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.

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.

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

Phish played so well this summer, these lists are getting harder and harder to make. But as we go into Fall, there are still a few things I am hoping to see.

1. The First Set: The last remaining weakness of modern Phish shows is undoubtably the first set. Aside from SPAC’s “Split Open and Melt,” there were no open ended jams in the first half of any shows this summer. There is rarely even much contained jamming of note in opening frames, causing these sets to be musically uneventful. At no point in the last few years have I spun any first set from start to finish, and rarely do I dip into first sets at all but for the random “Reba” or “David Bowie.” Why does Phish choose to keep their first sets so mellow? Sure, lots of fans are there to hear their songs, but how about mixing it up? When the band throws down a great second set, I consider it a great show at this point. Imagine if they infused both sets with creativity? I’m not saying it should be like 1997, but just a bit of interesting music, some meat—and not always “Stash,” “Bathtub Gin,” or “Antelope.” An air of unpredictability has returned to Phish’s second sets this year, but their first ones have remained quite routine.

2. “Energy:” We’ve just seen the birth of Phish’s newest jam vehicle—”Energy.” In only three versions after its debut, the band has built an open-ended psychedelic juggernaut. Sprouting a jam in Alpheretta, the cover was soon placed in the hallowed spot of second set opener in Chicago and San Francisco. The band first opened up “Energy’s” jam in Chicago, charting an uplifting course with an ambient outro, while in San Francisco, they took it down a less cathartic, darker path. I believe we will see this song really blow up this Fall, starting right away in Hampton. I also believe we will see the band take “Energy” jams in wildly different directions, making the new Apples In Stereo cover all the more intriguing.

3. Get In Set Two! : There are several songs that have been begging for the second set treatment, though Phish has been quite stubborn in in keeping them as structured, first set jams. They are: “Wolfman’s Brother,” “Bathtub Gin,” “Tube,” “Stash,” “Split Open and Melt,” “Ocelot,” and “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing.”

4. New Phish Material: Before every tour for the past couple years, this hope has been listed. Let’s be serious, the band hasn’t written a song in ages. “Steam” is the only original that has debuted in this era and stuck around. Joy songs have been played into the ground and then some. A new album has been hinted at all year, though nothing—even a rumor—has materialized. Does this mean another run with no new originals? Most likely. They did great this summer adding “Energy” to the mix. “Say Something” has potential. But how ’bout an actual Phish song? It’s about time.

=====

Jam of the Day:

“Rock and Roll” 8.3.13 II, BGCA

This monster version provided the centerpiece of Bill Graham’s second show. PS—Thanks for your feedback. I am keeping the links.

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This is not 2009. This is not 2003. As soon as Phish and their audience steps into Hampton Coliseum in exactly one week, this feeling will be palpable. The band has not stepped foot in The Mothership as a dialed in, well-oiled machine in 14 years—since 1999—and even those shows were anti-climactic. With tickets for next weekend’s throwdown inexplicably going for under $20 on StubHub, Phish is set to annihilate Trey’s storied “favorite room” in the land, in a three-day party that will launch Phish’s first fall tour since 2010. Extrapolating on Hampton, Phish hasn’t stepped inside for more than four shows since their 2012 breakthrough—this run is going to be special!

Featuring a number of historic tour stops, including Hampton, Worcester, Hartford, and Rochester, one new tiny venue in Reading, and a return to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Fall 2013 is primed to explode. Fresh of their most creative tour of the modern era, Phish is now in a place where they can take things deeper for the first time in three years. And back then they were still getting going. Armed with a couple new springboards in “Energy” and “Say Something” and a child-like enthusiasm, Phish seems on he cusp of some serious music.

The only fall tours of 3.0 came in the era’s first two years, a time when the band was most certainly still getting their sea legs back. As a result, the psychedelic mind-fuckery that has traditionally been associated with fall shows never totally came to fruition since the 2009 comeback. Perhaps that’s also a development of the band’s age, but perhaps it was also a result of where they were on the road back. Will the music turn like the season this in this Autumn of 2013? We will know the answers soon enough. One way or the other–dark, light or in between—I predict the music will be as good as ever, and having a two-week run through New England during the back half of October—well—that just feels like old times.

We gotta get on the road…

*****

A Playlist of Fall Venues

“Halley’s Comet” 11.22.97 II, Hampton, VA

The best jam ever played in the legendary Mothership—an all-time classic.

***

“Stash > Free” 11.30.97 II, Worcester, MA

Trey incorporates his signature Fall ’97 wah grooves into a dark and dirty version of “Stash” whose funk fury blends right into “Free.”

***

“Down With Disease” 12.11.97 I, Rochester, NY

This jam—right at the beginning of the band’s Rochester’s Fall ’97 debut at the War Memorial—foreshadowed a very special night.

***

“Mike’s Song” 11.22.97 II, Hampton, VA

A ferocious kick off to Phish’s signature Hanpton performance.

***

“Simple” 11.21.98 II, Hampton, VA

In this jam, the band focuses their their Fall ’98 ambient style on an uplifting rendition of “Simple.”

***

“Weekapaug > Antelope” 11.27.98 II, Worcester, MA

A beefy “Mike’s Groove” f0llowed all the bust-outs and antics in this classic Worcester show. This is the “Groove’s”—and the set’s—final sequence.

***

“Ghost” 12.11.97 II Rochester, NY

This “Ghost” came as the funk relief after a notably dark and psychedelic set that anchored by a monster set “Drowned.”

***

“Reba” 10.31.94 I, Glens Falls, NY

The only true improvisational keeper from Phish’s only performance at Glens Falls Civic Center, a marathon endeavor featuring their first musical costume, The Beatles’ “White Album.”

***

“Jennifer Dances” 12.5.99 II, Rochester, NY

The debut of everyone’s favorite song. But, seriously. Bring it back.

***

“Chalk Dust > Whole Lotta Love > Chalk” 12.30.10 I, AC, NJ

This is the truly fierce Zeppelin sequence from a tongue-in-cheek performance on the night before Halloween 2010.

***

“Character Zero > 2001 > Cities” 11.26.97 II, Hartford, CT

This is the most dynamic jam in the history of Phish’s performances at Hartford Civic Center—a Hendrix-inspired shredder than blends into a funkier than thou “2001.”

***

“Sand > Carini” 10.29.10 I, Atlantic City, NJ

This show gets overshadowed by the next two, and might just be better than both. This sequence is one of the main reasons why.

***

“Harry Hood” 12.31.93 III, Worcester, MA

One of the greatest classicly-shaped “Harry Hoods” of all-time.

***

PS: I think I am going to stop providing download links for these jams. Do people still use them? I figure we all have the music. No? Let me know.