I've been sharing my ambivalence about fall tour '09 and the NYE run throughout my reviews, so I don't feel like it's really necessary to do much of an essay-form retrospective. Let's just say that I was surprised at how good summer '09 actually was, not just in the context of a band getting their footing after five years apart, but simply as a Phish summer tour compared against any other. There were goofy antics, unexpected segues, great jams, and of course technical prowess of the kind rarely seen since the 90s. I started this project as a bit of a joke to myself and 5-6 shows into tour, I'd created a blog and started tweeting based entirely on the strength of those shows and my resulting interest in hearing all of 2009 tour.
Well now I have, and I can truthfully say that my original enthusiasm only lasted about a third of the way into fall tour. It was in most ways a definite step back, save for a few outliers (11/20 S2, 11/28 S2, 12/4, 12/5, 12/29 and 12/30). Festival 8 was a great novelty, featuring an excellent cover and an amazingly engaging acoustic set, but it failed for the most part as a festival, the one situation in which Phish typically defies expectations by cutting loose in front of their die-hardest fans. What tricks there were were mostly stolen from summer '09, were retreads of already-explored territory. Most new innovation went awry, and by the end of the NYE run, I'd had much more than I'll ever need of jams that feature Type I guitar solos until the 9:00 or 9:30 mark, then segue into a few minutes of space-funk before dissolving into generic ambient textures.
It's certainly not like this part of the project was a total wash: this is still Phish, the songs are still great, and honestly some of the fall '09 setlists were the most ingenious I've ever seen just for sheer set construction. And these guys on their worst day are still better than any other band I've ever seen. But, after having my expectations transcended pretty dramatically in the summer, this was a bit of a let down. That said, I am looking forward to summer '10 and following the continued evolution of the band on a show-by-show basis.
And there were some highlights in fall tour, for sure. Like these, for instance...
10/30: The first night of Festival 8, the only Phish festival that's more about the novelty sets than the jamming. Features a typically great '09 "Stash," and a wonderful "Wolfman's" > "Piper," but is otherwise standard-good.
10/31: The highlight here is definitely the Exile set, especially the unexpected set-best "Ventilator Blues -> I Just Want To See His Face > Let It Loose." The first set is rough and the third isn't much better.
11/1: Definitely the highlight of Festival 8. The acoustic set necessitates the playing of some songs that rarely see the light of day normally, and there are a few stripped-down surprises like "The Curtain (With)" and "McGrupp." The rest of the day is average-great except for "Undermind" and "Light," which are just plain great-great.
11/18: Infectiously energetic show, but kept from being truly special by some weird setlist choices. Electric "Mountains in the Mist" and a plinko-y "46 Days" are the highlights of the first set. "Disease" features some interesting eastern inflections and other interesting jamming. Solid tour opener.
11/20: Show packed way too full of composed pieces, but there's a great "Tweezer" with a few distinct movements in its jam. In fact, the "Tweezer" > "Light" -> "Back On The Train" -> "Possum," "Slave To The Traffic Light," "You Enjoy Myself" run in this set is one of the better pieces of music these guys have put together throughout '09 and is pure Phish magic. With better setlist choices outside of the late second set, this would have been one of the '09 greats. As it is, it's still just below Albany and a few of the Miami shows when it comes to best-of fall.
11/21: In the running for my Least Interesting Show of 2009. Listen to the "Melt," though. It's a keeper.
11/22: If you're not burnt out on the typical "Rock > Space-Funk > Ambient Jam" style of '09 jamming yet, you'll like the "Drowned" > "Twist" > "Piper" > "BBFCFM." It was pretty stale to me, as was the rest of the show.
11/24: Average in the grand scheme of things, but better by far than the previous two nights. "Disease" is wonderfully weird, and there's a "Simple" > "Slave" > "Groove" run that ends with some 90s cowfunk jamming.
11/25: The second set is bogged down a little bit by the "YEM," "Esther," and "TTE" combination, but the "YEM" is great, and a weird, long, burbling "Birds" jam and a great arena-rock "Tweezer" round out the set nicely. We won't talk about the first set because there's not really anything to say.
11/27: Great setlist and excellent "song-based" playing. No jams to be found. Maybe they were storing them up for 11/28? Light has a neat, brief ambient space and "Piper" > "Tomorrow's Song" is worth a listen.
11/28: This show gets talked up, and rightly so, because of the "Seven Below" > "Ghost" combo. At around 40 minutes, it's goddamn amazing. And the "Melt" was a big part of '09 tour remaking me into a "Melt" believer. The rest of the show, though, is more of the boilerplate, jam-by-numbers stuff that I've been lamenting for most of the fall.
11/29: Interesting setlist (including "Crimes of the Mind" and a "Freebird," "Carini," "Waste" encore), but no real improv to speak of. The highlight of the show is probably a short first-set "Meat" that ends with a space jam instead of the usual funk vamp.
12/2: Features a really interesting, "Timber"-inflected "Light," as well as a satisfyingly rocked-out Type I "Tweezer," but otherwise doesn't break the usual "average-good" fall '09 mold.
12/3: Very up and down show, with a long trainwreck of a "Stash" jam in the first frame and a great, second-set "Disease" jam that creates an ambient-dissolve space that's still legitimately original and interesting after about fifty of them since Hampton. Otherwise, not much to write home about.
12/4: Consistently energetic, interesting show that despite lacking a marquee jam is one of the better all-around shows of the fall. The "YEM" has a multi-part (plinko, "Shafty" funk, etc.) jam that's worth a listen.
12/5: Similar to 12/4 in its consistency, but again there's little improv to speak of. Slow out of the gate but ultimately a very strong, Mike-driven first set. "Tweezer" -> "Light" > "Piper" -> "Free" is the highlight of set two, and maybe the post-Albany part of tour, but we also get a fiery "Antelope" later on, with antics that reference the streaker earlier on in the show.
12/28: Underwhelming even by fall '09 standards. Lots of mistakes, a disaster of a "Stash" jam, and all-around tepidness makes it a less-than-stellar start to the run. "Mike's" > "Light" is the only real highlight here.
12/29: Excellent combination of Phishy antics, great improv, excellent setlist choices, and all-around solid playing. "Reba" and "Tweezer" are probably best-of-year material. There's also a fun "Jibboo" > "Wilson" > "Jibboo" sandwich that features some heavy-metal "Jibboo" jamming.
12/30: Great highlights, but both sets sag pretty badly in the middle. First set with "Corrina" and "Dixie Cannonball," a standalone "WTU?" and a ridiculous "Bowie." The second set opens with a "Sand" that picks up right where the "Bowie" left off, and has as a centerpiece a fifteen minute long ambient "Back On The Train." Yeah, you read that right.
12/31: Like most NYE shows, this is more about quantity than quality. Early, extra-hot jukebox action leads to "Guyute," "Swept Away" > "Steep," and "Demand" > "Seven Below." "Piper" > "Simple" is probably the show highlight, followed closely by "Ghost" > "NO2."
Showing posts with label 2009 NYE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009 NYE. Show all posts
Feb 11, 2014
Feb 6, 2014
2009-12-31 Miami IV
Well, here we are. The end of 2009. It was momentous show for Phish at the time (who had just completed their first year together after "breaking up" in 2004), and it's a momentous show for me now, as I've spent the last year (including a few serious lapses to while I was, you know, following 2013 Phish around the country) reviewing every show from 2009 in painstaking, sometimes repetitive detail. In the end, the experience was absolutely worth it, both because I now have a much better sense of where Phish was at in 2009 in the context of the rest of their career and because I found a lot of amazing jam-gems that I otherwise never would have heard, let alone put on "highlight reel" CDs and listened to over and over again in the last few months. But more on that in my wrap-up post later on this week.
So, the last show of the year. Is it a fitting sendoff? Well, it's sort of unrealistic to have high expectations for a NYE show in the modern age of Phish. With the exception of 2013, which was fucking amazing, the days of 12/31/95 are long gone, and I came to this show expecting a solid three-set revisitation of the things that made '09 tour better than I'd expected it to be. And that's what I got: not a sonic revelation, but a great coda to the year.
Night four of the Miami run features some great setlist choices and some solid playing (mostly) all the way around. There aren't any "...of the year" type jams to be had here, or even "...of the tour" jams, but there are a few that come satisfyingly close.
The night starts off with a solid "Bag" that segues nicely into a "46 Days" that features more than its fair share of blues swagger. The fast version of "Water in the Sky" follows, then there's a too-short "Gin" that nonetheless features some great rhythm work from Fish and a slow, rocking build from Trey during its abbreviated length. "PYITE" > "Moma" is another great pairing, but I'm a little biased as I'm obsessed with both songs.
Up until this point, we've had a jukebox show, but a jukebox show with a little more energy and flair than you might expect. "Moma" would be a perfect jumping-off point into some weirder territory...and "Guyute" sort of qualifies. I mean, there's little to no room for improvisation here, but a first-set "Guyute" in a three-set show is pretty exciting stuff. It's followed by "Swept Away" > "Steep," on which the guys hit all the right (singing) notes, though Trey struggles a bit with the ballad-y outro solo.
Then: "Demand." What a great surprise. This comes totally out of nowhere, and in all honesty, it's been so long since I've heard the studio version of the song, I really can't speak to whether they nail it or not. But it's great to see it played at all, and it gets butt-slammed decisively into "Seven Below," which is my current favorite Phish song. This version unfortunately sort of blows the potential of its awesome segue set-up, though, by taking the same route the recent Bill Graham version did: namely, Trey totally biffs the song's main riff. The song's jam is played through in typical Type I fashion by three members of the band, but Mike goes absolutely fucking nuts and carries on as if it's the last song he's ever going to play. It's one of those moments where you'd expect another band member to pick up what he's putting down and eventually change the jam to build on it, but in this case it just goes on for something horribly awkward like four minutes until the song just ends.
"Julius" is absolutely the opposite of my favorite Phish song, at least when played live, but this version is surprisingly strong to close the first set.
All the fun (at least on tape) happens in set two. "Rock and Roll" gets us off to a stereotypical '09 start: it's an eight minute rock jam that tapers off into ambient space in the last minute or so to segue into another song. Real original, right?! But, the "Piper" that follows is probably the best part of this show. There's a standard bit of funk at the beginning of the jam, something sort of "Birds"-like, at least in terms of what Trey's playing. Then it takes a quick left turn into space-funk territory with a change of guitar tone. If anyone's ever wondered what the hell I'm talking about when I talk about "space-funk," the second phase of this jam is it. There's some great Page/Trey layering on the way out of the funk jam, and then a sudden > into "Simple."
There's not really anything special about this "Simple," but like most times the song is jammed, it features a lot of light, airy, textured playing that in this case winds down to just Page playing and then segueing into "Theme." The third of this three-song run is a pretty standard version, but overall this is the highlight of the show for my money.
"Ghost" -> "NO2" is a close second, though. Mike runs things for awhile in the "Ghost" jam, until about the 7:00 mark, when Trey comes in with some light melody stylings. There's a tone change again, and suddenly we're back in a jam space that sounds very much like the earlier "Piper." This builds momentum for a bit before winding down into dissonant hissing that, of course, "resolves" in "NO2."
I'm sure the NYE gag was a fun time for all involved, but on tape we don't really get to anything worth noting again until "Fluffhead," starring Fish as "Sarah." In keeping with his impersonation of a "bad" drummer, Fish biffs the rhythm a few times and absolutely destroys a few fills in a ham-handed rock drummer sort of way near the beginning of the song, but otherwise there's not much to differentiate this "Fluff" from any of the other ones this year.
"Coil" works well to set up the inevitable "YEM" that's coming at the end of the set, but the outro jam, usually my second-favorite mellow jam after "Simple," is cut short in favor of...getting to "YEM" early, I guess? Page only plays his solo outro for about 45 seconds, if that.
The "YEM" itself is surprisingly average-great. Or maybe not surprisingly, considering this is the last night of a four night run and the last of three sets on the evening. But anyway, we close the show (and the year) with a touching/hilarious spoken/sung "thank you" from Trey over Page and then eventually the rest of the band playing "Blue Moon," then a strong "Loving Cup" finisher that sounds a lot less mailed in than many of the more recent versions.
While all the meat of this show is really in the second set, the other two sets feature some great song choices and solid playing (mostly)...and who really expects the post-NYE set to blast off into orbit anyway?
Not me. So, I'm satisfied. At least until I go back to write my fall review post and remember all the things I'm unsatisfied about :)
So, the last show of the year. Is it a fitting sendoff? Well, it's sort of unrealistic to have high expectations for a NYE show in the modern age of Phish. With the exception of 2013, which was fucking amazing, the days of 12/31/95 are long gone, and I came to this show expecting a solid three-set revisitation of the things that made '09 tour better than I'd expected it to be. And that's what I got: not a sonic revelation, but a great coda to the year.
Night four of the Miami run features some great setlist choices and some solid playing (mostly) all the way around. There aren't any "...of the year" type jams to be had here, or even "...of the tour" jams, but there are a few that come satisfyingly close.
The night starts off with a solid "Bag" that segues nicely into a "46 Days" that features more than its fair share of blues swagger. The fast version of "Water in the Sky" follows, then there's a too-short "Gin" that nonetheless features some great rhythm work from Fish and a slow, rocking build from Trey during its abbreviated length. "PYITE" > "Moma" is another great pairing, but I'm a little biased as I'm obsessed with both songs.
Up until this point, we've had a jukebox show, but a jukebox show with a little more energy and flair than you might expect. "Moma" would be a perfect jumping-off point into some weirder territory...and "Guyute" sort of qualifies. I mean, there's little to no room for improvisation here, but a first-set "Guyute" in a three-set show is pretty exciting stuff. It's followed by "Swept Away" > "Steep," on which the guys hit all the right (singing) notes, though Trey struggles a bit with the ballad-y outro solo.
Then: "Demand." What a great surprise. This comes totally out of nowhere, and in all honesty, it's been so long since I've heard the studio version of the song, I really can't speak to whether they nail it or not. But it's great to see it played at all, and it gets butt-slammed decisively into "Seven Below," which is my current favorite Phish song. This version unfortunately sort of blows the potential of its awesome segue set-up, though, by taking the same route the recent Bill Graham version did: namely, Trey totally biffs the song's main riff. The song's jam is played through in typical Type I fashion by three members of the band, but Mike goes absolutely fucking nuts and carries on as if it's the last song he's ever going to play. It's one of those moments where you'd expect another band member to pick up what he's putting down and eventually change the jam to build on it, but in this case it just goes on for something horribly awkward like four minutes until the song just ends.
"Julius" is absolutely the opposite of my favorite Phish song, at least when played live, but this version is surprisingly strong to close the first set.
All the fun (at least on tape) happens in set two. "Rock and Roll" gets us off to a stereotypical '09 start: it's an eight minute rock jam that tapers off into ambient space in the last minute or so to segue into another song. Real original, right?! But, the "Piper" that follows is probably the best part of this show. There's a standard bit of funk at the beginning of the jam, something sort of "Birds"-like, at least in terms of what Trey's playing. Then it takes a quick left turn into space-funk territory with a change of guitar tone. If anyone's ever wondered what the hell I'm talking about when I talk about "space-funk," the second phase of this jam is it. There's some great Page/Trey layering on the way out of the funk jam, and then a sudden > into "Simple."
There's not really anything special about this "Simple," but like most times the song is jammed, it features a lot of light, airy, textured playing that in this case winds down to just Page playing and then segueing into "Theme." The third of this three-song run is a pretty standard version, but overall this is the highlight of the show for my money.
"Ghost" -> "NO2" is a close second, though. Mike runs things for awhile in the "Ghost" jam, until about the 7:00 mark, when Trey comes in with some light melody stylings. There's a tone change again, and suddenly we're back in a jam space that sounds very much like the earlier "Piper." This builds momentum for a bit before winding down into dissonant hissing that, of course, "resolves" in "NO2."
I'm sure the NYE gag was a fun time for all involved, but on tape we don't really get to anything worth noting again until "Fluffhead," starring Fish as "Sarah." In keeping with his impersonation of a "bad" drummer, Fish biffs the rhythm a few times and absolutely destroys a few fills in a ham-handed rock drummer sort of way near the beginning of the song, but otherwise there's not much to differentiate this "Fluff" from any of the other ones this year.
"Coil" works well to set up the inevitable "YEM" that's coming at the end of the set, but the outro jam, usually my second-favorite mellow jam after "Simple," is cut short in favor of...getting to "YEM" early, I guess? Page only plays his solo outro for about 45 seconds, if that.
The "YEM" itself is surprisingly average-great. Or maybe not surprisingly, considering this is the last night of a four night run and the last of three sets on the evening. But anyway, we close the show (and the year) with a touching/hilarious spoken/sung "thank you" from Trey over Page and then eventually the rest of the band playing "Blue Moon," then a strong "Loving Cup" finisher that sounds a lot less mailed in than many of the more recent versions.
While all the meat of this show is really in the second set, the other two sets feature some great song choices and solid playing (mostly)...and who really expects the post-NYE set to blast off into orbit anyway?
Not me. So, I'm satisfied. At least until I go back to write my fall review post and remember all the things I'm unsatisfied about :)
Jan 27, 2014
2009-12-30 Miami III
I listened to this one in pieces over the course of a few days, so the review might be a little fractured. But that's okay, because that's sort of how I feel about the show, too.
Night three in Miami likely has the highest highlights of the run so far, but the middle of each set sags pretty drastically in comparison. The result is a show that will contribute quite a bit to my best-of-fall playlist, but that I'll probably never listen to in its entirety again.
The opening trio of songs here get things going in a hurry: "Soul Shakedown Party" is just a fun opener, especially for the penultimate 2009 show; Mike kills "Jim," at one point leading Trey around on a fun circular run of notes, and "Jesus Just Left Chicago" features some great clav work from Page.
It's not that I dislike "Dixie Cannonball," and I'm always all for more bluegrass-Mike covers, but this seems to zap the energy from the room. This "Faulty Plan" doesn't do anything for me either. I love the guys' cover of "Corinna," but it sounds a bit too much like "Ether Sunday" for me, and maybe belongs to TAB instead of Phish, at least as the third in a run of fairly flat songs in the middle of a damn 12/30 show. Maybe I'm just grumpy.
Anyway, shit takes off in a big way with a rare, standalone "What's the Use?". I love the hell out of this song, and even the shortish, lonely version on display here is wonderful. It's followed by "Tela," which doesn't do much to ramp up the set's energy, but at least kicks us back into "solid, mellow set" territory. Everybody has a turn flubbing in this take on the song, but it's a 236-song bustout, so I'm not going to complain much.
"Rocky Top" and a fiery "CDT" lead up to a fantastic, out-of-nowhere take on "Bowie" to close the set. The jam starts in a really melodic, mellow register to suit the rest of the set, but it follows a slow, amazingly patient build before exploding into a perfectly-executed peak that I really can't describe further without using explicit sexual metaphors. It's that good.
Anyway, the "Bowie" energy continues straight into the second set with a rare (for '09) "Sand" that more-or-less follows the same pattern: mellow, melodic lead-in to the jam, with Mike funking away underneath, and a slow build into a rock and roll peak. I realize that that description could work for about 4,000 of Phish's jams, and I'm not doing a great job of explaining why this one is especially excellent. But it is. So listen to it.
A standard-gorgeous take on "The Curtain (With)" follows, and then yet another spectacular setlist choice in "Lifeboy" in the cool-down slot. Sheesh...this Miami run isn't necessarily the greatest Phish out there, but the setlist construction doesn't get much better than these last few shows.
"Back on the Train" is the surprise of the fall/winter, if not the surprise of the year. Maybe it's second to the "Fluffhead" opener in Hampton in that category. Maybe. It's a seventeen minute "BOTT," and not only that, the vast majority of that time is an absolutely freeform, quasi-ambient jam that goes so deep into Type II territory that you'll have to check your player to see what song this started as by the 15:00 mark. In terms of sheer musicianship, it's not my favorite jam of the year, but I don't think I've heard any other jam in '09 that matches this one for sheer audacity. It's the kind of jam that a lot of people spent much of 2010 and 2011 hoping to hear again. And here it is.
As if the jam itself wasn't enough, there's also a great > "Wading" at the conclusion, featuring the song coalescing out of an ambient wash and at first actually only featuring Trey's vocals singing the refrain, and then the band harmonizing the refrain before eventually the instruments come in. It's a really beautiful half-minute or so of transition.
Now, as I've said before, I love me some Phish antics, but after such a great run of songs in the first half of this set, it's a bit of a disappointment to see the guys fall into "HYHU" > "Love You" > "HYHU." But I suppose they've earned it. Plus, Fish giving the vacuum away to a lucky fan is just good fun.
However, the slowdown puts a damper on what might have otherwise been a really explosive ending. "Free" is standard fare, and "Boogie On," though never a slouch, is also as straight-laced as can be, until the end when it seems like the boys are going to go deep and Trey ripcords them into "Run Like an Antelope."
Hilariously, though, Page refuses to stop playing "Boogie On," and this leads to a number of "Boogie On" teases scattered throughout a red-hot "Antelope" that makes up a bit for the lull mid-set.
I can see why lots of people hold the Miami run up as distinctly different and distinctly better than much of fall '09 tour. It's not really that the issues that made much of fall tour underwhelming have disappeared or even really minimized at all, but the highs that made those weaknesses bearable have become so high that it's hard to remember, after something like 12/30's "BOTT" or 12/29's "Tweezer," that a lot of the show was just boilerplate.
Let's see how 12/31 ends us up, shall we?
Night three in Miami likely has the highest highlights of the run so far, but the middle of each set sags pretty drastically in comparison. The result is a show that will contribute quite a bit to my best-of-fall playlist, but that I'll probably never listen to in its entirety again.
The opening trio of songs here get things going in a hurry: "Soul Shakedown Party" is just a fun opener, especially for the penultimate 2009 show; Mike kills "Jim," at one point leading Trey around on a fun circular run of notes, and "Jesus Just Left Chicago" features some great clav work from Page.
It's not that I dislike "Dixie Cannonball," and I'm always all for more bluegrass-Mike covers, but this seems to zap the energy from the room. This "Faulty Plan" doesn't do anything for me either. I love the guys' cover of "Corinna," but it sounds a bit too much like "Ether Sunday" for me, and maybe belongs to TAB instead of Phish, at least as the third in a run of fairly flat songs in the middle of a damn 12/30 show. Maybe I'm just grumpy.
Anyway, shit takes off in a big way with a rare, standalone "What's the Use?". I love the hell out of this song, and even the shortish, lonely version on display here is wonderful. It's followed by "Tela," which doesn't do much to ramp up the set's energy, but at least kicks us back into "solid, mellow set" territory. Everybody has a turn flubbing in this take on the song, but it's a 236-song bustout, so I'm not going to complain much.
"Rocky Top" and a fiery "CDT" lead up to a fantastic, out-of-nowhere take on "Bowie" to close the set. The jam starts in a really melodic, mellow register to suit the rest of the set, but it follows a slow, amazingly patient build before exploding into a perfectly-executed peak that I really can't describe further without using explicit sexual metaphors. It's that good.
Anyway, the "Bowie" energy continues straight into the second set with a rare (for '09) "Sand" that more-or-less follows the same pattern: mellow, melodic lead-in to the jam, with Mike funking away underneath, and a slow build into a rock and roll peak. I realize that that description could work for about 4,000 of Phish's jams, and I'm not doing a great job of explaining why this one is especially excellent. But it is. So listen to it.
A standard-gorgeous take on "The Curtain (With)" follows, and then yet another spectacular setlist choice in "Lifeboy" in the cool-down slot. Sheesh...this Miami run isn't necessarily the greatest Phish out there, but the setlist construction doesn't get much better than these last few shows.
"Back on the Train" is the surprise of the fall/winter, if not the surprise of the year. Maybe it's second to the "Fluffhead" opener in Hampton in that category. Maybe. It's a seventeen minute "BOTT," and not only that, the vast majority of that time is an absolutely freeform, quasi-ambient jam that goes so deep into Type II territory that you'll have to check your player to see what song this started as by the 15:00 mark. In terms of sheer musicianship, it's not my favorite jam of the year, but I don't think I've heard any other jam in '09 that matches this one for sheer audacity. It's the kind of jam that a lot of people spent much of 2010 and 2011 hoping to hear again. And here it is.
As if the jam itself wasn't enough, there's also a great > "Wading" at the conclusion, featuring the song coalescing out of an ambient wash and at first actually only featuring Trey's vocals singing the refrain, and then the band harmonizing the refrain before eventually the instruments come in. It's a really beautiful half-minute or so of transition.
Now, as I've said before, I love me some Phish antics, but after such a great run of songs in the first half of this set, it's a bit of a disappointment to see the guys fall into "HYHU" > "Love You" > "HYHU." But I suppose they've earned it. Plus, Fish giving the vacuum away to a lucky fan is just good fun.
However, the slowdown puts a damper on what might have otherwise been a really explosive ending. "Free" is standard fare, and "Boogie On," though never a slouch, is also as straight-laced as can be, until the end when it seems like the boys are going to go deep and Trey ripcords them into "Run Like an Antelope."
Hilariously, though, Page refuses to stop playing "Boogie On," and this leads to a number of "Boogie On" teases scattered throughout a red-hot "Antelope" that makes up a bit for the lull mid-set.
I can see why lots of people hold the Miami run up as distinctly different and distinctly better than much of fall '09 tour. It's not really that the issues that made much of fall tour underwhelming have disappeared or even really minimized at all, but the highs that made those weaknesses bearable have become so high that it's hard to remember, after something like 12/30's "BOTT" or 12/29's "Tweezer," that a lot of the show was just boilerplate.
Let's see how 12/31 ends us up, shall we?
Jan 22, 2014
2009-12-29 Miami II
Miami II is, frankly, the show that I've been waiting for Phish to play since I started listening to fall tour.
It's not my favorite of the year. It's not even my favorite of fall/NYE for sure, but it's one of the only late '09 shows I've heard so far (if not the only one) that's well-played throughout, features excellent song choices, willingness to push the edges of a jam, and a little Phish-y silliness all rolled into one. This kind of thing was coming along much more frequently than I expected during the summer and has now been coming along a lot less frequently than I expected during the fall. It's good to have a return to form, especially after the monumental bummer of 12/28.
The first frame is wall-to-wall goodness, and even manages to stretch beyond the usual set one limitations a bit. "Golgi" is a high energy opener that moves directly into "Maze," a surprise in the two-spot. This "Maze" is red-hot, especially Trey's sporadic, frenetic chording over Page's solo. "Driver" is a necessary cool-down after, and it's followed but a studio-perfect rendition of "The Connection." As I've mentioned before, I love me some live Undermind, and this scratches that itch with four or so minutes of precisely-played power-pop (alliteration!).
Next is a surprisingly-placed "Wolfman's" that slowly stretches toward a peak in the standard way, but with a little more fire than usual. At this point, for me, the energy was through the roof. So if there's one misstep in this set, it's the "Ocelot" that comes next. "Ocelot" already usually slows things down with its muddy, plodding tempo, but here, on the tails of an incendiary "Wolfman's," it's even more disappointing than usual. The boys are still exploring the song at this point, and Trey "whales" away on it for a few minutes before starting up "Reba."
"Reba" would be the show highlight were it not for the ridiculous "Tweezer" that comes along in the second set. This is my favorite "Reba" in awhile, and the only real memorable one I've heard so far in '09. It starts off with Trey soloing softly over really gorgeous flourishes from Page before building into a great melodic groove that features parallel playing from Trey and Page that produces a weird echo effect (forgive my lack of music theory knowledge). This lasts from about 9:00 to 10:30, and then we get a few minutes of building to a blistering peak. This one's a keeper.
"Access Me" and "Cavern" are both a bit rough at the end of the set, but they sandwich a great "Divided Sky," so you won't hear me complaining. In all, a great set with a few legitimately interesting musical moments and a lot of energy.
The second set opens with a standard take on "KDF" that slams right into the intro riff to "Tweezer." And this "Tweezer" is an absolute monster. In a year that featured a lot of fantastic "Tweezer"s, including even one at Hampton, this one might be my favorite. It starts off in an unusually slow tempo, which makes the early jam's foray into murky, burbling funk even more rewarding. Trey latches on to a blocky riff, and eventually the band starts a vocal jam built around it! From there, Trey maintains the riff, but he and Mike switch to spacier tones, changing the jam space, oddly, without changing the notes that they're playing. The effect is great. Delay loops (and a bit of "Dave's Energy Guide") feature shortly thereafter, and the whole thing eventually collapses beautifully into an ambient space. But this isn't just any '09 ambient space; instead, it's anchored by some gorgeous melodic bass playing from Mike, followed closely by Trey, who interweaves his notes with Mike's brilliantly. There really isn't a dull moment in this thing's 16-minute run time, and in that it recalls '13-era jams more than '09. But I'm glad it's here. The "Caspian" that follows it is more straightforward than I would have preferred, coalescing out of the Tweeze-murk as it does. But it's alright.
The goofball highlight of the show comes in a "Jibboo" > "Wilson" -> "Jibboo" sandwich, which works more on audacity than on technical skill, but is still worth a listen for the uncharacteristic hard-rock "Jibboo" jam that eventually leads to the "Wilson" segue. "Jibboo" then ->s into "Heavy Things," which is an absolute '99-era barn-burner of a version. A surprisingly full "2001" and a standard-great "Slave" fill out the set. The "Jibboo" sandwich is a nice touch in this set, mixing some interesting jamming with straight-up goofiness. In any other set, it would seem a bit like a missed opportunity for a jaw-dropping segue, but following this "Tweezer," it hardly matters. The boys have already shown their chops, and they deserve to have a little fun.
"Sleeping Monkey" > "Tweeprise" close out the show.
Like I said above, there's a little bit of everything in this show. The first set is classic '09 first-set fare, and the second set is consistently good, and interesting. Tag on to that a great version of "Reba" and a legendary "Tweezer" and you've got a contender for the best show of late '09.
It's not my favorite of the year. It's not even my favorite of fall/NYE for sure, but it's one of the only late '09 shows I've heard so far (if not the only one) that's well-played throughout, features excellent song choices, willingness to push the edges of a jam, and a little Phish-y silliness all rolled into one. This kind of thing was coming along much more frequently than I expected during the summer and has now been coming along a lot less frequently than I expected during the fall. It's good to have a return to form, especially after the monumental bummer of 12/28.
The first frame is wall-to-wall goodness, and even manages to stretch beyond the usual set one limitations a bit. "Golgi" is a high energy opener that moves directly into "Maze," a surprise in the two-spot. This "Maze" is red-hot, especially Trey's sporadic, frenetic chording over Page's solo. "Driver" is a necessary cool-down after, and it's followed but a studio-perfect rendition of "The Connection." As I've mentioned before, I love me some live Undermind, and this scratches that itch with four or so minutes of precisely-played power-pop (alliteration!).
Next is a surprisingly-placed "Wolfman's" that slowly stretches toward a peak in the standard way, but with a little more fire than usual. At this point, for me, the energy was through the roof. So if there's one misstep in this set, it's the "Ocelot" that comes next. "Ocelot" already usually slows things down with its muddy, plodding tempo, but here, on the tails of an incendiary "Wolfman's," it's even more disappointing than usual. The boys are still exploring the song at this point, and Trey "whales" away on it for a few minutes before starting up "Reba."
"Reba" would be the show highlight were it not for the ridiculous "Tweezer" that comes along in the second set. This is my favorite "Reba" in awhile, and the only real memorable one I've heard so far in '09. It starts off with Trey soloing softly over really gorgeous flourishes from Page before building into a great melodic groove that features parallel playing from Trey and Page that produces a weird echo effect (forgive my lack of music theory knowledge). This lasts from about 9:00 to 10:30, and then we get a few minutes of building to a blistering peak. This one's a keeper.
"Access Me" and "Cavern" are both a bit rough at the end of the set, but they sandwich a great "Divided Sky," so you won't hear me complaining. In all, a great set with a few legitimately interesting musical moments and a lot of energy.
The second set opens with a standard take on "KDF" that slams right into the intro riff to "Tweezer." And this "Tweezer" is an absolute monster. In a year that featured a lot of fantastic "Tweezer"s, including even one at Hampton, this one might be my favorite. It starts off in an unusually slow tempo, which makes the early jam's foray into murky, burbling funk even more rewarding. Trey latches on to a blocky riff, and eventually the band starts a vocal jam built around it! From there, Trey maintains the riff, but he and Mike switch to spacier tones, changing the jam space, oddly, without changing the notes that they're playing. The effect is great. Delay loops (and a bit of "Dave's Energy Guide") feature shortly thereafter, and the whole thing eventually collapses beautifully into an ambient space. But this isn't just any '09 ambient space; instead, it's anchored by some gorgeous melodic bass playing from Mike, followed closely by Trey, who interweaves his notes with Mike's brilliantly. There really isn't a dull moment in this thing's 16-minute run time, and in that it recalls '13-era jams more than '09. But I'm glad it's here. The "Caspian" that follows it is more straightforward than I would have preferred, coalescing out of the Tweeze-murk as it does. But it's alright.
The goofball highlight of the show comes in a "Jibboo" > "Wilson" -> "Jibboo" sandwich, which works more on audacity than on technical skill, but is still worth a listen for the uncharacteristic hard-rock "Jibboo" jam that eventually leads to the "Wilson" segue. "Jibboo" then ->s into "Heavy Things," which is an absolute '99-era barn-burner of a version. A surprisingly full "2001" and a standard-great "Slave" fill out the set. The "Jibboo" sandwich is a nice touch in this set, mixing some interesting jamming with straight-up goofiness. In any other set, it would seem a bit like a missed opportunity for a jaw-dropping segue, but following this "Tweezer," it hardly matters. The boys have already shown their chops, and they deserve to have a little fun.
"Sleeping Monkey" > "Tweeprise" close out the show.
Like I said above, there's a little bit of everything in this show. The first set is classic '09 first-set fare, and the second set is consistently good, and interesting. Tag on to that a great version of "Reba" and a legendary "Tweezer" and you've got a contender for the best show of late '09.
Jan 21, 2014
2009-12-28 Miami I
A lot of real-world issues conspired to keep me away from concluding my reviews of fall tour '09 in a timely manner, but eventually I overcame all obstacles and plopped down in front of the Miami NYE run, the only time in the modern era the band has not played the last shows of the year at MSG. I was promptly greeted by a show, in 12/28, that was pretty underwhelming even by my already tepid fall '09 standards.
The show starts off promising enough, with a fiery "Sample" opener, followed by a high-energy "NICU" and a "My Soul" that is the most flawless take on the song that I've ever heard from the guys. Fourth is "Roggae," a song for which I'm pretty sure there is no bad version. Typically, I prefer a spacey and/or funky jam out of this song, and this one goes straight for the throat with big Trey-rock riffs, but there's nothing wrong with it if you're into that kind of thing. Average-great if you're not.
"Undermind" follows in the footsteps of the 11/29 version, with a big, chunky, clavinet-ful jam section. It's a bit shorter and a bit less inventive than its earlier cousin, but it fits well in the first half of this set. "Bouncing Around the Room" and "Poor Heart" are both great setlist choices in a set full of them, and they set up a long "Stash."
In a year full of great "Stash"s, this one just completely falls flat for me. It gets off to a good start, and at around 7:00 the jam moves into a neat, loop-filled space...but then it reverts back to the usual-type "Stash" jam. That is, until Trey just starts sort of hitting notes at random. This goes on for more or less the last four minutes of the jam, and while Mike tries to keep the madness boxed in with some clever basslines, it really doesn't help much. This is probably the most uncohesive, bizarre-sounding jam I've heard since I started listening to '09 tour, and it goes on way longer than it should have. This leads me to believe that maybe there's something to this jam that I'm just not hearing...but I've listened to it twice now and pretty much hated it both times. And it's not really a singular misfire, as this weirdness continues throughout the rest of the show.
The rest of the first set includes the final vacuum solo of the decade in "I Didn't Know," a "Beauty of a Broken Heart" that was clearly practiced during a band meeting that Trey wasn't invited to, and a standard "Possum." I love "BoaBH," but Trey absolutely mutilates this version. Between that and the "Stash" "jam," the second half of this set doesn't have much to recommend it, despite the strength of the first half.
The second set starts with a strong "Mike's" that features a dirtier-than-usual guitar tone from Trey and a > into "Light." The "Light" jam at first seems like it's going to go to the same random-notes place that the "Stash" jam visited previously, but at around 8:00, Trey finally gets into a groove and, chasing a fast, repetitive bass line from Mike, he helps string together a pretty interesting, minimalistically aggressive jam. The "Hydrogen" > "Groove" that follows doesn't blaze any new ground, but features Trey playing some pretty studio-flawless licks that is encouraging after the last 40 minutes or so of music.
There's not much to say about the middle of the set, but the "Makisupa" that kicks off the last third is a fun listen, with Trey putting Mike on the spot, which leads to a bass solo while the entire crowd chants "Mike! Mike! Mike!", then a "Mike's House" rap, and then, finally a clever key change that leads right into the "Hood" intro. The band follows up by playing a little bit with the usual "Hood" intro structure. The middle of the song veers a little too much into whale territory for my tastes, but it dissolves slowly into an ambient space that makes a nice, if odd > into "Contact."
Though it's nice to get a "First Tube" closer, it doesn't really lift what is for me a pretty unsatisfying show. Sure, the run of five or so songs that open the show flow really well and are a great set one listen, but when that's all you can say about a show, it's bound to be a bit disappointing. The "Mike's" > "Light" that opens the second set is interesting enough, but everything else is pretty standard. Pair that with some uncharacteristically shaky playing at random, surprisingly lengthy points throughout the show, and you'll be looking forward to 12/29 as a palate cleanser. I know I sure I am.
The show starts off promising enough, with a fiery "Sample" opener, followed by a high-energy "NICU" and a "My Soul" that is the most flawless take on the song that I've ever heard from the guys. Fourth is "Roggae," a song for which I'm pretty sure there is no bad version. Typically, I prefer a spacey and/or funky jam out of this song, and this one goes straight for the throat with big Trey-rock riffs, but there's nothing wrong with it if you're into that kind of thing. Average-great if you're not.
"Undermind" follows in the footsteps of the 11/29 version, with a big, chunky, clavinet-ful jam section. It's a bit shorter and a bit less inventive than its earlier cousin, but it fits well in the first half of this set. "Bouncing Around the Room" and "Poor Heart" are both great setlist choices in a set full of them, and they set up a long "Stash."
In a year full of great "Stash"s, this one just completely falls flat for me. It gets off to a good start, and at around 7:00 the jam moves into a neat, loop-filled space...but then it reverts back to the usual-type "Stash" jam. That is, until Trey just starts sort of hitting notes at random. This goes on for more or less the last four minutes of the jam, and while Mike tries to keep the madness boxed in with some clever basslines, it really doesn't help much. This is probably the most uncohesive, bizarre-sounding jam I've heard since I started listening to '09 tour, and it goes on way longer than it should have. This leads me to believe that maybe there's something to this jam that I'm just not hearing...but I've listened to it twice now and pretty much hated it both times. And it's not really a singular misfire, as this weirdness continues throughout the rest of the show.
The rest of the first set includes the final vacuum solo of the decade in "I Didn't Know," a "Beauty of a Broken Heart" that was clearly practiced during a band meeting that Trey wasn't invited to, and a standard "Possum." I love "BoaBH," but Trey absolutely mutilates this version. Between that and the "Stash" "jam," the second half of this set doesn't have much to recommend it, despite the strength of the first half.
The second set starts with a strong "Mike's" that features a dirtier-than-usual guitar tone from Trey and a > into "Light." The "Light" jam at first seems like it's going to go to the same random-notes place that the "Stash" jam visited previously, but at around 8:00, Trey finally gets into a groove and, chasing a fast, repetitive bass line from Mike, he helps string together a pretty interesting, minimalistically aggressive jam. The "Hydrogen" > "Groove" that follows doesn't blaze any new ground, but features Trey playing some pretty studio-flawless licks that is encouraging after the last 40 minutes or so of music.
There's not much to say about the middle of the set, but the "Makisupa" that kicks off the last third is a fun listen, with Trey putting Mike on the spot, which leads to a bass solo while the entire crowd chants "Mike! Mike! Mike!", then a "Mike's House" rap, and then, finally a clever key change that leads right into the "Hood" intro. The band follows up by playing a little bit with the usual "Hood" intro structure. The middle of the song veers a little too much into whale territory for my tastes, but it dissolves slowly into an ambient space that makes a nice, if odd > into "Contact."
Though it's nice to get a "First Tube" closer, it doesn't really lift what is for me a pretty unsatisfying show. Sure, the run of five or so songs that open the show flow really well and are a great set one listen, but when that's all you can say about a show, it's bound to be a bit disappointing. The "Mike's" > "Light" that opens the second set is interesting enough, but everything else is pretty standard. Pair that with some uncharacteristically shaky playing at random, surprisingly lengthy points throughout the show, and you'll be looking forward to 12/29 as a palate cleanser. I know I sure I am.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)