The Hershey Phish Equilibrium

(a view from couch)
Legend has it that, not dissimilar to the band Phish, a young Milton Hershey traveled around the US perfecting his craft as a confectioner. Some too, might add, that, like Phish, Milton had a series of life altering iterations, a 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, etc...which shaped the young man into the colossal confection concoctor he became and establishing the loyal following that adores his chocolate to this day.

Milton's foray into the caramel game early on in his career mirrors the molasses funk that Phish brought to us in the mid to late 90's. Hershey used his early success, much like the members of Phish, to build something, the likes of which had never been seen. The success of Hershey's Chocolate, while taking it's toll on the young aspiring chocolatier and leading to his fair share of heartache and struggle, in the long run did not get lost on the pioneer as he devoted himself to philanthropy and empowering the youth of America. Hershey took great pride in all he set his mind to and focused on people over profits. Much like Hershey, Phish have always focused on the music rather than popular demand, and their ever-growing fan base over suits and record companies, defying convention and building a massive organization still devoted to those two key pillars.

So, as the band took the stage on the 10th of August for the 10th show of their summer tour, the many ironies...nay, similarities were not lost on this spectator. The double rainbow screaming down from the sky as the band gravitated to their instruments, seemed to momentarily disarm them, shrinking the already thin veil between band and crowd. As the first notes of First Tube rang from the stage, much of the audience, still enamored by the eerie gray backdrop that framed the rainbows downward arch, faced away from the stage, soaking in the scene. It took Trey a few licks to work out some of the rust as he worked through the progression of notes. While oftentimes positioned as a closer or in the encore slot, the incendiary rocker feels majestic in the lead off position. And if Trey's fingers were slow to loosen up, his legs surely made up for it as he hopped around the stage, cajoling the audience to do the same. Building to it's peak, First Tube, stayed within it's temporal boundaries while serving to raise the temperature above it's already uncomfortable swelter. Axilla brought the already frenzied crowd to another fever pitched peak, in a short but emphatic rendition.

Like many of Wingsuit songs, having been there for their awkward reception (I, for one, welcomed them with open arms and dancing feet) I hold a special place in my heart for them. Fuego, which would have been better suited in the clean up slot of set one, took the band into early Type 2 territory, with full band interplay before, not so smoothly, morphing into Runaway Jim. The jam that extended out of Fuego appeared to have some teeth and a little patience could have seen a more seamless transition. But alas...

During Sunday night's romp at Deer Creek, prior to stalled start to Weekapaug, I still cling to the notion that Trey was trying to start up runaway Jim, so when the band dropped into Jim, I felt that Trey had been made complete from the previous show. This Jim successfully navigated the terrain of the song proper but with minimal plinko style build in the early section and a brief volume down section prior to the big early peak. It felt a little rushed here, though as they drifted from the song into typical type 1 territory, the crescendo built as trey played a series of notes akin to a yodel before putting Jim back in the doghouse.

As Gumbo began I thought to myself, if Gumbo was a person, being a member of the collective family that is the Phish Cannon, it would be the family member who was just getting by. Flashes of greatness still materialize occasionally (7/22/03) but overall, they stick to the script...and I have to imagine that is frustrating, as many of your siblings are getting the treatment. Page's majestic key outro signal imminent doom to jam opportunities and without a breath, Sample begins and generates to a raucous crescendo before ushering in Steam.

My love hate relationship with this song stems from the "caught it first time played" and the fact that the lyrics are just so forced. So when Trey misses a line or two, i silently smirk. The middle jam section begins down an sinister path with the whole band locked in. Then, as the song proper ends, Steam begins to envelop the stage as a sonic soundscape oozing with emotion, jarring dissonance and feels as if it is about to take off into the stratosphere. It does not quite get to the Karman line and instead Sugar Shack is cued up. Traditional straight forward with Trey's looping section repeated numerous times until it's demise.

In comes the rage and intensity that is Llama. A fun and energetic run through, played fairly cleanly, leads to audible band discussion on why they don't play that song as much, with Page's humorous remark, "Because Mike said no!" Which he quickly noted was just a joke. I don't recall if this was the point where Trey got on Fishman for being on his cell phone. Fishman having his or a cell phone on a stand facing him, apparently to face time with fans...LOL. Trey proceeds to joke regarding his usage of Toms or some other such percussion accoutrement possibly alluding to the fans criticism of Fish's audio loops. Anyway, I digress...

The final pairing of Death Don't Hurt Very Long and Run Like an Antelope was perfectly placed and i'll admit, i completely get DDHVL. My sometimes twisted mind occasionally towards some sordid thought about some odd way of dying...just a mindless day dream, and the fact that once you die, it won't hurt, so does it actually matter if it hurts, which is basically the premise for DDHVL. I digress again...but the Antelope that comes out of the stellar play of DDHVL reignites that fire in the venue and the stress and release crescendo building up to Rye Rye Rocco is so insane that Trey momentarily forgot where he was or what part of the song they were playing and moved to next gearshift verse. When they started the build up/tension section it was already at a breakneck speed and I watched in eager anticipation to see how much build they could generate. Answer was: ALOT! Solid way to race into half time.

No Men In No Man's Land became yet another launching pad for set two's lift off into the dark and sinister. While no major song length records were broken, the point and focus of the jam was well conceived and brought back that alien invasion, thick soupy soulful play from the entire band. Page's effects moved into mindflayer status and Mike's bass bombs dropped like they were trying to stave off the demented beasts relentless attacks (I second the fellow that said to turn Page and Mike up). Though Soul Planet swooped in and snatched up the No Men, after the song proper, things went straight back to and beyond the Karman line. Soul Planet simmered in the type two murk for a bit before turning major key and b-lining for the heavens. The band was locked in and, like vultron, their singular parts, came together to fight both good and evil as unified front. Together they built layer upon layer of musical dimension and as the jam wound down, a smoother than normal transition into NICU was well executed.

I love Joy as it's emotional recounting of a loved one lost is such a current theme. How quickly though the shift to Scent of a Mule crashes through mood with it's levity and, sans Marimba Lumina and full onslaught of a Mule Duel , still delivers lick over lick for a good jaunt, recounting the Alien Invasion and subsequent victory the band endured earlier in the set. Golden Age got Caspian'd before it could truly take form and Caspian got Number Line'd. But...and this is a heavy heavy, finger in your face, told you so BUT, Number Line got Lizard'd. The Golden Age through Number Line Section was well played if not almost squarely by the book, with limited stand out moments but The Lizards > Character Zero one two punch to close punctuated an above average set of Phish.

Rock & Roll in the encore slot could have gone either way and owing to the band's first 9 shows it was anybody's guess if the band would let is bask in the limelight and explore some deeper darker terrains or if it would be a quick run through. It was the latter, and it typical Phish fashion, you were left to wonder if the message of the song, "It was Alright!" had any subliminal meaning.

Like the life of Milton Hershey before them, the story, the legacy, the legend and the folklore of Phish are, clearly, still being written and re-written, rumored about, questioned, extolled, meticulously dissected and argued over. But like Milton Hershey and his chocolate empire and the focus on the product and the people, the Phish universe that is swirling through the US right now, like chocolate being churned across a musical landscape, continues to maintain its focus on the two things that matter...the music and the fans

Mahalo Nui,
Matthew