A Lumpy Start
10.18.13 (Jake Silco)
As Phish stepped into Hampton Coliseum for the first time since their comeback weekend in 2009, the place was half-empty. Few in the building were familiar with such environs, especially since the last time we gathered in Hampton, Virginia, tickets were going for $500! I didn’t think that the sparse environs would play a part in the actual show—and perhaps it didn’t—but the band played their most mellow show in memory to kick off Fall Tour. But it wouldn’t have been a Phish show without any adventure, and on this night the band fuel injected all of their adventure into a redonkulous version of “Carini”—a piece that immediately stands among the best jams ever dropped in the storied round room. But other than this paradise voyage, the show was delivered as if not to offend any one, and it wound up being just a bit too tasteful for many fans that were chomping at the bit.
10/18 Official (J.Flames)
Halfway through an inexplicably mellow second set, someone reminded Trey that soundcheck had been over hours, and when Trey got that message, he tore into “Carini”—a jam that defined this show in full. Settling into a growling mid-paced jam, the band locked into the pocket and never looked back, crafting a multi-thematic voyage that deserves any and all fans’ immediate attention. As the band moved through an extensive period of darkness, they flipped the switch on this already impressive piece, and built it to a scintillating, Allmans-eqsue blues-rock peak. Trey hit upon a lick of glory and transformed this melody into the guiding light of the jam that would bring the band to the mountaintop. And just when you thought Phish had brought another 3.0 classic to a bluesy peak, they broke shit down into funk textures that reinvented the jam on the fly. Moving into an entire jam-after-the-jam, the band continued to bring the house down with rhythmic interplay. In fact, this segment built an entire theme unto itself before the band finally wound their way down. If you caught the webcast, you already know, but if you haven’t heard it yet, sit down with this “Carini” with your morning coffee—I guarantee you will have a better day for it.
10.18.13 (J.Silco)
Any musical highlights other than “Carini,” however, were few and far between. The only other true meat of the show came in the set opening “Twist”—the first version in such a slot since Philly 2003—and the oddly placed “Roggae.” “Twist” seemed like a very peculiar choice from to kick off the second set, and although the band moved into an impressive ambient lair, the jam felt a bit short of complete as they drifted into “Free.” Following the opening couplet, the band played a searing rendition of “Roggae,” a song usually reserved for less highlighted placement. This “Roggae” captivated the room’s attention in full, raising the eyebrows of quite a few skeptics. But when Trey started playing “Sparkle” in the middle of the second set, I literally leaned over to my friend and asked, “What’s going on?” And then they played “Cavern.” Finally, the messenger bird made it’s way down from the rafters and delivered Trey the word, prompting him to “Throw something down for the kidz before things turn sour!” And so he did.
Hot versions of “Number Line” and “Antelope” closed out an underwhelming set, but when the band plays something of the caliber of “Carini,” sometimes its all just gravy. 2013 has seen slight step backwards in the quality of tour openers, as Bangor and now Hampton’s first night, have carried the vibe of warm up shows. But even in warm up shows, Phish can still deliver the goods, and I bet that when this run is all said and done, nobody will have forgotten Hampton’s “Carini.”
First set notes: A solid, though standard first set kicked things off with solid song selection and energy. “Jim” and “Stash” provided the first dips into full-band improv, but in truth, this was a warm up set through and through.
I: Wolfman’s Brother, Runaway Jim, Mound, Chalk Dust Torture, Army of One, Nellie Kane, Stash, Ocelot, Rift, Bouncing Around the Room, Walls of the Cave
II: Twist > Free > Roggae, Sparkle > Cavern > Carini > Backwards Down the Number Line, Twenty Years Later, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Run Like an Antelope
E: When the Circus Comes, Suzy Greenberg
10.18.13 (Jake Silco)
just watched Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion!! hot damn!
how was that steam?
Game 7 10/31 (if necessary)
Check me out: forum killer
Band seemed to be in great form tonight.
Classic show. From the drop of the green flag. Let’s do it again tomorrow. Can’t wait.
Just relistened to that Hood. That did happen. Technology rules.
Meh, geting back tohotel was excrutiatingly boring tonight
Aborted plan to drive to Fredericksburg hotel post show tmrw: expect to feel very sore tmrw plus I forgot about buying contact lens, only possible monday
***
Band sounded cohesive and vibrant all night. Sound was dialed in tight. Awesome poppin’ paug, wow. Tube got a particularly sweet funk jam, and Steam had an unsual ambient short jam. Lotsa tight energy throughout with terrific small moments too (mike solo end yamar). Ghost, what a set 2 opener
Loved the room tonight. Chiller crowd, myself included, lol
^sumo nailed it
BB crew did find the sweet roomy spot at rear floor with sound equal to midcourt, where I spent set 1
Crowd took its time to fill out the venue compared to friday, with more fans spreading out into rear stage seats
One more to come, gonna be a flood of xtras
Gonna kick it wook down
Found a ticketstub on the floor tonight
Dl code#102412640277
Gin moma tube opener curtis lowe(not such the rairity but still nice)Mikesgroove almost 20 min ghost disease jam steam wedge so tight harry
Big fun tonight
Getting betta kidZ
Njoy!
Night 3 awaIts
Only thing i disagree w is last night was not half full (not sold out but 50%?!) and tonight was full all the way round.
Drove my new (to me) Crown Vic to the 43rd Santa Cruz Band Review today. BART strike played a part. Hwy 17 was a challenge, but most of the ride was a fun experiment in traffic control.
I think my feet might fall off of my legs at any moment, between the heavy braking and the many miles walked. All great though. Was nice to be back in the nicest ocean front shithole around. Plus, I didn’t get assaulted!
Nice jK. Are you “Fake Jerry”?
oi jk, tried your password, said it didnt exist
dang old ginger baker mang. his commentary was priceless.
Only had one someone must have grabbedi it up.
No, am no fakeJerry
Bouncing coda jam be damned 🙂
Code from my extra: 194584196452
@selector. It’s all good. Great concert. Full bliss mode indeed. Time to go back to bed. Peace.
Nice! Thanks for the code, @revise!
@ phishm – word. Keeping it real.
Until manana, BB.
Bb crew rocks the phish like no other. Nice work gents. Thanks for sharin in the grove. Wow.
So much creative playing through out.
Gin, tube, ya mar, mike h PAUG, ghost, dwd, wedge, hood, Eskimos
band needs to play longer versions of songs. They need to brake the mold on the following too: gin, wolfman’s, ocelot, boogie, tube, 46 days, mikes (second jam). There’s a bunch of other songs that have become standardized.
I only say this because i love this band and know that if they were to let things hang out and explore their jams we could be seeing some oft the best phish ever because when they jam these days they rarely play something that isn’t good.
just look at the carini and the ghost-the only two really jammed out songs and both nailed
Just woke. Forgot to say…
Another one for the dispicable boston “douchies”
Id throw the ball AT the pink hat beatch after stealing it from her if I could..
Its called #winning…