Phish Crushes Their Third Night in San Francisco with Bust outs and Beautiful Jams.

Phish Crushes Their Third Night in San Francisco with Bust outs and Beautiful Jams.

 Fans argue about the quality of The Gorge shows but everyone is in unison that The Phish are killing it at Bill Graham Auditorium. Tonight ended a three night stand at the intimate San Francisco Auditorium. The first set was a fucking masterpiece! It had everything a Phish fan wants from a show. The first set was full of bust outs galore. From the opening "Demand" which has not seen the light of day since 2009. One of the most patient and stunningly beautiful "The Curtain With" followed. Next was the that triptych we all chase in the form of "Alumni Blues>Letter To Jimmy Page>Alumni Blues" for the first time in 114 shows. By that time, the crowd knew they were on a special ride. "Fuck your Face" jumped back into Gordo's wheelhouse. Then shit got nuts with the first "Cry Baby Cry" in almost 500 shows was played and the stat geeks were creaming. For the remainder of the first set "McGrupp" and "Sanity" and other "caught you" songs electrified the sold out arena. The "Walk Away" and "David Bowie" were extraordinary. What a fucking first set! The second stanza got off the ground as Phish took "No Mans in No Man's Land" for a dark jam that had a few peaks before it dissipated into a quality "Mike's Song" that did not go as deep as Nashville last year but covered some ground before it steered into that little weasel named "Fee" as the crowd applauded this Phishery. 

The "Fee" was gorgeous, like every one that has been played, or that's my opinion. Then, in a nice change up the band launched into "Seven Below". I love this song and while it was a solid version and kept the fans dancing, I wish it would have gone deeper and further before "Waiting all Night". Then they tried to get the crowd back with a funky "Gotta JIbboo" but afterwards chose to go into the new song,"Miss You". It's a beautiful song to hear on the upcoming album, I'm sure. However, it felt like a set that had started so promising just keeled over.  After that, Mike put his slap down for the opening notes of "Weekapuag Groove and continued the trend of "Mike's Groove's" this year that had some great playing to start out but then, and while absolutely well-played, the song choices in the middle of the "sandwich" just slowed the momentum to a crawl. The crowd started to get back into the "Groove" and after Trey's trip to the marimba the notes of "Oh Kee Paa Ceremony" rung out through the tight confines of the BGCA and that was the call for only one lady, Ms. Suzy Greenberg and of course, Fish needed a neurologist too. Trey nailed every note of the ceremony and it was a smoking hot, "Suzy" in which Page just left a smoking pile of organ on the stage. This first set will go down as one of the best first sets of the tour and then the second set let down on the promise the first set made. A hot "Julius" closed the show and ended the three nights with the second night reigning supreme out of the three. The second set, like so many others started with great promise but once "Mike's Song" started getting deep, they dropped into the territory that has marked so many shows this summer. This just goes to show how important song placement is and what Phish are capable of and what they choose to do. They finished up with a "Wading in the Velvet Sea" and "Character Zero" encore to close out the second run of the West Coast. Now on to L.A and The Forum.

Written by: Kevin Long & Greg Heffelfinger

Phish: Wed, Jul 20, 2016
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA

Set 1: Demand, The Curtain With, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues > Fuck Your Face, Cry Baby Cry, Sing Monica^[1] > McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, The Very Long Fuse >Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Walk Away > Sanity^[2] -> David Bowie

Set 2: No Men In No Man's Land > Mike's Song > Fee > Seven Below > Waiting All Night > Gotta Jibboo, Miss You, Weekapaug Groove, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg > Julius

Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea > Character Zero

[1] Dedicated to producer Bob Ezrin.
[2] Vocal jam.

Notes: Demand was played for the first time since December 31, 2009 (258 shows). Alumni Blues and Letter to Jimmy Page were played for the first time since August 3, 2013 (114 shows). Cry Baby Cry was played for the first time since November 21, 1998 (496 shows). Sing Monica was dedicated to producer Bob Ezrin. Walk Away was played for the first time since October 29, 2013 (100 shows). Sanity contained a brief vocal jam.

Grateful Music,LLC. 2016

Phish Made Magic and was Pure Delight from Start to Finish in a Crazy Bustout Sunday Show. Recap and Setlist

Phish made a statement tonight with a show that was crazy good from start to finish. Not to mention bustouts from start to finish. Once again, never miss a Sunday show.

I'm still speechless as I sit down to write this and I don't even know if I can do it justice. I should just list all the bust outs since this show was pure cake the whole time. Everything was well-played from the "Landlady" opener to "Ha Ha Ha" and " Destiny Unbound". Then, it just kept going up with "My Friend, My Friend" into the first "Mango Song" of the tour. After that came the amazing first time since Halloween 14' "Timber" but that wasn't the end. It had to go into "Timber(Jerry)" back into "Timber", so that's "Timber>Timber (Jerry)>Timber" then since that still wasn't enough, let's throw in a "Ballad of Curtis Loew" as another bustout and after "Mound" and "Winterqueen" let's end the first set with "Bold as Love"! Is that enough tour bust outs for you? And that is just the first set. They had something to prove tonight. They came out swinging and it's coming on harder and harder so look out west coast.

  

After a well deserved rest from the what was easily the best first set of the tour, they come back and Page drops the first "Drowned" of the tour. Keep in mind, most 0f these haven't been played for years and the whole band is nailing them like it's a practice game. The music didn't stop from there swinging into the "Twist" and then slowing down for a "Waste"  and then upping the tempo back up immediately for "Piper" and keeping it going for "Simple". Keep in mind they still haven't stopped playing when the new song,"Breath and Burning", which I'm really starting to like and especially in that slot, drops. Next, it's time for a little bluegrass fun with "Rocky Top" and that NY crowd sang it like they've been in the hills of TN for years before you start to see Page make some adjustments and we take off for a wild "Martian Monster" that saw the whole band get deep into the funk then Trey moves to the Marimba Lumina and Mike goes to guitar while Page picks up the bass, to turn it into a whole other kind of spacy dissonant jam. As they rotate back, Trey plays the opening riff of "Golgi Apparatus"  and hey, wouldn't it be weird if they finished it with another bustout? Well, the keytar is there so let's go "Frankenstein"! 

      After an encore of "Character Zero", this crowd was worn out and you could hear it. It wasn't a standout Zero but the main story tonight is bustout city and the return of the band to the form that was missing and the set construction, although full of risks, was a tour winner. Shows like this is why people still see this band on a nightly basis. To think, I didn't even want to listen much less write the recap. However, this show was a pure delight from start to finish.

Written by: Greg Heffelfinger

 Sunday, 07/10/2016

Lakeview Amphitheater, Syracuse, NY

Set 1: The Landlady, Blaze On, Ha Ha Ha, Friends, Tube, Destiny Unbound > My Friend, My Friend > The Mango Song > Timber > Timber (Jerry) > Timber, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan > Mound, Winterqueen, Bold As Love

Set 2: Drowned > Twist > Waste > Piper > Simple > Breath and Burning, Rocky Top >Martian Monster^[1] > Golgi Apparatus > Frankenstein

Encore: Character Zero

[1] Trey on Marimba Lumina; Mike on guitar; Page on bass.

Average Song Gap: 23.81

Performers: Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon

Notes: Martian Monster featured Trey on Marimba Lumina, Mike on guitar, and Page on bass.

© 2016 Grateful Music LLC

Phish Turns in Another Hot Night at Saratoga Springs Tonight.

  

Phish turns in another hot night at Saratoga Springs.

Phish opened with a solid first set that kicked off with," Crowd Control" and carried on with a hot "Seven Below". The band "Got Back on the Train" and then Page played a wonderful "Army of One. They kicked up the energy with a tight, "Martian Monster" and our trip was short.  After a tight, "Rift" and an energetic "46 Days" the set ended with a jammed out "Walls of the Cave".

For the second night, the first set was longer than the second but the second, once started never stopped.  With a "No Men in No Man's Land" opener that just kept going with a "Light" and a "Golden Age" popping up, a standout "Julius" and"A Day in the Life" to close out. They ended the set with a raucous double encore of "Bouncing Around the Room" and an especially hot "Antelope". Tomorrow night, never miss a Sunday show, and it's available for purchase as a webcast so check it out.

Written by: Greg Heffelfinger

Soundcheck: Funky Bitch, How Many People Are You, Miss You, Tide Turns

Set 1: Crowd Control, 555 > Seven Below > Back on the Train, Army of One, Divided Sky,Martian Monster^[1] > Rift, Water in the Sky, 46 Days, Walls of the Cave

Set 2: No Men In No Man's Land > Fuego > Light -> Golden Age > Taste, The Horse >Silent in the Morning > Julius, A Day in the Life

Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, Run Like an Antelope

[1] Trey on Marimba Lumina.

Teases:
· Sleeping Monkey quote in Back on the Train
· No Men In No Man's Land quote in Light
· The Birds quote

setlist thanks to phish.net

© 2016 Grateful Music LLC

Phish Blazes On at the MANN for the second night

Phish Blazes on at the MANN for the second night.

Phish played their little hearts out again at the MANN tonight. 

With a Wolfman's opener, they kicked things off. It was a good set with a nice long Mike's including "Horn" and "Farmhouse". They also played the nice, slow, funky version of "Llama" and a new song, "Waking Up Dead". Which I can totally relate to the title.

I just don't really have the heart to put into this review because the loss of Rob Wasserman has hit me especially hard. I met him at the Scaring the Children shows in SF and he was such a nice guy, in addition to him being a intuitive and amazing musician.

The second half had a Crosseyed & Painless" opener that led into a long jam that touched on a lot of different places before landing on a new song," Friends".  Then the unmistakable rumble of "Down with DIsease" led into a slow jam that turned into a funky "What's the Use" and then the set just took a dive. The "Meatstick"  and the "Line" which I like, but then came a song called "Tide Turns" and it led into "Backwards Down the Number Line"  the show won't be making any best of lists, in my opinion. The follow-up of "Dem Bones" was one of those weird Phish moments that you'd have to see. I remember my mom singing me that song as a child. That was a weird addition to the set. They definitely turned it around for the encore of "Dear Prudence" and "Harry Hood" but leaving i still feel the first night was the champion of the run. It would be great to see "Dear Prudence" make it into regular rotation and who knows, there's still a lot of tour left to put on the books.

Written by: Greg Heffelfinger

 

The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Set 1: Wolfman's Brother, Your Pet Cat, Blaze On, Waking Up Dead^[1], Llama^[2], Devotion To a Dream, Reba, Mike's Song, Horn, Farmhouse, Weekapaug Groove

Set 2: Crosseyed and Painless > Friends, Down with Disease > What's the Use? >Meatstick, The Line, , Backwards Food for Backwards Folks, Dem Bones

Encore: Dear Prudence > Harry Hood

 © 2016 Grateful Music LLC