Further approaching the 2009 finish line, we begin tonight with 12/28/09, Miami, FL To start, things feel back down a "level" from the 12/5 show in Charlottesville. That means hot but not "OMGTHISISEXPLOSIVEENERGYHOLYCOW", jah feel? That being said a nice-but-ordinary Sample In a Jar opens up with a "now this is what I was expecting" NICU to follow. NICU almost gets really hot. It's good stuff. The first surprise is the 3.0 debut of My Soul that comes next. I will admit that I love this song - it's just simple and fun and catchy. Sometimes that's a bad thing but for some reason I dig this song a lot. Great to hear!!!
12/28/09 Ok, My Soul had it CRANKIN'!!! The guys were really going all-in on that. Following it up with a really mellow Roggae had me thinking this set was going to be "chill" after all. I like my Phish HOT (don't we all?) Roggae is gorgeous though and even if the song portion isn't perfect the jam is just exceptional - swiftly bookmarked by yours truly!
12/28/09 Nearing the end of a very mixed set 1 with the worst Broken Heart of the year - easily. Shame - it's very possibly my favorite new song of the year! Yea it's technically a Page solo track but gosh darnit it's fantastic either way! I ALWAYS look forward to it! Trey just butchers this one :/ That being said, as a whole, this will be a grab-the-highlights and run set. The energy was set to "chill" throughout and most of the songs (bar the jams) were just of the "serviceable" quality level. My highlights from set 1: My Soul (the hottest thing of the set - it RAGES!) Roggae (the song part is "meh" but the jam is sublime!!!) Stash (see Roggae) Undermind
Finishing set 1 of 12 28 09 We get officially the chillest Possum ever played. Yes, I said "chillest Possum ever played", you heard me right! Actually, I like to imagine if the Grateful Dead played Possum in 1974, this is what it would maybe sound like - let's put it like that. It's actually very enjoyable but it's incredibly weird to hear a version that isn't just rip-roaring-rocking, ya know?
Have a chance to see Trey solo next week. Anyone comment on this latest solo tour? It’s in my hometown, so I really shouldn’t miss it. Just don’t know what to expect...
Speaking of snowstorms, when I was in college in Boulder a bunch of us drove out to Omaha NE through a huge blizzard for a single night of Phish before turning back the next day. There was an inch of ice covering the highway and there were turned over tractor trailer trucks everywhere. Finally got to the show right as the first set was ending. Second set was a rager. Fun adventure overall.
I can't speak one way or the other but check the previous few pages - some people attended and commented on shows
12/28/09 Miami Just finishing up set 2 A very enjoyable show but also one of the most inconsistent ones I've ever heard. For reference, I'm making a 2009 Best of list - if a show is not best-of-year material, I only end up listing highlights instead of the entire show. Normally there might be 3 or 4 standout highlights for a non-best-of-year show. This show has basically 1/2 or 2/3 of it in my highlights list, because the jams were sick but the energy level is pretty low for set 1 and a lot of the actual song renditions aren't up to snuff. Very, very unusual. Almost every song it felt like they would start rough and then the jam would mosey on in and slay everyone's mind.
My college band had a gig somewhere in or near Cleveland the same night Phish played there December 95, and on the way back our car went off the road in a snowstorm. Fortunately no one was hurt.
Can anyone tell my the reason most - but not all - shows are webcast? Is it to do with venue permits or something? Or they just dont want every single show out there?
I don't know the complete answer to this, but I have heard that some venues don't have the technical capabilities / bandwidth.
In the early days of Phish webcasts it seemed like they wouldn't announce any webcast until the show was sold out, but I don't think that's still in effect.
Actually the goo attacks the label side dissolving its silver surface, i.e. the half not covered by a (goo-resistant) colour imprint. And by destroying this opaque background surface (for the playing side) it lets the light, and thus the laser ray, come through unreflected. In certain cases one may try to salvage a rotten disc by restoring the reflecting background, i.e. covering the transparent ("eaten") spots with an opaque paint/ink/sticker.
3 to go 12/29/09 Miami, FL From the start the energy level - while not being blazing - is definitely up from the previous show's sleepy encounter. It's always a good sign when the show begins with an almost literal bang with a rocking Golgi>Maze that has the feet tapping immediately. I'm sitting here in starbucks nodding away looking like an idiot. Thanks Phish.
12/29/09 HOLY CRAP CHECK OUT THIS MAZE!!!! The goods start around 4 or 5 minutes when Trey breaks out about a 20 second long sustained feedback that just destroys, and then the jam lifts off from there. Things turn into a cousin of the "Guyuute Swirl" for another few minutes and the song becomes the literal interpretation of the title - this jam is a swirling maze! WOW!
12/29/09 Unfortunately, after that destroyer-of-worlds Maze, Driver comes and dashes any hopes we might've had of this set being a "hot" one vs a "chill" one. That's not bad - a finely played chill set is cool. A rare The Connection follows and then, again, a super-chill Wolfman follows that. Normally Wolfman has been a RAGER in 2009 (MVP of Summer leg 1, for reals), so it's interesting to get one that just floats on down the river enjoying the scenery. Very nice. No rushing, no pressure. Just a good time.
He needs to whip out "The Landlady" more, where Santana-like sustain is part and parcel of the song. I'm wearing my 7 dollar Curveball "floating orbs" shirt today. Why? Because I'm cool.
