Saturday 12/30/2017 by bertoletdown

MSG2 RECAP: AND IT SINGS A PRETTY TUNE

Joyous holidays, phanners! I’m excited for the opportunity to recap tonight’s show for two reasons. First reason, redemption: I could film myself caulking cracks in my driveway and it would surpass the recap we published for last night’s show. We do try to bring the content when you need it most, but we came up short this time. Sorry about that. Second, remembrance: tonight is the twentieth anniversary of 12/29/97-- my first Phish show at the Garden.

More on that later. First, the goods.

Photo © Phish (Patrick Jordan)
Photo © Phish (Patrick Jordan)

I don’t care who you are: every Phish fan harbors certain prejudices when it comes to setlists. On paper, I’ll admit that tonight’s first set looks very much like a dumping ground for songs that probably don’t make any fan’s wish list for a New Year’s Eve show. That’s fair. But don’t get distracted, because the setlist undersells the set by quite a bit.

Trey saddles up looking infinitely more relaxed than he did last night, Fishman considerably more chipper. Page is wearing another new shirt and Mike looks like a bespoke Hamburglar. The band drops into an unexpected, well-paced, confident, and laid-back “Cavern” that makes a convincing argument for switching up the placement of this song now and again. “Blaze On” won’t inspire reams of handwritten letters home in this slot but it’s punchy enough to ignite the crowd.

I Always Wanted It This Way” is definitely one of the weirdest Page songs to come along since, well, ever. The vocal harmonies are just hard to wrap your ears around, and the jamtronica moves feel a bit dated, if I’m being perfectly honest. But this version packs more gear than anything in last night’s first set. As you may have read, your fearless leader got a new guitar rig for Christmas, and he showcases a few of his novel effects in this satisfying jam, which achieves a respectable low-earth orbit before a familiar sample cues up “Martian Monster.” Its trip, as you may have guessed, is short.

Page stays in the spotlight with a nice little solo in a well-placed “Heavy Things,” and then Phish brings this fun and entirely respectable first set home with greasy, confident versions of “Destiny Unbound,” “Ocelot,” and “Walls of the Cave” (which bookends the frame with subterranean imagery befitting the venue, in case you hadn’t noticed).

Photo © Phish (Jake Silko)
Photo © Phish (Jake Silko)

Which brings me back to the story I promised.

On 12/29/97, my wife and I were newlyweds. We had arrived that day in frigid Manhattan after a few days of Christmas downtime with family in Louisiana, where a bacchanalian binge one night had induced some strange and vivid dreams.

In one of these dreams, Phish was on stage playing “Can’t Turn You Loose.” I woke laughing, because I had no clue that the band had teased the song four times before--didn’t own those tapes--and because the idea that they would play it seemed so absurd to me, like a proper dream should. A few nights later, when the band slid into the head riff of “CTYL” during “Possum,” my face took its leave of its skull.

My wife doesn’t remember me screaming, “Get out of my head!” at the stage, but I swear I did. Our neighbors, for their part, went right back to ignoring me.

20 years later, this band has never left my head for very long. There remain aspects of the Phish experience that feel irresistibly synchronistic and telepathic to me--even if there’s less of the shamanic these days on both sides of the rail. Here’s to 20 more!

Our second half this evening begins much like the first--in the pocket. “Sand” serves as a groovy invocation, more amuse bouche than main course, a call to flush the stiffness out of the legs for what comes next. “Chalk Dust Torture” makes a beeline for bliss almost immediately after the composed section of the song, with each band member creating ample space and listening actively through a seamlessly fluid modulation to the major. If you’ve heard some of Phish’s most successful second set “Chalk Dusts” of recent years, this one feels familiar, like home. Trey and Page both seem to feel this way, too, as they both quote Simon and Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound” repeatedly while en route to an incandescent peak that could thaw the most frostburnt of toes.

Photo © @HSL_83
Photo © @HSL_83

Ghost” materializes now, and serves mostly as a temporary extension of the “Chalk Dust” jam, galloping without a care in the world from one panoramic vista to the next without a single dark cloud in the sky. “Backwards Down the Number Line” and “Simple” follow, continuing this theme, the crowd responding with wide smiles and happy feet all around. 2017 has been a trying year for many people, myself included, and upbeat sets like this can deliver much-needed healing energy and benediction to those open to it.

“Simple’s” delicate denouement gives way, finally, to the darkness--and what is to my ears both the most interesting jam of the holiday run so far and one of the most successful “Split Open and Melt” performances of the 3.0 era. You’ve certainly heard versions of this song with tighter composed sections and taller peaks, but there is a freshness to this jam that commands attention. Moments into the jam, Fishman settles into an off kilter shuffle of sorts, inspiring percussive volleys from Mike. Page wants in on the conversation and starts drumming insistently on his grand piano, while Trey creates contrast with fluid, bent notes that drape over the top of it all. By the end, we find ourselves in an entirely new and unexpected place--which is the essence of Phish. And while we aren’t permitted to stay there very long, it’s a perfect place to end tonight’s journey.

Wishing you all a blissful 2018 full of bright landscapes and new destinations.

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Comments

, comment by infectedferret
infectedferret Great review! I especially enjoyed the “get out of my head” portion of the program. I could nitpick things here and there about last night, but as I was enjoying from the comfort of my sofa, my voice isn’t nearly as significant as are those of attendees. Song selection in the first set was a little weird, but that’s okay sometimes. Sand could’ve been taken a little deeper, but we were rewarded with that majestic Chalk Dust>Ghost. All in all, a fun show from the couch and, I believe, a harbinger of great things to come this weekend. Enjoy, everyone!
, comment by uctweezer
uctweezer Nice work as always Chris. Especially love the "CTYL" story – so much syncronicity with this band and fan base; sometimes it's hard to explain, and in most realms people wouldn't ever believe such a story. Quintessential Phishiness indeed.

I love that your recapitulation of last night ends with "Melt," rather than the throwaway "Julius" tacked on. I prefer your version of events.
, comment by User_25597_
User_25597_ I make the argument that every time I skip a show, they punish me personally. And I really mean it. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Some nice slinky dark material the first two nights. But honesty sometimes Trey looks and sounds as though he's lost. Like he's either thinking way too hard or not nearly hard enough. Really looking forward to getting in the building tonight.
, comment by melt_the_tek9
melt_the_tek9 I would add that Blaze went Type II if my ears were correct (and if the second song of the show goes out, even for a little, it's hot). I'd also add that the major key annihilation by Mike almost all of the second set was so fun. Ghost didn't stand a chance for a dark visitation or a scare; Mike charged forward instantly with a big rising run to high notes, stalled on it, floated around, and then quickly created a super major key progression that Trey ate up like Thanksgiving seconds. That made the Number Line a perfect follow up: more happy happy, my friend. And THEN Simple, talk about glee!

Personally I like this review, it's fun. Personally, I'd like more details on set 1. If the first set was a throw away, Phish wouldn't play a 2 set show. That Blaze was NOT a warm up. Nothing in that first set was (except that Destiny...I thought they were going to abandon it completely when Trey lost both his chords and his place...). Tonight should be a full on no holds barred excursion!!
, comment by TwiceBitten
TwiceBitten Great recap! Loved this show to pieces. Each of the 3 nights so far has been better then the last...the way it should be!
, comment by uctweezer
uctweezer @uctweezer said:
Nice work as always Chris. Especially love the "CTYL" story – so much synchronicity [sic] with this band and fan base; sometimes it's hard to explain, and in most realms people wouldn't ever believe such a story. Quintessential Phishiness indeed.

I love that your recapitulation of last night ends with "Melt," rather than the throwaway "Julius" tacked on. I prefer your version of events.
Speaking of synchronicity, imagine my surprise last night at Terrapin Crossroads, when, while I was thinking about Chris's CTYL story and my own similar "that's a funny coincidence" / "are they reading my mind??" / "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" moments, Chris Robinson Brotherhood kicked off a trio of Otis Redding songs, culminating in none other than "Can't Turn You Loose":

Image

My face when Adam started the riff on keys:

Image
, comment by Ataraxilla
Ataraxilla 555 got left out of the recap ... fans of the song should check it out for Trey's unique ending solo (well, the first half anyway, which seemed to be warming the engines for an exploratory jaunt into the nebulous darkness outside 555's usual orbit).
, comment by mcgrupp81
mcgrupp81 @Ataraxilla said:
555 got left out of the recap ... fans of the song should check it out for Trey's unique ending solo (well, the first half anyway, which seemed to be warming the engines for an exploratory jaunt into the nebulous darkness outside 555's usual orbit).
Hell yeah, I was on the floor watching this develop and the darkness sucked you in.
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