The Verdict:
This was the last show pre-Dick's that I caught this year, and though from a "just the music" standpoint, it's a little disappointing after the madness that was Shoreline S2, the energy in The Forum was incredible and it's an average-great show for 2015, which still means it's a pretty amazing listen.
Like many of the average-for-'15 S1s this year, this opening frame is strong on the ends and sags a bit in the middle. The first two songs are a shot of pure adrenaline and, for my money, Trey nails the "WAN" solo, making this one of my favorite versions of a song that I'm apparently in a small minority for really enjoying when it's placed correctly. "Heavy Things," "LxL," and "Ya Mar" are all strong versions, but let's face it, most people are going to see this part of the set as a downshift at this point in 3.0. The bar is just too high. The set ends nicely, though, with a great segue between "Fuego" and "Walls" and Trey absolutely taking "Walls" to town.
Like Shoreline, S2 starts with a new song going deep on its second-ever playthrough. This time it's "No Men," and though nothing really interesting happens until after the vocal refrain, there's a great loop-heavy funk jamlet to be had at that point. It almost seems like there's going to be a -> "Ghost," but instead the band drops into "Carini." "Carini" is interesting, but doesn't go long as Trey hits upon a slow transition to "Tweezer" that's just too good to pass up. The bummer in this show (if there is one) is that after a great start to a broken-down "Tweezer" jam that features Trey trading licks with Mike as the rest of the band drops out completely (a rarity), is that when they come back from the break down, Trey hits on a "MFMF"-like riff, which triggers another early segue.The most notable jam of the night might actually come from the "Roggae," which features a lot of the usual delicate interplay, but builds to a powerful peak, a bit unexpectedly.
The "YEM" encore features more Trey/Mike interplay, most notably Trey stacking his guitar on top of Mike's bass from behind and the two of them dancing around while playing like some weird two-headed guitar monster.
It's that kind of show. In 2015, it's a bit of a bummer to have a show that doesn't feature either a) a monster jam or b) a series of interesting smaller jams. On the other hand, the energy across this show is remarkable, the string of segues in the second set is smooth, and that encore is just hilarious.
The Live Review:
7/25/15: Love the Martian Monster opener.
7/25/15: Forum crowd lost it when Page started the sound sample.
7/25/15: DWD next.
7/25/15: Trey locked on a really cool riff @ 6 minutes.
7/25/15: Electric Type I jam in DWD, return to the outro.
7/25/15: Waiting All Night. Rough start w/ vocals.
7/25/15: Fantastic WAN solo from Trey.
7/25/15: Heavy Things w/ extended Page organ solo. Love it.
7/25/15: Short but great take on Heavy Things. Axila I next.
7/25/15: Rough take on 555 follows.
7/25/15: Some great Page/Trey interplay during this Limb By Limb.
7/25/15: Great guitar/piano peak to end the jam. Short but sweet.
7/25/15: S1 sags a bit in the middle, but LxL especially and Ya Mar are really strong takes. Fuego coming now.
7/25/15: Neat piano-only outro from Fuego leads to a great > Walls segue.
7/25/15: HUGE Walls from Trey to close S1. Holy crap.
7/25/15: S2 opens w/ No Men.
7/25/15: Really driving, rock Type I jam so far. Trey building tension.
7/25/15: Returning a bit to the funk feel now.
7/25/15: Vocal refrain now.
7/25/15: Like other versions, there's a second jam after the last refrain. Loops.
7/25/15: Didn't notice at the show, but it almost sounds like Trey is trying to -> Ghost at the end of this jam.
7/25/15: It doesn't really go anywhere, though, and the jam fizzles out. > Carini.
7/25/15: More great Trey/Page action during this Carini jam.
7/25/15: Great, interesting Carini jam, and too short by far...BUT. That slow segue into Tweezer was just fantastic.
7/25/15: Neat, broken-down Tweezer jam. Don't hear that very often. Getting softer and bluesier. -> Twist would have been great here.
7/25/15: Now moving to a more chordy, blissful build.
7/25/15: Trey makes a nice segue into MFMF from the Tweezer jam, but loses the rest of the band along the way.
7/25/15: Another neat piano outro for MFMF. > Roggae.
7/25/15: You know how sometimes your brain just decides on alternate lyrics for a song and then you can't stop thinking of it that way?
7/25/15: At some point, for me, the lyrics to Roggae became 'If life were easy and not so fast, I wouldn't have to kick your ass.'
7/25/15: I have no idea why.
7/25/15: I love Roggae.
7/25/15: This is a great version, too. Great build to a peak (which they've been doing more lately), and return to the outro.
7/25/15: Wish I could be happy just hearing great #phish songs at the show, instead of just thinking 'THIS HAD BETTER LAST FOR 20 MINUTES'
7/25/15: Here comes that Number Line you've been feeling looming over you all set.
7/25/15: That Number Line was above-average-rockin' tho.
7/25/15: Slave to close the set.
7/25/15: Massive peak at the end of a really nice build in Slave.
7/25/15: I realize that that can technically describe any Slave, but this one was especially good.
7/25/15: YEM encore is a great call.
7/25/15: Especially appreciated this call at the time to cap off my four-show run.
7/25/15: Trey struggling mightily with the opening arpeggios, though.
7/25/15: This was the YEM with the two-headed guitar/bass monster.
7/25/15: Even without the visual of the guitar monster, this YEM is badass on the SBD.
7/25/15: YEM ends show. Despite a great show, still a little sad that wasn't YEM > Tweeprise. Would've blown off the roof.
Sep 9, 2015
2015-07-24 Shoreline Amphitheater
The Verdict:
This was my 25th show, and it unseated last year's Eugene show as my all-time favorite pretty much as I was walking back to the car through the gates of Shoreline. After seeing Dick's 3 last weekend, it's a toss-up as to whether this show or that one is the newest all-time best, but that's an argument for a later review. For now, suffice to say that this is a fantastic show, and one of the best in a long, long time. It's also the beginning of this summer's trend of lots of S2 jamming spread out over a number of sub-20-minute songs instead of a focus on creating one 20-25 minute opus and then stumbling to the finish line with standard playing for the remaining 50 minutes of the show as we've seen so frequently since 2009.
Not saying by any means that that latter approach is a bad thing (Tahoe Tweezer, Miami Disease, I'm looking at you), but obviously this new approach has really paid dividends during this tour. I don't think anybody's going to argue with me about that.
Anyway, the show. The first set is pretty standard, and honestly this is what probably keeps this show from being considered in the absolute upper echelon of '15 shows (including ones I didn't see). I really like the new, slower "Yarmouth" arrangement and think it allows Trey especially to do a better job on a great song. This was the first time I heard it played this way. Also, the "Reba" is incredible, showcasing '15 Trey's fantastic melodic chops.
The second set is just pure destruction. There's no other way to put it. The second-ever "Blaze On" immediately goes into loop-driven terrain and after a lyrical reprise there's a darkness jam that sets up "Twist." "Twist" starts off similar to the Bend "Simple" before moving seamlessly into bliss territory for its last few minutes. "Light" is the third jam of the trifecta and best of the three, returning to the "Blaze On" jam's territory and infusing a bit of "Manteca" into the mix before landing in perhaps the first-ever not-buzzkill "Joy." The "Hood" features an angry Type II blues jam of its own (as if the first 45 minutes of the set wasn't good enough) before exploding into its peak. "Cavern" technically ends the set, but who cares? This shit is perfect. I like to pretend that the "Zero" encore is just a joke being played on me personally. Sure, let's play the best show ever, but open with "The Line" and close with "Character Zero, lol."
Here, just watch the "Twist" > "Light" and thank Phish afterward:
The Live Review:
7/24/15: Cracks me up that a show this good starts with The Line.
7/24/15: Trey is pretty messy here with the outro solo. I like The Line, but this version is not the best.
7/24/15: Hooray for Moma, the quintessential 'reset button' song.
7/24/15: KDF in the three-spot, and after a few flubs, Trey is starting to sound like '15 Trey again.
7/24/15: Slow take on Yarmouth Road. Funkier. Good. Trey takes a longer solo than usual before the bridge lyrics.
7/24/15: I really like that version of Yarmouth. Tempo suits the song, and two actually solid solos from Trey, one in an unexpected spot.
7/24/15: Undermind next.
7/24/15: Undermind, Free, both pretty standard. I remember this Reba as being pretty great, though.
7/24/15: Yeah, this is great. Really intentionally melodic throughout.
7/24/15: Yeah, that was a keeper, though they pretty badly biffed the whistling ending. 46 Days to close the set.
7/24/15: 46 Days seems faster than usual.
7/24/15: Okay, here comes the good stuff.
7/24/15: Blaze On S2 opener.
7/24/15: This is a damn catchy song. Can't wait to hear a studio version.
7/24/15: Trey soloing starts off strong, starts turning into something resembling an Undermind jam.
7/24/15: Descending riff now from Trey. Loops on in background.
7/24/15: Lyrical refrain about 11 minutes in. Song keeps rolling afterward.
7/24/15: Immediately into space after the refrain. Loops and electric piano.
7/24/15: Love that it's the second-ever version of the song and it's already going into darkness jam territory.
7/24/15: Trey's solo here sort of reminds me of that Blossom Number Line jam I love so much.
7/24/15: I guess maybe not the solo so much as the tone.
7/24/15: > Twist.
7/24/15: Trey with the grungy tone from the Bend Simple already at the 4 minute mark.
7/24/15: So far (9 minutes), we haven't technically departed from Type I, but they've been banging at the edges of the box for awhile now.
7/24/15: And suddenly we're in a really beautiful bliss jam. How the fuck did that even happen?!
7/24/15: Bliss jam peaking in a big way.
7/24/15: Weird, evil piano from Page after the peak. > Light.
7/24/15: Transition out of the usual arpeggio-based jam at 730. Chords from Trey. Could almost be continuation of the Blaze On jam.
7/24/15: Funny how often Light jams end up circling Manteca.
7/24/15: Awesome transition to a new space at 930. Crowd cheers audible on the SBD.
7/24/15: Definitely Blaze On-esque progression and beat here.
7/24/15: This is even more awesome than I remember. I remembered like the Twist the best, but Light jam is incredible.
7/24/15: Really just the effect of the first 45 minutes of the set being jamming was jaw-dropping overall.
7/24/15: Not to mention getting a jammed-out Blaze On and the Twist jam I'd been expecting since summer '14.
7/24/15: Trey teases Twist quickly before moving into Joy.
7/24/15: Not ashamed to say I love this Joy. So cathartic in that crowd after the previous 45 minutes.
7/24/15: Sure, the Blaze On > Twist > Light was great, but what really cemented this set for me was
that Hood was the song they chose...
7/24/15: ...to wrap it all up. Probably my favorite song and a much better exclamation point in my situations, imho, than YEM or Fluff.
7/24/15: *most*
7/24/15: This one isn't a bad version, either. Lots of slow building, with some angry, almost bluesy leads at times from Trey.
7/24/15: Bass bombs from Mike. Almost a Floyd-like feeling to it at this point.
7/24/15: Everyone but Fish drops out after angry jam and then comes back in with the Hood outro build. Wow.
7/24/15: Trey jamming over the outro chords a bit instead of just going straight for the throat.
7/24/15: Gorgeous piano at this point from Page.
7/24/15: Lands in Cavern.
7/24/15: Long pause with some wood block shenanigans from Fish mid-Cavern.
7/24/15: Pretty ironic that my probably-new-favorite show ends with Zero, huh?
7/24/15: They do pretty much nail this Zero to the wall tho
This was my 25th show, and it unseated last year's Eugene show as my all-time favorite pretty much as I was walking back to the car through the gates of Shoreline. After seeing Dick's 3 last weekend, it's a toss-up as to whether this show or that one is the newest all-time best, but that's an argument for a later review. For now, suffice to say that this is a fantastic show, and one of the best in a long, long time. It's also the beginning of this summer's trend of lots of S2 jamming spread out over a number of sub-20-minute songs instead of a focus on creating one 20-25 minute opus and then stumbling to the finish line with standard playing for the remaining 50 minutes of the show as we've seen so frequently since 2009.
Not saying by any means that that latter approach is a bad thing (Tahoe Tweezer, Miami Disease, I'm looking at you), but obviously this new approach has really paid dividends during this tour. I don't think anybody's going to argue with me about that.
Anyway, the show. The first set is pretty standard, and honestly this is what probably keeps this show from being considered in the absolute upper echelon of '15 shows (including ones I didn't see). I really like the new, slower "Yarmouth" arrangement and think it allows Trey especially to do a better job on a great song. This was the first time I heard it played this way. Also, the "Reba" is incredible, showcasing '15 Trey's fantastic melodic chops.
The second set is just pure destruction. There's no other way to put it. The second-ever "Blaze On" immediately goes into loop-driven terrain and after a lyrical reprise there's a darkness jam that sets up "Twist." "Twist" starts off similar to the Bend "Simple" before moving seamlessly into bliss territory for its last few minutes. "Light" is the third jam of the trifecta and best of the three, returning to the "Blaze On" jam's territory and infusing a bit of "Manteca" into the mix before landing in perhaps the first-ever not-buzzkill "Joy." The "Hood" features an angry Type II blues jam of its own (as if the first 45 minutes of the set wasn't good enough) before exploding into its peak. "Cavern" technically ends the set, but who cares? This shit is perfect. I like to pretend that the "Zero" encore is just a joke being played on me personally. Sure, let's play the best show ever, but open with "The Line" and close with "Character Zero, lol."
Here, just watch the "Twist" > "Light" and thank Phish afterward:
The Live Review:
7/24/15: Cracks me up that a show this good starts with The Line.
7/24/15: Trey is pretty messy here with the outro solo. I like The Line, but this version is not the best.
7/24/15: Hooray for Moma, the quintessential 'reset button' song.
7/24/15: KDF in the three-spot, and after a few flubs, Trey is starting to sound like '15 Trey again.
7/24/15: Slow take on Yarmouth Road. Funkier. Good. Trey takes a longer solo than usual before the bridge lyrics.
7/24/15: I really like that version of Yarmouth. Tempo suits the song, and two actually solid solos from Trey, one in an unexpected spot.
7/24/15: Undermind next.
7/24/15: Undermind, Free, both pretty standard. I remember this Reba as being pretty great, though.
7/24/15: Yeah, this is great. Really intentionally melodic throughout.
7/24/15: Yeah, that was a keeper, though they pretty badly biffed the whistling ending. 46 Days to close the set.
7/24/15: 46 Days seems faster than usual.
7/24/15: Okay, here comes the good stuff.
7/24/15: Blaze On S2 opener.
7/24/15: This is a damn catchy song. Can't wait to hear a studio version.
7/24/15: Trey soloing starts off strong, starts turning into something resembling an Undermind jam.
7/24/15: Descending riff now from Trey. Loops on in background.
7/24/15: Lyrical refrain about 11 minutes in. Song keeps rolling afterward.
7/24/15: Immediately into space after the refrain. Loops and electric piano.
7/24/15: Love that it's the second-ever version of the song and it's already going into darkness jam territory.
7/24/15: Trey's solo here sort of reminds me of that Blossom Number Line jam I love so much.
7/24/15: I guess maybe not the solo so much as the tone.
7/24/15: > Twist.
7/24/15: Trey with the grungy tone from the Bend Simple already at the 4 minute mark.
7/24/15: So far (9 minutes), we haven't technically departed from Type I, but they've been banging at the edges of the box for awhile now.
7/24/15: And suddenly we're in a really beautiful bliss jam. How the fuck did that even happen?!
7/24/15: Bliss jam peaking in a big way.
7/24/15: Weird, evil piano from Page after the peak. > Light.
7/24/15: Transition out of the usual arpeggio-based jam at 730. Chords from Trey. Could almost be continuation of the Blaze On jam.
7/24/15: Funny how often Light jams end up circling Manteca.
7/24/15: Awesome transition to a new space at 930. Crowd cheers audible on the SBD.
7/24/15: Definitely Blaze On-esque progression and beat here.
7/24/15: This is even more awesome than I remember. I remembered like the Twist the best, but Light jam is incredible.
7/24/15: Really just the effect of the first 45 minutes of the set being jamming was jaw-dropping overall.
7/24/15: Not to mention getting a jammed-out Blaze On and the Twist jam I'd been expecting since summer '14.
7/24/15: Trey teases Twist quickly before moving into Joy.
7/24/15: Not ashamed to say I love this Joy. So cathartic in that crowd after the previous 45 minutes.
7/24/15: Sure, the Blaze On > Twist > Light was great, but what really cemented this set for me was
that Hood was the song they chose...
7/24/15: ...to wrap it all up. Probably my favorite song and a much better exclamation point in my situations, imho, than YEM or Fluff.
7/24/15: *most*
7/24/15: This one isn't a bad version, either. Lots of slow building, with some angry, almost bluesy leads at times from Trey.
7/24/15: Bass bombs from Mike. Almost a Floyd-like feeling to it at this point.
7/24/15: Everyone but Fish drops out after angry jam and then comes back in with the Hood outro build. Wow.
7/24/15: Trey jamming over the outro chords a bit instead of just going straight for the throat.
7/24/15: Gorgeous piano at this point from Page.
7/24/15: Lands in Cavern.
7/24/15: Long pause with some wood block shenanigans from Fish mid-Cavern.
7/24/15: Pretty ironic that my probably-new-favorite show ends with Zero, huh?
7/24/15: They do pretty much nail this Zero to the wall tho
Aug 12, 2015
2015-7-22 Bend II
The Verdict:
It's even harder to be objective about Bend II. I mean, it was my birthday, my 24th show, and part of a fantastic vacation weekend in Bend, two hours' drive away from my new house, with my soon-to-be-wife.
So I'm a little biased. But, I think it's better than Bend I and an all-around great show. I mean, we probably all wish that the "Simple" was a little longer, but really, this show has a little bit of everything anyway.
"Stash" gets 2015 Trey, ultimate melodic guitar Jedi Master, out of the gates early, and then there's a bunch of first set debuts that actually work perfectly as the glue for the set, somehow. "How Many People Are You?," "Heavy Rotation," "Scabbard," and "Mercury" are all excellent Phish tunes, and pretty much the rest of the set are top-notch S1 takes on "Winterqueen," "Maze," and "Possum."
For all the (deserved) raving about the jam-heavy second set at Shoreline, even I didn't realize until now that this second set is only six songs long. Sure, a little of that has to do with the early curfew at Les Schwab, but not as much as you might think. Neither "ASIHTOS" or "Waves" goes deep, but they're versions that would be the obvious highlight of any first set, at least. The spacey jam at the end of "Waves" drops nicely into "Wingsuit," and then there's a chordy, unique "Farmhouse" before the "Simple," which is easily the best (and most evil) jam of the run. "First Tube" blows the roof off, and then the guys encore with "Gin," which falls firmly into the "Type 1.5" category and is better than any encore "Gin" has a right to be. Whew.
I suspect that like last year's Eugene show, this is going to be another one of those unappreciated gems, because all the right pieces are there, but they don't fall into the right places. Fortunately, they don't actually need to.
The Live Review:
7/22/15: In the office again today, so I'm tackling Bend II, also known as the My Birthday Show.
7/22/15: Getting to spend my birthday watching my 24th show as close to my house as @phish will ever come was great enough in itself...
7/22/15: ...but this show was way better than the already-great 7/21 one. I'm excited to hear Mercury again, especially. And dat Simple.
7/22/15: Stash opener.
7/22/15: Great Stash, especially as an opener. Standard style, but with that extra '15 Trey magic.
7/22/15: How Many People Are You? is such a great song. Not very Phish-y, really, but better to hear them play for that.
7/22/15: Winterqueen is one of those songs I love in spite of myself. Perfect choice for an early mid-set in Bend.
7/22/15: Winterqueen jam is extended a bit beyond normal and features some more great post-FTW Trey action.
7/22/15: Love Heavy Rotation, too. Great melody from Page, and awesome, dirty breakdown. Thought it was a Phish tune at first.
7/22/15: Clearly, my Page-fu is weak.
7/22/15: Neat little building mini-jam, now.
7/22/15: You know the guys are good this year when they can even make BOTT exciting after I've heard it probably 500 times in my life.
7/22/15: So happy to hear Scabbard, too. One of my favorite TAB songs.
7/22/15: Couldn't hear it well at the show for some reason, but SBD sounds amazing.
7/22/15: Necessarily missing some of the arranged element because smaller band, but otherwise awesome.
7/22/15: Outro not quite as good with electric guitar instead of acoustic, but the loops Trey lays down here are neat ambiance.
7/22/15: Appreciate the segue into Maze, but like the Weekapaug one from last night, there's a bit of hesitation b/t Trey and Fish before.
7/22/15: I know it's weird, but near-perfect segues are almost more annoying to me than entirely missed ones.
7/22/15: Eugene's Maze was fantastic last fall and so is this one. Energy is palpable, even on the recording.
7/22/15: Okay, I fucking love the beginning of Mercury. Please don't change that part of the song, guys. #phish
7/22/15: Middle section sounds a little hollow.
7/22/15: I do appreciate that they're still trying to do big compositional pieces, though. Fuego was amazing.
7/22/15: Mercury is close to awesome.
7/22/15: Love the lyrics, too.
7/22/15: That break before the last section made me think that this was yet another new song.
7/22/15: They need a return to those awesome intro vocals at the end :)
7/22/15: Possum set closer.
7/22/15: As you might imagine, Possum with 2015 Trey is good.
7/22/15: First set is super-weird with all the new songs, but it works better for me than 7/21's S1.
7/22/15: Doesn't hurt that all the debuts were strong.
7/22/15: Listening to the Alpine Valley version of Mercury during 'setbreak.' Sounds a bit more intentional and less empty in the middle.
7/22/15: They get to the 'Red Queen' part faster, I think. An improvement, for sure.
7/22/15: Super happy to hear Fish marimba-ing a composed part in Mercury.
7/22/15: Alpine version of Mercury doesn't have the empty space after marimba. Goes immediately into build. Not as cool, methinks.
7/22/15: This is so good. I'm almost as excited for the new album as I am for more shows. That pretty much never happens w/ #phish.
7/22/15: Okay, second set ASIHTOS opener.
7/22/15: Like the first night's Ghost, I was really hoping to see this go into space, but hey.
7/22/15: How long has it been since an ASIHTOS spacejam?
7/22/15: I'll answer my own question: 2004 SPAC.
7/22/15: There might not be a serious jam here, but Trey is slaying.
7/22/15: Sorta-but-not-really segue into Waves.
7/22/15: Same deal with the Waves; it's not going anywhere special, but Trey is going TO TOWN.
7/22/15: Long loops 'n' Page outro. Now Mike bass bombs.
7/22/15: Wingsuit was a nice landing spot for that weird, ethereal space.
7/22/15: Low-key Waves outro > Wingsuit > Farmhouse seems like a minor setlist misstep.
7/22/15: That said, it's a pretty interesting Farmhouse solo from Trey. Peaks near the end a bit like Number Line solos have recently.
7/22/15: Simple slides nicely into the usual gentle melodic interplay.
7/22/15: Fade-out. Trey changing keys.
7/22/15: Love the dirty guitar tone.
7/22/15: It just keeps getting filthier.
7/22/15: That was about as cool as I remembered it being.
7/22/15: First top-shelf jam of the tour, for sure.
7/22/15: A little one-dimensional, but I like the angry, dark stuff.
7/22/15: This First Tube blew the goddamn roof off the place in person.
7/22/15: Well, I guess first it built a roof over the place, but only to DESTROY IT
7/22/15: Watching the encore Gin on YouTube instead of listening.
7/22/15: Love the encore choices for this run.
7/22/15: Audio/video syncing off just a bit on the official video. Never had that happen before.
7/22/15: Nice, airy space in the middle of this Gin that I don't remember.
7/22/15: Build w/ Trey chording.
7/22/15: Okay, great closer. Think I was still reeling over the Simple > Tube combo at the show and zoned this out.
7/22/15: Excellent show, unless you absolutely need a 25 minute jam to jerk off to.
It's even harder to be objective about Bend II. I mean, it was my birthday, my 24th show, and part of a fantastic vacation weekend in Bend, two hours' drive away from my new house, with my soon-to-be-wife.
So I'm a little biased. But, I think it's better than Bend I and an all-around great show. I mean, we probably all wish that the "Simple" was a little longer, but really, this show has a little bit of everything anyway.
"Stash" gets 2015 Trey, ultimate melodic guitar Jedi Master, out of the gates early, and then there's a bunch of first set debuts that actually work perfectly as the glue for the set, somehow. "How Many People Are You?," "Heavy Rotation," "Scabbard," and "Mercury" are all excellent Phish tunes, and pretty much the rest of the set are top-notch S1 takes on "Winterqueen," "Maze," and "Possum."
For all the (deserved) raving about the jam-heavy second set at Shoreline, even I didn't realize until now that this second set is only six songs long. Sure, a little of that has to do with the early curfew at Les Schwab, but not as much as you might think. Neither "ASIHTOS" or "Waves" goes deep, but they're versions that would be the obvious highlight of any first set, at least. The spacey jam at the end of "Waves" drops nicely into "Wingsuit," and then there's a chordy, unique "Farmhouse" before the "Simple," which is easily the best (and most evil) jam of the run. "First Tube" blows the roof off, and then the guys encore with "Gin," which falls firmly into the "Type 1.5" category and is better than any encore "Gin" has a right to be. Whew.
I suspect that like last year's Eugene show, this is going to be another one of those unappreciated gems, because all the right pieces are there, but they don't fall into the right places. Fortunately, they don't actually need to.
The Live Review:
7/22/15: In the office again today, so I'm tackling Bend II, also known as the My Birthday Show.
7/22/15: Getting to spend my birthday watching my 24th show as close to my house as @phish will ever come was great enough in itself...
7/22/15: ...but this show was way better than the already-great 7/21 one. I'm excited to hear Mercury again, especially. And dat Simple.
7/22/15: Stash opener.
7/22/15: Great Stash, especially as an opener. Standard style, but with that extra '15 Trey magic.
7/22/15: How Many People Are You? is such a great song. Not very Phish-y, really, but better to hear them play for that.
7/22/15: Winterqueen is one of those songs I love in spite of myself. Perfect choice for an early mid-set in Bend.
7/22/15: Winterqueen jam is extended a bit beyond normal and features some more great post-FTW Trey action.
7/22/15: Love Heavy Rotation, too. Great melody from Page, and awesome, dirty breakdown. Thought it was a Phish tune at first.
7/22/15: Clearly, my Page-fu is weak.
7/22/15: Neat little building mini-jam, now.
7/22/15: You know the guys are good this year when they can even make BOTT exciting after I've heard it probably 500 times in my life.
7/22/15: So happy to hear Scabbard, too. One of my favorite TAB songs.
7/22/15: Couldn't hear it well at the show for some reason, but SBD sounds amazing.
7/22/15: Necessarily missing some of the arranged element because smaller band, but otherwise awesome.
7/22/15: Outro not quite as good with electric guitar instead of acoustic, but the loops Trey lays down here are neat ambiance.
7/22/15: Appreciate the segue into Maze, but like the Weekapaug one from last night, there's a bit of hesitation b/t Trey and Fish before.
7/22/15: I know it's weird, but near-perfect segues are almost more annoying to me than entirely missed ones.
7/22/15: Eugene's Maze was fantastic last fall and so is this one. Energy is palpable, even on the recording.
7/22/15: Okay, I fucking love the beginning of Mercury. Please don't change that part of the song, guys. #phish
7/22/15: Middle section sounds a little hollow.
7/22/15: I do appreciate that they're still trying to do big compositional pieces, though. Fuego was amazing.
7/22/15: Mercury is close to awesome.
7/22/15: Love the lyrics, too.
7/22/15: That break before the last section made me think that this was yet another new song.
7/22/15: They need a return to those awesome intro vocals at the end :)
7/22/15: Possum set closer.
7/22/15: As you might imagine, Possum with 2015 Trey is good.
7/22/15: First set is super-weird with all the new songs, but it works better for me than 7/21's S1.
7/22/15: Doesn't hurt that all the debuts were strong.
7/22/15: Listening to the Alpine Valley version of Mercury during 'setbreak.' Sounds a bit more intentional and less empty in the middle.
7/22/15: They get to the 'Red Queen' part faster, I think. An improvement, for sure.
7/22/15: Super happy to hear Fish marimba-ing a composed part in Mercury.
7/22/15: Alpine version of Mercury doesn't have the empty space after marimba. Goes immediately into build. Not as cool, methinks.
7/22/15: This is so good. I'm almost as excited for the new album as I am for more shows. That pretty much never happens w/ #phish.
7/22/15: Okay, second set ASIHTOS opener.
7/22/15: Like the first night's Ghost, I was really hoping to see this go into space, but hey.
7/22/15: How long has it been since an ASIHTOS spacejam?
7/22/15: I'll answer my own question: 2004 SPAC.
7/22/15: There might not be a serious jam here, but Trey is slaying.
7/22/15: Sorta-but-not-really segue into Waves.
7/22/15: Same deal with the Waves; it's not going anywhere special, but Trey is going TO TOWN.
7/22/15: Long loops 'n' Page outro. Now Mike bass bombs.
7/22/15: Wingsuit was a nice landing spot for that weird, ethereal space.
7/22/15: Low-key Waves outro > Wingsuit > Farmhouse seems like a minor setlist misstep.
7/22/15: That said, it's a pretty interesting Farmhouse solo from Trey. Peaks near the end a bit like Number Line solos have recently.
7/22/15: Simple slides nicely into the usual gentle melodic interplay.
7/22/15: Fade-out. Trey changing keys.
7/22/15: Love the dirty guitar tone.
7/22/15: It just keeps getting filthier.
7/22/15: That was about as cool as I remembered it being.
7/22/15: First top-shelf jam of the tour, for sure.
7/22/15: A little one-dimensional, but I like the angry, dark stuff.
7/22/15: This First Tube blew the goddamn roof off the place in person.
7/22/15: Well, I guess first it built a roof over the place, but only to DESTROY IT
7/22/15: Watching the encore Gin on YouTube instead of listening.
7/22/15: Love the encore choices for this run.
7/22/15: Audio/video syncing off just a bit on the official video. Never had that happen before.
7/22/15: Nice, airy space in the middle of this Gin that I don't remember.
7/22/15: Build w/ Trey chording.
7/22/15: Okay, great closer. Think I was still reeling over the Simple > Tube combo at the show and zoned this out.
7/22/15: Excellent show, unless you absolutely need a 25 minute jam to jerk off to.
2015-7-21 Bend I
The Verdict:
I'll admit right off that I'm a bit partial to these first four 2015 shows because I saw them in person, and it's always difficult to review a show you saw in person while holding it to the same standards as you've held the 11 million shows you've only listened to on headphones to. But here goes.
Bend I is a great tour opener, but in the light of everything that's come since, it withers a little. I love all the debuts, both during Bend I and Bend II, and I suppose your mileage with this show will vary depending on how you feel about the new songs (both new originals and new covers).
The first set is split between the debut of Trey's absolutely commanding 2015 playing style and a sagging middle section that's as messy as it is been-there-done-that. "Sand" is about as good as it gets without a "real" jam, "Devotion" is excellent, and the first "Blaze On" is a surprisingly confident take. The middle of the set sort of drags the high points down, though, the worst part being a pretty nasty butchering of "Horn."
An uneven first set moves into a much better second set, though. "Ghost" peters out before getting really serious, but it's still a great opener call and worth a listen. "Fuego" veers into a brief but eerie ambient space at its close (its different than the usual outro, which is, admittedly, similar) before landing beautifully in "Shade." And the highlight of the show comes in the "No Men" > "Groove" -> "Boogie On" funkfest. This isn't a sustained "jam," per se, but like Shoreline's S2 run, a couple of songs doing the work here instead of a 30 minute version of one song doesn't detract from the quality of the improvisation.
The Live Review:
7/21/15: Excited to have an excuse to relisten to the Bend run. Still hard to believe that @phish actually played there, and I saw it.
7/21/15: Sample opener. Made Ms. Saxscraper very happy :)
7/21/15: Remembering thinking 'Sounds like Trey has been practicing!' during this Sand. Happy to have been right :)
7/21/15: Relistening to the Sand, I LOVE Trey's tone. Somehow different than usual. Maybe clearer?
7/21/15: Oh yeah, this solo is $$$$
7/21/15: This was the earliest in a @phish show that I've ever screamed at the top of my lungs.
7/21/15: Harmonies seem a lot stronger on this tour, too. See 555 and Rift so far.
7/21/15: Little bit more sag in this set than I remember. Rough Halfway To the Moon.
7/21/15: Trey has some major struggles with Horn, but back in fine form for a Type I DtaD.
7/21/15: Blaze On debut is next. Such a cool song, even without the Shoreline jam.
7/21/15: A little Manteca-y jam tacked onto this shorter version of Blaze On. Love it.
7/21/15: Tube!
7/21/15: Love Page's clav here. So dirty.
7/21/15: Shit, Page is KILLING it.
7/21/15: Nice, bouncy funk in this Wolfman's (as opposed to filthy, disgusting, dirty funk).
7/21/15: With my rose-colored glasses off, that S1 was a little weaker than I remembered.
7/21/15: Great Sand, Devotion, Blaze On, and Wolfman's, though.
7/21/15: When this Ghost started, I was sure that it was freaking ON.
7/21/15: I suppose in a way it was, if by 'it' you mean 'a set full of incredibly funky mini-jams.'
7/21/15: Hot lead from Trey heading into the jam.
7/21/15: Trey keeping things in rock-god mode. Sounds a bit like Fish is trying to push them somewhere else.
7/21/15: Angry, dissonant chords now. Fish winding down.
7/21/15: Ghost jam sort of peters out. Sounded a little like Page might be cooking up something, but then > Birds.
7/21/15: Pretty low on the ripcord meter, though. They kicked around a few ideas post-Trey-solo, but nothing stuck.
7/21/15: 'They Attack!' action from Page.
7/21/15: Mike's. I'm going to retroactively miss the second jam in this one.
7/21/15: Nasty tone from Trey. Page on organ.
7/21/15: Great landing from Mike's into 'The Wedge.'
7/21/15: The Wedge gets extended a bit. Now Fuego.
7/21/15: This Fuego seems to be a higher tempo than the typical version.
7/21/15: I have to admit, when the bottom dropped out of the Fuego at 9:00, I thought there was a serious jam coming.
7/21/15: That said, Shade was a great debut and an AWESOME landing pad for this dark little jamlet.
7/21/15: Shade is such a fucking gorgeous song.
7/21/15: Can't wait to hear that one on the new album.
7/21/15: Awwwww yeah. No Men In No Man's Land.
7/21/15: Definitely more interesting take on this song that I remember. I think at the time I was just in funk-shock.
7/21/15: Doesn't hold a candle to the Shoreline version, but everybody's throwing in some seriously interesting bits.
7/21/15: Let's call it Type 1.5.
7/21/15: Still bummed they fumbled that No Men's -> Groove.
7/21/15: Part of Groove jam sounds like Runaway Jim riff.
7/21/15: Really soaring Groove jam. It's been awhile since I've cared about Groove, but this one does it.
7/21/15: On the other hand, the segue from Groove to Boogie On works just fine.
7/21/15: CDT still seems like a weird place for this set to end.
7/21/15: Love Theme as an encore choice.
7/21/15: Especially when Trey nails that walk-up riff o h m a n
7/21/15: Strong show across the board. I suppose no big jams is a knock against it.
7/21/15: Some great moments in the first set, though, and love those debuts, AND the last half of S2.
7/21/15: Weakest show of the first four, for sure, but a great start.
I'll admit right off that I'm a bit partial to these first four 2015 shows because I saw them in person, and it's always difficult to review a show you saw in person while holding it to the same standards as you've held the 11 million shows you've only listened to on headphones to. But here goes.
Bend I is a great tour opener, but in the light of everything that's come since, it withers a little. I love all the debuts, both during Bend I and Bend II, and I suppose your mileage with this show will vary depending on how you feel about the new songs (both new originals and new covers).
The first set is split between the debut of Trey's absolutely commanding 2015 playing style and a sagging middle section that's as messy as it is been-there-done-that. "Sand" is about as good as it gets without a "real" jam, "Devotion" is excellent, and the first "Blaze On" is a surprisingly confident take. The middle of the set sort of drags the high points down, though, the worst part being a pretty nasty butchering of "Horn."
An uneven first set moves into a much better second set, though. "Ghost" peters out before getting really serious, but it's still a great opener call and worth a listen. "Fuego" veers into a brief but eerie ambient space at its close (its different than the usual outro, which is, admittedly, similar) before landing beautifully in "Shade." And the highlight of the show comes in the "No Men" > "Groove" -> "Boogie On" funkfest. This isn't a sustained "jam," per se, but like Shoreline's S2 run, a couple of songs doing the work here instead of a 30 minute version of one song doesn't detract from the quality of the improvisation.
The Live Review:
7/21/15: Excited to have an excuse to relisten to the Bend run. Still hard to believe that @phish actually played there, and I saw it.
7/21/15: Sample opener. Made Ms. Saxscraper very happy :)
7/21/15: Remembering thinking 'Sounds like Trey has been practicing!' during this Sand. Happy to have been right :)
7/21/15: Relistening to the Sand, I LOVE Trey's tone. Somehow different than usual. Maybe clearer?
7/21/15: Oh yeah, this solo is $$$$
7/21/15: This was the earliest in a @phish show that I've ever screamed at the top of my lungs.
7/21/15: Harmonies seem a lot stronger on this tour, too. See 555 and Rift so far.
7/21/15: Little bit more sag in this set than I remember. Rough Halfway To the Moon.
7/21/15: Trey has some major struggles with Horn, but back in fine form for a Type I DtaD.
7/21/15: Blaze On debut is next. Such a cool song, even without the Shoreline jam.
7/21/15: A little Manteca-y jam tacked onto this shorter version of Blaze On. Love it.
7/21/15: Tube!
7/21/15: Love Page's clav here. So dirty.
7/21/15: Shit, Page is KILLING it.
7/21/15: Nice, bouncy funk in this Wolfman's (as opposed to filthy, disgusting, dirty funk).
7/21/15: With my rose-colored glasses off, that S1 was a little weaker than I remembered.
7/21/15: Great Sand, Devotion, Blaze On, and Wolfman's, though.
7/21/15: When this Ghost started, I was sure that it was freaking ON.
7/21/15: I suppose in a way it was, if by 'it' you mean 'a set full of incredibly funky mini-jams.'
7/21/15: Hot lead from Trey heading into the jam.
7/21/15: Trey keeping things in rock-god mode. Sounds a bit like Fish is trying to push them somewhere else.
7/21/15: Angry, dissonant chords now. Fish winding down.
7/21/15: Ghost jam sort of peters out. Sounded a little like Page might be cooking up something, but then > Birds.
7/21/15: Pretty low on the ripcord meter, though. They kicked around a few ideas post-Trey-solo, but nothing stuck.
7/21/15: 'They Attack!' action from Page.
7/21/15: Mike's. I'm going to retroactively miss the second jam in this one.
7/21/15: Nasty tone from Trey. Page on organ.
7/21/15: Great landing from Mike's into 'The Wedge.'
7/21/15: The Wedge gets extended a bit. Now Fuego.
7/21/15: This Fuego seems to be a higher tempo than the typical version.
7/21/15: I have to admit, when the bottom dropped out of the Fuego at 9:00, I thought there was a serious jam coming.
7/21/15: That said, Shade was a great debut and an AWESOME landing pad for this dark little jamlet.
7/21/15: Shade is such a fucking gorgeous song.
7/21/15: Can't wait to hear that one on the new album.
7/21/15: Awwwww yeah. No Men In No Man's Land.
7/21/15: Definitely more interesting take on this song that I remember. I think at the time I was just in funk-shock.
7/21/15: Doesn't hold a candle to the Shoreline version, but everybody's throwing in some seriously interesting bits.
7/21/15: Let's call it Type 1.5.
7/21/15: Still bummed they fumbled that No Men's -> Groove.
7/21/15: Part of Groove jam sounds like Runaway Jim riff.
7/21/15: Really soaring Groove jam. It's been awhile since I've cared about Groove, but this one does it.
7/21/15: On the other hand, the segue from Groove to Boogie On works just fine.
7/21/15: CDT still seems like a weird place for this set to end.
7/21/15: Love Theme as an encore choice.
7/21/15: Especially when Trey nails that walk-up riff o h m a n
7/21/15: Strong show across the board. I suppose no big jams is a knock against it.
7/21/15: Some great moments in the first set, though, and love those debuts, AND the last half of S2.
7/21/15: Weakest show of the first four, for sure, but a great start.
Aug 10, 2015
Fall and Winter 2010 Wrap-Up
I've said pretty much everything I've ever wanted to say about 2010 in general and fall/winter tour in particular over and over again throughout individual reviews and don't feel compelled to repeat myself at length yet again here.
Quantity over quality. Lots of songs, played well. No jamming. Interesting setlists. High energy. Solid segues. S2s that could easily be confused for S1s. And so on. If there's any real difference between late 2010 and early 2010 (and I'm not convinced that there is), it's that the Trey-dominated nature of the band's playing slowly becomes less about his running roughshod over everyone else during every potential jam and more about him playing so damn well that the rest of the band has no choice but to hold on for dear life. Occasionally, there's an October (10/22, 10/23, 10/30, 10/31) or December (12/27, 12/30, 12/31) show where this is a virtue. Even more occasionally, there's a show where the band actually improvises together (10/19, 10/20, 10/26).
Let's hope for more of that last category in 2011.
10/8: Strong entry, for a festival show. Three hours worth of energy in a 90 minute show. Only notable improv, though, is a great "Hood" -> "Light" sequence.
10/10: The beginning of the worst three-show run of Phish I've ever listened to. This show takes on the early-3.0 template of single-jam-early-in-S2 by following a decent "Mike's" > "Simple" combo with a strong "Ghost." And that's about it.
10/11: I hesitate to call any Phish show "bad," but this one is definitely a not-good one. There's a rare Phish take on Mike's "What Things Seem," and a few interesting minutes in "Twist." Otherwise, this is basically a Boring First Set > Boring First Set Reprise.
10/12: Really weird song choices in the first set, in a way that might make it interesting to someone out there. There's an early version of "Halfway To The Moon" that's worth a listen for the novelty value. And maybe the "best" part of the run, a short-but-sweet "Carini" that pulls off a hilariously weird -> into a "Bowie" that is, unfortunately, just standard.
10/15: Better than Broomfield. Strong opening to S1 and an interesting "Stash" near the end. The "Disease" jam is nothing new, but at this point it's just nice to hear even old jam ideas recycled into new forms. "Twist" continues to evolve...a little.
10/16: S1 still doesn't wander very far out of the box, but "The Curtain With" and "Sand" are strong and the setlist in general adds some spice. The second set seems underwhelming after starting with a hot "Crosseyed," despite containing "Fluffhead," "Tweezer," and "YEM." Sign of the times, I guess.
10/19: A few heavy-hitter Type I songs in the first set are overshadowed by a Type II "Gin" of all things. The second set opens with a "Mike's"/"FYF" mashup, and then a legitimate jam (the first since 8/7, IMHO) in the dark, angry "Light" that extends the sinister tone into "Twenty Years Later." The "Hood" is unique in its mellowness and likely worth a listen as well. The first show of the tour that I was legitimately excited about.
10/20: Obviously a top-notch show here, hence the DVD release. First set is very strong without even considering the "Guyute"/"Bowie"/"Wilson" mashup and the scathing "Antelope" to close. The second set doesn't stand up to the first, but there is the late "Split" -> "Have Mercy" > "Piper" -> "Split" sequence which beats the hell out of anything so far this tour except for bits of 10/19 for sheer quality of improv.
10/22: Like 10/19's "Light" > "Twenty Years" sequence, "Rock and Roll" > "Carini" start off the second set here with a fantastic burst of EVIL. Also of note is the "Sanity," which gets "jammed" a bit and is weirder even than the standard version. The rest of the show is stridently standard-great.
10/23: This show is one of those weird-but-good ones for me. For example, the first set features an out-there "Tweezer" as well as a "Tweezer Reprise" with "Meatstick" lyrics substituted in, for apparently no real reason. Though the second set starts off with a great bliss-jammed "Disease," the highlight is probably the "MFMF" -> "Caspian" -> "Halfway" -> "Boogie On." I told you it was a weird one.
10/24: Like 10/11, this one plays like two first sets, but at least these are interesting first sets. And there's a mini-jam out of "Fee" that sets up a great segue into "TTE," of all things.
10/26: Absolutely weird first set full of rare songs. If you like the setlist, you'll dig hearing these songs together. If not, you won't find anything musically new here. The second set is stronger, with another fantastic "Light," a "Makisupa" -> "Night Nurse" -> "Makisupa" sandwich, a short-but-sweet "Ghost," and an amazing "Groove" that moves into "Can't You Hear Me Knocking?" territory before seguing into a "Llama" reprise. Whew. Up there with 10/19 and 10/20.
10/29: Highlights of an otherwise standard S1 are a great solo from Trey on "Light Up Or Leave Me Alone," and a sudden, on-a-dime "Moma" > "Cities" transition. In the second set, "Sand" doesn't get weird, but is another excellent Type I take on the tune. "Carini" "gets there" quickly again, "Corinna" is gorgeous and unexpected, and "Piper" is an overachiever in its sub-seven-minute running time.
10/30: TweeZeppelin is obviously the big news in this show, but the first set is one of the better opening frames of the tour, too. Even aside from the excellent "CDT" -> "Whole Lotta Love" -> "CDT" preface to the second set, there are a lot of great song choices, and a fantastic "Wolfman's" that moves like butter into "Undermind." Barring a bit of a premature wind-down at the end, the second set is strong across the board. Of course the Zeppelin medley is the best part, but "Possum" has some Zeppelin jamming, too, "2001" is longer and stronger than the typical 3.0 take, and "Bowie" is a great close (to the interesting part of the set).
10/31: I'm not terribly familiar with Little Feat, so I found this show to be a bit lower on the scale than the 10/30 show. That said, the difference between the Halloween run and, say, the Bloomfield run is night and day. S1 features another strong "Stash," but the real story is the "Ghost" -> "Spooky" sequence, which is just pure Halloween setlist fun. The third set is by no means just a "landing pad" set this time around, and features excellent takes on "Disease," "Hood," and "YEM," along with a jammed-out "Wilson." This would have been one of the stronger shows of fall even without the covers set.
12/27: On paper, this show falls into the lackluster 2010 mold, but I liked it for some reason I have a hard time explaining. The band's quantity-over-quality approach to S1 works here, I think, because they hit on a combination of songs that just works so well together. The second set starts off slow, but the guys save it from wandering too far into Jukebox land with an excellent "Seven Below" -> "What's The Use?" pair and then some great work from Trey on "Twenty Years Later," "Farmhouse," and "Wading" (yeah, you read that right).
12/28: In terms of organization and (lack of) jamming, this show is really similar to 12/27, but the setlist doesn't work as well at distracting me from the lack of interesting tidbits as it did on the previous night. "Birdwatcher" and "Pigtail" are both neat debuts to hear, and "Stash" continues to turn in jam after jam in denial of the band's general jamless tendency this tour (and this year). "Carini" continues to evolve as a second set vehicle, and though this version isn't going on any year-end lists, I like it because it's weird in a year that's lacking greatly in that quality. And oh man, check out the plinko-style "Hood."
12/30: Follows the 2009 template of one big jam at the onset of S2. That jam is "Tweezer," and it's a really strong bit of improv, especially considering the obvious lack of such in most of this tour's shows. Outside the jam, there's nothing to really write home (or on this blog) about, but the jam itself hints toward greater things to come in 2011.
12/31: S1 is a good warm-up set, and rarities "Burn That Bridge" and "Gone" are worth a listen, if you're into that sort of thing. Lots of jam vehicles pop up in the second set, but the only one that really goes anywhere is the "Ghost," which is a pretty easy shoe-in for Jam of the Year. The following "YEM" -> "Manteca" -> "YEM" would be at the top of the highlight reel on any other night. S3, unfortunately, is just a cooldown set, but you're not going to care at all after hearing S2.
1/1: This one makes me think "hangover show." Everyone sounds either mellow or tired, based on how forgiving you're being. The first set is a really mellow affair with some great song choices including the long-missing "Round Room," and a great "Reba." The second set starts with a "Crosseyed" that becomes a clinic in Trey Shredding, but never moves beyond Type I. The only big takeaway from this show is the "Simple," which combines the typical "Simple" jam structure with the guitar pyrotechnics that have characterized 2010 for one last go-round.
Quantity over quality. Lots of songs, played well. No jamming. Interesting setlists. High energy. Solid segues. S2s that could easily be confused for S1s. And so on. If there's any real difference between late 2010 and early 2010 (and I'm not convinced that there is), it's that the Trey-dominated nature of the band's playing slowly becomes less about his running roughshod over everyone else during every potential jam and more about him playing so damn well that the rest of the band has no choice but to hold on for dear life. Occasionally, there's an October (10/22, 10/23, 10/30, 10/31) or December (12/27, 12/30, 12/31) show where this is a virtue. Even more occasionally, there's a show where the band actually improvises together (10/19, 10/20, 10/26).
Let's hope for more of that last category in 2011.
10/8: Strong entry, for a festival show. Three hours worth of energy in a 90 minute show. Only notable improv, though, is a great "Hood" -> "Light" sequence.
10/10: The beginning of the worst three-show run of Phish I've ever listened to. This show takes on the early-3.0 template of single-jam-early-in-S2 by following a decent "Mike's" > "Simple" combo with a strong "Ghost." And that's about it.
10/11: I hesitate to call any Phish show "bad," but this one is definitely a not-good one. There's a rare Phish take on Mike's "What Things Seem," and a few interesting minutes in "Twist." Otherwise, this is basically a Boring First Set > Boring First Set Reprise.
10/12: Really weird song choices in the first set, in a way that might make it interesting to someone out there. There's an early version of "Halfway To The Moon" that's worth a listen for the novelty value. And maybe the "best" part of the run, a short-but-sweet "Carini" that pulls off a hilariously weird -> into a "Bowie" that is, unfortunately, just standard.
10/15: Better than Broomfield. Strong opening to S1 and an interesting "Stash" near the end. The "Disease" jam is nothing new, but at this point it's just nice to hear even old jam ideas recycled into new forms. "Twist" continues to evolve...a little.
10/16: S1 still doesn't wander very far out of the box, but "The Curtain With" and "Sand" are strong and the setlist in general adds some spice. The second set seems underwhelming after starting with a hot "Crosseyed," despite containing "Fluffhead," "Tweezer," and "YEM." Sign of the times, I guess.
10/19: A few heavy-hitter Type I songs in the first set are overshadowed by a Type II "Gin" of all things. The second set opens with a "Mike's"/"FYF" mashup, and then a legitimate jam (the first since 8/7, IMHO) in the dark, angry "Light" that extends the sinister tone into "Twenty Years Later." The "Hood" is unique in its mellowness and likely worth a listen as well. The first show of the tour that I was legitimately excited about.
10/20: Obviously a top-notch show here, hence the DVD release. First set is very strong without even considering the "Guyute"/"Bowie"/"Wilson" mashup and the scathing "Antelope" to close. The second set doesn't stand up to the first, but there is the late "Split" -> "Have Mercy" > "Piper" -> "Split" sequence which beats the hell out of anything so far this tour except for bits of 10/19 for sheer quality of improv.
10/22: Like 10/19's "Light" > "Twenty Years" sequence, "Rock and Roll" > "Carini" start off the second set here with a fantastic burst of EVIL. Also of note is the "Sanity," which gets "jammed" a bit and is weirder even than the standard version. The rest of the show is stridently standard-great.
10/23: This show is one of those weird-but-good ones for me. For example, the first set features an out-there "Tweezer" as well as a "Tweezer Reprise" with "Meatstick" lyrics substituted in, for apparently no real reason. Though the second set starts off with a great bliss-jammed "Disease," the highlight is probably the "MFMF" -> "Caspian" -> "Halfway" -> "Boogie On." I told you it was a weird one.
10/24: Like 10/11, this one plays like two first sets, but at least these are interesting first sets. And there's a mini-jam out of "Fee" that sets up a great segue into "TTE," of all things.
10/26: Absolutely weird first set full of rare songs. If you like the setlist, you'll dig hearing these songs together. If not, you won't find anything musically new here. The second set is stronger, with another fantastic "Light," a "Makisupa" -> "Night Nurse" -> "Makisupa" sandwich, a short-but-sweet "Ghost," and an amazing "Groove" that moves into "Can't You Hear Me Knocking?" territory before seguing into a "Llama" reprise. Whew. Up there with 10/19 and 10/20.
10/29: Highlights of an otherwise standard S1 are a great solo from Trey on "Light Up Or Leave Me Alone," and a sudden, on-a-dime "Moma" > "Cities" transition. In the second set, "Sand" doesn't get weird, but is another excellent Type I take on the tune. "Carini" "gets there" quickly again, "Corinna" is gorgeous and unexpected, and "Piper" is an overachiever in its sub-seven-minute running time.
10/30: TweeZeppelin is obviously the big news in this show, but the first set is one of the better opening frames of the tour, too. Even aside from the excellent "CDT" -> "Whole Lotta Love" -> "CDT" preface to the second set, there are a lot of great song choices, and a fantastic "Wolfman's" that moves like butter into "Undermind." Barring a bit of a premature wind-down at the end, the second set is strong across the board. Of course the Zeppelin medley is the best part, but "Possum" has some Zeppelin jamming, too, "2001" is longer and stronger than the typical 3.0 take, and "Bowie" is a great close (to the interesting part of the set).
10/31: I'm not terribly familiar with Little Feat, so I found this show to be a bit lower on the scale than the 10/30 show. That said, the difference between the Halloween run and, say, the Bloomfield run is night and day. S1 features another strong "Stash," but the real story is the "Ghost" -> "Spooky" sequence, which is just pure Halloween setlist fun. The third set is by no means just a "landing pad" set this time around, and features excellent takes on "Disease," "Hood," and "YEM," along with a jammed-out "Wilson." This would have been one of the stronger shows of fall even without the covers set.
12/27: On paper, this show falls into the lackluster 2010 mold, but I liked it for some reason I have a hard time explaining. The band's quantity-over-quality approach to S1 works here, I think, because they hit on a combination of songs that just works so well together. The second set starts off slow, but the guys save it from wandering too far into Jukebox land with an excellent "Seven Below" -> "What's The Use?" pair and then some great work from Trey on "Twenty Years Later," "Farmhouse," and "Wading" (yeah, you read that right).
12/28: In terms of organization and (lack of) jamming, this show is really similar to 12/27, but the setlist doesn't work as well at distracting me from the lack of interesting tidbits as it did on the previous night. "Birdwatcher" and "Pigtail" are both neat debuts to hear, and "Stash" continues to turn in jam after jam in denial of the band's general jamless tendency this tour (and this year). "Carini" continues to evolve as a second set vehicle, and though this version isn't going on any year-end lists, I like it because it's weird in a year that's lacking greatly in that quality. And oh man, check out the plinko-style "Hood."
12/30: Follows the 2009 template of one big jam at the onset of S2. That jam is "Tweezer," and it's a really strong bit of improv, especially considering the obvious lack of such in most of this tour's shows. Outside the jam, there's nothing to really write home (or on this blog) about, but the jam itself hints toward greater things to come in 2011.
12/31: S1 is a good warm-up set, and rarities "Burn That Bridge" and "Gone" are worth a listen, if you're into that sort of thing. Lots of jam vehicles pop up in the second set, but the only one that really goes anywhere is the "Ghost," which is a pretty easy shoe-in for Jam of the Year. The following "YEM" -> "Manteca" -> "YEM" would be at the top of the highlight reel on any other night. S3, unfortunately, is just a cooldown set, but you're not going to care at all after hearing S2.
1/1: This one makes me think "hangover show." Everyone sounds either mellow or tired, based on how forgiving you're being. The first set is a really mellow affair with some great song choices including the long-missing "Round Room," and a great "Reba." The second set starts with a "Crosseyed" that becomes a clinic in Trey Shredding, but never moves beyond Type I. The only big takeaway from this show is the "Simple," which combines the typical "Simple" jam structure with the guitar pyrotechnics that have characterized 2010 for one last go-round.
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