, attached to 2013-07-27

Review by n00b100

n00b100 The second set here is as high-class as the one last night, and another fine example of how Phish has been putting together their second sets to devastating effect. DWD has a really strong Type I jam out of the gates (they've been killing their Type I jams recently, haven't they?) that gets mellow and lovely; it's a full band effort here, Mike's deeper lines and Fish's rat-a-tat work and Page on the organ and Trey cranking some wah-wah licks. Undermind segues very naturally out of this, and it's a great version; starting with a nod to one of the sequences from the Dick's Undermind, it instead stays in the same mellow zone as the end of DWD, then shifts to a deliberately off-key minor-chord jam, then (surprisingly) goes dark and ambient, like something out of the late 90s or 2.0, as feedback and buzzing synth bombs dominate. It's very much the opposite of the bright and powerful Dick's version, and just as good in its own way.

Light comes rolling out of the muck, and listening live I was braced for another monster version, but this time Phish had something different in mind. This Light serves almost as a transition jam, briefly stepping out before returning to a reprise of the main theme and then nicely transitioning into Sneakin' Sally. And this Sally is *filthy*, bringing some dirty funk (with a very blatant Guy Forget tease) before opening up and spraying the hose like the beloved 7/6/12 version, and then (just as surprisingly as Undermind) winding down into eerie space, which gets very familiar...

...and (like the eerie space moments of the late 90s) explodes into a perfectly placed 2001, which has become a go-to way to blow off steam after big jam sequences. This is another funky version with the same Flashlight tease as Alpharetta 2, and it's a great way to close another fantastic suite of music. Walls of the Cave is darn good as well, and actually transitions into a surprisingly cool little groove that winds down into Fluffhead; I'd have liked to hear that groove further examined, but hey, who am I to complain about Fluffhead? Fluffhead and Antelope make a killer end to a killer set, and the two encore songs are gravy on top.

I don't think the first set's as strong as last night (it feels somewhat scatter-brained, although it's hard not to like getting a Curtain With, Mike's new song is quite good and has a definite 70s feel, and After Midnight is red hot), but the deep improv in the second set renders that a moot point. This is the best possible way to end a great two-night stand.


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