The Verdict:
The second night of Dick's is my least favorite of the three, but it's still better than most of the summer, so that's fine.
The clever opener trend started with "Ghost" during N1 continues during this show, as the band opens with "Slave." It's a standard version, but it's still nice to see it early in the show. Especially since it's followed up by another Type II jam, as "Disease" fills the "No Men's" slot for the night. The Type II jam is muddy in a satisfying way, and the band returns neatly from it to the "Disease" riff before starting up "What's the Use?" from a dead stop.
Like N1, the rest of the opening set is more standard fare, though, except for a solid "Divided Sky" that shows up late before a "Rock and Roll" set closer.
Set two isn't quite as...expansive as the previous night's, but it's still a good listen. "Fuego" and "Sand" are both average-great versions, and "Sand" is particularly propulsive, but it's not until "Blaze On" that things really start to open up. Its jam borrows a bit from the wall of noise jamming the band touched on a few times during 9/2, but expands that idea into some darker, more chaotic spaces. It's a really interesting approach to jamming the tune, and highly recommended.
A nice "Twist" typical of this year's versions, follows, and then there's a lengthy "Simple"...but a lot of it is a percussion-based jam with Trey on marimba. Your mileage might vary depending on how you feel about instrument switching jams, but this is one of the good ones. Patient, mellow, and varied throughout the course of the song, it's definitely worth a listen. If that's not enough, the set ends with a "Hood" reminiscent of some of the great '09 versions, more true to the traditional form of the song, but slow, patient, and with a satisfying peak.
There isn't one jam in this show that's as good as the "No Men's" or "Tweezer" from the previous night, but it's still an embarrassment of riches, especially compared to most earlier '16 shows.
Oh, and Mike takes the closing "Coil" solo, which is rad.
The Live Review:
9/3/16: MOAR DICKS
9/3/16: Slave opener for N2.
9/3/16: Slow-tempo version makes for a nice, mellow opener.
9/3/16: > Disease! This is less like a first set and more like a second set played in reverse.
9/3/16: Two-spot Type II warning.
9/3/16: Second night in a row.
9/3/16: This time, Trey leads a heavily muddy, distorted take on a jam powered by some ridiculous, fast drumming from Fish.
9/3/16: Ascending riff now.
9/3/16: The first set jams the last two nights have been fantastic. Sort of undercuts the old argument that S1 has to be a 'warm-up' set.
9/3/16: Been especially weird listening to current Phish after going to a few CRB shows, where they'll drop 15 minutes jams in either set.
9/3/16: And do so often out of random songs, not particular 'jam vehicles.'
9/3/16: Grumping aside, Trey just brought the jam smoothly out of the murk and back into the Disease riff to close the song. Nice.
9/3/16: What's the Use! Nice song choice, but weird to not actually have the now-usual Disease -> WTU?
9/3/16: Doing the mellow breakdown in the middle of the song like they did at the Gorge.
9/3/16: >Maze.
9/3/16: Really appreciate how Maze has become a Type I monster since '14 or so.
9/3/16: Whoa. Weird Farmhouse from a dead stop. Fish started the song instead of Trey.
9/3/16: Band never quite linked back up on that Farmhouse, unfortunately.
9/3/16: 555.
9/3/16: Wolfman's follows 555, and Trey kicks off the jam section with a fantastic echo tone. A bit different than the usual echoplex sound.
9/3/16: Great slow, muddy funk jam now.
9/3/16: Divided Sky!
9/3/16: I've seen lots of shows at the Gorge and at Dick's and have never caught DSky at either.
9/3/16: In fact, I have yet to see a DSky outdoors. That sort of sucks.
9/3/16: Solid take on DSky. Rock and Roll next.
9/3/16: Standard take on Rock and Roll ends the set.
9/3/16: Fuego S2 opener.
9/3/16: Short, predictable Fuego segues immediately into Sand.
9/3/16: Nice, fiery Type I Sand.
9/3/16: Blaze On! BUT WILL IT JAM
9/3/16: Little, drone-y jam forming so far.
9/3/16: Really neat, sparse echoplex-led jam.
9/3/16: This is building a really eerie, chaotic peak. This is the kind of jam you don't get if you just always fall back on bliss jamming.
9/3/16: A point in favor of my ever-evolving mental blog post about whether '16 Phish as redeeming qualities.
9/3/16: Jam rumbles to a stop with a > Simple.
9/3/16: It's a comment of Phish's versatility that when I have a percussion video auto-play in another tab while listening to a show...
9/3/16: ...my first thought before 'What else is open on my computer?' is 'Oh, I guess Trey just jumped on the marimba again.'
9/3/16: Soft fade-out of the normal Simple jam.
9/3/16: Okay, I think Trey really is on the marimba now.
9/3/16: Neat ambient/percussion jam. Example of good instrument switching here.
9/3/16: Percussion picking up speed a bit.
9/3/16: Trey back on guitar to wrap up the mellow jam.
9/3/16: I feel like that's one of those jams people probably say 'Didn't go anywhere,' but I really liked it. Patient, and mellow.
9/3/16: > Twist. Missed what seemed like an opportunity for -> Piper there.
9/3/16: Another late-second-set Theme. That seems like a thing this year.
9/3/16: Nice echoplex ending to Theme leads to a -> 2001
9/3/16: Uptempo 2001 with a bit a melody piece coming out of Trey's echo chording.
9/3/16: I feel like 2001 is getting meatier lately. Maybe a full-blown jam version soon?
9/3/16: harry Hood, presumably to close the second set.
9/3/16: Slow, patient beginning to the jam, with some nice call-and-response from Trey and Page.
9/3/16: This is a slow-developing, slightly noodly Hood version, like something you'd hear in 2009 or so.
9/3/16: Reminds me quite a bit of the 2009 Gorge version, actually.
9/3/16: Perfectly placed bass bomb from Mike as they go into the outro chords.
9/3/16: Picking up the pace now.
9/3/16: Squirming Coil encore!
9/3/16: I've said it before, but I love this tune as the closer on multi-night runs when it's NOT the last night yet.
9/3/16: Something about Page playing the band off just screams 'Come back tomorrow night for more!'
9/3/16: Neat beat from Fish. Trey leaning into the solo a bit more than usual for Squirming Coil.
9/3/16: Awesome bass solo from Mike to follow up.
9/3/16: I believe Mike is taking the ending solo instead of Page. So that's neat.
9/3/16: Bass bombs interlaced with a more melodic solo now.
9/3/16: End set.
9/3/16: Another great show. Three in a row!
9/3/16: Not quite as jammy as N1, but interesting throughout with lots of improvisation in often surprising places.
9/3/16: If they can follow through on night three (and not pull a BGCA III) this will be the run of the year so far for me.
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