A Festi Set
Amounting to an extended warm up for fall tour, Phish played the ultimate festival set in Austin last night that featured a smattering of songs and little creative improv. Staying wholly within the box for the indie festival, the only surprise came in the middle of “Harry Hood’s” jam when the band smoothly segued into “Light” – the biggest and brightest piece in their repertoire right now. But for the first time in memory, Phish didn’t jam the song, ending with its lyrical refrain. This represented the unifying theme of the band’s Austin appearance – no jams. Sounding perfectly proficient the entire night, particularly strong playing came in “Chalk Dust,” “Rock and Roll > 2001,” and “Harry Hood,” but all in all, this was a big pay day for the band and not much else. While I’m sure they had fun headlining a major festival, Phish played the most straight forward show possible with no risks whatsoever, making the night a non-factor for the many fans who didn’t attend – including myself. Even Phish didn’t list Austin City Limits as part of their Fall Tour on their website, because tour starts for real on Sunday. Broomfield awaits…
Down with Disease, Cities, Possum, Wolfman’s Brother, Chalk Dust Torture, Rock and Roll > Also Sprach Zarathustra, Backwards Down the Number Line, Harry Hood > Light,Suzy Greenberg, You Enjoy Myself
E: Cavern, First Tube
Tags: 2010, Fall '10
I’m sure that I’m alone here.
But something about the crowd in this picture made me glad I didn’t attend.
http://www.aclfestival.com/webcast/
@DF:
Yesterday someone said they got tix for AC by calling Live Nation
800-431-3462
He said to press 0 until you get a person on the phone. I guess it worked for a couple BBers for AC tix.
TM phone number is: 866.858.0008 according to Phish’s website.
Good luck!
@ Neemor
That photo makes it look like a Nikelodeon sponsored festie…
@ DF
That someone that LB is referring to was me.
That number is for LN customer relations. I found it via Google and tried it for AC onsale and got through almost immediately after pushing 0 a few times. The first person you speak to will be a LN rep, tell them you want Phish tickets that are going on sale today and they’ll transfer you directly to a TM rep.
Just a heads up that when they transferred me an automated voice said that my hold time would be 10 minutes, but then a person picked up almost immediately.
Because if try the number that Phish posted you won’t get through, trust me.
Also, call about 5-10 minutes in advance.
Good luck, all!
It really does, LB…
Plus it looks all sticky and wet and….just pretty awful and unappealing.
Boy, that’s the most curmudgeonly thing I’ve said to date…
I must be getting close to the stage where I need skyboxes for New Year’s and shit.
j/k
I really want to hit at least one of those AC shows…not really concerned with Halloween.
Is this a crazy sentiment…going down there to see a show, having a Halloween show so close to me (finally) and not getting in?
Not sure why this is so hard a decision for me.
hm just called that number and have already waited a few minutes
listening to the first two tracks last night the boys are tight and forceful – they really reach a nice peak in DWD and Cities and Possum are well spoken. Set and setting as always dictates setlist and jam styles.. Excited to hear what unfolds tonight and furthur down the road! New Phish!
ticket madness over already? How’d it go?
@neemor that picture just makes me feel old!
10/9 – John Lennon’s BDay—let’s see what happens tonite at 4 mile fest…..
How long until the onsale?
It was 24 degrees this morning when I let the dog out. Fall is here and winter approacheth.
@ PB
Where you @
AZ???
Convince the wife i needed to stay home with the baby while she took off to the corn maze with the other two and her parents. Is that wrong of me? Now i will be able to sit in front of my computer and get frustrated and denied. What is wrong with me.
Baby is sound asleep. Big question is does she stay asleep for another hr?
DF- calling 1 hr prior to sale isn’t going to get you tickets. Chill.. It’ll work itself out.
ya palmer just like halloween worked itself out 🙂
The Underbelly of the Beast:
Having attended last night’s show, I’m here to give you a hand on account, to further complete Miner’s post.
First of all, the festival feel was great. You get killer cameras and screens and a sound system that probably blew Phish’s sound all the way down Zilker Park. Hearing the warm up band, I could tell that Mike was going to be really loud; which is awesome. The mix, as we were right next to the soundboard on Page’s side was perfect.
I’ve called this the Underbelly of the Beast as that is exactly what Phish did last night. Like Miner said, no major jams, as that was somewhat expected, but it is in listening and hearing those small glimpses of things to come that made this shows exciting. The Disease opener is a perfect example of this. Controlled playing but come jam time the band showed that their game is ready to turn the switch on at anytime. Another perfect example of this was Rock and Roll, as the main jam unwound and would normally lead to further deeper space; Phish cut the segway jam and jumped feet first right into deep space without missing a hitch. Very nice and impressive to see the communication; or there lack of, that allows these guys to do that with their music. But I’m ahead of myself. Everything through 2001 had a great vibe and was extremely well played. Cities was great to hear and continued with the Greek funk feel while exploring this Mike laden groove for some time. Possum was good and Trey rocked the ending of it; something about Possum’s down South that just work so well. Fishman shown through with his precise and deadly attack on the beat; he made this version go! (See Atlanta’s version for this too). Wolfman’s..straight forward. But Chalkdust was a different beast. Not the straight forward rocker that opens shows. This version was given room to breathe and the band too full advantage. I like when Chalkdust opens up. I’m going to have to go back and listen to this again, very interesting version. This showed again, that Phish is ready to dominate and completely blow up Fall Tour, especially in these smaller venues. Rock and Roll kept the whole vibe going was great, leading into the soup of 2001. Mike and Fishman were on point, as Miner like’s to say, they formed a great pocket that drove this version. After 2001, the band lost the good vibe and overall quality that had played throughout their show so far. Backwards, while having a good ending, took the energy right out of the show. In Harry Hood, the band seemed to go on cruise control and Trey caught them all at the wheel and quickly changed the game plan and launched into Light. The rest of the show was well played, but never got back to that energy that was so prevalent during the first half. YEM was great as always and did some to recharge the set, and the First Tube put a nice cap on opening night of Fall Tour (Fall Tour started last night).
Overall, my words of warning to eveyone: BE READY! The small glimpses that were shown last night make me believe that this is going to be a very full and creative Fall Tour. Totally glad I came down to kick this one off with the band.
Now, time to get some more Shiner Bock and head out to Salt Lick for some serious Texas BBQ!
As Miner said, see you in Broomfield.
Had a blast at ACL last night. The setlist flowed really well and the boys were playing with a lot of energy. While it is kind of disapopointing to see some negative reviews coming from people who weren’t even there, it’s not like anyone really expected a 30 min tweezer last night… The crowd was very phriendly and had good connection with the band. There were also a lot of younger texans who were getting their first show last night (it was the first show that I didn’t have to fly to…), and I think they seemed to really enjoy the intensity. Also, the festival is one of the better organized festis that I’ve been to. The grass was immaculate, and I could go from front center to a honey bucket, the beer stand and back in 5 min. Sweet.
Just means that your due @ df
🙂
Wook Blazer was out again last night..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzNJtn0mi9A
thanks kaveh and poster for the real life perspective 🙂
It’s Trey’s way of saying “I’m still cool, but I’m clean”… 😉
question. i have 4 computers at home but they are all on the same internet network. do i use more than one computer????
Halloween would hurt getting denied…
That’s the only “Holiday” “Special Event” show where you actually get something unique…
NYE is alway an overrated show, ALWAYS!
It’s either the night or two before NYE that SMOKES!
This is Fact IMHO!
Good luck on tix today my bbers! Anyone gets an extra 31, i would gladly take it off your hands and then I am IN all 3 nights! First time at MSG! Woot!