2/24, East Rutherford, NJ
As I walked through the lot before Monday’s Phish show at New Jersey’s
Continental Airlines Arena, I was suddenly transported back to 1998, where
extra tickets were more abundant than the lot kids looking for them. In
fact, through some stroke of luck, if you want to call it that, I was in
possession of extra tickets for last night’s show, one of which I ended
up throwing on the ground due to lack of demand (thank you
Christina and Britt who saved me and took the others!!). That being said,
the lack of demand for tickets outside was a precursor to the lack of energy
inside.
A band like Phish, which relies so heavily on a crowd’s enthusiasm and to a
smaller extent, their participation, walks a thin tightrope every single
night. It is that daring experimentation that sometimes leads to the up and
down sets and shows they frequently perform. And, of course, New Jersey was
no different.
The "Down With Disease" that opened the show was tight and short, about ten
minutes long, but the band failed to capitalize on their opener with the
subsequent "Corrina". The song, while very pleasant to hear (especially for
my friend Corrina who has logged miles waiting to hear this song) was placed
poorly, enticing a good portion of my section (Page side, top of the 100s)
to sit down, much to my amazement. Of course, the band quickly bounced back
with strong versions of both "Wolfman’s Brother" and "Limb By Limb",
however, it was the ensuing 47 minutes that essentially sunk the set.
Call me a pessimist if you like, but a twenty minute version of "Everyday I
Have the Blues" isn’t why I go to a Phish show. Now don’t get me wrong,
B.B. King (who joined the band at set’s set) is unquestionably a legend.
"Thrill Is Gone" and "Rock Me Baby" were both great and if those were the
only two songs they played, I would’ve been perfectly happy. However, the
band faltered a bit during "Everyday", at times unsure of what
to do. While the latter two songs ultimately proved redeeming, the initial
tune lost some of the crowd along with the band.
Trying to overcome the lackluster first set was going to be a momentous
stretch for Phish, as they sometimes allow subpar first sets to creep
into the second, especially when they aren’t adequately pushed by the crowd.
The band gave it a shot, opening with "Halley’s Comet" which, while solid,
never really took off before filtering down into "Harry Hood", which was the
strongest song of the night thanks to some brief exploratory jamming before the
ending lyric. "Heavy Things" followed, which served merely as a breather
for the band, before they decided to really let loose, by way of "Twist".
Perhaps one of the most purely experimental "Twists" since the very first,
the song dropped down into a dirty, dark jam, featuring some fantastic color
schemes from Chris Kuroda, and some truly magical light drumming from
Fishman. But as the jam was really, really getting good, Trey brought the
song back to its original riff, effectively killing what could have been a
great, great jam. It is worth noting that I cannot remember when I was ever
so disappointed at a Phish show than that very moment.
The rest of the set was, as well, up and down. The "Chalkdust Torture"
closer was a nice surprise, however it just wasn’t enough to save the show.
The site of section after section sitting down, wrapping a large portion of
the area around and behind the stage is an image I will not soon forget.
There is no doubt the band will bounce back, but one wonders if
the fans will keep doing the same?
2/25, Philadelphia, PA
Who knew Phish was playing Antarctica?
