The post show glow from Halloween had not peeled off any fans faces as they entered the MGM Grand Garden Arena last night. The obvious question was how would Phish follow up one of the most memorable performances of their career on Saturday night in Las Vegas? Would the band come out a little tired and flat? Or would they rise to the occasion, and would They Attack?
Highlights
1. A confident first set. Although the initial frame of music from Saturday night didn’t necessarily stretch its legs, the set had a unique taste to it, raising the energy level of the building on several occasions before offering tunes to bring things in the room back to a loose sway. It felt strong for Phish to come out last night and immediately command the feel of the set the way they did. Even they way the “They Attack!” quote and beat got dropped in “Birds of a Feather” spoke to the poise the band exuded throughout the evening, contrary to several other sets from this fall tour.
2. Unique song selections in the first set, such as “Dog Face Boy”, “Fuck Your Face”, and “Frankie Says” kept show goers on their toes. If you look back at the set list, song selections included three songs played from Fuego spread out amongst some rarities and a few old Phish staples. It’s great when Phish gets creative with their sets and digs a little deeper into their vast catalogue to craft a set like this one last night.
3. “Crosseyed and Painless”>”Light”>”Lengthwise”>”Twist” was the most memorable chunk of music played on 11/1/14 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In fact, this run on music is easily amongst the top playing of the fall 2014 tour. When fans go back and listen to highlights from this tour, every time, this string of songs will be up there. After a “Possum” to kick off the second set, the fiery opening notes to “Crosseyed” always gets people going at a Phish show. Locking in, the jam started to breathe before eventually bleeding into “Light”.
4. “Light” is the clear winner in the improvisation department from last night. After a darker theme in “Crosseyed” the “Light” had more of a bouncy groove to it as it got further and further away from its written song structure. A jam from “The Dogs” surfaced near the end of this unique “Light” paying homage for the second time of the evening to their Halloweens masterpiece from the night before. Trey and Fishman even barked like dogs to accentuate the jam.
5. “Lengthwise” served as a short reminder that Phish was having as much fun as the crowd before the final big highlight of the night in “Twist” was brought out. “Twist” covered some ground in its eleven minutes of life last night. There was a “Lengthwise” quote in there, a “Smoke on the Water” tease by Trey, and Phish even quoted and teased “Manteca”. But beyond the quotes and teases it was the unfamiliar ground covered in “Twist” that stood out the most, which capped off close to 40 minutes of top-notch Phish music.
Lowlights
1. Set one was tight, confident and great Type I Phish music. However, the opportunity to blow the crowd away by jamming out the atypical “Fuego” opener, or out of “Roses Are Free” were missed opportunities to go above and beyond. Again, the set was great, especially the fire version of “My Friend, My Friend” that had the whole venue throwing down almost to the feel of a second set. The next time Phish comes out and drops a jammy, improve laden first set fans will be buzzing about it, and songs like the above mentioned that have the opportunity to act as jam vehicle springboards for such an effect.
2. Set two from last night had legendary written all over it. In terms of placement, “Wading in the Velvet Sea” made sense, but it’s just not what a majority of fans want to hear or feel after what had just went down over the previous 38+ minutes. After a very contained, albeit beautiful “Harry Hood”, “Golgi Apparatus” was an easy way to call the set good. “Backwards Down the Number Line” has grown a reputation as a set killer, and while it didn’t kill the set last night, its placement at the end of the set felt off, forced, and was an unnecessary way to end the show proper.
3. No one should ever get too caught up in encores at a Phish show. That’s not what it’s all about. And for the record, subjectively, the author does not have an issue with the band playing two of their newer songs like they did last night in the encore slot, then as randomly as possible, singing an acapella version of the “Star Spangled Banner” to close a show for the first time since 7/4/99. But that’s not what many other fans think. We’ll see what’s in store for tonight. After an incredibly solid follow up show to an all-timer on Halloween, there’s a ton of musical capital to pull from tonight, and as fired up as the crowd has been then last two night, Sunday’s tour closer has the potential for magic written all over it.
Setlist 11/1/14
Set 1: Fuego, My Soul, Back on the Train, 555, Dog Faced Boy, Fuck Your Face, Horn, Frankie Says > My Friend, My Friend, Roses Are Free, Roggae, Birds of a Feather, Wingsuit
Set 2: Possum, Crosseyed and Painless > Light -> Lengthwise > Twist > Wading in the Velvet Sea > Harry Hood > Golgi Apparatus > Backwards Down the Number Line
Encore: Waiting All Night, Sing Monica, The Star Spangled Banner
