Sunday 08/26/2012 by jugglerswithfire

HAPPY 400TH CHALK DUST! ATL RECAP

On the second Saturday night of the summer’s second leg, the stage was set, Phish was back in Hotlanta in the Lakewood hood instead of Alpharetta. It has been nine years since Phish last played at Lakewood (7/26/03).The Lakewood Amphitheatre has a history of producing some stellar Phish performances. Some of my personal favorite shows there include 7/23/97 and 7/4/99.

The second Saturday Night Special of leg two was filled with soulful southern playing, featuring songs that have been played several times on this leg. The song selection for this show would be a mixture of songs seen in SF on 8/17/12 and at this venue in previous years (6/15/95, 7/23/97, 8/6/98, 7/3/99, 7/4/99, 6/23/00, 6/24/00, 7/26/03).

Our journey began with a series of old Lakewood first set friends. “Cars Trucks Buses” gave the show a shot of adrenaline, appearing for the first time in 2012. Gordon leads the band to continue laying down some funk in “Wolfman’s Brother” in what turned out to be a highlight of the first set. “Runaway Jim” and “Ya Mar” continued the Lakewood classic set feel with all four members contributing at a high energy level. Trey screaming “Play it Leo, Play it Baby, Play it Leo!” offered a clear sense that the band was having a good time.

Direction and energy changed with the opening notes of “Alaska." Transported back into Lakewood classic land, a funky “My Soul” followed by an energizing “Wilson” got the crowd dancing again. The band decided to keep the Page theme going with a short but solid performance of “Maze."

Tonight’s official poster featured a Phish maze with snow capped mountains in the background. Perhaps they are excited about going to Dick’s? I know I am!

Ween’s “Roses Are Free” continued the Lakewood first set old friend trend, but was then quickly ended to begin Lakewood’s first “Backwards Down the Number Line.” I think I heard the crowd on the stream deflate. “Character Zero” rocks this set to a close.

Set II started out with a stellar version of “Kill Devil Falls” which contains an enjoyable type I jam. Mr. Mike Gordon takes the reins of leadership dropping bass bombs to the crowd’s delight during “Golden Age," likely the best version offered in 2012. Trey fires into a solid but short rocking “Free” which finds its way melding into “Light." Although this version is not on par with some of the recent versions (most notable 8/19/12) Page does some beautiful work at the end of this short jam.

Although the remainder of the set on paper looked mysteriously like 8/17/12, beginning with “Wading in the Velvet Sea,” do yourself a favor and don’t dismiss the “Chalk Dust Torture” > ”What’s the Use?" An intense happy 400th birthday to an unfinished type II version of “CDT!” Paired together like a fine wine and heady cheese, this was an excellent choice historically as “What’s the Use?” debuted at Lakewood on 7/4/99.

Phish really wants you to be happy, because it’s your song too. After a standard version of “Joy,” a rocking version of “Antelope” closes the second set.

Prior to the encore, a Braves (and FSU) “tomahawk chop” chant erupted from the crowd.

Phish closed the night in Hotlanta with “A Day in the Life” encore. Definitely a solid fun Saturday night Phish show, with some extra mustard to celebrate “Chalk Dust’s” 400th birthday.

Hope Phish reconnect to the energy felt at 8/19 for tomorrow’s Charlotte show. See you there -> happy dancing!

If you liked this blog post, one way you could "like" it is to make a donation to The Mockingbird Foundation, the sponsor of Phish.net. Support music education for children, and you just might change the world.


Comments

, comment by kipconner
kipconner While I did not attend the hometown show last night because of work obligations in Napa, Ca- I'm feel a little embarrassed that Atlanta people do the Tomahawk Chop at shows. Save that shit for your baseball games. This is a Phish performance, not a Braves game.
, comment by rpvarner
rpvarner @kipconner said:
While I did not attend the hometown show last night because of work obligations in Napa, Ca- I'm feel a little embarrassed that Atlanta people do the Tomahawk Chop at shows. Save that shit for your baseball games. This is a Phish performance, not a Braves game.
That is a ridiculous thing to be embarassed over.
, comment by lacesoutmike
lacesoutmike @kipconner must be a Phillies Phan
, comment by kipconner
kipconner Nope, a Phish Phan. Baseball is something that takes place in a baseball stadium and has an actual performance time of 11 minutes. Fishman puts more effort into a vacuum solo.
, comment by kevintank
kevintank this was one of those "doesn't look stellar on paper, but must hear" kind of shows. Chalk> WTU was worth the price of admission.
, comment by tmwsiy
tmwsiy @kevintank said:
this was one of those "doesn't look stellar on paper, but must hear" kind of shows. Chalk> WTU was worth the price of admission.
I feel like that with almost every show- even inspired setlists can have a lackluster performance. Always tough to judge.

Anway, agreed: Chalkdust would have made my night too!

And talk about judging books by the cover: Who'd have guessed such an incredible set opener in KDF. That was a cookin' version- very inspired.
, comment by funkbeard
funkbeard I'd like to see Phish hand out playbills for a tour or more, with respectful instructions to the crowd explaining how they best can contribute to a focused energy. They play improvisational music, which takes great concentration. A yammering, talking crowd can get in the way. I feel that Phish are attaining a level of mastery that they deserve to be heard.

Check out 3.22.93. The focused crowd got the Gamehenge. SF 3. During the second set, the audience was mesmerized, and we got one of the best shows of 3.0. Phish play great dance music, so dancing its fine by me. Take rowdy frat talk to the beer garden. These tickets are expensive and cost a lot of money. Why show up if you're not there for the music?

At three same time, if Phish don't declare it in official terms, then it's not really gonna become a standard.

Great energy last night. I thought Trey had been testing his hands a bit after the SF run. Last night was the return to rock star Trey, approaching his Jedi status. Check out that Maze. Original chaotic lines all the way to the peak. Looking forward to hearing more.

Peace.
, comment by funkbeard
funkbeard Testing his hands a bit? I meant "resting his hands."
, comment by Home_Slice
Home_Slice I am gearing up for tonight's show in Charlotte and based on the performance the band put in the past two summers in CLT I am expecting something epic. Icing my Heinie Lights as we speak. Heading to this one solo and can't wait.
, comment by Fluffyfluffyhead
Fluffyfluffyhead "I'd like to see Phish hand out playbills for a tour or more, with respectful instructions to the crowd explaining how they best can contribute to a focused energy. They play improvisational music, which takes great concentration. A yammering, talking crowd can get in the way. I feel that Phish are attaining a level of mastery that they deserve to be heard.

Check out 3.22.93. The focused crowd got the Gamehenge. SF 3. During the second set, the audience was mesmerized, and we got one of the best shows of 3.0. Phish play great dance music, so dancing its fine by me. Take rowdy frat talk to the beer garden. These tickets are expensive and cost a lot of money. Why show up if you're not there for the music?

At three same time, if Phish don't declare it in official terms, then it's not really gonna become a standard."

I agree completely. Long Beach was full of idiots talking.
Why are you talking during the music?!
, comment by bertoletdown
bertoletdown @Fluffyfluffyhead -- where were you during the Long Beach show? We were just to the right of the tech area and everybody was very quiet and respectful. There was much more chatter, I thought, at BGCA.
, comment by Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe I more or less agree with all of that, and appreciate the historical tidbits.
, comment by fluff_hen
fluff_hen Yammering idiots everywhere I went in Long Beach.

Thanks for the positive review of last night's show. A very enjoyable listen on stream, though unfortunately short.
, comment by ElCaballo
ElCaballo During the tomahawk chop it was funny to see all the people who aren’t from this region looking around like “What are these people doing?” And this one was NOTHING compared to 7/4/10 when the entire VZW Amph was doing it. Trey was chopping but him and the band seemed to not know what it was for. Definitely from Vermont! Love this stuff.

PS Not really a baseball fan but since I’m from Georgia I cheer for the Bravos. Also, Tuck!
, comment by kipconner
kipconner that's the thing exactly. it's confusing to the band as well... they sold tickets to their show and when a large of kids start doing this you have to wonder what's going through their heads. Are you there for Phish, or are you there for the Braves.

I'm just glad that our recap writer mentioned that it was stolen from FSU after Deion Sanders made his way to Atlanta. And there you go, that's a big piece of trivia for someone who doesn't give two shits about baseball.
, comment by dedph1sh
dedph1sh @lacesoutmike said:
@kipconner must be a Phillies Phan

Yeah, I concur; save that $hit for the bb diamond!!!
, comment by wildbill
wildbill kipconnor,

seriously? I'd look at it as something to do to get back into the groove, time filler if you will, like singing take me out to the ball game which has been sung many a times prior to second sets. Brooklyn dvd even i think! your just being a bummer if you ask me....
, comment by Fluffyfluffyhead
Fluffyfluffyhead @bertoletdown said:
@Fluffyfluffyhead -- where were you during the Long Beach show? We were just to the right of the tech area and everybody was very quiet and respectful. There was much more chatter, I thought, at BGCA.
I was right there for the first few songs but we moved to seats in sec 115.
There were alot of talkers everywhere.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Support Phish.net & Mbird
Fun with Setlists
Check our Phish setlists and sideshow setlists!
Phish News
Subscribe to Phish-News for exclusive info while on tour!


Phish.net

Phish.net is a non-commercial project run by Phish fans and for Phish fans under the auspices of the all-volunteer, non-profit Mockingbird Foundation.

This project serves to compile, preserve, and protect encyclopedic information about Phish and their music.

Credits | Terms Of Use | Legal | DMCA

© 1990-2024  The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. | Hosted by Linode