Saturday 07/05/2014 by sausagemahoney

SPAC2: PHISH PLAYS BEST SHOW OF 2014

"Friday is for the fans, Saturday is for the bros, Sunday is for the band. Think about it." – Ancient Wook Proverb

DISCLAIMER: The author watched the webcast from his home last night, after smoking pure DMT crystals off a katana he got from Sharper Image, using an arc welder formerly owned by Tommy Chong. He had spent the week leading up to the show sending messages to other phish.net Working Group members about his plans to "brutally savage" Friday's show in this recap, promising "carnage" and expressing an intention "to tear the show a third asshole, since it's so full of shit it already has two." He apologizes for not getting this recap up sooner, but it's the World Cup quarterfinals for Christ's sake, give him a break.

Two big questions hung over the middle SPAC show like ominous twin stalactites, and both got answered with "hell yes, apparently." The first question was, is Phish ever going to play a good show this year. No, no, I'm just playing.

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Photo by Dave Vann © Phish 2014. All rights reserved.

The first question was, how legit is "Fuego" going to be? We all were hoping. Each of us has his or her favorites, but it's fair to say "Fuego" was the consensus best-in-show and most-likely-to-succeed from the Wingsuit set. The band seemed to think so anyway, changing the name of the ensuing LP release to Fuego and slotting in the now-title track in the favored spot after "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve, like NBC premiering The A-Team right after the Super Bowl. It seemed designed to be the next "Down with Disease" or "Ghost," an open-ended jam that can carry an entire set on its shoulders. But there was no real jam on New Year's, and the other night's limp performance at Great Woods had some posing the disquieting question whether "Fuego" was going to be "DwD" or "Ghost," or if it was more like "Walls of the Cave," which gets plenty fiery but apart from some early exploratory versions has always colored reliably within the lines.

But there was no need to worry, and now those of us that did maybe feel a little silly. Remembering that Phish doesn't go far out when it plays "Down with Disease" in the first set either, the Great Woods performance was no omen. Sure, last night's "Fuego" eased into the chilly evening waters with almost comical hesitancy, feinting and building, probing and dying down. But they stayed with it, and then as often forms the basis of great Phish improvisational moments these days, Trey found a simple ascending progression and the band surged patiently to a deliberate but awesome peak. I actually found the subsequent "Down with Disease" more satisfying than the "Fuego," but they've been playing "Disease" twenty years as opposed to eight months, so this is no slight on the first exploratory "Fuego." I am sure we will get many more over the next few weeks.


Photo by Dave Vann © Phish 2014. All rights reserved.

The rest of the second set was your basic throwdown, without ballads or breathers, along the lines of the third show from last fall's Hampton run. A spare and patient "Twist" didn't overstay its welcome but gave way to "Light" – why does Trey have trouble finding the right key at the start of "Light"? – which did what "Light" does, generating huge momentum through weird harmonics. "First Tube" was the sledgehammer driving the last spike.

Which brings me to the second question: this no covers thing is for real, huh? Yeah, homie, it appears to be. Don't quibble like a pedant about "The Star-Spangled Banner." It's essentially a traditional like "Auld Lang Syne" and they do it once a year on a particular day. It doesn't count. Other than the odd exception of "Funky Bitch" Phish hasn't played a cover since the "Sneaking Sally" encore that closed Phish.net's consensus favorite show of last year.

And this year it's not just no covers. No Gamehendge songs except for "Possum," which isn't really part of the narrative anyway. Also and more significantly, no Junta songs. No "YEM," though tonight seemed poised for a big one following "Theme." We haven't seen my personal second-favorite Phish song "David Bowie" close any first sets. Again, they could have gone that way Friday night, but they turned left with "Split Open and Melt" instead. No "Divided Sky" or "Fluffhead" or "Golgi." Nobody can imagine all these songs staying out of the rotation for long, but Trey has talked in interviews about the frustrations created by such a large repertoire, with too many children vying for the attention of an older, less intense band that plays fewer shows these days. If limiting the repertoire, even arbitrarily, is a way to keep the band focused, I say roll with it. As long as they're playing music together Phish is always going to play awesome jams, and it's okay with me if those jams come out of "Fuego" or "Seven Below" or "Twenty Years Later" rather than "Crosseyed" or "Rock and Roll" or "Golden Age."

I'm not going to assign last night's show a number. You could quibble with certain things. Sure, the first sets could be stronger, more improvisational. I am not going to defend another lifeless "Moma Dance" at this point and I can take or leave "Kill Devil Falls" and I have hated "Rift" forever. The "Jim" and "46 Days" were perfunctory. But the "Reba" jam was gorgeous, with burbling melody and surging in temperature until its brutal Fishcording. And take your hat off to the tone-perfect 1993-era closing sequence, with a dark and viscous "Split" jam (listen to Page!) that even stuck the landing, then the brisk early-morning jog and long cooldown of "The Squirming Coil." It has come to my attention that some people think "Coil" is a buzzkill, and you can't see me but I'm shaking my head at all of you right now. Don't like "Backwards Down the Number Line" deep in the fourth quarter? I'm not going to fight about it, but today actually is my birthday so I'm pretty sure Trey was playing it specifically for me. This version actually raged, also. Bottom line, this was a very, very good Phish show, right up there with the best of last fall's incredibly strong nor'easter.


Photo by Dave Vann © Phish 2014. All rights reserved.

CHEERS to Jon Fishman, who is playing his ass off, dictating the scope and tempo of jams, slowing "The Moma Dance" to a crawl, which didn't really work, but later catching "Split" on the hook of his wrecker and dragging it bodily into the swamp, and shutting the place down by bringing a little New Orleans (or maybe Nashville) to a swaggering "Character Zero."

CHEERS to Chris Kuroda, constantly reinventing himself to the point where it's not clear if he's an obsessive perfectionist or just gets bored easily. He's now rocking four stations across the stage, one for each band member, with a horizontal grid up high and a rack descending vertically toward the floor, plus big racks on each side. Last year's setup is gone. His go-to look last night seemed to be big, bold horizontal stripes of immaculate color across the white backdrop.

JEERS to vodka-enthusiast turd man Billy Joel for too many reasons to count, but I guess if his oafish self-regard leads Phish to a career reinvention by focusing on their own idiosyncratic repertoire, then possibly also CHEERS to Billy Joel, America's beloved "Piano Man."

JEERS to the LivePhish app, last updated during the Eisenhower Administration.

CHEERS to the Randall's tickets sitting next to me on the desk.

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Comments

, comment by heynoww22
heynoww22 you know that Billy Joel rumor was bullshit, right? Tom Marshall debunked it months ago.
, comment by oompahpah
oompahpah Well, that was ...um ...a review. Scatterbrained but not irremediably so; especially in light of the disclaimer. (I think it's time to bring back Black Eyed Katy and see if they can revive that jam.)
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS Great call on Fishman who I agree has been ripping it up.

This show really cleared the air and it was needed but as you point out correctly there is a growing tension about the direction of the band. No covers, no old friends who always show by now (YEM, Bowie, etc.).

The band's insistence on forcing the new material in combination with the lack of cover favorites such as C&P, Bitch, R&R, Golden Age and others has, in my view, caused the shows to lack the feeling of natural flow, and I think has hurt the energy a bit.

On the other hand, a strong committment to the new material (and to developing it!) cannot be viewed as a negative, even if it means some growth pains.

I did greatly appreciate the pairing of Limbxlimb> Winterqueen the other night. Even though Winterqueen seemed to suck the life out of the building, it was extremely appropriate lyrically and fit musically as well.

One thing I've felt for a long time is lost on much of the phandom is that, like the Grateful Dead before them, the Phish focus as much on lyrical synchronicity as musical cohesion in contructing their shows. I'm curious as to how that will flesh out, lacking many of the standby cover material.

Sorry for the random musings, but this is where my head is at with the band at the moment. 2014 is shaping up to be an entirely different animal than we've experienced before.

One wonders if Harpua has seen it's last performance in Chicago last year?

Excellent review of a very satisfying evening.
, comment by nichobert
nichobert Not sure if BEK is the answer.. Granted, it didn't stick around long, but I feel like everything interesting that happened with black Eyed Moma happened after the words got added.

There's nothing holding them back from playing an hour long Moma with an improvised opera segment, 3 bluegrass jams, a backwards rendition of Echoes and a parody of the Antelope ending except for them not feeling like doing it.
, comment by Uakari
Uakari Please post reviews from people at the show.
, comment by nichobert
nichobert But hey, apparently a few shows with no covers and no versions of a few old warhorses is enough to make people disgruntled even when they're out there doing stuff like Hood, Gin By Limb and that Fuego> DWD> Twist> Light segment..

I agree the first sets are pretty disjointed and some of the new material hasn't yet found it's way.. But crap. Give it time, you know? As much as I love YEM, it really can make me retroactively feel like the band felt rushed through the 2nd set knowing they had to leave 20 minutes for it.

I've advocating mini-shelvings for a large chunk of set centerpiece songs for awhile now. It'd be cool if the Tweezers, lights and DWDs moved into a Support capacity while the band played around with some new blood. 3 shows in and we have one of the three most interesting 3.0 versions of Gin, Limb and Hood already. Combine that with a phenomenal jam out of a song that's only been played like 5 times and it seems like we are undertaking something exciting.

And on yeah, Phish if you are reading this and you miss the summer vibes of Ya Mar... Don't forget you wrote Round Room. That song / jam was way too cool to leave back in the aughts.
, comment by Chucklehead
Chucklehead I find it hard to believe they are not going to play "Good Times, Bad Times" or "Loving Cup" this tour. Or any one of the many bluegrass covers.
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS @nichobert said:

I've advocating mini-shelvings for a large chunk of set centerpiece songs for awhile now. It'd be cool if the Tweezers, lights and DWDs moved into a Support capacity while the band played around with some new blood. 3 shows in and we have one of the three most interesting 3.0 versions of Gin, Limb and Hood already.
A very interesting and constructive observation. I like your thinking on this.
, comment by TheEmu
TheEmu @Uakari said:
Please post reviews from people at the show.
http://blog.phish.net/1345567800/whence-we-recap
, comment by jugglerswithfire
jugglerswithfire Excellent review! The only disclaimer you left out is it's your birthday!!
, comment by MOstGhoSt
MOstGhoSt from the vantage point of the couch tour... this show was really really something.
awesome review and cheers to shifting gears from what intended to be brutally savage.

why approach an event with anything other than a clear and open mind? have no expectations, you will have no disappointments and you might just be overwhelmingly happily satisfied...

that first set was more like a second set. and this is a desirable situation.
july fourth and the star spangled banner - yes and thank you!
555 - yes indeed. that song sounds well held with rhythm - driven and new.
really really good.
i love the moma dance and don't care what anyone else thinks on that. i could hear that song any day. as a closer to set one the squirming coil is welcome in my view because we have a moment alone in the page side love. i love love to hear the piano solo and this moment seems to be getting a little longer? i hope so. i don't know.

fuego was sweet sweet - hello - set two opener going on for like ever. ( 18 minutes of forever ) awesome and on and on and it looks like we have an answer to the question... yes - fuego is going big and out there. i would love for a fuego to happen at randalls island.
a big song in a big city. down with disease was hot as it often is hot.

this concert came across phenomenally well with the live feed. i wish i could have been there in close proximity, looking forward to jumping in at randall's island. nyc
, comment by Uakari
, comment by Axilla2
Axilla2 It broke my heart to know so many of my friends were at this show and I was stuck home watching/listening with my mouth on the floor. This one hurt it was so good. For a minute there, the way they were jamming off Fuego and DwD, I thought we were in for a four song set. Really enjoyed the elastic jamming of second set. The first set shouldn't be skipped either. I'm a fan of KDF, I enjoy its tempo and how raucous Page gets on the keys with it. Moma was Moma. Reba was good too, phish may not always take beloved songs into deep jam territory but it was well executed (like Tim Howard, the Secretary of Defense, against Belgium). It was a real icing on the cake to get a disgusting, gnarly, putrid split and I thought that was going to be the curtain call for set one. But no, coil wrapped things off nicely and who can hate Page closing out a set on ivory. You could feel second set was shaping up to be a great one. Fish is an incredible drummer to watch. He continues to impress me and I think he has really locked down since the start of last summer and I also believe he is responsible for keeping the jams on track. Good show, cheers.
"Taste the beer, for the devil is drawing near."
, comment by braindeadr
braindeadr I really like the new album. Winterqueen is actually one of my favorites. I would also love to see a Wombat with horns. Several of the new songs really have a lot of jam potential--I think we re in for a good tour this year. I applaud Phish for continuing to grow and to try new things. I don t like everything they do but I m willing to give them a chance. All they owe us is to always try to play a good show.
, comment by PennPhan
PennPhan "The band's insistence on forcing the new material in combination with the lack of cover favorites such as C&P, Bitch, R&R, Golden Age and others has, in my view, caused the shows to lack the feeling of natural flow, and I think has hurt the energy a bit. "

That's a natural consequence of whiny bitches.
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS @PennPhan said:
"The band's insistence on forcing the new material in combination with the lack of cover favorites such as C&P, Bitch, R&R, Golden Age and others has, in my view, caused the shows to lack the feeling of natural flow, and I think has hurt the energy a bit. "

That's a natural consequence of whiny bitches.
What the hell are you talking about? Who's whining? The reviewers of two straight shows made the correct observation that the flow of the shows were uneven. My comments are merely an observation which helps explain this.

Down boy.
, comment by TheEmu
, comment by PennPhan
PennPhan @FACTSAREUSELESS said:
@PennPhan said:
"The band's insistence on forcing the new material in combination with the lack of cover favorites such as C&P, Bitch, R&R, Golden Age and others has, in my view, caused the shows to lack the feeling of natural flow, and I think has hurt the energy a bit. "

That's a natural consequence of whiny bitches.
What the hell are you talking about? Who's whining? The reviewers of two straight shows made the correct observation that the flow of the shows were uneven. My comments are merely an observation which helps explain this.

Down boy.
No, no, not you! I'm talking about the pre-Halloween whiners who were the cause of the covers boycott.
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS @PennPhan said:
@FACTSAREUSELESS said:
@PennPhan said:
"The band's insistence on forcing the new material in combination with the lack of cover favorites such as C&P, Bitch, R&R, Golden Age and others has, in my view, caused the shows to lack the feeling of natural flow, and I think has hurt the energy a bit. "

That's a natural consequence of whiny bitches.
What the hell are you talking about? Who's whining? The reviewers of two straight shows made the correct observation that the flow of the shows were uneven. My comments are merely an observation which helps explain this.

Down boy.
No, no, not you! I'm talking about the pre-Halloween whiners who were the cause of the covers boycott.
I see. I misunderstood your point. Guess I'm the old dog that needs to lay down. LOL
Thanks for the kind clarification.
, comment by J_D_G
J_D_G Thanks for the recap!
, comment by relax_inn
relax_inn Really though guys, it isn't like the band has made a formal announcement saying that "we will not play anymore covers or Junta this tour". Yes, it is unusual that they haven't done either of those things yet, but come on, they have a huge repertoire. Be patient, sit back, enjoy the sweet jams and original material, and I would not at all be surprised if by the end of the summer we get our fair share of covers and Junta.
, comment by Chucklehead
Chucklehead Divided Sky, there.
, comment by Ohfee
Ohfee Will I ever get that FEE?
, comment by AAronL1968
AAronL1968 @Chucklehead said:
I find it hard to believe they are not going to play "Good Times, Bad Times" or "Loving Cup" this tour. Or any one of the many bluegrass covers.
Damn, I had not even considered that there will be no bluegrass if no covers... do they have any original bluegrass in their arsenal? My Sweet One, sorta... Scent of a Mule, kinda...
, comment by braindeadr
braindeadr Poor Heart
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS And now......two days later.....all conjecture has been rendered futile.

RISE ON YOUR HEELS!!!! KUNNNNNNNGGGG!
, comment by PageSideRageSide8979
PageSideRageSide8979 Although i don't agree with his alleged comments Billy Joel is the fucking man and a great musician and singer songwriter.
, comment by PageSideRageSide8979
, comment by whatstheuse324
whatstheuse324 @PageSideRageSide8979 said:
http://gothamist.com/2014/02/07/phish_mike_gordon_cactus.php

So there was this rumor going around that the reason why no covers were played during the four night run was because of something Billy Joel said, because he was supposedly upset he couldn't play the Garden on New Year's because Phish keeps booking it. And the rumor was that he said, 'Phish is just a second rate cover band.' The flames of this rumor were fanned by a Tom Marshall tweet. Really? I met Billy Joel once and he was really nice, but I haven't heard anything about that. I know he was playing a lot at the Garden but I didn't know he was looking for those dates.

mike gordon interview
Thank you for posting that.
, comment by bringbackthunderhead
bringbackthunderhead I would disagree with the reviewers "perfunctory" interpretation of the Runaway Jim> 46 Days segment. In my opinion, it sounded as if the Jim jam was an exercise of "Find your own hey" culminating towards the end of the 46 days jam with the band finally synchronizing at the jam's peak. Maybe i'm looking into too much but it's possible that Phish is playing better than this group is giving them credit for.
, comment by phunguy
phunguy Fishman, Page and Trey all kicking it up a night, we need some Mike bass bombs now.

I agree with opening up the first set, more like the old days...

LARRY KING is the man, and yes the stream is weaksauce.
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