Ugh. These last few shows have been the blandest stretch of Phish since I started listening for the purposes of reviewing shows on this blog. After a pretty bang-up end to Summer Tour '09, I'd hoped that momentum would carry over into big things for the fall. Maybe there's just a lot of rust to knock off or something, but things just aren't clicking along at the level that they were for, say, Red Rocks, or the Gorge, or the last few shows of summer. And besides, the band was knocking of five years of rust at Hampton, and so far I prefer that run to anything in Fall '09, honestly.
Again, it's not that much has been bad (more on that in a minute), it's just boring. Much like the Western conception of society, I like to work on the assumption that Phish is always innovating, always improving, always progressing. There will be parts of each era that are worth listening to on their own, but they'll always also be stepping-stones to future greatness. This feels like whatever the opposite of greatness is, minus the zaniness that rescued many a shitty show in 1.0 and the sheer experience and musicianship that rescued many a shitty show in 2.0. I can't even say "At least Phish is back!" because they've been back now almost as long as they were gone.
Anyway, I'm pretty bummed about Fall '09 so far. Except for that second set of 11/20. Holy shit.
Nonetheless, watch me tread my way through 11/22!
Well, there's a "Bowie" opener, which keeps up with the run's "Setlist surprises but no interesting jamming" theme. It's a pretty standard version, and the transition into the ending gets flubbed pretty badly, and while I'm not a huge stickler for missed notes, especially post-'94 or so, when you miss that incredible, fist-pumping transition into the closing "Bowie" riff, it hurts me right in the heart because it's always so good when it works.
"Julius" has a little extra heat on it for this run-through, and "Boogie On" features the usual excellent Mike-centric parts. "Beauty of a Broken Heart" is a great tune, and it's good to see it pop up. Largely, though, the first set goes by without anything of note. Incidentally, it should be illegal to play "Heavy Things" without the guitar loop. I mean, really.
"Stash" is actually a great version, continuing 11/21's tradition of a boring first set with one absolute monster of a jam. The jam style is pretty standard, but it's a perfectly executed loooooong build in tension, with a blistering release at the end.
That's really the last we see of Trey, though, until the end of the second set. A few songs in the second set, depending on your preferences, either Could Be Standout Versions If Trey Had Played On Them or Are Standout Versions Because Trey Stays In The Background.
The "Drowned" > "Twist" > "Piper" > "BBFCFM" run would probably seem great if I wasn't a little burnt out on the stereotypical '09 jamming style. "Drowned" features a nice little rock and roll jam for the opening few minutes, and then, literally as I said out loud "here comes the space-funk part," the band transitioned into a spacier segment with Trey strumming the usual funk chords over Page's organ. Then, of course, we have the ambient melt-down at the end, that's also predictable at this point. The most interesting bits of this jam are the ones where Mike takes over and drives the band in some interesting directions briefly. "Twist" features a mellow jam that's also Mike- and Page-led, with Trey sticking to the background still (since pretty much the 7:00 or so mark in "Drowned"), and while the band sounds sort of incomplete this way, the results are, at least, interesting. Toward the end, the jam implodes (in a good way) a la 11/21's "Rock and Roll" and segues into "Piper" which, again, shines in its last few minutes as Mike takes the lead with a ridiculous driving bass riff the Page plays off of to perfection.
"BBFCFM" is funny, including some Trey-speak regarding Fishman and Fishman's dad's dental patients, "Maze" is pretty much Trey-less, which allows Page to shine even more than usual, and a few of the late songs "Theme," "GTBT" could have been good versions, but they're so filled with Trey's missed notes that it really takes you out of the song.
At this point, I'm sort of feeling like I'm writing just to write, and I imagine you got the picture already: I didn't much like this show. I like the opening segment of the second set because it's weird but it's not necessarily anything you haven't heard before if you've listened to the tour up to this point. The "Stash" is pretty impeccably played, but we're also in the middle of a year when you could hit Shuffle on a playlist of every song since Hampton and land on an amazing "Stash" in a few clicks. So. Hrm.
Here's hoping for more variation (both from me and the band) with 11/24.
Oct 10, 2013
Oct 8, 2013
2009-11-21 Cincinnati, OH II
Well, after 11/20's stellar second set, I was really looking forward to diving into this show. Apparently, this run is widely considered a jewel of the 2009 Fall Tour...but I must just be in a curmudgeonly mood because really only 1 of the run's 4 sets seems worth talking about at all to me. That's my long way of saying 11/21 is in the running for the Least Interesting Show of 2009.
As I feel like I'm often saying about shows like this, it's not bad, per se, and there aren't really any cringeworthy moments or blood-boiling ripcords. It's just boring. Some great setlist calls ease the pain a bit, but these are all novelties more than they are legitimate points of interest.
Anyway, here's my shitty, bitter response to 11/21. Yeah!
Now maybe I've been listening to too much '12 and '13 Phish lately, but Fall '09 first sets have seemed really stale, generally speaking. I'm not looking for a first set to do much other than be fun, but a lot of these first sets so far do feel a bit like that "nostalgia band" thing everyone was whining about when Phish first got back together. Obviously, at this point in Phish history, there's no real way to make a case that the guys are creatively stagnant. Summer '09 even made this seem like a laughable claim. Fall '09 first sets, though, are starting to sound like a really technically proficient cover band to me.
In this set we get "NICU," a melodically pretty "Wolfman's," "Torn and Frayed," "Strange Design," "Ginseng Sullivan," "Albuquerque," and "Dirt." It's like the band decided to play an entire set of great, rarely-played, five-minute-or-less songs. Had I been at this concert as part of a run, I probably would have loved this (BGCA2's first set from this year comes to mind as a similar situation). However, on tape I don't know why I need to hear more standard versions of these songs not really broken by anything.
But then there's the "Melt." If there's anything that comes close to redeeming this snoozefest of a show, it's this first set "Melt." The jam starts very Trey-led, with an almost blissful, slow feel to it as opposed to the usual frenzied pace of "Melt" jams. Things start to get atonal at about the 10:00 mark, and eventually degenerate to the point that Trey is playing with a really interesting dissonant tone and style by 11:30 and the rest of the band is following suit on a really unique descent into madness. Shortly after, there's a return to the usual "Melt" riff, but man, this is a keeper of a jam. In fact, it's probably the only thing I'm keeping for my highlight reel mixtape from this show.
The second set starts promisingly enough with "Rock and Roll" and some solid Trey Shreds (TM) action, but it soon dissolves into the standard '09-era jam template. Maybe I'm just too far into '09 at this point and I'm over-jammed, or maybe it was reading this piece from Miner the other day, but I'm getting sick of the whole Rock Guitar Solo > Minimalist Funk > Ambient Breakdown thing that happens during every jam. During the summer it was fresh, and the band played through jams like they felt like it was fresh. Now, we've heard the same thing about 20 times, the band seems like they're sort of bored but sticking to the template for safety's sake, and as a result "Rock and Roll" is boring.
"Ghost" sticks to a typical Type 1 script, and though solid versions of "Suzy" and "Sleeping Monkey" happen later in the set, there's really nothing to recommend from this frame, honestly.
Got my fingers crossed for Syracuse, though I'm about halfway through the first set, and despite a surprise "Bowie" opener and some seriously good Mike Gordon action just in general, it seems like another short-hits-slog. Hrm.
As I feel like I'm often saying about shows like this, it's not bad, per se, and there aren't really any cringeworthy moments or blood-boiling ripcords. It's just boring. Some great setlist calls ease the pain a bit, but these are all novelties more than they are legitimate points of interest.
Anyway, here's my shitty, bitter response to 11/21. Yeah!
Now maybe I've been listening to too much '12 and '13 Phish lately, but Fall '09 first sets have seemed really stale, generally speaking. I'm not looking for a first set to do much other than be fun, but a lot of these first sets so far do feel a bit like that "nostalgia band" thing everyone was whining about when Phish first got back together. Obviously, at this point in Phish history, there's no real way to make a case that the guys are creatively stagnant. Summer '09 even made this seem like a laughable claim. Fall '09 first sets, though, are starting to sound like a really technically proficient cover band to me.
In this set we get "NICU," a melodically pretty "Wolfman's," "Torn and Frayed," "Strange Design," "Ginseng Sullivan," "Albuquerque," and "Dirt." It's like the band decided to play an entire set of great, rarely-played, five-minute-or-less songs. Had I been at this concert as part of a run, I probably would have loved this (BGCA2's first set from this year comes to mind as a similar situation). However, on tape I don't know why I need to hear more standard versions of these songs not really broken by anything.
But then there's the "Melt." If there's anything that comes close to redeeming this snoozefest of a show, it's this first set "Melt." The jam starts very Trey-led, with an almost blissful, slow feel to it as opposed to the usual frenzied pace of "Melt" jams. Things start to get atonal at about the 10:00 mark, and eventually degenerate to the point that Trey is playing with a really interesting dissonant tone and style by 11:30 and the rest of the band is following suit on a really unique descent into madness. Shortly after, there's a return to the usual "Melt" riff, but man, this is a keeper of a jam. In fact, it's probably the only thing I'm keeping for my highlight reel mixtape from this show.
The second set starts promisingly enough with "Rock and Roll" and some solid Trey Shreds (TM) action, but it soon dissolves into the standard '09-era jam template. Maybe I'm just too far into '09 at this point and I'm over-jammed, or maybe it was reading this piece from Miner the other day, but I'm getting sick of the whole Rock Guitar Solo > Minimalist Funk > Ambient Breakdown thing that happens during every jam. During the summer it was fresh, and the band played through jams like they felt like it was fresh. Now, we've heard the same thing about 20 times, the band seems like they're sort of bored but sticking to the template for safety's sake, and as a result "Rock and Roll" is boring.
"Ghost" sticks to a typical Type 1 script, and though solid versions of "Suzy" and "Sleeping Monkey" happen later in the set, there's really nothing to recommend from this frame, honestly.
Got my fingers crossed for Syracuse, though I'm about halfway through the first set, and despite a surprise "Bowie" opener and some seriously good Mike Gordon action just in general, it seems like another short-hits-slog. Hrm.
Oct 1, 2013
2009-11-20 Cincinnati, OH I
After hearing an above-average show get derailed by weird setlist choices in Detroit, I wasn't exactly thrilled when the band's first of two nights in Cincy opened with one of the strangest first sets I've come across in awhile. Luckily, this show's excellent second set more than makes up for its opening idiosyncrasy.
As I've been fond of pointing out in the past, while I love Phish's more intricate composed works in theory, hearing 3 or 4 of them in one show (or even just 2, sometimes) really throws things off for me. So I was ready to be displeased when I looked at the setlist for 11/20 and saw "Divided Sky," "TTE," "Fluffhead," and "YEM" all in the same show.
Things start with sloppy but energetic readings of "Chalkdust" and "Moma," and then, honestly, the rest of the first set passes more or less as you'd imagine it would based on the setlist. There's a little bit of noodly fun in "Jibboo" and "FEFY" is a nice (and nicely-played) surprise, but otherwise there's nothing here that you can't hear on a million other Phish recordings. This is probably my shortest-ever first set review, but there it is.
The second set stumbles out of the gate with a sloppy take on "PYITE," and at this point I was clicking through to the setlist for the next few shows, looking for a light at the end of the tunnel...when this "Tweezer" just exploded right in my damn face. This is an amazing version in a year full of amazing versions; I'd be willing to put it up there with the best summer takes. At this point in the show, Trey gets very "riffy." That is, he starts channeling that amazing power he has of picking an excellent riff up out of nowhere and leading the rest of the band into a great jam space based on that riff. This happens once at around 5:45 and happens again at 8:30, with the help of a heavily distorted, fuzzy tone that lends a little extra oomph to this space-funk romp. The band takes a left turn into pure space for the last minute or so of the song, but unlike the typical Summer '09 ambient meltdown/segue, this one has a little more momentum as Fishman keeps things rolling. This sets up a nice segue into a short "Light," which morphs in turn into "BOTT" slowly and sublimely. The take on this song is extra-short, but that's okay because it changes into "Possum" seamlessly and on a dime and this "Possum" is just absolutely incendiary. We get a bit of a breather with an average-great "Slave," and then one of my favorite "YEM"s in awhile hits. The composed sections are played almost perfectly and with serious verve, and the jam goes minimalist-funk, recalling the set's earlier "Tweezer," just without the distortion. Trey latches on to another great riff here and the band follows him for a few minutes, setting up a vocal jam wherein all four members harmonize on the guitar riff for a few more minutes. It's one of those perfectly clever Phish moments that made me sit back for a minute, listen, and grin, even in the middle of a long day at work. The set sputters to an end on "Joy" and "Golgi" fumes, but it's one of my favorite '09 Phish second sets in awhile. If you can handle a pretty standard take on "Slave" (and I love the song, so I can), 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, not "just for '09," but for any year. Definitely worth a few listens.
Song choices for 11/21 look amazing. Looking forward to it.
As I've been fond of pointing out in the past, while I love Phish's more intricate composed works in theory, hearing 3 or 4 of them in one show (or even just 2, sometimes) really throws things off for me. So I was ready to be displeased when I looked at the setlist for 11/20 and saw "Divided Sky," "TTE," "Fluffhead," and "YEM" all in the same show.
Things start with sloppy but energetic readings of "Chalkdust" and "Moma," and then, honestly, the rest of the first set passes more or less as you'd imagine it would based on the setlist. There's a little bit of noodly fun in "Jibboo" and "FEFY" is a nice (and nicely-played) surprise, but otherwise there's nothing here that you can't hear on a million other Phish recordings. This is probably my shortest-ever first set review, but there it is.
The second set stumbles out of the gate with a sloppy take on "PYITE," and at this point I was clicking through to the setlist for the next few shows, looking for a light at the end of the tunnel...when this "Tweezer" just exploded right in my damn face. This is an amazing version in a year full of amazing versions; I'd be willing to put it up there with the best summer takes. At this point in the show, Trey gets very "riffy." That is, he starts channeling that amazing power he has of picking an excellent riff up out of nowhere and leading the rest of the band into a great jam space based on that riff. This happens once at around 5:45 and happens again at 8:30, with the help of a heavily distorted, fuzzy tone that lends a little extra oomph to this space-funk romp. The band takes a left turn into pure space for the last minute or so of the song, but unlike the typical Summer '09 ambient meltdown/segue, this one has a little more momentum as Fishman keeps things rolling. This sets up a nice segue into a short "Light," which morphs in turn into "BOTT" slowly and sublimely. The take on this song is extra-short, but that's okay because it changes into "Possum" seamlessly and on a dime and this "Possum" is just absolutely incendiary. We get a bit of a breather with an average-great "Slave," and then one of my favorite "YEM"s in awhile hits. The composed sections are played almost perfectly and with serious verve, and the jam goes minimalist-funk, recalling the set's earlier "Tweezer," just without the distortion. Trey latches on to another great riff here and the band follows him for a few minutes, setting up a vocal jam wherein all four members harmonize on the guitar riff for a few more minutes. It's one of those perfectly clever Phish moments that made me sit back for a minute, listen, and grin, even in the middle of a long day at work. The set sputters to an end on "Joy" and "Golgi" fumes, but it's one of my favorite '09 Phish second sets in awhile. If you can handle a pretty standard take on "Slave" (and I love the song, so I can), 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, not "just for '09," but for any year. Definitely worth a few listens.
Song choices for 11/21 look amazing. Looking forward to it.
Sep 11, 2013
2009-11-18 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI
Hey hey, everybody! It's my first review from the new house in Klamath Falls, Oregon! Moving was, surprisingly, a blast, and settling in has been even more fun. Lots of hiking and biking and good food to be had. Best, though, was (obviously) getting to see eight Phish shows back-to-back in the flesh over late July and early August. But I haven't really collected my thoughts on that pulsating mass of musical goddamn brilliance yet (the Tahoe Tweezer alone deserves a few blog posts), so I'm get back on the train, as it were, and start reviewing the Fall 2009 arena tour!
Before getting into the gritty details, I'll apologize in advance for the increasing lack of videos in these posts, and the posts to come in the future. One of the things that really inspired me to get started on this blog was mkdevo's YouTube channel, which made available just about every highlight of 3.0 in wonderful video quality. I loved the idea of writing reviews but being able to break up the walls of text by including video of the best bits of each show, and his channel (and others like it, to a lesser degree) made that possible. As you likely know, said channel was shut down by Phish, Inc. awhile back, and so now there are much fewer videos available to link to. When possible, I'll still try to include a highlight here or there, but for the most part, I'm now stuck putting out the "wall of text" by default. Phishtracks is a great resource, and I plan to use it as much as possible...but yeah. It's a shitty situation. Anyway, sorry for the lack of moving pictures (and probably a lot of dead video links now in my older reviews). It sucks.
11/18 is a flat-out rocker almost all the way through, with a few surprisingly solid jams sprinkled into the batter. It's derailed a bit by some seriously weird setlist choices (though 11/20 has it beat by far for early Weirdest Setlist of Tour), which slow things down at just the wrong moment, a few times. Though it's not near as good as some of the best late Summer '09 shows, the boys' enthusiasm is infectious and Cobo works great as a solid tour opener.
Things kick off with a "Bag" that features a more melodic and varied Trey solo than usual, culminating in an a full-out rock-out that carries on into "Foam" and "Stealing Time." This opening trifecta is the first of a number of blasts of high-energy rock that characterize the majority of this show. "Bouncing" slows things down necessarily, but it's a small speed bump en route to high-energy versions of "Sample" and "Kill Devil Falls." Lest you think this first set is all about the rock, though, a well-played version of "It's Ice" and an electric take of Fest 8 standout "Mountains in the Mist" cool things down a bit, but in a satisfying way. "46 Days" is the clear winner in this set, cranking the rock back up for a few minutes but then dissolving, not in the usual '09 ambient noise-wall, but an interesting and multilayered plinko-type jam that segues slowly into the opening of "Bowie." This version won't win any awards, but it's a solidly-played first set closer. Aside from the "46 Days," there's nothing in this set to sink your teeth into, but for the first set of tour, it's a high energy affair and gets things started with a bang, a few oddly-placed slower songs notwithstanding.
The setlist weirdness gets more extreme in the second set, but there are some great moments here, too. The opening "Jim" is an ante-up on the first set's rock vibe, all Trey guitar pyrotechnics and trilling and whatnot. The "Disease" that follows seems primed for a major-key noodling explosion, but at about the 9:00 mark, things get strange and the jam that follows is full of bizarre modulations and eastern-sounding scales. It's a melange of a few of the jamming styles the band was playing with early in the year, and as unique as it is, it's over way too fast after about five minutes. Definitely the show highlight, though, and one I'll be keeping in the back of my head as a measuring stick as the fall tour rolls on. There's a neat segue into "Free," but in my opinion, "DWD" -> "Free" has never worked as well since "Free" has become a Mike vehicle. If you're going to segue into it out of a huge jam, you've gotta have that fiery riff exploding to the fore right away, especially at a show like this where Trey has dominated the tone of most songs. I love the idea of this pairing, but there's a big difference between the old "Free" and the new one, and it's most obvious at moments like this.
Setlist head-scratching begins in earnest soon after "Free," with a wonderfully discordant, bizarro-world take on "Taste" surrounded by "Waste," "Bug," and "Wading." I love each of these songs, but as three of a four-song pack? Late in a second set? No thanks.
The guys seemingly try to reclaim the lost energy they were easily summoning for much of the show with a late Mike's Groove, complete with "Hydrogen," but it's a pretty standard take all the way around. There's a really globular "Zero" to close, and the enthusiasm's definitely still there after a few hours of music, but this feels through and through like an tour-opening show: all energy and no exploration. The show borders on being one of those rare post-95 instances where the rock-and-roll fire just blazes nonstop for 150 minutes, making up for the fact that none of the songs are really "going anywhere." But some weird setlist choices rob the music of its momentum a few times, most noticeably in the middle of the second set. Cobo's just fine, but unless you have a hankering for yet another mostly energetic, technically well-played Phish show, you can just check out the "46 Days" and "Disease" and move on happily.
Before getting into the gritty details, I'll apologize in advance for the increasing lack of videos in these posts, and the posts to come in the future. One of the things that really inspired me to get started on this blog was mkdevo's YouTube channel, which made available just about every highlight of 3.0 in wonderful video quality. I loved the idea of writing reviews but being able to break up the walls of text by including video of the best bits of each show, and his channel (and others like it, to a lesser degree) made that possible. As you likely know, said channel was shut down by Phish, Inc. awhile back, and so now there are much fewer videos available to link to. When possible, I'll still try to include a highlight here or there, but for the most part, I'm now stuck putting out the "wall of text" by default. Phishtracks is a great resource, and I plan to use it as much as possible...but yeah. It's a shitty situation. Anyway, sorry for the lack of moving pictures (and probably a lot of dead video links now in my older reviews). It sucks.
That said, on with the show(s)!
11/18 is a flat-out rocker almost all the way through, with a few surprisingly solid jams sprinkled into the batter. It's derailed a bit by some seriously weird setlist choices (though 11/20 has it beat by far for early Weirdest Setlist of Tour), which slow things down at just the wrong moment, a few times. Though it's not near as good as some of the best late Summer '09 shows, the boys' enthusiasm is infectious and Cobo works great as a solid tour opener.
Things kick off with a "Bag" that features a more melodic and varied Trey solo than usual, culminating in an a full-out rock-out that carries on into "Foam" and "Stealing Time." This opening trifecta is the first of a number of blasts of high-energy rock that characterize the majority of this show. "Bouncing" slows things down necessarily, but it's a small speed bump en route to high-energy versions of "Sample" and "Kill Devil Falls." Lest you think this first set is all about the rock, though, a well-played version of "It's Ice" and an electric take of Fest 8 standout "Mountains in the Mist" cool things down a bit, but in a satisfying way. "46 Days" is the clear winner in this set, cranking the rock back up for a few minutes but then dissolving, not in the usual '09 ambient noise-wall, but an interesting and multilayered plinko-type jam that segues slowly into the opening of "Bowie." This version won't win any awards, but it's a solidly-played first set closer. Aside from the "46 Days," there's nothing in this set to sink your teeth into, but for the first set of tour, it's a high energy affair and gets things started with a bang, a few oddly-placed slower songs notwithstanding.
The setlist weirdness gets more extreme in the second set, but there are some great moments here, too. The opening "Jim" is an ante-up on the first set's rock vibe, all Trey guitar pyrotechnics and trilling and whatnot. The "Disease" that follows seems primed for a major-key noodling explosion, but at about the 9:00 mark, things get strange and the jam that follows is full of bizarre modulations and eastern-sounding scales. It's a melange of a few of the jamming styles the band was playing with early in the year, and as unique as it is, it's over way too fast after about five minutes. Definitely the show highlight, though, and one I'll be keeping in the back of my head as a measuring stick as the fall tour rolls on. There's a neat segue into "Free," but in my opinion, "DWD" -> "Free" has never worked as well since "Free" has become a Mike vehicle. If you're going to segue into it out of a huge jam, you've gotta have that fiery riff exploding to the fore right away, especially at a show like this where Trey has dominated the tone of most songs. I love the idea of this pairing, but there's a big difference between the old "Free" and the new one, and it's most obvious at moments like this.
Setlist head-scratching begins in earnest soon after "Free," with a wonderfully discordant, bizarro-world take on "Taste" surrounded by "Waste," "Bug," and "Wading." I love each of these songs, but as three of a four-song pack? Late in a second set? No thanks.
The guys seemingly try to reclaim the lost energy they were easily summoning for much of the show with a late Mike's Groove, complete with "Hydrogen," but it's a pretty standard take all the way around. There's a really globular "Zero" to close, and the enthusiasm's definitely still there after a few hours of music, but this feels through and through like an tour-opening show: all energy and no exploration. The show borders on being one of those rare post-95 instances where the rock-and-roll fire just blazes nonstop for 150 minutes, making up for the fact that none of the songs are really "going anywhere." But some weird setlist choices rob the music of its momentum a few times, most noticeably in the middle of the second set. Cobo's just fine, but unless you have a hankering for yet another mostly energetic, technically well-played Phish show, you can just check out the "46 Days" and "Disease" and move on happily.
Aug 10, 2013
I'm Still Alive...
In case anyone out there in the internet-aether was wondering, I'm still alive and haven't given up on my Phish 3.0 reviewing project. I spent a lot of June getting ready to move from Washington to Oregon with the missus and start a new job, then the beginning of July actually moving and settling into our new place. Then I was lucky enough to be able to do the entire west coast summer run in person and just got back from the Hollywood Bowl a few days ago. After the absolutely incredible level of playing I witnesses over eight nights, it's honestly difficult to go back and listen to, well, really, anything the band played prior to this last month (except maybe some '97 funk or '99 space). I just keep listening to the last eight shows on repeat and haven't had much time for anything else.
Anyway, I'll likely write up my thoughts (briefly soon, and then later on on a per-show basis in detail). Those'll go up on my other blog but'll also likely end up here and on phish.net. Then I'll get back to reviewing 2009, starting with 11/18!
Anyway, I'll likely write up my thoughts (briefly soon, and then later on on a per-show basis in detail). Those'll go up on my other blog but'll also likely end up here and on phish.net. Then I'll get back to reviewing 2009, starting with 11/18!
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