, attached to 2011-07-03

Review by Campster

Campster After a rocking first night, a long day 2, and some mind-blowing storage jam shenanigans everyone was ready to celebrate the final day of SBIX in style. So what was in store for us on Sunday?

Set I started with Soul Shakedown party. Great way to ease into the show. This tune has foreshadowed some amazing shows in the past and of course is a major rarity. Awesome start.

>AC/DC Bag was a nice call and this was a solid peppy version and it jumped right into >Curtain.

>Curtain following Bag had a super old-school feel. Great choice and they played it well.

Forbins! Woah, awesome. They played it well and I like to think everyone there was really appreciating this. When Trey took a step forward to tell the story I was just in shock. Great narration. This was just an unreal treat - go listen.

>Mockingbird completed the pairing and was great. They played it well and boy this set was just such a treat.

>Destiny Unbound! more rarities and inspired song choices. This one was great and the jam was way above average (Thank you Mike!). Killer bass.

BBFCFM was a nice bit of fun (per usual).

I must say this set was already unreal with an old school vibe. Well, they just continued to up the ante from here...

Wilson kicked in with it's typical energy, but this version contained a fantastic mind left body jam and the band was just all over it. Perfectly cohesive jam and they slid back into the end of Wilson with aplomb. This is a top version of the song.

Mound was up next and they played it really well, but something special happened at the end. Maybe it was the looseness of putting the Saturday marathon behind them or a nod to how special this set had been but Trey just took the reins and played a glorious solo at the end, which was just unbelievably perfect. Best Mound Ever.

ASIHTOS popped up perfectly and man did they keep this set going in fine fashion. After running through the standard tune they took a turn towards the psychedelic. It was the perfect time of evening for some deep type II space. They stretched this out really well with some awesome guitar work and then just melted into a blissful effects laden dream space. It's not the longest version, but boy does it go places. They melt beautifully into...

Time Loves a Hero! This was a great placement (really fun cover) and they just nail it.

Reba! Wow, perfect spot - and festival Reba is the best Reba. This one remains the best version of 3.0 for me. It's played well in composition and the jam is perfection. They drop into the jam section in perfectly satisfying fashion and navigate creatively to a key change and Trey finds himself strumming some chords, which gives this such a unique feel. It should be noted that Mike and Page are both just so cohesive with Mike really pushing the creative envelope. They come back into the Reba jam perfectly and peak this baby to perfection. Emotional playing from Trey. This is a must-hear version.

Oh and they go into the whistling ending (which they botch in hilarious fashion). They have a little effects laden bridge after the sloppy whistling which drops into Bowie.

Well this is how you play a set I! Bowie is well-played and they drop into the jam section and Trey turns on the little effects loop he had going during the Reba whistling transition which was pretty cool. They proceed to shred this one, and it actually has some unique moments with Trey trading some rhythmic chopping with Fish. It managed to get good and dark without being an overly exceptional version. Perfect ending to an amazing set.

Overall Set I: Oddly enough, as a set I, this one is the "keeper" set for the festival. Then again, look at that setlist and it's not a stretch. You're looking at best of 3.0 versions of Reba and ASIHTOS, All-Time versions of Mound & Wilson, a notable Destiny Unbound, A Forbin's > Mockingbird with narration, two great and rare covers, and some old school selections including a solid Bowie closer. Grab this one and relive the magic of the weekend.
Highlights: I'd say play it all the way through, but if you just want the real gems grab: Forbin's>Mockingbird, Destiny Unbound, Wilson, Mound, ASIHTOS & Reba ...OK just grab the whole set...

How would they follow that up?

Big Balls was a hilarious call with Fishman leading the vocal charge and giving us a nice Super Ball reference to scream and shout about. Perfect fun Phish.

Down With Disease offered us a chance to go deep. This one wasn't super long, but they moved in and out of a couple different spaces. Trey was definitely rocking at first and then they moved towards a rhythmic jam with Trey chopping as the band chugged away. Eventually they opened up the space and Page took us to No Quarter. This is a good version and is definitely interesting enough to warrant a listen. Really good jamming.

No Quarter was awesome, I venture to say the best version of the tune they have ever played (it's 5 years later - and I can't find a better one). They absolutely demolished this tune.

Partytime kept up a celebratory vibe. I am not a huge fan of this song, but holy hell this one smoked! Seriously, you might think I am fluffing here, but Trey let it rip on this version. I'd easily call this the best version ever.

Ghost was a song I had only managed to catch once before at PNC and that version was a hugely disappointing 7 minute ripcord victim. I was hoping they'd take this deep or at least give us a run to Hose-ville. Well this version was a bit odd, I actually kind of enjoyed it even though it never really found it's footing. It sort of took a dive to the spacey side and it was certainly atypical in comparison to the major key bliss jams that typically emerge. People would probably moan about them abandoning the tune but I thought it was a good choice as the ambient spacey jam wasn't really going anywhere and Trey found a nice spot to start strumming the opening chords of Jibboo. So definitely disappointed they didn't blow it out, but they recognized it was not to be and made it interesting.

Jibboo always has a fun jam (albeit typically in the box). This version fit the bill for how they had played in night 1, in that the jam stayed pretty anchored in the theme, but they really worked it out. This one ripped and the whole band was contributing immensely to the groove. I place this firmly in the win column.

Light was up next with it's rather abrasive intro. It's a harbinger of jams and this one did not disappoint. Trey showed off a fantastic solo out of the gates and they all navigated into some really cool jazzy territory. It was one of those jams where everyone was hitting different runs and each seemed to complete and flow into the next. This was a great version with intricate playing. Dexterous.

They found there way into Waves after a cool little start stop sort of ending in Light. Everyone figured they'd be jamming this one out after the Bethel Waves soundcheck they had treated us to via The Bunny. Well this Waves remains a favorite for me. They do an awesome job with the classic Waves jam and then just dive immediately into an ambient space. This one had legs (in comparison to the less successful Ghost jam) with Page playing some good chording on top allowing Trey to set up some beautiful backing effects. The hit a decision point where they could choose to go dark ambience (a la the IT Waves) or towards the light. Mike had his echoey effect on and the soundscape was just breathtaking as they took it to a happy place. Everything just sort of melted together creating this beautiful sonic place. They drifted perfectly into What's The Use?, which was not as common as it is today.

The instrumental was awesome (although not as powerful as Magnaball's version). It just dripped out of that ambient Waves jam.

At this point the set took an odd little turn with Meatstick and Stealing Time to close it out. I think most people were probably expecting some sort of classic Phish tune (YEM, Fluffhead, Slave) to close out the festival. I won't really complain, I'd just say slave would have fit really perfectly based on the patient playing they had been delivering to this point. Both Meatstick and STFTFP were fun.

Fireworks and the star spangled banner was fun.

Encore: First Tube was raging and a great send-off with more fireworks.

Overall set II: I thought this was a really strong set, even if it didn't quite hit the majesty of the first set. Lots of quality jamming (Light, Waves, DWD, Jibboo), some surprises (No Quarter, Big Balls, What's the Use?), and some atypical takes on tunes (Party Time!, Ghost - maybe not in the best way).
Highlights: Light>Waves (I'd include some more, but objectively those two are true standouts, with the others being more suggestions)

Overall Night III: I'd give this the edge over night I in terms of best of the Fest. The first set was untouchable and the second set was great, besting night I I think since it didn't have the Horse>Silent Joy Show of Life ending. I re-listen to this often as it's top to bottom quite a strong show. 5 years later and SBIX still holds a place in my rotation.

General thoughts since I figure it's worth a recap - overall it was a bit of an odd festival as it didn't deliver a sort of signature jamming moment (I am discounting Storage Jam). My favorite sets are the first set of night I and the first set of night III, which shows you a bit about the approach they took. Don't let that scare you away though, there are plenty of highlights to be had throughout - and as I mentioned in my night I review, this was a peak experience for me personally for sure. I was happy to come back to the Glenn in 2015.


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