Well, this one was a pleasant surprise. I went into it after reading a bunch of nasty reviews on Phish.net, and so I wasn't expecting much, so maybe that's why I was happily surprised. It's a very song-based show, and so I can understand how you might dislike this show if, say, it was the only show of the tour you managed to catch and you were hoping for something a little deeper, but as one show in a leg that's already featured a surplus of standout jams, it's hard to fault MPP for being mostly by-the-book, especially when the one time the show goes off-script it lands in what's easily one of the best (if not the very best) jam of 3.0 so far.
If you have any inclination toward song-based sets at all, this first set is a delight. Otherwise, it's going to leave you feeling flat. For me and my lowered expectations, it was a great mix of new songs ("Crowd Control," "KDF," "Faulty Plan"), rare songs ("Party Time," "Ha Ha Ha," "Esther") and Page songs ("Beauty of a Broken Heart" and "Strange Design"). It's a little weird (and maybe purposeful?) how none of these songs even hint at going deep, though. Maybe the boys are tired of stretching out in the first set, as they've been doing it a lot lately? Even "Foam," "KDF," and "Tube" are light on what are normally already small amounts of improv. It's certainly strange at this point in a pretty amazing run, but, like I said, if you like the occasional song-based first set, this one's solid in terms of pacing and song choice.
The second set leads off with a fiery "Tweezer" that stays pretty well within its usual confines but has a little bit of extra bounce to it. Around the 10:00 mark, it seems like the song's about to break into some new territory, but maybe things were just falling apart, because Trey makes a decent segue into "Taste," and it's a version that keeps the momentum from "Tweezer" going. Even the "Alaska" that follows is a bit swingier than usual. The "Let Me Lie" comes along. "Let Me Lie" and "TTE" in the same show? Does Phish actually enjoy the sound of jaded vets whining? Anyway, this setlist faux pas should be forgiven because the "46 Days" that follows is an absolute monster. It takes a turn into ambient territory right away, at about the 5:00 mark, and the next 5 or so minutes is some of my favorite Phish (and quite possibly my absolute favorite Phish) in 3.0 so far. It's really hard to describe exactly what goes on in those magical five minutes, so I'd recommend you just go listen for yourself, since there appear to be a massive shortage of YouTube videos from this show.
The set wraps up with a standard "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'!" and an average-great "Hood," and then there's the obligatory (but always satisfying) "GTBT" > "Tweeprise" finish.
Anybody who professes to like Phish should check out the "46 Days" here, but I maintain that the rest of the show doesn't deserve the bad rap it seems to get. If you like songs as much (or even almost as much) as you like jams, the first set is a master class in how to pace a song-based show (save for the "TTE"), and the "Tweezer" > "Taste" is offers a solid 20 minutes of danceable rock.
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