The Verdict:
I sort of already spelled out my response to this show in the "Live Review" bit below, but I'll rehash it slightly here.
Basically, it's a three-set Phish show like most other three-set Phish shows: the gimmick/special set is great, but the sets surrounding it are pretty vanilla and uninspiring. Here, the Bowie set is awesome. I hardly know the album (I know, I know) but I liked the performance of it so much I played it again right after I was done reviewing the show. The album tunes fit Phish's style in a weird way while being different enough that they end up getting pushed out of their comfort zone just enough to end up showing how versatile they are instead of sounding like they're stretching to fit some other band's idea of what music should sound like.
Frankly, in most circumstances I'd be happy to take two relatively lackluster sets along with a musical "cover" that's executed this well. The only reason I'm a bit more critical this time around is because the first three shows of this run were so good. Playing a fourth, three-set show with extremely minimal jamming feels just a little like sneaking out the back door before the encore, Bowie cover aside.
That said, this is still one of the band's best runs in a long time, and I'm excited for MSG as a result. Somewhere between Dick's and MGM, reviewing Phish '16 stopped being a chore, and I'm very happy about that.
Anyway, you should listen to the Bowie set. That's the first thing.
The opening set is pretty okay. Like the rest of the first sets of the run, it features a really good mix of tunes and strong playing...but at this point we've come to expect at least one surprising breakout jam, and that's not here. "Carini" is a nice surprise opener. "Possum" brings its usual '16 fire. "What's the Use?" is a standalone version that's almost delicate in its rare quietness. "Tube" gets slightly extended and "Petrichor" keeps getting better. But "Wolfman's" is the only tune that even hints at improvisation, doing so briefly as a Type 1.5 swipe not unlike what we heard during its previous incarnation on 10/24.
The final set offers up a bit more, but nothing like the closing sets of the previous three nights. "46 Days" starts off normal but ends on a weird, ambient note, fading nicely with a -> "Sand." "Sand" proper is probably the highlight of the set, starting out as a wall of noise with Page prettily playing over it before transitioning into bliss territory. The song never peaks, but stays gorgeous and is definitely worth a listen. "Twist" starts off promisingly, then moves into a group percussion jam. Your enjoyment of what follows probably depends about how you feel about instrument switching. Someone (Trey?) eventually gets on the marimba and closes the song with the "Twist" riff from there, which is kind of neat. The other bright spot in the set is the "2001," which gets extended beyond its usual boundaries like a few other versions this year. Unlike other versions this year, the band jams on a theme in the midst of the song and takes things in legitimately interesting directions instead of just wading in the funk murk.
"Number Line" and "Slave" are strong-but-rote versions, and the perfect choice for an encore, "Space Oddity," brings us home.
The Live Review:
10/31/16: Carini opener. Here we go!
10/31/16: Trey's been really keyed in melodically during this run, and tonight sounds no different so far.
10/31/16: Typical Carini outro getting softer now.
10/31/16: Your Pet Cat next.
10/31/16: Solid take on AC/DC Bag is third, then Free. Seem to be staying in the box after that interesting Carini opener.
10/31/16: Free > Possum.
10/31/16: Another strong Possum. Stand-alone WTU? next. Starts off surprisingly muted.
10/31/16: REALLY quiet version now.
10/31/16: > Wombat! Now that's a welcome surprise!
10/31/16: Tube follows Wombat, and like all Tubes post-Chula, this one's opening up a bit.
10/31/16: Instead of the usual funk groove, though, we've got Page in electric piano and Trey playing an echo-y melody.
10/31/16: Nice take on Tube. Wolfman's is next.
10/31/16: So far, aside from a few weird song choices, it's been a pretty straightforward opening set.
10/31/16: Wolfman's modulating a little out of its usual frame.
10/31/16: That version didn't quite get out of the box, but was moving toward a Type 1.5-style jam before returning to the usual outro.
10/31/16: Obligatory Ass Handed. Now a pause.
10/31/16: Petrichor! I was thinking they'd already played this during the run. I guess not.
10/31/16: That tune just gets better each time they play it.
10/31/16: Antelope will close the first set.
10/31/16: I will never get some fans' fascination with this tune. It's the most predictable, straightforward song I can imagine.
10/31/16: Maybe it's one of those old/fan new fan things?
10/31/16: End set. Not a bad set, but definitely the least interesting opening set of the run.
10/31/16: Bowie set next.
10/31/16: I don't know this set very well (aside from the 'hits'), so my commentary will likely be minimal.
10/31/16: Will say, though, that three songs in I absolutely love the arrangements. Great vocals and what sounds like strings accenting.
10/31/16: The vocal arrangements sound like things Phish would have written in the 90s.
10/31/16: Really like where the outro to Moonage Daydream is going.
10/31/16: Got a bit of a Floyd sound going there.
10/31/16: I'm not sure how they decided Mike should sing Starman, but I'm glad they did.
10/31/16: Sounds great with the strings.
10/31/16: This album is a great pick for something that fits Phish like a glove but yet doesn't sound like them. If that makes any sense.
10/31/16: Fish singing Star.
10/31/16: End set with a great performance of Rock and Roll Suicide.
10/31/16: Set three starts with 46 Days.
10/31/16: Short little jam, return to vocals, and then an odd, syncopated noise jam after the vocals. Cool.
10/31/16: Leads to a nice, slow -> Sand.
10/31/16: Absolutely filthy tone from Trey starting off the Sand jam.
10/31/16: Now a bit of a wall of noise with Page playing piano over it. Definitely Type II time.
10/31/16: Moving into bliss jam territory now.
10/31/16: No peak, but a really nice jam. Quieting down now.
10/31/16: > Twist
10/31/16: Interesting funk leanings from Trey in the beginning of the Twist jam.
10/31/16: What's resulting from that is a legitimately weird jam. I'm not quite sure who's playing what.
10/31/16: Percussion jam breaking out now.
10/31/16: Someone (Trey?) playing the Twist riff on the marimba now while others jam on the drums. Crowd woo-jamming and Fish screaming.
10/31/16: Basically, there's a lot going on.
10/31/16: End of Twist w/o members switching back to their usual instruments. Meatstick from a dead stop next.
10/31/16: > 2001
10/31/16: Trey busting out the MuTron on 2001 and making shit weird. Now the pitch shifter.
10/31/16: Loops and other weird effects now. Vocals.
10/31/16: Long and legitimately interesting 2001. Jamming on a few riffs and creating a theme or two within the structure of the song.
10/31/16: Number Line has been lurking for four shows. Now, here it is.
10/31/16: Little extra fire on that Number Line!
19/31/16: Nice landing in Slave.
10/31/16: I imagine that this'll finish out the set.
10/31/16: Extra slow build this time.
10/31/16: Overall, I'd say even the mighty MGM run can't avoid the three-set-show curse. The Bowie cover was absolutely spot-on, but...
10/31/16: ...the rest of the show didn't live up to the potential of the first three nights. S1 bright spots in Carini and Wolfman's...
10/31/16: ...but otherwise it was a standard '16-style opening set. S2 had two solid, short jams in Sand and 2001.
10/31/16: Twist > Percussion Jam > Marimba Outro was interesting, but likely not what you typically think of when you think of Phish jamming
10/31/16: Not knocking the show, though. It was really fun and the jams that did pop up in S3 happened in really fun places.
10/31/16: Just saying that S1 and S3 don't stand up to the absolute fire that was the first three shows of the run.
10/31/16: If that bums you out, just listen to the Bowie set again.
10/31/16: The show encore is, of course, Space Oddity.
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