I've put down my thoughts of 2011 in a number of individual reviews lately, and I won't repeat myself too much here other than to say that it's really been a tale of two tours...they've just been broken up oddly.
The beginning of the summer started with the brilliant Bethel "Waves," and the momentum from that incredible jam seemed to carry the band for a few excellent shows. Then it was back to the precision-over-improv approach that was old and tired halfway through 2010 until the tour's second leg. Things picked up dramatically at the beginning of this leg and continued to improve until the incredible 1-2 punch of UIC and Dick's, six shows that are an easy collective highpoint of Phish from Hampton '09 until now. As a matter of fact, the west coast shows and these two runs are really where the band we've known and loved consistently from '13 on starts to appear, and it's been fun to see that transition finally happening. I also don't know '12 very well (the only year during 3.0 that I didn't see any shows), so I'm excited to eventually trace this journey further, even if NYE '11 ended up being severely underwhelming, closing the year out with a whimper.
For now, it's on to '16, a divisive year that I'm hoping to find more to like in than most.
5/26: Just the Bethel "Waves" soundcheck jam. "Just." An amazing jam. After the first week of 2011 tour, you'll find yourself wondering if it ever actually happened, or if you just dreamed it.
5/27: If there's one thing that's pretty consistently good in 2011, it's first sets. 5/27 features a great "Wolfman's" -> "Walk Away" combo and a strong "Stash." The second set features a fantastic "Boogie On" > "Waves" combo and a really heavy "Crosseyed." Great show.
5/28: Another great opening set, with extended "Cities" and "Halley's," and a "Gin" -> "Manteca" -> "Gin" sandwich. "Disease" revisits 5/27 "Waves" territory in satisfying fashion in the second set, and "Number Line" is a standout version. Second set is less comprehensive than 5/27, but still a great show.
5/29: The first of many two-first-sets shows in 2011. "46 Days" > "Twenty Years" is a good combo in the first set, though, and "Simple" recalls some of the beautiful melodic jamming of the first two Bethel shows.
5/31: Similar to 5/29. Good "Sand" in the first set. Briefly interesting "Drowned" in the second set. And that's about it.
6/1: Really not much here. "No Quarter" debut out of a Type I "Tweezer" jam. There's a few minutes of plinko jamming in "Twist."
6/3: Return to the quality of the first two Bethel shows. Standard set one, though, minus the first of many "Type 1.5" "Chalkdust Torture"s of the year. The second set features the Clarkston "Disease," easily the biggest and best jam of the year so far unless you count the Bethel soundcheck. The six-song second set also features a great take on "Bowie."
6/4: Another great show (and really the last one until August). Strong song choices in the first set to mix things up a bit. The second set has "Steam"'s debut, a "Piper" > "Lizards" combo, a plinko-jammed "Sally," and a "Hood" -> "Have Mercy" -> "Hood" sandwich. There's a lot to like here.
6/5: We're back in 2010 territory here. "Reba" is interesting in the first set, and there are brief moments of improvisational goodness in "Tweezer" and "Light," but mostly this show falls flat.
6/7: Strong first set, but underwhelming second set. Another extended "Cities" and fun covers of "Instant Karma!" and "Rhymes" are worth a listen. The solo highlight of the second set is a long-and-sometimes-great "Rock and Roll" that segues into "The Mango Song" at its end.
6/8: The best kind of show the band can play without actually jamming. There's some pitch-shifting magic for a few minutes on "Undermind." The second set has some highlights in "Mike's" > "FEFY" > "Groove," "WTU?" and "2001."
6/10: Like 6/8, it's a fun show, but there's not much else going for it. If you're looking for highlights, I can recommend the second set's "Disease" and a loop-heavy "Possum."
6/11: Band continues to perfect the art of the fun-but-boring show. "Roses" and "Reba" are the highlights of the first set. There's not a lot going on in the second set, but the "RnR" > "Albuquerque" > "Piper" > "Wading" sequence goes down easy.
6/12: Band accidentally jams in the first set here, then forgets to follow up in the second. Check out the "Wolfman's" -> "Boogie On." Maybe listen to the "Hood" > "Number Line" pair, too, if you're feeling generous.
6/14: Perhaps the most rote show so far. Single highlight is the "Light Up Or Leave Me Alone" cover.
6/15: Slight improvement over the previous night's effort. That said, perhaps the best part of the show is when they have to quit in the middle of "Mound" because of rain, and then pick back up midjam after setbreak. Maybe try the "Hood"?
6/17: Decent show that doesn't really live up to the hype. Standard-for-2011 first set. The second set hinges on a "Rock and Roll" > "Ghost" jam-pair that honestly aren't super-notable, but in the context of the last ten or so shows seem totally fantastic.
6/18: The first set gets off to a good start with an extended "Halley's"...that Trey kills for "46 Days." Fortunately, there are some interesting bits in the second set, including "Twist," "Caspian" -> "Esther" (!), "Piper," and "Split."
6/19: A "Thunder Road" cover early on is the highlight of the first frame. And, just in time for Super Ball IX, they sneak a legit "Sand" jam in near the end of the show. And that's about it.
7/1: The opening set of Super Ball IX is all guitar, all the time. If you're into that sort of thing, you'll love the TreyFire that's unleashed here. The problem is, that's pretty much all the second set is, too. S2 starts with a formless jam, which is really cool, and this jamming style carries over a bit later into the "Simple." But everything else is, for lack of a better way to put it, first-setty.
7/2: This is a weird, weird day of Phish. The first three sets are like a paean to the boring, boilerplate Phish of 2010-2011. Then comes the Storage Jam, and a new band seems to emerge for the rest of the year(s) onward. It's like they're burning jukebox Phish in effigy over three sets. That said, the "Monkey Man" cover is great. The beginning of the third set features a "Golden Age" > "Caspian" > "Piper" > "Tweezer" sequence that sounds like some real Phish. But that's about it. Until, of course, the Storage Jam blows everything away.
7/3: The third Super Ball IX show is the most cohesive. If you like crazy narrations, check out the "Forbin's" > "Mockingbird." It's wild. Oh, and "Mound" gets jammed out a little. But just when you're starting to wonder if the Storage Jam really happened, the band takes "ASIHTOS" deep in the first set. There's no huge jam in the second set, but "Disease" -> "No Quarter" and "Waves" -> "WTU?" are both fun sequences.
8/5: Ah, leg two. The band attacks immediately, sounding strikingly different than they did for the first leg of shows this year, though it's hard not to hear the Storage Jam influence during this show's masterful "Rock and Roll" -> "Meatstick" -> "Boogie On" sequence. There are a few bits of Phish music that stack up to this piece later on in the summer, but they are very few. If you want more, the first set offers up solid takes on "Gin" and "Taste," and "Roggae" gets spacey in the best way.
8/6: The renaissance continues with this show, though it's definitely a step back from 8/5. The first set is notable only for its momentum. That momentum carries over into S2, and though we never really get much notable improv, having "Sand" segue back into "Tweezer" is a blast.
8/8: The first set is straightforward in that great-for-2011 way. The only bit of note comes in "Split," which digress back into the Storage Unit for a few minutes. The second set is more fun than its gets credit for, with a solid "Crosseyed," an interesting "Twist" and "Piper," a "Mike's Song" that gets absolutely shredded, and a plinko'd "Groove."
8/9: The first set mixes up some interesting songs to great effect. "Bowie" is a keeper. The second set is all about the "Light" jam, which again goes back to the Storage Unit and is awesome for it. The "Walls" closer is probably worth a listen if you're into show-closing guitar pyrotechnics.
8/10: The first set jumps around a lot, and fails to have any sort of consistent energy. The second set is a take-it-or-leave-it affair. I hear "Disease" through "Sally" all touching on the Storage Jam sound and making up a cohesive sequence. You might just hear a lot of promising jams getting ripcorded.
8/12: Sort of what you might expect for a festival show, but this one rewards a little digging. The first set would make a great introduction to Phish for people who had never heard them before. There's a solid "Tweezer" that's likely worth your time, though. "Rock and Roll" -> "Steam" is a nice segue, and "Piper" and "Number Line" are both interesting enough for a replay.
8/15: Holy crap, this show. Easily the best of the year for me. First off, the UIC run sets a new high bar for great first sets, not just providing fun Type I playing throughout, but mixing up the setlists in a way that really makes listening engaging. "Guelah," "Wolfman's," and "Babylon Baby" are the highlights. The second set is absolutely jaw-dropping up through "Undermind," which is probably my favorite jam of the year, and then the encore is basically a third set, featuring among other things a fantastic closing "Hood."
8/16: Another great first set. "Let It Loose" and "CDT" are highlights, along with plinko-infused takes on "Limb" and "Jim." The jamming on night two is more concentrated, but just as worthy as 8/15's: listen to this "Disease." It's so good.
8/17: Night three falls a bit short of the first two nights at UIC. That said, the first sets continue to be varied, and great. The second set is likely a love-it-or-hate-it thing, and I hate it. Just too many ripcords of promising jams on a weekend where every jam seems to be hitting on all cylinders. "Crosseyed," "Tweezer," "Piper," and "Ghost" all get chopped up just as they're developing into interesting jams. That said, you can probably get some mileage out of "Piper" anyway before it gets cut for that three-minute "Ghost."
9/2: It's arguable that this Dick's run tops even the UIC run for awesomeness. It may not reach the same heights, but there aren't any clunker shows like 8/17. The first night is the "S" show, and despite the gimmick, it's a strong show. As you'd expect, there are a lot of bustouts and rarities ("Sparks," anyone?). "Susskind Hotel" is great to hear, and "Sally" goes deep for a first set version. "Split" closes the set with more abstract jamming than usual. The gimmick hurts the second set a bit more, restraining any real jamming, but you should hear the "Simple" and the "Seven Below," which touches on some Storage Jam action.
9/3: Offers up the first by-the-book first set in awhile. Fortunately, the set ends with a fun "Llama" > "FEFY" combo and a totally weird "Wolfman's" jam. "Disease" opens the second set and doesn't get far before a ripcord kills it...but that ripcord starts up the best "Tweezer" I've heard in a very long time. Probably the jam of the weekend. Give it a listen. Or three. Rather than resting on their laurels, either, the band continues an excellent second set with a jazzy "Golden Age," a loop-filled "Limb," a "KDF" with a second jam, a solid "2001," and a driving "Light" that wraps up with a "Disease" reprise! One of the best sets of the year, for sure.
9/4: We're back to weird-good opening sets here. Yet another "1.5"-style "Gin" and the Phish debut of "The Way It Goes" are the highlights. Again, the second set is just nuts. "Rock and Roll" -> "Come Together" -> "Twist" -> "Low Rider Jam" -> "Twist" -> "Piper" is just as good as it sounds, especially when "Piper" features overlapping plinko and theremin jams. Lest you think that we're done, though, there's an excellent "Hood" > "Roggae" combo and then "Ghost" -> "Guy Forget" -> "Ghost." 9/4 S2 for President.
9/14: After the heights of the last two three-day runs, it's probably inevitable that a one-off show ten days later would disappoint. This one isn't as bad as they say, but still a bit of a letdown. The first set has solid "1.5" takes on "Gin" and "Wolfman's," and you could do worse than the second set's "Carini" > "Disease" -> "Slave." The "Carini" is especially worth a listen.
12/28: The best of the four MSG shows, and a great show that stands with many of the stronger late-2011 shows, though not with the best. A plinko "Cities" and an insane "Gin" are the highlights of the first set, and the "Carini" -> "Tweezer" sequence in S2 is top-notch. The segue between "Rock and Roll" and "NICU" is interested, and the "Hood" is an absolute, straightforward killer.
12/29: This one doesn't have much meat on its bones. A strong "YEM" in the two-slot is a nice surprise, but that's about it for the first set. A too-short "Simple" is neatly deconstructed, setting up a great segue into "Lifeboy" in the second set. Listen to the "Chalkdust"-inspired "Hydrogen," too.
12/30: "Caspian" and "Sand" are solid first-set highlights. Otherwise, the show is about as 2010 as you can get except for the S2 "Piper," which turns out to be the single big jam of the run. Luckily, it's pretty classic. Check it out.
12/31: A surprisingly, almost shockingly flat show. The first set starts with some serious verve, but then there are two more first sets (mostly) and the verve slowly disintegrates over the course of the night. Interesting-but-too-brief "Light" that segues nicely into a too-short-but-funky "Golden Age" to start of the second set...and that's probably the highlight of the night. There's some guitar fire that's usually not there in "Steam" (w/ dancers) and an obligatory-feeling mini-jam tacked onto "Disease"...and that's it. Happy New Year.
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