Phoenix, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH - 12/9/2009

I was pretty beyond excited for this ... I've been a Phoenix fan for a while, seen them a few times over the years, and knew that they brought it. And now, of course, they've blown up, yet oddly, they were playing a super great (and perfectly sized) venue in Columbus, the Newport. I kept expecting this to get moved to the LC, but they kept it here despite it selling out.

We got there pretty early, made it through the openers (whose name totally escapes me now) and settled in for Phoenix. And it was fantastic. They sounded amazing and amazingly tight yet also brought a very nice level of an organic, "real" sound. They were also genuinely into it, which was nice to see. A very high energy level with a setlist that stretched back.

The photos are from when Thomas, the singer, came out in the crowd (right by us, obviously) for the final song, "1901." One of the best shows of the year for me ...

Setlist:

Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Lasso
Run, Run, Run
Fences
Girlfriend
Countdown
Love Like a Sunset
Napolean Says
Rally
Consolation Prizes
Rome->extended outro

ENCORE
Everything Is Everything (Thomas and guitar only)
???
Too Young
1901

Arletta (opening for We All Have Hooks For Hands), Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, MA - 11/22/2009

Two of my best friends from medical school plan in the Boston-based band Arletta, and I was lucky enough to be in town to get to see them play the Middle East. There was a good-sized crowd, and the Harpoon was flowing steadily. The first band to play, a group of Berklee kids whose name escapes me now, were quite good and super-talented (hey, they're from Berklee).

Arletta was next and played "the hits" over about a 30-minute set. It was very tight, and while I am beyond biased, I think their songwriting is getting better and chipping away at their sound, which is exciting.

The third band did nothing for me, and I can't remember their name.

But the headliners, We All Have Hooks For Hands, were phenomenal. Just a great live experience. These kids must be in their early 20's at the latest and just played their guts out, sounded great and seemed genuinely into it, which is a nice change of pace. I bought a CD and T-shirt afterward, which is a rare event for me. Check them out.

Phish, US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH - 11/20/2009

I am truly a late comer to Phish, having more or less ignored or actively disliked them back in the day. As I've grown up/gotten older/what have you, I've gained some appreciation for what they do. So we headed over to Cincinnati to see them play with low expectations aside from figuring it would be a good time.

Dinner at Jean Ro pre-show was excellent. Trout amandine for me, a killer pork chop for Noelle. I would argue that the excellent list of local and Belgian beers really made the meal, too. And a killer mousse. And a killer scallop appetizer. It was just righteous.

We walked over to the US Bank Arena, and the scene was typical Phish, I reckon. I'm definitely a bit old for this scene now, best exemplified by walking by a group of people doing nitrous right outside the venue. We wade through a true mass of people, get into our seats (which were pretty good, about 20 rows up off the floor, stage left) and await the rock.

The surprise ... they sounded great, very tight and with a nice, varied set. I was particularly stoked to finally, after all these years, get to hear "The Divided Sky," probably my favorite song of theirs. But they hit all the points that I like about them ... the funky stuff ("Moma Dance," "Gotta Jibboo") and the long/proggy stuff ("Divided Sky," "Time Turns Elastic").

For the sake of full disclosure, we left just before "You Enjoy Myself" as I had to get up to catch a flight out of Columbus. That means that we missed both "YEM" and "Golgi Apparatus," but I was satisfied. FYI, I think Noelle's favorite was "Possum."

SET ONE
Chalk Dust Torture
The Moma Dance
The Divided Sky
Alaska
Water in the Sky
Fast Enough for You
Time Turns Elastic
Gotta Jibboo
Fluffhead

SET TWO
Punch You in the Eye
Tweezer
Light
Back on the Train
Possum
Slave to the Traffic Light
You Enjoy Myself

ENCORE
Joy
Golgi Apparatus
Tweezer Reprise