07-31-2015
Aaron's Amphitheater at Lakewood
Atlanta, GA
Set 1: Prince Caspian[1] > No Men In No Man's Land, Ghost, The Wedge, The Moma Dance, How Many People Are You?, Rift, Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove
Set 2: Kill Devil Falls > Martian Monster[2] > Twist > Back on the Train > Reba > Bathtub Gin[3]
Encore: Farmhouse > Character Zero
[1] Unfinished
[2] Trey played drums, Fish played bass and Mike played guitar
[3] Included whistling
Notes: Caspian was unfinished. On Martian Monster, Trey played drums, Fish played bass and Mike played guitar. Bathtub Gin included whistling a la Reba.
Really bummed I wasn't home to see this show! A 23 minute KDF?? A 13 minute Ghost in the first set? When was the last time that shit happened?
I have the show but even here in Cody, Wyoming, it's way too late to start digging into this tonight.
Hope it's as good as it looks:)
I'm intrigued.
Just listened to the second set. Hard to find a real throwaway moment in the set. Plenty more "Got Damns" than "Ah shits" from this listener.
Hopefully ramz melted during this second set..
Looks sick on paper..
wow
have listened to the KDF > martian monster and wow
KDF is sick
marian monster has some slop but the energy is through the roof
fuck yes
Mmmmmmmmm....
Word in the tweets is that this show was awesome.
Quote from: rowjimmy on August 01, 2015, 08:54:08 AM
Word in the tweets is that this show was awesome.
Hoo boy, was it. Surprises abounding; hot fire left and right.
Skipped straight to the KDF, and it definitely spits hot fiya. Sick jam.
Quote from: V00D00BR3W on August 01, 2015, 09:14:57 AM
Quote from: rowjimmy on August 01, 2015, 08:54:08 AM
Word in the tweets is that this show was awesome.
Hoo boy, was it. Surprises abounding; hot fire left and right.
Can't wait to listen to this once my day-long tribute to Jerry is over... So, tomorrow.
Aug saw my spun tweet and will prob never let me live what I said about "new era" down...
:smoke:
But during KDF I really felt like molds were being broken, they weren't just playing the "same old licks" or recycling jams, etc.
The movement is slow, but there is movement. Phish is finally reaching a point during this tour where I feel that while they are a totally different band than 1.0,2.0.... They are finally, not consistently creatively-static as they have been for much of this era. New sounds-- and they are good to my ears.
Hope tonight scorches.
The second set in SF certainly felt a lot different......confident and authoritative.
This show is pretty sick.
Ghost was pretty dark and KDF IS TITS.
Gin with Reba whistling? Forget about it.
Phish is fucking back.
Trey high in the Rebasphere! 8-)
Gin hose! :clap: :rockout: :-o
I loved the second set last night but missed the whole first due to shitty streamage. Hearing the whole thing today I was really goddamned stoked. That second set was just a ton of fun: pretty much everything I could ask for (at this point) in a 3.0 second set. The playfulness during Gin and the willingness throughout the set to step out on that limb and create was really exciting. But to my great surprise, I was blown away by the first set too. Other than Rift (which was really painful), that was a really fun first set: the setlist, the execution, you could feel the energy coming thru the speakers. Really happy/jealous for those of you in attendance.
I will (try to) refrain from getting my hopes too high. We've seen this pattern before: put together a couple nice sets or maybe even a whole show that was really enjoyable only to be inevitably let down. And let's not forget, those Texas shows were some pretty weak sauce (IMO). But last night was a goddamned good Phish show. And I can't wait to see what they do tonight.
This show was pretty damned good. I feel like they may be gathering steam. Set II was non-stop goodness, just phenomenal.
Fantastic show, definitely gives Shoreline a run for the money in terms of best show of the tour thus far.
KDF was the real deal.
short sleeve trey brings the axe.
/nuff said
Quote from: GBL on August 01, 2015, 04:43:27 AM
Hopefully ramz melted during this second set..
I was told there's gonna be a very enthusiastic review forthcoming. Let's hold him to that.
listened to KDF and the Martian.
i like the mellow vibe of the KDF jam. it never really goes anywhere, which is too bad, but it's nice while it's happening.
overall, not nearly as satisfying as the shoreline Twist.
Martian Monster was no doubt fun to see happening live, but as something to listen to it's a trainwreck. i don't think either Trey or Fishman plays a single on-key note on bass.
Yeah, listened to this set this AM (minus GBOTT) and that MM was the worst.
I knew better than to listen to a 3.0 Rotation Jam
Yeah, MM would've been fun live but it did not sound good. Fishman really did not play any 'right' notes on bass. Trey was also like a half step off from Mike. lol.
KDF was pretty sick though.
for a shortish version, Twist sure is nice.
Trey really gets into quoting Zappa's Apostrophe in Gin.
I like this KDF.
Twist also.
They both get into really nice spaces near their ends that feel almost composed.
Ok. Entire 2nd set rocks it. (MM gets a pass for had-to-be-there craziness)
I hadn't seen it mentioned anywhere that Trey was playing the Ocelot Doc at this one... cool! Such a beautiful guitar.
https://youtu.be/SmrQ0BNrMoU (https://youtu.be/SmrQ0BNrMoU)
So out of thirty one 3.0 shows, this was the closest I have seen and felt to what I saw in 1.0 and 2.0. This was very special to me. In terms of energy, this hit 3/6/09 and 10/16/10 levels of crowd roar, and the vibe itself was just busting with something in the air, but the playing was 100 times better to me than either of those shows. I was taken to a place with Phish I haven't been since they came back, and it brought back so many feelings and emotions, that to be really honest, I reached a point last year, where I was convinced I would never feel this way about this band again. I'm not in a place where I think the playing is on par with fifteen years ago, or anything from the prime era of Phish, but I am of the opinion they can be just as creative, patient, and adventurous as anything from 2.0 without the ominous implications of self implosion that surrounded that era. And I'm in a place where I am so fucking happy I get to see Phish play this way again, and I'm excited to see how the rest of this tour unfolds. If I didn't have so many other things going on in my life, I would have grabbed all my shit and driven on to Nashville today. I felt that way after leaving Tuscaloosa.
For me, this was the first time in this era, I felt completely satisfied with the music, and with the general sound of the band. I really feel like they, especially Trey, are playing with a vigor and command of music we haven't seen in the modern era. And it really translates in the music and the power of the crowd. Trey has figured out how to make a room cum again, and cum really hard. I think the difference though is I see an embrace to a certain degree of his limitations and rather than fighting it or hiding it, he's got enough in the tool box to now have enough variety to improvise in and out each night. Instead of just badly played sections of whale, I was seeing and watching him use the full catalog of effects, and this was in addition to being able to play with more fluidity and dexterity than at any previous point in 3.0.
The opening notes of Caspian was weird to me, but only because it left me with an unknown feeling of what was to come and what the vibe of the show would be for the evening. Overall, I actually liked it as an opener, it set this laid back kinda psychedelic vibe for me. Shit, Trey's floating was my thought by the end of it, so shit has to take off, right? No Men In No Man's Land is super cheesy lyrically, but I like the music alright. It got somewhat funky, and to my ears it was a very loose version in terms of the fact they sounded really playful at times to me. But for me, I knew something was happening when Ghost started. A first set Ghost that actually hit a few interesting places, at 13 minutes, it isn't a monster, but I do feel they do cover a decent amount of ground, and at the same time, it marked the first of what was many signs of musical patience. I felt the Ghost built really nicely instead of rushing to a RAWK peak. I also noticed Trey utilizing A minor arpeggios again. Another sign that his guitar playing is continuing to improve. I thought the placement of The Wedge and Moma was nice. I took the time to pee and get more water during How Many People are You? It's okay, perhaps with some more time it could blossom a little more. I thought Rift was pretty well played. And again, I liked the placement here. The Mike's groove was awesome to me, I loved how super playful they were with the intro. The syncopation type thing was awesome, and it had the crowd in a frenzy throughout the sequence.
The place felt electric throughout the set break. I spent all of the set break waiting on this dude I contacted off COT to get a tuscaloosa pit. He ended up being a no show. So as the lights went down, I walked back to my seat in the pavilion, and the opening notes of Kill Devil Falls started. I have to fully admit. In my head I was going, " god fucking damn it, this is about to fucking hit vintage 3.0 suck." I'll admit, I was dead wrong. Around the 5:30 mark it took a turn somewhere different, and the crowd picked up on the fact this was the real first jammed out Kill Devil Falls (I know someone will point out some other 10-12 minute version, but I would say it's never deviated like this before), and I think this jam gets to an incredibly dark place, and for me, it sets up this perfect contrast for what inevitably happens in Twist. The jam in this reminded me of why I love this band. It wasn't the best thing they have ever done, but it was the journey, where yeah, it did get sloppy at times, but it also got to some really unique and interesting places. And I loved that Martian Monster followed after what was a really dark psychedelic jam.
I'll say this, and not to detract too much. I watched the Halloween set one time, and I loved it. I was floored by the whole art rock aesthetic behind it, and it fits really well as an audio and visual performance. I've also just listened to the audio, and I was bored with just the audio. I think the Atlanta Martian Monster is exactly that too. I'm also of the opinion here, that a lot of the "sour notes" in this were intentional with how the band looked and how crazy the lights were during this portion of the show. Especially fishman on bass, he looked like a mad man trying to play as much noise as he could get out of Gordon's rig. It was a very psychedelic thing to see, and it drove the crowd into a frenzy. The energy went through the roof for it. And by the time Twist dropped they had us.
Twist was the light after a long dark tunnel. They get to the most melodic and surreal sounding place. I loved it. Again, it was brief at ten minutes, but it really got to a very nice place quickly. I was watching my phone for timing marks, and to see it hit 43 minutes and it be three songs, I had to really think back to the last time I saw the band do something like that. And that was 2.0 for me. GBOTT was fun, and I thought it was kinda the landing after the huge excursion that opened the set. Reba was really well played to me. I thought there was a lot dynamics to how they built it, and I thought Trey did an excellent job peaking it. I also thought the Gin was really well played as well. The farmhouse encore was brutal to me, but only because it seemed like Trey forgot how to play the composed solos in it. Zero was Zero. Crowd pleaser.
I walked out of Lakewood with a different relationship than I had walking into the venue. I was expecting to have a lot of fun, maybe get a choice nug or two of music, but I walked out with the feeling in the depth of my soul of having been filled with joy, happiness, and unrelenting satisfaction. I honestly had no idea what the rest of the weekend would hold, and to me, that was exciting. Many previous 3.0 runs, the first night to me was usually a huge indicator of how I would either tolerate or be miserable for the run.
I had the pleasure of meeting mehead on Friday. Awesome time man, and I hope you and daughter enjoyed Saturday. Glad to finally meet you.
^awesome
Thats one thing I think is good about 3.0, they start some simple songs you dont expect to be jammed and they jam them out.
Like that SPAC BDTNL I like they are making some songs jam vehicles that you wouldnt expect.
Nice write-up, Sophist. I always love it when someone with an opinion similar to mine on the current state of the band truly enjoys a show.
I really like this KDF, even though I don't really like the song itself. I prefer it over the next night's Tweezer by leaps and bounds.
Eta- also, this Twist, albeit not too long, is fucking awesome.
So I am on my 4th spin of this KDF. I love it. I think there is so much going on within the jam.
(http://40.media.tumblr.com/3b35383bf6ab8c904a778264f8cd7066/tumblr_nsdzvsbGRa1sea8qyo1_1280.jpg)
It just covers so much ground to me. I think there is a ton of dynamic playing too. They are just gelling so well. I think Trey does a really good job of layering as it syncs into this very dark place. I hear so much patience in the playing too. It's really different to me too than anything else prior to it this tour, and in a lot of ways, I think it's definitive in terms of shaping a certain sound this tour. It has elements of everything to me.
I think around the 16 minute mark Page just gets to this really majestic level of playing and inserts the perfect comp to the octave type playing Trey is doing. And it just builds with this Manteca esque vibe. And I love how it builds only then begin to fade into Martian Monster. It's like they understood they could peak the set instead of just the jam, it's a good first peak for a full set of music, which to me, reminds me of the older way of thinking with Phish.
So that ghost goes places for 1rst set jam.
Could have listened to that ghost jam a little more but nice 1rst set nugget
Quote from: emayPhishyMD on August 07, 2015, 12:24:08 PM
So that ghost goes places for 1rst set jam.
Could have listened to that ghost jam a little more but nice 1rst set nugget
I think the Ghost builds really nicely. And to get a jam in the first set, albeit small, is def a nice little treat.
I've listened to this show twice on tape now, it's really solid in my opinion, and is one of the better/possibly best 3.0 shows I have seen.
Quote from: sophist on August 07, 2015, 12:46:57 PM
Quote from: emayPhishyMD on August 07, 2015, 12:24:08 PM
So that ghost goes places for 1rst set jam.
Could have listened to that ghost jam a little more but nice 1rst set nugget
I think the Ghost builds really nicely. And to get a jam in the first set, albeit small, is def a nice little treat.
I've listened to this show twice on tape now, it's really solid in my opinion, and is one of the better/possibly best 3.0 shows I have seen.
Like Shoreline, it is a show where on paper you go "Oh thats looks pretty fun" but after listening, I am like "WOAH that was a phish set"
They are bringing back that element of surprise in the sets with some big jams/jams that reach a nice place quick.
It is making following this tour from the couch fun and makes me listen to every show.
Def a strong phish show my buddy just got back from the 4 southern shows and said 7/31 was his fave, 8/4 following.
Quote from: sophist on August 07, 2015, 12:46:57 PM
one of the better/possibly best 3.0 shows I have seen.
I've so far only relistened to pieces of the first set, but I'm of the same mind.
Quote from: V00D00BR3W on August 09, 2015, 11:31:45 AM
Quote from: sophist on August 07, 2015, 12:46:57 PM
one of the better/possibly best 3.0 shows I have seen.
I've so far only relistened to pieces of the first set, but I'm of the same mind.
3rd'd
Love this Ghost.
Nothing mind warping.
But, love it.
Haven't seen anyone mention the nice little Twist.
Anyone enjoy it as much as me?
Quote from: Lifeboy on August 11, 2015, 09:53:03 AM
Haven't seen anyone mention the nice little Twist.
Anyone enjoy it as much as me?
I thought it was good, nothing earth shattering but a nice follow up.
I'm pretty sure a few others have chimed in on that if you read back.
Twist was great. KDF is cool and all but honestly I think the second half of this set is even better. The aforementioned Twist, a gorgeous Reba and an explosive Gin closer. To say nothing of a typically rockin BOTT with some seguery on either side. Just a nonstop killer set.
Quote from: V00D00BR3W on August 11, 2015, 07:56:58 PM
Twist was great. KDF is cool and all but honestly I think the second half of this set is even better. The aforementioned Twist, a gorgeous Reba and an explosive Gin closer. To say nothing of a typically rockin BOTT with some seguery on either side. Just a nonstop killer set.
This is definitely a better than average version of Reba for this time period. I'd have to go back and listen to Shoreline, but this one made a far greater impression on me out of the gate.
Quote from: V00D00BR3W on August 11, 2015, 07:56:58 PM
Twist was great. KDF is cool and all but honestly I think the second half of this set is even better. The aforementioned Twist, a gorgeous Reba and an explosive Gin closer. To say nothing of a typically rockin BOTT with some seguery on either side. Just a nonstop killer set.
agreed.
one of the best things about KDF for me was the surprise about what it became. didn't expect that from KDG
strong jammin' however you slice it
This Gin
I keep coming back to this Twist