Phish Keeps Bakers Dozen Momentum Alive at Dick’s Night 1 (SHOW REVIEW)

Phish played their 19th show at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce, Colorado last night to a sold out crowd. Would the looseness, confidence, and flow we saw at the Baker’s Dozen surface at Dick’s, after Phish had the chance to rest for the last three weeks? We all wondered, as the run of 13 shows without a repeat at MSG, playing new music each night is certainly one of the highlights of the band’s storied 34-year career. After last night, the answer is undoubtedly, yes.

HIGHLIGHTS

Set One: The band wasted no time on Friday evening, stepping right to the stage and delivering a 15 minute “Blaze On” to kick things off, anchored by interesting, groove orientated improvisation that set up a super fresh first set. Top to Bottom, “555” was the only real standard tune we heard after the adventurous opener in set one. “Breath and Burning” essentially kicked off a five-pack of songs that each hit right around the ten-minute mark, showcasing the band easily flowing in and out of short, but tasty jams through each of the songs. “Free” is where things picked up a bit via a faster, shreddier playing style by guitarist Trey Anastasio, with a funkier rhythmic beat produced by Mike Gordon’s turned up bass.

“Tube”> “Roggae”. The flow of the set, punctuated by “More” to close was a stellar way to start off the night and run as whole. This duo was the anchor of the first frame. Can we get more “Tube” jams? It seems the band is down as of late and you can hear it right from the keys of Page McConnell, and Jon Fishman’s drums before Gordon’s bass starts that 98’ style bass rhythm and Trey provides the wah-wah groove licks to compliment. It was a fun funk party during “Tube”, landing softly in a tight “Roaggae” led by Gordon.

“No Men In No Man’s Land (NMINML)”. The more we hear “NMINML” in a live setting the more it’s becoming the launch pad of 3.0. This version started with the trademark dance party it commonly facilitates before it started to get out there. Way out there. The musical space being explored was cosmic enough that I was sure the band was searching for the next link up to move into a new groove. That move didn’t happen for a bit as confidently, and cohesively Trey led his crew back into the pocket, building to a transcendent peak before coming back down to earth and dropping one mean “Carini”.

“Carini.” After 25 minutes of dance, space, then back to the groove, “Carini” brought the venue to a unified throw down. But this one wasn’t spacey. It was dark. Kind of like the dark, evil Phish you might hear some fans refer to and wish for, which may sound well, sort of dark, but truth be told it’s another flavor of Phish that simply shows off their rich technical prowess. The places Phish can go when they’re on is part of the legacy they’ve built over the years, and this “Carini” was a great example of their dynamic reach. As the darkness gradually gave way to Trey picking back up from the “Free” and “Tube” earlier, some dirty hoseesque playing followed, with Gordon and Fishman layering the groove deeply over Page’s keys. This one was patient, and as much as I am still so intrigued by the new music Phish can produce while linking up in a jam, it’s the listening and patience part of the recipe that is really at the core of a majority of their most standout improvisational pieces. By the time another 20+ minutes had passed and “Ghost” started I sorted needed a minute to collect myself and was far from the only one. What just happened?

“Ghost”>”Hood.” After 45 minutes of exploratory, improvisational music that went cosmic, dark and dirty, there was no letting up with “Ghost.” It didn’t end up stretching quite as far as the previous two selections, but there was still intriguing music being explored, much more in the light taste of things as opposed to the “Carini’, with an edgy, upbeat peak at its apex. It was almost as if after the “NMINML” and “Carini” it really didn’t matter-those 45 minutes were really that good. But “Ghost” kept the momentum going, and although it sounded like we were about to get a fat “Cities” after a funky beat started spinning toward the end of “Ghost”, the infamous notes to “Hood” dropped as smiles washed across all in attendance. This duo of tunes was about a half hour long and complimented the first two well. The “Hood” like the “Ghost” didn’t get quite as far out there as what was heard to start the set, but there continued to be some breath outside the confines of the written portion of the song, and the full drop into the “Hood” peak finale was a sublime end point.

Set Two. I honestly don’t know what else you can ask for in a set from Phish these days. I was fortunate to catch the last 5 Baker’s Dozen shows and have been steadily on the train for years. This set, to me, is why we still go, and why new fans can feel that magic of inspiration that keeps many of us coming back for years, decades, doing our best to catch as many shows as we can. Throughout this set we heard very little composed music. Lyrics were sung, and Type I territory was taken care of, but the confident playing by all four band members resulting in that adventurous feel and sound that in 2017 you can still only get from one live touring band. Nothing is perfect and music is subjective. I always remind myself of that after a live music experience like last night, but overall what was really a four song set with a little funky fist-pump victory lap for five minutes to end in “Cavern” is what we got. With the bar set where it is, I only hope the next two night can at least reach the space that was touched last night because it was clearly an extension of what went down in NYC earlier this summer, and from the style of playing, the band isn’t holding back a thing.