10-25-13 Worcester, MA

Phish Live Shows
#1

Set 1: Funky Bitch, Wolfman’s Brother, Wilson > The Curtain With, Cities > Rift, Free, My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own, Vultures, 46 Days

Set 2: Waves > Carini, Prince Caspian[1] > Backwards Down the Number Line > Ghost[2] > Dirt > Down with Disease[1] > Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley > Cavern > Run Like an Antelope

Encore: Contact > Suzy Greenberg > Rocky Top > Good Times Bad Times

[1] Unfinished.
[2] Contained alternate lyrics.

Notes: During Wilson, Trey said he repeated a verse because he was extra excited his friend Rog (Roger Halloway) was in attendance. My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own was last played on December 28, 2010 (109 shows). Prior to the start of the second set, Trey was given a Red Sox jersey (with “Phish” and “13” on the back) and draped it from Page’s piano. Caspian and DWD were unfinished. Ghost contained alternate lyrics.

#2

I can’t remember the last show I was this happy about, maybe that wacky Manchester sleeper a few years ago …

I logged into ol’ livephish, busted out my ticketstubinyohand, and downloaded me my new Worcester shows for the car. Took a ride to the store and heard Funky Bitch and most of Wolfman’s Brother, and I absolutely can’t wait to crank that shit up next drive. Sounds incredible. I still can’t believe I can have a SBD of the show for free the next day, just for having attended. Holy shit thank you Phish.

Incidentally, I didn’t have great sound in the back corner there in section 101, and things sounded uneven and incohesive sometimes. I’ll try and listen carefully, and hopefully I’ll be back with some kind of a comprehensive review. From where I sat, these two shows had mostly great points, and a few irksome bad points that I’m hoping will be whittled down once I heard the SBDs … hate to be bitchy, but mainly I’m not a ‘whale call’ fan, it just detracts rather than adds, IMO.

Also I felt at times Trey and/or Fish were rushing songs. Some of which have been rushed for years. Prince Caspian had this weird thing where, twice in the song, Trey seemed to play the tune at an extremely fast tempo - at the beginning, and then once again later … I had a weird stretch of disappointment in that second set that I’m hoping the recordings help me sort thru.

Anyway, amazing set one. The Curtain With was so gorgeous that after it, I felt like they could do Row Your Boat all night and I’d have been happy enough. Then we got a tight Rift, really really good IMO, and the last few songs of the set destroyed what was left of my liquified face. I didn’t know 46 Days could do that. And Vultures??!! Yes, please.

#3

So does anyone know the story of the ghosting…?

#4

No, no idea. I noticed Fish chimed in with something about Jack, and ‘scared the shit out of mom’ or somethin …

I think I’m wrong about Caspian being weird. It wasn’t the best Caspian I’ve heard, and still my show low point. The Numberline is actually pretty strong. Especially the jam. Then I would guess that Dirt was generally welcomed. I know I was into it, moreso on the playback than at the show itself.

I’m up to Cavern in the car, that just ended.

Light show is great from way in the back! And the room’s sound is something you just don’t get on the download. Some of those jams made noises I just KNOW my stereo will never make.

#5

I believe I read that Fishman’s son Jack calls the song ghosting…and it might’ve been his birthday?

Also, this Caspian could possibly be the worst version of all time. I kept waiting for them to stop (wanting them to stop) it was a train wreck. Awkward.

#6

Glad I’m not alone on the Caspian. It’s fine once they start jamming, … the regular song sounds like Trey needs a nap. Like he just can’t focus on playing the song well, can’t stay on beat or something. It just sounds lazy or tired.

Can’t stand hearing myself bitch about great shows though, ugh. Listen to me.

Speaking of bitching, can anyone else in the band whistle better than Trey??
:wave:

Makes sense about Ghost …

Okay, I listened to this show again, really loved the entire thing. Except maybe the Caspian. And I’m not a Carini fan, though it wasn’t done badly or anything. Admittedly it put me off a bit, because that Waves was amazing and I wanted it to just explode and peak out or something. Carini was jarring after a beautiful mellowish jam.

Gotta go back and relisten to that Waves actually.

What a show, maybe my favorite 3.0 show I’ve seen yet.

#7

My Ticketmaster review:


DCU Center

  • Worcester
    , MA
  • Fri, Oct 25, 2013
    Posted 11/02/2013
    by hosemasterflex
    This was the greatest concert of my entire life, of your entire life … in fact, of all life itself, and yet nobody’s lives at all either.
    Favorite moment: The Curtain With
    Setlist: I am NOT typing all of that
    Opening act(s): lot quesidilla
#8

:laughing:

#9

Great show selection for the Live Phish Listening Week.

Another Woostah show and another FunkyB Wolfmans combo. This one doesn’t go out quite as far as the '97 version, but it is very enjoyable. There is some slop to this show in general, but it is very forgivable with the jams that are produced.

The segue from Wilson into Curtain With is a very nice transition. As is the Cities into Rift. While listening I zoned out and thought that the Cities jam was With speeding up into Rift. Which would be an awesome transition, have to see if they have done it before.

The rest of the first set is decent, with 46 Days putting a nice period on the set. Vultures is excellent to hear, but it seems like the band just couldn’t quite synch up together.

Set two starts off with a decent Waves. One of my least favorite songs Phish has wrote, but it usually produces a nice jam. Once Carini starts up though, this set takes off for me. Carini is the MVP of the tour, and this one does not disappoint. Not the longest version, but a couple of themes run through it. Prince Caspian starts up, and essentially continues where the last Carini theme ended. Trey breaks into Numberline, which is such a happy song, but kind of a lull to the set.

I listened a couple of times to the Ghost, and for the life of me can not figure out what the alternate lyrics are getting at. The band is having fun though, and that is all that matters. An average sized Ghost with a good jam, which Trey (I think) segues into Dirt with this whistling. Must have had some dry mouth, the whistling was a bit rough. But I loved the segue into DWD. Nice to see this song put somewhere else besides set opener. May have led to the jam of the evening, as Trey took over from the getgo on this Disease, which was unfinished and segued into Sneakin’ Sally with the now standard vocal jam segment. Cavern and a strong Antelope to close out an excellent set.

The encore was a lot of fun. Contact is always a fine choice, and was surprised to see Suzy follow. Both have somewhat of a similar jam section which is nice paired together and I never really noticed before. Then Trey starts to count off and I’m even more surprised by Rocky Top addition, wow three songs! And even more so, because an excellent Good Times Bad Times finally finishes the show off. Any one of those songs would have made a good encore, but put them all together and it becomes great.

Highlights: Wolfmans, Carini, Down With Disease, encore.

#10

I am remembering now, what a crapshow it was getting into the venue that night. The venue was under construction and they only had like 2 entrances open, one for the stands and one for the floor. There was a lot of confusion and it took forever to get in. I had a floor ticket but wanted to get to the seats and meet my friend with whom I’d make a very fast meeting plan and had no cell phone. I was sure I’d miss half the first set and never find my friend, but I did and we did and found a nice set of seats behind Fishman about 30 seconds before the lights went out. Perfecto. It was one of those situations where you go from pissy agitated frustration to bliss in a matter of moments.

The first set made/makes for a most excellent dance party, anywhere you listen. Song-wise, it has a LOT of bang for your buck. Funky Bitch opener kicks things off right, saying “We’re here, we’re queer, get down!” There is not a down moment/song during the entire set; there are some major power songs here for me, including The Curtain With, Cities, and Vultures. Man oh man, do I love me some Vultures.

#11

First set was pretty solid and had some great song selections, until the dud to close it with Vultures, 46 Days. I’m not fans of these songs so they may have been played well but they seemed to kill the flow of the set. Second set didn’t seem to get going until Ghost which then died a slow death in Dirt. DWD had some good moments and the Sally that followed was solid as well. Cavern > Antelope is a nice combo to close down the second set. The length of the encore was great and the song selection was pretty cool too. As mentioned above, any single song of that encore would have made for a good, albeit expected, encore. Put them all together and you get a mini-set of good tunes. Reminded me of the Alpine 99 show where they were off all night but pulled out a ridiculous encore of Camel Walk, Alumni Blues, Glide and Reprise.