Page, Trey, Mike, Jon

The Mothership

So, I tweeted all night and into the morning my mostly emotional reactions to hearing the first taper releases and seeing the flickr images from Phish’s reunion concert at The Mothership.  Twitter turned into my emotional channel given that it was hard to dance, alone, with headphones. This blog post is gonna have to substitute for my post concert song breakdown that would normally happen backstage among friends with cheesballs & beers in hand:

• Fluffhead: I means, seriously, for real, guys you played, you OPENED with Fluffhead and I wasn’t there?!  Next time just throw salt, some rubbing alcohol, and add some extra glass…it’ll hurt less. Excellent choice, and holy crap, you’re sooooo back! I’m proud to be a Phish phan!
  
• ChalkDust Torture: WOW, Page nailed that slide across the keys, and Trey’s guitar is strung real tight. Appropriately named Torture…that I’m NOT THERE!
  Chalkdust Torture from Jesse Borrell on Vimeo.
• Sample in a Jar: Okay, did these guys lie to us and keep practicing the entire time they were broke up? Page & Trey’s voices are harmonizing great, Jon is flourishing his beats and both Trey & Mike’s guitars are doing their thangs!
  
• Stash: One of the best overall songs (and most quotable)…playing this song right was a key indicator for me on deciding whether Phish is back…that Trey is with the program.  Trey: YES, IT IS FOR THIS YOUR LIFE YOU SOUGHT
• I Didn’t Know: You can hear them, FEEL them smiling, happy to be there, sharing it with all of us. Jon of course busts out with the vacuum…thank god they did not give it away at Coventry! And that ending, with their voices hitting the high notes! My minds eye could see the lights getting brighter!
• Oh Kee Pa: Pay close attention, Page and Trey nail their notes right on que….as if they never quit.
• Suzy Greenberg: Page is ON FIRE…I swear tonight he has a third hand or something. This is usually one of my beer/bathroom run songs, but Page would have kept my ass on the floor!
• Farmhouse: By the nature of this song, it is difficult to have a smooth transition into this song, though they get a passing grade for this effort. It’s a great song, but the high octaves strain  Trey’s voice especially after such a wordy song like Suzy Greenberg. I like Trey’s flourishs there mid-way through.
• NICU: Play it Leo! (and he does) Among my most favorite songs of all time, Phish or anyone else. I know this song like I know my heartbeat; I know where Trey’s guitar missed two notes, but that’s not the point. They make it clear to me that they HAVE rehearsed tomorrow’s verse and sing perfectly in their key–Mike too!
• Horn: A song I’m torn about. It’s a wonderful Anastasio composition and I hate to disrespect it, but this is where I’d hit the head in lieu of Suzy Greenberg. If I got back in time, I might just sit back and enjoy the lights through my eyelids. That said, I did listen intently to the whole thing on my headphones
• Rift: I like Rift primarily because it is so god damn difficult to play. Listen to what Trey’s doing. Listen to the timing between these guys.  I have NEVER heard a cover-band pull this song off.
• Train Song: One of my oldies but goodie favorites. Mike’s bass was up a bit high here, but I’ll take it. I’d love to hear Train incorporated into another song.
• Water in the Sky: why I know I don’t need drugs. Hearing this instantly transported me back to Big Cypress…to my Everglades with the evening dew. I can still smell it…9 years later.
• The Squirming Coil: Another one of those songs where you know the guys are talking to each other without speaking a word. In past sessions, Coil for me sometimes sounded rote, as if they’re phoning it in. Not this time. Their instruments are playing off each other, as if Trey is bouncing between Mike & Page, and Page is keeping up with Jon. Page closes this song as if he has an extra etset of hands, screaming to tell us, he loves this, he LOVES Phish, and he’s here to stay. (Don’t fuck it up Trey.)
• David Bowie: Solid, tight, on point. Can I just say I want to be the love-child of Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman when I grow up? DAVID BOWIE!
  David Bowie 03.06.09 from Jesse Borrell on Vimeo.

• Backwards Down the Number line: I love this song, and I can’t wait to hear the studio edition. Page’s voice was a little faded and it’s clear that the soundboard was trying to compensate during the song, so it’s a bit distracting. That said, Press that Disc guys….this is good stuff my broke ass will pay for.
• Tweezer: The repetitive songs aren’t always my favorite, but I’ll attend any Tweezer dance party. Jon duffed a beat or two, but Page tears it up, and oh my when Mike gets his turn in the 2nd half….he takes it. Can I be the love child of Mike and Page when I grow up too?
  

  Funky Tweezer Balloons

• Taste: Awesome transition….they needed more like these tonight, but this does require real practice. Instrumentally, tight, and Mr. Fishman, how do you keep that cowbell so tight! Will admit that Page & Trey strained their voices  harmonizing at first (a bit winded), but they recovered a bit. Also…whomever’s at the soundboard, settle down with the knobs next time.
• Possum: More like Ape, for APE SHIT! Gonna be quick here. Perfection. Now excuse me I’ve gotta go dance.
• Theme from the Bottom: I almost tear up a bit when I heard this song.  They did not play this song for us, for the audience. This song was played for themselves, it sounds like comfort food. But more importantly, read the lyrics:
  
  So toss away stuff you dont need in the end
  But keep whats important and know who’s your friend.

• First Tube: Instantaneous transport. 10 years ago, Sagamore bridge, crossing over the canal in a beat up chevy van ready to deliver hundreds of flowers, listening to a tape borrowed from Fishman, having my mind blown at the incredible, most impressive advancement of this band. So what if Trey duffed a few notes…the time machine works just fine
• Harry Hood: Soul-stirring, I will never forgive myself for not going. If you were there, you are the luckiest bastard in the world. If not, step away from the computer and go listen on a good soundsystem. Right Now.
• Waste: want to make Matt cry? Play Hood, then Waste. This is just one of those songs.
• You Enjoy Myself: So I’m lost in a somber, sad, reflective Hood>Waste Phishland, when YEM kicks in and the regret pangs really start up, then BAM… They FUCK IT UP! Hahaha! What a wonderful reset switch! YEM is pure joy to me; A Live One, on loop, sitting outside a car in a cold clear, starry night, distantly surrounded by complete strangers sharing the experience,  looking up at a meteor shower. This one, makes me want to get up out of the chair and fly. Boy. Man. God. Shit. And that ending almost resurrected Stanley Kubrick! Awesome.
  

  Getting Ready to sing Grind

• Grind: Again, you can hear the love among these friends. I love their a capella. Note: Page: 16,730, Jon: 16,086, Trey 16,228, Mike 15,982, 65,026 days
• Bouncing Around the Room: When I hear the guys laugh, I laugh. What a great, powerful spell they’ve cast over me. Not the best “Bouncing”, but it is among my favorite songs that I’d give anything to hear then play it again.  Always wanted to get them to fly in microgravity with me, see if they’d think of this song or if they’d be inspired to write something new!
• Loving Cup: an old Stones standby that never gets old, but I must confess isn’t always my favorite. Well played, that’s for sure…but it didn’t really fit in with where I was in Phishland, but perhaps that’s my fault. Perhaps I just had to be there…

Overall the sound was amazing and the folks at Hampton got a real experience. A few other things to note:  Right before they get into Coil, there are some chords Trey’s goofing off with that sounded amazing….I know it’s just a ‘doodle’, but it sticks in my mind. At the end of YEM, there is someone screaming SHUT-UP & SIT DOWN” (at 21:14). I’m gonna have to snip that out using Audacity. If it was jarring for me, it must have sucked for whomever was there. The soundboard had a few issues that I hope they resolve tonight.