10-21-01 - Oysterhead - The paramount theatre, Seattle, WA

Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 18:59:30 -0700
From: Aaron Braganza a_dog333@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net, dws@gadiel.com, beeno@starpulse.com
Subject: Oysterhead Show Review
 
Oysterhead at the Paramount Theatre, Seattle, 10/21/01
By Aaron Braganza
 
I Saw the Oysterhead show last night and thought I^Òd write a review because I
know everyone is curious. This is my first review so I apologize if my account
isn^Òt terribly insightful.
 
First off, I will say that the show was incredibly intense. The band was
monstrous and Trey in particular was ON FIRE. I^Òm a newbie Phishhead; I^Òve
only been to a handful of shows (including The Gorge in ^Ò99, Big Cypress NYE,
and Shoreline ^Ò00); but Trey was as good as I^Òve ever seen him. If anyone
was worried that Trey would subjugate his talents (a legitimate concern if
you^Òve heard The Grand Pecking Order) for the benefit of his bandmates, you
can relax.
 
Yes, Trey rocked hard. It^Òs obvious that Phish^Òs hiatus has been good for
him. He had tons of energy, all kinds of ideas and didn^Òt show a trace of
burnout. His guitar simply soared. To me it was as if Trey was guiding Les and
Stewart in to his realm and they were happy to join him there.
 
Stewart in particular seemed to be absolutely loving it. At the end of the set
he got up from his throne, threw his sticks down and raised his arms in the
victory pose (kind of reminded me of my first Phish show). There had
supposedly been some contention between he and Trey, because Stewart preferred
to keep the songs short and clean and not get too crazy or tangential with the
jams, whereas Trey^Å well, we all know Trey. But Stewart jammed out like a
madman last night, and he and Trey had an obvious chemistry going. In fact,
the best surprise of the night for me was Stewart^Òs drumming and how well his
abilities fit in to a ^Ójam^Ô performance.
 
Fans who came to see Les who aren^Òt Phish fans might have come away a bit
disappointed. In my opinion Les was great^Å he had a ferocious groove going
all night and kept everything tight as hell. But his playing was definitely
more understated than that of Trey and Stewart. There were certainly moments
when he put his virtuosity on display, as he and Trey had some incredible
exchanges going on at points. But he seemed reluctant to pick up the ball as a
soloist. One Les fan standing near me complained halfway through the show, ^ÓI
can^Òt take any more guitar solos^Å let Les play^Ô. Although his fans may have
felt let down, Les himself seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed himself,
remarking towards the end of the show that it had been ^ÓA pretty God damn
good time^Ô.
 
Of the songs, I felt that ^ÓRubberneck Lions^Ô, ^ÓArmy^Òs on Ecstasy^Ô and
^ÓBirthday Boys^Ô were the strongest. The interplay on ^ÓEcstasy^Ô was simply
awesome. ^ÓBirthday Boys^Ô is my favorite song on the album. Trey^Òs melodies
and acoustic guitar on the song are of course beautiful, but I think Les adds
a sophisticated touch to the lyrics (he collaborated with Trey on them) that
makes the song great (I love the line ^ÓKinds like us are blind / To the dirt
that gathers in between the toes of moderation^Ô). Unfortunately Trey^Òs mic
(unlike his guitar) seemed a tad soft, but his voice sounded great.
 
While the dark, cynical edge that Les brings to the group works well on songs
like ^ÓLions^Ô and ^ÓEcstasy^Ô, other songs like ^ÓShadow of a Man^Ô and ^ÓThe
Grand Pecking Order^Ô are a bit hard to take when you^Òre trying to party your
ass off, especially considering current world events. One aspect of Phish
shows that I love is that their nonsensical lyrics help to elevate me above my
earthly concerns for a few happy hours. Phans that are accustomed to that will
find songs like ^ÓShadow of a Man^Ô (a song about a man who served in the
Vietnam War) a bit heavy. Oysterhead is definitely a different animal, and it
was downright frightening at times last night.
 
All in all the show was great. The whole band played amazingly, and I can^Òt
tell you how great it was to see Trey. If you have a chance to catch an
Oysterhead show, don^Òt miss it. I have a feeling that the band is only going
to get better.


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