This site is no longer maintained. Use phish.net or current.phish.net.

Go to phish.net
Current setlist
Use anyway

Phish.net Mobile Phish.net

Login

Phish.net Blog

Comments on "Sphere3 Recap: Squaring the Sphere", posted by phishnet

Posted by DuckDragon, on 04/21/2024
Thanks for the great recap, Rob! I always love reading your essays and was hoping to somehow hear your perspective on the Sphere shows. I was at an event last night and only came home to stream the second set, but I absolutely loved it (I've so far seen two sets from the Sphere - Friday's first set and last night's second - and I'm hoping to catch up on the remainder on demand). Yes, the Fuego visuals were fantastic. I also thought the Chalkdust was pretty nifty - it obviously wasn't Mexico, but I liked how they wrapped up the Type I section completely before taking it Type II with a Mike's Song-style second jam. Anyway, huge FOMO about not being there in person, but it's mind-blowing even on the webcast, and I'm getting super excited to see D&C there in May.
Score: 4
Posted by 87easyed, on 04/21/2024
Fantastic review!
Score: 2
Posted by CarrotEyes, on 04/21/2024
The connection made between the Sphere and planetariums seems very apt! Earlier today I was trying to put my finger on what it is about these shows that makes them feel so special to me, yet it wasn't until I read this review that I figured it out. I'm 15 years younger than Trey, but I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, reading books about astronomy and physics, and visiting various planetariums and science museums. Now that I'm thinking about it more, the "spherical" themes being explored through the visuals are a really cool complement to the kind of music made by Phish (which is all about chasing the elusive moment of discovery). I can't wait to see what happens tonight...
Score: 1
Posted by DevinB, on 04/21/2024
I'm glad you noted that you found Taste "so overwhelming and emotional [you] barely remember a note of the performance" because I have been feeling that way throughout the run! Unlike most Phish shows, where I am keenly aware of the band's musical position at all times, I am finding the Sphere experience (ex-sphere-ience?) to be much whole holistic. The music and the visuals fuse into a single multisensory environment that resonates with me in completely different ways mentally and emotionally. I lose track of time, I lose track of instruments, I sometimes even lose track of where I am. I don't know enough about psychology to give any clinical terms or explanations, but 'altered consciousness' would probably be the best descriptor in our community's lexicon. Trey mentioned in an interview that the experience would be deeply psychedelic and he was absolutely right about that!
Score: 3
Posted by suzydrano, on 04/21/2024
Awesome recap Rob, you captured it all!
Score: 2
Posted by JeffrosBrain, on 04/21/2024
Thanks for the recap. Only watched tonight�s show from my couch. I agree, at times I loved the visuals, like during Pillow jets, incredible. But then at other times I was missing the usual light show. Thanks again! By the way, I teach in Oak Park!
Score: 2
Posted by phootyjon, on 04/21/2024
Thank you, Rob. Very well written and precise, considering how complex things are getting.
Score: 2
Posted by Longhaireddan, on 04/21/2024
this is such a well written piece. it�s the first writing where i feel like i got a picture of the experience. awesome! feels like it doesn�t belong with the usual drivel here
Score: 1
Posted by golgischlem, on 04/22/2024
@Longhaireddan said:
this is such a well written piece. it�s the first writing where i feel like i got a picture of the experience. awesome! feels like it doesn�t belong with the usual drivel here
Because it doesn�t. Rob Mitchum was once / is? a professional music critic who wrote for Pitchfork, among others.

@Robmitchum Rob, please do another podcast with Steve Hyden, PLEASE.
Score: 1
Posted by BennyHa_Ha_Ha, on 04/22/2024
Excellent review, Rob! I've also been enjoying your essays/reviews of shows on their 25th anniversary. It's been a fun and enlightening experience to revisit them through your words; thank you for that.

I agree that the band truly settled in on Saturday night. In person I thought the sound was off a bit on Friday, but the LP audio of Set 1 actually sounds great. By Set 2 of Friday night they seemed to have worked out the sound issues in the venue. It could have just been the section I was in. The sound on Saturday was excellent.

When Phish is on, everything is easy for them, and that's the sense I had from the band on Saturday night. Total confidence, and even a bit of swagger. Pillow Jets was brilliant. It was a total dance fest in the venue with band and fans in sync from start to finish. What a blast!
Score: 1
Posted by 6silvermoonbeams, on 04/22/2024
I spend my quiet evenings and early AM mornings outside with my telescope. As I sat in the Sphere Sunday night, i kept thinking to myself, this is the ultimate planetarium. Hopefully they actually find a way to utilize it for that. Maybe put some Webb Telescope shows in there?

But the true star of the show was the sound quality. That was the best sounding concert I've ever heard. The seats had speakers built into them, so you could feel each of Mike's bass notes. The keys and guitars were sometimes coming from different places in the room. The guitar tone was perfect. It seems the big screen casts a shadow on the sound quality aspect to this venue. About half way through the show it became apparent that this is the ultimate venue. It is the best venue in the world for live music.
Score: 1
Posted by maction17, on 04/22/2024
Lost in the too-many-to-count highlights is the 46 Days-- more specifically, what I viewed as a complete nod to the clone NYE gag. First, the colors were all consistent with their respective costumes that night. Secondly, the renderings on the screen had various and frequent clone aspects to them, and finally, what sealed it for me and made me smile: consistently, the image(s) of trey were lower than the other three. He was, in effect, finally brought down!
Score: 1
Back to BlogBack to Phish.net Mobile

© 2024 The Mockingbird Foundation
Powered by Phish.net
Designed by Adam Scheinberg

Phish.net Mobile Phish.net Mobile

Close Panel