8/7/21 Noblesville
After literally 3 months off (don't shame me - I had every reason, haha), we resume 2021 finally with night 2. On
paper, this first set is terrible-looking as far as song selection goes
(for my personal taste!). I'm sure it'll be fine though. 
Aside: I'm so hyped and in a Phish "mood" right now, being
excited to follow the current tour, saving money for the eventual New
Years run announcement, playing shows while driving, etc
I guess I did get burnt out a few months ago (as we all do from time to time!) and it's back with a vengeance now. 
I keep flip-flopping on whether to keep reviewing shows or not. I love
it and do it for myself (but posted here for s#its and giggles 
) so that I can remember what the hell I thought. But then it becomes
this albatross over my head keeping me from playing more damn shows
because "I want to listen but don't feel like reviewing tonight", etc
etc
Plus I need DEDICATED listening time to listen to new shows without
feeling like a schmuck. I could blitz through new shows in the dump
truck all week, but it wouldn't be a proper listen to things. Too much
noise, having to constantly pause the show for things, etc etc etc, ya
dig? I have next to no time at all during the week (2 hours before bed
once I get home, IF I'm lucky).
Thoughts in progress and all that jazz. My OCD would make my head
explode to just stop reviewing in the middle of a tour/year, but I said 6
months ago this is the year of change for me so who knows?! 
I'm leaning towards ending the "full review" thing for a while after
getting through Summer 2021 so that I'm free to listen more causally and
maybe just make broader assessments rather than detailed run-downs. Can you guys tell I've over-thought all of this into the ground?
Anyways, on to the friggin' show:
8/7/21 Noblesville
Set 1
Crowd Control - A great little version to open! I like the song but it's
not always my preferred opener choice. If it's played too slow it can
drag and, I swear, it's almost always played at shows that
end up being on the "less than" side of things. Can anyone point me to
an AMAZING show with Crowd Control? Good version, nothing special!
Poor Heart - Feel like we haven't heard this in a hot minute. Great little 1-2 punch.
The Moma Dance - Super chill vibe on this one. I mean, particularly
chill, even for Moma. When all is said and done it is a very tasty
little Moma, and the chillness continues right throughout.
Back On the Train - A boring set-call on paper, but it works
perfectly tonight coming out of that Moma. Great call!! The chill
continues. It takes it's time to build and slowly the chillness is
replaced by a pretty good head of steam (pun totally intended!). I'd
almost dare to call this one hot by it's conclusion. Great little BOTT
with tons of tasty playing all around! The crowd roars their approval
and Trey even gives a thank you!
Army Of One - Pretty powerful reading tonight! Everyone sounds great, it
sounds neither sloppy nor unrehearsed. A Page tune is always a nice
diversion and I'd say this one delivers. Sure it's a slow tune, but it
feels like the energy found in the back half of BOTT continues and gets
this one a little fired up. Really, really great reading! Maybe
not-quite list-worthy, but definitely worth a listen.
Bouncing Around the Room - Ok, the hint of "heat" in the last two songs
is dashed by the set choices, so I guess I just gotta accept this will
be a chill set/show, kinda like Toronto 2019 (if you recall that
underrated gig - the 2.8 rating on .NET is complete BS). Good version of
Bouncing. Nuff said.
Ya Mar - I love Ya Mar usually, but c'mon man, this set is just a snooze fest! That aside, this is a really, really NICE
Ya Mar!!! For the mood of the set, it's actually a perfect fit. Total
good vibes and smiles all around! Page's soloing is just
goosebump-inducing. Then Trey comes out with a stupendous little solo -
perfectly restrained, playing all the perfect notes at the perfect
times, even tossing in a hint of delay for some cool sounds!!! All in
all, maybe this isn't the IT version, but this is absolutely A+ in every
other way. BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO!!!! I'm grinning ear to ear and haven't
even taken my Adderall yet! How about that?!
Roggae - And the chill continues onwards....An aboslutely lovely
reading as usual. Perfect set placement following Ya Mar, I swear. Not
much to say - you need to just listen. It's Roggae. It does it's Roggae
thang! It starts quiet and chill, slowly gets noisy and heavy, smashes
us into the ground, then takes us home and tucks us into bed with milk
and cookies, a bedtime story, and a kiss on the cheek.
A Wave of Hope - DEBUT! Holy crap, let's go! Sure they made good
on the chill mood so far, but let's be honest, it's freaking great to
get some energy going again!!! Although I'm aware of the song and have
heard several versions over the last few years, I haven't heard it more
than 4 or 5 times total, so count this, basically, as my listening debut
again, if you will. Awesome little Type I rager. This is what Soul Planet wanted to be. Only good things to come for this little ditty!!!! Sure they haven't busted out the big guns yet, but this was an excellent debut reading. Great stuff!
Stash - Dark right off the bat, after a flub-free reading of the
composed section, the Type II begins almost immediately from the word
"go". Right at 7 minutes Trey begins his "honky wah" thing, quacking it
up. But at 8 minutes something weird happens - somehow the guys
"accidentally" move into a major key area! Can anyone into music
theory listen to this and explain better how they transitioned so
seamlessly? I didn't hear any "wrong" notes that opened the door for
said change. The just "flowed" perfectly into it! The blissful jamming continues until right at 11 minutes - the band take a fast left turn into a heavier, more rocking direction!!! They quickly move into more exploratory areas, keeping it rocking but strange at the same time. Check out Trey doing SICK delay work around the 12:45-14 minute period. 13:45,
Page turns to his watery keyboards and the jam returns to more steady,
Type I-style footing. Fishman playing with his patterns, almost doing a
Ya Mar-esque pattern with lots of fancy cymbal work. But then, at
14:33, again, ON A FRIGGIN' DIME, they return to Stash proper!! Back to
the darkness for the smoothest mother effing jam transition I have maybe
EVER heard. HOLY CRAP ON A FREAKING CRACKER HOW DID THEY DO
THAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?
>Cavern - And like it's 1.0 again, we launch directly into Cavern to end the set. Cavern is Cavern, it is great. Nothing special
All in all...a slightly odd set. The songs were all played
excellently, but it was soooooooo "sleepy" until about 2/3 of the way
through. Ya Mar and Roggae, in addition to the must-hear Stash are the
real takeaways here. Not a bad set, but damn, drink your coffee and get
outta bed you guys!!!! I mean, at least the set eventually wound up
getting better and better until that damn Stash came and wiped the
floors with our faces, so...
Set 2
In other news, set 2 looks absolute bonkers on paper.....
Everything's Right - Everyone's favorite song to hate ( * rolls eyes
* ). Surely a damn 23-minute version oughta satify most of us in this
day and age. The song itself ends exactly at 6 minutes and the band drop
quickly into a chilled out groove, Trey scatting along "it's gonna be
alright", etc. They take their time rocking out until around 11 minutes
we shift into Electric Robot Space Jam land. This goes for a while,
everyone using their synthesizers, delays, wacky FX, etc. Not worth
describing it as it's just a glorious "throw it all at the wall and see
what sticks" kinda jam. But then around 14:45 Page jumps to the piano
and he and Trey (still on Robot Delay!) team up on a new motif. The band
is being led by Page's rock and roll piano, but Trey is deep into
outerspace, keeping us from landing. This is freaking awesome -
it's like two styles of jam competing against each other in the best
way. Check out the section right at 16 minutes - it's like the
soundtrack to hurtling through outer space or something! This is
friggin' outstanding stuff, yo. Then at 16:40 Trey introduces a guitar
riff and the guys latch on and we move to another section. Trey lays off
the crazy Space Delays and the jam gets slightly more grounded for a
moment.....until darkness creeps in out of nowhere and gives you chills down your arms! But
it leaves just as quickly as it came, like a tease of darkness!!! By 18
minutes this is basically a "Type I"-style rock jam again. Then at 19
minutes Trey steps onto the wah pedal and we go into a funk jam. This
is the jam Moma was missing - but wait! They quickly start playing
around with it, "dissolving" into Zappa-esque rhythm randomonium! Don't you just love a good stop/start jam? THEN
AT 21 MINUTES THEY FRIGGIN RETURN TO EVERYTHINGS RIGHT LIKE THE DAMN
SONG NEVER LEFT US IN THE FIRST PLACE. THIS BAND, I SWEAR!
Ooh wee....that jam makes up for the entire first set. Not gonna say
it's better than the 8/6 highlights, but it's as good as any of the
other mega jams of the tour so far. The insane synchronicity between the
guys ins ridiculous. How they just shift on a dime without a hint of
derailment or "hold up, where are we going next?". Incredible.
What's The Use - Hmm, I'll allow it! After that jam, this fits
pretty good. Not anything must-hear, but it works good and sounds great.
8 minutes of bliss.
Crosseyed and Painless - Exactly like in Charleston 2019, they launch into this and it's an immediate
shot in the arm!!! Perfect call to keep us from sliding downwards! LETS
FREAKING GO!!! Love Trey immediately honking it the hell up like he's a
damn goose or something, then switching to those ascending delay
patterns. This sucker is only 11 minutes and "basically" stays
Type I, but holy mother of christ this is the hottest thing this side of
a 1.0 Mike's Song, I swear. Holy crap on a crapper, they are
ejaculating straight fire into our earholes. I'm not gonna say this is
classic, but if you like Crosseyed, this is mandatory listening. Jesus
christ....LISTEN TO FISHMAN WANTING BIRDS OF A FEATHER AT THE END! JUST
GIVE IT TO HIM! PLEASE! STOP TEASING!
>What's the Use - Huh, how about that, eh? Crosseyed somehow died an ambient death, ala 2012, and the guys just LAUNCH back into WTU like they took your head and SMASHED you into a brick wall!!! Just.....BAAAAMMMM!!!!! And then it's IMMEDIATELY over again, lol. Hell, this wasn't so much a WTU reprise as just as a crazy way to conclude Crosseyed
>Down With Disease - Perfect set placement for the win!!! WTU concludes and Cactus immediately goes into the DWD lick without delay. PERFECT. Also,
props to the band, because the song itself sounds terrific for once!!!
I'm used to latter-day Diseases sounding....castrated or tired (case in
point, the terrible reading of Rogers 2021). In other words, the guys
don't sound asleep playing the song, ok? It's not a 1995
more-energy-than-20-Red Bulls- version of the song, but it sounds tight,
Trey hits all the licks....it just sounds GOOD! When
all is said and done, this feels like some kind of 2019-style Disease
where it chugs along brilliantly for 12 minutes, content to keep things
"in the box" and just do what it can with what it has instead of
launching into some crazy space epic. Must-hear final minute or so
- Trey hits THE sustained note of all time and it is LIFTOFF!!! No
joke, this is mandatory listening! It's the aural equivalent of the
space shuttle lifting off!!!!!! He holds this effing note for 2 minutes
straight, eventually tossing in every crazy delay under his belt, and we
aren't just hurtling through space, we are being sucked into the black
hole!!!! But wait!! Not so fast!!!! Things somehow die down and we
return to serenity, getting the jam jettisoned in favor of.....
>Wading In the Velvet Sea - I'm sure everyone in the building had a collective "GROAN!" at this placement, especially after the buildup of that Disease!!! In reality, jesus
christ, that WAS the payoff! Even the crowd realizes this and roars
their approval. For everyone cursing about the jam being abandoned, come
on man, give that a listen - a transition/perfect set placement THIS
GOOD doesn't happen every day. That final few minutes of Disease leading
into Velvet sea is MUST HEAR MUST HEAR MUST HEAR MUST HEAR! That was
some X Factor "we didn't plan this but we're rolling with it anyways"
type stuff that we all love. Incredible. And as for Velvet Sea? Yea,
it's pretty damn nice too.
No, seriously, stop what you are doing
right now - go put on this Disease and listen through the final few
minutes, say, after 10 minutes or so, and on through into Velvet Sea.
WOW.
Possum - For the sake of not highlighting
everything, Possum is just Possum. It rips as always and was the perfect
upper out of Velvet Sea. Great stuff as always!!!
Drift While You Are Sleeping - I adore this song. I don't get the
hate at all. Yes, love is all we are is cheesy or whatever, but who
gives a rat's ass, ya know? Bring on the good vibes. I genuinely love
the music of the track, that up-and-down guitar motif, etc. A perfect
show closer in my book - send us home with good vibes and thoughts in
your hearts. Am I a chomper? Probably? But I don't care. Come at me.
Great version on the whole.
All in all, a very mixed-bag of a show. Nothing was poorly
performed, but the first set had major "lacking oomph" problems for the
most part despite Stash being must-hear and Roggae and Ya Mar absolutely
delivering.
Set 2 was basically must-hear. Everything's Right was the marquee
jam, but this was a set more about flow and construction than length of
jams, ya know what I mean? The entire Crosseyed>WTU
Reprise>Disease>Velvet Sea portion is my main takeaway with
Everything's Right as the tasty bonus cut.
If you like your sets to flow like melted movie theater popcorn
butter, this is the set for you!!! The songs were shorter (but not even,
really!) and it was all about "set construction" tonight, if you will.
Even in the low-key first set, they seemed to acknowledge that it was a
lower-energy set and purposefully played to the strengths of that with
appropriate song choices to keep the chill vibe going.
This show won't be the King of Summer 2021, but I think it will
get "underdog" status over time by those in the know. Great listening
experience overall. If you go in trying to "fight" with the vibe of the
show you are just gonna have a bad time. Accept it for what it is and
not what it is not, ya dig?
Great show on the whole!!!! A far cry from the slop of Arkansas!
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