, attached to 2015-12-31

Review by TheyStoleMyShoes

TheyStoleMyShoes First set:
-A high quality Moma sets the crowd into immediate dance mode, the Possum that comes in hot right behind it gives us a first taste of Trey's "do i have one more note? no way... YES HERE IT IS!!" style of tension that never fails to excite a crowd, especially when the little pieces of paper they ate before passing through security start kicking in.
-Wolfmans gives us the first taste of the ambient theme for the later evening before kicking into an even greater peak than Possum. My favorite move phish has is when they start in the funk, melt to space, build up through bliss and then peak with a firey rock explosion, this wolfmans does exactly that very well.
-I was shocked to see how short this Birds was when I downloaded the SBD, the solo here really had me twisted up in knots.
-I didnt know how well Fishman could actually play the vacuum, i swear in the middle of this he tries to do an impersonation of 'soaring trey' with his whistle sound over the cactus-page support. Singing the last verse/chorus to the band was a great moment of audience bonding, The Happy birthday that followed may be pushing it, but if you were there it had a surreal feeling that fit the mood of this crazy party.
-I like martian monster, i think it has a lot of potential especially if paired up with Free/bowie/disease. this was a relatively standard reading, but it was a great way to get us back into the groove after the fishman-spectacle.
-Reba was wonderful, ive seen more accurate versions, ive seen bigger peaks, but the pentultimate position in the first set is where this song can really shine.
-Walls can feel a little prefunctory, but i always get a little emotional hearing this song in new york; thinking how many fans never got to see the band past the hiatus.

Second Set:
-The Wedge is a great song, but in the S2s1 slot, it seemed like we were still in the first set. A good version though.
-Wilson: if you cant get excited about wilson, i dont know what youre doing at a phish show.
-ASIHOTS doesnt usually get too deep, but something about its jam always loosens up my brain and gets me prepared for exploratory jamming. I could tell this wasnt gonna be the big one, but we werent far away.
-Im gonnna go out on a limb and call this the finest Yarmouth to date. the Vermont Dub sound is locking in and trey is starting to take this song seriously. though admittedly I was starting to get antsy for the jams.
-KDF dropped and i knew it was on. the following hour and a half of music is Phish as i like it best: deep, long, but efficient. this KDF dives in for a second jam that you just knew was the start of the weird
-I said i was surprised by the timing of Birds, well this Piper even more so. I could tell that the crowd wasnt thrilled with the approach of Twist, but what these guys got done in 6 minutes was truly a craftsmans job.
-Its 2015 still, so you can bet Twist is gonna blow some minds, and this one sure does. exploring all over the place and ending with one of the grandest type II peaks I have witnessed. i would have suspected a slave or hood to end us here, but this twist takes the garden to the mountaintop.

Third Set:
-I cant be objective about this NMINML. My girlfriend and i were standing in the back of GA East so we could have some extra dance space, and all the sudden we are 3 people away from trey. The hourglass experience was truly otherworldly and brought me right back to the Drive-In set. When Phish play in the round, this forceful ambient sound emerges that is unlike any music i have ever heard. I would love to see phish do a stadium tour completely in the round, but beggars cant be choosers.
-the confusion preceding Auld Lang Syne made the burst of music and avalanche of balloons all the more gratifying.
-Blaze on, its hard to miss how literal these two new songs are regarding the state of the band, trey and the fans. its even better when they take these songs to the heights that this one goes. Trey gives us that soaring sound Fish impersonated in the first act.
-Carini doesnt take up much time, but it settles into another great ambient space, the guys have clearly been listening to the Siket disc again, and the transition into bowie reminds me of some of the 2001>bowie/roses>bowie's from yesteryear
-That being said this bowie doesnt slouch, the composed section was very tight and reminded me that despite the ambient emphasis this is 2015 not 2003, and thats a very good thing.
-Horse/silent/BDTNL was almost a guaruntee at that point, and reminded me that this night was going to end at some point, but also made me realize how lucky I was to be standing in what seemed like the center of the world, and to take a moment to appreciate the people (and in particular the person) i was there with.

Encore:
-After such an impressive, music based 'gag' it was appropriate that they decided to send us home with two straight-up boogie songs. the final opportunity to shake my exhausted body was appreciated, and the reminder to take care of my shoes was wonderful considering that I like many others had snuck bottlecaps/herbs/or other unmentionables into the venue in our shoes.

It wasnt '95, and it wasnt '99, but I think i can say with confidence that this was the greatest New Years of the modern era. As well as a great sign of what is to come for our favorite unpredictable band.


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