3 Days of 3.0 Phish

[Northern Wish]

Old Phish New Phish

Syracuse 11.22.09

Starting early on a Sunday heading only 3 hours north to Syracuse I was excited but not overwhelmed with nervous energy as I thought I might be. This was now going to be show 5 of 2009, my year of “not doing multiple nights, and probably only one or two shows if they fall in my lapâ€. Its funny how new friends, new music and a new perspective can turn your best intentions on their head.

The first set started with a bang of a Bowie, which was unexpected but only as an opener. Phish 3.0 love this tune. Great placement as well to get the arena jumping. The crowd loved it and the intimate nature of the venue meant that the huge eruption of cheering roared louder than Phish and I could barely hear what they were starting to play. Being down front so far, I found the volume of the crowd and the show to be far above what I am used to, it was LOUD. As set 1 progressed, we got a healthy dose of fun songs which was all very well received. Funky Bitch and Boogie on were highlights of the finest order for mid set 1. Next up was not my fave, Let Me Lie. As far as I am concerned (and obviously Phish don’t feel this way as they keep it in frequent rotation) this is just a terrible song, of the Jennifer Dances order. Trey- sell your bike and stick to the A8 mmkay? Finally Stash which was predictably dark and jammy as a set closer. Very very nice Stash from all members, seemingly foreshadowing a strong second set.

Drowned (the Phish original according to the Syracuse paper the next day!) to open set 2 was perfectly placed and played jammed very well into Twist. With the crowd volume firmly through roof, and Strongbows in my gut (and without having relistened) I remember the whole segment from Drowned to BBFCFM not really stopping but it was not 97 fluid jamming. More like evil 99 fall stuff. At one point I actually wished Trey would lay down some of the old loops for us, but it was not to be. Tube kicked my ass as always, with a great funk section- think Portland 99 perhaps not Dayton 97. From there the rest of the set was just powerful songs, no jams to be heard that went too far away from the original themes (no pun intended). The final blast of three rockers (and I love to ROCK) Zero, 1st Tube and GTBT were all very very raging. Treys soloing (and I have already been corrected on this point) seemed amazing. Both to my ears and eyes, as Trey looked happy, healthy and dare I say it in shape? (his arms are the size of pudgy 95 Treys waist!). I was floored here. Just too much power to gather thoughts as we stared right up at the Red Rooster and watched him do his thing.

Albany

Friday was a breeze. Flew down the I90 in no time. Arrived at the hotel just as the other two cars we were meeting pulled in. It was a true festivus miracle. Tickets, supplies, hugs and knowing glances exchanged and we headed down in the cold rain and snow to the lots. I mention this for a reason, as all three nights saw shakedown street operating, but differently than I remember. The lot vendors have gone pro. Full set ups with tables, lights, multiple pop ups. Expensive lot stuff too, like the gorgeous pins that are now out there ($10 to $20 per pin!). All the hippies are all growed up I thought. But shit I have too, so what did I expect?

First Night 11.27.09

Bag > Maze? Seriously lets get this show on the road! Great Maze to set the tone, for a loose vibe that seemed to stay for the entire two night run. Trey was on point during My Mind which I thought was great, seeing how he has been missing things- to play this one well at that speed early on was reassuring to say the least. Gumbo was perfect. I love this song and its relative rarity both on tour and in my personal stats only furthers this passion. The Timber jam was very nice, though at this point I was searching the arena for a better place to be (our- Bradm, LJFH and myself- seats were actually terrible on this night to start, kind of behind the stage, basically staring right at the speaker bank and Fishmans back). At some point during the Light jam which was really soaring Trey motioned to Fishman with the hand across the throat cut sign and it wrapped up pretty quickly. Perhaps they had played too long during the set?

Opening a set with My Friend says a lot about whats coming. You know its going kick your ass, you just never know how much. Great segue out of the dissonance to a new cover song: Golden Age by TV on the Radio. Trey sang, using song sheets and as Bradm stated “a friggin dance party broke out in there.†Next up was Little Feat. Great rendition, but not the bust out I figured it was. Seems they’ve thrown a few of these in since 99 when it got the 1000+ show bust out treatment. Clearly my Cliff Clavin like knowledge of useless Phish trivia has fallen by the wayside a bit. Piper was a monster and melted into Tomorrows Song from the end of Undermind. It was a bit rough at first (Treys vocals were WAY off) but they made it work very well. The rest of the set redefined Page Side Rage Side. He just took the lead and didn’t hesitate once. By this point we were at the back of the arena in the top bowl looking straight at the band and CK took over my head for a long while. For the ending of Coil all of the members save Page left the stage as predicted, but the I Been Around addition and return of the band was pretty cool to see. Another first timer, which was the most refreshing part of this little 3 show run- I gotno less than 11 first timers (not even half was Joy material)!!

Fire was pumping but predictable and left me wandering post show looking for my lost sweatshirt, wallet and a bit of my frontal lobe.

Second Night 11.28.09

One last chance to drink my fill in 09, and it was a Super Big Gulp if I’ve ever seen one. From the first notes of Party Time, the place lit up. Like NYE 1998 lit up. Raging beyond those first notes of MSG 12.31.02 to these ears. I found that feeling I forgot, that amazing wealth of emotions just being there- a part of something so much larger than the sum of its parts can be so special yet also overwhelming. So I ventured off to create my own scene and find all of my friends to stub down (very nice lower bowls on this night) and had the pleasure of sort of grooving/singing through the empty concourse on my way to find Bradm through Stealing Time. Gathered him up and got back to the seats just in time for Sanity. The next few hours would prove to be “just what I neededâ€. Foam was perfect, Page and Mike were all over this. The next one- Walk Away started a little sly from Trey, like he was teasing it- but they went into the full version. This is one of the absolute highlights from my Phishing career. All pistons were firing in me, in the band and in the arena. You could have shot off a Howitzer in the place and no one would have noticed. Melt was a tasty jam as it led off in several directions and featured some nice interplay between Page and Trey, all the while Mike bobble headed the bottom end into oblivion. I could not believe it when Vultures started. One of my fav Phish songs that is never over 7 minutes, and this was no different- the quick vocal section over the heavy start stopping was wicked and could have ended the set with no complaints from anyone. BDTNL is growing on me, and this version was pretty tight and focused. Nothing out of the world, but a great 3.0 song. The lyrics hit me personally pretty hard- if you’ve ever been at the root of your own downfall its really life affirming to hear how others have also experienced that good friends can see past the storms clouds and remember the rocks that friendships were built upon.

I decided to write a bit about these shows halfway through this 7 Below jam, as it became apparent that this was really going to be jammed in a way that really hasn’t been heard for a long time. Multiple movements, timing changes, at least 2 or 3 major themes- what sounded to some of us like some real 2001 teasing (almost as though they were going into it). Then out of nowhere there was a stop in the jam and on a dime Mike just busted into this deep funk. I heard RHCP Give it Away in here, but I know I was wrong- it just mimicked that in my head. Then a return to the 7- below melody and it was on. Winding through the ending section they dropped into Ghost (not a -> but more a >). After the 20+ minutes of 7- I figured this would be shorter than most, but once we passed the 10 minute mark it was apparent that there was going to be no shortage of improv here. Somewhere near the end I could have sworn Llama was coming, but I’ll have to relisten to find out if this was even close. Cool It Down was a first timer also, and I really like that tune, so although there was no jamming, it was a great version with sweet placement that the crowd seemed to go nuts for. Jibboo was well Jibboo. Fun but not on my Top 10 list. Let Me Lie, ugh bathroom break. Got back for the ending of LML and got funked the hell out with Wolfmans. Truly a great version, along the lines of summer 98 versions. Finally but certainly not least: Julius. I will have to relisten to find out just why I found this so damn incredible but I did. It was my fav song of the three nights, so much so that I still have the friggin melody bouncing around my brain. Just what I needed, remember?

YEM as a stand alone encore is not only a fan fave but a statement if there ever was one. This version was not the longest in history as it seemed that each members solo section was quite short and the tramps section was also shortened, but they hit the right buttons at each turn and left a few jaws on the floor of the TUC. One of the more interesting vocal jams I have seen as they played with some scary Halloween type sounds (someone was squealing like a pig at the top of their lungs) and the light show was as expected: unfrigginbelieveable…. Thank you All (bany!).

If you made it to the end, thanks!!!

[Northern Wish]

Edit to add: As we had discussed border crossings in a previous thread about PH 3.0 I thought this was fitting:

Border Guard: "Where were you?"

Me: "The Phish concerts in Albany."

BG: "Did you get beat up?" (dark circles under my eyes)

Me: "No"

BG: "Get out of here." and waved us through.

Not one question about booze, butss, guns, meat or drug bands. Stay tired folks!

[Cully]

great review. So glad I could join you for Syracuse...what a smokin' show!

My review of Detroit > Syracuse tour is coming soon!

[RobL]

great review sean. Rock on!!

[bradm]

Edit to add: As we had discussed border crossings in a previous thread about PH 3.0 I thought this was fitting:

Border Guard: "Where were you?"

Me: "The Phish concerts in Albany."

BG: "Did you get beat up?" (dark circles under my eyes)

Me: "No"

BG: "Get out of here." and waved us through.

Not one question about booze, butss, guns, meat or drug bands. Stay tired folks!

You mis-remembered it, I think, NW. Jodie was driving, and after some of the usual questions (where we lived, what we did for livings) came this:

Border Guard: "How long were you in the US?"

Jodie: "We went to Albany."

BG (who didn't realize or care that Jodie hadn't answered his question): "Did you get punched out?" (dark circles under NW's eyes)

NW (hastily unfolding the visor mirror to check): "No"

BG: "Buh-bye!"

Aloha,

Brad

[Northern Wish]

I just left some of it out.... But yes Buh Bye is much more funny. And Albany is an awesome answer to how long were you in the US!

[LJFH]

AWESOME! hahahahahha! Buh-bye!

[skelter]

Our border guard was hilarious

BG: Where are you going?

Us: Albany - Phish concert

BG: Any alcohol, tobacco or drugs?

Us: Nope

BG: You're going to Phish a concert and none of you have alcohol, tobacco, or drugs?

Us: We're goin to by drinks when we get there, we don't smoke, and we're past using drugs

BG: Have fun

[fluffhead77]

Old Phish New Phish

Next up was Little Feat. Great rendition, but not the bust out I figured it was.

It's actually by Allen Toussaint. Become a big fan of his in recent years and thats one of his best...

[Northern Wish]

Toussaint was the song writer, Little Feat made it famous. Much like Sneakin Sally Through the Alley made famous by Robert Palmer, and I'll Take a Melody and Get out My Life Woman both brought to the live stage frequently by Jerry Garcia Band.....Not to mention he was responsible for the horns charts written for the second to almost none live album: The Band- Rock of Ages.

[DevO]

Great reviews, thanks for sharing!

[fluffhead77]

Toussaint was the song writer, Little Feat made it famous. Much like Sneakin Sally Through the Alley made famous by Robert Palmer, and I'll Take a Melody and Get out My Life Woman both brought to the live stage frequently by Jerry Garcia Band.....Not to mention he was responsible for the horns charts written for the second to almost none live album: The Band- Rock of Ages.

That's like calling After Midnight an Eric Clapton song. Sorry, but if an artist writes and records a song, Ill call it theirs. Little Feat didn't release it on Dixie Chicken for a full year after Life Love and Faith by Toussaint.

[Northern Wish]

You are correct sir... I was using your statement as an opportunity to highlhgt how influential Toussaint has been over the years to many important artists.

Good call on After Midnight, though I bet 99 out of 100 people asked would guess its a Clapton song.

[bradm]

One just-remembered border-crossing tidbit: when we got to the crossing into the US, we lucked out, and got into a completely empty line, smoothly pulling up to the booth. We got asked the usual questions, and got told to park the car and come in. We came inside, answered a few more questions, and got told to sit down. While we were waiting, one of the guards was walking around behind the counter, whistling. The song he was whistling was "Why Can't We Be Friends?"

Aloha,

Brad

[Northern Wish]

Forgot to add that gold....Thanks!