The eighth Baker's Dozen show hews to the pattern laid out by shows six and seven: namely, a first set marked by some fun rarities and not much else, a huge, improv-heavy third quarter, and a "victory lap"-style closing segment.
My basic complaint about the last few shows' first sets still applies here, but the song selection is such that I'm willing to be a little less harsh here. If the new normal after the first five BD shows is to give us rote (albeit rarity-filled) first sets, then you can certainly do worse than one with "The Curtain With," "Runaway Jim," "Esther," "Brian and Robert," "Forbin's," and "Fly Famous Mockingbird."
That said, the only real notable outside-the-box moments are a brief Type II jam in "Home," and the 3.0-style spin the whole band puts in the middle jam in "Jim."
The S2-opening pair of "Drowned" > "ASIHTOS" presents some of the most cerebral jamming the band has put down so far in this run. "Drowned" transitions smoothly into a momentum-filled space funk zone that's just awesome before moving into a 2.0-style haze and then an ambient drone. This one's a monster.
The "ASIHTOS" that follows is equally great, though it's a bit weirder and harder to parse. The highlight is definitely the atonal (arrhythmic?) jam that forms midway through, showcasing the band's ability to deconstruct a jam down to its most basic elements...and then scatter those elements all over the place until they aren't even recognizable. Then, of course, they bring it all back together for a big finish. More required listening!
The other set highlight isn't jamming, per se, but the band's scripted take on "Harpua," which sees them arguing theoretical physics before concluding that yes, indeed, the universe is a donut. Classic Phish humor.
Things wrap up in somewhat rote fashion, but after a two-song, forty minute jam as a set opener, and the "Harpua" gag, it's hard to begrudge the band a little pop indulgence this time around.
I wouldn't put this show in the company of the first five BD shows, but it stands above the rest of the third-quarter-heavy shows, at least.
The Live Review:
7/30/17: The Curtain opener.
7/30/17: With
7/30/17: Page more upfront in the outro jam than usual.
7/30/17: > Jim
7/30/17: Trey goes for echo-chording right away. Page moving over to the synth for a minute to add some microwave-sounding noises.
7/30/17: Slow but powerful Type I build to a peak to end the song.
7/30/17: Waking Up Dead
7/30/17: This song is 100% pure Phish, and I love it.
7/30/17: Great version, too.
7/30/17: Esther! That's neat.
7/30/17: Home next. Sort of weird setlist flow, but liking the really new tunes bumping up against the really old ones.
7/30/17: Trey leading an interesting little jam out of Home proper.
7/30/17: This is gonna be a short-but-sweet rock-out build-up, but technically speaking at least, Home just went Type II for the first time.
7/30/17: Brian and Robert as a nice cool-down rarity next.
7/30/17: Nellie Kane
7/30/17: Brian and Robert is one of my all-time favorite Phish slow songs, but the beat Fish plays for it lately is too bouncy for me.
7/30/17: Seems at odds with the point of the song.
7/30/17: Colonel Forbin's Ascent!
7/30/17: > Fly Famous Mockingbird
7/30/17: Trey's brief narration quotes from The Squirming Coil before he reveals that 'the monarch was Wilson' and 'the walrus was Jimmy!'
7/30/17: Seems to indicate Harpua incoming shortly?
7/30/17: Oldies streak continues with David Bowie.
7/30/17: Pretty standard slow-build version of Bowie, but a solid take by 3.0 standards.
7/30/17: That said, Trey just DESTROYED the peak.
7/30/17: Some unholy guitar fire, there.
7/30/17: Set two opens with DROWNED. That's neat.
7/30/17: Drowned getting extended with a Type I jam.
7/30/17: Shifting things up a bit. Page to electric piano, which always makes me happy.
7/30/17: Neat, minimalist funk space developing. Fish keeping a high tempo.
7/30/17: Buttery-smooth synth-funk. This is awesome.
7/30/17: Did I say that this was good yet? Because hot damn, this is good.
7/30/17: Pitch-shifter drove the jam into space for a bit, now taking a somewhat dark turn.
7/30/17: Felt like Trey almost teased WTU? there. Could be perfect -> at the moment.
7/30/17: Trey doing some seriously 2.0-style noodling now.
7/30/17: Page leading a really pretty fade-out.
7/30/17: Ambient roar playing with Page's piano during this outro. Really cool.
7/30/17: Haze > ASIHTOS. Jam picks up where it left off almost right away.
7/30/17: Amazingly weird jam forming now. No cohesive rhythm across all four band members.
7/30/17:'Rhythm established again, but the jam continues to be pleasantly disjointed and lurching.
7/30/17: Another weird jam ends with a > Harpua.
7/30/17: Clearly scripted conversation among the band members having to do with 'lumps in the cosmic gravy.'
7/30/17: This is both weird and hilarious.
7/30/17: Hilariously transition out of the 'Universe is a donut' conversation into Jimmy's story.
7/30/17: 2001.
7/30/17: Little No Men's teasing from Trey in the intro to 2001.
7/30/17: Solid, extended(ish) take on 2001 segues into Golgi.
7/30/17: End set.
7/30/17: Encore starts with the second appearance of the a capella In the Good Old Summertime.
7/30/17: Wind Cries Mary! And they're doing a great job of it. One of my favorite Hendrix songs.
7/30/17: Is weird that Trey didn't lay down an insane outro solo, but there it is. End show.
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