Phish at SPAC, July 4

There is something special about seeing Phish on the Fourth of July. It started in 1999 - after spending the three previous Independence Days in other countries - with fireworks, stars-and-stripes outfits, and the band's signature a capella version of "The Star Spangled Banner" in Atlanta.

The following year, I saw the Camden show which lost the outfits (in recent years, the fireworks went away, too), but included a second set that had fans all abuzz as a 30-minute "Gotta Jibboo" led the way in a five-song set of monster jams.

Last night's second set at SPAC seemed headed in that direction when "Fuego" stretched beyond 20-minutes with exploratory jams that ebbed and flowed until landing on an ascending chord progression that sounded like a hybrid of "What's the Use" and "Roses Are Free", before fading into the ambient noise that began "Down With Disease".

As the "Disease" pushed on into its 13th minute, it seemed as if the jam train would be on nonstop service to the end. But the jam fizzled out instead of making what could have been brilliant return to its coda (a rare occurrence these days) as it did on 12/29/13. 

From there until the ultra-octane "First Tube" closer, the jams meandered but stayed grounded, never really finding springboards from which to make any big leaps. "Twist" wandered away and also did not return for a final chorus; "Light" lacked its usual powerful punch in the main section and then ambled about, searching for something it never found. "Theme From the Bottom" was good enough and "Backwards Down the Number Line" stayed on a steady roll for its eight minutes, but mostly it felt as if the time spent on those songs could have been better served with a well-played "Fluffhead".

None of this could have been predicted from the first set, which sounds like a different show entirely. It was not the action-packed first set of their 

last July 4 show (2012), but the short, sharp execution of high-energy tunes ("Kill Devil Falls", "Runaway Jim", "46 Days" and "Rift"), funky rump-shakers ("555" and "The Moma Dance"), laid-back groove ("Waiting All Night") and complex composition ("Reba"), kept the set brimming with excitement.

The first set closed with a cacophonous "Split Open and Melt", a song for which I admit I have lost my taste. In addition to getting a lot slower in recent years, the jam section almost immediately drops into weirdness the minute the chorus ends. It never has a chance to rock. I first noticed this on 6/1/11 and few "Melt" jams have stirred me since. But I must admit, when the noisy sonic layers built to a climax last night, it was at least interesting.

So, if the "Star-Spangled" opener was the only thing that gave the show its Fourth of July feel, at least the full-on romp of the "Character Zero" encore ended the show with a fiery blast of its own. 

Certainly, I can not complain - I had pavilion seats for the first time at ever SPAC (after eight shows on the lawn since 2004), where the view was excellent and the sound was perfect (especially Mike Gordon's bone rattling bass bombs). And even if the second set jams never soared, I never stopped dancing.

Oh, and still no "Wombat".