Phish played their second show of a four night run at American Airlines Arena last evening. The show featured an interesting start and finish, but largely failed to inspire a majority of those who were in attendance. For the jam lovers out there, don’t even bother with this one. However, if you like tight, sharp guitar playing by lead vocalist/guitarist Trey Anastasio, and don’t mind Phish shows that lack exploratory jamming, there were certainly a few solid moments from night two in Miami.
Highlights
- Set One. In an era of Phish where, dare I say the “P” word, some folks are starting to think the band has become too predictable. But last nights first set was welcome. Nothing could be more anti-Phish than predictability, so to open a show with “Tube” and follow it up with “Gumbo”, placement to get things going was on a roll to start. Throughout the set, show goers got a little bit of everything from some of the better improvisation of the night at the end of the set, to a little bluegrass twang in “Poor Heart”, and a little Mike Gordon reggae in “Yarmouth Road”. It wasn’t anything off the charts, but it felt fresh and was a well-received set overall.
- “David Bowie”. At this point in the show things were still unpredictable. Two fan favorites had preceded “Bowie”, and to drop the hallowed gem in the third slot of a first set fostered that sense of adventure that’s unique to a Phish show. The song didn’t break its regular structure all that much, but it was a ferocious ten minutes of music, some of the strongest energy in the building from the band all night.
- “Bathtub Gin”. The first set wasn’t anything too crazy, but it wasn’t flat either. “Bathtub” has found its way, predictably, to become a song that largely punctuates the end of first sets in the 3.0 era. It played this role once again last night and did so in fine taste breaching into previously trodden territory, but also finding a few new spaces to explore. It also served to send the crowd into set break largely stoked, preparing for what has become the main event in the modern era of Phish shows in the second set.
- Type 1.5 Trey. As much as some will chastise this show for its lack of adventure, Trey Anastasio played well last night. It’s difficult to separate the reality of a band who can at any given moment create never before heard or played music so well, from a band that sounds like they’re simply playing their written songs and not veering away from song structure at all. Last night Trey wasn’t perfect, but his playing through a majority of the first set, as well as in the darkness of “Twenty Years Later”, the short jam out of “Winterqueen”, and to the end set two was worth a bit more than standard Type I categorization.
- “Run Like an Antelope” and “Rock and Roll” to end set two. If you’re familiar with Phish you might be noticing the lack of highlights being shared from set two last night. That’s because there really wasn’t anything that stood out all that much except for a very strong, high energy end to the show in back-to-back shred fests during “Antelope” and Rock and Roll”. The later tune feels odd when played towards the end of a second set knowing what jam capabilities it holds, but after the band couldn’t seem to hook up to start the set during “Twist” and “Piper”-both of which sounded as though there were chances to lock in and go deep-this pairing brought the crowd back to the party and ended the show on a high note.
Lowlights
- Minimal Improvisation. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and in the world of music, there’s arguably no more critical fan base than Phish fans. For many of us that have been seeing Phish since the 90’s a show that lacks any chances taken, a show that fails to take anything deep, or really, a show where the effort to go to some unknown place fails to surface leaves a unsatisfying taste in the mouth. There was really no singular moment of vulnerability last night. Even at the start of set two subjectively I thought both “Twist” and “Piper” had a chance. There was great Type 1 playing last night and Trey was nailing it on some quasi jamming at several junctures in the show, hence the earlier nod for a 1.5 sorta style. But plain and simple, as much as Phish is always a good time, a show without improvisation will more often than not be easy to forget.
- Short Sets. Short Show. Two sets that just barely breached the one-hour mark. A whole show just over two hours. A singular encore of “Meatstick” for six minutes. Should that even be legal? It’s understood that first sets can often be short, but the whole night felt short and that usually doesn’t translate into good playing by the band, and it’s certainly not why people travel from so far away to see Phish.
- No Patience. Fiery playing by all band members is most welcome. There were strains of such playing last night, and even the slight few minutes of jamming had moments as well. But when the band lacks patience and it’s obvious from an audience/listener perspective it never bodes well for the show in sum. The only reason a few of the jams from 12/31/14 worked in that stellar second set was because the band took moments to breathe, check in with each other, and try to find a way to hook up. That was no where to be found on 1/1/15, and this reviewer is far from the only one hoping that that ship set sail last night for the rest of the run.
