Three More From Leg Two
Last week we looked at a spectrum of significant jams Phish played in August. But in a tour that favored more improvisation than any other in this era, there were many more highlights of note. Amidst the buzz of tour’s most staggering musical moments, some other serious pieces of improvisation haven’t gotten as much attention as they should. Below are three more jams from Leg Two that showcase Phish’s late-summer exploratory spirit.
***
“Rock and Roll” 8.6 II – Berkeley, California
8.5.10 (W. Rogell
Phish sped out of this torrid rock jam and quickly into psychedelic pastures, skipping usual routine stop in regurgitated percussive grooves. Fishman immediately stood out by slaughtering alternating beats, while Trey and Mike stepped forth to lead the jam on a dissonant course. Page stepped forth over Mike and Trey’s cooperative backing, playing lead piano lines over an urgent, ever-changing rhythm. Boasting gorgeous melodic interplay between guitarists, this jam took a distinct turn into blissful, uplifting textures. A perfect example of the band’s new-school “urgent ambient” jamming, Mike remained at the center of the music and Trey painted it with emotive brushstrokes, while Fish framed their transcendent interplay like an eight-legged beast. Trey, Mike and Page echoed each others’ phrases as they merged into a glowing orb of melody and harmony – an awesome piece of collaborative jamming over masterfully intricate rhythms.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ph2010-08-06t09.mp3]***
“Carini” 8.10.10 – Telluride, Colorado
8.10.10 (W.Rogell)
Amidst a sea of rock anthems in Telluride’s final set, “Carini” provided the highlight of the show, churning some of the most intergalactic soundscapes of summer. As the band departed from the lyrical refrain, Page led the onset of the jam as Trey wound up his now-rarely-used “millennial” effects: seething sheets of snarling sound that emerged in 1999. Fish and Mike formed a heavy pocket highlighted by Gordon’s crafty bass lines. After setting his sonic place-mat, Trey came to the forefront with a volcanic solo, erupting with scalding intensity. When Mike shifted to a groovier bass line and Page sustained a dissonant backdrop, Trey turned his wailing solo into an uncharacteristically melodic segment that brought the jam to a climax. But after this peak, Fishman moved the band into a drone landscape that Trey began littering with dirty effects. Now the the adventure really began. Morphing into a menacing and abstract passage, Fish threw in a vocal tease of Pink Floyd’s “One Of These Days,” while the music continued its maniacal soundtrack of minds warping through a post-apocalyptic alien ambush. With stunning sonic density, this jam likened the descending of a Mothership right in Town Park, as all band members contributed to this bubbling psychedelic cauldron. Resembling pieces of ’99 Phish, “Carini” ballooned in abstract intensity and carried a futuristic, mechanical beauty. “Free” provided the splash down from outer space, continuing the rowdy setlist.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ph2010-08-10t18.mp3,http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ph2010-08-10t19.mp3]***
“Drowned” 8.12 – Noblesville, Indiana
8.13.10 (M.Stein)
One of the most under-the-radar jams of tour, this “Drowned that opened the second set of Deer Creek’s first night is a dark-horse piece of elegant interplay. After plowing through the initial section in a high-speed, rock and roll chase, Trey and Fish cut up the music with percussive offerings while Mike filled the spaces in between. When Page moved to organ, he coaxed the band into far mellower, ethereal textures. Trey adjusted quickly, sprouting a delicate, soulful lead while allowing space for Page to answer his ideas. Fishman favored the cymbals in a shimmering beat and Mike backed the piece with murmuring bass lines. Eventually progressing to a more abstract rhythm, Fishman coaxed Trey to follow him while Mike meshed his own idea into an experimental section of spanking new Phish music – an ambient-melodica over increasingly intricate drumbeats. Mike, Page and Trey formed an harmonic convergence without any lead, turning the piece into a gripping jam. Trey peeled surreal melodies over the feel-good futurama and once again, a musical risk had succeeded.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/phish2010-08-12mbhos2t02.mp3]=====
Jam of the Day:
“Lengthwise > Maze” 8.17.10 II
Phish opened Jones Beach’s second set with conscious nod to the old-school in this mid-90’s combo.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/phish2010-08-17d02t01.mp3,http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/phish2010-08-17d02t02.mp3]=====
DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:
10.8.1999 Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY < Torrent
10.8.1999 Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY < Megaupload
On the home stretch of a month-long tour in Fall ’99, Phish stopped at Nassau for two oft-overlooked shows. On the second night, the band nailed this second set in another classic dose of Nassau Phish. After an awesome opening segment from “Halley’s” through “Hood,” Tom Marshall came out and did his best Roger Daltry, hamming it up with the band on a cover of the Who’s Tommy classic, “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
I: Piper, AC/DC Bag, Suzy Greenberg, Meat, Meatstick, Run Like an Antelope
II: Halley’s Comet > Tweezer > Bug, Fee, Harry Hood, We’re Not Gonna Take It*, Chalk Dust Torture
E: The Squirming Coil, Tweezer Reprise
* debut, The Who; w/ Tom Marshall
Source: (FOB) Schoeps mk4 > kc5 > cmc6 > Sonosax SX-M2 > Apogee AD1000 > Sony D100 (Set I @44.1kHz, Set II @48kHz)
Tags: 2010, Jams, Summer '10
“:re: Artest, I used to think he was annoying crazy. Then he did a few things and now I find completely endearing crazy. ”
^^^ this, and I agree the thanking the therapist moment was a big pivot point.
My alltime favorite Ron-Ron moment was him randomly riffing in a postgame press conference about playing in a pickup game where a man was stabbed to death in the chest with a broken 2×4 or something, which was his way of explaining why NBA shit-talking didn’t bother him….or…something like that.
“Jay Cutler is never gonna sniff a big moment.”
I think it’s possible the rest of his team might just get good enough to put him in position for the spectacular fail he was born to deliver…we can only hope.
i gotta pop out for a bit
girls visiting tonight.
gotta clean up the place and make a wine run
Now you have intrigued me Mr.C. I would certainly enjoy watching that bowl cut whiner lose on a grand stage. He could do it in the Super Bowl against the Chargers if I can vote.
As a producer of roots War Ina Babylon and Heart of the Congoes are just about perfect
main thing I remember about Scratch from his WOW Hall shows (besides how good they were) was how funny I thought it was that he apparently thought we could understand what he was saying, like at the sound check and stuff:
[beats blare from stage]
Scratch: mdjkvnslk wnnfdo mpqowmsk jsdf!!!
Engineer: [blank look]
Scratch: msdfcvmxc sdfsdo ksdfd;l p;sadfjk im ;psdfkl? sdfjkn mu!
Engineer: [turns random knob random direction]
Scratch: ya!
[more beats]
sweet.
also, I know you will be shocked to hear this, but at least in the mid 90s, he liked weed a little.
So he liked Eugene pretty well.
Cause we had that.
Heart of the Congos is one of best albums of any genre I’ve ever heard.
speaks to my soul or something
dare to dream, Guyute.
Saw them do heart of the Congos in its entirety at reggae on the river 98
nice, aw. Upsetters & Jr Byles is great soulful Black Ark stuff.
re: essential Scratch
Silly said:
Eastwood Rides Again
Super Ape
Return of the Super Ape
Blackboard Jungle
Also
The Wailers- Soul Rebel, African Herbsman, etc. (all the cheap comps with early Wailers stuff is 99% Scratch productions)
Beat Down Babylon- Jr Byles
Police and Thieves- Jr Murvin
War Ina Babylon- Max Romeo
Party Time- The Heptones
Colombia Colly- Jah Lion
Ital Corner- Prince Jazzbo
Congos- Heart Of The Congos
George Faith- To Be A Lover
Probably forgetting 1 or 2. Lots of comps, too. Pressure Sounds, Trojan, etc. do a great job tracking down hard to find 7″s and putting them on CD/LPs.
Look in my mediafire under “Roots” -> “Black Ark” for some choice selections.
Wow, AW.
that would have been a high light of my life.
That was a sweet set AW. I was there!
I saw Scratch a few times behind the Redwood Curtain in Robear’s part of the world. The the farmers in that area would always ensure that he was handed a gigantic Lion of Judah that was twice the size of his index finger before he stepped on stage. Then he would speak truth for two hours while laying down the massive dub.
@ AW
Seen some classic shows at Reggae on the River.
Beanieman blew that place up around midnight in ’01 with a huge show by Damien Marley a few hours later.
Yeah I love all those
They just did a new soul rebel reissue on vinyl
Great cover
I have about half those original
there were quite a few acts who booked gigs at the WOW Hall as a mid west coast tour stop for a fraction of their usual rate, knowing they’d be able to leave town knee deep in the kind. A nice benefit to be able to draw on when booking a little hall like that.
We went 98 through 2000
Fun stuff
Humboldt in august
Sun was hot
Hell yeah AW
Actually rained one year tho
Went in 92, 98-02. 01 or 02 there was a fire nearby…Tons of other smoke around…trippy.
If you saw a dude in a skunk costume, that’s my buddy Damion.
reggae on the river is famous for meltdowns
I was there in august ’91 for a Jerry show (heaven on earth) but it wasn’t too that bad that day
or maybe I was just distracted by all the bliss
just wondering if anyone has seen a Ticketbastard tutorial? I’ve got some family going for AC tomorrow since I’ll be unable – but want to be sure I’ve covered every angle.
if you link to the page that says tickets are not available yet- once they are available will that be a legit page?
“if you link to the page that says tickets are not available yet- once they are available will that be a legit page?
^possibly things have changed since I had anybody on the inside at TM.
slow up in here