Whatever You Do, Take Care Of Your Shoes

That’s a question I’ll leave you to decide.  But, after giving these Super Bal IX sets a few listens over the past few weeks, I have my own opinions on that.  The bar was set pretty high even before the boys descended onto Watkins Glen for their July 4th festival spectacular.  The first leg of this summer’s tour had been a strong one, seeing the band pick right up where they left off January 1 and most of late 2010.  So, naturally looking forward to this festival, expectations were large and many speculated that the best was yet to come.

So what’s my take?  Super Ball IX was a good festival.  Nothing mind blowing, but from a playing perspective and a song choice perspective, Phish delivered a solid weekend of quality playing for those willing to make the trek out to Watkins Glen.  While lacking musically from past fest’s like The Clifford Ball, Great Went, and Lemonwheel, this one will surely go down in history as a quality event.  Moments like July 1st’s  ”Bathtub Gin,” the Phish debut of Mike’s “Suskind Hotel,” the long awaited return of “Scents And Subtle Sounds” (with intro!), and the final set’s “Waves > What’s The Use?” all stick out for me as musical highlights.  And the covers?  A great balance of old and new, as the boys dropped great versions of “Crosseyed And Painless” (which I have dubbed the song of the tour so far, “Torn And Frayed,” “Time Loves A Hero,” “Peaches En Regalia,” “Life On Mars?,” a humorous yet appropriate rendition of AC/DC’s “Big Balls;” and one of my other favorite moments of the festival, the first set closing “Monkey Man” debut on July 2nd.

And there was the storage jam.  I think many of us called a mystery set before the festival even occurred.  Bringing back an old tradition, Phish emerged in the middle of the night on Saturday to play an hour long improv set, this time choosing their venue to be a storage facility erected in the town square.  The jam was certainly an interesting one, featuring instrument rotation from each band member as they played behind tinted windows that only allowed for their silhouettes to be visible.  The ambient jam was very reminiscent of past mystery sets including IT’s Tower Jam and the Lemonwheel Ambient Jam.  A large part of this set was the visuals; something that simply can’t translate onto the recordings.  As the boys dove deep into murky waters here, they closed out the madness with a spooky (and easily the strangest) version of “Sleeping Monkey” to date.

So, in total, I think Super Ball IX stands on its own, and held up nicely against other 3.0 events.  We’ve seen better playing and song choices for sure, but we’ve also seen sloppier performances.  As I sit and listen to these sets again and again, I get a satisfied feeling that I’m sure those in attendance also felt.

images courtesy of Dave Vann and Brantley Gutierrez.

Right before Summer Tour started, I decided to make a conscious effort to not write anything until the first leg was over.  This was a departure from my current coverage, where I typically do a small write-up after each night, but I wanted to try something a bit different and try to view the first leg as a whole.  In an essence, a tour is often like one long story anyhow.

This first leg was certainly an interesting one.  As with most tours, we experienced highs and lows, but the overall impression I got was that the band is dialed in.  While the naysayers will still complain about the “lack of jams” and exploration, I could not disagree more.  The jams are there; they’re just more structured.  In fact, if you remove some of the new tunes, it’s almost like listening to early 90’s Phish — well executed composed segments with controlled jamming.  I was only able to catch the three Jersey shows, but I believe the band is having more fun than they’ve had in years and it’s certainly reflected in their playing.

Here are a few “Free Thoughts” from the first leg:

1.  FIRST SET JAMMING
Right out of the gates at night one in Bethel, the band delivered a profound message with the opening “Tweezer > My Friend, My Friend” combo.  First set jams have not died.  While the first set is typically one for the band to warm up before diving deep in the second, this tour had several key first set jams that have stuck out as show highlights.

5/28 Bethel “Halley’s Comet”
5/28 Bethel “Bathtub Gin > Manteca > Bathtub Gin”
5/31 PNC “Sand”
6/10 Camden “Weekapaug Groove”
6/10 Camden “The Curtain With”

Each of these moments saw the band explode with energy and unleash some of their best playing of the tour.

2.  CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS
Every tour has it’s song (I often say that Summer 2010 belonged to “Funky Bitch”), and in an interesting move, the band broke out The Talking Heads’ “Crosseyed And Painless” four times in eighteen shows.  For a song that typically rears its head once a tour, this was a nice surprise.  Each time, it served as a launching pad into some welcomed, exploratory jamming that set the set in motion.

3.  STEAM
I think everyone was a bit unsure of what was coming out of the playful Blossom “Possum,” but what did emerge was a new funk-laden Trey original, “Steam.”  The slow, bass-driven tune is very reminiscent of “Ghost,” and one I predict will continue to be used as a mid-set placeholder (jammed into and out of).  ”Steam” was played only one other time in Merriweather (out of none other than “Crosseyed And Painless”) but I eagerly anticipate it’s growth next leg and moving forward.  The potential is there for this song to really go places.

4.  STOP KNOCKING JERSEY
Much of what I’ve read regarding the two PNC shows and Camden show have labeled those nights as tour low-points.  I’m in agreement that there were stronger nights, but I think there’s a lot to be said for those shows (caveat: I am a little jaded, as I attended all of those shows).  In fact, I will go as far as to say that the second set of PNC night one stands out as one of my favorites from the tour.  The jams out of “After Midnight” and “Drowned” stand right up there with some of the finest Phish I’ve ever heard.  And that “Maze!”  Easily the best of 3.0, and flowed perfectly from the “Drowned” jam.  Give it a listen again.  The following night’s “Tweezer > No Quarter” was also one of those fine moments.  Once everyone realized what Page was doing, the crowd just erupted with that wild energy.  As for Camden, I was thoroughly impressed with the “Rocky Top” opener, “Weekapaug,” and beautifully played “Curtain With” to end the first set.

5.  LONGER ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER
The biggest complaint of 3.0 that people have is the lack of long jams.  For those longing for 1997, it’s probably best to stick to the tapes (Mike said it best the other week on his hotline).  Longer isn’t always better, but once in a while, the band will lock in and deliver some real monster jams that don’t consist of Trey simply noodling around.  The DTE set two opening “Down With Disease” is a perfect example.  The boys clicked here and felt the urge to take this one for a ride.  We haven’t had a similar jam (time wise) since Albany 2009.  So, while these are likely to be few and far between, they aren’t dead.  And I for one would rather have several 10-15 minute well played jams, than an aimless 30+ passage.

So with Superball around the corner and a month away from leg two, it will be interesting to see what else lies in store.  At the end of the day, the band sounds great and stronger than they’ve been in a long time.  Expect big things.

images courtesy of Dave Vann.

Well, so much for Chicago closing out the second leg of summer tour.  Phish gave word today that they will play three consecutive nights near Denver, at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, over Labor Day weekend (September 2-4).  The band still have no additional plans to tour this fall or winter, though do we really want to believe it?

It was quite an eventful morning as I traveled down to the Village to partake in the annual Record Store Day.  I’ll be the first to admit, I do not have much of a vinyl collection, having built the majority of my music catalog in the CD form.  That said, I was intrigued by a few releases being put out today, especially Phish’s Two Soundchecks.

I arrived around 9:15 at Other Music (down on E. 4th) to an already patiently waiting crowd of people.  Other Music would not open its doors until 11am, but already people were eagerly waiting and talking about the treasures they found earlier in the morning at some of the other NYC hole-in-the-wall record stores.  I was clearly late to the game.  I met a few really interesting people…all friendly, and all so passionate about music.  Everyone had their fingers crossed to be lucky enough to grab limited editions of releases from everyone including Phish to Bad Brains to Nirvana to The Rolling Stones to The Velvet Underground.  I listened in on a guy who claimed to have a friend that produced the latest Foo Fighters record, and said that an engineer wanted to bring a computer into the studio to polish some takes only to have Dave Grohl tell him he’s be fired if he did so.  In a world dominated by pop music and auto-tunes, it’s refreshing to know that there are artists who still insist on recording analog, and a legion of fans who know that music just sounds better a certain way. 

I was granted admission to Other Music just after 11am.  Not to my surprise, the Phish EP was gone.  They had only received two copies and they flew off the shelf instantly.  I did manage to score three gems; Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s Live From The Carousel 10”, The Velvet Underground’s Foggy Notion/I Can’t Stand It 7”, and a reissue of Pearl Jam’s Immortality/Rearviewmirror 7”.  I ventured over to Generation and Bleeker Street Records only to hear more of the same with regards to Phish.  I’m not giving up.  I’m sure I’ll get a copy eventually.  And, I’m not giving up on music out there.  Today was a refreshing breath of fresh air in seeing a great crowd of people with a common interest and releases from a stellar bunch of artists who all want to save the dying breed that is the local record store.  Pictures of my winnings and the line outside Other Music below.

Phish announced their second (and last?) round of dates for this summer’s tour.  As expected, leg two sees the band venturing west, beginning with a two-night stint at the Gorge.  Along the way, the band will play their first ever Hollywood Bowl, first ever stops in gorgeous Lake Tahoe, and San Francisco’s Outside Land’s Music Festival.  Summer tour will wrap up back in Chicago for a three-night run at the UIC Pavilion.  The boys will not tour this fall.

Aug 5-6 - The Gorge Amphitheater, George, WA
Aug 8 - Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA
Aug 9-10 - Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey’s, Stateline, NV
Aug 12 - Outside Lands Music Festival, San Francisco, CA
Aug 15-17 - UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL

Phish quietly announced today the release of last year’s famed Utica set in a deluxe 2-DVD/CD set.  This marks the second release from 2010, and the second consecutive release of a recent show rather than digging into the archives.

Phish’s stop in Utica marked their smallest venue on their 2010 fall tour.  The hype that preceded the show was enormous, and fans expected all the stops to be pulled out in Phish’s first visit to the War Memorial.  The band caught the eye of a fan’s “Guyutica” sign, and the tone of the evening was set.  Weaving in and out of Guyute teases throughout the first set, and following up with a smoking set two, the band delivered arguable the best show of the year (if not 3.0).

The complete show will be available in a 2-DVD/CD combo, with a release date of May 17.  Setlist below:

Wednesday October 20, 2010 Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica, NY

Set I: My Soul, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, Vultures, Wolfman’s Brother* > Cities**, Guyute, David Bowie***, Wilson**** > McGrupp And The Watchful Hosemasters**** > Saw It Again**** > Run Like An Antelope****

Set II: Drowned > Sand > Theme From The Bottom, Axila I > Birds Of A Feather, Tela > Split Open And Melt > Have Mercy > Piper > Split Open And Melt > Slave To The Traffic Light

E: Good Times Bad Times

*with vocal jam and “Streets Of Cairo” tease

**with lyric change to “Genesee Factory”

***with Guyute teases throughout the intro, as well as several sections of Wilson jamming with Guyute lyrics throughout the song

****with Guyute teases - Wilson lyrics changed to “I must inquire Guyute;” Trey teased Guyute instead of saying “Marco Esquandolas” in Antelope

Oh the anticipation of waiting for Phish to finally announce what we’ve all known to be true for the last few days.  Today, Phish officially announced SuperBall IX, a three-day festival to take place over July 4th Weekend at Watkins Glen International.

SuperBall IX continues a tradition started fifteen years ago with the famed Clifford Ball, whereby Phish holds their own festival in a remote location, bringing everyone together in a collected unity.  Tickets go on-sale Monday, April 4th, at noon EST.  More info can be found on the official SuperBall IX website.

Parden my language, but I fucking can not wait.  It’s on.

Phish “Super Ball IX” A Three-Day Festival from Phish on Vimeo.

It’s been a while since a new archive release (was it the Haiti relief of 2010?), but the band quietly announced the release of 7/31/99 with a release date of April 15.  Just like the Haiti relief, this release will see 100% of the proceeds to go relief in Japan, specifically Peace Winds America.

The set will include the entire two sets performed that day (as part of the Fuji Rock Festival), as well as the 7/29/99 “What’s The Use?” soundcheck as an added bonus.  Fans of the jams will be delighted to listen to set two, featuring an extended “2001 > Bowie” sequence to kick off the set.  For the “Caspian” haters, this is the “fuckerpants” version hailed as the exception to the norm.  Trey just owns the solo and takes the song into a new and incredible dimension.  The encore features friend of the band, Nawang Khechog lending his talent on a unique jam (also featuring Fish on vac) and “Brian And Robert.”

Set I: My Friend My Friend > Golgi Apparatus, Back On The Train, Limb By Limb, Free > Roggae > Sparkle > Character Zero

Set II: 2001 > David Bowie, Wading In The Velvet Sea > Prince Caspian, Fluffhead > The Squirming Coil

E: Nawang Khechog Human Rights Speech, Jam* > Brian And Robert*, Simple

Filler: What’s The Use? (soundcheck from 7/29/99)

*with Nawang Khechog on flute

Just as many of us suspected, Phish announced their fist leg of their 2011 Summer Tour.  This will surely be an interesting one, with Phish returning to some venues not played at in quite some time.  As a long-time Jersey native, I’m psyched as hell for the return to PNC and the Camden dates!  The complete run-down is below, as well as the tour announcement video.  Should we expect a Watkins Glen confirmation soon?

May 27 – 29 - Bethel Woods, Bethel NY
May 31 & June 1 - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel NJ
June 3 - DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston MI
June 4 - Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls OH
June 5 - Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati OH
June 7 - Comcast Center, Mansfield MA
June 8 - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien NY
June 10 - Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden NJ
June 11 and 12 - Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia MD
June 14 and 15 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Alpharetta GA
June 17 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte NC
June 18 - Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion, Raleigh NC
June 19 - nTelos Pavilion, Portsmouth VA

Phish Summer 2011 Tour from Phish on Vimeo.

A quick happy birthday to Jon “Tubbs” “Henrietta” Fishman.  Our beloved drummer turns 46 today.  Here are some classic Fish moments…