With ghosts and all, Phish delivers goods
Published in Berkshire Eagle 12/1/09
Photo by Dave Vann for Phish
By Jeremy D. Goodwin
ALBANY, NY—There are a lot of ghosts in the room whenever Phish plays.
This is a band with a rich history, whose every onstage note has been recorded, circulated widely, and subjected to public debate and analysis among its rabid fans—and, in later years, the mainstream rock press—for over twenty years.
So when Phish plays the Times-Union Center, as it did Friday and Saturday, there are myriad modes of analysis ready to be applied. How does the show fit into the run of East Coast dates in this current tour? What about compared to other shows played since the band reunited in March for its first shows in four-and-one-half years?
And for that matter, where does it rank in the rich history of Phish shows played in the Northeast around Thanksgiving? (It’s almost certain, for instance, that some number of fans present this weekend were also in the house when Phish played a legendary version of “You Enjoy Myself” in Albany back in December 1995, still referred to definitively as simply “The Albany ‘YEM.’”)
The ghosts of prior performances notwithstanding, any reasonable mode of analysis when applied to Phish’s show Saturday yields the same result: it was a resounding success.
ALBANY, NY—There are a lot of ghosts in the room whenever Phish plays.
This is a band with a rich history, whose every onstage note has been recorded, circulated widely, and subjected to public debate and analysis among its rabid fans—and, in later years, the mainstream rock press—for over twenty years.
So when Phish plays the Times-Union Center, as it did Friday and Saturday, there are myriad modes of analysis ready to be applied. How does the show fit into the run of East Coast dates in this current tour? What about compared to other shows played since the band reunited in March for its first shows in four-and-one-half years?
And for that matter, where does it rank in the rich history of Phish shows played in the Northeast around Thanksgiving? (It’s almost certain, for instance, that some number of fans present this weekend were also in the house when Phish played a legendary version of “You Enjoy Myself” in Albany back in December 1995, still referred to definitively as simply “The Albany ‘YEM.’”)
The ghosts of prior performances notwithstanding, any reasonable mode of analysis when applied to Phish’s show Saturday yields the same result: it was a resounding success.
From the Albany "Seven Below"
Purchase and download a soundboard recording of the show here
Download an audience recording of the show here
Photo by Dave Vann for Phish
This was perhaps a picture-perfect Phish show, with a modest but well-played first set—composed of solid “rotation songs” plus a few unexpected chestnuts, like seldom-seen “Vultures” and the first cover of Bill Monroe classic “Uncle Pen” since 2000—capped off by an exhilarating, improv-heavy second set filled with unexpected musical discoveries.
The band was clearly out to prove it can still swing in the rarefied territory of full-band improvisation that is so melodious and rocking it sounds composed. A one-two wallop of “Seven Below” and “Ghost” filled up the first forty-five minutes of the second set with a handful of jams bringing the energy flow between band and audience into high resolution. Spontaneous waves of elated ovation synchronized with a cascading series of peaks led by guitarist Trey Anastasio, with strong assistance here from Page McConnell on keyboards. (Lighting designer Chris Kuroda, an artist at the top of his field, deserves mention as well.)
The nature of the relationship between this band and its fans was crystallized by a moment deep into “Seven Below,” when Anastasio found himself leading the room into a swelling, guitar-heavy peak. The look of excited astonishment on his own face summed up the uproarious, anything-can-happen ethos that can cause ten thousand people in a hockey arena to feel this band has shattered all the conventions and restraints of the modern rock and roll spectacle to create its own sort of sacred space.
Not everyone agrees. And this doesn’t happen in every jam, every show, or even every tour. But if the reward were assured, the journey wouldn’t be half as exciting.
Photo by Dave Vann for Phish
Phish sounds very tight and appears in good health, but has been less improvisationally adventurous than in the years before its abortive break-up. "Seven Below" went a long way toward re-establishing this band’s claim to the heavyweight title.
After the sweat-bath supernova of “Seven Below,” “Ghost” moved from bright to dark and back again, with a major-key strut giving way to a churning, industrial-jam effect (kudos to bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman) before things suddenly snapped back into a rock crescendo with whiplash-like intensity.
The ensuing break-out of the Velvet Underground’s “Cool It Down”—a deliriously pleasing deep cut from the “Loaded” album, which Phish had played on only two other occasions since covering that record in its entirety on Halloween 1998—was like a gift back to the fans for being a part of the journey.
When it took the rare move of encoring with “You Enjoy Myself,” the closest thing Phish has to a signature song, the band didn’t try to displace the ghost of “The Albany ‘YEM.’” It just delivered a focused, crisply-rendered version that read like a wet kiss to the fan base.
This proved it’s okay for some ghosts to linger in the rafters, as long as they leave room for new visitors. And so, future Phish shows at the Times-Union Center will be informed by the memory of “The Albany ‘Seven Below.’” And as far as I can tell, that sort of thing is pretty much why it’s exciting to go see Phish play.
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