Photo by Brian Jenkins
Thus far in set one, that “popping” had not happened. A nice “Bathtub” followed “Cavern” and showcased a fun, albeit short jam before “Alaska,” which also had a nice contained short jamming segment. The highlight of first set came during the final three songs beginning with a charged “Possum”, that like “Funky Bitch” has been seeing a ton of playtime as of late. It was really the “Wolfman’s” segue into “Julius” that stood out in set one, particularly the funky jam out of “Wolfman’s”. Still, many fans in attendance, those who have put in solid time at Phish shows over the years, were overheard at set break smiling in thanks for being in Essex, and completely dumbfounded by the lack of blissful Phish to be found in Vermont.
Maybe it was the expectations that had created this “drama.” Maybe Phish was just thankful they could wash the grime away from the last time they played in the Green Mountain State. As the rain poured down the morning after Phish’s performance, it would have been a shame if the show had been scheduled during the stormy, cold bout of rain that fell from the sky in the area that next day. Whatever it was, set two did bring a sense of fire back to the show, but it was brief. What started as a rocking version of “Carini” bled right into a well-received take on “Down With Disease.” This segue was the highlight of the show. “Wolfman’s” was good too, but the most celebrated stretch of the night was between “Carini” >”DWD” (not taking the soundcheck into account).
It’s kind of interesting that neither of these two songs, highlights of the show that they were, got finished. “Slave” was beautiful, but missing that extra something that often causes it to rise above and beyond. After hearing what we did at the Gorge this summer, as well as other notable summer versions, “Rock and Roll” did not take the energy created by the first three songs and build into anything. “Twist,” always the opportunity to go somewhere we’ve never been, to take us on that special “Phish ride,” just plainly fell flat. When “Backwards Down The Number Line” started, it wasn’t like the show was a wash (it never is), but it was almost like we knew where the rest of the show would go, because it had already been there all night.
A contained “Theme From The Bottom” was up next, and went right into a nicely charged “Suzy” were Fishman made mention of the nasty Hurricane during his usual “Suzy” rant. The crowd was into it for the “Suzy,” likewise for the standard set closing “Character Zero.” They were rock and roll songs, easy tunes, standard set closing tunes. Nothing special. By now you could have guessed “Loving Cup” was going to be the encore. So could we. We were right.
It’s an amazing thing this band has going. I think I can safely say almost all of us in Phishland are so profoundly thankful for the ability we have to see Phish play live music in 2011. In the new era of 3.0, Phish has shown all the haters that they are here to play, and they are here to stay. 9/14/2011 will unfortunately not be one of those shows used as example for how brilliant this era can be and is, although in terms of character, perhaps that’s where this show blows all the rest away. It was an amazing gesture to their home state to play this show.
I and every other attendee thank them for their monumental effort. It’s just a shame, from the obvious standpoint of a reviewer who has come to expect great things from this band, who like many other fans had created the drama themselves, believing this was going to build off the energy of Colorado and blow the state up (in a good way), that this show in all reality was absolutely nothing special, musically. That magic was reserved for the soundcheck. The show itself will forever be remembered as the special event it was for Vermont. Ultimately, that’s what matters the most. To have made a gathering like this happen, safe as the music was, at the end of the day, Phish wins again. Looking ahead, whether it’s New Year’s, a new album, summer tour 2012, or all of the above, we’re so fortunate to have a great deal of anticipation on the horizon. We have much to look forward too in Phishland, and I think that’s something we can all smile at, and be thankful for.
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