PHISH
8/22/12
Starlight Theatre
Kansas City, MO
I: Chalk Dust Torture, Skin It Back, The Moma Dance, Rift, Bathtub Gin, Stash, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Kill Devil Falls, Funky Bitch, Run Like an Antelope
II: Tweezer > Piper > Mike’s Song, Bouncing Around the Room, Backwards Down the Number Line, Heavy Things, If I Could, Weekapaug Groove, Harry Hood > Suzy Greenberg
E: Loving Cup > Tweezer Reprise
On Wednesday I woke early and was on the road by 7:15 for Ames. I met up with my friend Ryan and his girlfriend Kallie and together the three of us rode down I-35 to Kansas City in his new blue Ford SVT Raptor. It's a sweet ride. We stayed at his sister Sally and brother-in-law Matt's place in Lenexa, KS. Before the show we spent some time relaxing on their deck with their two daughters. They have a really nice home and are lucky to have such a nice young family. I had been here with Ryan for moe. in Lawrence back in February.
We parked in the reserve lot near the zoo for the extra five dollars. I walked around to the otherside to meet up with Bobbyluv and Leander. I saw several old friends from my time at Iowa State University. This was my third time to Starlight. It's definitely one of my favorite outdoor venues. My seat was toward the top of the venue but I waltzed down by where Ryan and Kallie were. Chalkdust was a little slower and more patient on this occasion. I was elated to hear only the second Skin It Back since the 1980s. Again, the slow patient funk was on display in Moma Dance. Gordo was wearing suspenders. LOL. Rift kept the energy going. I loved the first set pairing of Bathtub and Stash. The latter of the two was the obvious highlight of the first set. Curtis Loew worked in the slot after the raging Stash. Funky Bitch kept things going. Antelope ended the set nicely. This was a well played first set of Phish that was oozing with energy.
Tweezer to start the second set is always ideal. This was an interesting version that allowed plenty of room to breathe and explored several themes. Trey dropped into Piper after the Tweezer had properly run its course. This Piper was some great playing by the band though I wish it had been extended beyond when they started up Mike's. Bouncin' worked in that spot. #Line was a questionable call at that point. Heavy Things featured Page stepping up more so than usual. If I Could was a gorgeous rendition. Gordo's thumb must have been sore after that Weekapaug because he slapped the entire song. I'd say that was a highlight along with the Tweezer in the second stanza. Hood had some brief plinko and definitely had a nice peak. Suzy featured Fishman yelling out about Todd Akin. Loving Cup, Tweeprise is a fairly standard encore. The setlist was a lot of repeats from out in California and was relatively standard in general but the playing was good and I enjoyed the energy of the performance.
