Let me start by saying comparing this show to previous shows cannot be done in the same way that an octopus cannot ride a bike; it has enough arms to reach the pedals and handlebars but the result will rarely be a successful journey from A to B.

Trey was shredding chords more instinctively than a white shark’s jaw masticating through blubber of a baby seal. It was a symphony from heaven sprinkling down jesus tears that glistened like the morning dew on the face of a newborn doe. If Trey was playing underwater, the water around his fingers would boil. He embraced the music with such extraordinary sound and beauty, it extolled the jams with the luminescent brilliance of a dying star.

Mike’s bass sounded like the monster truck of Gamehendge. It really put it in perspective that we are all old Geo Metros which he will roar his massive bass tones over and crush our pathetic fiberglass frames into a crumpled heap. Feeling those shockwaves was like seeing a bald eagle and having it perch on my privates.

Page took on his old form, the type where I picture him windsurfing across oceans of dead Nazis which he personally slaughtered with a pleasing vibrato, just to dish out crunchy funk tacos seasoned with unicorn spice. He was comparable to a thermonuclear bomb of rainbows radiating marshmallows and glow sticks.

Fish was pounding out beats like cruise missiles taking out air defense radio relay towers. It was serenading my soul with warm, familiar melodies. Every drum kick was like hearing a songbird passionately make love to a grand piano and then having your skull kicked in it’s so awesome. Even if Godzilla was on stage firing flaming farts into the sky it wouldn’t come close to matching this awesomeness.

Unfortunately not every aspect of the show was Meatballs review quality. While each song is certainly subjective, it has also been said that music is a tryst, for in the joy of it, maker and beholder meet. Unfortunately, in this case, the tryst of the encore would be the emotional-connection equivalent of a quick hand job in a K-mart toilet from a middle-aged shelf-stacker named Rhonda in exchange for half a packet of Marlboro Menthol lights.

The first four Phish shows of tour have certainly been interesting. Yet, I feel torn about the improvisation we have seen thus far. On the one hand, the band - in both type 1 and type 2 - excursions is demonstrating incredible patience and openness. Each jam often starts extremely quiet (see Divided and BOTT last night) with dynamic interplay between the members. Furthermore, the band seems - more than ever - to take the jams to my favorite place - blissful, melodic and beautiful textures. Jams that almost never go to this 'place' - Antelope, Bowie, even the DWD - can't help but fall back into some gorgeous, slow melodic texture. So why do I feel so torn? In many ways, the explosion of type II jamming and experimental excursions is exactly what I always wanted more of in 3.0 Phish. Well, to be blunt, a lot of these jams are kind of....well...restless and meandering. There seems to be an utter resistance (perhaps calculated) to letting any 'themes' develop. It seems every 8 bars, Trey is noodling a different melodic line, or playing a different set of choppy chords -- all of which sound amazing on their own, but, imo, need to be given more space to develop organically. No 'idea' is pursued beyond 20 seconds or so. To me, this is most evident in the 7/6 Split and 7/7 DWD. The jams just never seem to 'get' anywhere (and in fact the Split nearly fell apart on at least 3 separate occasions). Perhaps it's because that is what type II jamming is: a risk - sometimes you reach 'that place' but sometimes it falls apart. And, I think there's a tendency (mr miner) to laud ANY type ii jam just because it is type ii. But, we certainly we need to be critical - some type ii jams are better than others. But, I wonder if Phish is more consciously avoiding 'themes'. I think in the Phish book Mike said that 93-95 jamming lead them to become weary of just hooking up on a melodic theme - it became easy. I think at Dicks, what they did, amazingly coherent type ii jams, was perhaps EASIER than what they are doing the last couple shows. These jams are almost like a stream of consciousness - scattered, choppy and uneven. While I appreciate the philosophy behind that idea, as a listener it is frustrating to follow the jams and think - whoa that is cool - only to have it dropped for the next idea/theme. I'm sure this is all setting the stage for something more coherent - and I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of tour.

I was in attendence last night, as well as Bangor, SPAC 1/2. I insisted one of these shows we needed actual pavilion seats so we weren't lawn boys and scraping off mud and crap thru next week.

Our seat were the last row of balcony section 17. BOY DID I PICK THE PERFECT DAY TO BE INSIDE THE PAVILION. Not only were there a number of wet bodies on the lawn( some better looking than others), but of the several shows ive seen THIS was THE best.

Without exception, I got to see nearly 10 of my absolute favorite phish songs. DSky , Free , Mound , Maze , LBL , DWD , Wading , Antelope .... and as if those eight were not slaying my exhausted body enough ... They break out a Run Like A Meatstick and I thought I was gonna explode. Meatstick #2 fav ... immediately followed by my hands down #1 fav... YEM. By this time I was weeping like a little girl more tears of joy than I can ever remember feeling.

Phish deserves every good graces they have gotten and will ever get in life. God Bless you boys and have a safe and successful remainder of your tour!!

Kick Ass

Q&D this time, to save you from the usual treatises I write.

Set 1: Very good for a first set, IMO. BOTT was sharp and groovin', and everything else felt a little more pointed than the last 3 first sets. This is what I want out of 1st sets if they aren't playing incredibly divisive exploratory 15+ minute jams.

Set 2: a junior version of 9/2/12 II; as that was my set of 2012, I do not say this lightly. The segue into Piper, which I was excited about on initial listen, now sounds as rough as the Sand bailout the show before, but everything else (melodic shifts in DWD, a nice pro forma Ghost jam that goes plinko and nasty, Piper revving the engines and then parachuting gently into Wading) is what I'm looking for from 3.0. The YEM, more deliberate than usual, was also a nice listen.

Final thoughts: the show of the run, just over N1 (which I'm liking more on re-hearing). Feels like an Indian summer's on the horizon, from where I sit.

Best show of 2013

http://www.builttosell.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/bob-barker.jpg

First off, this was the first show that I got to see in person with one of my alltime favorite .netters, @sprachtor. Sure, he missed his melt the night before, but we still got to catch a pretty solid outing.

The first set was definitely the most consistent first set of the SPAC run. No, it didn't have any serious highlights like the aforementioned Melt from the night before, but top-bottom, it just worked. AC/DC Bag is always a nice opener. GBOTT gave the boys a nice chane to loosen up. They find a nice groove that Trey has a blast playing over as he builds it to a pretty nice climax. I would say this song had the same general effect as an early show wolfman's. Divided Sky was a perfect call in the pouring rain. Like GBOTT, it gave the guys a nice familiar tune to sink their teeth into. Normally, I am not a big fan of Free in the first set. I never think it really fits, but it did fit well in this spot. Maybe it was the rain. As usual, Gordon laid down some nice thick bass lines here, but all in all, it was a pretty standard version. After running through the middle section of Ice 2-3 times in the soundcheck the night before, I figured it'd be popping up. Well this one was technically proficient, I still felt a little stiff. I think they still had to think about this one a lot. By merriweather and Chicago, they were really feeling it, and it sounded a lot more fluid. It was still a solid version, and fit the flow of the set well. Mound, Maze, and Limb all worked together, kept the flow going, and were well-executed. I wouldn't say anything stood out as being "great," but you must applaud the first set song selection thus far. WOTC probably serves as the highlight of the first set. Trey absolutely explodes out of the back end of this one sending everyone into set break with a smile. While nothing in this set really sticks out as being a "great" version, there was good flow, great song selection, spot on execution, and a high level of energy.

Set two can be described in about the same way. I think I described it as we were walking out as "high end predictable." That is not a knock. Down with Disease is always a pretty predictable opener for the 3rd night of a run if you haven't seen it yet. Trey comes out of the "song portion" very strong. He tastefully alternates between a before lead and some nice little flurries. As they slow down, they slip into a nice little groove. Fishman hits a run that makes you think the jam is going to escalate a bit, but instead, it drops down and is pretty much finished. I think most people thought Trey was going to pick it up, but instead, he starts up ghost. No complaints here. This ghost jam is a bit slower, and it doesn't ever seem driven to any particular climax. It does find a nice "light" plinko jam that they play with for a few minutes. After that, Trey stays on more of a rhythm role while Page throws down some really nice stuff. It starts to escalate, but like the DwD jam before that, it slows back down. It feels like this jam has more fuel in the tank, but Trey pulls a pretty smooth maneuver pulling into Piper. Some described this as a rip chord. I would say it felt more natural than that, but still, it seems there was another layer here that could've been unpeeled. You must take it for what it is though, and this was a pretty solid stretc of music. Piper, as it usually does, served as a great shot in the arm. For the most, it stays close to home, but Trey does a nice job ripping around the main piper theme. After departing from there, it decends nicely into Wading. Sure, it's not my favorite song, but it fit well here in the slow down spot. Antelope picked things back up, but as is the norm now-a-days, there wasn't much exploration here. It was a straight cannon blast from point A to point B. They added the "run like a meatstick" lyrics, so we all knew what was next. Not really my bag, but after a pretty stacked set list, who's complaining? Plus, the kiddies love the meatstick. YEM closed the show down in predictable but classic style. No, they don't take this on the wild excursions they used to, but the composed section alone will always be a good listen. This was a solid well played version. Speaking of predictable, did I mention the loving cup encore?

Some called it predictable. Some called it classic Phish. Personally, I like the occasional curve ball, and that did not happen on this evening. That said, at the end of the day, the set list doesn't matter. It all depends on how it is played. The playing on this night wasn't much more adventurous than the set list calls, BUT like the set list calls, it was freaking rock solid from start to finish.

Highlights:
WOTC, DwD>Ghost->Piper

Night three of SPAC... started off with a bang, of thunder, lightening and pouring down rain. Great, I thought, they're gonna throw down. A predictable and average AC/DC Bag went into what turned out to be a pretty nice long jammin back on the train. After that, the rain was really coming down and on came Divided Sky. Divided Sky was great and the weather gave great effects. Free was fairly average and then during Ice they started falling apart. Mound is always fun and so is Maze, even though they didn't do anything special. Limb By Limb was real funky and then Walls of the cave, bathroom break. Set 2 DWD had great potential, but our boys just couldnt seem to agree on where to take it. Ghost started getting pretty dirty then they went into Piper... once again lackluster. Wading was a slow down song then a strange choice to go into Antelope. Weird placement and "Run like a meatstick"? Come on Trey! Way to cheese it up for the webcast! Meatstick was the same as always then a pretty good YEM came on with a great vocal jam at the end. By now it was back to raining so I figure they have to come out and make up for it with a good encore, nope, wrong again... Loving Cup encore. Predictable and Trey didn't even shred on that like he usually does. I was rather disappointed with sunday night, especially compared with Friday and Saturday. Seems like they aren't sure where to go during the jams and they are disconnected. I know they'll get it back together, just disappointing to stand in the rain and see the whole band show up except Trey. Must not have had his coffee... just seemed like he was just going through the motions and didn't play like we all know he can.

shit son. shiiiiiiit.

1. honestly this is a fire set, one of the, if not the best first set i personally have seen. BoTT is grade A+, divided sky was religious. Its Ice was a treat and my set 1 winner, Maze. Love WotC and it did not disappoint in the closer spot.

2. DWD->Piper is everything that people have been complaining about being gone, so behold and lets not blow things out of proportion. Wading felt right. IMO it fit the emotion the band created in the previous jams,and frankly i needed a break. And then! Maybe the funnest 3 songs to end a show, no possum here. ive been really wanting a Meatstick and the Meatstick themed antelope put a huge grin on my face. The Meatstick though i felt was a little sloppy at times, still enjoyed. They ended it with YEM and i might have to have a re listen to it, i cant remember parts of it.

E: obviously i would loved something more crazy than Loving Cup, but the sentiment song totally fit with the energy. "I play a bad guitar", "what a beautiful Buzz".

So much fun here tonight, a solid show front to start. tonight drove home feeling satisfied.

Phish has a history of blasting the State Park of NYS-Spac and did not disappoint this evening. Many good home town fans here at this one.

SET 1- Ac/Dc Bag ( great energy involved in this Bag). BOTT ( good number, good placement). Div Sky ( perfect). Free > It's Ice > Mound > Maze ( nice cluster of energy and a very diverse set so far). Limb by Limb ( one of my favorites from Ghost, well played). Walls ( always a great tune, like the piano introduction and a good set closer).

SET 2- DWD ( unfinished with elements of space and ambient jamming, very good version) > Ghost ( we knew it was coming, and it was game set match). Piper ( another excellent version with Trey ripping away on his axe). Velvet Sea ( nice break, good tune). Antelope ( thought this would close up the set). Meatstick ( wow! didn't see that coming, and the boys did it international for us). YEM ( jesus help me, a rip roaring version).

ENCORE- Cup ( good cover, enjoy this one). Overall an excellent show to end the 3 cap in Saratoga).

Just Joined. Know why? First and foremost, because phish represents the Gold standard of musicianship. Simple as that. Second reason for joining... I recently read a review of the 7/7/13 SPAC3 show by Username: Meatballs. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Highly recommended.

the show was tight. the return of Meatballs, mad tight.

Rain Come Down

The first Phish show I caught here at SPAC was back in ’94, and I had a vague memory of a sign outside the venue explicitly prohibiting marshmallows. Didn’t see the sign anywhere this year, and it seemed so stupid I figured I’d made it up. I went ahead and asked one of my pals about it, who had started seeing shows in his early teen years of the late 80s. He told me it was a thing at Dead shows, and in 87 or 88 there was quite a marshmallow battle at SPAC. Hence the sign I thought I made up but didn’t.

Why bring that up here? No reason, tho I thought y’all might want to read something about the venue other than strictly music reviews. There was a war of sorts happening in the clouds, though. Some time ‘round 7.30 the skies opened the hell up with the kind of rain that would make a man go get two of each species and put ‘em on a boat.

By some odd miracle, I wound up with orchestra seats for this Sunday night show, and I was beyond happy that I did. Just about every one out on the lawn with a friend in the orchestra or balcony called in the favor and got themselves stubbed in. The building was jammed, aisles full all the way up, and every seat had a body or three in them.

It was steamy and packed by the time Phish came out and wasted us with a very well played first set. Speaking of, there’s plenty of chatter about every tune but Maze. Which should be corrected. ‘Cause they tore that fucker up.

The air just didn’t get any less funked out by set break, and twenty-ish minutes later, the rain let up and the lights went down. Been waiting on the Disease opener, and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s no MSG ’12, but the band paints a picture that extends through the first three songs, almost like they fit songs into their improv theme, rather than the usual other way around.

…Then a Velvet cheese. Seriously with this tune, what’s the deal? I’d punch a nun to get that one shelved in favor of like ANY other slower tune. Waste. Brian and Robert. Billy. Dirt. Pebbles and Marbles. Oy. Ok, rant: over. The rest of set 2, or, Run Like a Meatstick Myself, is a 40-ish minute chunk of your life that you won’t regret using to listen to music. So go listen to it.

Like any three night run, no one really wanted it to end. The muddy shithole of a hill/lawn was full of chatty cathys, just like the lot and all the weird greek-themed SPAC structures outside the venue. And who would want to leave? The moment you do, it’s Monday, and the weekend won’t be the weekend any more.

The boys are back! Almost seemed like a completely different band from the first three shows. Patience was the key to last nights success and boy did it pay off.

Bag>BOTT>divided were all flawless. They clearly came out of the gates ready to play. Much better start than the first 3 shows. Set 1 highlights were maze, LxL, WotC

Set ll was just a straight up party. DWD>ghost>piper ; no better way to start a second set. Page did a great job saving himself at the beginning laughing it off like it was no big deal. Loved the jam on ghost. Reminded me of the 90's jams. Surprised they brought out an Antelope again so soon but what a treat. I was webcasting it and chatting with several of my friends who were also watching it and I can only imagine the grins we all had when Trey began referencing Meatstick as it is an all time favorite for the four of us. Then to close with a YEM, I mean come on, icing on the cake my friends. Real quiet and patient slow jam from Trey was nice. Really felt like they were exploring several different styles as the way I felt just about the whole show.

Loving Cup, does not do too much for me but for the sake of the people at the show, I well deserved closing to an incredible, shake your ass off, grinning from ear to ear night.

Final thoughts- So far, Summer 2013 has been the tour of Page. Keep it up boys, see you in ATL

AC/DC Bag>Back on the Train>Divided Sky is absolutely awesome and gives a nice sample of first set funk and then high quality, high precision playing.

All of set 2 was great, but the Run Like An Antelope--er, Run Like A Meatstick, sorry--was a particular highlight for me. I am always a fan of Antelope but this one was special. It also had a very nice flow with Meatstick>YEM.

And DWD>Ghost>Piper sounds as good as it looks.

Thankfully Trey's trigger-happy ripcord hand was much steadier and nothing was killed too abruptly.

And remember, run like a meatstick, out of control.

This is amongst my three favorite show, and for good reason. It was an exceptional performance, starting right off the bat with AC/DC Bag throughout the first set. The second flowed, starting of with disease that concluded with both beautiful and rocking segments that led into Ghost. Following Ghost came Piper, the highlight of the night for me. The whole band was on point, trey was playing fast and well, fish beating on the drums, mike fulfilling his role and page just creating beautiful sounds to complete a great version. You Enjoy Myself was another highlight, the set closer and they really bought it. Cant really go wrong with YEM anyway, Loving Cup capped the night in a perfect way for this particular vibe of this show. Take A listen for sure, all these comments are telling you something. Also read meatballs review if you haven't, it is hilarious and spot on. Wait a second, this is probably the post you wont read, but if so then thanks for doing so!

@solar garlic:
I agree with your assessment of these type 2 jams. Obviously some are better thatn others. But one important aspect you didn't mention is the bands ability to "land" back into a theme, or a smooth transition to the next song. Split is a perfect example. They staggered back into the theme to wrap it up. Maybe they're just not used to transitioning back and forth from these unexpected spaces back onto solid ground.

@solargarlic78, Very well stated. There does seems to be a restlessness, tension and trepidation about following one central idea/theme throughout a type ll section. As you mentioned, Dick's is a great example of cohesiveness as well as the "Rock and Roll" Jam from 8/15/12 and countless others. I also see your point that in many regards it must be "easier" to follow one main idea rather than execute several scattered themes without much material binding them together. I'd like to add that forcing a transition must also be much more difficult. I think when Trey is having difficulty locking in with the band he has a tendency to throw as many ideas against the wall as possible to see what sticks and if nothing sticks he pulls the rip-chord. Hypothetically, when Trey is having issues if maybe he would play less (or nothing) and just listen, gather his thoughts and begin simply and follow one idea through to is completion then these problems would be minimized.

That being said, so far these shows do have me excited about the future, many many bright spots.

Webcast for me. Frankly, I was somewhat discouraged by the first three shows of the tour. They seemed unfocused and uninspired. And then came Sunday's show, and we're back on the train. I don't know if we'll be listening to it in a month or a year, and this morning I'm not sure they offered up a signature jam, but in its way it was a nearly perfect show for so early in the tour. They made fantastic choices with their set lists, from start to finish--really no disappointments or bad decisions. Their playing felt creative and spontaneous, whimsical at times but serious when it needed to be. Trey didn't dominate or disappear; all four were equal partners in the journey. Were there some flubs and loose playing? Sure, but I'll always take those "faults" if the band is taking risks. By the second song it already felt like a different band than the first three shows, and what a pleasure in that brilliant first set to hear Divided Sky, It's Ice, Maze, and Walls of the Cave. One could quibble with parts of the second set--one could have wished for more extended jamming out of Ghost and Meatstick especially, or a fuller Piper--but that's like winning a Porsche in a lottery and wishing it were a Ferrari.

Overall, a terrific first set for any tour, any year, and from start to finish a show that offered superb playing, superb choices, and a hell of a lot of fun.

Webcast tonight, great show Trey seemed more comfortable/less inhibited. Loved when Page forgot his lyrics during ghost. Best show of the tour so far. BOTT was superb as well as Divided. Set II they came out blistering. What a setlist. Velvet Sea was PERFECTLY placed and lookout Meatstick!!! So grateful I can tune in to these shows while living 3000 miles away in SoCal. Keep it going boys I look forward to each webcast, really makes my week.

One of my favorite 3.0 set 2's, especially the fast ghost, which reminded me of Prague 98. Great show, amazing second set. (Run Like a Meatstick)

Was hobbled by over-dancing@Friday's SPAC show and finishing myself off by the middle of the 2nd Set Saturday SPAC show but still had this and the rest of the East Coast run thru MPP to attend so I figured out a way to dance off my one good leg and dance I did. But only because they commanded me to dance...:-wink! Passion and a well-played, well-rounded show will do that do you.

Easily one of the best 1st sets I've ever had the pleasure to witness. I actually was looking forward to the AC/DC opener and figured it would be the springboard to greater things and indeed it was in the form of a driving Back on the Train that had everybody in the venue shaking their booty. The Divided Sky was fueled by the torrential rains falling on those unfortunately on the lawn and the band feeding off the roars of the crowd. The rest of the of the set was uniformly excellent, loved the Free>It's Ice>Mound and the set-closing Maze>Limb by Limb>Walls of the Cave couldn't have ended a set any better than it did.

The DWD was due and it came, one big musical orgasm and the boys went in for seconds and thirds with the Ghost and the Piper. And I don't get the, errrr, dislike, for Wading but after the first three songs I felt that it was both perfectly placed and played. Then it was back to the dance-fest with the Run Like a Meatstick and then the YEM. I knew it was coming and it did not disappoint, I've witnessed some great YEM's in my 3.0 lifetime (last year's SPAC encore and my stunning birthday show@Dick's immediately come to mind) but this one was really really special, the patience shown was sublime and really was the musical cherry to top off a three-show run in SPAC. And I LOVE Loving Cup and though it seems that for many out there they're tired of the song personally I am not and thought it was well-shredded by Trey.

I love SPAC and evidently they do, too. The only thing missing from this outstanding run was the I Love SPAC vocal jam in YEM like they did last year@Dick's. An excellent three-show run overall. Did I say that I Love SPAC...:-wink!

Peace,
Alex

Solid show. Finally got my Mound. I chilled close to spac and listened to the sound check and it was more than BOABH .. Some unidentifiable Mike song and a pretty long instrumental jam . First time I've listened to a sound check it was cool.

Some more thoughts on this show:
http://forum.phish.net/thread.php?thread=1373310502#start

Real Time Discussion:
http://forum.phish.net/thread.php?thread=1373235977 />
Some thoughts on the whole run:
http://forum.phish.net/thread.php?thread=1373316512#start

I respect Scott/.net removing the Jumpin Jack Flash tease, but for Trey to quote it twice IMO, lends me to believe there was intention. An argument can be made that it was just Trey jamming bar chords, but he flirted whether deliberately or accidentally with the theme from Jumpin Jack Flash. At the very least I consider them quotes.

This show was overall the strongest, while set 2 night 1 was the biggest overall. This show was extremely well rounded, well executes and had a bully like feel. Like the boys we shoving this show down our throat with intensity.

Nothing like seeing phish on the home turf at spac. Incredible energy, like no where else.

Yet another fun show at the SPAC.

This was a very weird show to be at, as it seemed a lot of the Lee's campers that had been present the previous two nights took off early. Vibes were weird as my crew was sobering up to drive back to Boston that night.

Anywho, here's the deal.

Rain commences, and Phish knows the deal. Plays with a couple of rain analogies with BOTT and Divided Sky.

"See me standing in a station in the rain"

Screaming the Divided Sky lyrics into a thunderstorm was awesome, great great great song choices. Rest of the first set was rather forgettable outside Maze with sketchy vocals in Mound and It's Ice.

Second set in a few words: A sculpted masterpiece.

There was not a misplaced song in this set, with a couple of great jams as well.

Good DWD version into Ghost with the return of some TURBO PLINKO. I really love plinko jams so I was going nuts. Great Piper transition with a cool ambient ending landing PERFECTLY into Wading. I've heard Wading 3 times, and this was the only instance in which I actually thought it was appropriate.

Then Phish did what they did best, got really goofy.

Run Like a Meatstick was hilarious, even Trey was laughing when he belted out "You've got to run like a meatstick, out of control!"

Then YEM to close the set was the perfect combination of fun(k) to end the show after meatstick.

Final Thoughts: Second Set flow was impeccable.

I've seen all four nights of tour so far, Bangor through SPAC, and this show was stunning. Comparisons of SPAC to last year's run at Dick's are warranted.

Not much new to add that hasn't been said already, except did you see the lights during YEM? No more kvetching about the new setup. Nope. Not allowed. Holy seizures Batman I thought I was going to lose my mind during that visual assault. Whoa.

I watched this one from my gf's couch with a couple of buffalo chicken wraps and a bottle of Anchorage Brewing Darkest Hour (one of the tastiest stouts on Earth, go get some). Thought it was great for the most part, the boys seemed pretty blissed out, especially Trey and Fishman. Vocally, the first set was pretty ugly (even for them), but hey I don't pay money to hear them sing. We both dug the "Rift triptych", didn't expect to hear Mound ... second set didn't give me the "four-headed-hydra" -> segue I was hoping for, but it featured some great jams, especially in Ghost when Page The Mad Scientist took things over ... sorta reminded me a bit of the jamming in the 6/3/11 DWD ... then a very spirited run of songs at the end (I think the band might be paying attention to the recent rash of fans citing Antelope as a boring or monochromatic song, Trey has been annihilating it so far this year). "Run Like A Meatstick" lyric was pretty cheesy and not Grade-A Trey, but when the dude starts "dancing" onstage, you know he's having fun (see 12/6/97 and 8/31/12).

Has anyone else noted that the meat (stick) of the second set was the same as the great 6/26/95 SPAC show? DWD, YEM, and Antelope. The rest of the songs they played in the set hadn't been written yet in '95 ...

.:chief_d:.

A solid show through and through. Best show of the tour so far, with two well crafted sets.

Set I

Not a single miss during this set. Primarily all singles with little to no segues, the boys made it clear they were out to prove a point. It was a long dance fest, with rockabilly grooves coming in the form of a nice little jam on Back on the Train, Mound, and Maze. Highlights for this set are Maze for the shredfest Trey unleashes at the end, and again at the end of Walls of the cave, where Trey is shredding all over the song like a sword-wielding ninja.

Set II

The clear centerpiece of the show was the DWD>Ghost>Piper trio, featuring primarily type I jamming (though a little type II the 2nd half of DWD.) My personal favorite of the show was Ghost, with some nice rock funk going on. Despite that as the centerpiece of the set, this show will likely go down as the "Run like a Meatstick" show, as they were having a lot of fun with the wordplay in Antelope at the end of the set. Run like a meatstick out of control indeed!

YEM was another solid highlight for me, well played and more space funk. Mike takes some nice bass soloing using his bass envelope filter, which is always a fun time.

Loving Cup encore - I always love a cover to close out a show, just a nice way to tie everything together and leave everyone feeling good as they leave the venue.

I'll take a show like this every night of the week. Everyone's still waiting for some bust-out extended type II jams, but if they keep the energy high like they did tonight, type I is all we need to feel happy.

Phish on!

I thoroughly enjoyed this show, from start to finish. The whole band seemed comfortable, relaxed, patient, and on their game.

Set 1 was well performed, and featured some great song choices, as far as I'm concerned. The Ice > Mound, Maze combo works great for me, as Rift era compositions still just amaze and delight me.

Set 2 was excellent, I thought. Patient jamming, and fun energy. The first lyrical passage of Piper had me in tears a little bit. I was breathing hard, and my eyes were watering, and I was transported. Something alchemical happened. This is why I listen to Phish. I'm a huge fan of the early early Piper, which was all about the slow build, a sublime peak, and a slow decline. Modern Pipers have a different structure, and this is the first of the modern era that has really done it for me. Wading was just simply beautiful, and was paired beautifully with the sunset as I listened to Set 2 this evening on my walk. Antelope had me laughing, and YEM.. well...

YEM is like sex: It's got familiar and pleasurable rhythms; It's takes you to some funky and sublime places; and every now and again might reach a level ecstasy that makes you want to do it again and again. Hell, at the very worst, it's routine but completely fun. You can't really lose.

In the weeks prior to this tour, I did a semi-random survey of a bunch of shows from 1992 through 2012, in chrono order. It made me realize that we are lucky ducks to have the opportunity to take this journey with Phish, and to hear how they have changed and evolved over the years... and to have a permanent record of the good, the great, the ugly, and the ever-evolving.

This show is the best of the 2013 Summer tour so far, I believe. I'm looking forward to much more!

This show was a perfect was to end a magical weekend. Second set ghost > piper was outstanding, wasn't a huge fan of wading placement, but antelope > meatstick > yem will never be forgotten... doesn't get much better than that, especially when you think antelope is the end of the set... what a ride

Ok Im not a Phishy "ultra" expert but to my relatively sophisticated Phishy ears I must say this show is spectaculaire...the first set is amazingly good but the Its Ice>Mound>Maze is just incredible improv...I mean come on people what more do you want??? Best Its Ice Ive Ive heard since mid 90s...the entire second set is full on Phishy phunk and I mean that when I say it...I disagree with Mr S Garlic...these jams count...Ghost>Piper and YEM being the highlights for me as they usually are if I have the privilege of seeing any one of them live...I just stared in amazement at the jams I saw this evening...

I streamed it and felt it was worth the money.

One thing missing from the notes that nobody has mentioned is that Fishman does an extremely brief 'Guy Forget' tease in Ghost. At least, he says 'Guy Forget' once - Does that even count as a tease?

I'm pretty sure there were "Jean Pierre" teases during a couple different songs... not sure if you want to add that to the notes... I'll have to listen to the recording and let you know when it happened

SolarGarlic absolutely nailed it IMO. especially in regards to his comments about the SOAM. great review solar I agree with you 100%. I'm glad someone said it.

Very Badass First and Second Set! A must hear for anyone who hasn't heard! the boys sound great and theyre not afraid to take it the distance right now which is good news for this summer! Cant Wait for Alpharetta!

WotC only post 1900's song + Bangor set list = theme?