Whoa—A Serious Tour Opener
Bethel Official Print (Stout)
Wasting absolutely no time warming up, Phish greeted a salivating fan base in Bethel on Friday night with a show that—above all else—showed a willingness to take risks and put themselves out on an improvisational ledge to see what happens. Meeting their summer audience on the astral plane, Phish put forth a psychedelic adventure of the likes we haven’t seen in quite some time. Within the meat of the second set, the band set the controls for the heart of the sun, and came out with musical gold. The prefab nature of the New Years’ Run was nowhere to be seen as the band dug into one of their more experimental sets in ages—the type of sets of which I dream. And they came up with gold all night long in a show opener that couldn’t be more encouraging—and inspiring—to open summer tour.
After an extended, six-month layoff, the band took a collective inhale and ended their time off with none other than “Tweezer.” Like a breath of the swankiest air you’ve felt in years, Phish growled into summer with a welcome home out of one of their classic pieces. Flowing through connected and laid-back grooves to kick off the show, the band showcased an early propensity for prolific playing. Segueing seamlessly into “My Friend, My Friend,” the guys opened the season with an legitimate improvisational combo that got everyone’s motor revved early. Following up with a non-stop string of greatest hits and hard hitting grooves, the band sparked a first-set fire that culminated in the two most improvisational pieces of the half in “Stash” and “Kill Devil Falls.” Within these two late-set jams, Phish set set the tone for the rest of the show with a absolutely face-melting “Stash,” and the most exciting and out-of-the-box “KDF” since Bonnaroo ’09. In between, the band also worked in a sleek “Wolfman’s -> Walk Away” combo, that saw “Wolfman’s” briefly get into a more abstract and intriguing segment.
Bethel Woods - 5.27.11 (Scott Bedford)
But the second-set’s opening sequence seemed to follow the first—more song-based jams. And when the band dropped into “Boogie On,” it seemed totally out of place as the third song of the second set. And I think Phish sensed that too, because half-way through the song’s generic funk grooves, Trey began playing more slowly and with abstract effect, leading the band into a mind-numbing deconstruction of “Boogie On” that was hard to fathom in the live setting. Not until I heard this sequence again on tape did I realize the precision and mastery with which the band executed this demented migration from Stevie Wonder’s song into “Waves.” And when the band landed in “Waves,” the defining, soul-searching sequence of show commenced and wouldn’t end until the final notes of “Velvet Sea.”
5.27.11 - "Boogie On" (S. Bedford)
Dipping into the first version “Waves” since Red Rocks ’09, the band came up with one of the most sublime segments of this era. Embarking on free-form psychedelia in the vein of a “Dark Star,” the band entered completely egoless jamming with no goal in mind but to play the next note, and it resulted in one of the most enchanting and exploratory passages of Phish in this era. Delicate and connected, exploratory yet coherent, the band intertwined ideas like weaving a fine musical silk. After moving through a melodic collaboration, the band moved onto a far more abstract plane with some serious psychedelic sound-sculpting. Navigating their way through a stunning soundscape of the likes we haven’t heard in recent years, the band organically emerged into “Prince Caspian.” A massive sense of arrival graced this mid-second set version, as it blossomed into a more than just a landing pad for the band’s stratospheric journey. Infusing a sense of glory into the power-ballad, Phish engaged in enhanced interplay that brought this version to a colossal peak. But unfinished—in the surprise of the night—the band rolled out of “Caspian” into “Crosseyed.” And out of “Crosseyed” came the the show’s defining segment, and one of the most sinister and to-die-for segments of 3.0 Phish.
5.27.2011 (S.Bedford)
After the band had careened through a torrid “Crosseyed” jam, reprised the lyrics, and continued annihilating a ferocious whole-band conversation, they—collectively—slowed into one of the evilest, most crack-like sequences of Phish in this era. Engulfing the pavilion in larger-than-life swamp music made for monsters, Phish, led by Trey’s uncompressed snarl, unveiled one of the defining modern sequences of dungeon sorcery (evoking echoes of the “Mike’s” jam from 7.22.97). As the crunching and menacing music enveloped our lives again, Phish unrolled a soundtrack of dreams.
Oozing from this sonic underworld into “Velvet Sea,” the slower song provided the perfect cap on the other-worldly excursions into the depths of Phish psychedelia. From the point the band decided to break down “Boogie On” and embark on “Waves,” the show shifted from a concert into a cosmic exploration of the type we travel coast to coast to capture. Organically forging a wide-open adventure on the first night of summer, Phish has our minds drooling at the possibilities the next 31 shows hold. We can only make the assumption that on the first night of tour, the band sent us a message of intent—a psychedelic telegram—to tell us that Summer 2011 blow our minds and expand our hearts. Jump on…its gonna be a hell of a ride.
I: Tweezer > My Friend, My Friend, Poor Heart, Roses Are Free, Funky Bitch, Wolfman’s Brother -> Walk Away, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Kill Devil Falls, Bold As Love
II: Carini, Back on the Train, Boogie On Reggae Woman > Waves > Prince Caspian > Crosseyed and Painless > Wading in the Velvet Sea, Possum, The Squirming Coil
E: Julius
Tags: Summer 2011
Bold moves all night last night. If the tour builds and grows from there, incredible awaits us.
‘Wolf-Away’ is sick. Deep psychedelia last night, reminds of providence set II from fall.
I’m sorry but anyone who thinks Fish is off is out of their tree.
I actually noticed several times where he dropped into these crazy odd-time polyrhythms (eg towards the end of Boogie, iirc) that reminded me a lot of the rhythmic left turns they used to take in ’94. They’re all pushing each other onstage, and I fucking love it.
wading comes out of crosseyed beautifully and trey has some soaring moments in the tune.
not a huge possum fan, but I dig this tight version. page working wiht the crowd in coil. great stuff.
agreed, Duke, re. Page. swagger. the whole band sounds confident, locked in, and equally balanced. wow.
Page definitely sounds louder on Poor Heart! nice little solo. anxious to hear this sbd of Bold as Love because on the stream last night it sounded like an enhanced version. Trey tore into it.
I can deal with non-jammed Roses, especially played as well as they did last night. Nice and tight. It’s still kills me they cover my second favorite band, and have made that song their own. they played a lot of the classic covers last night!
Rest in Peace Gil Scott Heron. So so sad, what a great loss. A tortured soul who can finally find his rest.
Anyone think Phish could pay tribute ala “Night Nurse”? I’d flip for “Lady Day and John Coltrane” or “No Such Thing as Superman”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgwKQl3n0Cc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD_9Ph8KiVM
Also looking for a “Golden Age” tonight….but it really doesn’t matter….
The sound is great on the board. Congrats to downtown Gary Brown. He has that place dialed!
Whoa, tuning on stage after ‘walk away’!? Sounds like the dead all of a sudden.
I also commented on Page being so assertive and loud in the mix. His “Funky Bitch” solo was outstanding, Piano>Hammond>Piano!
Some serious sickness at the end of this C&P.
These are good times. Might need to get some extra lawn seats early before shit sells out…
Love the LCD lyrical tease in the write up, Miner.
Whoa at Cable. Love Gil Scott. Hadn’t heard. Rest in peace, poet brother.
“Sounds like the dead all of a sudden.”
wait til you get to the Boogie On outro and Waves jam.
I listened to 11/11/73 Dark Star on the drive down and it went through my mind during that segment.
Last night’s show looks $$$
Now I’m trying to listen to it on my iPhone through No Spoilers. I followed all the instructions on the No Spoilers site (installed RSS Reader) downloaded the first set…but, how do I play it?
Any ideas?
I mean tuning on stage. Phish rarely does that. @ willowed must have been out his mind!
Def heard the nod in ‘Waves’ to that early 70′s sound.
‘Stash’ = WOW
Good luck going into the rest of the summer shows with no expectations. Now that they’ve opened the doors.
6 min mark in boogie, trey says, alright, let’s turn this bitch inside out. 3 minutes of psychedelia ensue. they’re lost for a while there, but in a good way. no panic (earlier in 3.0 there would have been a train wreck and someone would get horsed). here, they embrace the frontier, mike dings the footbell, and it gets deep. some Dead like space and then gorgeously into waves. listen to fishman! in waves.
Morning board! @Kaya – you’ve got mail.
What a fun first night of couch tour. Spinning MFMF right now.
The Gorge seems very far away!
Wolfman’s>Walk Away – WOW.
i’ll say it again and again, but Walk Away has become one of Trey’s definitive solos of 3.0. He just shreds it beyond the call of duty.
So far this set is fire, every song played concise and tons of energy. And now they’re about to drop exploration on us. Set us up, and then knock us down.
It’s funny, yet not surprising, that ticket prices on stubhub have already shot way up after last night. #phish #summertour2K11
^pulled from twitter. Phi nt, I said the same thing last night,
Stub hub prices. Before and after ‘Bethel Waves’
Kaya- perfect analysis of the Boogie breakdown. No panic when things get weird. So key.
Re: Walk Away…Trey was prowling the stage, destroying his licks.
thanks, negev.
seriously, robear. bethel waves is a deal sealer. if I was a young, childless man with young man stamina, I’d be getting my ass on this tour.
good morning folks!
just gettin into last nights show.
Can’t wait to hear this in all its glory! I am so excited for Phish right now..
Night 1 of the tour rating:
For the Kids
^my new simplified rating system for shows. More to follow as tour progresses.
during the Boogie On breakdown i commented last night I wasn’t sure how to take this. it almost seemed to be a throw it at the wall and see if it sticks kind of moment, and it did. stick that is.
Stash was my pre-tour call for a return to evil brilliance for the tour, and if lat night is an early indicator, giddy up!
what a great way top open the whole tour.
This Tweezer is a perfect proclamation of an intent to improv!
Only listened through stash.
Gotta say more then the tight playing I was impressed with the enhanced communication. Listen to that Tweezer you really can hear everyone playing off each other. Really like one of the drops where trey throws on an effect and does some scratching and then fishman mimics it without missing a beat.
Can’t wait to hear set 2