As I noted in the original tweet review, this show is the first show (maybe the second, along with Northerly I) of this tour that didn't have that Baker's Dozen zest to it for me.
The big drag is the first set. It's not bad, per se, but as I and lots of other 3.0 commentators have pointed out ad nauseum, often what separates a good show from a great show these days is the lengths to which the band is willing to go to make a first set interesting. Is the first half of the show going to include moments that get you pumped for the second set to come, or is a show where you're literally just waiting through the first ninety minutes of music to get to the good part?
Since '15, the band has been moving in fits and starts toward first sets having their own noteworthy moments, and summer '17 has perhaps been the strongest tour so far in this regard. But tonight's opening frame falls flat for me. Save for the "Chocolate Rain" opener, which was fantastic and fun, the rest of the set is just a random jumble of tunes that could have come from any first set in any random show in any 3.0 summer tour. Even the few tunes that stretch out a bit do so in predictable ways: "Free" sounds like the other versions of the song played this year, "Undermind" sticks to its recently-adopted echo-funk script, and "Sand" goes straight-ahead rock after a brief glimpse at a legitimately interesting synth-led direction.
But hey, it's not all grumbling. The second set opens with a wandering, pretty take on "Have Mercy" before the band launches into an expansive "Chalkdust" that's one of the best jams of the tour so far. It recalls classics like the Tahoe "Tweezer" and the Miami "Disease" in its constant, unrelenting momentum and its ability to stick to straight-ahead rock jamming for minutes at a time without starting to feel stale. Highly recommended.
There's a sort-of segue into "You Sexy Thing," which the band struggles a bit with, but in hilarious (rather than wince-inducing) fashion before launching into an extended funk groove out of the tune proper. Eventually they land in a jam that's perhaps best described as "ambient jazz" before transitioning into "Mercury." The band then modulates the typical "Mercury" outro jam into a major key and explores a bit before wrapping things up with "You Sexy Thing" vocal quotes.
And that is a really awesome third quarter but that's about it. The show closes with some straightforward rock numbers and a "Fee," "Space Oddity" encore.
So, as I said above, in the end, it's not a bad show, but it's definitely a show that focuses all of its riches in the third 25%. As recent shows have set a precedent for being more...umm...cosmopolitan than that, it feels weird. But still, that third quarter is freaking fire and you should listen to it.
The Live Review:
7/28/17: Ready to rock Double Chocolate today.
7/28/17: Chocolate Rain opener.
7/28/17: Sounds like a capella but with Page playing a keyboard.
7/28/17: > Ass Handed, hilariously enough.
7/28/17: Brief pause, then Free.
7/28/17: For my money, Free has had a bit of a resurgence this year. The Dayton version was really interesting, and the Dick's version, too.
7/28/17: Excited to see where this one goes.
7/28/17: Same extended, spacey funk bridge in this version as in other '17 versions. Love it.
7/28/17: Rough re-entry there on Trey's part. Threw off the whole band.
7/28/17: After Free, surprisingly normal takes on Weigh and Undermind before Oh Kee Pa.
7/28/17: > The Dogs, my dog's most (or least?) favorite Phish song.
7/28/17: The Dogs gets slightly extended. Rarity Destiny Unbound is next.
7/28/17: I should mention that Undermind was of the '15-'16 echo-funk-style versions. Cool little jam, but similar to most recent takes.
7/28/17: Bluesy little jam coming out Destiny Unbound. That's interesting.
7/28/17: Divided Sky next.
7/28/17: Set continues, surprisingly. Bluegrass-style Things People Do is next.
7/28/17: Sand.
7/28/17: I'm not sure why, but this first set isn't doing much for me. There are some interesting songs, but it just doesn't hang together.
7/28/17: I liked the extended Free, and the Undermind, even if the latter's becoming de rigeur these days.
7/28/17: Everything else just sort of felt like random tunes pulled out of a hat.
7/28/17: That said, Page just jumped on the synth for this Sand jam and things got real real fast.
7/28/17: Sand modulates into a major-key rock out after some synthy exploration.
7/28/17: End long, somewhat meandering set.
7/28/17: I feel like maybe I'm saying this for the first time at while reviewing the BD, but you skip most of that set and miss nothing.
7/28/17: Pretty much just Sand, and it didn't even really get out there that far.
7/28/17: FWIW, it wasn't a bad set at all, just felt off in the middle of the embarrassment of riches that has been '17 tour.
7/28/17: Have Mercy opener. That make-a me so happy.
7/28/17: Nice, extended take on Have Mercy before the band launches into Chalkdust.
7/28/17: Like Free in the first set, the band seems weirdly out of sync coming back to the end of Chalkdust.
7/28/17: Trey keeps jamming instead of playing the ending riff, though.
7/28/17: Great momentum in this jam. Started off quiet, and now building a bit. Great work from Fish.
7/28/17: Trey driving a bit now with a peppy riff.
7/28/17: This is great. Lots of momentum. Rock and roll without revisiting stale territory.
7/28/17: Page putting the synth to good use while Trey echo-jams over it. Still a fast-paced beat from the rhythm section.
7/28/17: Trey just Did That Thing where he busted out of the hazy jam with an absolutely perfect shredfest. Band going nuts now.
7/28/17: Huge, brain-melting peak. Crowd roaring on the SBD. That was fantastic.
7/28/17: Wind down after the peak. Maybe a Mike drill in there?
7/28/17: > You Sexy Thing
7/28/17: Great transition, and loving Mike singing (trying to sing?) this.
7/28/17: Neat, almost plinko-style jam coming out of You Sexy Thing.
7/28/17: Really spacey ambient jam now while Mike plays melody on the bass.
7/28/17: This is some straight-up ambient jazz. Has Phish ever done this before?
7/28/17: I want fifteen more minutes of this, please.
7/28/17: > Mercury is cool, too.
7/28/17: I love Mercury so much.
7/28/17: A few of the times they've played it it's been a bit rough, but when they nail it, it's just as good as the old composed classics.
7/28/17: And that's coming from a guy who's had MAJOR YEM, DSky, and Bowie phases over the years :)
7/28/17: Quick move to a major key space out of a somewhat typical Mercury jam.
7/28/17: Then Trey quotes You Sexy Thing and now they're singing the chorus over a Phishy bliss jam.
7/28/17: Neat little jam but not really Sexy Thing -> Mercury -> Sexy Thing as advertised. Definitely just Mercury jam w/ vocal quotes.
7/28/17: Usually not a hardass about setlist things like that, but was expecting full-on return to Sexy Thing funk. Not happening.
7/28/17: Number Line next.
7/28/17: Anyone ever notice how Number Line just quietly gets better every single time they play it?
7/28/17: I remember when this tune was a huge setlist downer. Now if they closed a second set with it, I'd freak the fuck out.
7/28/17: Great landing in Rock and Roll.
7/28/17: This is how you close out a rock and roll show, folks.
7/28/17: End set. Encore starts off with Fee.
7/28/17: Neat little jam building on the harmonics outro in Fee.
7/28/17: Space Oddity to close.
7/28/17: That was a weird show. Certainly not bad, but...
7/28/17: ...it was the first show of the tour that didn't really seem special. The opener was neat, but otherwise S1 was standard.
7/28/17: S2 was strong front-to-back, but really only featured improv in the Chalkdust > You Sexy Thing section.
7/28/17: Which was FRIGGIN GREAT, but this felt more like a really good '15 or '16 show than a Baker's Dozen show, if that makes sense.
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