Some scattered thoughts:
1. Make sure you give the first set a listen - lots of energy, very good song selection, a nifty transition from Saw it Again to Fuego, and a chilled-out YEM given a little extra oomph by Trey playing around with his Fee megaphone. C'mon, do it. You gave 5/7/94 I a...
Last night Trey made it crystal clear, our humanity is irrelevant; we are all simply vessels made to bathe in the waters of radiance and glory which is Phish. As I was beginning to think that this tour had already started its descent, like the icy, monochrome arms of winter, they bust out a...
I know what you're thinking to yourself - "Self", you're thinking, "this exceptional tour has given us huge bustouts, stone-cold-killer jams, the return of the 2nd jam in Mike's Song, a freakin' *five song second set*, and has gotten tongues wagging in a way few tours of this era have, but one...
And tonight’s episode of Don’t Miss A Sunday Show will be starring Tweezer Tweezer Repriser III .
Complaints of Phish playing too slow were quickly and swiftly answer.
S1
Llama. Lightning Bolt opener. HUAH
BBFCFM. Smack in the mouth.. HUAH HUAH
Meat. Seems to keep getting more stank on...
Wow. That’s all I have to say. What a great night to see the P Fish.
Tonight a friend of mine that I stayed with in DC decided to make this his first show at the last second. He had never heard of phish but appreciates lots of music. I’m always kind of sceptical because let’s face it Phish is...
As posted to the forum last night:
2:01 AM, 28Jul, just home from Merriweather Post
It must be a thing this year; when phish play an epic show, you are then required to drive in a proportionally voluminous rainstorm. Barely missed wrecking my car in a pileup, i was swerving through deep...
I went to all three shows this weekend. This show was a great cap to a great weekend.
The first set started quite strong. I was feeling Carini this weekend, and it was a great set opener. The jam in this version really got the place going right away. My Soul was a cool bustout that got...
Still baffled this morning at the skepticism this show is getting. Flubbs and slower song mix in S1? Sure. Blaze On opener was cool, might be getting overplay in S1 but there are worse things in this life. Highlights of this set were Party Time (w an absolutely filthy Fishman beat midway thru),...
If this show was an average show, than it's more of at testament to how the band has raised the bar for what we consider an average show.
In this fantastic tour, everybody gets an exploratory jam! Roggae and the underrated heavyweight of 3.0 - wolfmans brother - carried the early first set...
So, a few words about this second set. While likely not an all-timer, it is nevertheless very, very good and quite representative of what they've been up to so far this tour.
The first 45 minutes are one long jam sequence, with callbacks to the opening Crosseyed in the subsequent Everything's...
Furious play, early, and, if the band enjoys changing shapes, this is a posture this tune will do well to assume. To wit, when play predictably cools, Trey (and Fish) rather ratchet up the intensity, the friends offering a version befitting "viking warriors" and "animal heads." Absent early 90s tension and release, here is a new force, just a remarkable version and testament to Phish's ever-evolving vision. Listen to the aud for some of the very best of Phish: Us, responding. Tremendous version.
An angry, dissonant and pulsing jam emerges at first, settles a bit, then grows melodic and soothing with nice Fender-Rhodes action from Page. Familiar bliss type jamming then briefly takes hold until a -> to "Bug."
Great, multi-section "Stash." Jam breaks to major mode (6:36) and returns. Then it grows funky and percussive (8:52), shifts again to major mode while staying funky (10:12), and then makes it way back to familiar territory.
A delicate, slightly spacey jam emerges from the standard and gradually builds in power and intensity. Then Mike and Trey shift direction, leading a nice "Moby Dick" jam at the end which mellows and > to "Free."
Jam breaks away from "46 Days" into a spacey, quiet mode, then Trey and Fish pick things up into a really great, pulsing and upbeat vibe. Another improvisationally rich version.
> in from a great "Theme From The Bottom" -> "Dog Log" pairing. Following an extended, straightforward outro, this improvisational version morphs into a rhythmic and pulsing groove that grows increasingly effects laden and eerie, before transitioning to "Free."
Awesome, improvisational version which proves that "Mike's" doesn't have to have 2 jams to kick ass. Immediately breaking into a lilting, un-"Mike's"-like groove, the jam settles down, gets punchy, settles again, all with a sense that tension is loading. The release begins at 13:30, and by 14:30, a melodic hose-storm is unleashed, repleat with "Sweet Emotion" vocal quotes and jamming.
Drops in neatly > from "Tweezer" and produces a cool hybrid jam that rhythmically stays in "BOAF" territory but melodically departs for stretches before charging back for a proper finish.
From out of the pre-show chaos, a show-opening jam appears. The jam begins in a pulsing rock-out
space, with confident Trey out front leading the way. In lieu of multiple sectional shifts, this jam retains
its rhythmic pulse throughout. Fishman once again guides the band masterfully through rhythmic ebb
and flow to maintain momentum. The music builds to a solid peak with some flashy Trey playing, then
returns to the song's chorus to close it out.
Like the old days (see 12/95's Mike's > Paugs), Trey seems intent to better, or build off from, a prior performance. Like 7/20/22, "Bag," after years of perfunctory play, is stretched out. Trey, way impressive, is way out front, with Page making vintage Phish something totally synthed-out and utterly two-thousand and twenty-two. Trey's return to the riff? Legit. Great jam.
Building on the Deer Creek version from earlier in '22, Mull sails towards uncharted waters here at MPP. The jam starts in sludgy funk mode, with Trey and Mike's effects thick as molasses and Fishman setting the tone with a "Destiny Unbound"-esque beat. The band keys in on the groove immediately, while the music deepens at an exceedingly rapid pace. Page's synths pool around Trey and Mike's bevy of effects as the jam builds into a clinic of dark/textural soundscapes. Fishman contextualizes the madness rhythmically with the expertise of a deep sea fisherman, and then leads the band > "Foam." Highly inspired improvisation.
After an upbeat lead-in, the jam turns dark and menacing at 8:45, at first simmering, and then sizzling with intensity as it reaches its apex when it's fully unleashed after 12:00.
Straightforward jam until 9:15, when the key modulates and an "All Along The Watchtower"-esque progression takes shape (an ajamakinto "Watchtower," but no musical quote of its melody so no tease). They jam on this "Watchtower" progression for many measures, going "type II" to an extent in the process though Fish returns briefly within it here and there to "Tweezer's" drum line. Then there's another key modulation and Trey begins soloing melodically o'ertop beautiful accompaniment from Page, Mike and Fish. This improv eventually gels around an enchanting theme before the key modulates yet again and a steady, dark, heavy "type II" jam ensues. Fish soon brings back "Tweezer's" drum line, and Trey Mike and Fish briefly to "Tweezer's" melodic line and comping, as this jam fizzles out and "Wingsuit" begins after sustain.
As "Shafty" so often does, this version introduces itself with a ->, in this case from the first ever Type II "Halfway to the Moon", and adds to that jam's funky bent.