Tuesday 08/25/2015 by J_D_G

MAGNABALL 3: BALLER

How good of Phish to throw another ball!

The first one, of the Clifford variety, was at the time the biggest marker in the band’s development as a cultural juggernaut. Now comes the tenth, at a time when the band seems to be looking back and looking forward. More than six years into the post-Coventry comeback, barging toward the finale of a tour that’s one of the best of this era (it jousts with fall 2013 for the distinction of best tour in 3.0), it was time for a family gathering of the sort that Phish hadn’t hosted since Superball IX in 2011.


Photo © Aaron Stein

Americans have been using the word “ball” to mean a festive occasion since the 1920s or 30s. Its more specialized connotation, to describe a night of formal dances, was adopted into English in the 17th century from the Old French verb “baller,” which means to dance. Before that, you can trace “ball” through Latin and down to its origin in Greek, in which “ballizein” is taken to mean “to dance” but literally translates as “to throw one’s body,” and to do so in a scandalous way that might be understood only to scholars of biblical history. You see, the Council of Laodicea first used the word in the 360s C.E., while establishing in canon law that Christians should not attend weddings where ballizein – some sort of tossing of the hands in a wanton and lascivious manner – is happening.

Whether Magnaball was seen by its attendees as an invitation to dance all night, perform a wanton throwing of the hands or just to have a plain old good time, I suspect the good people of the Council of Laodicea would have objected gravely to the high ballizein levels at Watkins Glen.


Photo by Patrick Jordan © Phish From the Road

For a span of time in Phish history, festivals were an automatic part of the annual show calendar. They’ve been much harder to come by since the band returned in 2009, with Festival 8 (in Indio, California) and Super Ball IX (also at Watkins Glen) the only prior examples, and it felt like everybody onsite this weekend – band and fan alike – wanted to make the most of it.

This was my seventh Phish festival but my first since Coventry, and I was eager to see what the smaller, allegedly more-manageable festival experience in 3.0 was all about. (Thanks for the ticket, @phishsticks34!) I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t choose to deal with the eight-to-twelve-hour traffic jams again today, but there was something to be said for the slowly building excitement of driving forever into Maine, past residents of tiny towns who’d set up lawn chairs by the side of the road to watch a strange parade.


Photo © Jake Silco

There was a real feeling of leaving one’s everyday life to enter a different sort of space, a strange but familiar country to which the only passport is a ticket stub. The destination was not merely a rock festival, but a wholly fabricated alternate reality. And though the Watkins Glen experience did miss some of the inspired whimsy of the homegrown festivals produced by Great Northeast Productions, the lesson was still clear: that precious alternate reality is one that we bring along with us, no matter where the event happens to be. And the mere hour or so of stop-and-go traffic I experienced upon arrival around 2 p.m. on Friday was definitely an immeasurably valuable improvement!

Looking just at the music, Magnaball was already in very heady company after its first two nights. Judged strictly on the music alone – not considering the totality of the event, including its place in Phish history and experiential factors – it seemed strong enough to compete with IT for the title of best Phish festival other than Big Cypress. The first night’s “Bathtub Gin” and the second night’s “Prince Caspian” (of all things) were on the lips of people having conversations about things like the best-ever jams of the 3.0 era. And moreover, the “we’re all in this together” vibe felt very strong, with Trey calling back to Clifford Ball (the first Phish festival) early on, and the band very clearly seeming to want to live up to the occasion.


Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road

Sunday’s first set was pretty typical for the era, and pretty much a place-setter for the real action, arriving later. “Punch You In The Eye” may be the best-ever festival opener, so it’s fortunate that Phish wrote it. Aside from “Buffalo Bill” – which brought back memories of the Great Went version – the set contained typical fare, highlighted by a nice combo of “Stash” followed by “Reba,” before an emotional “I Didn’t Know.”

For that one, Trey nodded to the band’s support staff, reading a long list of names and thank-yous. This was only the third Phish festival since 2004, so the truth is we don’t know when we’ll get to do this again. The band itself seems in a very grateful mood, and is not taking anything for granted. Of course, the emotional part of this speech was humorously undercut by the vacuum stylings of Henrietta.


"Waiting All Night" – Photo © Derek Gregory

With the amount of improvisation and goodwill that had gone into the weekend already, there was reason to hope Phish would go for the ring in the closing set of the festival. “Martian Monster” boded very well, appearing as a second-set opener for the first time in its short history. It proved a luxurious, funky runway into “Down with Disease,” which would have been the more familiar opener call.

The “Disease” is quite good, going for a bright, emotional peak. When that jam fell away, the band did what it did many times at Magnaball – it took a moment to breathe and let the next musical idea emerge. As a new jam started to take form and started to sound very hot, Trey found his way into the opening of “Scents and Subtle Sounds” and engineered another in a series of good segues from this summer. This “Scents” is not to be overlooked. Like in the song’s previous appearance at the Mann, it still didn’t feature the typical “Harry Hood”-like closing jam, instead moving straight to five minutes of pure Type-II improv. This made its way into another move familiar from earlier this tour, a drop into “What’s The Use?


Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road

After “Dirt,” the clarion call of “Mike’s Song” rang out. The jam is notable as Page forewent his customary organ vamp to explore atypical textures, underlined by Trey’s funky rhythm parts. The composed ending gave way not to the briefly resurrected “second jam,” alas, but to a “Fuego” that colored within the lines.

Twist” was relatively short but featured a very interesting ending including a Trey/Mike duet (recalling a portion of the Coventry “Harry Hood,” under extremely different circumstances) and an out-of-nowhere blues rave-up. From there, there’s another taste of very stylish, funky, space-age jamming before an excellent transition to “Weekapaug Groove.” Even when Phish didn’t go deep this weekend, it found all sorts of interesting and creative sequences featuring pure improvisation.


"Reba" – Photo © Derek Gregory

“Weekapaug Groove” felt fresh, and the closing round of vocals was circumvented by a Trey-led transition back into “Martian Monster,” in a wonderful dose of bleeding-edge Phishiness. If history was somehow different and this sequence happened in a previous era, people would point to this “Martian Monster” reprise as vintage Phish, the sort of thing we wish they would do again. Well guess what? They’re doing it. A “You Enjoy Myself” encore left many people feeling like they were right at home, on a racetrack in New York State.

On the whole, the last set of Magnaball was a witty one with one very good jam, some excellent transitions into and out of songs, and almost zero downtime. The second-set set list is very sweet, letting the band play to the back of the field while still taking chances and moving in the moment. It’s a level of consistency and quality that should yield major replay value. Sunday’s biggest “problem,” as it were, is that it just wasn’t Saturday and it wasn’t Friday. If the same music was played at a standalone, midweek show earlier in the tour, it would have gotten good reviews and been taken as further evidence that Phish has found yet another late-period high point in creativity. And its tentpole jam, the “Disease,” is quite worthy on its own but is dwarfed by some of its brethren from the weekend, which cover similar territory.


"Reba" – Photo © Jake Silco

Looking deep into the details, the sort that ultra-experienced fans use to sort out the very excellent from the excellent from the great from the good and so on, Sunday’s music is a candidate to be underrated. By happenstance it hit a trifecta of Jaded Vet pet peeves – there not only was no “second jam” in “Mike’s,” but instead of that we got an un-jammed “Fuego.” And the transition into “Scents” bypassed the intro to the song, whose reappearance at the Mann was much celebrated by fans who associate the original arrangement with the song’s brief history as a major jam vehicle in 2003.

But as simply a great Phish show – well, it qualifies, easily. And it was an exuberant finale to one of Phish’s best-ever festivals. For years, Phish kept improving while it was unclear just how big it could get and what its broader cultural impact would be. We're now well into a period in which Phish has shown it can find creative inspiration even while its place as a pop-cultural phenomenon remains more or less static. The band has counted its blessings, and we’ve done the same.

This enchanted weekend proved another welcome indicator that we can all – fans and band included – have a ball when Phish is playing the tune.


"Martian Monster" – Photo © Derek Gregory

Phish Summer 2015 – Setlists & Recaps
07/21/15 SetlistRecap – Bend 1
07/22/15 SetlistRecap – Bend 2
07/24/15 SetlistRecap, Recap2 – Shoreline
07/25/15 SetlistRecap – LA Forum
07/28/15 SetlistRecap – Austin
07/29/15 SetlistRecap – Grand Prarie
07/31/15 SetlistRecap – Atlanta 1
08/01/15 SetlistRecap – Atlanta 2
08/02/15 SetlistRecap – Tuscaloosa
08/04/15 SetlistRecap – Nashville
08/05/15 SetlistRecap – Kansas City
08/07/15 SetlistRecap – Blossom
08/08/15 SetlistRecap – Alpine 1
08/09/15 SetlistRecap – Apline 2
08/11/15 SetlistRecap – Mann 1
08/12/15 SetlistRecap – Mann 2
08/14/15 SetlistRecap – Raleigh
08/15/15 SetlistRecap – Merriweather 1
08/16/15 SetlistRecap – Merriweather 2
08/21/15 SetlistRecap – Magnaball 1
08/22/15 SetlistRecap – Magnaball 2
08/23/15 SetlistRecap – Magnaball 3
09/04/15 SetlistRecap – Dick's 1
09/05/15 SetlistRecap – Dick's 2
09/06/15 SetlistRecap – Dick's 3


"You Enjoy Myself" – Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road


Photo © Scott Harris

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Comments

, comment by play_itLEO
play_itLEO Please don't make me wait an extra day for your next review. It causes me to incessantly check phish.net, which makes it very difficult to get any work done :) . Great review as always. These reviews serve to remind me that I should never miss a show. I had to decide between Magnaball and Dicks. I chose Dicks because I love Denver. Because I am a FOMO (fear of missing out), I will never choose again. Glad you had a great time. Thanks for the reviews.
, comment by play_itLEO
play_itLEO Also, thanks for encouraging the return of second jam in Mike's song
, comment by Midcoaster
Midcoaster For those jadeds who didn't find transcendence in a Scents intro or second Mike's jam or something on the scale of the Drive-In (less than 24-hours prior), there's always the dance. It is great that you brought up the experiential side of things @J_D_G (not to mention the evocative etymology) as participating in it as a full on throw down dance party with good people on a glorious Sunday night is far more than I could ever have anticipated happening again in my lifetime.

After the demise of one of the best ever transcendent dance vehicles twenty years ago, Fare Thee Well, itself, felt like a miraculous opening to a summer of rebirth. Capping the summer by wearing holes in my shoes on the racetrack lawn felt like another resurrection and closure of sorts. Three of my camp posse are high school grads of 1985, and we each had three permanent GD imprints that summer/fall: Hershey, Saratoga and Richmond. One of us is a few months from his 30th Phishaversary, while another is a more recent convert. 1995 was a tough summer (in Deadland, mind you), unless you were my other camping companion and weekend ride who is a 1995 high school grad and Phish convert of that year, his 20th. 2005 didn't leave much of an impression in these departments, but 2015 brought it all full circle. Our worlds were ever colliding and expanding at the drive-in wee hours, before we sweat it all out for a great Sunday capper.

Sorry if my numerological garbledygook can't express the fearful symmetry that I was feeling: words fail. What was evident, was that our group of fives and sevens were feeling the fearful symmetry in full force.

Happy, happy, oh my friend . . . No complaints from me. What an incredible experience spanning multiple decades in various iterations. And isn't it nice to know that Dionysian lightning can still strike, reaching back and looking forward, indeed.
, comment by thebuzzman
thebuzzman @play_itLEO said: [quote]Please don't make me wait an extra day for your next review. It causes me to incessantly check phish.net, which makes it very difficult to get any work done :) .
Agreed. It may be an interesting exercise to open the comments section before the review is posted.

For me there's no doubt that this was the weakest of the three days interestingly I found because of the second set which I felt was outshone by the first. I don't know if just the fact it was the final set provided a self imposed degree of pressure but it seemed to me that the entire second set was a struggle and came off as half-hazard, exemplified by the way Martian Monster reprise ended and Trey's shrug as he set his guitar down.

Still, even from the couch, overall a wonderful wonderful ball!
, comment by cRuDtRuCkUlAr
cRuDtRuCkUlAr while its place as a pop-cultural phenomenon remains more or less static.

Thank goodness for that! And let's hope that they recede from the national pop culture. Leaving Phish for music lovers and not a one stop party scene.

Nice write up and, yes, thank you Phish, I appreciate what you give us. Keep it up.
, comment by FlanSolo
FlanSolo By the way, the Second Mike's Jam was only very nearly missed. You can hear Trey clearly try to initiate it by repeatedly bending to F at 6:50 of the LivePhish recording. The rest of the band kept going with the chromatic descending chords though, marking a rare instance where the band seemed to ripcord Trey. Oh well!
, comment by whatstheuse324
whatstheuse324 Sunday night was a nonstop dance party. No complaints here. I'm surprised to see some of the negative connotation, because I felt like it was one of the best sets of the weekend.
, comment by whatstheuse324
whatstheuse324 The Council of Loadicea would have objected strongly to the high ballizein levels from my crew! Excellent reference by the way, @J_D_G.
, comment by nickavv
nickavv @FlanSolo said:
By the way, the Second Mike's Jam was only very nearly missed. You can hear Trey clearly try to initiate it by repeatedly bending to F at 6:50 of the LivePhish recording. The rest of the band kept going with the chromatic descending chords though, marking a rare instance where the band seemed to ripcord Trey. Oh well!

Having been there, I also thought I noticed Trey trying to start the jam and getting forced out of it by the band. Still a killer Mikes, a killer set, a killer show, and a killer weekend!
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @FlanSolo said:
By the way, the Second Mike's Jam was only very nearly missed. You can hear Trey clearly try to initiate it by repeatedly bending to F at 6:50 of the LivePhish recording. The rest of the band kept going with the chromatic descending chords though, marking a rare instance where the band seemed to ripcord Trey. Oh well!
Spot on.... those four seconds were strange in real time; listening back, it's a bit of a head-scratcher....

And I love the euphemism that is Feugo 'colored in the lines' -
, comment by Slewfoot
Slewfoot I agree with this review 100%. Thanks for the recap! Such a special weekend.
, comment by The_Optimistic_Vet
The_Optimistic_Vet I continue to be perplexed at the designation of the Fall 2013 as the best of 3.0. While it was not a bad tour, it pales in comparison to the Fall of 2010. The great thing about Phish is we all have our own viewpoints, which is the FUN of it! But I think Fall 2013, while good and has some moments, is not even in the top 3 or 4 tours of 3.0. It just wasn't THAT great, or as great as many overly boast on this site.

Fall 2010 is by far the best tour of 3.0 in my own opinion. Like this summer of 2015, that tour started slow and built momentum throughout until the final run of shows. It never slowed down. Also like summer '15, the tour took off when it hit the South in Charleston and never even came close to slowing down (a la Atlanta this summer). Augusta, Providence, UMASS, Utica, Manchester and Atlantic City all served up shows or moments in those shows that are among the best Phish has ever played, certainly in the last 6 years, but including 1.0 and 2.0. The band even released three LP releases from this tour alone with Kevorikian remixes. All of those gigs had sets that stand way outside anything the band has done in 3.0 on a continual every night basis, we know something special is going to happen. I did a fair share of both tours, both were short tours. But Fall 2010 was a crusher. The AC runs between 2010 and 2013 are not even a comparison. You would still rather hear a roughly developed Fuego over Waiting for Columbus with horns? Really? Nothing in 2013 came close to 10/30/2010. Delivering the knockout show the night BEFORE the signature event was positively Phish 1.0 at its best.

Summer 2015 has been a great ride and stands up there in the 3.0 era, no doubt. Trey has new influences and effects to add. The other three took that lead and have raised the bar. Magnaball was superb, but certainly does not stand up to the AC run in 2010 as a thumping tour closer. Here's hoping Dick's provides the effective bang a great tour like the summer 2015 deserves! Go Dick's!
, comment by whatstheuse324
whatstheuse324 There are a lot of people that don't give 3.0 any credit until 2012, which is pretty short-sighted. 2010 had some spectacular moments. I couldn't make it to the 10/30/10 "Led Zeppelin" show, but I was at Halloween, which is still spectacular five years later.

I will also defend fall 2013 though. Both Worcester shows were off the hook, and Reading was an absolute beast. Plus the AC run.

It seems like every year people say that "this" tour is the best tour of 3.0, and for the most part I agree. Summer 2015 seems like the band discovered an element of patience that had been misplaced for stretches, and some of the anti-rip cord jams that have evolved this tour showcase the patient approach. There have been some monster songs this year that will withstand the test of time and I'm happy I got to see some of them first hand. I'm excited and jealous for my friends going to Dicks, it's going to be riDICKulous.

Cheers.
, comment by AaronDJH
AaronDJH Good review OP. Sunday was a great show. My last Sunday phestival experience ended differently. I could not have gotten out of northern vermont fast enough. But this Sunday was different. The music was fun. The music was fantastic. The crowd was great. I spent Sunday night out in the field behind the soundboard so we could just simply boogie. And boogie we did. The ph ish were just killing it and really seemed to enjoy the moment. Lots of fun, really confident sound from everyone. Great vibe all weekend for the most part. Setlists felt random but perfect for that moment. I have seen that all tour, and experienced it in person this weekend. This felt good. Real good. Smile and laugh out loud good.
Here's hoping they continue to have fun like this and enjoy making this music together.
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @whatstheuse324 said:
There are a lot of people that don't give 3.0 any credit until 2012, which is pretty short-sighted. 2010 had some spectacular moments. I couldn't make it to the 10/30/10 "Led Zeppelin" show, but I was at Halloween, which is still spectacular five years later.

I will also defend fall 2013 though. Both Worcester shows were off the hook, and Reading was an absolute beast. Plus the AC run.

It seems like every year people say that "this" tour is the best tour of 3.0, and for the most part I agree. Summer 2015 seems like the band discovered an element of patience that had been misplaced for stretches, and some of the anti-rip cord jams that have evolved this tour showcase the patient approach. There have been some monster songs this year that will withstand the test of time and I'm happy I got to see some of them first hand. I'm excited and jealous for my friends going to Dicks, it's going to be riDICKulous.

Cheers.
all things reconsidered, it's been a crazy climb....

11/28/09 has some triumphant moments that i regularly revisit -
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @The_Optimistic_Vet said:


Summer 2015 has been a great ride and stands up there in the 3.0 era, no doubt. Trey has new influences and effects to add. The other three took that lead and have raised the bar.
I sort of think the influences have always been there - either way, you are correct about the effects. What I think makes 15 so great is that the others stepped 'back.' Not in the pejorative. They simply saw what Trey was doing and were all in. It was Page who - whenever, it doesn't matter - stated that for the first time he didn't think Trey was capable of leading them. Trey obliterated that notion this year, as was evinced by his playing and talking.

Saying this in the same post where I acknowledge that the band (seemingly) jumps Trey's attempt to launch the second Mike's jam....

Beauty of the band.

Could be way off. A lot of people point to Page and the Meter Men influence all over the Halloween set. But having followed the band a long time, that's how I see it.

I mean we've gone from talking about Trey changing into a t-shirt at MPP to this.

Humorous. Love every minute of it -
, comment by fluff_hen
fluff_hen Thank you for the informative review! After reading it, I'm curious who produced Magnaball and why doesn't Phish use "Great Northeast Productions" any more?
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @thebuzzman said:


For me there's no doubt that this was the weakest of the three days interestingly I found because of the second set which I felt was outshone by the first.
not contesting the greater point, but the rationale: what did you find appealing about Set I? i've given stash about as many listens as possible.... i tried: didn't happen, at least for me. it's not even, say, 'major mode' unique like something cool unearthed from live bait. that sort of sounded tired to me.

maze? was cool for a moment or two.

i really did like some of trey's work w/ fish in limb.

and reba is always cool.

I sort of had a hard time with the first set. I found myself focusing on Trey's guitar parts w/in the newer tunes, for 'want' of something to do (and by that I mean discover).

Won't argue Set II in terms of it being 'good' or 'bad' - that, of course, is your opinion. I would, however, posit that Trey's shrug is of the self-effacing sort.... He was going after it during Mike's.... And before that: He was really thinking during a great stretch of a cerebral stretch of playing. If anything, I don't think he/they felt pressure at all. After the first couple nights, it was 'house money,' as they say. They could have NICU / Muled it in....

I mean You paid for all three and already got you $....

Just thinking out loud; I'm with you in that it was a great weekend
, comment by Dressed_In_Gray
Dressed_In_Gray Nice writeup, but a few more words could have been spent describing What's The Use?, a version that was delicate and powerful.

While it didn't contain my favorite jam of the weekend, Magna3S2 was definitely my favorite set of the weekend. Love those -> -> ->
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @Dressed_In_Gray said:
Nice writeup, but a few more words could have been spent describing What's The Use?, a version that was delicate and powerful.

While it didn't contain my favorite jam of the weekend, Magna3S2 was definitely my favorite set of the weekend. Love those -> -> ->
that period of quietude and calm in the midst of that WTU was my WTF moment of the weekend.... loved it
, comment by whatstheuse324
whatstheuse324 @Dressed_In_Gray said:
Nice writeup, but a few more words could have been spent describing What's The Use?, a version that was delicate and powerful.

While it didn't contain my favorite jam of the weekend, Magna3S2 was definitely my favorite set of the weekend. Love those -> -> ->
That's what I was waiting for all weekend and I'm so glad I got it. That was my moment for sure. Thanks for posting that.
, comment by XXXGAK_GAK_GAKXXX
XXXGAK_GAK_GAKXXX If the lack of a 2nd mike's jam or the scents intro affects your show experience , you're a fucking douchebag, plain and simple.
, comment by braindeadr
braindeadr @thebuzzman said:
@play_itLEO said: [quote]Please don't make me wait an extra day for your next review. It causes me to incessantly check phish.net, which makes it very difficult to get any work done :) .
Agreed. It may be an interesting exercise to open the comments section before the review is posted.

For me there's no doubt that this was the weakest of the three days interestingly I found because of the second set which I felt was outshone by the first. I don't know if just the fact it was the final set provided a self imposed degree of pressure but it seemed to me that the entire second set was a struggle and came off as half-hazard, exemplified by the way Martian Monster reprise ended and Trey's shrug as he set his guitar down.

Haha I was waiting for the review too. Buzzman, I like your idea to open the comments before the

Still, even from the couch, overall a wonderful wonderful ball!
, comment by BuffaloKen
BuffaloKen Magnaball was basically a perfect weekend! From the hardly anywhere traffic, the magnificent weather, the flawless music and insane sideshows, the constant cleanliness of the bathrooms, showers and park, overall, and the awesome friends we showed up with, and met anew there. I had my best (and 3rd) festival experience. It's hard to say it was better than Big Cypress, I guess im just older, wiser and throw down heartier than I did then, but Magnaball was AMAZING!
, comment by nichobert
nichobert Here to rep Summer 2012 hard! Still IMO the most interesting style of improvisation since 95 for my ears.

As I've said before, there's something awesome about the fact that every tour from Fall 2010 on has had at least a few people going "Well this 3.0 shit is done, we're onto the next level now"
, comment by elfinito
elfinito "it seemed strong enough to compete with IT for the title of best Phish festival other than Big Cypress.

Hmm -- As someone who was at every Festival through Festival 8 except, sadly, Big Cypress....I do not get how anyone can even remotely consider anything other than the Great Went as No. 2 to Cypress.

IT was great and all...and I guess is you really dug that summer 3.0 jam style (and not bothered by the excessive Pharmies, X and coke dominating the scene), you got some treats...but Great Went was a special moment in Phish history...with one of the most iconic sets they ever played, musically and emotionally.
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @elfinito said:
"it seemed strong enough to compete with IT for the title of best Phish festival other than Big Cypress.

Hmm -- As someone who was at every Festival through Festival 8 except, sadly, Big Cypress....I do not get how anyone can even remotely consider anything other than the Great Went as No. 2 to Cypress.

IT was great and all...and I guess is you really dug that summer 3.0 jam style (and not bothered by the excessive Pharmies, X and coke dominating the scene), you got some treats...but Great Went was a special moment in Phish history...with one of the most iconic sets they ever played, musically and emotionally.
what style?....

the pharmies didn't bother me, and while the went boasts that awesome day two / set two.... take a look 'around' it.... there was some interesting stuff going on, but the first sets are kinda tough (sans tweezer).... and i like the oozing cites and such, but i'm not a huge late mule fan (although i love the loop).

i'm not a prisoner of the moment. this festival was great for what it was, but i'd put the ball above both, in terms of a MOMENT.... the fact that they could pull that off when they did, after a ho-hum summer run....

and the music is crystallized.
, comment by Bosco057
Bosco057 I agreed with most of this review except for one point. You said it "jousts with fall 2013 for the distinction of best tour in 3.0". While I certainly like fall 2013 (as well as the northeastern fall 2010 tour) there is no question in my mind that this was not only their best and most consistent tour of the 3.0 era, but that it's not even close. I've been doing Phish tour since '94, and IMHO, this was the best complete tour certainly since '03, but I could definitely make a case for best tour since fall '98. Just my opinion.
, comment by Bosco057
Bosco057 @raidcehlalred said:
@elfinito said:
"it seemed strong enough to compete with IT for the title of best Phish festival other than Big Cypress.

Hmm -- As someone who was at every Festival through Festival 8 except, sadly, Big Cypress....I do not get how anyone can even remotely consider anything other than the Great Went as No. 2 to Cypress.

IT was great and all...and I guess is you really dug that summer 3.0 jam style (and not bothered by the excessive Pharmies, X and coke dominating the scene), you got some treats...but Great Went was a special moment in Phish history...with one of the most iconic sets they ever played, musically and emotionally.
what style?....

the pharmies didn't bother me, and while the went boasts that awesome day two / set two.... take a look 'around' it.... there was some interesting stuff going on, but the first sets are kinda tough (sans tweezer).... and i like the oozing cites and such, but i'm not a huge late mule fan (although i love the loop).

i'm not a prisoner of the moment. this festival was great for what it was, but i'd put the ball above both, in terms of a MOMENT.... the fact that they could pull that off when they did, after a ho-hum summer run....

and the music is crystallized.

ho-hum summer run? Were you not at Red Rocks? And the Deer Creek show that made it to the original Live Phish series still ranks in my personal top 5. I suppose I could agree that maybe it wasn't as consistent as some other summer tours, but ho-hum? No sir. Not in my opinion.
, comment by Bosco057
Bosco057 Oh yeah, and one last thing. Please, please, please stop with the WOOs people!! I was just trying to listen to the Mike's from Alpine and a beautiful peace of music is being butchered by fans WOOing. They don't even wait for the band to pause. As soon as the music even softens, WOO. WOO. WOO. OMG!!! It's just so obnoxious. I'm really not trying to ruin everyone's good time. I swear. But there is a time for the fan interaction people. Just as I'm starting to slip into "the zone" those damn WOOs bring me right back to reality. It's just awful. I know it's been debated ad nauseam on here, but I felt like throwing in my two cents worth.
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @Bosco057 said:
@raidcehlalred said:
@elfinito said:
"it seemed strong enough to compete with IT for the title of best Phish festival other than Big Cypress.

Hmm -- As someone who was at every Festival through Festival 8 except, sadly, Big Cypress....I do not get how anyone can even remotely consider anything other than the Great Went as No. 2 to Cypress.

IT was great and all...and I guess is you really dug that summer 3.0 jam style (and not bothered by the excessive Pharmies, X and coke dominating the scene), you got some treats...but Great Went was a special moment in Phish history...with one of the most iconic sets they ever played, musically and emotionally.
what style?....

the pharmies didn't bother me, and while the went boasts that awesome day two / set two.... take a look 'around' it.... there was some interesting stuff going on, but the first sets are kinda tough (sans tweezer).... and i like the oozing cites and such, but i'm not a huge late mule fan (although i love the loop).

i'm not a prisoner of the moment. this festival was great for what it was, but i'd put the ball above both, in terms of a MOMENT.... the fact that they could pull that off when they did, after a ho-hum summer run....

and the music is crystallized.

ho-hum summer run? Were you not at Red Rocks? And the Deer Creek show that made it to the original Live Phish series still ranks in my personal top 5. I suppose I could agree that maybe it wasn't as consistent as some other summer tours, but ho-hum? No sir. Not in my opinion.
was, man. red rocks is red rocks, so there's that, but i'm sorry, totally disagree; it simply wasn't electric. even the tweezer and its tease was imperfect. one night at the creek was great - that to which you allude - totally loved it.... has one of, if not my favorite LLAMA.... the other was so-so at best. i even liked hershey park / that wilson and reba.... and the second set had some cool and varied playing, considering what was up 'next!' totally pedestrian though .... and this carries through till 10/31; saw a lot of those shows as well.

even the band agrees. heck, they were 'opening' more than half the time. the best thing about 96 generally was the rise of page.
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @Bosco057 said:
Oh yeah, and one last thing. Please, please, please stop with the WOOs people!! I was just trying to listen to the Mike's from Alpine and a beautiful peace of music is being butchered by fans WOOing. They don't even wait for the band to pause. As soon as the music even softens, WOO. WOO. WOO. OMG!!! It's just so obnoxious. I'm really not trying to ruin everyone's good time. I swear. But there is a time for the fan interaction people. Just as I'm starting to slip into "the zone" those damn WOOs bring me right back to reality. It's just awful. I know it's been debated ad nauseam on here, but I felt like throwing in my two cents worth.
bosco.... i was actually worried people would woo during WTU MB3 -
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @Bosco057 said:
@raidcehlalred said:
@elfinito said:
"it seemed strong enough to compete with IT for the title of best Phish festival other than Big Cypress.

Hmm -- As someone who was at every Festival through Festival 8 except, sadly, Big Cypress....I do not get how anyone can even remotely consider anything other than the Great Went as No. 2 to Cypress.

IT was great and all...and I guess is you really dug that summer 3.0 jam style (and not bothered by the excessive Pharmies, X and coke dominating the scene), you got some treats...but Great Went was a special moment in Phish history...with one of the most iconic sets they ever played, musically and emotionally.
what style?....

the pharmies didn't bother me, and while the went boasts that awesome day two / set two.... take a look 'around' it.... there was some interesting stuff going on, but the first sets are kinda tough (sans tweezer).... and i like the oozing cites and such, but i'm not a huge late mule fan (although i love the loop).

i'm not a prisoner of the moment. this festival was great for what it was, but i'd put the ball above both, in terms of a MOMENT.... the fact that they could pull that off when they did, after a ho-hum summer run....

and the music is crystallized.

ho-hum summer run? Were you not at Red Rocks? And the Deer Creek show that made it to the original Live Phish series still ranks in my personal top 5. I suppose I could agree that maybe it wasn't as consistent as some other summer tours, but ho-hum? No sir. Not in my opinion.
i totally respect your opinion, but please don't use Live Phish as validation of anything.... they got the first one right: one of my top fives, if we're getting into that.... niagara, too, while we're at it. a lot more missing than a lot more included, if you get what i'm saying. but that's just my opinion.
, comment by J_D_G
J_D_G Thanks, everybody!
, comment by Mr_Draned
Mr_Draned The closing fireworks going off to "The Summer Wind" in front of me, the lights beaming off MAGNABALL into the night to my right, and this was a beautiful end to an amazing, unforgettable weekend.
Being with my people and surrounded by all of you maniacs, there isn't a better way to do a fest.
See you all soon!
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