Taking Care of Business
10.20.2013 “Divided Sky” (Andrea Nusinov)
In a display of musicianship rarely seen these days, Phish annihilated the Mothership proper on Sunday night, gracing the historic venue with the throwdown it’s been begging for since November 22, 1997. This was the real deal folks. This was Phish at Hampton Coliseum in all their fury and wonder. This was the stuff of legend. This was the stuff of dreams. The band hadn’t woven an indoor tale like this in quite some time, and—honestly—it was a sight to behold. Sunday’s show touched upon the very ethos of why we do what we do. The community now has a new date to go along with the many numbers we recite in our sleep—10.20.2013, welcome to our consciousness.
10/20 Official (J.Flames)
The band toned it down a bit from their audacious start of Saturday night, favoring standard rotation songs to which we’ve all grown accustomed. There were, however, a few talking points beyond the intense energy that the band brought to each and every selection. After the opening three songs, the guys kicked into “Roses Are Free” in what seemed like another ho-hum selection. But Trey had different ideas. Out of the ending of the song, the band moved into a dreamy, mid-tempo passage that pointed to the first “Roses” jam since Worcester last year. As the crowd’s anticipation built, however, the band couldn’t fully lock up, and but a minute or so into the jam, Trey aborted it for “Sample In a Jar.”
The show picked up in earnest with a savage version of “46 Days.” This rousing piece was the first to truly get the audience’s hearts to beat as one—a heartbeat that would pulsate throughout the intimate arena for the rest of the night. A precise “Divided Sky” gave way to an “Bold as Love” closer. The set was solid, if not a bit slow, but big things were on the horizon, and everyone in the building could feel it.
What happened after setbreak is the stuff of instant legend. Phish gave every single song in the second set the absolute full treatment, and as was said in the tale of King Midas, everything that they touched turned to gold. Spending the entire second set in improvisational space, Phish staged a musical drama for which they became famous. This was Phish—raw, unadulterated and without a net.
10.19.13 (A.Nusinov)
The set kicked off with a nod to a crew of up-fronters dressed like Waldo from the “Where’s Waldo?” books. Trey asked them before the set if they were dressed like Waldo or people from jail, and then promptly told them the band would play a “song about jail” before busting out “Paul and Silas.” But then, the moment we had all been waiting for unfolded as Trey unleashed the opening lick to “Tweezer.” This “Tweezer” was the filthiest piece of indoor arena Phish we’ve heard in this era. Hands down, bar none. Moving seamlessly from dark to sinister to outright disgusting, this jam provided the yang to the Tahoe version’s yin. A piece of music that incarnated all that is good and holy about fall Phish truly upped the bar of possibilities for the next week and a half. This is sacred ground, people—tread lightly and with no distractions. A textured voyage into groove and far beyond, this jam leapt from the stage directly into the Hall of Fame. This monumental jam ended in an stunning passage of melodic ambience that lifted us, ever so gradually, out of the deep abyss and into an uplifting conclusion. And upon the ending of the jam, Trey dropped into “Golden Age.”
10.19.13 (A.Nusinov)
Leaving jaws on the Coliseum floor from the floor up to the rafters, Phish moved into the second movement of a flowing and relentless musical stanza. The band took all of the energy they had put into “Tweezer’s” psychedelia and applied it to the funk paradigm in “Golden Age.” Launching into a groove fiesta, Trey played all sorts of choppy rhythms licks while his band mates churned out dance grooves as if it was 1997. Turning the party out like none other, the band stuck with this vibe for quite some time before bleeding into an spacey outro that highly suggested a move into “2001.” But unlike the handful of times they’ve executed that transition in the past couple years, the guys took a left turn into “Piper.”
Like several applications of “Piper” this summer, this version was utilized as a triumphant exclamation point on the opening half of the set. Trey’s guitar screamed in joy, and all could share in the exultation he expressed. This was group catharsis as it is defined in the dictionary. Energy coursed through the arena like tangible bolts of lightning as the band tore through their victory march. And then came the best moment of the night. Phish moved into a classic rock vamp, and it sounded as if they might segue into “Rock and Roll.” But out of nowhere, the band moved into an impromptu cover of Bachman, Turner, Overdrive’s “Taking Care of Business!” The venue fucking exploded. One of the more clever musical moves we’ve seen Phish pull off in a hot minute, this transition sent the crowd over the top.
10.19.13 (Andrea Nusinov)
The band dissolved into an ambient outro, and it became clear that we would get the “2001” that had been dangled in front of us moments ago. And the band played it like they meant it! Digging into the chunky funk grooves, they spun the Mothership into another galaxy, and just when it seemed like “You Enjoy Myself” was a forgone conclusion, the band ripped into “Sand!” Taking the road less traveled at every juncture this fall, Phish threw yet another curveball to the delight of every person in the building. As if a band possessed, the guys crushed another primary jam vehicle with a purpose. Carving out layers of snarling sound, Trey led the troops in a climactic rendition of “Sand” that saw them keep on cranking where they have so often faltered late in the second set. And then the release.
10.18.13 (J.Silco)
As the band drifted into “Slave,” the final chapter of our musical fairy tale had been revealed. With one more push, Phish would reach the finish line of a championship race. And what a push it was. Unfurling a delicate jam, the band spent a good amount of time in a mellow, reflective space, allowing the events of the night to catch up to every soul in the house. The entire version felt very refined, ever so gradually building momentum, as the guys wove a graceful finale. They had made it. We had made it. And it was good.
The look Page’s face as he thanked the crowd said it all. Sincerity, humility and pride spilled from his aura as he turned to each side of the arena and thanked them earnestly. It was a special night of Phish and we all knew it. The classic Beatles cover “A Day in a Life”—a track heralded for its groundbreaking nature at the time—felt incredibly appropriate for an encore. While “Tweezer Reprise” stamped the night complete and the chorus of “Step into the Freezer” echoed throughout Hampton Coliseum, I thought back over the last 18 years, and thanked the good Lord that I took that step.
I: Julius, Funky Bitch, Back on the Train, Roses Are Free > Sample in a Jar, Ginseng Sullivan, 46 Days, Divided Sky, Bold As Love
II: Paul and Silas, Tweezer > Golden Age > Piper -> Takin’ Care of Business > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Sand, Slave to the Traffic Light
E: A Day in the Life, Tweezer Reprise
Hampton 2013 (Andrea Nusinov)
Thanks jdub, but the sox were a better team at everything but starting pitching. They deserve to be there. Good luck to them!
I fuckin love reading this board. So many creative and hilarious people. What’s the poop on tonight’s show?
Reading FTW. I’m doing the roundtrip that day from DC because I couldn’t make any other fall tour. It’s going to slay.
So was taking one last look at the setlist over on phish.net and saw that Hampton’s BOTT supposedly teased a song called “Jean Pierre.” …the fuck? Never heard of it.
So google tells me it’s a French folk song and then youtube told me Miles covers it on the 1982 album “We Want Miles,” which was something else I was not familiar with. The future is badass.
Pretty sweet little track. Check it out:
Miles Davis – Jean Pierre
http://youtu.be/SQ2d0BBClr8
Even better, here’s the full album:
We Want Miles
http://youtu.be/6A6B-Cn4_Gc
The future is TCOB-ing like a mofo.
Davis, nice. I was just digin this. Live Floyd 75 LA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1FI_QeKuh8
http://phish.net/song/jean-pierre
Kanye is a lunatic and a bad to mediocre rapper but he’s a good mainstream producer, not cutting edge but good, sometimes creative & interesting. And Kendrick is off the charts heat-wise (legitimately so, his recent flow is crazy) but needs to put out an album while he’s hot if he wants to claim his spot at the top. and Kanye needs his Eminem – a protege that’s not just commercially successful but truly legit to true rap heads.
it’s a perfect match now that I think it through. If Kanye puts out a Kendrick album soon, it will probably be massively successful and actually pretty good
^song selection from 75 Floyd Show:
01. Raving and Drooling 3:27
02. You Gotta Be Crazy 16:30
03. Shine On 1-5 32:00
04. Have a Cigar 44:48
05. Shine On 6-9 49:40
Set 2
01. Speak to Me 1:03:05
02. Breathe 1:08:24
03. On the Run 1:11:15
04. Time 1:15:45
05. The Great Gig in the Sky 1:22:10
06. Money 1:28:21
07. Us and Them 1:36:25
08. Any Colour You Like 1:44:17
09. Brain Damage 1:52:52
10. Eclipse 1:56:31
11. Echoes (Encore) 2:00:28
What’s up y’all.
Fly I didn’t see your reply :/ sorry man. the floor got too schwilly for me by the Myfe, I caught up with Ghostphunk, his wife, and Stichstash at the break and hit the 2nd frame from the upper side.
The second jam in Crosseyed was impressive as hell, they really pushed through a lull into this restrained moody space. I really enjoyed it through the GA, which was slower and more open than usual. After that: not so grate akshually.
A rare “double prancer” show.
But look! Look! Look what we don’t have to hear the rest of this week!
will Dre be butt hurt? or will it be the Dre/Kanye bridge?
glad to hear the first frame of the set reached out. thanks @plord for the on the ground info.
Golden Age lyrics drop took me completely by surprise. Felt like a completely different song with the tempo shift (never heard the original), didn’t pick it up even in Mike’s bass until they were a few lines in.
Stitchstash sighting nice!
boot is from two years before Animals. the songs Raving and Drooling and You’ve Gotta Be Crazy are beta versions of Sheep and Dogs. Slightly different lyrics as well.
I’m with you on each and every one of those points @Mr. C.
Took me a minute to finally check out Kendrick but glad that I finally did. Kid is the real deal. Flow for days.
Even the best MCs can’t compensate for a boring beat so hopefully, he can continue to find producers that can lay it down. Kanye would not be my first choice as a producer for him but he’s certainly capable of crafting bangers. Is this already in the works? (Haven’t been paying attention again.)
If so, I just hope he matches Kendrick’s intensity by keeping it on the grimey side rather than saturating the beats with pop overtones as he’s been wont to do lately. I’m probably not being realistic, though.
===
Also, saw your Temptations doing “Fiddler On The Roof” link. Huge Temptations fan and hadn’t heard that before. Good stuff.
Little known fact: One of the most beloved/recycled reggae riddims of all time is based on “Fiddler On The Roof.”
Swing Easy By
http://youtu.be/KqTCuJTxuqU
Scorcher!
that’s a dope track selector
do you have the Psychedelic Soul 2-disk set of Temps early 70s funk stuff? pretty wacky. has the extended versions of several cuts.
no collaboration that I know of between Kanye and Kendrick. just the tour. but I’ve been wondering how fast Kendrick can get an album (something commercial, not just a mixtape) out and started thinking it through
Kanye definitely wouldn’t be my first choice for that but it wouldn’t be a disaster, would probably have some really good moments and would definitely be successful. Seems like a good opportunity for both.
IMO all things with modern beats should be produced by FlyLo
time to dial up the first half of set 2 on LP
re: Kendrick Lamar
Very entertaining interview by Snoop on the GGN from 2011 capped off with a sick performance by KL on a simple but grimey-ass beat. (No idea what song it is or even whether it’s an official song at all.) Take note, Yeezus.
http://youtu.be/wpW5dDJzBas
Meh
nice link. Snoop is absurd. Kendrick is nuts right now. No one switches up flow like him.
I’m not super all about his catalog or anything. And I think he’s gotten a lot better recently. Lot of his prior material I’ve heard is okay or kinda crappy.
track listing on the floyd
boot was a little incorrect, shine on you crazy diamond sandwiches have a cigar. pretty nice stuff there.
@Mr. C – Don’t have that Psychedelic Soul. Will definitely have to check it out.
I agree about a Kendrick/Kanye album. Definitely would be worth hearing. My first choice for KL would be Havoc. Not sure what he’s sounding like lately but one of the dons of that gritty 90s NY sound. There’s probably a modern producer that comes at it from that angle but I’m so far out of the loop I just don’t know anyone.
Had to google FlyLo so just checking out this Flying Lotus dude for the first time. Pretty cool. Almost like Laswell doing hip hop.
KL makes me want to start digging into new hip hop again. This could be fun.
off night, tired tuesday
next
venue was a real treat, show kind of a clunker
really dug Xeyed > Light > Golden Age live, but not that much there on respin
found some cool seats right behind the stage that where basically empty with close views from behind the stage. sat down and watched it like a movie during the 1st set.
danced Page side 100’s for the second with awesome sight lines and sound. nothing just really developed
still just such a treat see Phish in these GA arena’s ala 94-95
Snoop is still the man