The Verdict:
The opening show of the NYE run feels like it picks up where Dick's left off. That is, it's a mixture of rocky takes on songy-songs, straightforward Type I jams, and then a few mindbending Type II jams to make you go home happy even though you may well have not been particularly happy for like 70% of the show.
Time for more 2017 Phish, folks!
Things gets stretched out early, when after the opening "Bag," the band takes "Wolfman's" for a significant walk, leading to a patient, mellow groove that doesn't necessarily develop in any particularly notable way, but is maybe actually more notable for that.
The rest of this set stays firmly in predictable territory with the notable exception of the obvious changes Trey has made to his effects rig since Dick's. So, while there aren't any songs that go off the rails in a good way, Trey's new tones mesh with Page and Mike in a way that breathe some new life into staid Type I tunes like "Back On The Train," "Your Pet Cat," and the set-closing "Theme."
Set two starts off with "Wilson," but quickly launches into space on the back of "No Men." The huge jam culminates in the way nearly every Phish jam culminates these days, but the bulk of the journey there feels new, which makes this one of my favorite jams in awhile. Trey's new effects and Page's synth merge perfectly, adding just a touch of eerie to Fish's groove, and Mike gets out front melodically a surprising amount of the time. I've always said that my favorite jams tend to be the ones where Mike is steering, and this is no exception.
"Twist" follows, and drops almost immediately into a minimalist jam that eventually grows into a darker space before concluding in a similar way as "No Men" and setting up the jam trifecta transition into "Everything's Right."
I actually dig the cheesy lyrics in this tune, and dig even more the fact that it gets jammed pretty much every time it gets played. This time is no exception: a funky outro moves into the unhinged circus-jamming style we heard a few times during the Baker's Dozen before fading out and finally segueing into "2001" to end the Type II portion of the night.
That's not necessarily a complaint: there are three songs left and two of them are "Hood" and "Slave," making for a euphoric one-two punch to end the night.
This show might not have had much punch in the first set (especially compared to some of the better first sets the band has thrown down recently) but the second set is huge and that encore is pretty great, too.
The Live Review:
12/28/17: NYE run kicks off with AC/DC Bag.
12/28/17: > Wolfman's. Pretty standard Bag for the opener.
12/28/17: Interesting, laid-back groove in Wolfman's jam, with Page on the organ.
12/28/17: Mostly organ and bass driven for the moment. Trey's tone getting raunchier, though.
12/28/17: Nice, chill Wolfman's jam. Thirteen minutes. Nothing earth-shattering, but definitely a bit different than the norm.
12/28/17: A minute's pause, then Roggae.
12/28/17: Many years ago, I once sung the line from Roggae as 'If life were easy, and not so fast, I wouldn't have to kick your ass.'
12/28/17: And now I wish I hadn't, because I only ever hear that in my head instead of the real line whenever I hear the song.
12/28/17: Nice take on Roggae. Tube is next.
12/28/17: Neat groove for a few minutes, then takes off on the back of Trey's echoplex. Kind of flakes out a little at the peak, though.
12/28/17: > Bouncin'
12/28/17: Neat melange of sounds during this BOTT. Assuming this is some of Trey's new rig at work. I'm liking it so far.
12/28/17: Your Pet Cat is next. Similarly new tones and effects coming from the guitar. Stretching the song out a little bit.
12/28/17: Like Waking Up Dead more and more every time I hear it.
12/28/17: Theme next.
12/28/17: Loving Trey's new sounds and this is a solid set of songs for the opening frame. That said, every song fe… https://t.co/6A5erU3PiH
12/28/17: Nice little bit of shredding from Trey there near the end of Theme.
12/28/17: End set. Felt weirdly perfunctory, except for the Wolfman's. Good set of tunes, though.
12/28/17: Wilson opener for set 2.
12/28/17: > No Men
12/28/17: Great mesh of tones from Trey and Page's synth to start off this jam. Liking where this is going.
12/28/17: This is great. I was lukewarm about this show until just now. Now I'm pumped.
12/28/17: Really cool bass-led transition into space now.
12/28/17: Almost nodding toward What's the Use? there for a minute.
12/28/17: Page on synth is HUGE in this jam.
12/28/17: Mike is also ruling this jam. This is what I imagine when I imagine Trey laying back for the good of the jam.
12/28/17: Me, during set one: 'Oh, this is why I haven't listened to Phish for two months.'
12/28/17: Me, during set two: 'THEY PLAYED THIS A MONTH AGO HOW HAVE I NOT HEARD IT UNTIL NOW?!'
12/28/17: Making the turn now to the Trey Plays Four Chords While Everyone Gets Louder Slowly part of the jam.
12/28/17: My gripe about predictable bliss jamming aside, that was an excellent twenty-four minutes. A return to th… https://t.co/09M4L3YxrF
12/28/17: Fade out > Twist
12/28/17: Trey playing some syncopated chords, and Page filling it with some great piano runs behind him. Jam #2 off to a good start.
12/28/17: Ultimately, the Twist is developing into the same sort of jam as No Men's but it's getting there by a dif… https://t.co/Ps2zC863zZ
12/28/17: Trey darkness-chording his way out of that bliss jam.
12/28/17: Loping beat from Fishman now.
12/28/17: Fuzzy jam crashes sort of oddly into Everything's Right.
12/28/17: I actually like Everything's Right, but that was maybe not the best deployment right there.
12/28/17: Is it just a mixing thing with the SBDs, or does Trey just not play guitar and sing at the same time anymore?
12/28/17: Nice gauzy funk jam segueing out of the tune proper thanks to more new Trey tones.
12/28/17: Demented circus jamming now.
12/28/17: > 2001
12/28/17: Trey keeping up his super-dopey distorted tone during the intro to 2001.
12/28/17: I love the new swagger that 2001 has lately. Everybody contributing great ideas.
12/28/17: Set just keeps rolling with a > Hood.
12/28/17: Good, drum-driven take on Hood there. Wandered into semi-dark territory for a minute.
12/28/17: Encore starts with The Wedge, which is...weird.
12/28/17: Okay, Slave follows The Wedge.
12/28/17: Page doing some serious electric piano work during this Slave build.
12/28/17: Wraps with an extra-explosive though brief peak.
12/28/17: Great second set. First set was a little flat, but made more interesting than it would have been by Trey's new rig.
12/28/17: Fun to hear them playing with their sound so much. I feel like after a few more shows, it'll be super dialed in and awesome.
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