Beyond Belief
8.15.12 – Long Beach (Sam Heller)
Opening the floodgates of creativity, Phish redefined possibilities with a second set that elevated this game to a completely new level. Storming out of the gates with nearly 45 minutes of experimental jamming in “Rock and Roll > Ghost,” and continuing with an immaculate “Limb by Limb” and “Harry Hood” that will make a you cry, Phish brought their A+ game to a tour-opener of dreams in Southern California.
As not to sound redundant throughout this piece, allow me to say up front—this was the best I’ve heard Phish play in ages. Last night’s second set was a case study in virtuoso communication and the metaphysical explosions that result from such human achievement. Touching on every facet of their sound that makes them the phenomenon we know and love, Phish gave a glimpse into paradise. The best thing you can do for yourself as a Phish fan right now, is to stop reading this review, cancel the next 90 minutes of your life, grab some headphones and bask.
8.15.12 (Sam Heller)
Weaving musical gold while lacing together one dreamscape after another, Phish came out with a massive statement in Long Beach. “Rock and Roll,” in and of itself, contained a entire show’s worth of standout improvisation. Spanning the the full spectrum from wide-open fields of melodic glory to demonic lairs of a “storage” sequence that sounded plucked from the wee hours of Super Ball, itself, the band could do no wrong. After plunging such depths with the first jam of the set, they could have easily hit cruise control. But that’s about the farthest thing from what happened.
Moving from a monumental excursion directly into “Ghost,” it felt that the band turned a corner with this decision. Feeling no need to reel things in, they forged forth into—arguably—the most spectacular portion of the night. Using the entirety of “Ghost’s” jam to peak “Rock and Roll’s Odyssean journey, the band converged on a life-altering peak. Taking but a couple of measures to move outside the box, “Ghost” proved, as it has all summer, to be an efficient path to original music. And this time, they drove the piece right through the heart of the audience, sparking a communal bolt of reverie. After 45 minutes of unbridled, wide-open jamming, the band could have dropped their instruments and walked off stage to a standing ovation. But they just kept moving forward.
8-15-12 (S.Heller)
Concluding almost an hour of non-stop improv with a spectacular take on “Limb By Limb,” it became quite apparent that the entire set would be laced with grandeur. A spot-on and notably raging “Guyute” fit within the context of this set better than any recent appearance of the song, and “Dirt” felt as poignant as ever Trey’s guitar lines dripped with emotion. And when the guys rolled into “Harry Hood,” they could have taken this show to the bank with a standard version—but they didn’t. Sensing a theme here? Instead, Phish played what has to be considered an elite “Hood” of any era. Listening to each other with a subconscious marksmanship—a hallmark of the entire show—the band sculpted a final dip into majesty. Providing the proverbial cherry on top, this multi-tired “Hood” sealed the deal on a night that was far better than imaginable.
And we may have just scratched the surface…
First Set Notes: A more than solid tour-opening frame was marked by high energy playing from start to finish. “Cities” got things moving as the second song of the show, while both “Stash” and “Gin” popped with extra spirit along the way. But, as many tour-opening sets of this era, this one was long in the rearview mirror by the time the encore hit.
I: Suzy Greenberg, Cities > Kill Devil Falls, Guelah Papyrus, Cool It Down, Rift, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Bathtub Gin, Quinn the Eskimo
II: Rock and Roll > Ghost > Limb By Limb, Guyute, Dirt, Harry Hood > Good Times Bad Times
E: Julius
Tags: 2012, Summer 2012, The Moment
found the 8.15 gin more redeeming than the 8.15.12 stash.
bathtub quinn. $$ combo set closer.
Kaya- I immediately thought of you, Pham B, and Butter when this was passed along to me. This kid went to high school with me and started this company. Click on the the first story- How MindBodyGreen came to life. That’s my old friend and his story.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/
@kaya: yes, the end of Gin; Trey really gets after it and keeps it going. Great version; this might replace the Worcester Gin as my favorite 2012 version. They have really been playing Gin’s at a different level this year. I would like to see Piper really get the treatment in Leg II; as well.
What up kids? Checking in from Jtran’s couch in lovely San Diego, using Jtran’s laptop complete with a) sticking keys and b) a “nub”-style cursor guiding device…
Great show last night, would complain about slight composition heaviness if not for the 40 minutes of jamming thing there, which is pretty key! First set was a lot of energetic shreddy goodness, KDF, Stash, and Bathtub Quinn all found some real high altitudes.
RnR was great, realized part-way through that I was expecting them to stop searching around and settle in one spot when really that was one of those jams where the searching was the point. Love how many places that thing goes! Ghost a great follow up, but that only was going one place: up. Limb had a sweet little drop down in the middle that was reprised in the Hood, obviously. I don’t know if I’ll need to hear any more mid-2nd set Guyutes than I already have, but last night’s was extremely well played, fiery, evil, bouncy… I guess everything you’d want from a Guyute. Love the Hood double-peak head fake action. “We’re taking it up from here! Nope, now we’re all the way back down! Now we’re going up via a different route, try to keep up!”
Three more nights? Fuck yeah
(Whoops, got tripped up by the sticking “t” key while typing my user name, so this may end up being a double post with some lurker named “garrec,” depending on Miner’s moderating decision…)
What up kids? Checking in from Jtran’s couch in lovely San Diego, using Jtran’s laptop complete with a) sticking keys and b) a “nub”-style cursor guiding device…
Great show last night, would complain about slight composition heaviness if not for the 40 minutes of jamming thing there, which is pretty key! First set was a lot of energetic shreddy goodness, KDF, Stash, and Bathtub Quinn all found some real high altitudes.
RnR was great, realized part-way through that I was expecting them to stop searching around and settle in one spot when really that was one of those jams where the searching was the point. Love how many places that thing goes! Ghost a great follow up, but that only was going one place: up. Limb had a sweet little drop down in the middle that was reprised in the Hood, obviously. I don’t know if I’ll need to hear any more mid-2nd set Guyutes than I already have, but last night’s was extremely well played, fiery, evil, bouncy… I guess everything you’d want from a Guyute. Love the Hood double-peak head fake action. “We’re taking it up from here! Nope, now we’re all the way back down! Now we’re going up via a different route, try to keep up!”
Three more nights? Fuck yeah
Now that Beibs is on the list, here are some more celeb phishies…
http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/the-b-list-10-celebrity-phish-fans/
Holy bustanut January Jones.
Her and Charleze are two of the most smokin’ blond chicks in the world IMO
Wife just got the green light to head to CITY . Woo hoo. Who’s got our Saturday’s ?
January jones is definitely one of those do anything for a crystal wookettes
I’m only bringing one pair of shorts/pants this weekend…
Should I bring shorts or pants?
Awesome slick!
After proper relusten I’ve decided the hood is the highlight. That breakdown is so sweet very mid 90s feel.
Realized I put lusten. Like it. Captures my true feeling
bring capris @silly. best of both worlds, imo. quite fashionable taboot, especially when done up with a fresh pair of white keds.
Willy. Same issue here. I’m usually okay if I have a sweat shirt so I think I’ll go shorts
We sound like a couple a bitches. Or I do at least
Make wure you call each other before the show, so you don’t wear the same outfit.
NO Bill Walton sighting last night means that some poor soul is going to be stuck, behind MiA, Garrec and the world’s tallest leprechaun.
Yeah, pretty good show on playback. I wouldn’t be disappointed had I been in the building.
To do list is to done. Time for a few beers and packing. Leaving in 11 hours!!!
haha, dayman
I don’t own capris, and all purchases this weekend must be strictly Food/BART related.
shorts vs. pants in SF….go pants. You can maybe use shorts from 11-3 in some hoods on some days. Looking for an extra on any of the SF nights to get me off the hill.
@dusty…you doing Denver?
I cannut waot ti relusten
Thanks, palmer. watched your buddy’s video. i like what he’s laying down. good stuff.
@ leo…I’m still considering taking off for STL through denver…we will see. Just got a call from my cousin about SF…so I’m considering trying for one night with older head crew.
My girl is on the road to SF right now. She left my place in Milwaukee on Tuesday morning.
I gave her a bag with two t-shirts. Three pairs of underwear. Deodorant (I think…hopefully). One extra pair of socks (I do multiple days on socks. Whatever.) Gotta buy a toothbrush somewhere along the way.
I’m rocking the weekend with that and whatever I wear on the plane. Not checking a bag so I don’t have to worry about stashing it.
Time wandering the city is too precious to spend it worrying about a bag.