Fall, NYE 2016 and Early 2017 Wrap-up

I hate to come back to this old whipping post, but jam length continues to be the thing that '15 Phish pundits point to when they complain about '16 Phish. Which is dumb, especially when it comes to '16 fall tour and beyond. If I'm right, and the roughness of summer '16 was really due to it being a transition away from the '13-'15 style of playing and jamming, then fall is when things really start to come together, surprisingly actually helped by the entry of Big Boat tunes into the band's repertoire. And it's not just about getting away from bliss jamming, though that's certainly part of it. There are a few things I notice now, having listened to all of the 2016 shows, that set this year apart from the last few years:

1. The band can consistently drop interesting 8-9 minute versions of songs that feature legitimately engaging jamming. They've been leaning more and more in this direction over the last few years, but have finally gotten consistent in their ability to Go There quickly. They no longer have to ramp up to a space jam with five minutes of Type I noodling. This, of course, leads fans to complain because jams can't be good if they aren't long. But that is dumb and wrong and you should listen to pretty much all of fall '16 again.
2. The band has been experimenting more with doing interesting things with existing songs that aren't necessarily "jamming" but are experimental nonetheless. The "slow 'Llama'" is an easy example of this, but look also at 10/22's "46 Days" -> "Sally" -> "46 Days," 10/30's "Hood" -> "Have Mercy" -> "Hood," the "Martian Monster" -> "Tweeprise" -> "Martian Monster" or "Twenty Years" -> "Kung" -> "Twenty Years" or "Light" -> "Party Time" or "Piper" -> "Ass Handed" -> "Piper" from MSG, or Mexico's "Disease" -> "No Men."
3. The band hasn't been content with using existing jam vehicles and has worked a lot at developing interesting jam spaces out of new songs without having to rely on a gimmick ("Everyone gets a 'Fuego'!" or '14 "Hood"s). See "2001," "Wolfman's," "Tube," "Stash," and more from this year for examples of this.
4. Instrument switching. Love it or hate it, it's yielded some great jams both during summer and fall, and is another sign of a band that is actively fighting creative stagnation.
5. Last and most importantly, the band has fought actively in most cases against the impulse to transition to the "easy" bliss jam mode when stretching a song, and the result (in fall, at least) has been jams that have not only been consistently stellar, but also consistently interesting, something that I'd argue got lost somewhere between '13 and '15. There are tons of examples I've pointed out in individual reviews, but here's a few good places to start: 10/14's "Disease" and "Light," 10/15's "I Always Wanted It This Way" -> "Twist," 10/19 S2, 10/21 S2 (minus the "Ghost," which goes in a very '15-style direction), 10/24's "I Always Wanted It This Way" > "Piper," 10/28's "Golden Age" -> "Simple" and "Light," 10/29's "Piper" and "Tweezer" -> "I Always Wanted It This Way," 10/30's "Disease" and "Birds," 12/28's "Golden Age" -> "Simple," 12/29's "Disease," and 12/30's S2...you know, just to name a few. Oh, and then the second sets of all three Mexico shows offer up some of the most interesting improvisation the band has strung together in a long time, '15 included.

In the end, having listened to the entire year's worth of shows, I'm frustrated to see something like 10/14 coming in with a 3.8 rating, because it's embarrassing how much quality playing a show like that has. If you're going to discriminate against a jam or a set simply because of track times, then you're likely not going to like '16 Phish as much as '15 Phish. I'm not here to rate, just to review. I love them both, but I'm no longer convinced that '15 was necessarily a high-water mark for the band. Maybe a high-water mark in terms of their ability to please their famously persnickety fans, but otherwise? For my money, '16 Phish is consistently more interesting to listen to. If that's not what you're looking for in the band, that's fine, but I definitely hope they continue on this tack going into '17.

See you all at Dick's!

10/14: Great tour opener that doesn't get nearly enough love (because, of course, there's not a single jam you can easily point to as a "great" part of the show). First set has great "Ghost" and "Gin" jams along with some Big Boat live debuts. A monster Type I "No Men" opens the second set, and "Disease," "Cities," and a multi-faceted "Light" each get exploratory in their own ways. Great three-song encore, too.

10/15: Not as consistent as the previous night's show. Three less-than-stellar ballad tunes all seem placed precisely to kill setlist flow. Otherwise, the Big Boat tunes continue to play nice with the older tunes. The highlight of the second set is a briefly jammed "Twist" that moves into a monster "I Always Wanted It That Way" jam that pushed the band out of its comfort zone and into some interesting places.

10/16: A pretty lackluster show, here. The only real notable highlight (and it is a real highlight, despite the rest of the show) is a huge "Piper."

10/18: The first two-thirds of this show just find the band in a holding pattern, waiting for Bob Weir to show up. Listen to the "Sand" and "2001" from the first set, I guess. Lots of people (understandably) freak out about the Bobby part of the set, but to my non-Grateful Dead-fan ears, it takes most of the set for Bobby and the rest of the band to gel. "Twist" is weird, but I'm not sure that it's very good. "Playin' In the Band" is the only tune that really sounds like a cohesive band playing...appropriately enough.

10/19: A step up after the last few shows. A really well organized, consistent first set where even songs like "Camel Walk" get the special treatment. "Tube" continues to develop. The second set is an amazing jam-funk odyssey: "Golden Age" > "Tweezer" > "No Men" > "Plasma" with an exceptionally long and gorgeous "Hood" after all that. It's easily the best part of the tour so far.

10/21: Solid but unremarkable first set leads into another six-song second set. A best-of-fall "Disease" kicks things off before "Carini" gets a beautiful melodic jam that moves nicely into "Winterqueen." "Ghost" is peaky, "Possum" continues a string of great '93-style takes, and "Slave" winds things up.

10/22: Yet another strong first set, with "Waiting All Night" (yup), "Gin," and "Zero" as obvious highlights. Early in the second set, "Fuego" hints at a jammy, looping madness that "Simple" revisits in more detail later on. The great fourth quarter wraps up with "46 Days" -> "Sally" -> "46 Days."


10/24: The first set is again great, featuring an argument between Trey and Fish as to whether "Ass Handed" or "Saw It Again" is the better Phish song, as well as a strong "Bowie" and a rare, blissy "Wolfman's." Set two features a brief melodic interlude out of "Seven Below," the best "Petrichor" so far, and a strong fourth quarter anchored by an expansive "I Always Wanted It This Way" jam and another great "Piper."

10/25: Literally no jamming. Two sets of first-set music, but really good first set music. It's nice to hear "Foam" and "Friday."

10/28: The first set is pretty rote minus a little jam in "Steam," but everything is played quite well. Set two opens with "Crimes of the Mind" and continues straight into an enormous "Golden Age." That segues into a great "Simple" jam, followed by a great "Light" jam...and then a '15 style weak fourth-quarter finish. Great start to a great run, though.

10/29: The first set is pretty predictable in general, but "KDF" is worth a listen, and "Gumbo" actually departs for Type II shores for a few minutes. In the second set, "Mercury" continues to get extended, "Piper" has huge consistent momentum via a "CDT"-like jam that runs for nearly ten minutes. Later, a "Tweezer" -> "I Always Wanted It This Way" sequence provides some of the best music of fall tour so far.

10/30: A lot of typical tunes in the first set, but they all get stretched in some interesting ways., The "Ghost" is worth a listen, too. For the third night in a row, the second set is bonkers. The opening "Disease" riffs on the famous Miami version for a bit before seguing into "Birds"...which also features a Type II jam. "Hood" -> "Have Mercy" -> "Hood" finishes things off in great fashion.

10/31: Like most three-set Phish shows, the focus here is on the gimmick set. And the Bowie album is amazingly done. "Possum" and "Wolfman's" are their great '16 selves in the opening set, and the third set has sort-of highlights in a strong "Sand," marimba-led "Twist" jam (YMMV) and a patiently-developed "2001."

12/28: Each MSG show in the run opens with an a capella number. So that's neat. The first set is an even better-than-usual mix of old songs, new songs, and some surprise bust-outs. "Wolfman's" is a strong Type I opening to the second set, but it's really "Golden Age" -> "Simple" (again!) that's the story here. The set is light on jamming after, but "Martian Monster" -> "Tweeprise" -> "Martian Monster" makes up for that.

12/29: Structurally similar to 12/28. Fortunately, this means another really strong first set, and this time it's augmented by a legit evil jam in "SOAM." The second set's improv is focused mainly in the opening "Disease" -> "WTU?" sequence, which is great. Toward the end, there's a "Twenty Years" -> "Kung" -> "Twenty Years" bit that recalls the previous night in a great way, as well.

12/30: This is quite possibly my favorite show of the year. The first set has a great funk sequence in "Moma," "Gumbo" > "Cities" and an excellent "Gin"...before closing with "YEM." Set two is basically "Tweezer" > "Sparks" > "Ghost" > "Light" -> "Party Time," where "Ghost" is the best version in years (save for maybe the Lockn' version) and "Party Time" is played as an extension of the "Light" jam rather than as its own song. It's amazing.

12/31: This three-set show actually has more going for it than the gimmick. Well, sort of. "Back On the Train" gets a plinko'd treatment in the first set, and in the second, "2001," "Carini," "Twist," and "Piper" -> "Ass Handed" -> "Piper" are all highlights, even if none of them go particularly deep. The third set starts with a gorgeously orchestrated "Petrichor," but then continues with a full-on set featuring the TAB horns and other guest musicians. The result is maybe not the most intriguing setlist, but it's worth it to hear this extended band tackle some songs that sound made just for them.

1/13: The momentum from the great MGM and MSG runs carries over here. It's another solid first set closed by a Type 1.5 "Wolfman's." The second set starts slow, but "Fuego" > "Caspian" -> "Twist" -> "Seven Below" results in some of the most interesting and inventive music the band has played in a long time.

1/14: Like 1/13, this show has a lot of great moments, but they show up in odd places. The first set is a bit less even, but a 13-minute Type II "Chalkdust" that just doesn't stop makes up for that. The second set, again, takes awhile to get going, but "Meatstick" > "Winterqueen" >  "Mercury" > "Light" features some (more) amazing improv, albeit a bit less than the previous night's mid-set.

1/15: If this show was technically in 2016, it'd be in competition with 12/30 for best of the year. The first set is, for all intents and purposes, a second set, with "Ghost" and "Tweezer" jams, lots of other amazing song choices (including "Fluffhead") and a "Nothing" bustout in the cooldown slot. "Disease" -> "No Men" is really just one big jam with "No Men" lyrics in the middle before moving into a huge bliss space. "Sally" leads into a "Shipwreck"-infused take on "Possum," and the "Shipwreck" sampling continues into an awesome "Carini." A legit take on "Bowie" and a strong "Hood" wrap up the second set before a "Slave" encore.