2012-12-29 New York City, NY

 On to night 2 of New Years 2012!!!

12/28 was one of the best 2nd sets of the entire year (in a year loaded with great SETS). So considering the incredible (for my taste!) setlist on this sucker, I'll mighty disappointed if it doesn't live up!

12/29/12 New York City

Set 1

Crowd Control - Obligatory CC opener. I like this song, and don't even mind it as opener, but good lord is it EVER played in another set place?! For the love of god, please jam this sucker out finally or put it in another spot to freshen it up! That being said, it's a fine CC. Nothing special, but well played and good enough to open the show!

Mound - All right!!! Funny that Mound had an early 3.0 renaissance and then all but disappeared again. A fine version, played like they practiced it for sure!!! Always a great treat in any set!

AC/DC Bag - Alright! The real opener we all prefer. It was a fine version but nothing special in the long run. I enjoyed it very much but there isn't anything to say.

>Rock and Roll - Alright! Inspired setlist calls for the win!!! Fantastic version. 8 minutes of rip-roaring Type I awesomeness.

Sugar Shack - Second version of 2012 and only the second version since 2010!! Sounds very well rehearsed! Always a favorite of mine so this is a definite highlight. The guys have their vocals on point tonight!! Slightly rough outro section but strong on the whole. Great to hear!

Reba - Ouch! The beginning of the song is pretty flubby. It starts with Fishman somehow messing up the opening intro drum pattern which proceeds to throw the guys off for about a minute. But thankfully they quickly recover and get over the hurdle. On the whole the composed section is 95% flawless, but the playing sounds "unsure", like Trey in particular is REALLY having to focus so that he doesn't flub because of being thrown off at the start of the song. The jam is pretty stilted. It sounds like it has potential but never really reaches it unfortunately. Also, anyone know why the crowd randomly ERUPTED into applause out of nowhere in the middle?! Sounded like something special happenned on stage or something. On the whole, this Reba is inoffensive at best and forgettable at worst. An ok version but far from a great one.

Halley's Comet - Man, the crowd is just FIRED UP tonight! Love hearing them sing along. Nothing special or noteworthy. See AC/DC Bag. Still enjoyable as always though!

Limb By Limb - A slightly rough segue out of Halley's, the guys sound kinda "stilted" still, in a feeling kind of way. It FEELS rough, even though the playing is fine, does that make any sense? Thankfully as the song progresses, the guys regain their mojo and turn in a banrstorming Type I version!!! Really great. Nothing you'll ever see listed as a must-hear version, but as good as any other "great" standard Limb By Limb of recent times!!! GOOD STUFF!!

Wading in the Velvet Sea - OUCH! Look, I'm seemingly the only fan of this song, but for the love of god don't put it in a first set and kill the mood. Pleeeeaaassseeee!!! Ugh, that's ok. I can overlook it this time because it's so damn beautiful...Funny moments when Gordo accidentally (on purpose?) clicks the wrong effects and we get friggin' Outer Space Distortion Explosion a few times! Very funny, haha. Trey is trying to do some interesting and moody playing, but it doesn't really work. Trey is not having a great set, playing wise. Very "unsure" sounding tonight. I want to highlight-list this sucker, but it just doesn't sound "together" enough. A+ for effort, B for execution (Trey is the culprit, in case you couldn't tell).

Bathtub Gin - And this hit-or-miss set is redeemed with a TERRIFIC Type I beast of a Gin!!!! Again, with the preface of "you will never go looking for this version", but even still if you just want a straight, to the point, no BS, rager of a Gin, look no further. A wonderful "let's just have a blast" kinda version!



All in all, hell, this set definitely had me disappointed!!! I enjoyed it for sure while listening because I happen to very much prefer the songs played tonight (on the whole), so for pure song-based listening it was fine. But as far as making any grand artistic statement - the boys (3/4 Trey) just sound like things aren't clicking for no particular reason tonight. Sometimes they just have an "off" night or set and this was definitely one of those. I would grab Mound, Rock and Roll, Limb By Limb and Gin. The rest can go take a snooze out the car. Here's hoping set 2 is better!

 

Set 2

Golden Age - HOLY TYPE I RAGER HOSE FEST, BATMAN!!!!!! Good lord, the guys come out freaking SWINGING!!!! Spectacularly molten Type I until the proper jam begins at 9 minutes. They reintroduce the Golden Age rhythm but Fishman starts doing it on the drums, leading the other guys to take the cue and launch us into a different direction. Terrific Cactus!! Love it when Mike is audible. By 10 minutes the mood gets dark and funky like Halloween or something! Trey is doing his rhythmic vamping with Fishman, but Gordo switches on his bass bombs and Page breaks out the DARK synths!!!! We are in late-night disco funk hell or something! AND IT's GLORIOUS!!!! Very cool how they have gone into Type II, but are still keeping just enough of the Golden Age vibe so that you still recognize the song we are in. They are treading that ULTRA fine line so well. Around 12 minutes Trey starts doing some melodic leads and the other guys IMMEDIATELY pick up on them and start "soloing along" with Trey!!!! Awesome!!!!! By 12:30 or so, things are getting very "quiet" and Late-Night-Jazz-Club-ey. Everyone vamping together. Hell, if anybody is soloing it's Cactus!!!! Cool moment around 13 minutes where they all "lock in" yet again on another rhythmic change. The boys are listening to each other and it's glorious to hear them play so TOGETHER!!!!!! Eventually the jam does reach a "natural" transition point and the boys go into Waves. Hard to pin this one down - what is here is EXCELLENT! I just wish they kept it going for 10 more minutes!!!! I'm calling this a hidden gem

>Waves - On paper this didn't look like great placement for my taste, but of course with Phish or the Dead you just throw all that out the window. Works really great in the slot and the guys are just grooving this Waves!!! I mean, this Wave is being ridden (sorry, could not resist the pun ). Check out Gordo soloing it up throughout in the background like he's Bob Weir or something. And of course Page on the piano. Trey is playing fine - the usual melodic lines. But nothing that amazing. The real MVP's so far are definitely Page and Cactus!!! Hell, listen to this Wave just for Gordo and Leo!!!! The boys take this Waves to a really great hosey kind of peak. Not quite 1994 intensity, but just about as hot as a 2012 Waves could get!!!! REALLY GREAT TRANSITION BACK INTO THE VERSE OUT OF THE JAM!!! THAT WAS SICK!!! On the whole, this was a GREAT Waves!!!!!! Don't miss!!! Great weird little minute of dark ambience to end the song. Very cool!!!! "Under wind and under water....." SOUNDS LIKE WE ARE SPIRALING DOWN THE DRAIN!!!!

>Prince Caspian - Not the song we wanted right now, but the song we needed!!! Actual perfect set placement for once! Considering the darkness Waves was starting to turn into, this is the perfect "it will all be alright" breather that we need. Nothing special overall, but a fine version on the whole. Ends in about a minute of ambient feedback, so that's nice

Boogie On Reggae Woman - Trey is doing whale sirens and we are in Type II ambience....so let's ripcord into Reggae Woman instead. * sigh * Gotta love our Phish, eh? Aw yea, Trey is ON for this sucker. And of course Cactus is killing it! On the whole, nothing that special, but it's just REALLY FRICKIN GOOD TONIGHT!!!!

Suzy Greenberg - ABSOLUTE FRIGGIN PARTY!!!! Love the crowd interaction throughout!!!! COWBELL MANIA!!!! A+ SUZY!!!

Bug - Wow, who woulda thought this actually sounds damn PERFECT in this slot tonight!!! Normally a late 2nd-set bug makes you go "oh man, for real?" (as much as we all love the song...). But after the damn PARTY of RW into Suzy, this is just outstandingly perfect, flow-wise. Seriously. And ya know what? It's a pretty darn stong version!!! Great stuff!

Cavern - Kicks major tail but it's just live every other good one. Nothing special.

46 Days - DESTROYS WORLDS

The Squirming Coil - Good stuff as usual but not the best one ever. Not my favorite pick for set closer.

Grind - Is Grind

First Tube - See AC/DC Bag. Good as always but nothing special.



A definite step-down from the magic of the night prior. Set 1 was just not clicking on the whole and set 2 had it's sections. Golden Age>Waves is THE take-away from this show. The 3.4 rating on .NET is too low, but a 3.8 or so is probably more like it. Not a bad show by any means, but an off night for sure.