VEGAS2 RECAP: THE DAY AFTER
Whenever the final Curtain falls on Phish, and fans debate the band's finest moments, Friday's Haunted House set will be a part of that discussion. So how do you follow up a show like that? Do you ride the momentum to even greater heights? Remember, 11/1/13 was possibly the best show of last year. Or are we doomed to Saturday Night Special meets The Hangover? Phish didn't have to play shows on 1/1/96 or 1/1/00. They would get no such reprieve on 11/1/14.
Photo by @hersch
A tight, compact "Fuego" starts us off. Like its other first set brethren, this "Fuego" sticks to the script, but if amount of Trey-face is a leading indicator, we can put away the Advil. He looks fresh as a daisy and Hangover-free. The blues of "My Soul" follows and gives way to the shuffle of "Back on the Train." After playing no Fuego songs on the one year anniversary of their debut, the funk of "555" delivers our second in four songs. The first "Dog Faced Boy" since 6/8/11 (144 shows) provides our first surprise of the night. Moving swiftly from such tenderness to facial copulation, We get the first "Fuck Your Face" since Phish Trucked our Face last NYE. The two-faced combo is followed by a quick "Horn" before we get another rarity in the form of "Frankie Says." The always welcome "My Friend My Friend" is next. So in the space of five songs, we've been dogged, fucked, blown, sucked and stabbed. What other band has that range, I ask you?
Photo by @languagestrange
At least they leave flowers for us, as "Roses Are Free" continues the string of relative bustouts. The Circus Circus is the place for us, as "Roggae" ushers us under the big top. In the past few years, when we think of the typical first set "jamming" songs, songs like "Gin," "Wolfman's," and "Stash." "Roggae" has quietly been at that level, though this would be a fairly tame version, even by first set standards. "Birds of a Feather" was next and featured a quick tease of "The Birds" from Friday's Haunted House set. "Birds" contained a "Birds" tease. Get it? A typically strong "Wingsuit" (love it in this position) closed the set.
Photo by @taopauly
Set two starts off with "Possum." Played a couple of times a tour, "Possum" is welcome pretty much anywhere in the setlist, even as a second set opener. This version would really serve as a table setter for what was to come. First, "Crosseyed and Painless" wastes little time breaking form. A tight little Trey-led groove becomes spacier, and Page's Rhodes hints at "No Quarter," but instead results in a slick segue into "Light." "Light," augmented by all manner of howling, builds to a serious peak reminiscent of "The Dogs" from 10/31, before quieting down into a serene space. For a minute, it seems like Fish is struggling to keep the jam alive, but then it resolves into a brief full band "Lengthwise."
Photo © Phish From the Road
For the second consecutive 11/1, we get a tease-infused version of "Twist." The 2014 vintage features some "Lengthwise" quoting from Fish before hitting on a more severe infusion of "Manteca" teases and good old fashioned, ferocious picking from Trey. "Twist" cools down until it's just Page steering things into "Wading in the Velvet Sea." After "Velvet Sea" does its thing, the alligator mouths continue into "Harry Hood."
This has been a revelatory year for "Harry" and it seemed tonight would not disappoint. There are all sorts of bells and whistles throughout this version (check out Trey at the end of the "Miner" segment and the plinko-y work from Page during the build). The stage was set for an all-time version when it was abruptly cut short in favor of "Golgi." Don’t quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure that's a felony in some jurisdictions. "Number Line" takes the set fully off the rails, but at that point the damage had already been done. A classic Phish case of subtraction by addition. "Waiting All Night," "Sing Monica" and, for god only knows what reason, "The Star Spangled Banner" filled the encore slot. I could go on, but you probably don't want me to. I was feeling good – really good! – though the third quarter, but seven straight tequila shots have left me all sorts of hungover.
Photo © Phish From the Road
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The Mockingbird Foundation
Hood> Golgi is like taking a trip to the dentist
Also, Star Spangled Banner was the right choice. That place went bonkers.
Sing Monica may have been a nod to the 600 or so Sing Monica shirts featuring Denzel Washtington that have been distributed on this tour.
130+ shows and I still don't get you idiots.
Hood> Golgi = dentist!?
Had this fanbase lost it's fuckong mind.
Yes, the Hood didn't quite live up to other versions from the year of the Hood, but it was still interesting and had some great moments. Seamless 2nd set from Crosseyed thru Hood...this was definitely a great showing for the band despite a choppy ending.
Now that we have definitive evidence that, at least for now, the '14 Halloween jams aren't a one-off thing, we can all wildly speculate on what happens if they stick around for real. Having solid instrumentals in the repertoire seems to me like it will be an incredibly valuable tool for setlist flow. If they segue into a new song, then you can pretty much kiss the original jam goodbye (ripcord or not) with rare exceptions like MPP. In terms of setlist flow, if the next song doesn't really have a jam attached then there is the danger of the all too familiar jukebox Phish.
Instrumentals don't seem to entail the same kind of commitment as to what constitutes the next 'song.' Did they play Manteca or just tease it? It seems like instead of an either-or disjunction between original song and next, there could be shades of back and forth where it all helps the original jam find new direction. After hitting the heights of [big jam> jamlet / stop / next movement] in Fall '13 I felt like my kind of Phish was back. This was the most important element of the Phish I grew up on (the consistent 20-minuters), but already we saw past the midway point of the summer's tour that Phish wasn't just going to follow this pattern and remain satisfied.
They were already deconstructing that immensely satisfying setlist pattern, and it was fair game which quarter of the show would deliver the goods. It seemed that they were going after the jamming when it felt right and not when the setlist dictated. They were also toying with a more '93 style seguefest where fluidity was king rather than time jammed.
Last night offered us a glimpse into the possibilities of returning to that style of organic flowing sets instead of us all simply wishing a jam would go big and if it didn't then that was the end of the story. At the tail end of Light (like so many other Lights this year), after they went abstract there were just no forceful themes put forward by anyone until Trey hit the chord that signals the 'Dogs' key. 'Dogs' is not officially listed on the setlist, partially because what qualifies as more than a tease is singing a verse or two in the right key/tempo of a new song. They were playing 'Dogs' to my ears, pure and simple. But was it a new song? The fact that its even arguable suggests that they can bounce back and forth with musical ideas, the instrumental a new launching pad, and maybe even synthesize the original jam with the new instrumental direction, creating a sort of hybrid oozing with creativity.
IF Phish decides to stick with these instrumentals, I think they've unlocked the door to a whole new method of delivering creativity. The Lengthwise/Twist/Manteca craziness seemed to me to be a natural extension of the kinds of possibilities this style of thinking about setlist construction provides. I can't wait to see if this stuff sticks around for good and I'm thinking it will.
I'll catch the rest today.
Also, I'm not sure if the band could see it from the stage --possibly blocked by the chandelier-- but the working theory in our section was that Star Spangled Banner was inspired by the huge American flag hanging in the back of the venue.