Santa Barbara Bowl presents Phish
2014-10-22
Santa Barbara Bowl
1122 N. Milpas, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
6:00 PM, Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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[6:24 PM lights down, band out]

1. [6:25 PM] Soul Shakedown Party
2. [6:30 PM] the Wedge
3. [6:37 PM] Undermind
4. [6:44 PM] Horn
5. [6:48 PM] Ya Mar (M)
6. [6:54 PM] Jesus Just Left Chicago (P)
7. [7:03 PM] A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing
8. [7:10 PM] Winterqueen
9. [7:18 PM] My Friend, My Friend
10. [7:24 PM] Split Open and Melt
11. [7:35 PM] Walls of the Cave
    [set ends 7:46 PM]

[8:12 PM lights down, band out]

1. [8:13 PM] Drowned (M) » [8:20 pm] jam »
2. [8:28 PM] Theme from the Bottom » [8:36 PM] Floydian “echoes”-ish jam »
3. [8:38 PM] Steam »
4. [8:44 PM] Waves »
5. [8:53 PM] Twenty Years Later »
6. [9:00 PM] Scent of a Mule (M) » [9:05 PM] (Fishman synth marimba jam) » Scent of a Mule reprise
7. [9:10 PM] 2001
8. [9:16 PM] Mike's Song (M) »
9. [9:24 PM] Runaway Jim »
10. [9:31 PM] Weekapaug Groove (M) (w/2001 teases)
    [set ends 9:39 PM, back in 2…]
     
    Encore
11. [9:41 PM] the Horse »
12. [9:42 PM] Silent in the Morning (P)
13. [9:47 PM] Run Like an Antelope (w/Soul Shakedown tease)
    [show ends 9:58 PM, bow and then the band bolts for the buses]

Phish

• Trey Anastasio: guitar, lead and harmony vox;
• Jon Fishman: drums, percussion, harmony vox;
• Mike Gordon: bass, lead and harmony vox;
• Page McConnell: keyboards, lead and harmony vox.

Had a nice lazy day lounging around town – lunch at the Natural Cafe in Goleta (where we missed making a connection with my Uncle Bob), then leaching wi-fi at Java Station up the road, followed by a nice walk on the Santa Barbara Municipal Wharf with our friends Paul & Lori, and finally a lazy pre-show dinner at Olio Pizzeria while Game One of the World Series got underway behind us on the big screen above the bar.

We dissemble to head to the show, reassembling at the SBJHS parking lot two or three blocks from the venue. With only minimal police/security presence outside, the circus is in full parade, with wookies, furries and freaks of all shapes and size hustling memorabilia and comestibles. Nothing all that interesting, so we walk inside instead of shopping. Making our way up the main pedestrian entryway tonight (instead of following the wider driveway as we did last night), we're surprised to enter “the Jerry Garcia Memorial Grove,” a quiet mini-amphitheater (perfect for busking to a crowd of 50 to 80!) with a nice bronze of a 3x interpretation of Jerry's hand. You can't call it a bust (without a head), so, uh, it's just a giant hand! We stop and genuflect before continuing up the canyon to our seats.

It's still pretty early, but being tucked back into the hills, sunset is nigh, so I hike from our seats up to the plaza atop the venue in order to watch the spectacle and take a few pictures. Would have been smarter to borrow a camera from Ting before heading up, but at the time, I didn't realize how close we were to the end of daylight. Out away from the hills there's probably another 40 minutes to go, but darkness drops a little earlier here in the shade behind the ridge lines. Happily, the weather is slightly warmer tonight, and the cool breeze of yesterday remains absent throughout the night, meaning that I have no need for my grubby blue jeans.

Tonight our seats are perfectly dead center, but in the second row up from the pit, meaning that we have considerably less dancing room than last night, since there's a row of seat backs (and a small step) in front of us instead of a three or four foot wide aisle. Oh well. I head to the front row to dance as the show begins, might as well enjoy the extra space while it lasts!

Tonight has a different vibe than the first show – more loose and bouncy-funky instead of driving hard and jamming. It's nice for contrast, but the setlist of shorter, disconnected tunes is ultimately somewhat less satisfying. Even the first set closer, Split Open and Melt did little to sway my mood, as it seemed lacking in wild abandon – this version suggested that we should melt like a snow cone in the sun instead perishing like Icarus on his upward journey.

Opening the second set with Drowned was rather inspired, giving notice that we were about to embark on an ocean/water-themed journey. Plus, you know, Pete Townsend. Genius. Steam (¡another water tune!) was interesting – first time hearing it, as best as I can recall without any check – and the coordination with the light show was impressive, to say the least. Sadly, Scent of a Mule ordained the return of my dissatisfaction – I just don't like the tune, both for the inane lyrics and for the awkwardly forced march-bluegrass-rock beat. Seems to me more like whack you in the ass with a stick (yah, mule!) as opposed to a joyful dance celebrating victory over an alien invasion. This unease increases when the setlist gives way to the mechanically pumping pseudo disco of 2001. I love the Strauss original; hearing it mutated into a thump-thump-whack groove practically turns my stomach; I guess I need to lighten up about it, but that's how I call it, and it pretty much wrecked what started out as a potentially great set.

Ending with an uninterrupted run from Mike's Song to Runaway Jim and then Weekapaug Groove should have been a fine show-capper, but I was a little tired from dancing on stone and none too enthusiastic by this point, so that even the sight of Trey's happy dance during Run Like an Antelope failed to get me going. Ah well. Chalk it up as one that got away. They can't all be cosmic fireballs.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2014 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2014 event list! ☸ Back to the previous event! ☸