PHISH FANS EVACUATE IN CHICAGO
IT appeared at first that things would be horrendous on Northerly Island Friday night. The weather reports ominously foretold thunderstorms, and the venue reports (especially about the lawn) in the weeks before the show were bleak. But as Phish opened with “Suzy Greenberg,” the crowd roared with glee.
The weather was as gorgeous as gorgeous could be, with an intermittent breeze cooling down the 90+ degree ambient temperature under a largely blue sky. The set featured a funkalicious “Wolfman’s Brother,” and Fish dazzlingly engaging the audience on the Marimba Lumina during “Scent of a Mule.” There was also a memorably must-hear version of “Limb by Limb,” masterfully crazy-fingered by Trey. Fans danced-off calories left and right, including calories earned pre-show drinking copious amounts of “Sample” ale in mason jars at Rock Bottom brewpub’s wonderful, all-weekend fundraiser for The Mockingbird Foundation, whose volunteers manage this site.
It was easily among the tour’s finest first sets. What would the second set bring? Would we get yet another powerful second set of tour, fans wondered as the sky steadily darkened, and lightning began to twist and pounce on the horizon, both Page, and Mike, side.
ALPHARETTA 2 RECAP
Hang with me a minute...
If you stipulate that this tour ends at the Hollywood Bowl instead of Dick’s (which happens three and a half weeks later and is... well... Dick’s) then we’re nearing the halfway mark of summer tour 2013, with tonight being the 10th show of 22. Wow. Time flies when you’re having fun, and it’s safe to say that tonight’s show in Alpharetta had fun in spades. In fact, each successive outing now feels more playful and sure-footed than the one before it, and that can only be a good thing, right?
Right.
Tonight’s first set kicks off with a “Runaway Jim” that meanders through a breezy sonic meadow before being propelled to a quick peak by Mike Gordon’s insistent bass lines. [“Jim” is typically on the shorter side when played as an opener and this is no exception.]
ALPHARETTA I RECAP
Phish returned to Georgia last night for the band's 41st performance in the state, dating back to 2/1/90. For a band that traces its roots to the Green Mountains of Vermont, Phish has logged a healthy amount of its road time in the Peach State. In fact, while Georgia ranks ninth in terms of most visited states, Atlanta stands a proud third in terms of most frequented cities, trailing only Burlington, VT, and New York City. And Phish has returned to Georgia every full performing year since 1990 with only two exceptions, 2004 and 2009. Over these years, Atlantans and nearby Athenenians have witnessed some spectacular Phish shows. And amidst a long, long list of exceptional individual song performances, here's a quick year-by-year sampling of some especially noteworthy Georgian renditions:
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 152
We now bring you live to another after-school special edition of Phish.net's Mystery Jam Monday! You know the drill: be the first person to identify the song and date of the mystery jam clip and win one MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. Each person gets one guess per day, with the second “day” starting after I post the hint. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. Good luck!
Answer: With his fifth win in the last seventeen MJMs, @PhreePhish wins this week's MP3 download by identifying the 7/12/00 Crosseyed And Painless. Well done!
MJM CLIII in V.
MPP2: GRATITUDE
In the lot before last night’s show at Merriweather Post Pavilion, @mikh2wg, @the_Crested_Hogchoker, @GhettoSloth, @ivy_light and myself were discussing how many people (including some of us) had a strongly negative reaction the first time we heard Phish. It seems so unthinkable to me now that there was a time when a friend gleefully played for me a newly acquired tape of 8/14/93 and my response was something along the lines of “Well, that’s nice, dear. But do you realize that idiot is trying to play a vacuum cleaner?” Sloth speculated that 30% of people hate Phish’s music the first time they hear it. I was one of those people once, but almost two decades later, here I was about to see my 30th show. Ain’t love funny?
MPP 1 RECAP
The band and everyone in attendance at last night’s show in Columbia, MD were right where they were supposed to be. This band was never supposed to stay on hiatus after 2000. They were never meant to stay retired after 2004. There was simply too much left to be said. Thank God they came back to let us hear it.
Everything simply feels right these days with this band who have been blowing our minds now for three decades. Some shows in the current state of Phish feature multiple extended jams. Others, like the previous night’s show at Jones Beach, feature one “you have to hear this to believe it” segue after another. Still other nights, like last night, are far less exploratory and still have the ability to take the audience on a stunning musical journey. You never know what you are going to get in 2013 and that is an exciting place to find yourself as an audience member.
JONES BEACH RECAP
"The rain had let up and leveled out to its usual winter-long pace ... not so much a rain as a dreamy smear of blue-gray that wipes over the land instead of falling on it, making patient spectral shades of the tree trunks and a pathic, placid, and cordial sighing sound all along the broad river. A friendly sound, even. It was nothing fearful after all. The same old rain, and, if not welcomed, at least accepted — an old gray aunt who came to visit every winter and stayed till spring. You learn to live with her. You learn to reconcile yourself to the little inconveniences and not get annoyed. You remember she is seldom angry or vicious and nothing to get in a stew about, and if she is a bore and stays overlong you can train yourself not to notice her, or at least not to stew about her." – Ken Kesey, Sometimes a Great Notion
A common debate in the comments section of these recaps centers around who is better suited to offer a review, someone who attended the show or someone who has listened to the “tapes.” Proponents of reviews by attendees only will generally claim that the show is an experience that can’t be completely distilled to ones and zeros via the modern miracle of livephish.com. To authentically offer a review of a show, they will say, you have to have lived the full sensory experience.
TYPE II CAST EPISODE 72: THE TOUR SO FAR
I had a discussion last night about the summer tour so far (Bangor, SPAC and to some extent PNC) with Stephen Olker, the producer and host of TypeIIcast, and Dave "Miner" Calarco of PhishThoughts. There are clips of some of the tour's jams (e.g., Bangor Golden Age, SPAC SOAM, Carini, Light), interspersed within the discussion. You can listen to our two cents here.
PNC RECAP
Last night marked Phish’s tenth performance – eighth if you’re only counting headlining gigs – at the PNC Garden Bank State Arts Center. If there’s been an ongoing trend to the preshow atmosphere on the current tour thus far, it could be the blazingly hot, 1999 Summer Tour-esque weather. So being mindful of that theme, please try to keep what’s important (water), and know who’s your friend (hydration).
Alas, sometimes an excess of water is the problem, as we saw Tuesday night with Phish’s return to Canada being postponed due to the after-effects of flooding. Whether an intentional nod to a previous Phish show that rain threatened to undermine or just a fortunate coincidence, “Llama” took the leadoff spot. Because the song has been relegated to a once-or-twice-a-year rarity in the 3.0 era, it’s easy to forget what an effective show opener it is.
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 151
Welcome to part 151 of Phish.net's Mystery Jam Monday. Once again, be the first person to identify the song and date of the mystery jam clip and win one MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. Each person gets one guess per day, with the second “day” starting after I post the hint. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday.
Answer: By, er, discerning this week's Mystery Jam (the 7/8/03 Discern -- played ten years ago to the day it was posted), @mainegabe wins this week's MP3 download. Great job!
See you all next week for number 152.
SPAC3 RECAP: PRESSING YOUR LUCK
The last time Phish ended a run at SPAC, it was the cherry on top of a sweet 2012 first leg. This time around, the band is still gearing up for the summer and their 30th anniversary, as well as adjusting to a new/old configuration with Fish in the middle. In short, tours rarely seem to hit the jackpot right off the bat. SPAC3 2013 cashes in on a few jams, breaks even on others, and occasionally loses out. The takeaway from the evening, though, is that this slightly-above-average-great show means that the big bucks are still on the way.
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation
