As usual for Phish in summer, the second set under the stars easily overtakes the sing-songy sunset opener. And what a set! The XXL Piper opener dissolves into a beautiful ambient interlude before a filthy improvised segue into Mike's Song (which is appropriately raunchy). Weekapaug zips along per usual until the closing lyrics, but the band skips the final vocal line and keeps the rhythm going for a few minutes. Fishman drops some half-time nastiness on the assembly and we get yet another muted-scratching segue into Free. (Why doesn't Trey segue into the song's opening riff anymore? These rhythmic segues get boring when you're, y'know, an obsessive live recording collector...)

Free > Friday, blah blah blah, but the stretched-out Hood takes this show over the top. This version starts to head out into rock-riffing territory like the infamous 7/25 performance, but around 14:00 in (and far from the home key if I remember correctly), Trey tilts from straight-up rock to some eerie iii-I changes, and things get quietly spooky. Mike starts in with some sympathetic upper-register ostinato action, Page throws in some space-age keyboard textures, and we're in an intense musical zone halfway between Hood's standard major-chord lilt and the zonked-out uptempo haze of so many other summer 2003 jams. If (like me) you came to Phish fandom via the Hood from 'A Live One,' the ensuing build and lighthearted return to the standard Hood progression will seem like the logical extension of what you've long known and loved. Good as the other second-set tunes are, the Hood is the thing to write home about.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

The next night, I felt the need to give back. I knew I couldn't find that man who gave me the miracle; I didn't want to. But I had to give back to the community. So I bought an extra ticket at face value and looked around for someone with his/her finger in the air, someone that looked like they needed this ticket, and they needed it for free.
I chose a girl in her early thirties, late twenties. I handed her the ticket, and she gave me a huge hug, extremely excited about her miracle. That day, I was wearing a “Harry Hood” shirt, and upon seeing this she started to flip out.
"I can't believe you're wearing a ‘Harry Hood’ shirt!" she screamed. She explained that she was from out West. She was doing the entire tour and has not been to the Philly/Camden area since Winter 1999. The last time she was here was for Phish's two-night stay at the Spectrum (12/10-11/99). I told her that I personally couldn't make it to the 10th, but I was at the 11th. This fact seemed to blow her away even more. After the show on the 10th, she continued to explain, she got a call from her Mom back West. Her father had passed away that night. His name was Harry. The next night marked the first “Harry Hood” opener since 1985 (10/30/85 at Hunt's), which was the first time the song was played. She felt like they opened the show with that just for her. She had not returned to the Philly area since then, and when she finally did, she is given a miracle from a kid in a “Harry Hood” shirt. We both stood there, stunned. Having such a strong connection to a person within five minutes of meeting her was overwhelming - and also what Phish is all about.
The show rocked, to put it simply. A classic setlist, with no huge surprises (although “Moma Dance” is always exciting). Still, every song was simply pumping. A sick way to end the tour and ready us for IT. And of course, they closed the second set with “Harry Hood”.
I can only wonder if she made it to the Boston anniversary show...