogie was a great, high-energy version.
7/22/16: That said, this remains my least favorite Phish show I've seen.
7/22/16: It's a shame, because if I'm trying to be objective, it's not a badly-played show at all.
7/22/16: But really, there's absolutely no surprises, except maybe the -> BOTT segue or the instrument switching on Scent of a Mule.
7/22/16: I like Phish a lot, and if I'm being honest I wouldn't even mind just sort of kicking back at home with this show...
7/22/16: ...and hearing some songs that I like, played with some verve and sequenced in a fairly compelling way.
7/22/16: The problem is, when you put in the time and money and anticipation to actually go to a show, you expect something in addition.
7/22/16: I don't need a 20-minute jam every night to be happy, but this show is, to me, literally comparable to just playing a Phish album.
7/22/16: There's nothing unexpected at all, and that's, I think, why it was/is so disappointing to me as a show.
7/22/16: It's entirely possible that I'm being 'an entitled fan' about this, but I don't think so.
7/22/16: That ability to surprise, even if it's not through long-form improvisation, feels like a pillar of Phish to me.
7/22/16: That they can play for 3.5 hours and not manage to do that once, even for a few seconds, makes this a bummer of a show.
7/22/16: Fortunately, 7/23 wraps up the summer proper on a higher note.
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