After a couple of weird shows following triumphant runs in Nashville and Atlanta, Phish comes ready to play in Vegas.
© 2016 Grateful Music LLC
Phish starts their four night run at MGM Arena in high fashion. They played the exact opposite of what is to be expected. Our trip will not be short, unlike Page's sample states, from the opening set of the first night, it looks like we are in for a good run. The band is locked in and listening to each other. With the surprise bust out of "Beauty of My Dreams" and "Dogs Stole Things" to the uber-rare "Destiny Unbound" preceding a rare-ish "When the Circus Comes to Town" the band seems to want to make a statement to all the people who slagged off Texas and decided to skip the first couple of nights of the run. Word on the ground at the MGM was this afternoon, extras are plentiful and anyone that really wants to get in can.Those that put in the effort got a rare first set "Steam" and a really tight, well-played first set, concluding with "Walls of the Cave".
The second set kicked off with the Phish rarity, "Crimes of the Mind" off the Dude of Life's album of the same name. They last played this in 2009 and normally play it with the Dude but the last few times they have busted it out have been Dude-less and according to Phish.net "invokes the memory of such acts as T. Rex and Mott the Hoople". Teases for the Halloween album? Both of those artists were part of the glam-rock scene personified by David Bowie. It was followed quickly by an extended "Golden Age" whose Brooklyn-funk led into an extra long dark and exploratory jam that resolved into "Simple" that let the crowd explode. Trey and company rode the tension and resolution that makes each of their jams unique and makes the venue feel like its' about to achieve liftoff. Even if the venue happens to be an outdoor amphitheater. It's a Phish thing. I have to say that having bebop back in the band is an amazing feeling. They started fall tour on a shaky note but has gone mostly nowhere but up since Dick's. Listening to this fall tour has reminded me that Phish are still the best at what they do and even though they've been playing together for thirty three years, they still love playing together and it shows. The "Light" came pouring out of a very short "Simple" but the second set pushed the energy up from the first set and led to a monster jam that went off the reservation for sure. Chris Kuroda makes sure to add another element to the stew during this jam when Trey was making whale calls and the band was deciding what to play.
The deep "Light" jam went pretty far out and came back home to "Twenty Years Later" that they took for a spin and led to the Meters-esque, "Blaze On" in a fourth quarter spot. Ending with a "Squirming Coil" and a double"Bouncin'", "Bold as Love"(possible Halloweent hint) encore, night one bounced into the books as a win for sure.
This weekend is going to hold some big surprises. I'm blown away that they played "Destiny Unbound and "Crimes of the Mind" in the same show. The first show of the run has set the bar high and the band is not giving any indications that they can't exceed those expectations. This weekend is going to be a great run of Phish shows and I can't wait to hear the arguments over which one of the four was the best. Excluding the Halloween set of course."Just ask the Axis"
Greg Heffelfinger
© 2016 Grateful Music LLC
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