12/29/2009 – American Airlines Arena, Miami FL
I: Golgi Apparatus, Maze*, Driver, The Connection, Wolfman’s Brother*, Ocelot, Reba***, Access Me, The Divided Sky, Cavern
II: Kill Devil Falls* > Tweezer **** > Prince Caspian*> Gotta Jibboo* > Wilson > Gotta Jibboo > Heavy Things* > 2001** > Slave to the Traffic Light
The New Years Eve run in Miami technically started the night before, December 28th, but for all practical purposes, that show was just a warmup. If there was a single day of the year that Phish can really be counted on to take you there, perhaps other than the obvious New Years and Halloween, that day is December 29th. This year did not disappoint.
While the Golgi Apparatus opener probably shouldn’t raise any eyebrows for most listeners, the blistering Maze followup certainly gets your attention. There are certain songs that, when placed prominently in the first set, nearly always herald a great show. Mike’s Song is one of these, because its heavy jamming tendencies tend to land it in the second set. It usually signals that the band is really eager to get into the “good stuff”.
While Maze is a much more common first set song, (probably around 70% of the time) its placement this early in the set plus this version’s intensity definitely stands out. In a spot usually reserved for the warm-up paces, the band heads right into a full-on sprint. A dizzying organ solo right off the bat provides the launch pad for a face-melting Trey solo. They do dial it back a bit with Driver and The Connection before a Wolfman’s Brother that starts out in typical cow-funk mode before Trey kicks off a singing rock groove. Following Ocelot is a striking Reba – one of the best of the year. Here Trey weaves intricate melodic lines over Page comping adroitly on the electric piano. The song seems to improve with each additional listen; the 9:00 mark especially is when the band seems fully locked into each other until the abrupt ending. No whistling for this version, but that’s almost better, as it lets the music hang in your mind…
Following this spectacular Reba we get the little played Mike tune from the Round Room album, Access Me. This little ditty is followed by a solid Divided Sky and taken out with Cavern. As far as first sets go, they really don’t get a lot better than this. Highlights all the way through, but the Reba is definitely where this set is at.
Set two starts off with what is normally a straightforward rocker, Kill Devil Falls. This KDF, which I usually consider to be the understudy to Chalkdust Torture, features a much more Birds of a Feather-type jam which sets it apart from the average summer tour version. If you like Kill Devil Falls, this is a version worth hearing.
2009 was a pretty good year for Phish. The Jones Beach Hood. The Gorge Gin. The However, the Tweezer that comes next is, I think, the best single performance of the year. Before the song is even over, Trey is audibly itching to get into the jam. Following some nontraditional sonic embellishments into and out of the “Uncle Ebeneezer” verse, the band immediately drops into a Manteca-style jam with some vocal accents. Page and Trey continue laying down some texture for a time while Mike busts out a dirrrrrrty, Meatball-infused Boogie On-style solo. Funk siren, bass solos, synth effects – it’s all going on here, and it’s brilliant. The communication between all band members here is incredible. All of this eventually comes together into a blissful, atmospheric What’s the Use-ish jam that leads the band into Prince Caspian.
I realize this might seem like a bit of a bold statement, but this is, in my opinion, one of the best Tweezers the band has ever played. While many may hold the experimental ‘95 versions as the pinnacle of Tweezer achievement, this is superior, I believe, because there’s nothing experimental about it. At least part of the success of many of those versions owed to the fact that they were all 30 minutes or more. This version is half that, yet it’s artfully distilled into a dynamic, cohesive whole.The reason I love this band, why I’ll drive hundreds of miles and thousands of dollars to see them, is embodied by this Tweezer.
But oh yeah, Caspian. It’s no secret this isn’t my favorite song, but coming out of that Tweezer ain’t nothing the band plays gonna sound bad. In fact, this actually features a pretty intense Trey solo before leading into an ambitious Gotta Jibboo. Sparked by some rhythmic guitar accents on the way in, this is an excellent offering. The jam begins as a Page-driven comping excercise before getting its legs as a rock jam which finds Trey settling in on a riff that eventually and inevitably becomes Wilson. Then to top it off, it somehow finds its way back into Jibboo.
While the Jibboo reprise isn’t nearly as exciting as the first installment, it does make an unexpected transition directly into Heavy Things. This is a long version with an extended outro noise jam that finds its way deftly into the runner up for the set, 2001. Not a long version by any means, at only 6 and a half minutes, but it’s completely smokin’, with lots of little flourishes throughout and crowned by bending guitar notes over some thick space-funk. Slave to the Traffic Light is really the only way this set could end as it puts the finishing touches on a scorcher of a set. And as soon as the band breaks out Sleeping Monkey for the encore, you know it was a smoking show.
All in all, this is my favorite set of the year. The band was taking lots of chances, communicating brilliantly, and just downright playing about as well as I’ve ever heard. If you want to use my star system as an indicator of show quality, this is easily the show of the year, with 15(!) stars. Almost every song in the second set was at least above average, with the Jibboo and 2001 exceptionally strong, and the Tweezer downright transcendental.
Synopsis:
Set 1: As solid a first set as you could expect, highlighed by one of the best Reba’s of the year
Set II: Easily the best set I’ve heard this year. The Tweezer alone makes this worth listening to, but the rest of the set is fantastic and inventive from start to finish.
Notable versions: Maze*, Wolfman’s Brother*, Reba***, Kill Devil Falls*, Tweezer****, Prince Caspian*, Gotta Jibboo*, Heavy Things*, 2001**
Overall: The mystique of 12/29 is further bolstered by this show, which should absolutely be part of your collection.
Tweezer
2001
Leave a Reply