Baker's Dozen is great. I know this isn't really news to anyone but me, but I'm finally getting around to listening to the shows now, and I'm loving it.
That said, within the realm of wonder that is the BD, the opening night still sort of plays as an opening night in some ways.
First off, kudos to the band for the "Shake Your Coconuts" opener. It not only fits with the night's theme, it's just a great song to set the table for the run. After that, the band barely waits to get into it properly, taking "Timber" for a spin with a jam that leaves the song's typical boundaries only three songs into the show.
There's a bit of a lag in the middle of the set, but things pick back up with an excellent take on "Reba" and an absolutely shredded version of "Moonage Daydream" before ending on "Walls."
The second set opens, surprisingly (or maybe not) with "Tweezer." It actually follows a pretty standard bliss-jam blueprint, with the caveat that the band employs a pretty complex, patient build instead of a quick one. It's a jam that's great for kicking off the first second set of the run, but is likely not going to win any award for originality. The "Seven Below" that follows goes deep as well, and in much more engaging fashion. I'm actually listening to it again as I write this, so I'll just drop the video below. Watch it!
"Billy Breathes" > "Sparkle" makes a great landing pad after this half-hour of improvisation, and then we're off again as the band takes "Everything's Right" deep again (award for Weirdest New Jam Vehicle, anybody?). This is easily the most complex and interesting jam of the show despite its relative brevity.
Finally, after five legitimate jams over two great sets, the guys are "content" to end with a "Slave" > "Suzy" combo and an a capella "Coconuts."
The Live Review:
7/21/17: Here we go! BD1 opening w/ Shake Your Coconuts.
7/21/17: This is the perfect opener for this run.
7/21/17: > Martian Monster
7/21/17: Timber!
7/21/17: Pretty jazzed to be jumping into these shows just after they've finished.
7/21/17: Hoping that I can finish reviewing all thirteen before I hit the road for Dick's!
7/21/17: Judging by the amount of work I have to do over the next few weeks during my summer 'break,' I'll have time : \
7/21/17: Guys sounding super-loose during this Timber jam.
7/21/17: Moving into a surprisingly happy space for Timber.
7/21/17: *Great* full-on Type II Timber jam there, complete with return to the song at the end. 555 next.
7/21/17: One of my very, very few complaints about the BD run is that 555 didn't get an 'unexpected jam' call.
7/21/17: My other big complaint is that I didn't get to go.
7/21/17: False start from Fishman.
7/21/17: Pigtail.
7/21/17: It amuses me to hear the guys singing Jen's backup vocals on this.
7/21/17: Halfway To the Moon features a pretty great lightning-quick harmonics fill from Trey right before the jam starts.
7/21/17: That said, the middle of this set (post-Timber) is skewing toward Typical 3.0 First Set a bit too much.
7/21/17: Reba! That should shake things up nicely. Forgot about the 'coconuts and chloroform' lyric...but Trey didn't.
7/21/17: Composed portion was pretty spot-on. Decent tempo, too.
7/21/17: I love the beginning of the Reba jam because it (almost) always forces Trey to play lyrically for a few minutes.
7/21/17: He's doing it here, and it's awesome. Page adding electric piano flourishes now.
7/21/17: Trey building on a theme now. My favorite Rebas always start out this way.
7/21/17: Great Reba jam! No whistling outro, but > Moonage Daydream. Neat to see the Bowie tunes staying in rotation.
7/21/17: Trey just went goddamn nuts on the outro to Moonage Daydream. Walls seems like the only possible set closer choice after that.
7/21/17: Big ol' Walls to finish off the set.
7/21/17: That was solid. There might not have been a huge set one jam to enjoy, but definitely some serious highlights in...
7/21/17: ...Shake Your Coconuts > Martian Monster opener, Timber mini-Type II jam, Reba, and Moonage Daydream > Walls shredfest.
7/21/17: Second set opens with Tweezer. I see now why people were doubting no repeats at this point. Why blow yer Tweezer wad on night one?
7/21/17: Well, obviously, for the night 13 Tweeprise. Duh.
7/21/17: Anyway, the place explodes when Tweezer starts.
7/21/17: Surprisingly quiet, minimal funk jam to start Tweezer off.
7/21/17: Really smooth move into a bliss space now.
7/21/17: Really like what Mike is doing during this hazy jam.
7/21/17: The ending peak here is a little predictable, but the build to it was really interesting and patient.
7/21/17: Long, extended rock peak section to this Tweezer.
7/21/17: Post-peak, > Seven Below.
7/21/17: Almost immediately, a move into a jam space I can only describe as 'Space Timber.'
7/21/17: Page using Rhodes and synth.
7/21/17: Great, building jam out of Seven Below. Where did that come from?
7/21/17: Particularly great peak-y section where Trey holds a note for infinity and Page solos on piano under it.
7/21/17: Will not make any snarky 'Too many bliss jams' comments here because this is unexpected and awesome.
7/21/17: Seven Below -> Unstoppable Fireballs -> Melodic Orgasm -> Big Truck Full Of Music Running You Over -> Synth Fuzz > Billy Breathes
7/21/17: If @phish refuses to play Mist at Dick's again, Billy Breathes would be an acceptable substitute :)
7/21/17: Quiet breakdown during second chorus of BB.
7/21/17: BB solo is my favorite recorded (studio) Trey solo.
7/21/17: He got the first half of it or so on this take :)
7/21/17: Sparkle > Everything's Right.
7/21/17: If there's an upcoming TAB album with Everything's Right and Rise/Come Together on it, it'll probably be a pretty good album.
7/21/17: Funk jam emerging out of the 'Everything's Right' refrain. I love that *this song* has somehow become a jam vehicle.
7/21/17: Trey combining loops and what I think is the echoplex for a truly weird effect. Page on synth just making it weirder.
7/21/17: *Really* digging the one-hand synth/one-hand electric piano attack.
7/21/17: Shortest but most interesting of the 3 (!) Type II jams in this set.
7/21/17: More of THAT in the next 12 shows, please.
7/21/17: -> Slave
7/21/17: Slave was extra Slave-y. Suzy next as the set keeps going.
7/21/17: End set.
7/21/17: Coconut a cappella to start the encore.
7/21/17: Surprise Mango Song encore!
7/21/17: > GTBT
7/21/17: An encore with a little something for everyone!
7/21/17: Incidentally, 'No matter how I try, I find my way into the same old jam' sums up Phish 2015 pretty well.
7/21/17: Great show all around. Strong, varied first set with just a little lag in the middle section. Second set was crazy.
7/21/17: Nothing new in the first two jams, but surprise jam out of -7. Rest of the setlist was great + Everything's Right jam A++.
7/21/17: Should get to N2 tomorrow or Friday.
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