I've seen about six random shows this year so far before Indio (Hamptons, Jones Beach 1, SPAC, Indio 1) and can say without a doubt that the second and third sets last night were the first I've seen since the breakup that rocked out and sounded like the "old" Phish of the 90's that we all loved.

Short review: best Suzy Greenberg, EVER. Best Loving Cup EVER (in versions that are unlikely to be topped because of the onstage presence of the guests Sharon Jones and her Dap Kings horns). Great, jammed out, spooky Ghost for Halloween. All best versions. Get this recording, you will not be disappointed.

Extremely satisfied. Got my money's worth last night. The band does not seem to be practicing or warming up or "phoning it in" any more. Phish is back.

Sorry this is not a terribly articulate review, but I'm shaking off the sunday morning cobwebs and waiting to shower and get back to the polo field for coffee, commemorative donuts and the acoustic set and just wanted to get my 0.02 on this show since it seems YMMV.

The trainwreck at Coventry has at last been redeemed.

FESTIVAL 8
Review by D.C. Smith (clforbin2001)
Minneapolis, MN 11-5-09

As anyone who knows attended, FESTIVAL 8 was the cap-off of Phish's triumphant return from self imposed exile (hmmm, wonder if they thought this same thing when picking the album).

The festival site is the best EVER...period. Anyone who doesn't believe me wasn't there. No possibility of rain, no 3 foot deep mud, just perfect; warm to hot during the day and cool and beautiful in the evening. Those who honestly complained about the heat must have missed Summer 99, cuz that was ten times worse.

2009-10-30

SET I ("Uno")

Some dismissed this first night a "warm up"; which in some ways, it is. But choice jams like the semi-ambient "Stash" and the best "Time Turns Elastic" yet made even this first set seem special to me. For the (few) folks that don't like the new songs, maybe this set did seem a "warm-up". But I loved that they came right out and played a bunch of new tunes - the lyrics to the "Joy" songs have deeper meaning than most of the band's catalogue, and even if I am in the minority, I nominate "Elastic" as THE new first-set closer.

SET II ("Dos")

I don't know why, but they were a little off on PYITE...the intro was pretty sloppy, with Trey even in the wrong key for a bit. After that though, this set gets going quick...anyone who bitches about the list need only look at it on paper - minus "Joy", that's straight Fall-97 song choices, folks. And if you don't like "Joy", consider that it is basically the band's love song to the fans, and maybe you'll change your tune; personally I love it. Wolfman > Piper was spacy but not super-extended; their new sound overall is a bit stripped down from the delay loops of the late 90s, and I don't think they really WANT to do a bunch of 25 minute "alien lazer" jams anymore. Bowie was pretty standard but very tight and energetic. Hood was interesting, as it has been since the "re-return", lacking the old guitar punch at the end but gaining in sentimental value with every performance. It just reminds us again that this is a finite thing. We can feel "good about Hood" right now...no one knows for how long it will last, so enjoy it and savor it.

2009-10-31

SET I ("Tres")

Possibly one of the tightest first sets of all of 2009. Divided was amazing in the hot sun. Mid-set Killdevil, Coil and Gin are nice. The Possum doesn't stand up to 8-2-98 Deer Creek (but I don't think any version since does, if you know one let me know). Then they closed with the classic first set capper, "Antelope", a tight, fairly short, yet fiery version. Hella good. I mentioned to my wife how it was cool how they played the new ("Elastic" on 10-30) vs. the old ("Antelope" on 10-31) for the first two first-set closers of the event.

SET II ("Quatro")

"Exile on Main Street". Not my first choice for the album, yet the band completely MURDERED every lick and vocal on this double LP. I loved it despite it being perhaps my last choice of albums for them to cover. So damn well played. Irresistable. I pick "Torn and Frayed" and "Shine a Light" to appear in future sets (perhaps this fall?)

SET III ("Cinco")

Best set of the phest for me personally. "Number Line" is really turning into a monster set opener. Transition to Fluff is nice, version is tight with some little flubs (find me a post-hiatus Fluff with no fuck-ups, it doesn't exist) and great energy. Ghost is best version of 2009 IMHO, having listened to all the others. Length isn't everything; this one is the grooviest. Circus, to me, is always a throwaway, but w/e it's their show they can play what they like. YEM to close was beast - tight throughout, no noticeable flubs, and perhaps the best version since "Cheesecake" (if you don't know what I'm talking about, I am sorry). If anyone honestly complains about this setlist....check yourself, it's possible you DON'T REALLY LIKE PHISH (Haters take note).

2009-11-01

SET I ("Seis")

The first ever acoustic set for the band and a landmark moment in Phish history. Many nice little tunes that have fallen by the wayside, such as "Mountains in the Mist", "Bri & Rob", the slow version of "Water" to open (SOOO much better than the fast version, guys, keep it up!) "Curtain With" puts the Coventry version to absolute shame (where it frankly belongs). And who would have called "McGrupp", the biggest bustout of the entire fest, to come in the acoustic set? This was my first, and it sounded very natural unamplified. Throw in a TRIPLE ENCORE ON THE FIRST SET OF A THREE SET SHOW and this really is just epic.

SET II ("Siete")

For some reason, I found this to possibly be the most uneven set of the entire weekend. I liked the song choices but to be honest Trey was a little off, and sometimes a lot off. And I love Reba so much, it hurts when they totally nail the composed segment then botch the transition to the jam (which is so much easier than everything they just played lol). Guelah was a nice bustout but semi-flubbed. Melt was nice but semi-tame (as it has been all year).

SET III ("THE OCHO" or just "Ocho" for short)

As with Set II, this last set on 11-1 had some uneven-ness in the playing. Whenever they transition out of Tweezer I'd just prefer for them to keep going at it and really take it out there. That being said, this "Tweezer > Maze" is one of the tightest transitions since the "re-return". For whatever reason, the next four songs all seemed out of place here, and the playing was subpar in both Free and Limb by Limb. Fishman didn't even try to do the drum outtro. But the boys brought it back home in style with the un-callable, unpredictable "Mike's>2001>Light>Sick Alien Hose Jam>Slave". Holy fucking shit. Who would have called Light for the highlight of the entire last two sets? If you don't believe me, listen to it. All the people calling for 97-era space jams can STFU right now.

Add in "Grind", the ultra-rare "Esther" and Tweeprise, and there you have it. Anyone who says this festival wasn't seriously fucking sick are out of their minds. Or maybe they're just too jaded by memories to enjoy the band anymore. Ah well, more for the rest of us - I see Cinci tickets for 25 bucks on stubhub. I'm fucking going. :)

Perfectly fine first set, but you don't care. The third set goes Solid, Solid, Great, Solid, Great; Ghost is a particularly fine version, though there's no pornofunk in sight. The encore is (yeah) the Best Suzy Ever, Probably. And the costume? After a couple of shaky tunes they did that thing they do where they're nerds from Vermont, nerds, nerds, nerds, then suddenly they're the best band in America. Loving Cup onward is 24K gold. Kudos to Sharon Jones and her band for tearing shit up - and to Phish for topping themselves three nights running.

I am 34 and been a Phan since 93'.

After attending 8 and listening to the Halloween set several times I am ready to give my opinion. Overall, I think the band sounded great and I loved the Exile choice. Yes, the energy was there big time and I could tell the boys were enjoying themselves. I am trying to not sound negative about this review because I was pleased with the set. I just get frustrated when people get all crazy and say it was SICK and the BEST EVER! IMO, Quadrophenia was better and I think I like Loaded more as well. Remember, this is my opinion. I realize that Exile tells a story of the band, but it didn't have the same story feel that Quadrophenia had. IMO, Phish should have chosen an album with more of an overall vibe. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings were awesome and they sound great on the sbd. Loving Cup is for sure SICK! I really enjoyed Fish on the songs he sang, especially Sweet Virginia.

3rd set was tight...great songs.

Suzy sounded amazing, but I found it to be too predictable. Sorry, but I expect more from this band on such a big night.

Go ahead and axe me if you wish!

saturday night halloween was the best night of my life, trey stole my face and i for the first time got COMPLETELY PHISHED!!

This show may officially mark a new era of Phish. An era where anticipation and mystery mean nothing.

Halloween has been used to scare people and I am officially scared. Scared that the band I have grown up loving and admiring is nothing but a zombie brought back from the dead, slowly walking blindly with its arms stretched out, looking for fresh blood to feast on.

The truth is that if the 20 year old versions of these men met the aged men that we now know as Phish, those young versions would laugh in the faces of their now zombified selves.

Don't get me wrong, I love Phish and will always love Phish. I am glad that I can see them perform and be together on stage, but I am painfully coming to grips with the reality that this is now a band that will tell me what they are going to do before they do it, that when it gets dark out, they get tired, that the songs that used to be rare treats are now novelty songs used to make us feel okay that we spent hundreds of dollars to see them struggle through their material.

When they announced that they were doing an album for halloween I was baffled that they would tell us such news in advance, but i remembered that the first couple times they covered albums on halloween they told the audience in advance and had us vote on which album we wanted to hear. So I just wrote it off. Immediately I though to myself that the obvious album would be Exile on Main St. The Beatles, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, The Who, Velvet Underground. The Stones seemed natural and with a couple songs already in their bag, Exile seemed even more obvious. But wait. Phish is a band that represented originality, searching the unknown, surprise and anticipation. So i hoped and prayed that this obvious choice is something they would never do, because its just too obvious. But as I listened to Phish perform their music over the weekend, I found myself guessing every song correctly, knowing exactly when we've reached the highest peak and when the songs would end. And when the flyers circulated that told us they would be performing Exile on Main Street, completely destroying the last remaining element of surprise, my heart sunk and a turned to my young girlfriend and told her that I wish she could have been old enough to have toured with me in the 90's when they were true masters of their craft.

I will continue to see Phish shows. I have seen 9 shows since they have been back and have my tickets for fall tour and will most likely get my tickets to new years. There is still no band like them. They are still living legends and still make me feel great when they stumble through their master pieces. But the resurrection of my favorite band is officially no more than an opportunity to relive the past as opposed to an opportunity to trail-blaze new paths into the future.

Perhaps Phish 4.0 is on the horizon but, to me Phish 3.0 is as sad as it was for me to visit my grandmother before she passed. I loved her so I kept going to see her, but it seemed like she forgot who I was and became confused about who she was.

Casino Boogie !!!