PHISH, SUNDAY 04/21/2024
SPHERE
Las Vegas, NV

SET 1:

Plasma: Cool way to open the show.

Evolve: Standard.

Ghost: Brief sojourn into major mode territory in the early going. But after that, things get pretty interesting quickly. Love this segment that ends at about 9:30. Back into celebratory mode for a bit in the 14 minute range. After that, they play around with some effects and then it quietly peters out and ends. Solid enough Ghost, especially this early in the show.

Divided Sky: Standard.

Shade[1] - Standard.

hey stranger: Good jam, fairly compact. They could do a lot more with this tune.

Character Zero: Standard.

SET 2:

Oblivion: Standard. >

Down with Disease: Wow, this one will go down in the history books. Anyone here something similar to My Woman From Tokyo stuff in the late 22’s? Awesome DWD, really have enjoyed my handful of listens to this one. Easy all timer and highly recommended.

Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1: Standard. ->

Also Sprach Zarathustra: Standard. >

Light: Standard. >

Ether Edge: Standard. >

Piper: Standard.

First Tube: Standard.

ENCORE:

More: They should stop playing this in the encore slot and while they are at it stop playing it all together. >

Slave to the Traffic Light: Put it on the shelf guys until you are ready to give this tune the attention it deserves. Slow down. Have patience. Let it breathe. Stop rushing Slave!

Summary: Review is purely based on the music, not on the visuals. One huge highlight in the all timer DWD. Other than that, nothing really grabbed my attention. With Mexico and Vegas in the books, this year is off to a good start. They have moved off of the bliss crutch and are generally more interesting thus far. I like the direction of the band and think it’s the best they have played since Fall 2021. This doesn’t feel like a 3.5 but not quite a 4 either. So, I guess 3.75/5 feels appropriate.

Replay Value: Down with Disease.

[1] Began with Trey on acoustic guitar.

The band took the stage while pre-recorded music similar to Plasma played, before beginning the song. During Ghost, the neon-colored outlines of three giant robots appeared to tower over the band, with their facial expressions varying and their arms and bodies swaying slowly. The three robots were then replaced by one massive robot, with spotlights utilized to make it appear as if beams of light were coming from the robot's eyes, before the original three robots returned for the remainder of the jam. During Divided Sky, the dome became a view of a sea of clouds, with patches of blue sky above. As the clouds moved, their appearance varied from purple sunset hues to dark and stormy, with the movement stopping and all of the color fading during the pause before returning for the rest of the song. Page teased Linus and Lucy at the end of Divided Sky. Trey began Shade on acoustic guitar. During Shade, an eclipsed star was shown behind the band, with its corona of changing colors visible and a silhouette of the band in the center. During Sea of Stars, the dome became filled with a curtain of gold-colored four-point stars, which twinkled and waved in front of roiling clouds. During 2001, the dome became a starfield before being illuminated by replicated images of the stage lights. Mike teased Plasma during Light. During Ether Edge, a string of umbrellas with colored drops trailing beneath were raised to either side of the stage. The umbrellas were lowered again during Piper. During First Tube, the dome again became a starfield, this time with a ring of stars centered above the stage slowly swirling. As the second "verse" of First Tube began, a white vortex appeared in this area. As the stars in its orbit began to become multicolored, the vortex pulled in their light and created flowing, rainbow-hued ribbons that grew as the jam progressed. Prior to More, Trey thanked the production team behind the Sphere shows, and said that he thinks the band will return to the venue. After Slave, the band gathered at the front of the stage to take bows and have a picture taken in front of the crowd. This show was connected to the other three with each night's setlist tied into a state of matter. This performance's matter type was plasma.
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Plasma, Ghost, Down with Disease, Light
TEASES
Linus and Lucy tease in Divided Sky, Plasma tease in Light