An intro to this review archive!

PLEASE READ!! - Welcome to Warewolf95's "Idiot Review" archive!!

 Howdy folks! As the title says, welcome to my archive of live show reviews as I have posted on the Steve Hoffman Music Forums website! I pr...

Friday, November 15, 2024

2024-04-20 Las Vegas, NV - The Sphere, Night 3

 Set 1

The show gets off to a BANG with THREE must hear heavy hitters all in a row!!! The opening 15 minute SYSF is red hot and full of dark energy. This is no bliss rager. Just fantastic.

Then Tube continues by diving into a dark and brooding jam before slowly building to an absolute majestic finale. Again, must hear!

Finally, in slot 3 we get a 15 minute Stash that takes us on a slow build adventure. As if its 2021 again, it begins with a lengthy bleep bloop robo jam before taking a more arabian slant. From there it builds into a sideways kind of slow-burn peak section. Total synth and robo zaniness abound. This Stash is friggin INCREDIBLE!!!! X FACTOR MAGIC!!!!!!! MUST HEAR AT ALL COSTS!!!!!

SYSF and Tube were both legitimately amazing and a cut above but that Stash was downright incredible!!!!!

The craziness continues with a face melter 15 minute Pillow Jets!!!! After the initial round of shredding, the rest of the jam is one massive, incredible, slow building hose peak explosion for minutes and minutes. Def must hear! Good golly Phish! Save something for set 2!

A 13 minute Steam keeps the fire going. This one is surprisingly "laid back". Night time vibes all over. Absolutely fantastic yet again and another definite must hear!!!! Slow burn to the max!!!

After a spectacular Mountains and an A+ Taste, the set blazes to a conclusion with yet another nuclear bomb 46 Days.


All in all.....this set was pure overkill in the best way! The whole set right through Steam is completely must hear - seriously - and the rest is just killer. So far The Sphere is 3 for 3 with these first sets!!!!!! Holy crap on a cracker..... 

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with a nice Sigma Oasis. Its ok but nothing particularly great.

Thankfully things pick up immediately with a terrific 30 minute Fuego into dark funk Golden Age!!! Fuegos jam begins dark and funky before moving into a too-long chordal vamping zone. Finally at 22 minutes the beat slows and they slow burn that sucker to its fiery conclusion.

Golden Age is far too short, but the X Factor is running deep on this one and it sees them diving straight into the abyss for a while. A spectacular little jam - this is must hear!

They finish it with a perfect and natural segue into Twist. Its a typical chilled out Twist, but as with 46 Days and Taste, it's just splendid tonight. Nothing more, nothing less. It ends by exploding into a ridiculous wave of hose. Killer.

After that is a strange standalone Hydrogen. Why they didnt play it night 1 and leave Lifeboy for this night instead is a mystery. This just feels SO out of place....

A 16 minute type 2 Chalkdust is the penultimate song of the set. This one is excellent and unique. High energy, yet the entirety of the jam is spent in a quiet and introspective area. Absolutely worth a listen!!!

SANTOS closes and this one is actually truly must hear as well. One of the finest ever displays of pure hose annihilation ever. A+

A Life Beyond the Dream is a serious contender for GOAT version, imo. Starting beautifully on acoustic, this one feels extra impassioned. I cant believe anyone could hear this and NOT be a fan afterwards.

As per Hydrogen, an out of place Tweeprize closes the show.

All in all, another monster set. Fuego right through ALBTD is all pretty much must hear quality. At the same time, for some reason it felt lacking in that extra "x factor sparkle" that coated Night 2 in spades. Just a nitpick - this show is another ridiculous outing.

Way to friggin go, Phish....

No comments:

Post a Comment