The Verdict:
The second SPAC show follows the same template as the first (and of the last few shows before SPAC). There's another strong-but-by-the-numbers opening set, and the real magic is focused in the third quarter of the show before the band peters out and limps across the finish line.
There's not much else to say about the first set. The song choices skew toward early-2000s selections, and it's neat to hear a lot of tunes from Round Room and Undermind. "Martian Monster" gets the echoplex treatment (which is typical these days), and "46 Days" gets the MuTron treatment (which is typical these days). And that's about it.
The second set doesn't feature anything quite as expansive as the "Chalkdust" from 7/1, but the "Fuego" > "Light" -> "Golden Age" is still pretty great. "Fuego" gets an almost-plinko space, and "Golden Age" has a few minutes of ambient jamming, but the real highlight is "Light."
It has a few sections in it, and like the 7/1 "Chalkdust" and forthcoming 7/3 "Moma," the moves between those sections is really smooth and organic-sounding. In this case, the typical "Light" arpeggios get dropped by the wayside almost immediately, and Trey plays some growly, echo-y chords in the background as the rest of the band runs the jam for awhile. Trey backing off gives the band a rare sound for a bit, before he jumps back in and pushes the band toward a more uplifting space. This bit flirts with but never really fully commits to a bliss jam, instead turning again as Trey leads with a super-processed, distorted tone for a great solo...and then a great segue into "Golden Age."
From there, as per usual lately, the rest of the set is by the book. But hey, check out the "Light"!
The Live Review:
7/2/16: Crowd Control opener.
7/2/16: I always love this song as an opener. Of course, I think I'm more partial to Undermind as an album than most fans.
7/2/16: First new album that Phish put out after I became a fan.
7/2/16: Was listening a bit in 2001-2002, but not enough to care enough to buy Round Room when it came out.
7/2/16: Ironically, that's now my favorite Phish album.
7/2/16: Anyway: Crowd Control
7/2/16: 555 in the two-slot. An extra-grungy solo from Trey, actually. Like this version.
7/2/16: Seven Below! Nice placement.
7/2/16: More great soloing from Trey here. Driving a nice Type I jam.
7/2/16: > BOTT
7/2/16: Trey teasing Sleeping Monkey lyrics at the end of BOTT.
7/2/16: Okay, so this set is totally by-the-book so far, but Trey is ON FIRE.
7/2/16: Most fun I've ever had with a Crowd Control, 555, Seven Below > BOTT sequence.
7/2/16: Army of One next. Liking this 200x-heavy set.
7/2/16: DSky, echo-heavy Martian Monster.
7/2/16: Rift, and then a slow Water in the Sky. Looks like Walls to close.
7/2/16: Phish has laid down some amazingly tight and fun, but entirely uninteresting opening sets this tour.
7/2/16: If they were just a plain old rock band with plain old rock band expectations, they'd be fucking killing it this tour.
7/2/16: Oh, sorry, there was a 46 Days between Water in the Sky and Walls.
7/2/16: Song choice is solid, and they're doing a great job of mixing old songs and new.
7/2/16: There's just almost 0% of the surprises we saw during first sets in '15.
7/2/16: MuTron soloing from Trey in 46 Days.
7/2/16: Trey with some Van Halen-style guitar fireworks at the end of Walls. End set.
7/2/16: S2 opens with No Men.
7/2/16: As much as I like to see No Men go deep, they've been killing it as a Type I jam lately. This version is no exception.
7/2/16: > Fuego.
7/2/16: Trey busting out the pitch shifter again. Getting spacey.
7/2/16: Maybe another plinko jam coming.
7/2/16: Really mellow jam over a guitar loop.
7/2/16: Builds back up to the Fuego outro riff again.
7/2/16: That was interesting. That doesn't normally happen. Neat little self-contained Fuego there.
7/2/16: MuTron growl > Light.
7/2/16: Trey doesn't waste a lot of time with arpeggios in this jam, going straight for some dissonant chording.
7/2/16: Chording with the MuTron now. Sounds like a freight train going by.
7/2/16: This is neat. Giving the rest of the band a chance to shine. Page to electric piano.
7/2/16: Muddy soloing starting up now.
7/2/16: Pretty epic build now. I wouldn't put it in the 'bliss jam' category, really. It almost reminds me of WTU? but more uplifting.
7/2/16: Trey switching over to a super-processed tone. Sounds awesome.
7/2/16: Okay, this Light rules.
7/2/16: Pitch shifter solo over a fadeout.
7/2/16: Trey teasing the vocals to No Men over the fadeout.
7/2/16: Fish comes in with a corresponding beat.
7/2/16: -> Golden Age.
7/2/16: That's it. I'm buying Trey a Golden-Age-specific teleprompter for Christmas.
7/2/16: Out of the composed section, Page lays down a great piano riff, but then things fall pretty flat right after.
7/2/16: Little ambient space before -> Taste.
Check it. https://t.co/JyuEltH5Hv
7/2/16: Neat solo from Trey. Though the raw speed isn't there, it sounded more like a 90s Taste than a recent one.
7/2/16: The Horse, Silent, Julius, ADITL...we've once again entered The Jukebox Zone.
7/2/16: End set. Encore starts with Bouncin'.
7/2/16: Antelope closer.
7/2/16: I've never really liked Antelope that much, honestly. Especially as a closer. Too predictable.
7/2/16: Maybe its just one of those songs that you fucking love if you've been into Phish since they played it every single show in the 80s?
7/2/16: Oh well.
7/2/16: Trey employing the echoplex a bit during the Antelope outro.
7/2/16: Page gets in a final 'They Attack!' sample, and then the show's over.
7/2/16: It seems like there have been a few shows in a row now following this very mid-3.0-ish template...
7/2/16: ...well-played but uninteresting first set, jamming in the third quarter, and then petering out for the last 45 minutes or so.
7/2/16: I'm not the kind of guy who needs monster jams all S2 to see a show as great, but...
7/2/16: ...I think maybe the disappointment comes from just how rote the fourth quarters seem.
7/2/16: Even if they just played another 5-6 songs at the end of the show in the mold of S1, it would be okay.
7/2/16: But the last bit never has the flow, or the clever placement that S1s, though not particularly exciting, have had.
7/2/16: So you just end up feeling like you've only seen 75% of a show instead of, at least, 3 straightforward quarters and one weird one.
7/2/16: Oh well. On to SPAC 3 and (if I remember right) the jammed-out Moma Dance.
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