The Verdict:
Essex Junction falls easily into the category of the "bonus show." You know, that show that pops up on the schedule unexpectedly, builds a tremendous amount of expectation because it's a "special" show, and then proceeds to just be pretty good and mostly normal? This seems to happen pretty frequently with Phish, and I'm not sure where the expectation that these off-schedule shows are going to be barn-burners even comes from? I mean, when was the last time Phish played a one-off show like this and blew the roof off? Oh well.
Anyway, 9/14 isn't the disaster a lot of reviews would have you believe it is. It falls in well with the shows from the 2011 west coast swing, actually: not on the level of the recent UIC and Dick's shows, but tremendously better than the majority of summer 2011. Here's why.
The first set is, again, the epitome of the 2011 first set (can there be more than one epitome?). Just look at that setlist. I can hear your eyes rolling in their sockets. But as is often the case this year, the band plays a setlist like this with such swagger, you're willing to forgive at least a bit of the uninventiveness. In this case, "Sample" and "Julius" get extended a bit to good effect. "Wolfman's" jams for a bit on a different set of chords, and "Gin" does its usual (as of late) "Type 1.5" thing.
The second set is much the same. One glance at that setlist and you can imagine how it goes...and you'd be partly right, but not entirely. The meat, such as it is, comes at the beginning. "Carini" is dedicated to Pete Carini, and veers off into angry distortion almost immediately upon entering the jam. Then, Trey turns on the pitch-shifter and things get really serene and melodic for a few minutes. It's a quick stylistic one-eighty, but it's really cool and easily the best part of the show. "Disease" rises out of the murk, and while it doesn't proceed to do anything particularly special, it moves through a chordy, heavy-rock space and then a fast-tempo funk space before seguing nicely into a strong "Slave."
After that sequence, though, the band seems to enter victory-lap mode. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how strong the takes on "Number Line," "Suzy," and even "Zero" are here, but unless you're digging for new, better-rocked-out versions of those songs, you won't find anything in this show post-"Slave" that's worth a listen.
There's maybe more to this show than there might seem to be at first, but I'll still prefer to pretend that summer ended at Dick's.
The Live Review:
9/14/11: CDT opener.
9/14/11: Incidentally, this was the first webcast that I watched.
9/14/11: Moma Dance in the two-slot.
9/14/11: NICU third. Great, though normal, version of Moma.
9/14/11: Funky Bitch. Crowd loving it.
9/14/11: Sample, Cavern continuing the hit parade.
9/14/11: Sample with a little extra fire at the end.
9/14/11: Bathtub Gin. Might open the first set up a bit.
9/14/11: Deviating a bit from the typical Type I jam here and heading into bliss territory.
9/14/11: Fish really driving this build.
9/14/11: Neat little jam there in Gin. Alaska, now.
9/14/11: I can't believe I'm saying this, but Trey just rocked Alaska.
9/14/11: Possum.
9/14/11: Possum was pretty normal, but Wolfman's is featuring a really grungy, distorted funk jam.
9/14/11: Something that I think would technically be a Type II jam forming here. Trey soloing over different chords than usual.
9/14/11: Whale pedal making an appearance.
9/14/11: Nice peak after an interesting Wolfman's jam.
9/14/11: Extended Julius to end the first set.
9/14/11: Remembered this as a straight-up hit parade, and it mostly is...
9/14/11: ...however, strong version of Sample, extended Julius and nice '1.5' versions of Gin and Wolfman's give it a bit of staying power.
9/14/11: Trey opening second set by thanking everyone for participating in the benefit.
9/14/11: Dedicates Carini...to Carini.
9/14/11: Breakdown in Carini jam getting a psychedelic.
9/14/11: Winding down now. Trey laying down a pitch-shifted solo.
9/14/11: Neat, serene little outro jam there. Everyone contributing. Wash turns into Disease intro.
9/14/11: Heavy rock chording from Trey early on in the Disease jam.
9/14/11: Now returning to the usual soloing, but Fish has switched up the beat a little bit.
9/14/11: Page over to organ. Trey mellowing a little.
9/14/11: Fast-paced funk now. Page on clav.
9/14/11: After the funk runs its course, a slow -> Slave.
9/14/11: Maybe it's just me, but it seems like a prettier, more patient build than usual in this Slave.
9/14/11: Rock and Roll next.
9/14/11: Just as Rock and Roll starts turning a bit, sudden > Twist.
9/14/11: Standard Rock and Roll. Number Line next.
9/14/11: Should have been 'standard Twist' before Number Line.
9/14/11: A little extra heat on the Number Line, there.
9/14/11: Seems like an odd placement for Theme.
9/14/11: Slightly extended ending on Theme. Then Suzy.
9/14/11: Character Zero.
9/14/11: This Q4 is totally in greatest-hits mode, but I do have to say that Number Line, Suzy, and Zero have all been crazy versions.
9/14/11: Trey throwing some weird effects at the wall during an extended Zero solo.
9/14/11: Loving Cup encore.
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