First off, I’d like to thank Phish for the free webcast. This show was a treat to watch and listen to from the couch and was full of emotions. I noticed after Wombat that Trey had broken silent suit and become very animated/talkative. This is always a fun turning point in the night when it happens because to me, is indicative of relaxed excitement and an eagerness to have fun with the music. The rest of the first set was full of fun and games, my favorites being Saw It Again and Limb By Limb.
Second set is a full on classic Phish rager. Opening the set with Meatstick, again, emphasized the silly and lighthearted vibe of the night. Drowned (while I’m not a huge fan of Trey ignoring the original introductory guitar work) lubed the bands gears and before long shifted smoothly into NICU. I love it when this song gets the a-typical treatment, and this version put us into some spacey type II territory before going into Thread. This is a cool song that I don’t know all that well, but found myself admiring the thought provoking lyrics time signiture changes. It gets really dark at the end of the song and the jam from this version definitely catapulted the band into some forgotton mental space because what they came tumbling out with next was some of the most fun Phish I’ve heard the band play since I became a fan in 2009. The first segue from Runaway Jim -> Run Like An Antelope (queued by trey) was the key that unlocked the door the next level. It was game on after that. It may not have been flawless throughout the experimentation of this sandwhich but it was pretty darn close. Besides, they don’t care if they miss a chord change.. it’s all about the energy. They had me giggling and grinning ear to ear which is why I listen to Phish. When they went into Makisupa Policeman on a drop of a dime where Antelope meets reggae I was completely floored. It was awkward and vulnerable and full of love. Yem had some nice alterations via Mike’s whammy bar which was panty dropping awesomeness, and Trey let loose some licks towards the end that had the shed on fire. The vocal jam completely silenced the crowd and I laughed seeing the audience all stand in attentive mind boggled silenced while the band wrapped up the package before sending it off with a stamp that read “A Day In The Life.”
Go Phish.