Welcome to the Future!
5.31.09 (T.Tunick)
In a show every bit as big as its spectacle, Phish fused what we love about them with everything we’ve yet to discover. In an earnest welcome to the next chapter of their careers, Phish played a show- and more specifically- a second set that inter-wound the new with the old, creating a stunning welcome to the future.
The inaugural second set of Summer ’09 was underlined in vibrant fashion by combination of the dirtiest “Tweezer” we’ve heard in quite some time with a slowly moving transition into the debut of one of Phish’s brightest new songs- “Light”- just like it was scripted. Echoes of past glories were felt and furthered upon within the monstrous “Tweezer” in which the band moved through the nastiest grooves we’ve heard in years into a impeccable peak before twisting into a spirited debut of the much-anticipated, “Light.” With a section of improv that could easily develop into a 3.0 “Piper-esque” jam, Phish previewed a song that will certainly jump into this summer’s rotation and highlight many a setlist.
5.31.09 (Phish.com)
Following this symbolic combination, the band dropped into a perfectly-placed “Bathtub Gin” that brought the entire crowd back onto the same page after the other-worldly excursion that directly preceded it. Following precise playing within the feel good jam and “Bowie’s” darker counterpart, Phish took Fenway’s grandest stage of tour to debut their new multi-part epic, “Time Turns Elastic.” With an additional jam tacked onto the song’s final peak, Phish brought the crowd deep within and without their dynamic piece, showcasing Trey’s composition in the most focal point of the show. A song that many fans thought might not translate well onto the Phish stage came off magnificently, one movement seamlessly moved into the next, climaxing in a far more dramatic fashion that imagined. With the band’s announcement of its newest arrival in the middle of the second set of the tour’s first show, we’ve definitely got many more versions to look forward to this summer – and it will be interesting to track the song’s potentially changing form.
5.31.09
With a performance of “Time Turns Elastic” that could have ended the night in a fitting way, Phish wasn’t even close to done. Dropping a bombastic “Free” deep into the second set, Phish showed they still had some love left to give. And if continuously playing wasn’t enough, the band broke out “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” for the first time since August of ’93, enthralling the stadium crowd before finishing with a dynamic “YEM” that gradually built from laid back grooves into a jam with more teeth to it, ending in a centerfield bass-solo by Gordeaux before the band’s first baseball-stadium-sized vocal jam.
Finishing the night with a three-song encore that punctuated an evening that already has made Hampton seem like a distant memory, Phish was good to the last drop. With “Tweezer Reprise” having seen many fitting settings, none was quite like this. Gazing up past the Green Monster, into the night’s glowing half-moon, everything in the universe was right again. Phish was moving forward again, creating new adventures with songs, old and new; adventures that reached out and gripped us in a way that we remembered; the way it’s supposed to be. Hampton needed to happen to get here, but there seems to be no time like the present in Phish’s universe. Night one is in the books- here we go- “Destiny Unbound!”
I: Star Spangled Banner*, Sample in a Jar, Moma Dance, Chalk Dust Torture, Ocelot**, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Poor Heart, Limb by Limb, Wading in a Velvet Sea, Down with Disease, Destiny Unbound, Character Zero
II: Tweezer > Light**, Bathtub Gin, David Bowie, Time Turns Elastic**, Free, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, You Enjoy Myself
E: Cavern, Good Times Bad Times, Tweezer Reprise
*from picthing mound ** debut
***
“Tweezer” 5.31.09 partial
2003/02/28 Nassau – DU was much better! Hopefully it will be in rotation.
how’s the sound on this no spoilers? anyone?
i’m getting it anyways, so i guess it doesn’t matter
I wasn’t there – I can’t do Torrents, as well. I only have the SBDs from LIVEPHISH. The first set is plain average, except for nice moments in Stash, Ocelot and Destiny. Pages Piano sounds miles away being given a reverb-effect, that simply kills any dynamics. Treys guitar also sounds distant and plain. Compared to the Hampton Downloads, the sound-mix is bad. You hardly hear the audience clapping (Stash) or singing (we love to take a bath) The second set is much better, soundwise and musically. I think they went off stage after the first set talking like they were after the first set at the Great Went….”we played a bad set”
– enough with the bashing, I think it must have been a blast to be in the stadium. Hope they’ll improve the sound soon. I’m not sure if this bad mix is a result of a kind of “speed mixing” because the show was already availabe 6 hours after it ended.
miner, is that you on the photo?
Yup, you hear what I heard Al, regarding first set sound quality.
BTW everyone….Ocelot is very similar in Phrasing to another song from the 70s probably, but I can’t think of it….for some reason I’m thinking Little Feet…Help!!
Morning all! So glad you all made it safe and sound to the show last night. The set looks amazing, can’t wait to DL it and take a listen. Miner, thank you thank you for the No Spoilers!
P.S. fromthetub, that Bouncin was for us!
sweet! it only gets better from here. time they make it to their home away from home, asheville…
What pisses me off right now…is that I’m the only motherfucker here typing sober!!!
^^ LOL!!!
@Al, definately a speeding issue I think, as it was available within 3 hours….I would prefer to wait a few extra hours for a better mix for sure.
miner, is that you on the photo?
^ nope…
all no spoilers credit due to No Spoliers crew!!!
So how was the Dave Matthews Band Show? lol
how was Curtis Lowe? How did that sound?
they ARE back. great show all around
I actually liked the first set. a sly and exploratory Moma, a sick Chalkdust, a dynamic Stash jam and a raging Poor Heart were highlights for me, along with bits of Limb by Limb and DwD. The abrupt ending of Limb and botched lyrics in DwD were the only real downers I thought…
Set II I especially liked the Tweezer and YEM jams. The Curtis Loew bust out was awesome too.
Thanks Mr. Miner for No Spoilers!! – in Sydney here and the speed at which the shows are posted makes the distance all that much easier to bear….
the more they play the better they will get. cant wait to listen to it all unfold.
Gorge or bust baby!
Thank you thank you to the No Spoilers crew for your hard work to allow us folks the pleasure of hearing the show!
I second that. Thanks to Mr Miner and the No Spoilers crew.
I was not at the show last night unfortunately, but I did have plenty of friends updating me throughout the whole thing. Most of my friends are very critical, and everyone had a blast, set 2 seemed to be the highlight for them as well. I got 5 texts during YEM from 5 different people all gushing, so needless to say I wish I was there, but Friday night will be here soon, and couldn’t be more ready.
As for the comments on Trey’s guitar feedback and tone, as a guitar player I feel the need to chime in. There are many many things that can effect the amount of feedback Trey has currently on his guitar. As always the Languedoc guitars are true hollowbodies, which means they don’t have a block running through the center of the guitar which is used to control feedback and is present on a ES-335 style guitar. The combination of the true hollowbody, TS-9 tube screamer , and a ross compressor is really what gives Trey his unique tone. At one point he had 3 TS-9 analog man modified tube screamers in his rig, which just allowed him to wail, and sustain notes almost infinitely. I think Trey currently has his amp overdriving in combination with all his effects and bags of tricks, which makes things harder to control, but allows for a great chunky overdriven sound. I think he needs to experiment with his rig more in live setting, until it becomes second nature again. Sorry for the rant, just drank a lot of coffee.
From my perspective, Wanderin, Curtis Lowe sounds like the best executed moment of the show!
I mean, Trey sounds great on Lowe, really great, awesome, and I’ve been ragging on him lately a bit.
The Ross compressor when used has been turned down also
it seems like he wants the best of both worlds
he wants the traditional Phish tone the Ross brings, but does not want to rely as heavily on it as he did in the past
he’s kind of stuck in the middle on the tone thing right now
Curtis = first bust out
While Destiny could have been predictable sometime this tour Curtis Lowe was out of nowhere. Good stuff.
I’m on the mega bus back to NYC right now. As far as the sound, there was def something going on. It seemed to get louder and softer a lot and that may be because I was under the balcony (thank god during the rain.) I got an email from live Phish at 12:32 am saying it was up for download so I think they just threw it up. Pretty awesome tho considering it’s up that fast.
Anway, did anyone else see trey do a guitar change during tte? We were kinda far back but frankie and I were looking thinking he had a green languedoc.
So far as music, awesome show, awesome atmosphere. Whoever said it earlier was right, nobody knew destiny unbound. Tweezer and yem blew it up as has already been said. And the security was chill. Great show. I’ll talk more about it later but I’m typing on an iPhone.
Damn, the Free is awesome…that is the stuff right there, boys!!…oh and girlz!!
I agree AW, he might just need to tweak some of the settings on the Ross, and maybe his whole rig overall. Personally I find that things need to be changed on my own rig depending what size room or venue I play. If I use the same settings in a medium sized venue as I do in my practice space everything will be off. I think 3 nights at Jones Beach is exactly what they need!!! By the 3rd night I think everybody will be comfortable with the sound.
I understand the need for diversity, but Trey is so unique. He sounded like no one else with his prime 90’s tone, it would be a shame if he loses it all together. Although, as someone who plays heavy feedback laden music, I love a lot of the new dirtier trey moments, those 2 shows from SPAC 04, have some amazing controlled feedback.
I’m surprised nobody commented on TREY’s GREEN Guitar (like the green monster) that he played for time turns elastic