Phish at Merriweather, Aug. 16, 2015

Never miss a Sunday show, they say.

In this case, not quite. It never really took flight. After the previous four powerhouses, this one fell flat.

That is not to say it was bad. As I said in a previous post, Phish has gotten back to a point at which even the bad shows are good shows.

And when it was good it was great. The second half of the second set was mostly switched on with a well-jammed "Twist", a solid "Fuego", two surprises with a mid-set "Shine a Light" and "Sneaking Sally Through the Alley" and a stellar "You Enjoy Myself" (finally!).

Yet the first half of that set never quite hit the mark despite sure things like "Down With Disease" (bungled from the start), "Slave to the Traffic Light", and "Light".

The first set also seemed promising but, unlike previous shows, stayed firmly in first-set-land, with well-played but standard versions off tunes that had more potential. "Undermind" provided my favorite moment for its rarity and funky dance-a-bility.

It was definitely the weakest of the five I have seen so far, but certainly worth a listen down the road.

Full set list:

Set 1: Golgi Apparatus > Undermind, Julius, 555, Nothing, No Men In No Man's Land, Stash, David Bowie > Possum
Set 2: Down with Disease[1] -> Slave to the Traffic Light > Light -> Twist, Shine a Light, Fuego > Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley > You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Backwards Down the Number Line

Phish at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Aug. 15

OK, so it figured that the day after I pointed out that the first sets have been far from bland or ordinary, the opening of tonight's show was rather non-descript with standard (but good!) versions of "Simple", "Glide", "Roggae" and "Limb By Limb". "Buried Alive" and "McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters" were nice treats, but things stayed grounded until Halloween 2014 bust-out "Your Pet Cat" got sandwiched in a "Big Black Furry Creature From Mars", a portent of things to come...

...but not before a misplaced "Horn" led into the excellent new song "Blaze On" and an exemplary "Run Like an Antelope".

Segue lovers got their fill in Set II with "46 Days -> Bug", and "Steam -> What's the Use (gorgeous) -> Steam -> Piper (best jam of the night) -> Tweezer -> NO2  -> Tweezer", between a "Halley's Comet" opener and a sub-standard "Walls of the Cave" closer.

"Sleeping Monkey" included some Trey chatter and "Tweezer Reprise" brought down the house with its high peaks and bass bombs.

You do not have to love segue-fests to appreciate the high-quality second set (and end of the first), but it helps. And Phish keeps on bringing the energy and surprises as we gear up for Magnaball.