Mid-Tour Momentum
11.21.09 (W.Rogell)
Building off of an extensive Summer and Indio, and stepping indoors at just the right time, Phish is clearly getting their groove back. Their playing has oozed confidence and comfort, while characterized by precision and fire. When the band chooses to jam, they are doing it with a determined and patient creativity, and as we move on to the second two-thirds of tour, I’d imagine we’d begin to hear more open jamming. It would be nice to see the band focus on grooves and psychedelia a bit more than shredding rock and roll, but beggars can’t be choosers. Phish are definitely playing what they feel and playing it quite well. The most profound change in their dynamic since this fall tour started has been Mr. Trey Anastasio. While he may have been the slowest member of the band to regain his unbridled confidence, he has recently transformed into an absolute monster. Allowing his inhibitions to fall by the wayside, he has been shredding with an abandon unseen in years. Using meticulous lyrical phrasing amounting to guitar narratives, his sense of thematic jamming has returned in force, and it has effected the entire band.
11.20.09 (W.Rogell)
The most compelling second-set improv thus far has stemmed from Detroit’s “Disease,” and Cincy’s “Rock n Roll” and Syracuse’s “Drowned”- the three vehicles they featured the most this summer. It seems like time to switch it up a bit from the rock-only set openers; time to drop in some darker and slower type-II springboards to open set two. How about opening up “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing” or dropping another “Sand?” In the end, it doesn’t matter what songs they play, as long as they continue to evolve into more frequent psychedelia…Three of the central second set jams over the last two shows – “Rock and Roll,” “Drowned” and “Piper” have held a great similarity to each other – percussive grooves turned ambient space…The two dirtiest pieces of music thus far have ironically come in first sets – Detroit’s filthy, dripping “46 Days,” and Cincy’s evil “Split.” Now let’s see some of that type of improv stretched out under the spotlight of set two! As we turn the corner towards Philadelphia and Albany, two cities that have historically played host to legendary Phish, the band looks to build on the momentum from their opening leg as everyone moves towards Thanksgiving. And this year, we have a lot to be thankful for.
Tags: 2009, Fall '09
maybe they are ready for a large sand? or is that for MSG?
Vultures will get its due in Charlottesville, just wait…
i don’t think we’ll get a caspian tomorrow. it happened saturday night in cinncy. even if we do, i like the song…was nice to hear it then and i wouldn’t mind hearing it again.
i’m bummed i missed hood, mango, disease, and mike’s groove. argh…still hoping for a divided and a beauty! we’ll see what happens.
BK, i’ve been reading you need to go see a show. where’s home? i’ll happily donate two 12/28 tix if you’re anywhere near miami. thought i was going to be down there for vacation, but the grad school budget kinda killed those plans.
wow just checkin in guys.
GREAT setlist. Can’t wait to dive in tomorrow
Cheers Brandon for all the love you got today… check back around the mid point of todays comments for some extra love you may have missed.
Until tomorrow everybody…..have a great night….
would one of you guys pretend to be my physician and write a prescription that i take off two or three weeks?
i could take it to my professors. maybe if you prescribe phish fall tour? that would be perfect.
Yeah I just want to take a minute and thank you guys for all of the hospitality you bring on these boards. You all seem like really genuine, friendly people and it definitely shows on here. I’m glad to find that a lot of the Phish community is as helpful as can be, and doesn’t hesitate to help out other people. Anyways, just thought I’d put that out there; really legit people you guys are.
Extra special thanks go to Sumodie and Ferd.
And Ferd, I do not live anywhere close enough to hit those Miami shows (MD) but I thank you for the offer. Hopefully you’ll get the tickets off of your hands.
@leo weaver
also, i was looking back over the posts today and realized i owed leo weaver a thanks for the suggestions on where to find a phish at barrymore in madison. i totally forgot about miner’s audio archive
which leads me to…THANKS MINER FOR EVERYTHING. id die without this board and this site.
then bk…next summer, when they play merriweather again, we’ll get you in there 🙂
it was my first show this past summer. hopefully it’ll be your’s next summer. full circle and all that jazz.
alright…bedtime. flight out early for philly…see you all at the show tomorrow night.
G’ night folks; GREAT show tonight.
Boys are on FI-YAH!
I think I need some time to process. Holy shit!
Cheesesteak time! Meet at Pats.
@Sumodie – I’m still waiting on a final count but I may have an extra or two for Charlottesville and would like to keep you and BK in the loop – saltwater39 at gmail – Sec 313.
I offered $10 into the BK to a show fund and meant it, let me know if needed sumodie and I will paypal 😮
yeah, so livephish came up…and i’m packing. so i didn’t make it to bed yet.
sumodie, just wanted to say i wasn’t trying to steal your thunder. i had class this evening and remembered the talk about getting bk to a show from this afternoon. didn’t read the intermediate pages. sorry about that!
Wow. The SBDs sound SO good. They’re pretty lacking in the low end, but that’s nothing my receiver can’t compensate for. I gotta get a hold of the SBDs.
Was there already a discussion about the ethics of obtaining SBD recordings without paying? I feel a little bad asking around for the SBDs, which is to say now, does anybody know where to get the SBDs?
just got back to my pad in philly – having lived on the east coast all my life I have hit man of the shows from the hampton -> boston stretch over the last, yes, count them, 14 years – my buddy and i had our “bar mitzvah” of a 1st phish road trip to hampton in the fall of ’97. this show was hot from beginning to end. i mean, the possum -> dwd 2nd set opener and the hood mid-set only highlighted an incredible night. during the first set all I could think was, “wow, this really feels like a 2nd set” the lights where purple, the funk was brought and the jams hit that crespice of type II, but not quite pulling the trigger. i thought it was wise of the guys to hold back on the third set of the first set so save energy, which they were clearly storing up. this was one for the books. the philly pholks kept it cool (only saw one dude in a yankees shirt) and the vibe was stellar inside the new venue. tomorrow can only bring more jams. see you guys on the flip side.
@ Andrew and MrC: thanks, let’s see what happens on Brandon’s end first. Gotta get over the obstacle of ‘hey mom, guy online wants to take me to a show’. Not sure what I would do in their shoes either.
Did send Brandon an email that contained a variety of weblinks about myself. And taking Brandon will mean that I will have to be at the show too (poor me).
@Ferd: no thunder stolen!
Sometimes even my own impulsiveness surprises me.
Wow Philly….Go Phish!
I’m hoping vicariously for BK to make the Charlottesville show I can’t make.
Texted my newbie friend again: “what was your favorite set?”
friend: “syracuse set 2”
beep: “motherfucker I meant in Cincy…your punk ass has already heard Syracuse set 2 and I havent???”
Bitch.
Sumodie,
mitch the mango guy was at the show dancing like mad!! Sorry about 3rd person. I don’t do that. I’m post cheesesteak and my mind is slow! Too busy digesting.
i’ll take a mango song over a cheesesteak song any day of the week.
Sumodie
gotta rock the mango song > cheesesteak
Woah!! Beware the power of the Mango man! So happy for you Mitch! 🙂
Got that Mango mojo working!
You’re a genius anyway!!
What a great looking setlist! Hood and Slave in the Mike’s Groove! Are you kidding me?
tight Phish! to the point! BOOM!
OMG and I don’t think I have ever OMG the Boogie is SWEEET from CUSE
Treys vocals are so good since the comeback