Summer’s Sleeper Set
6.30.12 – Alpine Valley (Michael Stein)
Living the shadows of the elite sets of summer is an outstanding frame of Phish hasn’t gotten its due respect. With momentum like a freight train and speckled with several ten minute gems, what this set lacks in a true centerpiece jam, it more than makes up for in relentless flow. Composed of “all killer and no filler,” and with plenty to write home about, the first night of Alpine, unquestionably, comtains the dark horse set of leg one.
Alpine Valley Print
The lack of a timeless improvisational passage in a run of shows that was loaded with them, has been the primary reason this set hasn’t garnered the attention of its night two counterpart. But ask anyone who was at the two performances, and I’ll bet most would say that the opening night was the better show. When thinking of Alpine 2012, fans will immediately remember “Fee” and the crème de la crème sequence of “Light > Ghost,” but at the show—other than a couple classic covers to kick off the second set, those three jams carried the show. And because they were of such high quality, they could absolutely do that. But the first night’s second set had one dancing from start—well, at least second song—through the very last note of the set, a rare quality in Phish sets these days. Instead of focusing all of their energies in a front loaded frame and coasting to the end, the band kept the pedal to the medal throughout this main event.
After the show I called it a “perfect set,” and while. in retrospect, I might nitpick for a more significant closer, the flow of the set and jams within are nothing short of ideal. Once the chords of “Carini” followed a “Number Line” set-opener, the band didn’t come up for air until “Quinn the Eskimo” late in the show. Stringing together a series of high-energy jams—first groovy and then exploratory—the guys crushed this set from start to finish in a way they did very few this summer. There were no lulls, no fizzling, no bullshit—just pure musical fire. Phish has always had a way of filling Alpine’s vast pavilion with monstrous music to match, and on this night, there was plenty to go around.
6.22.12 (M.Stein)
“Carini” exploded out of form into heavy dance rhythms that resembled “Tweezer” far more than the jam it stemmed from. Though the band used the combo of “Golden Age > 2001” three times this summer, none popped like the pairing at Alpine. Transcending standard “Golden Age” rhythms and building into a more dynamic funk exchange, the band threw down an extended and intricate jam session that sits amongst the top dance floor bangers of tour. And when Trey hit a chordal tease of “2001” the band hopped right on the hint, seamless moving into the funk anthem.
Following the peak of “2001,” the vibe of the set changed, though its momentum didn’t waver a bit, with the start of “Rock and Roll.” Shifting gears from rhythmic conversations to exploratory rock, the guys carved out a stellar, guitar-led jaunt from the Velvet Underground cover, and surpassed it later in the set with a “Piper” that has gone under-appreciated amongst so many colossal versions of summer. In fact, “Piper,” in my opinion, is the improvisational highpoint of the set, though it almost seems like an afterthought on such an eye-popping setlist. The whole band converged on this jam unlike any other of the night, and when Trey hit a shredding, multi-note pattern, the jam elevates to another level. Firing as one, the guys got into a chugging, uptempo jam that found more than a few sweet spots and a surreal come down. Oh, and between “Rock and Roll” and “Piper,” the band unveiled the only “Steam” of 2012. Yeah, this set had it all.
6.30.12 (K.Harris)
Although “Hood > Zero” isn’t exactly a show-stopping closer, the band played solid versions of both. If Phish, instead, finished the show with “You Enjoy Myself” or “David Bowie,” this set would have that final touch and would draw far more attention. But in the end, would five minutes of standard “YEM” funk made that much difference? The lack of a big-time closer, however, is the only possible knock on this second half.
Very few set second sets these days contain both tour-highlight jams and non-stop flow. And while nothing in this set will make Leg One’s greatest hits, in terms of the live experience, few sets kept the party going from beginning to end like the first night of Alpine. A sparkling setlist, non-stop musical motion and plenty of jamming made this one of the most complete frames of tour. If you don’t agree, hit play on your iPod and see how many tomes you hit skip…See?
Number Line, Carini > Wilson > Golden Age -> Also Sprach Zarathustra > Rock and Roll > Steam > Piper > Quinn the Eskimo, Harry Hood > Character Zero
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Jam of the Day:
“Golden Age -> 2001 > Rock > Steam > Piper” 6.30 II
Quite a diverse chunk of jamming!
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Tags: 2012, Summer 2012
been spinning this funky meters
http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=555421
art 13 years younger. great B3 and electric piano player. major influence for page. soulful voice. recording is too fat on the low end and keyboards and vocals could use a boost, but this is choice stuff for this period. funky meters were a big live love of mine.
Funky Meters
May 15, 1999
The Fillmore
San Francisco, California
source:
Neumann KM140s>Aerco Pre>Sony SBM-1>DAT
lineage:
DAT master>computer>r8brain PRO>CD Wav>FFE>flac16
01. Jam > Two Funky
02. Here Comes The Meter Man >
03. Africa > (Thank You) Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin > Do You Want To Dance? >
04. Soul Island >
05. Keep On Marching > Ohio >
06. Love Slip Upon Ya > Bass >
07. The World is a Little Under the Weather (Doodle Oop) >
08. Groovy Lady >
09. Sing A Simple Song
10. They All Ask’d For You
11. Cissy Strut > Saturday Night Fish Fry > Cissy Strut >
12. Cardova >
13. Fire on the Bayou
encores
14. Hey A Pocky A-Way >
15. Midnight Rider >
16. It Ain’t No Use >
17. Voodoo Child
total time: 157:55
I’m sure it won’t be the first time for the Dentist.
my dentist is cute and has big boobs that rub against your head while she cleans your teeth. my wife req’d her to me 6 years ago based on that fact. said it didn’t do anything for her but she thought i’d enjoy it. i go every 6 months like clock work
i wonder if insurance covers tips?
mmm. first taste of the firestone walker union jack IPA. tasty IPA. complex smell and taste. can’t quite place it. lemon peel, citrus, apple juice? something zesty. refreshing mouth feel. you guys know your brew.
switched over to the original meters lineup. they’re taking everything real slow b/c they rarely play together.
5.5.12. spin the dragon. awesome tune. art still has it in the fingers. and the inimitable leo nocentelli still has it as well. porter and zig. awesome.
http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=557004
I got sent home from the dentist once. Was working downtown and spent the night at a friends apt across the street from work. Partied all night doing all sorts of bad things.
Started sweating profusely in the chair. I’m sure i stunk as well, despite showering and brushing teeth prior.
Dentist: ” Why don’t you come back another time? “.
Then i went to work…
post of the day, if not the week, xpun. $$$
you guys are killin it today. palmer, your story is almost as good as xpun’s.
Heh, I had some Union Jack IPA last night too. But just a sip.
Ignition Interlock Devices suck. But so do DUIs. Don’t let it happen to you.
time to order a new iaudio 10. 32 GB goes fast in the world of live music obsessiveness. cheers.
the dragon; he bite me. Porter: “Mr. dragon, all he want to do all day long is have another toke. Are you familiar with having just another toke? Dragon, let me have some of that what you’re smokin on, my brother. let me have a little bit of that what you smokin on, mr dragon. we start lightin up. westart lightin up. we start lightin up. smokin w/ the dragon”
I get high high high, smokin with the dragon.
excuse me, that was not porter w/ the dragon speech. leo, i believe.
good man, voopa. you are a living PSA. serious stuff. this union jack is 7.5%. ouch. he bite me.
taking plamer story to heart. and keeping a 2 hr. buffer btw. brew and dentist chair.
Nice write up Miner
This was my BBQ playlist Fri night. It crushes start to finish. Double fact.
Butter hits it on the head. It is a perfect BBQ set. Had a blast at this show, including the 1st set, which is also super fun. But when I’m old and done, its alpine 2 thats spun.
The only thing that bugs me is the guitar player of the funky meters. Always “rippin” kinda showboaty, good band nonetheless.
^^ you mean brian stoltz. more good than bad w/ stoltz. great chops and feel. some of his more rock solos are, indeed, over the top.
Always used to go to the dentist early morning after partying all night, the hygienist is a friends mom and she would judge the shit out of me.
homefromcollege’d
and then after collage it was just iliketoparty’d – hasn’t happened it a few years though.
Wish regular NBC was going to show Womens Soccer at 12:15, forcing me to hit the sports bar across the street.
this was the only show of the 7 show run i did where the crowd f’ed me up, and i was in pav. surrounded by serious talkers/partiers, and a girl that literally never looked up from her iPhone. spent what seemed liked more than half of the show Facebooking, while dancing. it took a lot of focus from me to stay in tune, i was tired, and spent too much energy hating on people around me. should have moved.
anyway, i do recall loving the Rock N Roll>Steam>Piper section. it was enough goodness to suck me in.
also, next night, a girl comes to hang with said group, stands near me, starts talking immediately, and @redredworm explains to her that there is no talking during the show and silences her on the spot. it was awesome.
^ hate that
RedRedWorm is a great dude.
Sadly Tela’s that doesn’t surprise me. I’ll keep my “anti-Alpine” rant to myself, because I know so many people love the venue.
Listening to this AVReba as a warmup before Set II. Well done.
wait…it’s not just east coasters that are shit stains during shows?
It was probably north easterners traveling to the midwest…yeah, that’s it i bet..
i’ll gladly go on an AV crowd rant.
actually, i felt the crowds were great throughout all the shows, it was just 4-5 people attached to an otherwise great group. even met the people who were chatting a lot, and they were good people, just were having an extra fun night. situation corrected itself the next day.
“It was probably north easterners traveling to the midwest…yeah, that’s it i bet…’
Wouldn’t surprise me in the least Palmer! That’s what north eastern Phish fans do, ya know: travel around the country ruining other people’s shows at our gorgeous venues