, attached to 2013-07-31

Review by JMart

JMart Hi everyone:

Long time reader, first time reviewer.

Coming into the second set, we had no reason to think we were going to get what we did. The first set of first night was great. The second set, while featuring some great individual jams, really suffered from near-total breakdown between songs (see segue from boogie on into ghost). The first set second night was filled with very slow songs and I'm not a big enough fan of Brian & Robert to really revel in its breakout status. So, again, my hopes were not particularly high as the band took the stage for the final set.

HOWEVER, they launched into Tweezer and the crowd immediately responded. The opening salvo was played confidently and as they settled into the first jam, all ears were keenly focused on what was about to happen.
What happened was IT.
The first real sign that IT was going to happen was the encore appearance of the 10 foot beach ball that debuted at the second set of Gorge II, courtesy of my friend Heather. As the Tweezer jam rolled on, dudes in the back on Page side started blowing up a massive beach ball. I turned her attention to this, and she screamed "THAT'S MY FUCKING BALL!" As the jam turned another corner, the ball was let loose, and that's when things really started getting crazy.
There are decent enough reviews of the actual song already on this site, so I won't repeat them. What I do want to say is that it was incredibly obvious to everyone in the crowd that we were in on something big.
Pay attention to when Trey brings back the main Tweezer theme. Usually it takes everyone in the band a few measures to all get back on the same tempo, but everyone IMMEDIATELY jumped back on they slammed the door on the back end. Amazing music. Just amazing. It's moments like those that make all the bullshit, all the money, all the hassles of traveling worth every single bit of it.
Now that that's been said, don't sleep on the Twist or the Antelope. The pace was so blistering and everyone was dancing so hard that the bleachers were swaying and the wood floor boards (literally) started to crack. For those who get to watch some video, pay attention to Trey's body language. Usually during a jam he looks like he's squinting really hard to see to the back of the arena, as if he's trying to see what he's supposed to play next. For large parts of the second set, he was basically motionless, staring at his feet, just absolutely shredding the life out of his guitar. To be honest, I thought the days of his (or their) playing as well as he (and they) did were in the past. I was wrong.
I will end by saying this: Next to love of God, and then of a good woman, there is no feeling that will compare to being at a Phish show when THAT MOMENT happens. And there may not be a worse feeling than listening to that same show later and realizing it wasn't nearly as good as you thought it was. That's why I'm going to just sit on this show for a long time before I listen to it again.
THANK YOU PHISH. See you in San Francisco.


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