Phish – Mullins Center, Amherst MA 10.23.10

Smack in the middle of what is already being regarded as a focused, exploratory Fall tour, Phish returned to the campus of UMASS Amherst to play perhaps the most anticipated pre-Halloween shows of their East Coast run. The bucolic Pioneer Valley was one of the first regions outside of Burlington, VT to embrace Phish in the late 80’s and early 90’s, hosting many early, now historic shows at three of the local colleges. The band emerged on this Saturday night all smiles and clearly in the mood to acknowledge the good times past that many in the crowd were too young to remember first hand. No matter, everyone latched on fast to a pretense-free first set that was a jubilant celebration of Phish’s absurdist tendencies and good time groove.

Opening with the inspired choice, “Meatstick”, and the “Party Time” that followed, the Saturday campus party had quickly begun and told the story of the early set. A perfectly executed “Golgi Apparatus” quickly emerged us in primal Phish, as the set took a more compositionally serious turn. The “Chalkdust-like” jam out of “Kill Devil Falls,” perhaps the most-improved of the “Joy” songs, was patiently developed by Trey, who expertly scaled the walls of this prototypical Phish groove that really allows him to relax and do what he does best. Now fully warmed up, “Tweezer” was an excellent choice to crack the first set open. The first half of the “Tweezer” jam featured several minutes of polyphonic parallel movement, and the back end was all about Phish’s new found improvisational maturity. Deftly navigating sections that meandered from purely textural to edgy funk, this “Tweezer” was democratic but not watered down. Trey stepped up and began ripping apart the gauzy backdrop just in time to open the next chapter in this set, which began with Page strolling to the lip of the stage for “Lawn Boy.”

Depending on your taste in Phish, the segment that followed was either too goofy or a heart warming smile-fest. On this night, I found myself firmly in the latter camp, thoroughly entertained by the ridiculous clip of “Sparkle”, the irony-laden pseudo hardcore of “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars”, and Fishman’s three victory laps around the stage after “Love You” and it’s accompanying vacuum cleaner solo (which had Trey smiling broadly from behind the drum kit). The perennial “Possum” had plenty of what it needs: Trey’s nasty chromatic-leaning chicken picking, but also revealed why Phish is one of the only remaining arena bands that does not use any in-ear monitoring, as singing accurate three part harmonies can be very difficult in large echoey rooms. Out of left field came a triumphant, early “Tweezer Reprise” to end this wide-ranging set, including the spontaneous inclusion of the “Meatstick” chorus.

Although it had been played the night before, the band came out and launched into their free-jam vehicle du jour, “Down with Disease”. This nimble, fourteen minute version got dark fast, with a clear “Curtain” tease by Mike at the tail end of the jam, which segued neatly into “My Friend My Friend”. This song would have presented a real challenge to Phish a few years ago; tonight, they handled both the kaleidoscopic intro and the main body of the tune with aplomb. Glowsticks were flying and the room was already heavy with a swampy, psychedelic vibe. After a largely forgettable “Prince Caspian” that seemed to serve only as a bridge to the next chapter of the set, Page began the piano intro to his new song, “Halfway to the Moon”. I found my first version of this wide-open, modal piece to be musically quite engaging. The band clearly enjoyed it, there was plenty of room for soloing in the “spanish jam” mode that was emerging as a theme in this second set, and Trey and Page had a nice vocal trade in some of the verses. Sort of like if “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” met “Corinna” (the Dead’s version, not Taj Majal et al…) Very nice to hear everyone in the band stepping out.

To call the “Boogie On Reggae Woman” that came next funky would be a bit obvious, but when Mike eased into his now signature bass intro, it was nothing but hypnotic, ego-less groove. Another well crafted segue led to a ferocious “Maze.” Trey’s two searing solos were bested only by the snarling, dissonant interplay between he and Page — a truly great version, and perhaps the peak of the show.

Although I had no particular complaints about the rest of the set, which looks great on paper, I felt a mild ennui creep over the proceedings. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly the origin of this feeling that I have had at several modern-era Phish shows where every tune is either deconstructed completely or taken to its furthest heights. I wouldn’t desire the band do anything but delve in earnest, but I think there is sometimes only so much an audience can reasonably be asked to digest in an evening. In that light, the rest of the show was wonderfully exhausting in its magnitude: “Piper”>”Harry Hood”>”You Enjoy Myself”, all three played with newfound precision, groove, and altruistic intention. Of note, on this night Mike’s “solo” before the vocal outro of “YEM” developed into a full-blown duet section between he and Fishman, and the accapella outro once again proved an endearing sneak-peak into the entwined musical minds of these four old friends.

Reviewer/Artist Garrin Benfield’s sound has been described as Freestyle Acoustic Rock. His music is a blend of moody, guitar driven rock and polyrhythmic groove all run through the filter of a very serious Singer/Songwriter. In addition to hundreds of solo and full band shows around the country, Garrin has shared the stage with numerous headlining acts, and was asked to open for Dan Bern, Boz Scaggs, Kaki King, Rickie Lee Jones, and Page McConnell. Keep up with Garrin’s musicat www.garrin.com

Concert Photography by David Oppenheimer


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