2009-06-07 Camden

This show is the super-megopticopolis. I do not know what that means, but it's still what this show is regardless.

This is a fucking PHISH show, fuckers. I'll sit here and wait while you go listen to it right now.






Now that you're back, let's talk details.

The first set is easily the best first set thus far of 3.0. Anytime since Hampton that the band has brought the improv in the first set, it's been a pleasant surprise, but here it really really works. After a average-great "Chalkdust" opener, we immediately get a "Fee" with an outro jam, and it's by no means just a novelty move: this jam is only a few minutes long, but it moves around a lot in those few minutes and actually reminds me a bit of the "Roses" outro jam from 6/8/12. "Wolfman's" is a strong (and long), funky version in the three spot, "Guyute" is played with more energy than usual, and "46 Days" and "Lizards" are both strong. "The Wedge" receives a surprising and satisfying outro jam a la "Fee," and then there's "Strange Design," which is one of my favorite Phish/Page ballad tunes. The set ends with a "Tube"/"First Tube" combo (Trey, after "Tube": I guess we'd better play this one next...") that serves as the perfect peak for a first set that's not just notable for its energy, but also for its song choice, flow, and quality improv that pops up mostly in unexpected places. I'd be happy with a mediocre second set after something like this, but "alas," it was not to be...

Okay, so first, there's a 22 minute "Sand" right off the bat. Now, granted, 22 minutes is a lot of space to move around in (or, if it's 2.0, play the same three notes over and over and over in, but I digress), but the boys still manage to fit more "movements" into this jam than seem possible. It's reminiscent of the JB "Ghost" in the way the entire band moves effortlessly through varied soundscapes that all add up in the end to a satisfying whole. There's a lot more tonal shifts and changes going on here, though, and it would take a bit too long to describe them all. Just go download the show and listen to it already. Again, if you listened to me the first time. Generally, we start off with some typical "Sand" funk highlighted by Mike's bass and Trey's surprisingly minimal, murky playing, then we veer into a bit of space funk, and right when it seems that the jam is going to devolve into the weird, neo-Floyd abstractness that's been the highlight of most of the early 3.0 jams so far, the whole band turns on a dime and bursts into a blissed-out section that finds Trey's playing in old-school form. Eventually, he latches on to an improvised riff and the rest of the band follows, and the results are just amazing. So amazing, in fact, that Trey teases the improvised riff at the beginning of "Suzy." Now they're just showing off.

"Suzy" is an especially strong version, as is "Limb By Limb." If there's a weak spot in the show, it's another shaky "Horse" > "Silent" pairing followed by the butchered debut of "Sugar Shack" (maybe my favorite song from "Joy"). That's over quickly enough, though, and then we're into a muddy, dirty, just flat-out disgusting "Character Zero" (and I mean that in a good way), which segues into..."Tweezer." Yeah. Nearly three hours into this show, the guys just start playing a fifteen-minute "Tweezer." On the tape, you can actually hear the crowd slowly realize that this isn't an accidental early "Reprise," but the real deal. And there's never any hesitation, either: the guys take it deep fast, with Trey picking out another improvised riff soon after, and again the results are incredible as everyone builds on the riff, as a group, for five or so minutes. This "Tweezer" is up there with the already-excellent "Tweezer"s from Hampton and Fenway, and it might even be better. And it's the last song of the second set. Then they come back for a four song encore. And one of them is "Antelope."

Early 3.0 is making me a believer in "Antelope" again. This version is pure fire from the onset, and it's hard to believe that these guys have already been playing for three hours at this point. They rip through it like nothing, and segue perfectly into Tweeprise, and by this point, listening at home on my shitty, tinny headphones, I was literally hopping up and down in my chair, air guitaring my ass off, without consciously realizing I'd started.

This show is so good it hypnotized me and convinced me to make an ass of myself in front of people whose opinions of me I deeply respect.

You should check it out at all costs. ALL COSTS