SPAC3 RECAP
I have bittersweet feelings about tonight, as there’s part of me that wishes this tour could go on and on. I love many of these sets and even shows individually, but most of all what I really like about this leg one is its narrative arc. By and large, since regaining their footing in Atlantic City, Phish is telling a story about consistency – the kind of consistency that makes a Phish show a very safe bet in 2012. They are playing like a band in command of its arsenal, and with an understanding of what its discerning fans expect and desire. More often than not, they are sending those fans away sated with a winning combination of showmanship, deep cuts from the repertoire, and a healthy balance of tight and loose playing. Even the most jaded fan can find something to be glad for about this stand.
But we’ve got one more gig to go, and if it’s 45 minutes past the time on your ticket, it must be showtime. Let’s do this!
Throughout the first half of this tour, the staff here at Phish.net grumbled both publicly and amongst ourselves about fourth quarter doldrums – either a flurry of oddly placed songs or hurried jamming in the latter half of a second set that often amounted to a deceleration of sorts and gummed up the flow. By and large, with just a few exceptions, that problem seems to have been addressed and put behind us. Now in its place we seem to be seeing lots of tepid first quarters, and tonight serves as a prime example.
I don’t want to overstate this, read too deeply into it, or imply that I’m losing sleep over it. I’ve seen enough Phish to understand that it’s not entirely new. It’s even defensible. Three hours is a long time to play their brand of rock, especially in the oppressive heat of summer. It takes concentration and energy, and if I have to pick between a balls-to-the-wall first quarter and a balls-to-the-wall fourth quarter, the fourth quarter gets the nod every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
But there’s nothing remarkable or attention getting about the “AC/DC Bag” opener tonight, or the four song stretch that follows. Among them, “Camel Walk” – a tune that I am always super glad to hear live – reveals a band that may very well be experiencing some fatigue.
But enough about that. Let’s talk about the mid-set “Party Time.” Great stuff, and a likely “best ever” candidate for this number, which ventures beyond its typical role as a crowd-pleasing mood maker (Phish’s “Aiko Aiko,” perhaps) and points to its own promise as a vehicle for spirited group jamming. A turning point for the song – and for the set, as we’d come to learn.
Another jam-free “Gumbo” bubbles up, followed by a flurry of tunes that aside from the well-played “Foam” do not merit too much analysis or discussion.
What most certainly does merit discussion is the gargantuan “Split Open and Melt” > “La Grange” pairing that ends the set. Standalone “Melts” have been mostly fenced-in affairs during Phish’s 3.0 era, with unclear direction and modest peaks. Tonight’s is triumphant, and reminiscent at times of the throbbing, back-of-the-worm versions from the summer of ‘97. It would be ridiculous to qualify my praise for this “Melt” by noting that it isn’t flawlessly played; very few versions of this song are, and that’s not the point besides. Tonight the band captures the broken, horrorshow spirit of the composition, and peaks it with purpose. At the risk of damning with faint praise, I’ll call it the best “Melt” since Coventry, and walk that back later if I need to...
But lest you think that’s all she wrote, think again, because here comes the first “La Grange” since 1999, delivered like a precise right cross. The entire band attacks this long forgotten ZZ Top cover with 1.0-style, type I zeal.
And that, my friends, is how you bring home a first set.
Having earned their breather, Phish bounds out of the gate with a punchy “Axilla” to open set two. “Light” is so consistently transcendent these days that its first chords get fans genuinely excited, and it’s great to hear them respond to late-era material this enthusiastically (Dear Phish, please write new songs). Trey apologizes sheepishly for transposing verses before the band drops into a lilting, watery jam section. The ensuing conversation pinballs around a bit, with nobody willing to choose a vector, and it seems unlikely that this “Light” has its controls set for the heart of the sun. Before long, Fishman drops out, leaving Trey and Page to debate the merits of “Twist” before settling on precisely that.
“Twist” features some jamming around the main “Oye Como Va” riff [author's note: having re-listened thanks to some comments in the blog, it is definitely not "Oye Como Va" but "In A Gadda Da Vida"], but otherwise just coasts along for a few minutes before yielding to “Kill Devil Falls.” After a straightforward but impassioned jam section, the band returns to the closing chorus, but instead of ending the song, breaks out a bonus “reprise” jam that wanders quickly off the beaten path, painting briefly in primary colors and to lovely effect. Splendid reading of “KDF” and a must-hear, right down to the nifty segue into “My Friend, My Friend.”
“My Friend” is marred by clammy execution, unfortunately, but in lieu of its usual “MYFE!” ending bleeds instead into “Swept Away” > “Steep” – which not only conjures fond memories of the Billy Breathes era but also sounds goddamn great these days when dressed up in its elegant, lyrical new jam. I love this pairing and it is lovingly played and well placed here.
“Piper” pops up next and begins to show promise when Fishman doubles the beat and Mike initiates a four-chord progression similar to “Uncle John’s Band.” The harmonic idea doesn’t take, but a simplified version emerges a minute or so later, and Trey jumps back into the fray with his most dextrous lead playing of the night. The jam soon reaches a soaring climax, tethered to terra firma only by Fish’s jazzy beat – a four-on-the-floor approach might have ultimately been more satisfying, but I’m nitpicking here – and then hints at a second climax before rocketing off into interplanetary space, where no foot pedal is left un-stomped...
From the ashes of this blazing “Piper” we hear the declarative open D chord of “Free,” a wonderful song that could benefit from either practice or some time on the shelf. This version was sloppy and unfortunately rather pointless - especially since the unexpected “Kung” would have been such an inspired call straight out of the “Piper” meltdown.
Fishman quotes “Kung” (“from the hills...”) in the truncated opening to “Harry Hood,” which is beautifully played and builds to a more satisfying climax than many recent versions. A hot “Cavern” brings the set to a raucous conclusion with Mike slapping away with all he’s got, signalling his obvious pleasure with how this night has played out...
Wait! There’s more? There’s more! “David Bowie” threatens to bust the curfew, especially if there are encore shenanigans in the offing. Trey teases “Crosseyed and Painless” en route to a fiery peak in this brief but gratifying “Bowie,” and the last set of leg one is in the books.
If you polled the SPAC audience right now and asked them what they want to hear, it’s a safe bet that the rather dormant “You Enjoy Myself” would be the top pick – and so it is! This “YEM” proves nearly pristine until a slightly muffed transition into the vocal jam, but no matter. We’re in Bonus-ville now, and “YEM” is the perfect capstone to a set as grand as any in recent memory.
Valued readers: this is why we are critical. Because sets like this, and arguably shows like this, deserve to be set apart, and appraised differently from the pack, and if we blow our glitter all over the common stuff, we have no descriptors left. Personally, I am glad and proud to be able to fluff the hell out of this final show of leg one, and so let’s take a look at what just went down...
We got unusually strong and certainly “top 5 of 3.0” versions of “Party Time,” “Melt,” “Kill Devil Falls,” and “Piper.” We got perfectly-rendered deep-shelf cuts in “La Grange,” “Swept Away” > “Steep,” and “Kung.” And we got a second setlist as carefully and successfully constructed as any in years, right down to the “YEM” encore. All of this serves to redeem a weak first quarter and then some, and should send both fans and the band home to sleep contentedly, feeling good about the State of Phish in 2012.
Well done, Phish. I will see you in Long Beach on August 15th!
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Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation
Totally agree with that. Is Steam the only new song they've done on the last two tours?
Well done, Phish. I will see you in Long Beach on August 15th!
Aka "the warmup show before the 3 night Bill Graham run". :-(
I: Round Room-> Ya Mar-> Vultures-> Undermind -> Taste-> Party Time-> Taste
II: Simple-> Bouncing-> Foam*-> Bowie-> Bouncing Reprise-> Bowie
E: Mound**
* unfinished
** superMound
Nice review...I think the whole 4 quarter analogy is perfect...and you've hit it on the head about how in the 4th quarter when headed downfield the team has come up a few yards short of that critical 1st down...you won't hear any complaining from me about this three night run...which I believe has been the best run of the tour...
The band has defintely turned a new corner...there's a buzz going around the community that's a little different than it's been over the last few tours...it's exciting and fresh. And I think the thing that stands out the most about this recent tour...besides the bustouts, improv, crowd interaction, funny antics, is that many of the sets are filled with..and especially in the second sets..plenty of > and -> which is something that is always welcomed...
Enjoy what's coming your way west coasters..
...Anyway, I'd like to formally call for a Freebird opener to Leg Two...Why? Because as we've seen so far...Why Not?!!?
GO PHISH!
Thank you for a wonderful tour, Phish. I will be anxiously awaiting the West swing from my couch.
At this point, 'jaded' fans should fuck off for their own sake. The instant a fan decides that his 'jadedness' (self-regard) is a function of the music itself, rather than a purely egotistical malady, he's better off staying home with his memories and giving his ticket to someone who can enjoy the experience on its own terms. Talking about the beam in my eye too yes, but there's no shortage of same around here.
Three great things about last night's show: (1) the way Swept Away emerges from MFMF's shadow to flicker, glow, and go Weird; (2) the jam from 8/7/09's Sally smiling out of the foggy Light jam; (3) the hushed middle portion of the Piper jam; and (bonus) (4) how Kung is sooooooooooo stupid and we all don't mind, or pretend not to mind, because when we get to the future we'll die there with our friends and so why bitch about small things. Even others' jadedness (oh) or (oh) my own. Plus that's a nice drawn-out ending to Kung, isn't it!
oPc: 10/21/10 Split Open > Mercy > Piper > and Melt goddamn
Trey was a monster the whole weekend at SPAC, and it sure did kick arse seeing/hearing it. ....I mean, damn peoples -- they were on fire! It's right there on the tapes!!
I dunno... yeah Phish, life: never what you want, need, can use, sell, snort, shoot, hump, etc etc....but a ridiculously gifted group of musicians who have huge smiles on their faces, and are on most nites -- and certainly every moment of SPAC -- the best dance band in the world??
As far as not being the "same", "anymore" -- nothing ever is. But a smiling band of Phish??
Yeah, I'll take it.
Okay, one (I can't help myself). Pls, Trey, turn down the shrill. Your current tone can be a weapon of mass destruction at times.
Just to clear this up, that was not Oye Como Va.
That was In A Gadda Da Vida
That said, what a nice way to end the tour. Possibly a better three night run than AC, have to listen again. Hood and Bowie finish off the fourth with swagger. Overtime exclamation with YEM.
16 bit: http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=556633
I'm so tired of this silly need for every single note Phish plays to be worshipped as though it's beyond reproach. This is not "Phish 4.0" and the boys are not without fault. They are, however, playing remarkably consistently and that deserves all of the acknowledgement it's been given, but it doesn't mean it's out of line to comment on the parts that aren't top notch.
How about this? I continue to see the band I want to see and I'll react however I damn well please.
Which is it, for their own sake or for "someone who can enjoy the experience on its own terms?" And who are you to suggest how a fan of a band should enjoy their music?
I find it hard to believe that anyone can actually attend show after show and experience it on its own terms. I think may be even harder to do so with a band like Phish, where each experience is different -- of course you are going to bring with you your past encounters with the band. I think that is the very reason people see Phish 10, 50, 100 times.
I am also curious as to this "jaded" self-awareness. Can one actually be "jaded" and not have it be a function of the music?
I have no idea what this has to do with my comment.
TWO.
Sounds like everyone's got exactly the right attitude and don't you dare let anyone tell you otherwise ever.
Yes.
The members of Phish have worked their entire lives to try and achieve -- as a routine matter -- a state of egoless group communication. I think the fullest experience of the resulting music is to be had in a similar state. I have a hard time getting there sometimes, and when that's the case I tend to hold my own difficulties against the music, the band, the night, the crowd.
This is bullshit of course and I want to be done with it. Some dudes wanna defend their right to keep on keeping on in their own heads? How dare I argue.
@sethadam1 said upthread that...
But he's missing my point. 'Jadedness' isn't about the music. It's not an emotional response to the shared experience, because the whole point is that jaded motherfuckers aren't taking part. They're having their own experience, willfully separating themselves for whatever private and very human reasons.
And those folks are better off taking time out for other experiences. This site overflows with comments from back-in-the-day fans who've gone away awhile and come back with a new, powerful love for Phish's music and the weird Events at which that music is made. I don't think 'jaded' fans owe me anything; I think they owe themselves the happiness that distance can afford.
And it's nice to pass on a ticket -- even a $70 one -- to some kid who's dying to find out what the joyful noise is about.
I used to joke that hating bad movies is more rewarding than loving good ones -- because if the movie sucks, then your enjoyment (at the bar afterward, say) is limited only by your own creativity in dissing it. You can always work harder to spin the wheel faster. Whereas after a good movie, you feel as good as the movie let you feel.
That was wrong. I was wrong.
The point of all my comments in this thread is that we should stop treating 'jadedness' as if it's the same thing as 'experience' or 'perspective.' It's not. It's almost exactly the opposite of those things.
But I will say that there are ALWAYS great things going on at any Phish show.....and a really solid GSW 'can be' one of them.
And SPAC -- especially during Sand on nite 1 -- had some really nice ones.
These days it seems people just chuck glowsticks all the time, so the novelty of an honest to goodness glowstick WAR is pretty much another forgotten highlight of Phish of yester-year -- you know, like the solid jams or whatever.
SPAC delivered though.
I wasn't at the show but it sounds to me like the average Phish fan needs to hear that jam less than the band needed to play it.
@waxbanks said: Who is "we"? I think one describes oneself as being "jaded" as self-mockery, in a flippant manner. I also believe that one can be critical of the band's music, decisions, playing, bringing in experience and perspective, without succumbing to a "jaded" label. If I leave a show (NYE, Bonnaroo) with expectations that were not fulfilled and wishes for something different, I am not looking for someone to tell me how I could/should change . . .
"tired, bored, or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something"
See that 'too much' in there, the entire point of the definition, the whole problem, the thing people joke about to relieve anxiety about it being their problem? It's not a quality of the music. It's not complicated and it's not worth arguing about anymore today.
Enjoy the rest of the thread.
oPc: The post-Disease jam on 7/1/98, leading into Dog-Faced Boy, is really pretty.
I agree with the thoughts on the sound. And that the current tone cuts jams short...that seems plausible. So, as someone that has no technical knowledge beyond what my ears can hear, what's the solution? I had a bigger problem with the tone in '09, which everyone seemed to say was because he wasn't using his compressor...so people bought him a new one. Is something like that needed here? Or does Trey or a tech just need to turn a dial or something. Just curious.
And what is a "jaded" person "bored or lacking enthusiasm" for? Music. Something about the music is not connecting with this person as it was before. It is a function of the music that at one time did not make them "tired."
Discerning is what I meant anyway. Jaded, as Jeremy pointed out, is a term of art and is intended in a self-deprecating way.
Who among us, including Phish themselves, hasn't had their fill of Phish now and then? Ought not be that controversial a topic, imo.
The argument someone made against your "Phish blogger" comment was incorrect. A sportscaster saying a clutch dinger would silence detractors is reasonable. A slugger in a slump probably hears about it from his detractors quite a bit. . .if he's "big" enough, sports talk radio, the local/national newspapers, the news media, bloggers and the public at large that are either fans of the player, team or just aware of someone in a slump. When he hits a walk-off homer or something, it silences his detractors; and he probably wants it to.
Whereas Phish probably doesn't care what four online bloggers have to say about them. I'm sure they do a little, but they're a major rock band. They're gonna be successful, and the blogs saying that Phish is playing well, but not quite to their peak, but really well isn't something a major rock band would work on giving a "f--- you" to.
Where am I again?
So, I don't write for them. I write for myself, because I like to process thoughts on the page, and I write for you, because I like to share my experience of music with other people, and I write for the site, because I want it to succeed.
Just kidding. I never should have remembered my password for posting here.
Yes."
So . . . how does it happen? I don't believe you explained it."
I don't need to. Here, lemme ask my laptop computer what 'jaded' means:
"tired, bored, or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something"
See that 'too much' in there, the entire point of the definition, the whole problem, the thing people joke about to relieve anxiety about it being their problem? It's not a quality of the music. It's not complicated and it's not worth arguing about anymore today.
"
Clearly, you needed to.
And what is a "jaded" person "bored or lacking enthusiasm" for? Music. Something about the music is not connecting with this person as it was before. It is a function of the music that at one time did not make them "tired.""
Nicely put. Kudos for correcting yourself. I wish more people were willing to do so (including myself at times, but I digress). That said, I have a slight disagreement I'd like to voice (nothing major... not trying to stir up dust). I am one of those "jaded" individuals. I decided - well before the SPAC run - it's time for me to "...sling the baskets off this over-burdened horse..." and stop going to shows (I was disappointed with the Sunday show, but that had no bearing on my decision). Putting it simply, I just don't have as much fun at shows anymore. For me, it has nothing to do with the music, nor the scene. I still love the music, and it still means everything to me it's meant for so many years. I just don't have the same passion to see shows anymore. My point is that sometimes, life just happens, and people change. It need not be a function of the music, necessarily.
That's a very anecdotal - and rather unnecessary - argument, I realize. But... my thoughts were triggered, so I figured I'd share. Thank you for sharing yours. Again, you express them well, even if I don't fully agree. Cheers.
Okay, one (I can't help myself). Pls, Trey, turn down the shrill. Your current tone can be a weapon of mass destruction at times.
Thank you. I couldn't agree more. Emphatically. Picking up the thread from spac2 here and I think this is part of why the middle-range dynamics are not what they were in 1.0 as you mentioned before. It forces things to a polarity between either rage or ambience and this is part of why hoods/rebas/slaves aren't quite as satisfying to my ears these days.
That said, what a nice way to end the tour. Possibly a better three night run than AC, have to listen again. Hood and Bowie finish off the fourth with swagger. Overtime exclamation with YEM."
I could not agree more. You both said it very well. Trey's tone in the past has been (in many instance) the basis by which a jam or a composed section really "clicked". I'm really enjoying this current tour, BUT, I do think that Trey's new more tiny/shrill tone is an underlying reason why some of the jams haven't been as long and why some have left us either scratching our heads or unsatisfied."
I agree with the thoughts on the sound. And that the current tone cuts jams short...that seems plausible. So, as someone that has no technical knowledge beyond what my ears can hear, what's the solution? I had a bigger problem with the tone in '09, which everyone seemed to say was because he wasn't using his compressor...so people bought him a new one. Is something like that needed here? Or does Trey or a tech just need to turn a dial or something. Just curious."
A reply within a reply within a reply within...feel like this is Arabian Nights or something. To my ears, this whole thing started with that new guitar we were all so fond of back in 09, I forget exactly why now. Different guitars have different natural tonal and dynamic frequencies thus two guitars playing the same exact notes "cleanly" (without effects or distortion) are going to sound slightly if not even radically different. A good example of this is 7/25/92 when Carlos Santana comes out to join Phish in YEM. Also, fwiw one of the defining rage face YEMS ever. You can clearly tell who is who not only from the phrasing of the soloing but just from the sound of the guitar. Both have mild distortion but no hint of the shrill. I believe Santana is playing a custom strat with enhanced sustain while of course trey is on the 1.0 'doc. Very different sounds yet each satisfying because each guitarist has made it his own, respectively."
Yep, the new guitar "Ocledoc" probably does have a lot to do with it. I do wonder though if he's still using the BOSS compressor he had from roughly 95-99 (I haven't seen it on his website and he hasn't mentioned it in the interviews he's done for Guitar Magazine. Also, I checked his website and he's also using a "Bruno" half stack along with a Fender twin Deluxe. From what I remember of shows in the mid-90s, (especially 96-98) he only had the Leslie cabinets and two Fender Deluxe Reverbs. Those particular amps have more sloped highs and mids, ie: more mellow. I'm sure this all equals out to a more tiny/shrill tone. All this being said, I love this current tour. But, (here it comes) I do think his tone needs a bit of tweaking, at times it forces a jam to go in the same direction, the "serious rock out" direction that I've heard many .netters call it. I DO love the pedal to the medal approach, however a bit more variety would be nice and I think tweaking his tone would help.
Far as I know, there have been no major changes to Trey's rig in quite a while, and I hear the same tone that I've been hearing since the Ocelot hit the scene in summer 2010. Sometimes I think it gets a little too up in the mix, and cuts through everything to the point where it may irritate some audience members. This then gets explained away as a tone problem.
I really liked the 1999 compressed sound a lot too, fwiw.
Thanks, all.
So, would getting the compressor more in mix help w the middle tones that we've been mentioning? It seems of to me that any problem fans have had w treys tone in 3.0 has somehow always come back to his compressor. Is the thing that powerful? Unique?