My good buddy aLi, who attended the show with me on Wednesday, was hoping for something that leaned more toward the "traditional" description - a show filled with old-school Phish - perfect for the Nineties Phish gal she is. Maybe a classic "Mike's Groove" or an "Alumni Blues -> Letter to Jimmy Page", or any of those other old tunes Phish played in the '80s, early '90s, and on top of the truck in the middle of MSG on 12/31/13.
Instead, we got a lovely a capella of an opener that neither of us recognized, followed by a pretty standard show. But at least it was a standard show to which we could dance, what with "Cars Trucks Buses", "My Soul", "The Very Long Fuse" (which has only been played once each year since its debut on 10/31/14), "Gumbo" and a long, funkified set-closing "Tube".
There were also the ascending chords of "Roses Are Free" to get us all fired up and the surprising (and well-played) return of "Pebbles and Marbles" after a three year absence, but not everything was fantastic. "Farmhouse" was just OK (remember when I used to get totally jazzed about that song?) and this was my sixth time hearing "Yarmouth Road" which I still do not like.
Set 2, however, was a lot more like the previous night's show. Sure, Tuesday was the jam-filled night, but you can not have a show like that and then close the door and walk away. Instead, you start the set with the kind of "Carini" that we have come to know and love - a so-so song that leads to a sick, sick jam. After 15 or so minutes, I could see and hear (from great seats on the side of the stage) Fish start playing the unmistakable beat to "Mr. Completely" and sure enough, the band launched into it. After being a staple of the Trey Anastasio Band for many years, but only attempted by Phish once (7/15/03) no one would have expected it to come back into the Phish fold again - let alone twice in as many weeks. But then, why not? As a vehicle to allow the kind of jamming that Phish does best these days, it makes total sense.
What made less sense was the return of Prince's "1999" for the first time since its debut on 12/31/98 (though I am definitely not complaining - the trade-off vocals and funky groove were wonderful to hear). But what made even less sense than that was the way the song dipped down and turned around a bit and became another big 10-minute jam that peaked into the 3.0-standard bliss jam.
About that - aLi mentioned that they played three songs in a row with the "exact same jam" and there is truth in that. But everyone (including the band, I would bet) knows that this is something Phish does particularly well these days (better than ever, in my opinion), so why not exploit it to its fullest. Clearly, the crowd loves it because every time Trey peaks and Chris throws open the big white lights, everyone is ecstatic in the joy of the music.
"Steam" is always a delight to hear, but this version seemed a little to fast and not slinky and sexy like previous performances. Though I still enjoyed it, I could see that steam was something aLi seemed to be losing (and I so wanted her to have a good time!), so I figured the segue into "No Quarter" would get her jazzed because she loves Led Zeppelin. Instead, she said, "I would have preferred ANY other song from 'Houses of the Holy'." D'oh!
No one, however, could be glum with the straight-up house-shaking rocker of "Character Zero" to close the set. And the encore was another big rocker. Though I did not recognize it (while many in the crowd did!), I pointed out that it sounded very Neil Young-ish.
So much for the flavor theme, then, huh? What did all this have to do with powdered sugar doughnuts?
It turns out the opener was "White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes and the encore was, indeed, a Neil Young song called "Powderfinger". So there you go. There is your theme.
But that point was moot. What mattered most was that it was another damn fine show, the fifth night with zero repeated songs and enormous happy jams from the greatest, and most creative and fan-friendly band that ever set foot in an arena.
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