Amazing show, you could really tell the guys were not only feeling the energy the audience had but were having fun giving it back. There were no "bathroom break" songs which was bad news for my bladder but heaven for my ears. From Page hamming it up on Lawnboy, Tony Markellis sitting in on Gotta Jibboo to Trey's freestyling on Makasupa, it was one of the finest Phish shows I've ever seen and easily the best so far this summer.

There were many "outer limits" jams throughout the night, Piper was dark and scary, 2001 was an assault on the ears as were Antelope and YEM's peaks. The standout song for me, and the one I've been listening on an almost constant loop is Trey's "Sleep Again". I'd never heard it live before and it just feels so good, it was clearly written to be played with Phish. The main lick is so damn catchy I was humming it the whole ride home and have been trying to pick it up on my guitar since.

A Frankenstein encore with Page on keytar, awesome!

The bottom line is is that this is a great show and worth picking up and listening to from beginning to end, the flow from song to song is perfect. My only complaint is that it was a Sunday show and I had to work at 8 the next day, so that makes it a 4.99 out of 5 in my opinion.

** Little know fact, Page's keytar was bought from the James Brown estate "The More you know"**

Great show! The boys are doing great things with Undermind as a live tune! 2nd set overall was sick! (I like the mango song, but it was a strange transition for me after a dark, heavy energized Carini).

Second Set: Happy Father's Day to me! What a gift. Wow.

Ah, SPAC.

Apart from being a pretty upstate town with a vintage-style Main Street and a serious love affair with horse-racing, Saratoga Springs also is the purported home of a fountain of youth. People have been making pilgrimages to the isolated little town for well over a hundred years to soak in the healing groundwater that spouts from these parts.

Personally, I go to SPAC pretty much exclusively to see Phish concerts* which I’m guessing does as much to keep me young as soaking in any tub would, though I’ll admit I don’t usually come out of the run feeling very spry.

SPAC is where I woke up on June 20th, 2010, having already experienced an excellent night one of a two-night stint. M’lady and I spent the afternoon visiting several of our friends on the broad front porch of their old-school hotel along the main drag. SPAC invariably attracts a huge pile of our Phishy friends and it’s a great opportunity to spend a whole lot of quality time catching up with good people.

When showtime arrives it’s into the woods we go. The venue is in a beautiful state park and as long as you’re not on the lawn it’s a fantastic place to see a show. We weren’t on the lawn (a rule we’ve broken but once, ne’er again) and we had a great time. It was Father’s Day and the show started with all the band member’s children onstage in a bathtub while the band played Brother.

That felt nice and homey. Never miss a Sunday show.

The second set had a couple of songs I like but don’t hear very often, Mango Song (for it’s silly super fun-ness) and Makisupa Policeman (for it’s reggae feel; I really like it when Phish tries to play reggae). And they closed the set with probably my favourite song to hear them play, YEM.

For the encore Page brought out his keytar for a romp through Frankenstein, a song that scores very low on the awesome scale for me but always gets big points for fun.

And speaking of fun, there are few venues better than SPAC for the walk-out. Though it can be quite a trek to your hotel the bulk of the journey is through the woods with thousands of happy, like-minded souls along for the stroll. And when you do get back to your room there are always lots of fun people around to help celebrate your arrival.

Ahhh, what could be better…

*And eat potato chips. Saratoga Springs is the birthplace of my favourite snack and my goodness, do they know how to make potato chips.

toddmanout.com

*I did not attend this show. This is based on my listening experience from a livephish download.

Review of Set II (Set I Review posted above)
-Carini: Dark start to the set and as per usual, very psychedelic jam. Mike's bass sounds very strong in the jam, and trey adds plenty of wailing and piercing notes, adding some nice effects throughout. Cool jam, but pretty standard. Around 8:00 minutes, the jam dies down and leaving a kind of humming ambiance which nicely gives way to...
-Mango Song: This was a decent transition. The floating and mellow lyrics of this song deliver us from the darkness of carini. Well played, and the typical instrumental section that ends the song (last 1:30 of the song) is very nice... Page and Trey played off each other quite well here.
-Wilson: Good move to get the energy back up, and rocks as per usual. Nails the standard format, and at the songs end you hear the Dixie tease from Trey.
-Drowned: Great choice after the high energy of Wilson! The song starts out very rocking, lots of energy. At about 4:10, the jam begins and it absolutely rages! Trey's intensity is insane from the outset and doesn't really let up until "saratoga jam #2" starts up. At this point, the jam turns into sort of a surreal funk/rock jam. Mike and Fish keep a steady pulsing rhythm to the jam while Page and Trey overlay all kinds of funky and trippy notes with wah-sounding effects and at one point Trey starts looping some notes. Around 4:00 into "Saratoga Jam" the jam dissolves with Fishman playing a minimalist beat and the rest of the band adding an ambient mess of vibration. This quickly gives way to...
-Swept Away>Steep: Wonderful transition from previous song, and nice rarity. Both are well played and make the ambient beauty of the previous jam more meaningful. Excellent placement for these songs. The instrumental section of Steep is pure bliss.
-Makisupa Policeman: Another good song placement. The blissful sounds of Steep give way to the happy, bouncy reggae of Makisupa. Lots of goofy phish humor. Trey's improvised lyrics bring smiles and allow each of the other band members to have a short solo. Fun stuff!
-Piper:A lot of the Makisupa goofiness carries over into the intro of Piper. After several Makisupa quotes from the band, the piper lyrics begin. Around 2:10, the jam starts in its full effect. The energy builds and builds until about 5:45 where Trey really starts wailing. At 7:00 Trey starts alternates between two chords repeatedly for a cool effect and then trails off into spacey wailing notes. Mike and fishman begin to dwindle the beat down into ambient noise which transitions very nicely into...
-2001: A very brief dip into funk, this 2001 was fun and continued the energy of piper, but didn't have any true stand out moments to speak of
-YEM: It sounds like Page jumped the gun slightly on this one, but the band quickly gets back on pace with each other. After the ambient section, Page comes into the music very strong, Mike takes a short bass solo and in general the whole section leading up to "Boy" is very well played. Once they are in the funk section of the song, the beginning is dominated by Fishman and Page (Trey and Mike must be on the trampolines?). Once Trey and Mike come back in, the jam follows its typical funk form. Mike has some intense moments here. Vocal jam not much to speak of. The whole lotta love tease is very brief and almost not worth mentioning
-Frankenstein: Good way to close out a two night stand. Hard psychedelic rock.

Overall: The big highlight from this set has got to be Drowned through Makisupa Policeman. The Drowned jam was high energy, the band kind of all melted together nicely, and the ambiance it died down into setup the Swept Away>Steep very nicely. Makisupa was just fun!

*I did not attend this show. This is based on my listening experience from a livephish download.

Review of Set I (Review of Set II to follow)
-Brother: great opener, well played, cool to hear trey introduce phish kids at the songs end.
-AC/DC bag: standard but good
-Back on the train: excellent version, Trey reaches a great peak towards the last minute and half of the song. Good stuff
-Undermind: Awesome choice and continues some of the energy Trey was reaching towards the end of BOTT. Really rocked it out.
-Cities: nothing really stands out here. well played, small funk outro, but standard
-Gotta Jibboo: Trey tells a quick story to introduce Tony. The jam starts with a delay loop that quickly fades, and things begin slow and mellow. At this point, the band kind of melts together Things really pick up around 7:30 and then trey cools it around 9:30 with these cool extended whole notes right before going into the song ending. Great segment and good way to end the jam. Nice version, but as many times as I've listened to this, I can't really hear Mike on the second guitar...
-Roggae: Great way to continue the mellow vibe of Jibboo, and Mike really stands out in the beginning of jam with several bass runs. Fishman also throws in a lot of drum rolls and keeps things interesting. The whole band reaches a collective peak around 7:45. Solid version.
-Sleep Again: Never heard this song before, its not bad. The jam starts around 4:00. Very beautiful and Page stands out here. He plays some pretty melodies on his piano while Trey plays long heavenly notes in between a repeated riff that is sort of a focal point throughout the song. I really enjoyed this, mostly because it was unique to me but also because the ending jam is very pretty.
-Lawn boy: Always a fun song, and Mike sounds great. Standard.
-Run Like an Antelope: Mike stands out in the 'prancing' section of the song, then Trey and mike really rage during the rock jam (especially around 6:30, when trey really packs the heat). The build up to the funk section with the lyrics is pretty intense and once the funk begins Mikes bass is booming. Not a best of, but still great fun and awesome!

Overall: From brother through cities, things were pretty rocking, with BOTT and Undermind being highlights here. Things mellow out between Jibbo through lawn boy, with highlights being Jibboo and the sleep again jam. Antelope closer brought back the rock and ended the set on a high note. Review of set II coming shortly...

This was a really fun show and I preferred it immensely to the previous night. While it may not have featured any ferocious 20 minute jams (though the Drowned jam is worth checking out), it did feature tight playing, good flow, and what I thought was phenomenal song selection throughout.

I couldn’t really ask for a stronger first set. I know for one that there are a lot more dads in the audience than there were in the late nineties--because I'm one of them--and there was something really kind of poignant and fitting about the Brother opener with all the kids on-stage. I know they did it last year, but the energy and good vibes in the place from the opener onwards really just set the tone for what I thought was an incredibly strong and fun opening segment, with nary a groaner in sight. Didn’t hear a single person call a Cities all weekend, or a Roggae for that matter, and Back on the Train, Jiboo, Antelope all smoked with high energy, focused playing, great tension and release without any aimless noodling.

Would I have liked that Carini to keep going for 20 minutes? Sure, but it certainly sounded *smoking* for however many minutes it was going for. (Fish and Mike just slayed this thing). But I’m not one to complain about a Mango Song. Or a tightly woven Makisupa->(Policeman)Piper->2001>YEM, for that matter. Go and listen to the first of Trey’s two “note” peaks from YEM, the one before he just holds it, where he plays a quick little solo/riff. That was perfect on this night; heartfelt, tight, soaring and unique, and the reason it’s still worth going to see them, even if they’re not doing the whole Seven Below->Ghost->Twist, YEM thing anymore.

There were 13 tour debuts.

Really enjoyed the 1st set... Lots of “Songs” vs. Epic offerings.... That didn't stop the Antelope from running way out of control… Finna R.U.N.N.O.F.T.

Set 2 was an Ever Expanding Bubble of Goodness… Almost a “Burble”
Trey “Dixie” quote at the end of Wilson (Seemed out of place ?)
Type II Jamming during Drowned
Makisupa = No Key Word... Trey improvised lyrics giving Mike, Page, & Fish solo opportunities.
Piper intro laced with random makisupa phrases - House, SPAC, Mke, Policeman etc...
Piper was BIG & Scary !

What a great show. I just relistened to Roggae and was blown away. This is the best version of this song I've ever heard! The jam is insane, and flawless, and awesome!

Time to go back and listen to the rest of that show!

you could really tell the guys were having fun on stage and enjoying ever minute if it. this is particularity evident during makisupa police man. unfortunately being a younger fan, i was restricted from phish shows by my parents, but ive got 6 shows under my belt in the past 6 months and i love every minute of it. this band is and always will be my favorite band. share in the groove errrrbody.

Amazing energy all the way through. The boys are locked in the groove and are only getting better as 2010 Rock n' Rolls on, expanding their jams to new levels and heights. It's safe to say that everyone at SPAC this past weekend feels closer to the band and each other than ever before. This band continues to outdo itself and I can't wait for my next experience with them. The 20 min. drive from my house to Camden is going to seem like an eternity, but once we're all there, be ready for Phish to make waves on the Delaware River.

Amazing energy all the way through. The boys are locked in the groove and are only getting better as 2010 Rock n' Rolls on, expanding their jams to new levels and heights. It's safe to say that everyone at SPAC this past weekend feels closer to the band and each other than ever before. This band continues to outdo itself and I can't wait for my next experience with them. The 20 min. drive from my house to Camden is going to seem like an eternity, but once we're all there, be ready for Phish to make waves on the Delaware River.

Show #17, what a ride!
Set 1 was a great warm up, Antelope REALLY set the pace for the remainder of the night, though. Great juxtaposition of Carini > Mango, a mid set Wilson that set the stage for an assault of Drowned...then, what, Swept Away? Had you told me one of the highlights of the night would be this song, I'm not sure I would have bought it, but what an amazingly tight, engaged and poignant piece. I was entranced throughout. Then the band just let loose with raging Piper, 2001, sick YEM w/ what I would call a duet by Trey and Mike, no real leader during that "solo." Frankenstein was a perfect finale as the band effortlessly nailed the composition.

This is just one of those shows where the energy of the band and audience just wouldn't quit. Being smack behind the soundboard didn't hurt, either, as the neighbors around my wife and I were all feelin' it!

This band is on fire!

Fantastic show. The set list is incomplete. They played a bangin 2001 during the second set.