Postcards From Page Side: Phish NYE Run – Feast or Famine?
To end 2011, Phish returned to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for a four-night stand that marked their second New Year’s Eve year in a row (and their sixth overall) at the venue. With memories of a very impressive run to end 2010 at MSG, as well as to start 2011, with the first-ever show on New Year’s Day, things seemed to really be clicking for the band. Throughout 2011, they made huge strides in playing and jamming as the year stretched onward, which all led up to this standalone New Year’s Run following no fall tour this year. What were the results? Anti-climatic at best musically, but still a lot of fun overall.
[Photo by Michael Stein]
Now, let me say something and be very clear: there is absolutely no place in the universe I’d rather be than at a Phish show. The vibe, the ENERGY, the people, the ritual are all things I live for and have toured the country to experience for many years. But, sometimes expectations exceed the performance, which seemingly happened this past week for many in attendance (and some watching at home, as the shows were broadcast live via pay-per-view streams). Were there standout moments? Absolutely! The problem was, they were far less frequent than we have come to expect from Phish, on New Year’s runs, and especially at Madison Square Garden. But, on the flip side, did I enjoy these shows as much as many other barnburners of 2011 and years past? Definitely. Just for different reasons than the music alone.
One’s experience at a show depends on several factors including who you are with, the location of your seats, what you possibly ingested and so on. All of those factors play into the overall experience. But it is the music that is ultimately the catalyst which allows for us to enter the portal of the divine. The single biggest reason, besides seeing friends of old this run, that I thoroughly enjoyed myself is easy to explain. It seemed that everywhere I turned, even during a weird song placement or sloppy version of a song I had seen live 100 times, I watched the newer groups of fans soaking it all in and enjoying it tenfold. That – made me smile. To be able to hear the song you came to see – whether it be Farmhouse or Ghost – and rock out in your own world for the first time is a priceless experience. But, that still doesn’t hide the fact that the band members’ hearts didn’t fully seem into it this year.
The 28th saw the first-ever Free opener in Phish History and a with a well-played version of Glide right behind it, the band set the tone for a very high energy night. An early first set Cities was the first true highlight, with bassist Mike Gordon leading the way out of the typical space. But, it was simple things like the mid-first set placement of Contact (which is usually reserved for late second set and more typically encore slot), that summed up a majority of the entire stand: weird. Whether it was placement, execution or reeling in the potential for greatness, the band was playing things safe and hardly pushing the envelope.
Official Video: Contact > Sample
A scorching Birds of a Feather, Carini > Tweezer onslaught began set two of the first show, while a fiery Rock-n-Roll and majestic Harry Hood rounded out the meat of the set. To further set the “weird” mood for the remainder, the band offered up a triple encore of a short Tube, Rocky Top and Tweezer Reprise. Overall, a pretty solid opening frame on a night that often served as a warm up show for the band. The problem was, they did little from here to build on it, and by the time the run was over, many fans were calling the 28th the best overall show of the four.
The 29th opened with a great first frame – more high energy and in my eyes, a great setlist. A second song You Enjoy Myself again seemed out of place, but was a welcome treat by fans and garnered “Ooh’s” and “Ahh’s” from the fans when it started. An absolutely scorching Funky Bitch was a set highlight, with Page McConnell absolutely wreaking havoc on the upper parts of his keys. Roses are Free was another welcome treat, as Halley’s Comet and Run Like an Antelope closed out one of the better sets of the week, and carried over some of the higher energy from the previous night.
[Photo by Michael Stein]
The second set was notable for the Crosseyed & Painless opener before a slightly out of left-field Simple, which melted sublimely into the first Lifeboy in two years, also last played during the 2009 New Year’s run in Miami. A ferocious Mike’s Song, one of my favorite in recent memory, awkwardly landed in Chalkdust Torture, before transitioning into a faster-paced, more upbeat version of the normal soft-as-a-down-pillow-landing-pad of I am Hydrogen. A truly unique segue that will stand out in the memory of those who saw it live led the way to a funky, driving Weekapaug Groove, Character Zero and Loving Cup encore to close us out in arena rocking style. All in all, at this point of the run I still had some high hopes for the final two performances, having found ENERGY and some interesting ideas and efforts, if not execution, from the band through the first two nights.
PAGE TWO = 12/30 and 12/31
afraid of karma or sounding like a whiner?? then keep telling yourself you’re “lucky.”
Bavosa – right on the money. Ari
nice write-up, man.
great article man. really nails both sides on the head. and so much better than all the negativity and over the top bashing that is so unnecessary and has no place in the phish community
I second Zach’s sentiment. You straddled the fence nicely, and that’s sort of where I was left by the run: on the fence. I was definitely disappointed by the absence of improvisational free form jamming but still managed to have a ball in the moment. Vive le poisson.
Good read Brian its funny The only show i saw was the 28th thought it was a 6 out of 10 glad i did not go to the rest!!!!
Good article.. explains the music pretty much to a T… Phish isnt gunna put on the best ever show or run everytime they play a holiday run its too much to be desired. I think ppl that say it was a great experience is a lil ignorant because we have all been to so many phish shows.. alot of us went to all 4 nights.. some ppl left their GFs and wives behind and said im going to Phish on NYE…Prob wont go next year
Really well-written article as I can simultaneously sense your joy and your frustration.
How much did the release of Hampton/Winston-Salem ’97 just before this run affect our expectations as Phish fans? Admittedly, looking back, it certainly did mine.
it was a $55 well spent to spend 4 nights watching at home and then one super crazy night where we stayed up and watched all 4 slows again back to back. I would have been happy to go, but times are tough right now so spending $55 for 5 nights of phish was worth it. They are obviously saving the serious fury for the next tour where they come and destroy the south again ;)
an over hyped and over priced run imho. it happens. save your money for summer tour kiddos!
Mute point?!?! Too funny.
Perfectly stated.
Phish plays songs “out of their usual slot” ie Caspian, Golgi, YEM, Julius, Cavern, Contact etc. and they get hammered for odd set placement. I think that is kinda pushing the envelope.
I’ve marinated over the webcasts and came to a full handful of conclusions:
1. The first show was a gift to Page’s newborn daughter. Free(after 9mo.’s)> Glad that you’re alive, Woke up one morning in November and realized I love you, bouncing..they just poured it on..what a cool extended family to be born into!
2. The run had a career spanning arc, with mostly old songs on the first night, then with each night tagging on more newer material. Looking back on song placement on NYE, it was the newer tunes placement that got all the panties wadded…sorry pholks, in a totally backwards way, this NYE was not about nostalgia, it was about looking ahead-with a new song being the big gag this was gag #2 right there.
3. Gag #3 was the inversion of typical set closers and openers, shaking up the setlists was all in good fun.
4. The recency of the gigs in Mike’s and Trey’s side bands eeked heavily into the song selection, with special focus on the new orchestral work Trey is pursuing. They simply emptied their barrel of fugue and classically inspired material.
5. Tons of past funk gems from golden MSG shows were played, Sally, Tube, AC/DC Bag, Antelope etc. but only in a perfunctory nod to thier historic greatness. No attempt to break new ground was made in these homages. (I see this as an extension of the 8/17/11 UIC Ghost-they just had to play it, so they played it short, sweet and straight.)
6. Songs were selected with a heavy NYC bias. Trains, skyscrapers, the NY bands they covered, the bands that made MSG famous. Each night was shown major NY love.
7. Almost every song from the 12/31/91 new archival release was played, a stealth 4 day commercial, gag #4.
8. Lyrics in the big bustouts of Lifeboy and Vultures had major foreshadowing of the NYE gag-both were busted out for a reason.
9. The fans need to chill with pelting the band with glowsticks, especially on Page’s keyboard.
10. I think the fans energetic responses might have cut a few jams short, Cities in particular might have gone on longer if the reaction hadn’t been so enthusiastic.