3.0 Turning Point

The Case for 6/7/12

I was trying not to get my hopes up. The Worcester 6/7/12 show was fantastic, but I had been down this road before. After the amazing opener at Bethel in Summer of 2011 —the first two shows, in particular, included a tour opening Tweezer, stellar improvisations on KDF (type II!), Waves, Halley’s Comet (!), Bathtub Gin (best of 3.0?) and DWD (and I had not even heard the epic Waves soundcheck yet) — I had felt that Phish was on the cusp of turning to corner and being in a position to offering creative, exploratory improvisation on a nightly basis. 3.0 had plenty of jam gems in 2009 and 2010 (my favorite might be the Greek Theater “Light” if you’re wondering), but the lack of consistency was frustrating. Too often, jams would go down predictable paths, or simply be ripchorded. But, after 5/27, and 5/28, the next night of Bethel and a two night run at Homdel, NJ were not as strong. Then, after truly one of my favorite jams of 3.0 on 6/3/11– the Love Supreme DWD! — and a thick groove on Sally on 6/4/11, Phish went into, in my opinion, one of the worst ruts of 3.0 in June 2011 (Incidentally this coincided with a run of shows I attended and/or webcasted at Darien Lake, Camden, MPP, Alpharetta). In this run of shows, you were lucky to get one jam worth even mentioning (indeed, after leaving Darien Lake, I could only hang onto a less than 10 minute funky Weekapaug). In my view, this was typified by the 6/12/11 Crosseyed. After being one of the most consistent exploratory jam vehicles in 1.0 and 2.0, in 2011 it somehow became a platform for Trey to wail over the main chord structure until dissipating into 1 minute of ambient space before the next song starts. Summer 2011 wasn’t a total loss. Super Ball was fantastic and we will all be talking about Leg 2 (Long Beach Rock and Roll and UIC in particular) for a long time. But, the frustrating nature of 2011 was put on display with the lackluster 9/14/11 Vermont aid show and perhaps the worst NYE run in Phish history at MSG in 2011. 12/28 was the best of the run and there was little to speak of in terms of interesting exploratory improvisation over the next 3 nights. Incidentally, and crucial for understanding where Phish would go from there, the best jam of the 2011 NYE run was a Carini on 12/28 (Even if it was only 9:08). In my view it is this Carini that set the stage for it to become perhaps the best jammed song of 2013. But, now we will talk about another Carini — and the next show after 12/31/11; an odd indoor summer tour opener at the Worcester Centrum (ahem, DCU center) on June 7th, 2012. I believe it was this show that should be seen as the turning point of 3.0 Phish.

So, any show that opens with “Buried Alive” is making a statement. But, it was perhaps, the follow up song — my absolute favorite opening song, Runaway Jim — that made the biggest statement. Not only did Jim include a funky extended jam in the interlude section, but Trey teased Buried Alive in the regular Jim jam (when Phish ‘quotes’ a particular song throughout a set they are usually dialed in). The jam itself then built to a stunning peak. All in all, it was a really fresh rendition and demonstrated they were not planning on “going through the motions” this tour. The rest of the set was nothing special — some extra emotive soloing on “Torn and Frayed,” a nice bust out of “Nothing” and an extra-interesting Possum intro that included teases of “Beauty of a Broken Heart.” The real breakthrough of this show was reserved for set II.

It opened with Carini. Building off the 12/28/11 revelation, this Carini is spacious and ethereal — it hints at the blissful jamming that will define 2012 and 2013. Near the end, Trey starts playing rhythm chords — a style that would define some of the most amazing jams on the ensuing 2 years, like the PNC Crosseyed, Tahoe Tweezer, and Reading DWD. These chords melt (literally) into Taste — always fun and a welcome rarity (at this point). Although the ending of “Taste” shows some rust (this was the tour opener), the jam is hot and includes a direct “Norwegian Wood” tease (Trey used to tease this in just about every version of Taste in ’95 and ’96 — in fact, the “Taste jam” is itself a Norwegian Wood vamp). But, the best of the set was yet to come. The next song, “Ghost” is absolutely the definition of full band improvisation. It started with Trey just repeating this haunting melody at the outset of the jam (see, 4:38 and it repeats over and over). Next, around 5:40, playing off some sparse piano lines, Trey institutes a funk vamp and Page shifts to the clavinet, and Trey starts playing funk chords. At 6:42, Trey lets a couple dissonant jazzy chords ring out and the whole band fills the space with oozing grooves. Trey’s soloing gets a bit more earnest over the next couple minutes — and it appears he might just take the jam into a standard “Ghost Rock Peak” we saw a lot of early in 3.0 — but then at 8:47 he starts repeating this dissonant melody and it is this repetition that allows the whole band to fill in with rich textures. The next 5 minutes of the jam are mainly groove oriented, remarkably loose and spacious, and led by Mike and Fishman. At about 11 minutes the “Rock Peak” threatens again, but the band won’t let it happen. By 11:35, Trey is again repeating a hypnotic melody over loops while Mike and Fishman establish droning grooves. This is not your standard Ghost! At 13 minutes, Trey is playing chords again. In my opinion, it is Trey’s use of rhythm guitar (most notably with aid of the wah pedal in 1997) that is the key to jams being more open and full-band oriented. At 14 minutes, Mike has turned on his bass effect that signals “Boogie On Reggae Woman”.

Most people when they think of 6/7/12, they think of this “Boogie On” (too often they forget the amazing Carini and Ghost that preceded it). This jam doesn’t need to be play-by-played; it is full on balls to the wall energy from start to finish. It could be argued that “Boogie On” has grown a stale ‘type 1’ song in the Phish catalog (it is hard to decipher a difference between versions). Moreover, it often appears in second sets out of once promising jams. Not only did the 6/7/12 version emerge out of a completely satisfying and fully explored 14.5 minute “Ghost”, it is bar none the best and most unique 3.0 version. From the beginning of the jam, it takes the normal funk vamp, and Trey starts playing the chords with more energy and fire. By 6:30 the jam has taken on an energy rarely seen and Trey has found this vamp that keeps building and building rhythmic energy until it erupts into a peak at around 6:50. This peak continues for the next 3.5 minutes (!), until the jam takes it down a notch at about 10 minutes and returns to those hypnotic grooves seen previously in Ghost for a couple minutes, before segueing into “If I Could.” Wow. Talk about amazing placement. Sometimes a Phish ballad is about the worst thing that can happen in a second set, but sometimes it is perhaps the most appropriate thing to “cool down” after a sweltering segment of jamming. It doesn’t hurt when said ballad is one of their best: “If I Could” features one of the most melodic and emotional solos you can witness in a Phish song. This version doesn’t disappoint — featuring beautiful interplay between Page and Trey. Next is a fun and apparent set closer, “Quinn the Eskimo.” What a show! Oh wait, Quinn served the role of “set closer” fake out, and next is “Harry Hood”: a far more appropriate choice. After a set like this, there is nothing better than a late-set “Harry Hood” or “Slave” to allow reflection and put the gorgeous ‘icing’ atop a ‘cake’ of exploratory grooves. This “Hood” isn’t anything special, which is to say it is its normal amazing, beautiful self. Throughout the jam, as he has all show, Trey kind of lays back and lets the band fill in the spaces. There is no 94-95 style melodic, machine gun, peak. But, it is a patient, full band version. OK, set is over right???? Wrong. Cavern is up next (Which often is itself a set closer fake out). Cavern is fine, but out of the rock ending, Trey is once again playing “Buried Alive.” The rest of the band takes the cue, and what was probably meant to be a final quote before walking off stage, becomes a full band version of the melody. It ends without a solo and, on the whole, is shakily played, but, the “Buried Alive Reprise” is again a statement that something special had occurred from start to finish on this night. The “Loving Cup” encore is fine and expected.

Unlike Bethel 2011, 6/7/12 set the stage for a full summer of excellent shows that seemed to build upon each other. Anchored by the fresh first set, and amazing improvisations on “Carini”, “Ghost”, and “Boogie On Reggae Woman”, this show revealed a band recapturing a high level of improvisatory communication. This was beyond exciting after such a lackluster NYE run in 2011. It seemed like every night in 2012 Legs 1 and 2, Phish would offer patient, spacious, melodic, and exploratory jams. This all culminated with the triumph that was Dicks 2012. Then 2013 built to yet another peak in the Fall and the Wingsuit and Jemp sets. We all expect 2014 to continue this upward trajectory. In my mind, it was a trajectory that turned upward for good on 6/7/12.