The Verdict:
After two shows (or at least three sets) of clunky music (at least by typical Phish standards), Chula Vista ends a pretty rocky tour on a high note. There's a lot to like here, even if, like most summer '16 shows good or bad, there's no tentpole jam. In a weird way, that makes it seem like an appropriate way to end the tour.
The show starts with the surprisingly strong opening sequence of "Farmhouse," "555," and "Water in the Sky." From there, the band switches to high gear immediately with a for-the-throat bliss-jammed take on "Ghost." This version would be totally at home in the middle of a second set. It's really good.
From there, we get the first of our few "Ass Handed" versions for the night, and things proceed in a more standard first-set fashion for a moment until "Reba" comes up out of nowhere. This version struggles a bit through the composed section, but the jam is gorgeous, reminiscent of the excellent Shoreline '15 version. Then we get our asses handed to us again by Fishman.
Then, the highlight of the first set: a jammed-out "Tube." This is a great moment for the sheer surprise of hearing the song jammed, but it's also a great, slowly developing funk jam that would be worth a listen even in a more expected spot. Follow that with a "Wolfman's" that features a "California Love" jam and lyrics and a "Walls" set closer, and you've got one of the best opening frames of the tour.
The magic continues into set two with a "2001" opener that runs over ten minutes, and, like the first-set "Tube," features slowly developing full-band funk. When the "46 Days" that follows doesn't go deep, it feels like a wasted moment, but man is this a great, rocked-out Type I version of the tune.
After that, the rest of the set is pure Phish excellence: "Piper" features a spacey, pitch-shifted jam, "Twist" is the epitome of the tour's minimalist Type I versions, "Number Line" finds yet more ways to stay Type I but be interesting and take advantage of some great full-band interplay, "Carini" is dark and sludgy (and yes, even more so than usual), "Hood" is probably the best version of the year, starting with Trey looping his guitar backward and ending with an enormous, enormous peak...and "Loving Cup" ends it all perfectly. Again, there might not be a huge jam in this set, but back to front, it's consistently great.
The encore is pure fun Phish. First, with "Sleeping Monkey" being introduced as Page's favorite song and then played while Fishman pretends to be overcome with emotion in the background. Then second, and finally, with "Tweeprise" being played out of nowhere and having the normal lyrics replaced with, for the third time in one show, "Ass Handed." It's a great encore to end a great show.
The Live Review:
7/23/16: I remember loving this Farmhouse opener. The band came out and started fairly early and most fans were still in the lot/in line.
7/23/16: The place was almost completely empty and I sort of thought they might have just way undersold the tour closer.
7/23/16: People eventually filtered in, but the first three songs were sort of surreal, up near the top of an empty bowl of seats.
7/23/16: Solid version of 555 in the two-spot. Then, the slow version of Water in the Sky. 7/23/16: GHOST
7/23/16: Ghost jam slowly building.
7/23/16: Trey just hit a great change and now we're in full-on '15 bliss mode.
7/23/16: This jam does not belong in a first set.
7/23/16: Return to Ghost proper for the wind-down ending.
7/23/16: That fantastic jam is followed by...Ass Handed.
7/23/16: The Sloth!
7/23/16: YOUR TRAP IS SHART
7/23/16: Whoops, that didn't work so well. Umm...Martian Monster is next.
7/23/16: Slow-paced Martian Monster, but Trey's using the echo to great effect.
7/23/16: Page is going sample-crazy now.
7/23/16: Super-short Martian Monster, but that's okay because Reba is next!
7/23/16: Reba was a little rough through the composed section, but the jam is featuring some fantastic Trey/Page interplay right now.
7/23/16: Second take on Ass Handed after Reba. Tube is next.
7/23/16: Echo-funk emerging in the Tube jam.
7/23/16: Sticking with the funk here, but deconstructing it in some pretty awesome ways. 7/23/16: Big funk-rock peak and them immediately into the blues section of Tube. Crowd loses it. 7/23/16: At the show, I was just jazzed that they jammed out Tube, but that was actually a really good Type I jam.
7/23/16: Wolfman's is next, with a California Love jam and lyrics from Trey.
7/23/16: After so more typical Wolfman's jamming, Trey returns to the California Love riff. 7/23/16: Fun take on Wolfman's. Walls should close the set now.
7/23/16: End set.
7/23/16: Second set opens with 2001.
7/23/16: Long ambient drone before Fish kicks in.
7/23/16: Sounded a bit like a No Men tease in 2001. Trey's definitely using the No Men's tone. 7/23/16: Definitely California Love teasing from Trey now.
7/23/16: Maybe it's just me, but Fish's drumming sounds a lot more muscular in this 2001 than usual.
7/23/16: Great, slightly extended 2001 > 46 Days.
7/23/16: Really raucous version of 46 Days lands in Piper.
7/23/16: Fish and loops from Trey are dominating the beginning of the Piper jam.
7/23/16: Trey doing some great pitch-shifting stuff now.
7/23/16: Great rock riff now from Trey. Staccato notes from Page.
7/23/16: A bit of a ripcord out of a nice jam into Twist, but the band adjusts quickly.
7/23/16: Great minimalist pitch-shifted soloing now from Trey. Everyone else adding little flourishes.
7/23/16: Muddy tone now from Trey. Dueling w/ Mike.
7/23/16: That was about as good and varied of a jam as you can get while still staying Type I. Neat Twist.
7/23/16: > Number Line.
7/23/16: Great piano and bass work in this Number Line. Trey laying back a bit more than usual. 7/23/16: Nice Number Line jam and perfect landing in Carini.
7/23/16: During the lyric outro, Trey shouts the Ass Handed lyrics, and then before the jam, Fish screams 'CARINI GOT HIS ASS HANDED TO HIM'
7/23/16: Neat, murky, chord-driven jam that winds way up and then winds back down into a huge wall of sound.
7/23/16: > Hood!
7/23/16: Neat reverse-loop solo from Trey to start off this Hood.
7/23/16: Fucking monster peak on this Hood. Holy hell.
7/23/16: Great landing in Loving Cup.
7/23/16: End set with a rocked-out version of Loving Cup. Awesome.
7/23/16: Trey thanking everyone for coming to the tour. They 'can't not end...with Page's favorite song.'
7/23/16: Sleeping Monkey
7/23/16: Trey taunting Page and Mike for crying during the song.
7/23/16: Fish making crying sounds while Trey sings.
7/23/16: Trey tells everyone to google 'Sleeping monkey revived at train station in India' to explain the origin of the song.
7/23/16: Now, Tweeprise. The confusion in my section of the stands when this Tweezer-less Tweeprise started was immense.
7/23/16: Then the Ass Handed lyrics kicked in and we all freaked the fuck out.
7/23/16: Awesome Phish moment.
7/23/16: I have probably heard Tweeprise at least 500 times in my life, but I still get goosebumps when Fish's drums come in.
7/23/16: I personally think the fact that Ass Handed and Mercury didn't make Big Boat are equal tragedies.
7/23/16: YOU GET YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU EVERY DAY! DON'T YOU FORGET IT! And with that, summer tour ends.
7/23/16: That was a great show. Literally the only thing to complain about is the song lengths.
7/23/16: Want a show that makes a great case for why every show doesn't need a 20 minute jam to be good? It's this one.
7/23/16: Second set didn't get quite as far out there as 7/19's, but it had more momentum. And THAT HOOD.
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