In a way, this show reminds me of 7/21/15. It's got a unique, but (mostly) well-put-together setlist, the debuts of a lot of new songs, and a surprising amount of polish for a tour opener. Additionally, it has the one thing that 7/21/15 was missing: meaty improvisation. The only thing we're really lacking here is a standout tentpole jam. But relax. Those are coming.
"What's the Use?" as the tour opener sets the tone: expect the unexpected. And I'm more than willing to cut a show without a long jam some slack if it surprises me a few times. This surprise is the first of many for this show. The second is the weirdness that is following "What's the Use?" directly with "Breath and Burning." The third, though, is when the three-slot "Wolfman's" modulates into a bliss jam out of nowhere, and suddenly we've gone Type II three songs into the tour.
"In The Good Old Summertime" is an a capella debut of a traditional tune, and I can't think of a better cover for the first set of the summer.
If you were expecting things to settle down a bit in the second quarter, they don't. The debut of the Trey tune "Everything's Right" goes deep out of nowhere, employing loops, ambient noise, and all kinds of other tricks we'll see plenty more of this tour. It's arguably the improvisational highlight of the show.
The rest of the set is a bit more predictable, but is still played with a verve the band usually takes a few shows to work up to.
"No Men" gets taken for a long walk to open the second set, revisiting some of the territory probed by "Everything's Right" while also incorporating more funk elements. It's also a good listen and a sign of things to come.
And that's it for the show's deep improv, but there's still a lot to like. Namely, a surprisingly well-jammed "Your Pet Cat" that sandwiches a (terrible) "Golden Age" in its middle, the debuts of "Leaves" and "Love Is What We Are," as well as a "Hood" that's really a "Hood" -> "WTU?" -> "Hood".
So, yeah. Wow. No warm-up shows necessary here.
The Live Review:
7/14/17: I've got to admit, What's the Use? would be pretty low on my list of Expected Tour Opening Songs. But I like it.
7/14/17: Going almost inaudible during the wind-down middle section here.
7/14/17: Tonal weirdness continues with Breath and Burning following WTU?
7/14/17: Still not sold on B+B minus the horns, but that was a neat little outro jam. Band sounds great for an opening show.
7/14/17: Wolfman's next.
7/14/17: Okay, after a brief rhythm-heavy section, Wolfman's just modulated into a Gin-style jam. That's pretty cool for three songs in.
7/14/17: Trey soloing his way back to the Wolfman's riff in an atypical scale.
7/14/17: In The Good Old Summertime a capella debut. Interesting call to have Fishman so up front in the arrangement.
7/14/17: Great choice for a tour-opening set, though.
7/14/17: Phish debut of TAB tune Everything's Right.
7/14/17: Everything's Right is a catchy Paper-Wheels-style tune, but this very takes a quick turn into spacey blues at the end.
7/14/17: Trey with some squealing licks over Page's electric piano now.
7/14/17: Noise loops cascading over the piano now.
7/14/17: Great building riff now. This is some serious second-set stuff.
7/14/17: Back to the 'main' part of the jam after a big peak.
7/14/17: Spooky, ambient jamming going on over Fish's consistent beat now.
7/14/17: > Limb By Limb.
7/14/17: Great Trey/Page bit in LxL. I know I always say that, but this one's more on than usual. Some tension-y drumming from Fish, too.
7/14/17: Nellie Kane next.
7/14/17: > Theme.
7/14/17: It might just be me, but it felt like that Theme was swankier than usual.
7/14/17: > Blaze On.
7/14/17: End first set. Weird mix of tunes and a somewhat rote ending, but lots to like, too.
7/14/17: Good energy, interesting playing, and the surprising song choices are great when they work.
7/14/17: Wolfman's and Everything's Right jams would be at home in any second set.
7/14/17: S2 starts off with No Men. Pitch-shifted Type I soloing from Trey early on, then back into a vocal refrain.
7/14/17: Eerie loops now. Mike leading the melody section.
7/14/17: Love when this tune gets jammed as something other than just straight-up funk.
7/14/17: Almost a WTU? soundscape now.
7/14/17: Nice building jam with the addition of some guitar loops and great organ work from Page.
7/14/17: This is a great funk/bliss rock mashup. Teetering on the edge of a '15 rehash, but not going there.
7/14/17: > Fuego
7/14/17: Pretty straightforward take on Fuego. Briefly interesting outro, but winds into MFMF. A -> could be argued, there.
7/14/17: Rough MFMF > Your Pet Cat.
7/14/17: Your Pet Cat getting extended a bit with a spacey funk jam. Page on synth.
7/14/17: Now more droning guitar jamming. Page on organ.
7/14/17: Fish playing a Golden Age-y beat.
7/14/17: -> Golden Age
7/14/17: Nice!
7/14/17: Dude, Trey, PLEASE just play this song a half or full step down from now on.
7/14/17: I know vocals don't matter as much with Phish, but Trey trying to sing this song just hurts me, every time.
7/14/17: I am not one of those O NO FLUBS people, but that was awful.
7/14/17: Right after the end of the composed bit of Golden Age, -> Your Pet Cat. Nice save!
7/14/17: I'm going to officially remember this sequence as Your Pet Cat -> [REDACTED] -> Your Pet Cat.
7/14/17: Fade-out segue into the debut of Leaves.
7/14/17: Liking the Trey/Page vocal trading. Very musical-y.
7/14/17: Very piano-heavy song. Digging it as much as one can dig a Phish ballad.
7/14/17: Could see that being a great jam-landing-pad tune in the future. Hood next!
7/14/17: Neat, arguably Type II stop-start section in the middle of Hood. Just slid it in there without ever losing momentum.
7/14/17: Sorry, that was grosser than I meant it to be.
7/14/17: But seriously, this is a neat take on Hood. WHICH JUST GOT NEATER BECAUSE -> WTU?
7/14/17: -> Hood peak
7/14/17: That was awesome. Followed, oddly, by Shine a Light > Julius to close the set.
7/14/17: That was a pretty swingin' Julius, tho.
7/14/17: Love Is What We Are debut for the encore. Nice little reggae tune.
7/14/17: Golgi now. I love the new/old juxtaposition there.
7/14/17: That show had more of all the Phish things than most Phish shows, even if they felt like they were put together in a weird order.
7/14/17: That it was the tour opener makes it even more impressive. Looking forward to more.
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