this is a review by a phan calling himself MiniMoog on PT. i think itās some really great writing, really capturing the essence of the present time. enjoy.
Bothallchoractorschumminaroundgansummuminarrumdrumstrumtruminahumptadu mpwaultopoofoolooderamaunsturnup.
That is a word that James Joyce used in Finneganās Wake to express the sound of a thunderclap, and in the context of the story, a metaphorical expression of the characeter HCEās fall from grace and prominence as a local hero thus becoming a shamed and derided man. Joyce in the book used the framework of the philosopher Giambattista Vico, who believed that history is cyclical and passes through three distinct phases before collapsing and renewing the cycle - these cycles being in order: the human, the heroic, the divine and collapse. Or, as a wise man once phrased it: Boy, Man, God, Shit.
This is essentially what we have been a witness to over the last number of years, a cresting and crashing of a wave that we all had been riding, and for the sake of this already entirely pretentious review we"ll just call Trey Anastasio the hero of our story. History is set in motion by the Heroās rise and fall from power and that is exactly what we are participating in at this time. This band has returned to form, and the world seems right because of it.
Now that thatās out of the way, Iāll get down to the particulars. My brother drove down from upsate (a 30 plus show vet) and we met up in brooklyn, headed out to penn station, got some beers and met up with a bunch of old friends we hadnāt seen in a while. Saw some methed out people on the train almost start some shit but an undercover on the train escorted him off the train and saved the day. We all got a laugh out of it eventually. Got to the lot had a beer or two but it was raining and close to showtime so we just went in. Everyone seemed fine to me, didnāt seem sketchy or weird at all - got a sierra nevada for a buck. Got in the show and had fantastic seats in the Orch pit. Got settled in and noticed that they were playing Ali Farka Toureās Niafunke as the pre-show music. Right away i knew this was a good omen - as that record has been my favorite over the past year or so. And the lights went down.
Set I:
Grind - This set the tone for the night, there was such a great feeling a true playfulness within the band last night and this was a fine way of starting. It was sang very well, with all the members adjusting their particular ānumber of daysā and their collective total. It was things like this that made the gig special, the little funny things that though small, showed a kind of thoughtfulness and attention to detail that i havenāt seen in a while. Those are what make performances memorable.
The Divided Sky - Wow. Just wow. Flawlessly executed, powerful. I was left spechless, the band just seemed to find that sound, that single-minded, sound of one instrument, just building, building. The band seems to have this emotional extra gear now, it was like in the early days when they had something to prove, a real determination, like a basketball player fighting on every possession, offense and defense, very focused. I canāt say enough about this version.
Ocelot - Hey! This song is fun! I had heard about this number but i hadnāt yet heard it, and i was glad that I got to give it its first listen live. This song has a number of good qualities, mainly that it seems to pair the kind of pop songwriting sensibilities of the late 90ās farmhouse era with the sort of whimsical lyrical approach of the earlier years. Its like, cute or (i canāt believe iām saying this) even kind of sexy for some reason. It just kind of reminded me of laying in bed with a chick and realizing that sheās just this kind of impetuous, impulsive, personality, and thatās what makes the whole thing fun. But it was sung well, and it had a nice little bluesy jam on the way out. Very patient playing from trey here, and that would continue.
The Squirming Coil - Again, flawlessly executed, very powerful build. Very similar in feel to the Divided Sky earlier in the set. Thereās this sort of attitude of embracing the composition in a way that I havenāt heard in a long time. The wind down improvisation into pageās solo was really delicate and nice, and pageās solo was very thoughtful though brief. Pageās piano sound (maybe it was just where i was) seems to be a bit brighter with more emphasis on the attack of the notes which led to a little bit different sound, but i quite liked it.
Punch You in the Eye - Perfect placement, just the right weather. The wind blowing off the water with a little bit of cool rain, crowd settled in, perfect spot for a pyite. Treyās sound in the intro was HUGE. This is where i first started to notice how āin the gridā the guys are - thatās a musical term used to describe hitting notes in the right subdivisions, evenly and accurately. They are all acting as a singular unit, hitting the rhythms very precisely. Anyways, nice to see the hands go up and get some big Hey!'s. The landlady portion was hit perfectly, very tight. And in a telling moment, Trey started one of his lines up on a higher interval, but instead of aborting it, he ran with it and worked back to the original line. Heās really sold, heās thinking about the chords. Nice solo from page too.
Dirt - Iām cool with this song, i smoked a cigarette and took a quick piss at the end and got back by the middle of NICU
NICU - Always love this song. Trey got a big cheer on the āBack in the days when my life was a hazeā line. He got a big grin out of that one. Awesome.
Ghost - Great! This was actually my first ghost but iāve listened to it so many goddamn times i didnāt realize iād never seen it before. Verrryy nice shape to this jam, they didnt try to do any of that kind of plodding semi funk ambient shit too early, they really let it build in a very almost triumphant I to IV progression, being very patient and spacious and when it settled down, page went to the synth, trey started the stacatto tremolo sound, mike hit the bass synth and fishman started one of his great jazzy siket disc era, trance inducing rhythms. They kept the tail end short and tasteful. Nice.
Run Like an Antelope - This is a big antelope, iāll have to listen back but i just remember it rocking. Again with the āplafulnessā thing, the intro was just so much fun. Quirky, almost a kind of dixieland type of feel to it, really just running with the energy of the show. The Jam was huge, worth a listen, but you know thereās so many antelopes and people always think the one they just saw was the best one everā¦blah blah. This is a good one. Maybe an allusion to the kind of patient way heās been playing, trey really drew out the ābid you to have any spike, manā line - let it drag almost all the way to the ārun run run runā. And it workedā¦a very mature sense of timing, brought the crowd into it. Great way to end a VERY VERY nice set.
Set II
Water in the Sky - Ok, Iām not so much into the slow interpreation of this song and i am not sure why they decided to start a set two with this song. But hey, iām not the guy in the big successful band so maybe they know what theyāre doing. I smoked a joint. And in a moment where i was particularly tuned in to my own intuition in the lull before the next song. I called birds of a feather. and i was right.
Birds of a Feather - Hell yeah. Iāve always loved this song and it was great. Fishman is killing on this one.
Okā¦ a brief sidenote here. it seems to me that Fishman has been getting a lot of shit on here for not being up to snuff or whatever and maybe he just had a good night last night, but i think he is just fucking killing it. I think there should be a rule that anyone who is trying to criticize a drummer must do so in rhythmic or drum-centric terms rather than some inane shit about āholding backā jams. His time is excellent, heās hitting in all his different subdivisions, heās playing well in all tempos, his drums sound good, heās in shape, doesnāt lag, feeling the pocket, willing to experiment, and in general, sounding like a fucking awesome drummer. There - now iāve said my piece (peace?)
So yea, great birds of a feather. I wonāt claim to remember much more than treyās tone sounded great and fishman was a monster. I admit it, i was high.
Drowned - Very good. A big rock number that i always like hearing, again, i just remember this rocking, but i think there was some cool shit going on with fishman and the hi-hats somewhere. Its drowned, it rocks.
Meatstick - Hahaha! If iām not mistaken, i think this is the first meatstick since 2000 or so right? I heard the synth coming in and the I to bVII progresion and called it. I really heard this song in a new way. Its a stupid fucking song in all honesty, but it embraces its stupidity so well that its fucking brilliant. This song, like a lot of other phish songs, i believe is about trying to get laid and your efforts being thwarted. Really fun. Saw some people doing the dance, and surprisingly, i actually remembered the fucking thing. God have i really devoted this much of my life to this shit? The woman next to us was there for her first show and she was looking at us like we were martians. Page took a synth solo and it was outright goofy sounding.
Time Turns Elastic - Ok, i know - The lyrics are unintelligible and trey nasally crooning āin and out of focus, in an out of focusā is not necessarily the hippest thing in the world, but i think this song is a real achievement. Iām not even sure i like it, but this song i think accounts for how in shape these guys are. This is an incredibly complex song and they hit every part, even the delicate details, and this one really hushed the crowd to, all night I was constantly amazed at how incredibly āorchestralā phish can sound when they are tight, and in this song especially i was amazed and the wide range of sounds, dynamically, texturally, tonally, rhythmically, harmonically and otherwise that this band is able to achieve. Melodies coming from the bass counterpoint, through the guitar and rising up into the higher registers of the piano. Also they added a bit of a jam at the end too which really resonates in a live situation. Iām positive about this song.
Waste - Nice to hear, got the crowd into it, Trey took a great solo at the end, nice big guitar sound. No mistakes. vocals sounded nice.
You Enjoy Myself - Allllllllright. For all the shows ive seen, iāve only caught this one a handful of times. The beginning section was just pefect, better even that the ALO version. This had been rehearsed, the little aquatic section before the happy time snoopy section was just amazing, actually some of the best improv of the night, as was the little section before the first set of intricate melodies, with the organ trills, mike was playing some really crazy bass arpeggios high up on the neck and just making this SOUND! I turned to my brother and said āHow the fuck are they making that SOUND?!ā Anywaysā¦progreses into the various sections trey hits the NOTE and its BIG. Strong. Treyās tone was just everything that weāve wanted it to be - kind of like air, water and wood all mixed up together. Jam was excellent, and in another example of the playful attitude, they brought out the tramps and did the dance. Really great bluesy playing to wrap it up and then mike and fish settles into the bass and drums jam. MIKE destroys this, really locked in, with a big envelope filter sound. Mikeās sound now is very kind of āhi-fiā Really presesnt across the whole spectrum, very low lows, very high highs. Iām telling you, seek out this bass and drums section, its something. Then the vocal jam which was just, i donāt know, fucked up! They were all kind of mouthing these alien syllables that sounding like some kind of medieveal incantations all stacked upon eachother with rising vocals yells which seemed to follow eachother in canon. Very unnerving and thrilling and as usual, great lights. VERY GOOD VERSION
Encore:
Rock and Roll - Is it just me or is it kind of weird to hear Drowned and Rock and Roll in the same show. Those songs are closely linked in my mind for whatever reason, but it was a good call. I think they dialed up the sound system another notch cause it was LOUD. Iāve already said so much so iām just going to shut up and say this was great.
Treyās tone is amazing, heās thinking about the chords, not missing notes, and looks like heās had some cheeseburgers.
All is well with the world. The cycle has begun again.
