Headstash

PHISH Summer 2012 in the MIDWEST

As the preeminent jam band in the country ventures off on their 2012 Summer Tour, various fans, Headstash staff writers and even some random, first-time Phish-goers will submit reviews of each night. They'll tell you their favorite songs and segues, how the crowd reacted and whether this show is worth buying, downloading or skipping altogether.

--

The Midwest got treated to some stellar shows and a little "Ice, Ice Baby" as they stepped into the freezer . . .

Read out previous Phish tour reviews below:

June 7 and 8 – DCU Center – Worcester, MA
June 10 – Bonnaroo 2012 – Manchester, TN
June 15 – Bader Field  – Atlantic City, NJ
June 16 – Bader Field – Atlantic City, NJ
June 17 – Bader Field  – Atlantic City, NJ
June 19 and 20 – nTelos Pavilion  – Portsmouth, VA

For a complete list of tour dates, check out Phish's official website.

--

June 22 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH

Set I: Wolfman's Brother, Peaches en Regalia, Shaggy Dog, Runaway Jim, Light Up Or Leave Me Alone > Wilson, Alaska, Stash, Llama, Buffalo Bill, Saw it Again, David Bowie
Set II: Down With Disease > Guelah Papyrus, Kill Devil Falls > Twist, Halley's Comet > Sand > Roggae, Carini > Chalkdust Torture, Golgi Apparatus
Encore: Fluffhead

Best Song: Twist - One of my favorite Phish songs, and this version is one not to forget. Clearly the best jam of the night that really brought tons of improv to the picture.

Best Jam: Twist - Again this jam is no joke. The band is clearly listening to each other the entire jam and each is extremely patient, a forgotten aspect that is starting to show up more this tour.

Best Segue: Sand > Roggae - I would have loved to see some more improv in "Sand," but Trey did not force this segue. He waited for the entire band to slow down to regular "Roggae" pace, then went right into it. Beautiful.

Best Moment: First "Fluffhead" encore since November 1990 pretty much says it all. Also, my personal favorite was the "Shaggy Dog" bust out.

Sloppiest Moment: After "Stash," "Poor Heart" and "Moma Dance" were both aborted due to mistakes by Fishman on drums. This is sloppiness that I am actually okay with because we were rewarded with a killer "Llama" instead.

Twitter Recap: "Jesus Christ Superstar" teases during an amazing "Twist" jam brought me back to my Catholic grade school days! Perfect flow in the second set with some of the best jamming I’ve heard since 2009.

Rating out of 5: 3.4

Buy/Download/Pass: Buy for the "Twist."

Other Notes: I was very glad to have seats at this venue because that lawn is brutal. The first set the band was having some fun with Fishman’s mistakes, and the highlight was "Wolfman’s."

The second set is where this show really took off. A pretty good "DWD" into an oddly placed "Guelah" and a standout version of "Kill Devil Falls" were the highlights aside from the "Twist" I’ve been raving about so much.

The energy continued throughout the rest of the set and culminated with the well-played Fluffhead encore. Man, if the weekend is going to be like tonight, I think all of us need to bring out dancing shoes.

June 23 – First Niagara Pavilion – Burgettstown, PA

Set I: Funky Bitch, Backwards Down The Number Line, Gumbo, Maze, Torn and Frayed, The Moma Dance, Scent of a Mule, 46 Days, You Enjoy Myself
Set II: Gotta Jibboo, Mike's Song, Simple > Light > Weekapaug Groove > Seven Below, Bouncing Around the Room, Julius, Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: The Lizards

Best Song: Scent of a Mule - The duel had Page run over and jump on theremin, you know that’s always a good sign.

Best Jam: Light

Best Segue: Simple > Light

Best Moment: "The Lizards" encore got the entire crowd dancing and the band played the entire song about as prefect as you can get.

Sloppiest Moment: Right at the end of "Simple," the band is trying to start a type II jam, and Fishman starts to come in, but right as he does Trey aborts any long-term jam for "Light."

Twitter Recap: Just another incredible show from a band that is picking up steam night after night. "Steam" would be nice, too, though.

Rating out of 5: 3.3

Buy/download/pass: Buy this show. The second set is worth the money alone!

Other Notes: This was my first time at Star Lake, and I was very impressed. Lots were not anything to fancy (gravel ground) but I did not think the lawn was that massive.

The first set "Maze" was a ripper, and Trey and Page bouncing around "Eleanor Rigby" made it a must-listen-to version. A personal highlight was the "Torn and Frayed."

June 24 – Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Set I: Sample in a Jar, Tube, Axilla II, Bathtub Gin, Roses are Free, Limb By Limb, Free, NICU, Possum, The Wedge, Corinna, Meatstick
Set II: Golden Age > Ghost > Sweet Virginia, Rift, Tweezer > Walk Away, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Piper > Waste, Run Like An Antelope
Encore: Loving Cup, Tweezer Reprise

Best Song: Walk Away - Brought so much energy after that great "Tweezer."

Best Jam: Tweezer - Some funny "Under Pressure" and "Ice, Ice Baby" teases made this clearly the jam highlight of the night.

Best Segue: Tweezer > Walk Away.

Best Moment: The "Meatstick" Dance with fans leading the dance.

Sloppiest Moment: Not really a sloppy moment, but since the return I just wish they would play "Free" faster then they have been, and this version is no different.

Twitter Recap: Blossom always gets spoiled, and that trend continued tonight. Energy throughout the venue was insane. Going into DC > Alpine, this band is on fire.

Rating out of 5: 3.1

Buy/download/pass: Buy this show for the "Tweezer."

Other Notes: Coming off the last two nights in Cincy and Star Lake, I knew this show was not going to disappoint. My first set highlight was the "Limb by Limb," which seemed to be better than most 3.0 versions.

Like I said before, the "Tweezer" was my highlight of the night. This is one of my favorite venues in the county to see this band, and every time I come here it seems to have the roof blown off with crowd energy.

Glowsticks were flying all night, people were jumping up and down and the band fed off that.

- Sean Wilmsen

--

Stay tuned as we continue to publish quick-hit fan reviews from each night of Phish's Summer Tour 2012.

What did you think of the Midwest run? Let us know in the comments below . . .