I feel like I've said this about nearly every first set this tour so far, but this one's a well-constructed scorcher. From the "Skin It Back" mega-bustout opener (played flawlessly and jammed-out, by the way) to "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" through a nuclear "Mike's Groove" and a surprise "JJLC," there is almost no letup here.
The second set starts with a pretty standard take on "Chalkdust," but the "Sand" that follows starts opening things up a bit. Things get more jazzy than funky, and a plinko-style jam leads nicely into "Golden Age." The "Golden Age" jam is one of more complex, consistently interesting things I've heard from the band thus far this tour, and it could have easily segued into "No Quarter" at the end if that hadn't just happened during the previous show.
For a brief moment, it seems like the following "Wolfman's" is going to follow in "Golden Age"'s dark-jammy footsteps, but it gets ripcorded (albeit smoothly) into "Walk Away," and from there we're into a more standard, non-improv set again.
Admittedly, you might want to hear the "Antelope" that closes the set, as it departs briefly from the usual template with an interesting bridge section.
All in all, it's not quite up there with 7/1, but 7/3 is another good omen for the rest of the summer.
The Live Review:
7/03/12: Skin It Back opener.
7/03/12: As per @phishnet it's a 1,417 show bustout.
7/03/12: And of course people in the crowd are cheering for it because Phish fans are insane and brilliant.
7/03/12: How can you tell that it's almost summer break? I'm grading in my office in flip flops and a @phish hoodie… https://t.co/T3N07ZJEED
7/03/12: Trey and Mike are killing the outro jam here.
7/03/12: > Possum
7/03/12: Skin It Back teasing at the beginning of Possum.
7/03/12: Huge energy so far. Tube next.
7/03/12: Happiness Is a Warm Gun
7/03/12: Mike's Song
7/03/12: Nice, slowly-building Mike's. > Hydrogen
7/03/12: > Groove
7/03/12: Trey just shredded Groove.
7/03/12: Halley's Comet. Whatever first-set-setlist alchemy these guys were channeling in 2012, I hope they rediscover it in 2018.
7/03/12: Funky ending to Tube. > Axila I. I think they were trying to segue it properly and just messed up the timing.
7/03/12: Ya Mar!
7/03/12: Page ripping up his organ solo. In case I haven't already mentioned this, the band is ON FIRE in this set.
7/03/12: Joy.
7/03/12: They literally just played this a set ago.
7/03/12: On the upside, this is the first real slowdown in this set, eleven songs in.
7/03/12: Jesus Just Left Chicago!
7/03/12: How were people freaking out for Skin It Back, but not for this?!
7/03/12: Lengthy first set keeps going with Number Line.
7/03/12: Trey has been on fire for this whole set, and Number Line is no exception.
7/03/12: Golgi, presumably to close the set.
7/03/12: End ginormous set (14 songs, 84 minutes).
7/03/12: Second set starts off with Chalkdust.
7/03/12: Skin It Back tease in Chalkdust.
7/03/12: More prolonged Skin It Back teasing at the beginning of the jam.
7/03/12: Solid Type I Chalkdust. Sand next.
7/03/12: After a fiery solo from Trey, Page is over to the electric piano and things are taking on a mellower tone.
7/03/12: Almost a jazzy feel to this Sand jam. Liking it a lot.
7/03/12: High-energy take on the plinko style here.
7/03/12: Excellent -> Golden Age.
7/03/12: That was real smooth. The Platonic Segue Of Dreams.
7/03/12: Or just of, like, 1995.
7/03/12: After a quick outro jam, things go Type II in a hurry. Funk time.
7/03/12: Things turning really minimalist and introspective.
7/03/12: Loving where this is going as a counterpoint to the first set's joyous rock sensibility.
7/03/12: Great interplay across the board here.
7/03/12: Hoping I get to hear this develop live and in person is why I keep buying tickets for Phish shows.
7/03/12: If they hadn't literally just done it, this would be a great opportunity for a -> No Quarter.
7/03/12: Jam fades, ends instead.
7/03/12: Wolfman's next.
7/03/12: Dark wave of sound coming out of this Wolfman's jam. Interesting.
7/03/12: Really interesting jam with a sudden (but smooth) segue into Walk Away.
7/03/12: Would have liked to hear more of that, but nice segue anyway.
7/03/12: Bug is a nice choice for a cool-down song here.
7/03/12: Nice late-set Fluffhead.
7/03/12: Great take on Fluffhead. The Wedge is next.
7/03/12: Neat Wedge > Antelope pairing.
7/03/12: Some extended bridge jamming in Antelope. Atypical version.
7/03/12: Trey taking the chance to engage the crowd in another game of Marco Polo.
7/03/12: Now he's yelling 'Mike-o' and I'm pretty sure that the crowd, without prompting, is responding 'Gordo,' wh… https://t.co/fcxZQkdB1g
7/03/12: End second set.
7/03/12: ZERO encore.
7/03/12: But do I mean 'There is zero encore' or do I mean 'Zero is the encore'? Well, isn't really the same either… https://t.co/Y6aoCKFxaz
7/03/12: Apology gif. #zenhair https://t.co/okJ8n7gOKT
7/03/12: That was a great show all around. Really enjoyed it. Excellent, summer-y first set and some serious (thoug… https://t.co/5I9HlExLMg
No comments:
Post a Comment