Trey mentioned to Rolling Stone, in an article published only hours before Bangor’s tour opener, that the band’s extended layoff had him feeling “bottled up.” If I might speak for the entire Phish fan base, allow me to say the feeling was mutual. But in one fell swoop, we all kicked off this long-awaited 30th Anniversary celebration together in Bangor, Maine on the eve of the nation’s birthday. Beginning with an idyllic afternoon in which the band’s jaw dropping, free form soundcheck could booming through town and wrapping up with an incredibly appropriate centerpiece of “Golden Age,” Phish provided a stellar “Welcome to Summer” experience to everyone in their community.

The opening—and more complete—set of the show carried a distinctly retro song list with nary a lull. Solid performances of “Possum” and “Runaway Jim” set the table for the seemingly-always-first-jam of tour, “Stash.” Set against the backdrop of dusk on the river, this piece got everyone’s juices flowing for the spunky “Wolfman’s” that lurked just around the corner. Notably unbotched versions of “Rift” and “Theme” paved the way for the unquestionable highlight of the frame—”Mike’s Song.” And damn it feels good to write that! Opening up the hackneyed guitar-solo anchored jam, Trey began plucking staccato leads over a minimalist, though menacing, backdrop, and I thought my head might explode. Just hearing creativity infused into the “Mike’s” was like the best Christmas morning ever. Did the jam grow out of structure? Not for a minute, but the band’s approach was diametrically opposed to the cookie-cutter versions sprinkled throughout modern shows. And when they closed the set with “Weekapaug,” one couldn’t help but think, “It’s all happening.”

To properly christen 2013, the thirtieth year since their birth, the band threw down the defining version of “Golden Age” to date. A wide-open, jazz drenched conversation showcased the intellects of the four onstage marksman as it veered far from the half-realized funk patterns of yesteryear into a full-blown freak scene. Think of a late-’70s Grateful Dead funk jam inspected through the lens of modern Phish and you might get a sense of the sonic palette on display in this excursion. The space within the music was astounding, leaving seemigly cavernous gaps for band members to insert their ideas and respond to each other. The virtuoso collaboration between Trey and Page was worth the price of admission, alone. Interestingly, after discussing with a buddy only days ago how little Trey uses his wah-pedal anymore, he put the effect on center stage during this “Golden Age” painting the textures with one subtly wah’ed out note after another. In the same Rolling Stone article, Trey swore, “bands are chemistry. They are nothing but chemistry.” Well, that sound byte resonated across Bangor’s waterfront field as the four alchemists from Burlington, Vermont concocted a stunning tale to open up a summer of dreams.

But the set took a downturn at this point. After landing the opening jaunt in contained “Twist,” the band placed two Joy songs—”Number Line” and “Ocelot”—in the wheel house of the second set and did nothing with them. I was sure that when the band inserted “Ocelot” where “Tweezer” usually goes that it would finally get some creative loving. But it wasn’t to be and the band seemed to have hit a cruise control right when the show should have been getting juicier. “Rock and Roll” seemed like it might bolster the cause, but the jam was cut, almost awkwardly, to initiate a couple-minute build up into “2001.” Though “Zarathustra” contained some choice licks amidst a laid-back groovescape, the band’s arrival at the tune was less than climactic and it’s placement felt a bit pre-calculated. And just when you thought “Cavern” was ending the show, the band tacked on an “Antelope” and came up with the most profound version of 3.0—by far.

“Antelope” had all but lost it’s place in the modern Pantheon of Phish songs, but on this date—exactly 19 years from its ’94 fireworks-punctuated outing at Old Orchard Beach, Maine—the song was resurrected. I had no thoughts of this jam being anything more than a feel-good rocker to close the night, but mid-build, Trey just opened it up and glory ensued. Bringing to mind thoughts of the Spring ’94 Wiltern version, the band coyly slid out of raging structure for far blissier territory, quickly creating the second-in-command highlight of the night and—essentially—salvaging the set. Seamlessly re-merging with the song’s theme, people’s minds had to be shattered as the band headed for home on notably high gear.

And what better way to encore a classics-based setlist than with “Harry Hood.” Laying way back in this jam, Trey took his time building it into something far  more than an afterthought. Blossoming a melodic tangent, this extended take on their cathartic opus felt like the perfect way to end the opening night of this month-long celebration. And without experiencing the true throwdown that so many recent tour-openers have entailed, the possibilities are even more limitless than they would be heading into a holiday-weekend three-pack in Saratoga Springs.

Happy 4th of July!

I: Possum, Runaway Jim, Stash, NICU, Wolfman’s Brother, Rift, Theme From the Bottom, Chalk Dust Torture, Mike’s Song > Silent in the Morning > Weekapaug Groove

II: Golden Age > Twist, Backwards Down the Number Line, Ocelot, Rock and Roll > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Cavern, Run Like an Antelope

E: Harry Hood

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REMINDER: SPAC Art Show on Saturday!

Shows of the Summer: The Gorge and Bill Graham

Every time Phish goes to the Gorge something special happens. From 1997 through 2011, every visit deep into Washington state has harvested one of the best shows of the summer. One could make a Gorge highlight tape that would go on for hours upon hours upon hours. The band’s history at this venue—especially percentage wise—is outlandish. Their playing slows down and takes on the majesty of the surroundings. They play differently at the Gorge—and who wouldn’t? I predict that this special venue will play host to one of Summer 2013’s most outstanding shows. It’s as much of a guarantee that comes in the Phish world these days.

Additionally, I’m feeling another of this summer’s absolute peaks will take place at Bill Graham. Last year, they had the venue booked at the front of the tour and this year, it represents the final three-night extravaganza before a Monday night, LA afterthought. Things, traditionally, come to a head for Phish at the end of tours—as one can see at Dick’s last year—and I think this venue holds as much magic as any. The polar opposite of the Gorge, a dingy and tiny auditorium that seems almost unfit for Phish were it not for its legacy and legend. But the history of the Bay Area mecca is undeniable and the energy in the room is palpable from every seat in the house. Look for at least one of these three shows to be one of the band’s top efforts of summer.

Breakout Jam Vehicles of the Summer: Hopefully Phish comes out with some new launchpads this summer, but even if they do, it’s time to revitalize some of the latent giants they have in their catalog. Here are my picks.

“Undermind”—First off, someone should bring a sign on the first night of tour that say “Get Undermind in rotation stat!” The couple times they’ve jammed on this song—UIC ’11 and Dick’s ’12—they’ve come up with two of their most successful modern experiments. With the relative stagnancy of their current jam vehicles, the band should get this one into the second set every four shows—the results would speak for themselves.

“A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing”—Enough is enough with this one. Someone close to Trey needs to have a sit down with him and explain that this could be the next massive jam in the Phish universe. The all-time version from SPAC ’04 has sat there teasing us for almost a decade now, with only Superball’s ambient first setter to show for it. If the band went free form on this song every four nights, forget about it. But the burning question is why won’t they? (Or better put, “What the fuck?!”) Shapiro did his part by dropping the SPAC epic on this summer’s Live Bait, who’s next?

“Seven Below”—The cliche pick would be “Scents and Subtle Sounds” here, but fuck it, let’s be realistic, that jam won’t go the places that “Oceans” will, so I’m gonna hedge my bets and not ask for both. I’m asking for a song that was a central jam vehicle of the post hiatus period—”Seven Below.” Some of the jams out of this song were the band’s most impressive of 2.0, and they seem to have no problem playing it, unlike some of the aforementioned post-hiatus songs. So let’s bring it back and expand on it! This one hasn’t seen the light of day since the very avant-garde take at Star Lake ’12. The delicacy of this jam would fuse well with the band’s current playing style.

“Wolfman’s Brother”—Finally, bring back the second set “Wolfman’s Brother.” The band has played this song as a first set rotation song for the past four years, and it’s grown a bit stale. But my call is that MSG’s creative version is a harbinger of things to come this summer. “Wolfman’s” was once more than a pathway to funk, starring as a open jam for many years. I think it could be the perfect piece to showcase whatever sound the band is focusing on this summer. Can you say plinko -> storage jam? It would be perfect.

Bustouts of the Year: “New Age” @ Merriweather & “Whipping Post” (Trey singing) @ Tahoe

Best 3-Night Stands: 1) Bill Graham 2) Dick’s 3) Chicago

Best 2-Night Stands: 1) The Gorge 2) Merriweather 3) Tahoe

Dick’s Friday Night Setlist Prank: The band will spell out “Leave With Us Now” with their setlist, and upon the ending of “Waves”—while layers of loops still emanate from the stage—a space ship will descend and beam us all into another reality, leaving this one behind forever. There is no encore. Dick’s Saturday and Sunday shows will not take place.

I. Light Up or Leave Me Alone, Esther, A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Vultures, Emotional Rescue, Waste, Icculus*, Tube

II. Halfway to the Moon -> Undermind -> Simple -> New Age, Once In a Lifetime, Waves

*w/ “soul cluster migration” narration

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Jam of the Day:

“Rock and Roll > Lizards” 8.24.12 II, Pelham

My favorite jam of the Southern run last year.

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SPAC EXHIBITION FROM THE MOTHERSHIP ART COLLECTIVE

Final Lineup of Artists: 

AJ Masthay, Nate Duval, Erin Cadigan, Isadora Bullock, Ryan Kerrigan, John Warner, Branden Otto, Bruce Horan, Ed Wilson, TRiPP, Lauren Domsky, Noah Phence, Dave Calarco aka Mr. Miner, Drew Suto, Bill Pompeii, 10 Minute Tube Designs, Party Time Pins, Page Side High, stuPINdous Creations, MYFE. Designs, Ant Pharm Pins, PerPINdicular Pins

When/Where: Saturday July 6 from 10am-3pm at the Saratoga Hilton

Admission: Free

Featuring the best Phish inspired art, including limited edition art made specifically for the show. 

From The Mothership Art Collective: Rock Art exhibitions have been held since 2003 with great success, as unique posters are made for Phish shows during the poster show weekend, making for a must-attend event during Phish tour, featuring some of the most unique concert art being produced today. ‘Summer in Saratoga: A Rock Art Exhibition” is the first event for 2013 produced by the Mothership Art Collective, a group within the Phish community comprised of artists and organizations who promote the art inspired by the band Phish.

In addition to the artists, non-profits included are The Mockingbird Foundation, which has given grants for music education totaling more than $700,000 over the past 15 years; Screens ‘n’ Suds, which combines craft beers and art to benefit the National MS Society and charities in Richmond, VA and Chicago, IL, raising over $75,000 since 2009; and PhanArt, a book and website created as a way to showcase the art made by Phish fans, raising money for The Mockingbird Foundation through donations from artists and fans, totaling over $10,000 since 2009.

From Miner: The past few events put on The Mothership Collective have been outstanding. I highly reccomend making it down to the show whether you intend on purchasing anything or not. I’ll be down there signing and selling books for most of the time as well, so come by and say hello!

With only a little over a week left before Bangor’s opener, the anticipation of the band’s 30th Anniversary Summer Tour is beginning to reach a fever pitch. It will have been been the longest off season in the band’s history—outlasting ’99’s drought by four days—when the band takes the stage in Maine, and fans are feeling the excitement across the country. In only nine days, the long and winding road of Summer 2013 will begin, and this week we start with a series of Summer Tour-based articles. Today I present my five wishes (in no particular order) for Phish’s upcoming month on the road.

1. New Material—Trey has confirmed that the band is collaboratively writing a new album, though it doesn’t sound like it will be done before tour. Phish, very often, have debuted new songs in the live setting before they have come out on an album, so if any tracks have been completed, we might be hearing them come next week. Regardless of what new songs they feature, be them originals, side project contributions, or covers, I can’t remember a time in the band’s career when they were so glaringly in need of new material. Hopefully we’ll see some debuts in Bangor and SPAC, as the guys tend to drop fresh music at the front end of tour.

2. Continued Improvisational Trajectory—Anyone who has been paying attention to Phish for the past few years has to be on the edge of their seat with anticipation of what this Summer Tour will hold. The last seven shows—Dick’s and MSG—have produced the most astounding music of 3.0. Many fans were a tad apprehensive heading into MSG, concerned that Dick’s would be an outlier in the band’s improvisational course. The jams in Colorado were both emotionally powerful and technically complex; a retro run with a distinctly new-school vibe. Any doubts about this were erased, however, with 12/28’s “Tweezer”—another instant classic. All of a sudden, Phish was reliably excellent again! Though 3.0 has been an amazing ride, consistency hasn’t exactly been their strong suit. But after witnessing the level of jamming we heard in Colorado during the first show in New York, we realized the paradigm was shifting. Despite a throwaway on the 29th, the band followed up with a couple more of the year’s most impressive jams in 12/30’s “Disease” and “Carini,” and sealed the deal with an underrated “Ghost” on New Year’s Eve. If my calculations are correct, Phish should come out in Bangor ready to let things loose with more wide open, multi-tiered adventures. The band has improved considerably with each and every tour of this era, and assuming that trend continues, things are gonna get really, really interesting on Phish tour next month!

3. The Ocedoc—During this winter’s TAB tour, Trey primarily played his old Languedoc (the Ocedoc was nowhere to be seen). Just the other day, Phish tweeted a picture of his guitar tech setting up his rig with Trey’s old guitar in the shot. This combination has gotten some folks wondering if Trey will be using his former axe for Phish this summer as well. In all probability he will travel with both, but I—for one—hope he doesn’t leave his new six-string wonder child sitting at the back of the stage. As soon a Trey debuted the Ocedoc at the Greek in 2010, the enhanced sound and dynamic of his new instrument was obvious. He confirmed what everyone was hearing at the end of the first show when he introduced his “magic guitar.” The tone and clarity of the Ocedoc is unparalleled, and, in my opinion, was a huge improvement over anything he’s played before. Let’s hope Trey hasn’t changed his mind about his new axe, and the Ocedoc remains his central guitar this tour.

4. A Shift/Diversification in Jam Vehicles—I realize that beggars can’t be choosers,  but this is a wish list, so here’s my wish. Throughout this era, Phish has grown more predictable than ever. That takes nothing away from the quality of their playing, but for anyone paying attention to their patterns, few things come as surprises in the live show anymore. Inevitably, the biggest jam of any given night will stem from “Disease,” “Light,” “Piper,” “Rock and Roll” “Sand,” “Tweezer” or “Ghost.” “Carini” and “Sally” provide wild card platforms, and occasionally the band will expand a cover like “Crosseyed” or “Drowned.” But what gives at some point? What about everything else? Just as the band adopted big staple jams from their former Halloween albums, why haven’t they brought one aboard from Exile and Waiting for Columbus—that’s a whopping 4 records to choose from! Wouldn’t it be fun for them to jams songs they have never jammed—or haven’t jammed often (or at all) this era? I gotta believe it would be. Think of “Yamar,” “Cities,” “The Wedge,” “Waves,” “Pebbles and Marbles,” “Seven Below,” “Scents and Subtle Sounds,” “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing,” “Halley’s Comet,” “Free,” “2001,” “You Enjoy Myself,” “Gumbo,” “Mike’s Song.” Let’s get songs like “Bathtub Gin,” “Simple,” “Reba, and ‘Wolfman’s” back into creative space. I’m not sure what’s holding the band back from jamming most of their catalog. Perhaps they don’t think people care that much any more? Someone should let them know that we do.

5. Complete Shows—Throughout the modern era, Phish’s musical high points mostly exist as jams, jam sequences, or segments of shows. Occasionally, the band will keep things focused and on point for an entire set and even less often, for an entire show. I’m sure this is a facet of their age and stamina as much as anything else, but it sure would be great to see them put a bit more forethought into their setlists and play start-to-finish performances. They don’t have to spell something with their song titles to make a great show, but a basic road map could greatly assist the cause, as Trey’s ability to call shows from the hip has flown by the wayside. On the rare occasion that Phish does play two smoking sets (see 8/31/12) we react as if the heavens parted and we were bestowed with a miracle. It didn’t used to take divine intervention for the band to put together two tight frames of music, and I honestly don’t think it takes much more than a bit of planning and focus. Hopefully, to celebrate their 30th year together, the guys will come to ready to play from note one through the end of each night this summer, and we will be left with a bunch of shows we can throw on the system years from now and just let roll without having to fast-forward the lulls.

What are your wishes for this Summer? Respond to @mrminer on Twitter with the hashtag #SummerWishes so everyone can follow the responses. And, of course, share your ideas in the comments section below!

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Jam of the Day:

“Light > Ghost” 7.1.12 II, Alpine Valley, IN

One of the high points of Leg One 2012.