The Verdict:
UPDATE: Okay, I watched the linked video again and that jam is clearly awesome. Not sure what was going on in my brain the first time I reviewed it. Better now.
The penultimate night of 2011's NYE stand sees the band continuing more in the vein of N2 than N1. It's a well-built set, but nothing particularly interesting happens. I enjoyed the "Caspian" more than I typically do Type I versions of that song, and there's a Composition Break for "Divided Sky" that echoes the previous night's "YEM." "Sand" is about what you'd expect, but is the "improvisational" highlight of the set.
As long as you can imagine a 3.0-strong "Bowie" closing a first set, this second set is about as first-setty as you can get...except for the twenty-two minute "Piper" > "Twist" segment sitting in the middle. "Piper" is the first real big jam of the run, and it's followed by a clever-but-short "Twist" that, combined, make for a great departure from all the 2010-ness in this run.
Now, I don't want to sound even grumpier after all of my complaining about the lack of jams and improv in this run, but, frankly, there are much better jams from this year or 2010 or 2009 than this "Piper." I love me some "Piper" jams, and so I tried to be open-minded with this one, but the guys just never sound like they're connecting in that way despite the fifteen minute runtime. Mostly the problem is in the back half of the jam, where the boys go ambient, but are maybe a bit too formless. I don't know; it's nice to hear them stretch out for the first time, really, since Dick's, but I had a really hard time keeping my attention on this jam, and that's not typically a problem (obviously).
Ultimately, your mileage will vary here, dependent largely on whether or not you see the "Piper" jam as a notable version. Check it out official-style here and decide for yourself:
The Live Review:
12/30/11: There is no better show opener than PYITE for #phish. I'm happy to cut anyone who disagrees with me.
12/30/11: I think I'm biased from listening to 12/31/95 so many times in my early fandom days, tho.
12/30/11: Never gotten it as an opener at a show, though.
12/30/11: Solid, uptempo PYITE to start, > Caspian.
12/30/11: Surprisingly engaging Caspian with a fadeout and clever -> Number Line. First set off to a strong start.
12/30/11: Okay, I sort of lied. 8/2/13 had a S2 PYITE opener. Sort of counts.
12/30/11: Nice little break for Nellie Kane, and now a purty Divided Sky.
12/30/11: After DSky, the band oozes slowly into Sand.
12/30/11: Some great Trey/Page interplay here as Trey builds things to a peak.
12/30/11: Strong Type I version of Sand. Nice surprise in Vultures next.
12/30/11: Vultures is one of my favorite #phish songs.
12/30/11: Set ends with a Rift, Joy, Quinn run that felt a bit disconnected. Nothing earth-shattering and very similar to N2S1.
12/30/11: Might want to check out that Sand, though.
12/30/11: S2 opens with Wilson.
12/30/11: Wilson crashes into a high speed Axila I, which just went off the rails in a sort of hilarious fashion.
12/30/11: Axila I eventually rights itself and then > Piper.
12/30/11: Uptempo space-funk taking over in Piper.
12/30/11: Pitch shifter coming out.
12/30/11: Going ambient now, but Fish keeping the beat up.
12/30/11: Neat ambient-ish jam that never really falls into the 'unfocused morass of noise' category. I dig it.
12/30/11: Slow wind-down now, > Twist.
12/30/11: Twist was short and of the muddy-blues variety.
12/30/11: Post-Piper, it looks like we're headed to jukebox mode. Twist, Julius, Golgi, 2001, The Horse > Silent.
12/30/11: To be fair, there's some pretty badass pitch-shifted soloing from Trey in the 2001.
12/30/11: Bowie! Did not see that coming so late in the set.
12/30/11: Bowie intro with what I think are meant to be heavily distorted, eerie Silent teases.
12/30/11: Heavy Silent teases now.
12/30/11: Great, dense version of Bowie there. Coil next. Nice choice to end S2...I assume.
12/30/11: Coil outro is gorgeous, as usual. Encore starts with Boogie On. Trey calls out 'Cactus,' and Mike rips into a solo for a bit.
12/30/11: GTBT to close!
12/30/11: Decent but not particularly notable show overall. Similar to 12/29, actually, in structure but added a fifteen minute Piper.
12/30/11: The Piper wandered a bit in the back half of the jam, but still the most interesting bit of this run so far, methinks.
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