I have some deeper thoughts of my own, so I'm going to break down the individual performances and delve into a little "criticism" of my own......
Phish has opened every show with a special kind of energy that I haven't witnessed at the beginning of tour in years. They sounded better than mid-tour form in Chicago on their first night. The "DWD" and "Wolfman's Brother" were sick funky heavy tunes to start on. In Ohio, with a storm literally lingering over the entire venue throughout they opened with "Look Out Cleavland"....A storm is coming through"...etc. They improv'd an opener again in Portsmouth playing "Tube" based on a very well made TUBE sign so they are showing that they are comfortable to change up their game plan on a moments notice. Bringing new songs into their catalog, playing rare covers "The Ballad of Curtis Lowe", and Tom Waits, "Cold Water".
They have shown their love for the Beatles and John Lennon with "Instant Karma" and "A Day in the Life"....Not to mention a sick "Boogie on Reggae Woman" back in Chicago last Friday night.
At this point in the tour I have to say that the energy feels very TREY to me, and I like it! I can see him taking lead again, not hogging all the fun by any means but he has been the lead man so far on this tour and you can really see it if you listen to the "Mikes Groove" from Ohio. Mike Gordon is playing a reverberd' out bassline as usual but it's Trey clean leading that takes us through the three song piece that can only be described as one of the most clear and whaling "Groove's", I've had the pleasure to give a good listen to. Trey is making some new unique sound with his custom made Paul Languedoc six string axe, and the band is following his lead. Mike has brought any of all the funk to the tour so far and Page has been at the helm of quite a few numbers singing wise, even using some new effects in the "BDTNL" video that you can watch in the previous post.
Trey has an aura around himself so far this tour that makes me feel like he is ready and strong enough, happy enough to lead the band into a tour, and really as we all know this can change and I hope it does, I want Page MVP shows, and Mike MVP shows, and yes even shows where Jon gets to be the maddest of scientists up on stage. But so far it's the brutally sick guitar work of Trey.
The "I am Hydrogen" portion of "Mike's Groove" is led with this clear and crisp playing of Trey and Page exchanging beautiful licks back and forth, almost lulling us into the that safe sense of being....and then down the worm hole the song goes and then as they pull out, the Bass of Gordon has to take over for the full fledged string slappin' strip me down and make me boogie, "Weekapaugh Groove".
Even at this point Trey's vocals are stronger, he is taking every opportunity to connect with the fans and lead the band. One of the wonderful things about Phish is that there is not one definitive leader and that's part of what makes the concert experience a mystery every night. But from what I've heard so far, and how the music that permeates the synapsi' in my brain, I hear a band that is CLEAN, CRISP and CLEAR, and those features are all resonating from one of the best guitarists of our era and maybe of all time, Trey Anastasio. As a critic I am really tough on Trey, I have hard feelings about how his lifestyle influenced the band poorly in 2004, and as a lot of people I blame him for the break up. Last years tours I saw Page step up and lead like never before. I saw Mike turn from the pimped out bass player, with his quarky look and demeanor to MG 2.0, you can see it in the way he dresses, stands on stage and the sound he had last year, as it was very refined and full of a maturity.
So whether it's just Trey being so excited to be touring with his friends again, I cant wait to see if this teetotaler, will continue to lead with his mean guitar licks and whale calls...If you listen closely the harmonies they are making are as much vocal as they are musical. Any night can be anyone's but up to this point Big Red is back with a vengeance, one that feels 1998 to me. I can't judge a tour after four shows but I can tell you who's leading the boys right now, and where as last year I was proud to see Trey step back and allow his band-mates stand in the adoring spot-lite of leader of pack, it's high time Trey's doing it and doing it right.
In final summary I have a quick question, where is the megaphone that adored Trey's monitor for years. When will we get our "Fee"? There are some great songs they have to play for us, and I know Hartford will not be disappointing. So here's to Trey, showing us that you can take a "BDTNL" into a spaced out type II jam, and lead like the born leader he was, (is). Redemption is a beautiful thing and see one of your favorites experience it to me borders on the spiritual. Here's to 2010, and here's to Ernest Joseph Anastasio III, yes 20 years later were all still upside down.
Thanks,
Sammy Martin
Editor-in-Chief
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Have a GratePhul Day!!!!