PNC1 RECAP
Having missed Bethel, last night was my first show since the First of the Year. I was excited to make it to at least one this summer, and it was a perfect evening to be outside enjoying the Phish. All in all, I liked the flow of the first set, at least for the first few songs: (predictable) energy of "Chalkdust," breeziness of "Roggae," crowd-pleasing of "Punch," funk into rock of "The Moma Dance" . . . did it really segue into "Rock and Roll?" Always a fan of "Sand" and this one had me moving a bit. The too-short "Tube" was the turning point, though. With the fubar'd "Divided Sky" (complete with Trey claiming it was on purpose, and stopping to hold out the mic to the crowd and just laugh at his flub) and the anti-climactic "Character Zero."
For set two, I really enjoyed the "After Midnight" and it's reach into Type II territory. It didn't get spacy, like the later "Drowned," but it clearly left all resemblance of the melody. (Anyone give the "After Midnight" a re-listen? And do you hear "Runaway Jim" near the end of the jam? I am interested to see if it holds up on tape . . . ) "Possum" was a bit of a let down, if you ask me. Only to be brought up by the "Drowned" and the subsequent space. Sure, it meandered, but I was happy they at least went there. "Maze" could have been something different, but it was actually really well played with what seemed like an extended solo from Page. I was expecting "Circus"; but "Dirt" worked just as well as a breather. "Alaska" was quite a downer, if you ask me. I find the song boring and monotonous. Blah. "YEM" was quite tight and very well played (especially when compared to the "Divided"). It was fun to watch Trey getting down while Mike closed off the song pre-vocal jam. But it was short and standard.
I was hoping for an "Axis: Bold as Love" encore (hey, if Possum could get repeated, why not this one?); we got Hendrix, just a different one. "Fire." Nice walk-out music.
All in all, for what might be my only show of the summer? Really fun, with a couple instances of Type II balanced with flubs and a downer or two. Enjoyed the flow of the first set, and the bit of exploration in the second. If I had to apply a number, I would say 4.5-5.5.
-jwelsh8
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Not really pretentious to me at all. Maybe look up the word pretentious?
One thing i will comment on, i dont think trey turned the mic to the crowd to bring out the laughter. I think he did it so the crowd could take over the solo by singing out the melody. Sounds stupid but it makes a little more sense in my book. Thats what i was doing at least...
I don't mean to be rude and I love the fact that there are recaps and I love phish.net, best site I am aware of. But the review is more about the author than the show. To me that is pretentious. Sorry jwelsh8, I didn't mean to crap on your review. If I could take my comment away I would.
And you truly believe the review is more about me that the concert itself? Did I talk about what I ate in the lot, or what I was wearing, where I stood? I attempted to give a succinct review of what was played, a brief descriptor, and my thoughts on whether it was pleasing to me or not. Not sure what else you were hoping for in a brief run down of a show.
(Looking over my notes, I could have added that during "Sand," "Trey was wrestling notes out of his guitar while Page and Mike kept driving forward." And it seemed like Trey was soloing on eggshells during the "Divided Sky" after his major flub. What else . . . the "Drowned" got quite dark, alternating between the main theme of the song and darker Type II before easing up into something that was slightly similar to "Spooky."
You know, you could write up your comments in the Show Review section
How for the love of god is that not feedback?
This put me off. Saying that the tune they played was just as good as the tune you wanted them to play and then to say a song was a downer just becasue you don't dig the tune. I was looking to see what folks take on the show was and I read that and I reacted too quick.
That's all. Sorry man seriously feel free to hate on me in any thread I start, I deserve it. I should have just moved on, I was cranky and tired and I made a bad call.
::feels really stupid right now::
I could have just left off "Alaska" all together, I guess. I do not enjoy the song. My description of it being monotonous is based on its basic rock structure; I don't think that is arguable (correct me if I am wrong). Some people may have enjoyed it; I didn't. I think that is fair game in a review . . .
It's fine.
It also seems that some people that have seen a lot of Phish shows have become Phish snobs and tear apart really good jams just because it doesn't live up to their Phish standards. Phish is the best live performance at the moment and i doubt that will change anytime soon.
Lauren Prior posted the following response to the suggestion of Scott Joplin to rate Phish concerts on the 1 to 10 scale, but to refrain from voting unless you had heard a lot of Phish shows in person or on tape.
Lauren said (all caps emphasis in original):
"WHO ARE YOU TO TELL NEW PHISHEADS TO REFRAIN FROM VOTING? IF THEY FEEL IT
WAS A 10, IT WAS A 10! ANYTHING LIKE THIS IS SUBJECTIVE AND THUS NOT
ACCURATE IN THE FIRST PLACE...SO YOU'RE CONDESCENDING ATTITUDE TOWARDS
NEWBIES IS NOT NEEDED.....
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM SAYING STUPID THINGS"
Read the original thread on the Google wayback machine: http://bit.ly/mwxmAH
And, heeding the timeless verity of Lauren's advice, let us all now please refrain from saying stupid things, like all Phish shows are equally great. :-)
::ducks::
One thing i will comment on, i dont think trey turned the mic to the crowd to bring out the laughter. I think he did it so the crowd could take over the solo by singing out the melody. Sounds stupid but it makes a little more sense in my book. Thats what i was doing at least...[/quote]
That's what I thought too, but everyone was just kind of cheering, which seemed a little odd.
"I was excited"
"I liked the flow"
"Always a fan of "Sand""
"I really enjoyed"
"I am interested to see"
"if you ask me"
"I was happy they at least went there."
"I was expecting "Circus""
"quite a downer, if you ask me"
"I find the song boring"
"I was hoping for an "Axis: Bold as Love" encore"
"my only show of the summer?"
In a Review that is only about 400 words. I mean no disrespect at all. I'm not posting this to be a dick I'm posting it because of what you said above that I quoted at the beginning of this post.
I owe you a beer, a few perhaps.
"I liked the flow" refers to the, well, flow of the song choices for the reasons I go on to listen. Because of those reasons, someone else may not like the song choices. Not pretentious or about me.
"I was happy at least they went there" is in reference to the exploratory nature of a song and while somewhat spacey and aimless, I appreciate the band's willingness to take chances and show patience.
I have already talked about the "Circus," and I have talked about my thoughts on "Alaska."
I asked earlier if you enjoy making guesses as to what the band might play next. There is a rich history of that type of exercise with the Dead, Phish, and other bands that change up their setlist. I got a bit of a kick out of the band playing a Hendrix song when I had a different one in my head. Pretentious?
The experience of a Phish show is so subjective, different for each fan and what he or she brings to those couple of hours. I simply was trying to let all of you know what my experience of the music was; it may have been different for you, and may even be different for me on tape. I guess what I could have written was more in lines of:
For set two, the "After Midnight" and its reach into Type II territory was a strong opener. It didn't get spacey, like the later "Drowned," but it clearly left all resemblance of the melody. After the first real improvisation of the evening, the "Possum" was a bit of a let down. Only to be brought up by the "Drowned" and the subsequent space. Sure, it meandered with its patience, but at least it went there.
Said the same thing, just made myself the authority rather than an individual fan.
(The discussion has made me think about how I will share my thoughts in the future . . . )
Sorry again for the drama.