The Verdict:
This show has one of my favorite opening sets of the tour so far. I know that's not where the "real" magic happens (especially, it seems, in '16), but it sure helps to ride a great first set into the second set.
The first Mann show starts off with a high-energy couplet in "Wilson" > "Funky Bitch," and then moves into a seriously great Type I "No Men's." From there, there's a great mid-set batch of songs, including a typically awesome "Roggae," "Nellie Kane," a "Gumbo" with some clav and then a short blues jam tacked on to the outro, "Sleep Again," and a bluegrass-style debut for "Things People Do." The close of the set is a bit more standard, but "Split" is a strong version, and "OKP" > "Suzy" is a great old-school combo to end any first set with.
S2 is definitely more '16 than '15, but there's also a lot to like. The "Fuego" opener goes deep, for one thing. And it goes deep in evil way, with Page's electric piano and Fish leading the way. The ending fadeout leads nicely into a "Jim" > "Jibboo" pair that stay in the box, but both come with a little extra mustard. Then, just when you think that the jams have dried up for the night, we get another deep exploration courtesy of..."Breath and Burning"?!
Yep. The song gets extended, revisiting some of that "Ghost"-like territory the 6/24 "Twist" explored so satisfyingly. It's a huge surprise, and a great little jam. "Timber" seems like a weird choice here (maybe), but the instrumental section takes on a "Maze"-like duel quality that's unique. "Slave" is a little perfunctory, but only because a monster "YEM" with some of the (dreaded?) percussion/marimba jamming included.
Overall, it's another one of those "lots to like" shows that seems to get downvoted simply because there's no tentpole jam to cling to and to serve as an easy microcosm of the quality (or lack thereof) of the show. I like it.
The Live Review:
6/28/16: Wilson opener.
6/28/16: > Funky Bitch
6/28/16: > low-tempo No Men's. The hits keep on coming.
6/28/16: Killer little Type I jam in No Men.
6/28/16: Trey talking about how awesome the Mann is.
6/28/16: Roggae! Great first set so far.
6/28/16: That was just an average-gorgeous Roggae )
6/28/16: Nellie Kane!
6/28/16: Gumbo is next, featuring a nice outro solo from Trey and then a clav breakdown. Loving it.
6/28/16: Fish switches the beat and now we're blues jamming. Whoa.
6/28/16: This is the kind of thing that makes me laugh when people say that 2016 Phish sucks.
6/28/16: > Birds.
6/28/16: Sleep Again! Always jazzed to hear this one pop up.
6/28/16: I'm serious, in case you're wondering if I'm serious.
6/28/16: This song actually reminds me really poignantly of driving around in 2005-2006, listening to Shine, and...
6/28/16: ...wondering if maybe some day I'd still get to see a Phish show.
6/28/16: It was a really bittersweet song for me, after becoming a fan in 2003 (ish) and then having Coventry happen right after.
6/28/16: But now that I've seen 36 shows, I'm a bit happier about it :)
6/28/16: THINGS PEOPLE DO
6/28/16: Fast, bluegrass style. Yeah!
6/28/16: Page solo. I FUCKING LOVE THIS
6/28/16: Okay, got a little excited. Limb By Limb next.
6/28/16: Pretty standard version. Split now, maybe to end the set?
6/28/16: MuTron (?) soloing from Trey during the jam.
6/28/16: Gooey.
6/28/16: Looping madness now, Fish crashing away.
6/28/16: Set keeps rolling with a pitch-perfect Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy.
6/28/16: End set.
6/28/16: That was a great set. The Split > OKP > Suzy closing was actually the least interesting part. Really well-paced overall.
6/28/16: Slow-tempo Fuego to open S2.
6/28/16: Trey moving away from the usual soloing at 9:00 mins.
6/28/16: Neat little space jam emerging here. Fish drumming at MVP levels.
6/28/16: Page with electric piano fills now.
6/28/16: The last 2-3 minutes of this jam are incredible.
6/28/16: Everyone contributing on a deep-space exploration.
6/28/16: Fadeout > Runaway Jim.
6/28/16: Old-school rockfest of a Jim.
6/28/16: Jibboo seems like a weird placement.
6/28/16: Nice interplay between Page and Trey on this Jibboo.
6/28/16: Maybe-unintentional, sort-of Jim tease from Trey near the end of the jam.
6/28/16: > Breath and Burning
6/28/16: Echo-y chords at the end of B+B.
6/28/16: Synth now from Page. Jam time!
6/28/16: Spacey jam powered by a neat riff from Trey.
6/28/16: Almost sounded like a -> Ghost there for a second. Similar to the middle of the 6/24 Twist.
6/28/16: Fadeout > Timber.
6/28/16: Nice, Maze-style duel between Trey and Page developing here.
6/28/16: Weird Timber placement, but neat version. > Slave.
6/28/16: Compact take on Slave.
6/28/16: FOLLOWED BY YEM
6/28/16: Sounds like maybe a drum breakdown in YEM. Maybe more people than Fish on drums.
6/28/16: Oh, nope, that's Trey on the marimba lumina.
6/28/16: OH GOD THE SHOW IS RUINED FOREVER NOW
6/28/16: In reality, it's a pretty neat percussion jam.
6/28/16: Vocal jaaaaaam
6/28/16: End set 2.
6/28/16: Quinn encore.
6/28/16: That was a neat show. Great first set with a lot of energy. Great Fuego jam in the second set. Breath and Burning jam A++.
6/28/16: S2 had some flow problems, but hey, a show like this would have been a godsend between '09-'12.
No comments:
Post a Comment