The Verdict:
I'm really excited because the Dick's run has, for the first time in '16, given us an entirely satisfying run of Phish music.
It actually reminds me quite a bit of the '11 tour that I recently finished reviewing: for most of the summer, the shows were solid but mostly repetitive affairs. It felt like the band was reaching for something, but not getting there...until the Gorge Rock and Roll, when things started to turn for the better. By the time the band hit Dick's (hehe), they were primed to string together one of the best runs of 3.0, if not ever.
I wouldn't say Dick's '16 lives up to that standard of quality, but it comes on the tail-end of another mostly underwhelming tour that began to show signs of life out west and now has turned out a Dick's run that is a return to the band's '15 form. Here's where it starts.
The band roars out of the gates with a great Type I "Ghost" opener followed by a deep "No Men's" jam in the two-slot. It's preceded by more great soloing from Trey before the full band departs on a wall-of-noise-style jam that belongs squarely in the middle of the second set. But I'm not complaining. The rest of the set proceeds in a more standard fashion, but the bar has clearly been set pretty high.
The second set opens with "Antelope," which doesn't do anything for me, but I suppose is neat song placement. "Mercury" makes its return to Dick's next, and actually gets into Type II territory briefly before segueing into a "Seven Below" that revisits the wall of noise jamming from the earlier "No Men's."
A slow, true segue leads "Seven Below" into a raucous "Birds." "Wombat" is a neat setlist surprise to follow, but also makes it feel like the band might be settling into a typical fourth quarter...until "Tweezer" starts up.
It's fun enough to just have a late-set "Tweezer" pop up, but this is one for the ages, echoing the famous Tahoe version despite only being half its length. It's fantastic.
Lest you thought that the set was over after this monster jam, there's a "Jim" -> "Seven Below" -> "Jim" sequence before "Suzy" brings an end to the festivities. "Bug" > "Tweeprise" is a perfect encore.
All three of these shows end up being great, but this second set is particularly satisfying.
The Live Review:
9/2/16: Run kicks off with Ghost. I'm already wishing I'd driving to Denver last summer instead of '15.
9/2/16: Not that '15 Dick's was bad, but I'm feeling like the end of summer tour proper was the band getting ready to blow (finally) in '16.
9/2/16: Let's see if I'm right.
9/2/16: Band rocking a pretty solid Type I jam to start off the run here.
9/2/16: Big power chord to end and a smooth move back into the Ghost riff to end the song.
9/2/16: Long pause before No Men's starts up.
9/2/16: Troy laying down a pretty rad solo during this No Men's.
9/2/16: Damn! Type I jam supreme here.
9/2/16: Outro vocals.
9/2/16: Fish keeps the song going. Trey on echo chords.
9/2/16: Echo chording is to '16 as the ambient fade-out was to '09 and '10.
9/2/16: It's the 'Where do we go next?' moment. Which I don't mind, as long as they keep going.
9/2/16: Building wall of jam now. Fish is a monster.
9/2/16: Screamy loopy guitar mania. Really intense. Is this 1996?! What the hell is happening?!
9/2/16: Hold me.
9/2/16: Return to No Men's riff and a capella outro. That was 15 of the best minutes of Phish this year so far.
9/2/16: And it was the second song of the first set of Dick's. Talk about a high bar.
9/2/16: Let's jump it!
9/2/16: Trey plays Breath and Burning next. Thanks, buddy.
9/2/16: Breath and Burning is getting extended a bit, but not like the Philly version.
9/2/16: Playing Undermind at Dick's is guaranteed to start my daydreaming about the Dick's '11 version.
9/2/16: Undermind didn't get weird, but I'm a sucker for those echoplex-driven Type I Underminds, so that's okay.
9/2/16: Sounds like Heavy Things or Maze coming up...Heavy Things it is!
9/2/16: Troy struggling with lyrics. Not sure why. Calls for a Leo solo. Page killing it on piano now.
9/2/16: Page solo gives Heavy Things a nice flavor.
9/2/16: Stash is next. Set has returned more or less to normal after the two opening tunes, but the energy from those jams carried over.
9/2/16: Fish ranting about 'swinging Dick's.' Never gets old.
9/2/16: Headed into a 'swingin' song'...Ass Handed.
9/2/16: > The Wedge.
9/2/16: Alaska! Here's a song I haven't had to groan about for awhile :)
9/2/16: 46 Days.
9/2/16: Set ends with a solid if unremarkable 46 Days.
9/2/16: Set 2 opens with Antelope. Interesting opener choices today.
9/2/16: Not a big fan of Antelope anyway (I know, I know...) but it's neat to see it inserted into the set in a weird spot.
9/2/16: MERCURY
9/2/16: I TEND TO GET PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THIS SONG, BOB EZRIN
9/2/16: As long as I live, I will never forget climbing Mt. Hood, half awake, at sunrise, above 9,000 feet...
9/2/16: ...with 'The net's unbreakable, so don't worry about falling' stuck in my head on repeat over and over again.
9/2/16: Seemed even more appropriate later when we were front-pointing back down the Pearly Gates...
9/2/16: Great solo from Trey to start an extended Mercury jam. Actually went into Type II murk for a minute before > Seven Below.
9/2/16: Neat, building jam in Seven Below. A lower-key take on the earlier No Men's jam.
9/2/16: Huge wall of noise jam to finish off Seven Below. Perfect slow building -> Birds.
9/2/16: Monster rock. No deep jams here, but the Seven Below -> Birds sequence is a legit highlight anyway. Holy second set so far.
9/2/16: Wombat! The band seems to like Dick's and SF Wombats.
9/2/16: Nice little echo-funk jam out of Wombat.
9/2/16: Oh hell yes. Late-set Tweezer. Trey using some kind of phaser effect for the intro riff. OH YEAH
9/2/16: THE PHISH FROM VERMONT THE PHISH FROM VERMONT THE PHISH FROM VERMONT THE PHISH FROM VERMONT THE PHISH FROM VERMONT THE PHISH FROM V
9/2/16: The rhythm section is so smooth tonight. Man, I should have driven to Denver for this show.
9/2/16: It was only 1,200 miles!
9/2/16: Super patient jamming.
9/2/16: Heading into an Undermind-style shuffle now.
9/2/16: If I was high right now, the back of my head would be lifting off.
9/2/16: HEY PHISH WHO WAS PLAYING DRESSED UP LIKE YOU IN JUNE AND JULY
9/2/16: BUT SERIOUSLY WELCOME THE FUCK BACK
9/2/16: Pure momentum for 13 straight minutes. Having *gasp* some Tahoe flashbacks here.
9/2/16: Or Miami Disease, if you prefer.
9/2/16: > I HAD A DOG HIS NAME WAS JIM
9/2/16: Jim -> Seven Below -> Jim
9/2/16: Calling it because the whole band shifted into Seven Below for about :30 seconds.
9/2/16: Fish laying down some complex beats during this Jim jam.
9/2/16: I'm becoming more and more convinced that when Trey and Fish are clicking, it's automatically a great Phish show.
9/2/16: In any Phish era.
9/2/16: Jim is Type I bonkers.
9/2/16: > Suzy.
9/2/16: Drum showcase jam in Suzy.
9/2/16: End set. As the Phish kids would say, that was straight fire.
9/2/16: As the other kids would say, that was totes cray.
9/2/16: I know I'm in the minority here, but I love a well-placed Bug. This version is that.
9/2/16: > Tweeprise.
9/2/16: Even considering my typical at-show bias for the '16 west coast run, Dick's N1 might be my favorite show of the year so far.
9/2/16: SF2 and Chula had deeper second sets, but this second set was all energy, all the time.
9/2/16: Plus Tweezer and No Men's (S1) jams were top-shelf.
9/2/16: I want more now.
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