8/11/2009 – Toyota Park, Chicago IL
The only show I’m catching for the late summer tour, I went in with expectations of a solid, perhaps even sleeper show. I had a great time, but musically this show doesn’t hold up. Unfortunately, I think I have to call this as the worst show of 2009 so far.
I: Kill Devil Falls, Sample In A Jar, Ocelot, Paul and Silas, Windy City, The Curtain (With), Train Song, Gumbo, Heavy Things, Time Turns Elastic
II: Backwards Down The Number Line* > Carini* > Gotta Jibboo, Theme From The Bottom, Wilson, 2001 > Chalk Dust Torture, Harry Hood, The Squirming Coil
E: Loving Cup
The show gets going in fairly energetic fashion with Kill Devil Falls, Sample in a jar, and Ocelot. Minor jams in both of the new tunes, but mostly just Type I stuff within the confines of the song. Paul and Silas is a blugrass tune that was very common in ‘93, then only played a few times since, the most recent being ‘98. So sort of a bustout, even though it’s not a Phish original. I’ll admit I didn’t recognize the tune until somebody behind me said what it was, although I do know the song. It’s just a very strange arrangement, which I didn’t particularly care for…just my opinion.
After this old tune, Trey announces a new Page song, Windy City, a sort of generic, bluesy tune that really failed to grab my attention, although I was out getting drinks at this point. I’ll reserve judgement until I hear it again a few more times. From here they go into a string of less common tunes that I enjoyed…The Curtain (With), Train Song, and Gumbo before throwing in Heavy Things and Time Turns Elastic.
Despite the fact that they played some tunes I liked, and there was nothing wrong with anything they played, this was just not a good set. But more on that later.
Set two picked it up a little bit right off the bat with Backwards Down the Number Line. This is probably the most jammed out version to date. A little bit aimless in the beginning, but hit some nice ideas and peaks towards the end, before a very unexpected segue into the hard rocking Carini (my first live version). It did not disappoint, as it was probably the high point of the show for most in attendance. The rock jam dissolved into an electric ambience just waiting to explode into…Gotta Jibboo.
Jibboo is jammed out in standard fashion for a while before Phish reels it in and throws out Theme From the Bottom for consideration. Can you see the pattern here? Trick question. There isn’t one. While the show so far has included a few good jams and songs, the flow is completely off. This continues as a rocking second set Wilson sets the stage for a funky, danceable 2001 which is followed by Chalkdust Torture.
After a moderately exploratory jam, the opening drum shots of Harry Hood ring out, possibly signaling the end of the set. Thankfully, it’s not the end of the set, because I wouldn’t want to end the show on this note. If there’s such a thing, this is a bad Hood. I’ve mentioned before that it’s great that the band is taking risks. They can’t hit the high notes without taking risks. However, the seldom mentioned corrollary to this is that sometimes things don’t work out. This time it didn’t. I’m not sure what Trey was trying to say with this jam, but it just didn’t click with me. The band seemed completely out of sync, and while not there was nothing wrong with the playing from a technical standpoint, artistically it just did not come together.
Luckily for us, we are graced with a Squirming Coil closer that allowed the band to end on a high note, as they played a solid Coil with the standard band-members-individually-peel-off-the-stage- for-Page’s-solo ending. The fan-favorite Loving Cup send the show off on a high note.
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know I try to review shows from the standpoint of somebody listening to the tapes. And from that perspective, this show is somewhat of a dud. The first set, while perfectly fine from an execution standpoint, had absolutely no high points worth remembering. As I mentioned before, I liked Train Song and The Curtain, but that doesn’t mean that these are noteworthy versions that elevate the quality of the set.
And I was there! It’s natural to rate a show higher if you were there, since it’s easy for the emotional aspect to color a review. In this case, there was no emotion to color with. The consensus of everybody in my group was a collective “meh”.
The second was a little bit better. The Carini was absolutely explosive in person – some of the most rockin’ shit I’ve ever seen Phish play. Completely awesome. But that was largely an immediate emotional experience that I don’t think will hold up in the recordings. Wilson and 2001 were also lots of fun, but there’s nothing that would make these versions stand out from any other average version. And I’ve already shared my opinion on the Hood.
The long and short of it is that sometimes Phish doesn’t deliver, and this was one of those shows. Unfortunately, it happened to be the one show of the tour I saw in person, but sometimes that’s how it goes.
Synopsis:
Set I: A completely lackluster set with no remarkable performances.
Set II: A disjointed mix of funk and rock. Lots of chances taken, not a lot of payoff.
Rarities: Paul and Silas, Gumbo
Overall: A somewhat confusing, disappointing show, the least engaging of the year so far.
Good blog, glad to check it out.
I don’t think it’s ever ok to use the word “worst” when describing a Phish show, unless it’s in a context like “that show made me want to paint myself red and run through the town screaming ‘I Love Phish!’ in the worst way.”
Paul & Silas is a classic old school rarity & a great bust out. Many of my old tapes labeled it as Hall & Sallace and supposedly Trey himself used to think the song was called Hall in Solace. Nice little nug.
Although I wasn’t there, there’s just no way this is a bad show… Wilson, Curtain, 2001, Sample, Hood, Coil, Chalkdust, Gumbo, KDF… way too many great songs to call this the worst show of any tour.
Peace.
Hey Stickman,
Thanks for the opinion. As to using the word “worst”, I certainly didn’t mean I didn’t have a good time at the show. I did, especially the second set. But really its relative to everything else they’ve played on that tour up to that point.
Since one of the main points of focus of this blog is to point out great archival shows (which I’ll be getting back into the swing of now that tour’s over) I try to review from the point of view of somebody listening to the tapes. So even though, say, The Curtain With was great to hear, it really doesn’t stand out from any other version of that song in a way that makes this particular show a must-hear. Unfortunately that was the entire first set in a nutshell – perfectly average versions of everything.
I’m also not a big ‘looks good on paper’ type guy. The Hood from this show was not good. I actually cringed a few times during it. It’s OK. It happens. Sometimes risks don’t pan out, and it makes when they do that much better. Luckily for us this summer the ratio of hits to misses has been very high. And because of that, this show doesn’t quite measure up. Hence the “worst”. Or my least favorite, if you prefer that.
Peace, thanks for reading.
Doug