Well, first off, the sound on this one is unbelievable. I didn’t realize until the second set intro, Paul’s first show. Coincidence this sounds so nice? I think not.
The show starts off with the band really clicking together, and Trey taking a very bluesy solo in Alumni Blues. “Take this slip of paper and slice you in the eye” was the lyric of choice, and… I think there was an added verse. I have to listen to it again though. Also of note, first time with NO Letter To Jimmy Page. Maybe the lack of Holdsworth explains that one…
The keywords for Makisupa were “woke up this morning Dioxin on my head, woke up this afternoon Qaddafi in my bed.” Page is back to really livening this song up. And then, Little Feat! Skin It Back makes its first appearance, and Mike takes the vocals. Really great jam with Trey taking the lead for the most part, which jammed beautifully into Cities. That segue was exactly like someones thought turning on a dime, except the someone is the entire band. Good jam, cut a bit too short for my tastes.
The first I Am Hydrogen follows up Cities, and it starts off with just Mike, then Page and Fish join in, and finally Trey. Beautiful and perfect, not much else to really say.
McGrupp picks up quickly on the heals of Hydrogen, and features someone (Fishman?) singing really high-pitched behind Trey. Trey actually some what sings the lyrics, as opposed to his slow talk. This song finally feels complete.
The short musical intro to AC/DC Bag is still there, and that led to a nice jam led by Trey once again. Page led the small jazz interlude while Trey was nonexistent, although Trey is definitely there when the band kicks off You Enjoy Myself. Great intro, still not too much sustain on The Note. The vocal jam once again starts off while the band is still jamming, but that soon drops to just vocals and drums, and then what sounded like a “screaming Amazon jungle” for about ten seconds before finishing. “Man, that is scary” can be heard in the audience.
The first Lushington makes it way on stage, and this is a very nice, poppy song. About two/third’s of the way through, The Chase section of Fluff’s Travels is included. I really wouldn’t mind seeing this one make a return to the stage.
The second set starts off with Trey introducing their new sound guy, Paul Languedoc. Just amazing. A solid performance of Peaches en Regalia is performed, before quickly dropping into Golgi Apparatus. This is an amazing version of this song, very high energy and every song is nailed. The Page-driven Swing Low Sweet Chariot is a nice cool down in a very high energy show.
Camel Walk starts up, and with no Jeff, Trey takes the vocals for the first time. A good jam ensued, but was very short. Shaggy Dog had a nice acapella intro, and Mustang Sally is good… if not a bit too boring for this band.
Trey starts off Fluffhead flawlessly, and it is the first one on tape of Trey singing the vocals. Do I have to mention it is light-years better than The Dude Of Life on the reigns? Great performance, no Fluff’s Travels unfortunately… even though most of those sections can be found in this show, just at different parts.
Sneaking Sally once again included the vocal jam, and this is a very upbeat version, with Trey shredding over the jam. The tape is cut and missing the first verse of Wilson unfortunately, but it is pretty easy to tell the “Wilson” chant is still not around. Trey even took the entire “Gamehendge” word, instead of Mike finishing it off. Even with the cut, this version is incredibly short, and no “blat boom” is included.
This did jam right into Slave to the Traffic Light, which was quite amazing to say the least. Slave seems to be the easy song to jam right into. And I have no complaints. Much like I have no complaints about this Slave, perfectly played.
Quinn the Eskimo is another good example in this show of a very upbeat jam. Trey started messing around, and led the INCREDIBLE jam into Mike’s Song. This Mike’s really moved around to a lot of places, and showed a lot of potential for the future. There is NO final lyrics like past shows have had, so I guess I may never know what they are saying.
Have Mercy was incredibly mellow, with Page showing his guns once again when the easy reggae comes flowing through. This did have a great segue into Harry Hood, which was very solid. (a recurring theme in this show)
Probably missing most of set three, but my ears first hear Run Like an Antelope. A good intro, followed by a really sub-dued “take off”. A quick jam led to the grocery store narration of walking through aisles, feeling the fruits, and finally taking that cantaloupe and rolling it down the aisle. Fun stuff, especially for a song still in its infancy.
Sanity was performed incredibly slow, even though the lyrics were blown through pretty quickly. Trey sounds like a kid throwing a temper-tantrum while screaming “I LOST MY MIND!”
And every-bodies favorite way to end a show, Anarchy.
The encore starts off with a kazoo solo by Mike, before starting up another section of Fluff’s Travels, Clod. Much slower than what it would become, and all of the lyrics are full and included. After the final lyric, the pace really quickens to what would soon become “normal.” All in all, a really great piece of music that could have possibly stayed by itself. I’m not complaining though.
Highlight, almost too many to name. Skin It Back > Cities, Golgi, Cantaloupe, Slave… boy oh boy, I’ll say Mike’s Song takes the cake though. Lowlight will have to be Anarchy, just by default.
In case you can’t tell, but I would say up to this point in Phish, this is easily the best show played. Incredibly upbeat and jammy, while still being perfectly concise to songs like Hydrogen, Hood, and Slave. Must listen stuff.
