It’s Monday morning, “Tela” and “Wilson” are being paged in the Las Vegas airport, and all is well in the universe of Phish. Wrapping up the 2014 fall tour last night with their third consecutive strong show in a row, it is now as clear as can be that something special took place over the weekend. Sunday’s show was about as appropriate as possible for Phish to call it a tour by capping off their strongest run of shows in recent memory. Once again, like Friday and Saturday’s shows, band confidence accentuated Sunday’s performance. As the dust settles this a.m. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, unlike what happened the last time the band played Vegas in 2004, fans are starry eyed, new listeners are intrigued, and the future of the band looks as bright as ever.
Highlights
- In an era where first sets have left much to be desired for many fans, last night was the third interesting first set in as many shows. With two old school tunes in “Runaway Jim” and “Foam” to open, and some incredible moments over the last 35 minutes of the set in a blistering “Bathtub Gin”> “Free” and “Walls of the Cave”, Phish offered a largely engaging set one setting up the main course of the evening in style.
- Set two kicked off with yet another standout modern day take on “Chalkdust Torture”, Unlike the jamless version from San Francisco, this take was groove laden and exploratory, transitioning into one of the more unique, smooth versions of “Piper” fans have heard in the 3.0 era. Drenched in a blissful, psychedelic glow, this pairing holds it down as the highlight of the show, and will accompany any future conversation that looks back at the highs from Phish’s fall 2014 tour.
- It seems like it’s been far too long for “You Enjoy Myself (YEM)” to make the highlight reel, but last night’s take on one of the bands most beloved songs deserves another listen. Like “Free” and “Walls of the Cave”, “YEM” featured “Martian Monster” quotes born from the bands Halloween masterpiece much to the delight of all in attendance. Towards the end of this spot on version lead guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio started running around the stage with his megaphone before bassist Mike Gordon started doing the same. While Trey was splicing the siren of his microphone into the bands “YEM” groove, Mike started hitting his fight bell with drumsticks before eventually the whole band congregated around drummer Jon Fishman for a mini drums session. As fun as the antics were to watch, the funk groove late in “YEM” is what should draw the most attention from fans. Breaching common territory, the funk started in “Wombat” earlier in set two seemed to have an effect on the band as it not only surfaced later on in “YEM”, but found its way into the encore position as well.
- As much as the encore is just a bonus at a Phish show, it is nice when the band sends the crowd off into the night with a lasting impression like last night, especially at the end of a three-night run to close fall tour in Vegas. Who expected “Moma Dance” to fill the first slot? I’d wager the house odds on that one were extremely low, but there’s no denying that the deep funk rhythms got the crowd going again before “Slave to the Traffic Light” brought it all home. “Slave” was about as well placed to wrap up this show as any selection in the bands vast catalogue. Add in a tasty solo from Trey to seal the deal, and there you have a clear an undeniable masterpiece of a show and a run from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
- This show as a whole deserves mention as an highlight based on its place in the run, tour, and for the fact that ultimately it flowed about as well as one could ask for in the 3.0 era of Phish. The first set was once again sharp, edgy and showcased some standout playing towards the end. Set two had some flow and a few diversions, but over all the leading two tunes in “Chalkdust” and “Piper”, tied together with a ferocious “David Bowie” in the middle, a well placed “Theme from the Bottom”, some funk in “Wombat” and a cherry on top in an excellent “YEM” makes this a show that was as amazing to see in person as it will be to listen to in the future.
Lowlights
- For a show of this quality, in looking back, the lowlights are more about the placement of a few songs, diverting what at the time seemed like a defined trajectory of flow in both sets.
- “Ocelot” and “Sugar Shack” fill that role in the first set, while “The LIne” was the only moment in the second set that seemed somewhat out of place.
- Some will argue “Wombat” seemed inappropriate in terms of placement in set two last night, but its hard to argue with the funk that the song brought to the stage seeing as both “YEM” and even the encore seemed to benefit from what was first brought out thanks to “Wombat”.
Overall, the fall 2014 took some time to fully form. There were highlights and lowlights to every show, but over time the shows seemed to get stronger and the bands playing got tighter. To sow three shows like those that were offered in Las Vegas together as well as Phish just did, after a ten-year hiatus from Sin City says something. Ultimately, it speaks to the fact that there is still no band on planet earth like Phish. Las Vegas helped elevate front man Trey Anastasio back to a place that he once held on a nightly basis as a guitar Jedi. The bands cohesion grew ten-fold, and looking ahead to Miami and beyond, one can only smile when thinking about future shows that old fans and new fans alike will have the privilege to attend.
