Phish Great Woods Review 6/6/09

Yesterday was a perfect day for late spring in New England. The sun was shining, there was little humidity, and the temps were in the mid-70s. Who could ask for anything more? Well, we could, of course. The Phish tribe came down upon the Great Woods amphitheatre (aka the Comcast Center) in Mansfield, MA in full force last night. Susan and I arrived at the lot around 3:45 yesterday afternoon and it was already nearly filled to the brim. Being Susan’s first Phish show, I had to bring her in early to tailgate and learn about the scene. I attached the Phish Twitter Twibe flag to the top of my car and it was time to sit back and enjoy ourselves. After hooking up a fellow Rhode Islander and Twitter follower with the tickets that were originally meant for my cousins who bailed on me, things were smooth sailing. We hung out with some beers and our lot neighbors. People from the Phish Twibe showed up and hung out for a bit (great to see @UNOlker, @coffeewithian, @PBRandPBJ, @jmvalentine, and @KiminRI. Susan and I cooked some juicy burgers. Before we knew it, it was time to head into the show.

We found our way to our seats, which were in a great spot at the end of the row on the inside edge of Section 8 (the far left section in the back of the pavilion when looking at the stage). What we didn’t take into account was the fact that the steps going up took a left at our seats. This resulted in us having to guide drunk, stoned, tripping, and otherwise confused people throughout the night. It provided some amusement as I watched them walk into the seats completely confused, but it was mainly an annoyance as it distracted us from the music.

The band took the stage just after 7:30. The crowd went completely nuts. The energy that was present at this show was just unreal from start to finish. They opened with one of their new songs, “Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan”. I had listened to it from the Jones Beach show, but it was definitely played better last night. And this precise playing continued to be the theme for the night. They then went into the lighter “Nothing” off of Undermind. While I was disappointed at first, as the song just doesn’t impress me either on the album or the one time I heard them play it in Brooklyn at the start of their “final” tour in 2004, I took it in with an open mind. One of the people from Twitter, @YEMblog, made a comment “nice to them play (not just sing) a song off of Undermind.” I could not agree more. They played the song quite well. While the energy was high from the beginning, it picked up quite a bit at the first notes of “Back on the Train”. They played it quite well, though didn’t really jam it out at all. This show was beginning to feel a bit like Fenway with the first set being about the songs. When they busted out “Golgi Apparatus” the roof came down on the place. People went absolutely nuts as it hadn’t been played since before the breakup. They then busted out “Sparkle” and played it with such speed and precision, I thought everyone was going to collapse afterwards, but they still had plenty of energy for “Gotta Jibboo”, the first song to really have any kind of a jam associated with it, though they remained within the songs structure for the most part. They gave our legs a little rest, but our voices still got nothing. The opening notes for “Lawn Boy” brought about some of the loudest cheers of the night. Page was crooning and Mike was playing right along with him. It felt almost as if we had traveled back in time about 50 years and were listening to the Rat Pack. They kept it mellow with the Trey solo tune “Let Me Lie”, which caused a good portion of the crowd to head out for a bathroom break. Unfortunately for those who left, they played this song quite well. I had seen him play it at the Newport Folk Festival and at a Classic TAB show shortly after. Neither of those performances came anywhere near this one. Though there was little reason to leave, they pulled everyone back in with a powerful “Taste”, one of the most powerful I have heard. Just when I thought they were going to end the set here, they started playing the crowd favorite “Makisupa Policeman” with its groovin’ reggae beat. This was followed by a slowly building “Prince Caspian” to close the set. This Caspian was stretched out and became quite powerful towards the end. The first set had come to an end.

About 25 minutes later, the band comes back on stage and quickly starts up one of the favorites from the Round Room album, “Seven Below”. The band played this song out with some of the best jamming of the night, playing it with such precision. It was a sign for things to come. The second set was going to be special. And, by the end of the song and the first notes of the next song, the second set had become special. It was “Fluffhead”, not heard since they opened up their first reunion show at Hampton in March. The only difference was this time it was played with complete perfection. By this time, the crowd was bouncing off the walls. When “Fluffhead” ended, they quickly started “Scent of a Mule”. The crowd was dancing hard by this point. The jam and the Russian dance segment were played perfectly and Mike had taken his song as his own and kept the other guys at bay when he brought the song back from the jam with his extra long “wellllllllllllll”. In fact, Trey could be seen laughing on stage not knowing when Mike would continue, but he eventually did. They lightened it up a bit with “Heavy Things”, but didn’t make it too light. The last time I saw them play this song, Trey messed up the lyrics. This song was played with great precision, just like the slower songs from the first set. In fact, they even took it to a different level than I had ever heard before, extending the short jam section out a bit. They quickly brought back the force of the set with “Harry Hood”. I was hoping they’d do some exploratory jamming as they had at Jones Beach on Tuesday. Instead, they played the song as precisely as it could possibly be played and gave it a powerful jam that, for the most part, stayed in the confines of the song’s structure. They then played a completely rockin’ “Possum”. They gave it a different kind of a jam that was a little less country feeling than usual. Finally, they played “Bug”. I was extremely disappointed at first. This is the one song that can completely kill the groove of a great set. However, they blew us all away with the jam at the end. I had never heard “Bug” played out before. It was usually given it’s few minutes of glory allowing us a bathroom break. This one was special and quite fitting for the set closer.

After a short break, the band was back for the encore. The first notes of “Contact” made for a special end to a special night. The band had a ton of fun with this song. Towards the end of the song, a kid jumped on stage and started dancing. Trey made some comments to him and one of the security guys grabbed him and pulled him off stage. Trey then said “Let’s hear it for this guy ’cause he’s getting thrown out and won’t hear this next song”. Then they bust out with “Julius”, which made for a great ending to a great night.

Overall, the show was fantastic. I was worried, after playing 3 awesome shows at Jones Beach, that last night’s show was going to be a bit of a downer. However, the playing was much better than the Jones Beach shows, even if they weren’t quite as exploratory in their jams. The highlights for me, in addition to the two songs of the encore, were the following:

Set One

• Awesome “Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan”
• The bust out “Sparkle”
• The crooning “Lawn Boy”
• The powerful “Taste” and “Prince Caspian”

Set Two

• The powerful, well-played “Seven Below”
• The perfect precision of “Fluffhead”
• The perfect “Harry Hood” (I have never seen them play it without Trey screwing up somewhere)
• The rockin’ “Possum” jam
• The extended (believe it or not) “Bug”

We left the show and headed back to our car. We took a breather and had some water and a snack. When we looked at the traffic getting out, it was stopped and our friendly neighbors offered us some food. So we hung out with some people for a while before deciding we should try to make our way home. We got in the line of car and ended up turning the car off again. Apparently, there was an accident on one of the single lane roads out of the lots. The Great Woods lots are not known for their easy in and out. In fact, there are 2 entrances and they funnel everyone out the same exit. Last night, I experienced some of the biggest assholes (and I don’t like to use foul language on my blog) I had ever seen. The number of cars that tried to prevent people from merging into the exit lanes was unreal. I pissed someone off because I managed to step on my gas faster than she could when I merged in. She started screaming and giving me the finger. It’s not like being one car behind was going to make her get out any slower, but that’s Massachusetts driving for you. I, of course, allowed people to pull in in front of me, especially knowing that I had a royal bitch driving the car behind me.

I was also disappointed by some of the people at the show. The number of “puppy pullers” (people who bring their dogs on tour) in the lot was unreal. I had never seen so many dogs at a show. This is animal cruelty, plain and simple. Do not bring your dog on tour. In fact, your dog is better off in a kennel. During the setbreak, a guy was behind me looking around and eventually says “I dropped a joint, I can’t find it”. A little kid (I thought it was a girl, but it was a boy) comes up next to me and I start talking to him. Eventually, I look around for his parents. The joint dropper sees the look on my face and claims the kid as his. First of all, I don’t know if a crowded Phish show is the best place to bring such a young child (the kid was no more than 4 or 5). Second of all, don’t be sitting there rolling joints while your kid is running around. I wouldn’t have had a problem if he had the kid in view at all times. The lawn would have been a better location for a child as people aren’t crammed into such a tight space. Finally, on our way out, when we were stuck in traffic, the driver of the car in front of us stumbled out, obviously seriously intoxicated, to get another beer out of the cooler. During the time waiting, no fewer than 3 times did his passenger leave to find beer for both of them.

This show was Susan’s first. She is, by no means, a big fan of the band. In fact, she doesn’t really like listening to them at all. However, this show is not going to be her last. I have 2 tickets to the Hartford show in August. She asked if she could come with me or if I would rather someone really excited about the band take the second ticket. She really enjoyed the show, but wants to experience it in a less distracting seat. Our seats in Hartford should be in the middle of the section and not on an aisle with people walking into us. She said the show was like nothing she’s ever seen. She has never been to a concert where the people were all so into the music and all over the place (she was quite shocked that the staff didn’t force people out of the aisles). She was also amazed at the energy of the crowd.

I have said many times that there is nothing like a Phish show. It’s really the truth. A Phish show is a very unique experience. The music, the crowd, the energy, and even the light show all make for an experience you will not find at any other concert. This show was no different, and the fact that Susan enjoyed herself made for a great first anniversary.