First set is fine - pretty crunchy Stealing Time and Ya Mar is welcome in any set, but not much else to report. The second set, though, hangs together very well and is most certainly worth your time. C&P books along until it drops into a more relaxed stage (Mike's bass notes an excellent counterpoint to Trey and Page's twinkling notes), then starts picking up the pace while still retaining an otherworldly feel, before coming to a full gallop and reaching a nice peak. Fish's modulating of the jam is also worth a few listens; he really is great at giving nudges or pulling on the reins.

Hood pops up next, and it's an unexpected choice, but a pretty nice standard version. Axilla then barges in to raise the energy, then comes a grimy and chilled-out Sand (another Mike showcase), which finds some plinko-inflected funkiness and looks to travel beyond its boundaries...that is, until Trey pulls the third rug out from underneath a jam in 3 shows and steers the band into Light (again, listen to the band, *still* in the Sand jam, have to adjust), the only low point of the set. Fortunately, the Light jam covers up a lot of the ill will, as things get atonal and (yet again) Mike-driven, before heading into major-key land and coming to a warm conclusion (with a charming Maria tease). As though cognizant that they just played a fine set, they roll into 4 straight set closers to end things. One wishes they'd maybe ditched one for some more meat in the jams, but after the music they *did* play it's hard to begrudge some crowd-movers.

I'm reminded of Star Lake 2012 a bit, actually - right down to the neat jam that gets cut off early for Light (which, hey, as @johnnyd has noted, there's no real good way to segue into Light, so it'll almost always sound jarring anyway) and the parade of set closers that come after the really strong meat of the set. I suppose a complaint can be made about the jams occupying the same space as the SPAC run, but with the quality of the jams and the still relatively small amount of shows played so far, it's a minor quibble at best. We might not have gotten the killer set of the summer yet, but we are inching closer and closer. Give this one a listen.

Best of the three shows I been to. Llama opener, a raging Gin, amazing 2nd set. The whole thing was so much fun.

Overall a mixed bag, with some clear and praise-worthy highlights. Step 1: Download the Crosseyed. Do it now!

First set is a "song selection" affair: Llama is always a treat, and a rocking Julius, fun and loose Lawn Boy>>Ya Mar combo, and Suzy Greenberg that nearly brought the house down are the highlights. Wolfman's and Gin are both fine, but not particularly noteworthy. Worth hearing, but not much more.

The second set has me torn. The Crosseyed>>Hood>>Axilla segment is the clear highlight. Crosseyed breaks some excellent uncharted territory, and the Hood is typical standard-great Hood. The Axilla seems like a weird choice, but it works perfectly. I almost fell over backwards by the shock of those power chords. Good stuff!

But then, alas, we have the Sand>>Light, which is another matter. I thought I had come to terms with the ripchord, and even come to think of it somewhat fondly, like that one friend who has a habit of pissing people off, but who you can't deny is a tried-and-true member of your group. I didn't mind SPAC2's Tweezer>>Sand, and I didn't mind SPAC3's Ghost>>Piper.

But this....this makes those segues look like Tweezabella. It is, to my ears, the single worst ripchord in the sad history of ripchords. It was an awful, awful decision and it produced awful, awful music. I literally keeled over and put my hands on my knees because I was so devastated by it. If I were Page--who was in the midst of a very enjoyable organ segment--I would be personally offended. This is one of the grievous sins that Trey will have to answer for in the after life. Maybe I'm overreacting (okay, I'm definitely overreacting) but unfortunately this moment is what stands out to me, even moreso than the terrific Crosseyed jam. Simply baffling.

Still. You'll find a lot to like here. GTBT shreds faces across the board, and Rocky Top>>Cavern is as fun as you'd expect. Avoid the Slave, though, which is a very disappointing version (if you ask me, the only reason we got Rocky Top>>Cavern was because someone on stage said, "Uh guys, we can't end with that.") Especially after the stunning, all-world version from 12/30/12, this one falls very, very flat.

I'm glad people are taking notice of where this bands improv is at.

I respectfully disagree that it's a noticeable step up from where it was in 2012 though.

I think it's just being contextualized better by being in these more cohesive setlists.

All 2012 - and chunks of 2011 -I was claiming that their improv was synergizing the best parts of 93, 95, 97 and 03.

It's like a chameleon amoeba, inexorably mutating into new forms.

The C+P jam tonight showed that we are still moving forward. It was magical, galloping along with the patience to let ideas develop democratically while bringing in more complex harmonies. Other versions of phish could play 2012 material, but probably not the developing maturity of 2013's type II jamming. I am so optimistic about the future of the band right now!

Read the pleasemehavenoregrets.com article Land to Reform and solargarlic78's review of 7-7-2013. They write more eloquently about where I feel the band's type II jamming is right now. The C+P jam moved one step closer to merging the thematic jamming of Dick's and the stream of consciousness and restlessness of 2013 so far. Of course, tonight wasn't perfect, but they are reaching for new territory more than (possibly) any time in their career.

First set was above average. Nice Wolfman and Gin, filthy Stealing Time and Suzy. Second set was a monster, every song is well played. The Rocky Top>Cavern might be my new driving to work jam, my commute is too short for most Phish songs.

This show was my summer sleeper.. Great vibes on lot.. played soccer with some cats listening to some super quality zappa.. Rocky Top.. nough said.. That Good Times Bad Times was absolute craziness.. Trey became my father that night.. I now call him Treydaddy... Cavern and Possum Encore .. see you all at dicks

Awesome show. Awesome crosseyed. Awesome Light. Awesome Gin. Awesome vibe. Awesome slave, and I'm not the biggest slave fan, but this one was really moving. Possum was the absolute last song I wanted to see at encore and they phuckin rocked it like I haven't seen in a long time. Awesome possum even if it was the 3rd possum in 5 shows. They were just really on all night. Great STealing Time from the Faulty Plan and great Rocky Top. Especially meaningful to me because I was seeing them in my home sweet home to me. But really hot and fun Rocky Top and I was second row center aisle and Mike was right in front of me. Garden State Arts Center is the best place to be front and center because you're not very low, you're almost level with the band with such little space between rail and stage you feel practically on stage, especially during lawn boy which was terrific. Sand was also great. Theme and Suzy were not all that hot in my opinion but it was still a great show with lots of really hot highlights and great times.

Real TIme Discussion:
http://forum.phish.net/thread.php?thread=1373498891 />
Show Thoughts:
http://forum.phish.net/thread.php?thread=1373518854#start

Crosseyed is the best jam of the tour so far!

Great Show. I really just wish Trey would stop Stopping the Jam, before it just starts to take its wings. Really need some 28+ min jams. Other than that, keep us the great work. See you in MPP.

awesome show. high energy all around... only down sides were the sudden and totally jam killing transition from sand>light and the possom encore... come on guys... we dont need a possum every other show.

XEYED jam was top notch amazing. hood was great as well... and axilla... those three songs worked really really well.

on a side note... is missjohnnybgood serious about boycotting phish because of the mkdevo thing?

why do you think ticket prices are so high... because no one buys music anymore... you know why? because of people like mkdevo...

i loved his vids, and i dont hold it against him. but c'mon, do you really think phish is supposed to just give away their intellectual property? he was posting hd video and sound of every show. how entitled are you that you think you deserve free hd audio and video to every show?

There was a certain buzz in the air in the lot. An unmistakable aura of confidence that the night was going to be amazing. I don't blame anyone for feeling that way - the band has been absolutely aweo.

The first set is what it is. Wolfman's, Bathtub, Stealing Time and Suzy, are some of my personal favorites. Suzy as a first set closer is really perfect placement for it because of the way it gets people dancing hard just before the break, particularly if it comes after a nice jam. Another really perfect placement was Julius - which I'm glad to see it get some first set love, as opposed to 2nd set-filler. We also got the 100th Halley's - a song that has been around since 1986 but only in 3.0 has it found its wait into common rotation. Ya Mar is always a fun rare treat. Llama has become a rare gem and tends to be a great omen of what to expect the rest of the night! And I love (love, love) how Stealing Time has really blended into the setlist as if its always been there.

But lets be honest, the first set was an average first set. It wasn't a scorcher, it wasn't innovative, it wasn't a sequeway masterpiece - what it was was solid, consistent playing with pretty good flow that set a great vibe.

The second set, however, is why I have loved this band since the moment I first heard them. It was beauty. It was bliss.

Crosseyed and Painless. Crosseyed started us off right. Can you believe they've played this song less than 30 times over the years? It feels like a Phish anthem. And its been so quiet lately. It enjoyed frequent play in 2011 and 2012 - but really it was a shadow of its former self (see the greatest version ever 7/29/03). But like Split Open and Melt from Saturday, and like Run Like an Antelope from Bangor - The band is showing an intent to reinvigorate old school jam vehicles and Crosseyed was a late 1.0 monster. Crosseyed was amazing and reminded me why I fell in love with the song. And the jam really had tremendous direction....it went somewhere....and that somewhere was:

Harry Hood. I love Harry. I've always loved Harry. It's in my top 5. In fact, Harry is the first phish song where I stopped and asked what I was listening to. Harry has seen better days than 3.0 - and of late - it felt to me like it was completely relegated to 4th quarter status. So...with that being said....I was grinning ear to ear when I heard the Fishman open it up out of Crosseyed as the second song - and really the heart - of the second set. It was the perfect sound at the perfect time and sent a loud clear signal that whats old is new. ...the crowd was willing it to have new life. .... And the band was willing it to have a new life....and the result is that Harry Hood reawoke. The beast has arisen! I can only hope beyond hope that this is a permanent reawakening.

Sand > Light was beyond my wildest expectations. I mean, how often do they followup a 30 minute sequence like Crosseyed/Harry with a 21 minute jam fest comprised of two of the hottest jam vehicles of 3.0? I didn't even like Light until 8/19/12 and Dick's 12 - though that's not to say that this song hasn't had some pre-2012 versions. The lyrical section is still awkward to me and sticks out in a set list - making any sequeway into song sound a little un-smooth... But the song is quickly becoming Phish's own version of Lovelight. You hear the opening notes and you just say "where is this going to go this time?" - and you find yourself yearning for the answer - your feet wanting to know the answer as bad as your ears. This night was no exception and the song is really coming into its own. Thats not to take anything away from the Sand - where even its most pedestrian versions are beastly. This Sand was anything but pedestrian. It was intense, thumping, and a masterpiece.

And I could not think of a better way to end the masterpiece than with Slave. My #1. It too has gone Emeril-style so far in its two appearances in 2013 and BAM!...Its been Kicked Up a Notch. Plus the false ending of Trey saying "goodnight" being followed by the one-two punch of Rocky Top and Cavern was a feel good close to a feel good set to a feel good show.

One final thought: Possum.
I get it - the song is overplayed right now. But there is a reason for it. They love it. They clearly clearly love playing it. It gets the crowd going and it gets them going and its just them having fun. When they play Possum, I feel like they are saying to us all "lets have some fun now". Personally speaking, its a pleasure to see, its a pleasure to experience and I'll gladly take it every time they play it!

Top to bottom very good show first set is well played with a nice tour debut of Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan, which I suggest hearing it is high energy. Another is the Gin it is good. You should give this a listen or two. After a nice Suzy Greenberg first set comes to a close.

And the fun is about to start.

Set 2 for this show is awesome this Crosseyed and Painless is SICK. It's nice and type 1 for the first 8 minutes then mike pushes the jam. Really great interplay the whole song with page and trey then they reach a nice peak, before HOOD. This hood is really nice I think This tour is the one were 3.0 finally hits that Jesus note like they use to in 93' to 96'. With that said although it is not the most amazing peak you will ever hear this hod is really good patient with a solid peak. Next up Axilla short, sweet, packs a punch, moving on. Sand comes up to swing and it's a nice one. You could argue that it gets "ripdorded" (if thats even a word). But although it sounds like it was abruptly cut short it still is very good. I just found myself sitting in a sick groove watching this from home. But at least it is ended for Light, which many of you know ii probably the jamming vehicle of the 3.0 era. vThis one os now different some nice dark play which emerges into a beautiful last minute and a half. Then GTBT rages. Followed by the 3rd Slave of this tour, I can't complain because I love this song. It has a great peak and when you think the set ends...it doesn't. Rocky Top and Cavern close. Then...

POSSUM I laughed so hard when they started it but I like the song so I son't mind it being played every other show.

All and all Great show I gave it 4.5 stars but I round up so yeah.

A solid 4-star show. The boys are proving that 2012 was no fluke. The momentum they carried all through leg II of summer 2012 right through the Denver and MSG runs has continued with the first shows of 2013.

In general, I found both sets to be about the same in terms of how well the songs were played - most are very good versions with a few standouts in each set.

Set I was devoid of any extended jams, instead favoring quick pop-mart versions of contained, inside-the-box type I jams lasting just a few minutes each. Things started off pretty well, then I found myself a little bored by the succession of Halleys - Bathtub - Lawn Boy - Ya Mar. All versions were generally well played, but all those 1950s feeling loungey-type songs with lots of down tempo moments left me really wanting an energy boost. It finally came in the final three songs of the set, Stealing Time, Theme>Suzy, all above average versions that got my blood flowing again. Suzy was especially a high energy, fist-pumping version that I'll be adding to my Summer 2013 playlist.

Set II starts off with the highlight of the evening, and dare I say the highlight of the tour to this point, in the form of Crosseyed and Painless. A solid 15+ minute song with a shift into Type II jamming about 8-10 minutes in, which led the boys into deep waters of exploration. My favorite moments were at the blissful groove around 12:30 and then when Mike starts dropping bass bombs via his distortion pedal around 13:30. That got the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. Bring it, baby.

Next, a well-played but ultimately average Hood, followed by a kick-you-in-the-ass version of Axilla with Fish playing an almost Punk drum beat the whole way. His sticks were flying!

Next up, a killer version of Sand that worked its way into a mellow, chill groove with everyone taking a step back and listening to one another. Aside from the C&P jam, this song is a great moment to listen to the guys listening to EACH OTHER. Except, well, Trey does that whole "ripcord" thing at the end and VERY AWKARDLY smashes his way into Light while the rest of the gang are contentedly jamming out on Sand. Trey, Trey, Trey. Come on.

Light. Okay, I'm going to be the contrarian here. This version didn't do it for me. It was fine. Average. But I've listened to it three times now and honestly, Trey is just noodling around for the first half of it and the jam doesn’t get any sea legs till the final 3 minutes, when the guys finally coalesce around something worth exploring.

Then it's on to a playful portion of the evening, which consisted of not one, not two, but THREE false endings. Good Times, Bad Times has been a reliable set-closer for a long while, so when I heard Trey go into it I was thinking "wow, that was a short 2nd set." Then, after a very good rendition, it's on to "Slave." Okay, I thought. Nice song to close out the set. But no. Then it's time for Rocky Top. Now I know it's not the end of the set, but it kinda seemed that way near the end, didn't it? Nope. Finally they bust a nut with "Cavern" and the place went wild. Nice solid ending and an above average version of Cavern to boot (or should I say, taboot.)

Possum was a nice encore song, a good way to close out the night.

Anyhow, in all it was a very good show. In the long run it's going to be forgotten in favor of other shows with more meat to them, but it's another example of how even an "average" show for Phish in 2013 still means fans will walk away with permagrins as they exit the venue.

Phish on!

Good Times was fun, as always, lots of energy there.

This was my first outdoor show since Hollywood Bowl. I was really looking forward to a summer outdoor show and was pleased overall.
Seeing Julius and Ya Mar, Crosseyed and Cavern reminded of my first show (11/2/96).
I loved the first set and had a great time. I felt every song was well-played.
The second set was phenomenal with good flow up until the Light interruption.
I couldn't understand what Trey was thinking to abruptly bring such a great Sand jam (and overall set flow) to it's knees by punching it in the gut with the opening chords of Light absent of any discernible transition segment.
I quickly recovered and got into a good groove after that momentary jolt.
I don't think this Slave is as bad as some are stating.
Rocky Top>Cavern was a great way to end the set. Really good versions.
I know they're playing Possum frequently, but this version is worth a listen with some good picking by Trey.

I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.

Love Mike and Trey apart...
As for the show....first set GIN to Suzy was great!. I like felt like Gordon and Trey apart pushed Trey to take control, experiment more,..leave him alone to listen?..I don't think it was Mike, Page, or Fishman making / taking the lead last night I think they pushed Trey to try, miss, hit, and at the end of the day it was a great show! Second set "Rager" .. "maybe so maybe not?" C&P (called it) > Hood > Axila was great..skip track .skip track (felt forced?).GTBT such a nice punch and where this show was more in tune with..Great finish and I bitch sometimes when Slave is played (mostly as an encore..) but loving it more and more, and last night was great. Thanks and looking for a nice dark and funky JB show...if anyone important is listening!
Great show!

2nd set Best set of the summer so far hands down. They could of stretched sand out a bit more because it was headed into epic territory. light could have been stretched out also. imo the only thing missing is cutting the jams a bit too short but I have a feeling that will change.. On the flip side eventhough the jams aren't pushed to the brink they pack a hell of a punch just think where they would go if the boys gave them more room to breathe. Bottom Line must hear 2nd set. see ya in merrriweather

Great show but very similar to my last show:
Saturday, 06/16/2012 Bader Field, Atlantic City, NJ
GTBT was better last night; C&P better in AC- rest of redundant songs were better sound wise last night. It sounded like after the 2nd song, they turned up to 11 & never went back / also I could see better from lawn( but feet hurt from the steeper lawn). Halleys, slave, theme, possum, light (w/ Manteca teases), lawnboy, wolf man, same songs but will really love to play the shows back to back to say which were better. Funniest part was Rockytop towards end.

C&P was sick. cant wait to download it. I also thought the disco beat jam that Fishman was doing during Bathtub Gin was really cool too. they are doing that a lot more these days. I think this summer we could be in for a full-on Went-style Gin

love the Llama and stealing time from the first set. decent overall 1st set.
Stellar second set! Possum encore was hilarious and a good laugh. the boys reminding us they do what they want. second set was one of the strongest of the tour so far comparitive to night 3 of Spac in terms of energy. That being said, I'm perfectly fine with the boys playing Light and Sand every few nights.. as long as they keep up the good jams! Looks Like Possum is the boys 30 year gag song so to speak. Second set has lots of replayability for younger heads or up and coming phans assuming they've already been introduced to YEM.

All: My friend Dan lost a drawstring backpack @ holmdel last night, containing his wallet and iphone. Backpack says MELROSE on the front...its one of those thin sacks that tigthen around the top and your shoulders with shoestring-like rope. Please contact me via email (DoTheChant at @ g mail) if you found this. Much love --Chris

The good: GREAT great show! My first Llama was my highlight. Really good first set, GREAT second set, and a par for the course encore.

The bad: Tomorrow night at Jones Beach MAY ( I stress MAY) be my last show, as this MKDevo thing REALLY has me down on the boys, and the only REAL way to let that be known is via my wallet. I'm hoping Phish Inc. does something to fix this, or maybe time will just heal the wound...