Nothing special about this night! No certainly not, it was only the first time in Phish history that the boys treated us to a New Years Day show.... boy, was it something else. The buzz around the whole run was that this night would be the best, and surely, while it's "best of three" is debatable, they blew the roof off this round room. The crowd seemed a little worn out, to be honest. The vibe wasn't the same, the energy wasn't as high, the feeling wasn't as fresh. It was still thrilling and the happiness was infectious, but as I felt with Halloween, and I will probably feel on the third night of the Bethel run (!!!!!!!), people get tired and worn out. The boys get tired too, but they're so revved up that their sleepiness never shows through. With a lot of phans, I find this to be the case, but with most, and the general feeling I got of the crowd, was a calmer sensation, ready to really appreciate what Phish would serve up on this very special occasion.
They opened with a rowdy version of My Soul, which ignited the fire the burned through the night. Cruising into Runaway Jim, you could hear the jam building and the fire growing. Red was getting all excited and jumping about for the beginning of Jim and even as they transitioned into the weirdness of Foam, the energy was vibrant and uplifting. The set was taking off.
Guelah Papyrus was straight and to the point, and what a brilliant point it was. I love this song for it's story like qualities but also because it can be paired with pretty much any song and will take on some of the previous songs qualities. This would have been a regular ol' Guelah, if it wasn't for the Foam.
The Divided Sky became the set highlight for me. I always underestimate the power of this composition and what it stands for. And in this particularly well-played Divided Sky kind of made me tremble inside. It was just so spot on and each note felt intentional and motivated, you couldn't help but stay rooted to the ground with wonderment.
They followed this epic tune with Round Room, the first since July 13, 2003, in honor of Madison Square Garden, I'd like to think. It was great because I had been listening to the album and kind of itching to hear the title song played live. It's not such a winner for me that I would have made a sign, but it's nice to hear. Then, the short-awaited Walk Away, we were all wondering when they were gonna bust it out and they pretty much blew out of the water, like they normally do. The boys took it into a wild and fun Gotta Jibboo, then a fairly average, but still great, Reba, followed by a semi-rare Walls of the Cave. It's quirky and poignant begining was one I had never heard live, though I always kind of thought I would. As the first set closer for the last night of the run, I felt it was a particularly special rendition.
The opener for the second set set the whole tone for the next hour and a half. A great Crosseyed and Painless shed light on just how warmed up they were, and a Twisteca, tribute to the epic night before (see my next post YEMteca), followed by a personal favorite, Simple, jump started the last set of the run and kicked it into high gear (pardon the unintentional Antelope reference). Sneakin' Sally brought the house down, but the Makisupa Policeman was easily the set highlight for me. I'm very lyrically and energetically driven if you haven't noticed. Of course I pay attention to and appreciate the music and the jams, but what really gets me is the performance the boys put on, together and individually. Anyway, in this Makisupa, Trey changed the lyrics to "I went home late last night, after doing the New Years stunt. Laid back on my couch and rolled myself a blunt." How could you say no to that? The only disappointing part was Fish's kick drum solo, in which he didn't really do anything. The set closed with a really well played, focused, driven, high energy David Bowie, and I don't think we could have asked for anything more from the last set of the run.
In a classic move, the boys chose Fee and Frankenstein to close our the whole run. Page was on keytar for Frank and they really killed it, like the last nail in the last board of a cozy little house you've been building. Throughout winter, I've been sitting in my little house, waiting, and waiting, for the Summer 2011 Tour Announcement which came like a blessing just the other day....
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