(originally published by Jambase)

Phish’s 2009 Summer tour began in an historic fashion at one of baseball’s most legendary parks. After a rain delay, Phish – wearing Red Sox jerseys (Trey wore #18, Mike #8, Fish #9, Page #15(?)) -- took the mound and sang the “Star Spangled Banner” a capella, which they had not publicly performed (I believe) since before a New Jersey Nets basketball game on June 12, 2003.

It was a moving tour opener, befitting the stature of the park, prepared as it was for Phish and over 40,000 of their fans: even the scoreboard on the “Green Monster” (the 37-foot left field wall, dwarfed by Phish’s stage) spelled-out “P H I S H.”

The music over the course of the evening, accompanied as it was by Chris Kuroda’s magnificent lighting, did not disappoint. There was something for every fan, from the thousands in attendance seeing Phish for the very first time to those seeing them for the 100th time or more.

Phish performed:

• three new tunes, including the prog-rockish gem, “Time Turns Elastic,” which sounded spectacular and will only improve with age;

• many sing-a-long, fan-favorites, such as “Sample in a Jar,” “Chalk Dust Torture,” “Bouncing Around the Room,” “Character Zero,” and “Cavern;”

• two rarities, “Destiny Unbound” (last played at the Nassau Coliseum on February 28, 2003, but only the second performance since 1991) and “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” (last played during a show in Ybor City, Florida, on August 2, 1993);

• numerous jamming tunes, including “Stash,” “Tweezer,” “Bathtub Gin” and “David Bowie” (which sounded at least as tight, if not moreso, than they did at Hampton in March), and a funked-out-of-the-park, grand slam version of “You Enjoy Myself;”

• a triple encore, featuring a blistering cover of Led Zepplin’s “Good Times Bad Times.”

With respect to the debut songs, “Ocelot” often sounds like a slow, even somewhat tedious, “46 Days,” which is to say that if don’t like “46 Days,” you’re probably not going to like this song, either. “Light,” on the other hand, is quick and punchy, and sounds more like part of a song cycle rather than an individual work. This version segued out of a spacey “Tweezer” jam, and it will probably segue out of many other jams in the future. “Time Turns Elastic” is Phish’s “Close to the Edge,” with several complex movements and time changes. It has a thrilling ending, which the throngs at Fenway loved.

To be sure, despite solid versions of “Stash” and “Down with Disease,” and a great version of “Destiny Unbound,” the first set lacked the improvisational vigor of the second set. But all things considered, this was an excellent tour opener. If Phish was rusty, they hid it well.

One of the highlights of the evening’s music for me, however, did not occur during the show at all. Although I could not hear the soundcheck too clearly (it was carried by the breeze),“Kill Devil Falls,” a new tune, sounded like a great “classic rock” song -- like Dylan’s “Mighty Quinn” merging with The Rolling Stones’ “Lovin’ Cup.” It sounded awesome, and I look forward to hearing it jammed-out in the future.

On paper this looks like a visit from chocolate-covered Jesus on a pony (that second set songlist is ridiculous, and doesn't even include the first-frame Destiny Unbound!); at the show it was like your grandma returning from heaven with home-baked cookies and your blankie; on tape it's an effervescent rock show with a single (excellent) segue and not a single *deep sea* cut from the band. The Fenway show was a celebration, and was (appropriately) about the moment, not the tapes. That's a mighty fine Stash in the first set, and that second set's a goddamn party (plus every encore song's a closer). But the band wouldn't really go deep for another week, with the Jones Beach Hood, Camden Sand, Asheville Ghost, and Knoxville Waves > Ocean > Bowie.

Having done all that bitching, we can admit that this is about as good a straight-up rock concert as a normal human could possibly want, and you'd be a fool to skip it for lack of that single transcendent jam. This is pure pop-music uplift, and well worth the LivePhish purchase (or trusty complimentary download).

Among the highlights for this show were Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Poor Heart, Tweezer, David Bowie, and You Enjoy Myself. My overall reaction was that it is going to take some time for these guys to get to a point where they are going to create sounds they never have before. It turns out, after listening to the entire summer tour, that they totally exceeded all of my expectations. Of the summer shows, this show received the fourth weakest score.

Set I: 1. Star Spangled Banner: ★★★; 2. Sample In A Jar: ★★★; 3. The Moma Dance: ★★★; 4. Chalk Dust Torture: ★★★; 5. Ocelot: ★★★; 6. Stash: ★★★★; 7. Bouncing Around The Room: ★★★★; 8. Poor Heart: ★★★★; 9. Limb By Limb: ★★; 10. Wading in the Velvet Sea: ★★; 11. Down With Disease: ★★★; 12. Destiny Unbound: ★★; 13. Character Zero: ★★★

Set II: 14. Tweezer: ★★★★; 15. Light: ★★★; 16. Bathtub Gin: ★★★; 17. David Bowie: ★★★★; 18. Time Turns Elastic: ★★★; 19. Free: ★★★; 20. Curtis Lowe: ★★★; 21. You Enjoy Myself: ★★★★

Encore: 22. Cavern: ★★★; 23. Good Times, Bad Times: ★★★; 24. Tweezer Reprise: ★★★

GHI: 3.1/5.0
Batting Average: .625 (75 Stars/120 Stars)

The two ratings are Batting Average and GHI. Both are defined below.
BA: The total number of stars achieved divided by the total possible stars a concert can achieve. Each song can achieve a total possible 5 stars, 5 being the best, 0 being the worst. Therefore, each show receives anywhere from a 1.0 to a .001.

GHI: This rating is used in The Phish Companion 2nd Ed. Each show is given a score from 0 to 5, five being the best and 0 being the worst.

The two scores are synonymous. I like the BA form better because each show receives a score closer to its worth depending on how you rated it.