After an all-night drive to Utica, I never stopped to give Augusta’s show its proper due. So, let’s start this week with a flashback to October 19, in the college town of Augusta, Maine. Building off Charleston’s triumphant finale, Phish traveled far north to drop their second consecutive standout show, including two jams that trumped anything played through the first five shows of tour. Enclosed in a gymnasium frozen in time somewhere around 1982 – Phish juxtaposed plenty of of forward-looking music to these retro surroundings while creating two pieces that stand the test of time. During a roots-rock Americana-based opening set, Phish included diversions with a tour-highlight “Bathtub Gin” and “Divided Sky,” but the real northern lights came after setbreak…and during the encore! In a mini two-part series to begin this week, we’ll look at a two tour-defining moments that took place one night in Maine.

Jumping head first into the second set with a “Fuck Your Face” and Mike’s Song” mash-up, the band swung from their knees and ignited the second set. But when the hard-edged piece ended, one of Augusta’s extraordinary moments emerged in “Light.” Fall versions of “Light” tended toward next-generation Phish grooves – sped up and highly intricate textures – rather than the melodic and abstract sounds that characterized summer’s standouts. But in Augusta, the band not only moved through both of these sonic plateaus with fluid virtuosity, they also dipped into the cosmic soup – a brief but soulful spacescape in the vein of “Tweezer’s” ending in Miami (12.29.09). This multi-dimensional version progressed through organically morphing improv with utmost patience, one-minded connectedness, and an exploratory spirit. Landing in several segments of fully realized psychedelia, Augusta’s “Light” stood out as Fall’s top-shelf offering; a piece that flirts with the loftiest incarnations of the modern launch pad.

Locked and loaded, Trey hit a rhythm chord that ended the song’s thrilling structured jam and reset the improvisational canvas. Immediately stepping into quick collaborative rhythms, Page’s organ solo lent a darker feel to the music. Trey and Fish locked into a series of hits that engaged the band in full, moving as one into the first stage of a fluid psychedelic journey. Fusing bliss and groove, Trey offered several melodic themes that guided this four-part conversation, taking the band far away into the land of make-believe. Mike and Page formed a drone curtain for Trey and Fish’s two-part dynamic play. Moving forward, both Mike and Page oozed into patterns of their own, soon crafting a four-player game of sonic ping-pong.

Trey’s melodic leads turned spiritual, fitting perfectly within the band’s nuanced rhythmic folds, creating an interwoven quilt of musical mastery. Phish painted this passage with delicate precision while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of their modern sound – a sure sign that the state of current Phish could not be better. Passing though an abstract segment, Trey played notes that resembled a classic digital delay pattern, still speaking with melodic sensibility. As the jam grew quieter, the band transformed into a four-headed ambient monster, stepping powerfully from its lair and engulfing the music with heavy sonic sorcery. Bleeding into “Twenty Years Later,” Phish proceeded to take the song’s ominous patterns for the most significant ride of their young life, finally infusing a full-band jaunt into the dark tale; a perfect counterpart for “Light’s” intergalactic excursion.

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Jam of the Day:

“Bathtub Gin” 10.19.2010 I

With today’s focus on Augusta, here is the first set “Bathtub Gin” that lit the show afire.

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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:

10.19.2010 Civic Center, Augusta, Maine

FLAC Torrent (etree), Mp3 Torrent, Megaupload < Links

The first show of Phish’s week in the Northeast, this intimate mid-week affair built off Charleston and catapulted the band onto Utica via stellar playing throughout and a juicy second set of highlight-strewn Phish.

I: Chalk Dust Torture, Back on the Train, Torn and Frayed, Bathtub Gin, Gumbo, The Divided Sky, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Nellie Kane, 46 Days, Possum

II: Fuck Your Face, Mike’s Song* > Light > Twenty Years Later > Fast Enough for You, Weekapaug Groove, Halley’s Comet, Free, Harry Hood, Golgi Apparatus, A Day in the Life

E: Reba, Backwards Down the Number Line

* with”Fuck Your Face” quotes at the beginning and end of the jam

Source: FOB Schoeps mk22> kc5> cmc6> psp3> mini-me@48-24>r44>sd (Tapers – Rob Adler / Dave Flaschner)

A spirited run through “Weekapaug” concluded the meat of the Augusta’s second set, punctuating a “Mike’s Groove” that included a devastating northern “Light.” But aside from “Harry Hood,” the rest of the frame fizzled into a series of standard rotation songs. Front loading the set with plenty of music to carry the second half , perhaps the second-set imbalance contributed to what happened next. Returning to the stage for the encore – all but a formality on almost every evening – Phish had something else in mind.

Just before an overnight haul to Utica, the band unveiled an encore for the pages of history. Expecting nothing at all, when the opening notes of “Reba” bounced from the stage, looks of disbelief shot around the arena. For only the third time in its 21 year history, Phish employed their classic piece as an encore (most recently in Tucson, Arizona on 9.21.99 and before that in Berkeley, California on 3.31.91.) Given the band’s stellar playing in Augusta, this one had the feeling of something special from note one, and blossomed into something greater than anyone could have imagined. Navigating the multi-part composition with a precision and momentum rarely seen this era, all the pieces in fell into place as Phish set sail on an ocean of divine groove.

Splashing into the crystal waters, the band’s lush offerings began to sculpt a sonic oasis. Fishman played a slower tempo, creating a groovier pocket and leaving copious musical space for his mates to run free. Trey took the lead, initiating a golden thread of melody he would weave through the entire piece. After setting the rhythmic pace, Mike stepped up and engaged Trey in co-leadership of the fluid vessel. Weaving his own lines in between Trey’s never-ending song, the two guitar players achieved a symbiotic cohesion. And with Trey’s cash-money phrasing, this jam began to elevate – all within the context of a superior “Reba” jam. But with a delicate rhythmic breakdown by Fishman, the musical course veered into the uncharted.

Hopping on the abstract idea right away, all band members formed a levitating ball of exploratory sound. As Trey bent a single note amidst this atypical canvas, it signaled the onset of a whole-band exploration. Rarely does “Reba” depart from its blissful groove, but when they have, stunning highlights result (8.16.93 and 10.29.98 come to mind.) In Augusta, the band briefly returned to the theme en route to a tranquil and divergent rhythmic pool. Trey and Fish lured Mike and Page into floating moments of abstraction that bridged a filthy and aggressive whole-band groove. Carving a funky, hard-edged path, the entire band churned out atypical music that had nothing to do with its soaring foundation. Before long, they slammed into a bumping rhythm, sounding like they would flow right into “Manteca.” Based in the rhythmic template, these weren’t debatable Trey teases, but a solid foundation of the Dizzy Gillespie cover. Instead of taking Fish’s bait and diving into the cover, the band forged on in their experimental encore while Fishman coyly teased the song’s repetitive lyric over the sinful groove. Behind this vocal-play, Trey melted like butter back into “Reba’s” theme – a perfectly executed re-entry without hesitation.

Fully re-engaging “Reba’s” classic build, Phish sidestepped any shortcuts while pushing the piece to glorious heights. Trey led the troops to a monstrous peak, leaving all jaws hanging on the carpeted floor as Fish’s drum roll ended the jam. If there was ever a time to end “Reba” with its classic whistle and final verse, this was it. But in a move that made little sense, the band, i nstead, dropped into an awkwardly-placed “Number Line” to follow-up “Reba’s” spiritual quest that immediately jumped into any conversation about top-shelf versions – and I’m not talking about “in the modern era.” With a peak rendition for the ages, Phish left Augusta at the tip-top of their game with Utica less than 24 hours away. As we jumped into the mini-van with that internal fire burning and little care about how many miles lied ahead, Phish tour felt like Phish tour once again.

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Jam of the Day:

“Wolfman’s > Cities” 10.20.10 I

Funked-out, first set fire from Utica.

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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:

10.22.2010 Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island

FLAC Torrent (etree), Mp3 Torrent, Megaupload < Links

Coming off Utica, Phish took one set to exhale before sparking a top-notch second half that was served in three courses. First came “Rock and Roll > Carini > My Problem Right There” and second came “Mike’s > Sanity > Groove.” Before the third course, Phish served an intermezzo of  “Suzy” and another standout “Light,” before finishing with with the dessert course – “Character Zero > 2001 > Loving Cup.” Straight fire through and through, Providence’s second set seemed to set the table for a Mullins Center detonation that never fully materialized.

I: Down with Disease, Funky Bitch, Fluffhead, Roses Are Free, Rift, The Moma Dance, Ocelot, NICU, Sample in a Jar, Julius

II: Rock and Roll > Carini > My Problem Right There, Mike’s Song > Sanity > Weekapaug Groove, Suzy Greenberg, Light, Character Zero > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Loving Cup

E: First Tube

Source: Schoeps mk5> kc5> m222> nt222> lunatec v3 > SD 744t (Taper – taylorc)