DICK'S1: WHEN MERCURY COMES OUT AT NIGHT
Phish got right down to business last night at Dick’s… so we’ll do the same. Roaring out of the gates with “Ghost,” the band offered only the second show-opening Ghost since the ‘90s, the other also being at Dick’s (8/31/13, the “MOST SHOWS SPELL SOMETHING” gig). Rounding out at a little over ten minutes, it was still too early to sense that this was a night where IT was happening.
Photo by Herschel Gelman.
Any remaining uncertainty was quickly and decisively squashed with the back end of a one-two punch with one of the bright new stars of 2015, “No Men In No Man’s Land.” Not only does “NMINML” carried forward the momentum established by “Ghost,” by about fifteen minutes into the show, a lot of fans could have been excused for thinking, “is this the second set?” Afforded several clear opportunities to bail, there wasn’t even a tapping of the brakes, as the jam continued to gain speed, find its groove, and stay put. The result was over fifteen minutes of blissful release that could easily have been the centerpiece jam of a second set. There have been plenty of great first set jams in the modern Phish era, but this “Ghost,” “NMINML” represents the “best” improvisational opening sequence of 3.0, with the most recent comparable being the 8/9/04 Hampton “CDT,” “Gin” -> “Jim.” That’s some heady company!
Photo by Herschel Gelman.
The set then settled into a more familiar yet totally pleasing form, with the new “Breath and Burning,” “Undermind,” and “Heavy Things.” “Stash” showed that Trey has potentially been woodshedding a bit of late, with a precise composed section followed by a compact yet thrilling jam. “Ass Handed”—during which the trusty phish.net setlist team helpfully informs us was “Fish performed the first part of Ass Handed in a swing style… um, OK, “swinging Dick’s”—provides some comic relief, and “The Wedge” celebrated our proximity to The Great Divide. The first “Alaska”—confused by some as “Ocelot” at the beginning—since 7/30/14 (77 shows) offers some good ol’ backwoods fun, and “46 Days” takes us home with a last dose of unexpected improvisation, deviating from the head-banging foundation for some truly inspired play from Trey and Fish in particular. What a great opening frame!
“Antelope” starts off the second set that would be littered with other living creatures—birds, wombats, dogs, bugs!—in fine form. The “Antelope” would turn out to be a prelude to the triumphant return of “Mercury!” The cream of the 2015 crop of new songs, “Mercury” had not graced the Phish stage since last year’s edition of Dick’s (9/5/15, 31 shows) and only its fourth appearance to date. Easily the most ambitious new song since the 2009 batch, it apparently took Mercury (the planet) being in retrograde for Phish to perform “Mercury” (the song). “Mercury in retrograde” is a real thing… or at least a real illusion. The false correlations that many people ascribe to random events that take place during these periods are, of course, bullshit... because, science. Illusion? Reality? You decide! Regardless, it’s nothing but good news to see this burgeoning gem back on the Phish stage. For a song that was always “in development” and considering that it hadn’t been performed live in a calendar year, the results were spectacular.
Photo by Patrick Jordan, © Phish.
The set proceeds with excellent if concise readings of “Seven Below” and “Birds of a Feather,” followed by only the second “Wombat” of the last two years. The final improvisational push of the evening would come via a late-set “Tweezer.” Pregnant with possibility, this version didn’t quite break through the wormhole to epic greatness, yet stands alone as a healthy serving of some of the best-of-breed for 2016 Phishy goodness. At over sixteen minutes and coming this late in the set, this “Tweezer” was clearly content delivered to the right target audience at the right time and place, giving us information we can use as we rush headlong into the night. A fun and relaxed “Runaway Jim” guides us to the home stretch, with a rote “Suzy Greenberg” (can you hear the energy sucking from the room?) closing the set. “Bug” set up the best closer in modern rock and roll, “Tweezer Reprise.” Whew!
No spelling shenanigans? Who cares! We’ve got Dick’s! And we’ve got a band! Get some rest, let’s do this! We’ll be back with more coverage tomorrow. In the meantime, you’re in Colorado… get OUTSIDE! Cheers!
Phillip Zerbo is the editor of The Phish Companion. #ReadTheBook!
Photo by Andy Mann, © Phish.
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Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation
Now, with regard to the setlist, the band clearly didn't spell anything, but they definitrly seemed to be saying something.
Story of the Ghost sets is up, almost as a title for the narrative to come.
No Men in No Man's Land... yes, humanity is at a crossroads, and appears to be a threat to its own survival on this planet. The potential is great that this Earth could become a Ghost town of epic proportions.
Breadth and Burning. Another end of times song. If all goes to not, "we're gonna rage with Page... right to the end. Life is to be enjoyed.
Undermind continues the theme. Big business and twisted religious philosophy are not interested in common sense, or even ideas that make sense. They care about the bottom line, placing their interests above the common interests of the greater humanity, and fall i to the trappings of greed, anger and ignorance, thereby Undermining humanity's opportunity to live. The future is fearful, is it not? In the meantime, fracking lands us a 5.6 magnatude quake in Oaklahoma, felt in 7 states. For most of the companies at the cause of this, it will be business as usual.
Heavy Things. The power of women. A great metaphor for the seduction of desires that rule our lives. Also, we're dealing with Heavy Things in the USA, and don't you deny it.
Ass Handed. Humor helps us deal with facing the reality. Human beings are doing it to themselves. Human beings are allowing some evil motherfuckers to excel at it as well. As a species, we're possibly not wiping our own asses efficiently enough.
Stash. Admittedly, none of us are all-knowing. "Maybe so, maybe not" is the main point. There is much to fear here, and we may even be wrong. But the facts before us....
The Wedge. The voice of Big Business in the world of desire. Flowing with the times, bobbing on the surface, only able to see as far as the next wave. Short sighted, while declaring the American Dream once again.
Alaska... once more, a message about the world of desire. They did poke fun at Sarah Palin in one performance past, so I will connect this song with her. Her rhetoric, and all who are like her.
46 Days. If this isn't blatantly obvious, then you're asleep at the wheel, my friend.
Second set.
Antelope. A song with no words. Fishman owns Trey in this version, Trey playing beautifully, but following the dictates of the drum as to when to step up the tensions. Here, Trey calls on us to "Set the gear shift to the high gear of your soul." It will take a heroic effort to change the times.
Mercury. In retrograde. A sign of the obstacles we face. Try to do things right, and they still sometimes come out wrong. Ever have one of those days when you just feel lime nature is against you? On days like that, take it slow and be twice as careful. And still they sing: "the net's unbreakable, don't worry about falling." Risk is good. Stepping out of the comfort zone is good.
Seven Below. Spiritual winter. The good teachings of the past are overtaken by evil forces. The good teachings of the present are rare and hard to encounter, and are slandered excessively by the evil teachings. With regard to our own thiughts, people in crises can't tell what is the thought of their rambling minds, what is that true ambition of their indestructible true authentic self? These times are confusing in the extreme. People and so iety can be so cold. And yet the freeze, from the outside, is often beautiful in appearance, is it not? Maybe this song is a call to chill, a call to enjoy. A call to cut out overthink and take yourself a deep breath. A huge sigh of releif.
Birds of a Feather. Once again, there are many disturbing influences gathering inside and outside this nation. Many things to fear.
Wombat. In my opinion, this is the first fully-realized rock solid performance of the song. Like a marble sculpture of a Wombat. The world of desire and distraction.
Tweezer. It's gonna be cold, but... desires are fulfilled with this one. Thank you, Phish.
Runaway Jim. Running from this message is not going to make it better.
Suzy Greenberg: humankind, please get your brain checked! How much more insanity before humankind moves collectively in a positive, sustainable direction? Is the great push towards some kind of Armageddon really a great endeavor? Those who make it happen will be punished harshly by the eternal principle of "Cause and Effect" that governs all things. That's my strong opinion.
encore:
Bug. If humanity ceases to exist, then who will be able to be thankful for having life. It won't even matter.
Tweezer Reprise: one final call to wake up. Yeah, the reality is cold, but we're faced with it. And it's not going away.
The message interpreted.