I am already seeing some uncharitable reviews circulating on the Facebook and assorted Internet(s), so I hopefully the following can provide both a critical but overall positive perspective on what was a solid 3.0.

The energy was a bit down, but in the reciprocal relationship between band and fans - this was day 3 (or 4) for many of what has been the best 3.0 tour opening since Bethel (?) - I know my crew and I were not 100% together Saturday. Also, lets acknowledge that Trey was a tad sloppy on the Divided Sky (and other assorted notes throughout the show).

However, to claim that SPAC night 3 was "less" or the "worst" show of the three night run is doing a severe disservice to what is another victory lap for the 30th anniversary year of our favorite band.

Crowd Control is a great (pop) song, but I think serves as a terrible opener. I always wonder whether Phish play this when they hear of some horror story in the lot or the venue tells them of crowd unruliness...

After that, the first set is solid (even with a surprise first set Wading, which I think I prefer in its new slot rather than in the second set). First set is littered with highlights including My Friend, Fishman's outing on the Marimba Lumina in Scent, always welcomed Undermind tracks, and a crunchy Wombat (this is the new Tube). Wombat is purified Phish crack. Great stuff. Furthermore, after 31 shows, we got out first I Didn't Know.

For those seeking problems in the second set, I think you might be hard pressed. High energy throughout almost the whole second half. Carini took no prisoners and dissolved into a beautiful jam that led into a great version of Waves. Wingsuit was perfectly placed IMO, soaring into its Pink Floyd-esque climax.

Last night's clear highlight, I think, was Piper. At roughly 14 minutes, this Piper is one of the best I have heard live. Like many points throughout the SPAC '14 run I kept saying to myself "This is PHISH" and is one of the stand-out moments of the weekend.

We know where Fluffhead is going, but I can't complain about the placement (and Fluff is so much fun!) Even Heavy Things works as Page does a unique solo at the halfway mark. Finally, YEM deviates from the standard formula to round out an excellent 2nd set of Phish. I can't say too much about a Suzy encore.

If this was a stand-alone show, there would be no complaints. But perhaps in comparison to the Gin > Limb, Fuego > DWD > Twist > Light of the previous two nights, maybe last night can't compare? I sincerely doubt that.

A new phase of 3.0 has begun. The "no covers" rule should not be taken lightly. I think this is a positive step for the band, as they now have to push the envelope of there own material. I hope the rest of summer tour is as good as these three SPAC shows. See you in Charlotte > MPP!

A hit & miss finale. Missed the .net pre-show gathering while completing a mission on my brother's behalf. Took longer than expected. Down to the front of the lawn, Cactus side.

First set kicked off with a righteous Crowd Control. One of the stronger versions that I have heard. Myfe made a welcome appearance, shook off some early rust, and rip-snarled as it should. Scent smelled good, luminous marimba and all. Undermind was straightforward and funkbouncy, with a humorously flubbed ending. ASIHTOS was a gnarly curveball, short but satisfying. IDK that "Moses Dewitt" could still play the electrolux so well after such a long hiatus. Welcome bac, vac! Foam was a crowd pleaser, but kinda rough. Divided Sky was extended, showing both rust and energetic intent. Wading was unexpected and beautifully cathartic. A fine, fine version. Bowie got effects-crazy and shredular at the end, after a constrained and quite short jam.

Switched sides for set deux - Page side = chatty side. (Grrrr!) Nice, aggressive start with Carini - wackadoo new effect employed by Trey on the "launch" part before the final chorus, quick redirect into a brief blissful stroll, and a nice little segue into Waves. This was a fine version, albeit truncated just when it seemed like it was ready to lift off at the end. Fizzle to a full stop, which means new album time. Wingsuit was decent enough, but to my ears the closing jam was like the Milennium Falcon trying to make the jump to light speed, but the hyperdrive is broken. Gordo pulls out the drill, and no sooner does he apply it to the strings than Trey starts aggressively strumming Piper. Jumpy and aggressive Piper, very well-jammed. Liquid fire, down to smoldering embers, and then a beautiful transition into...Flubhead?? This one was rusty, especially on the part of the rusty-haired axeman, but was salvaged by some interesting embellishments. Still not sure whether Trey stepped on an effects pedal or a puppy at one point. Huddle time - could we be heading semilunar? Nope - the joyous bounce of Heavy Things, oddly welcome to kick off the 4th quarter. No Trey solo (boo), but instead Leo went absolutely bonkers on the organ. Just him and Fishman at one point. Call it a "sound alike" version, and you declare your deafness to all of .netdom! Slave expectedly emerged next. Emphatic peakage, and a worthy version if one does not compare it to the majestic masterpiece version from 1 year prior. Not done yet. YEM!!! Scary moment early in the intro where it looked like Trey might have forgotten how to play the song. He recovered, and it was good. Downright dirty blues duel between Trey and Gordeaux. Funky finale with Trey going nuts like a wook in pajamas while Page and Fishman tore it up. Typically deranged vocal jam, and that's the set. I called the Suzy Greenberg encore as the took their bows, and that's what we got. Perfunctory, except for that screaming, drumming manimal named Fishman. He was absolutely on fire all weekend! Thanks to The Phish From Vermont for a fun holiday weekend at the SPAC from NY!!!

After seeing 'Can't turn you loose' was at the soundcheck it makes me want it to reappear in Possum. I love it when the soundchecks look sick on paper, Wombat > Manteca, wow.

I do believe the odds of scoring a pav ticket is 1 out of every six shows you attend. SPAC is a whole different universe from the inside. Unlike other venues, SPAC has this enormous walled structure that obscures the stage to some degree. I think I've been in good seats SPAC 3/14 times. Last year I got to rock orchpits! Lawn all three nights is rough but there are fun places to be and flat ground to be had. Which brings me to last night 7/5.

Love the 50 north lot. It was like a hippie mall with all sorts of merch to be purveyed and sought. Lots of rock specimens and crystals abound. It was a beautiful day and certainly the best weather of the run.

The show had a lot of 'greatest hits' with strong versions that poured high-energy and excitement into the crowds. The area I was at transformed into a crazy dance party that reminded me of the madness of Sand at Cypress for some reason. My periphery had a crowd of dancers and it was great all night long. I perceived the Carini to have a 'happy' vibe that melted into Waves. Lots of fun. Piper was A+ on taking us there. I was waiting all night for a YEM and finally got one. I was really hoping for a crazy bust out this time around like a Spock's Brain or Brother but in the Phish universe you never know what stop your getting on or off. SPAC to the future.

This was the only show I got to watch live on my couch so far, and I was thoroughly pleased. Loved Wombat..guess we may be wrong about it, and thought Wading and Divided were stellar. I've read a lot of reviews about Trey being off, but I thought he sounding great all night.

A very tight and well played second set all around. Wingsuit, Piper and Fluffhead in particular were pretty strong. And YEM vocals were also great.

Basically this was not an EPIC show, but it was a really fun show. The Trey/Mike duet in YEM in particular made me smile wide.

If these guys are shaking off some rust, and this is what we call rust, we're looking at another amazing tour. Now, when does Fall get announced?

Watched on the couch, so take that for what it's worth.
Really hard to go wrong with Foam, Divided Sky, David Bowie, Carini, Fluffhead, Slave and YEM. Even average versions are a pleasure. The band seems particularly tight (in a good way, vey cohesive).
Piper jam was by far the best of the night, just spectacular!

The whole band had their stand out moments as well. Page had solos throughout the show, Trey took the lead when he needed, Fishman was a machine especially in the second set and Mike shined in YEM.

3 stars mainly because nothing stood out to me in the first set. Solid but no face melting. Second set, different story. Carini even took a soft light turn for the jam which I thought was interesting and thoughtful. Again, listen to the Piper jam, stellar!

SET 1:

Crowd Control: cool. Forgot Trey used to call for this one a good amount in early 3.0. No complaints here, feel-good opener for this summer show.

My Friend, My Friend: perfect follow up, feels good in this spot. Give us some dirt, boys! >

Scent of a Mule: yee fuckin ha! This explodes out of the end of MFMF in style. No rest for the wicked so far! Raging klezmer section leads into some marimba lumina playing that almost sounds like an acid bassline, would go hard at a Shpongle show. The audience starts a clap-along, funny. To be honest this is a pretty uneventful Mule breakdown, pretty much just a marimba bassline with no accompaniment. They would go on to perfect the marimba-led Mule breakdown on 7/20, but I respect the attempt to do something different here.

Undermind: cool. A little funkier than usual in the composed section. Standard version otherwise. Fish is good at this whole drumming thing, eh? So good that Trey introduces ‘Moses Heaps!’ after the song finishes. Naturally they have to go into a Fish-led song next…

A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing: the 2.0 songs keep on coming. My opinion: don’t play this one unless you are willing to jam it. Doesn’t fully work as a type 1 tune IMO. This one has some good rage from Trey though.

I Didn’t Know: Trey highlighting Fish again! Cool. Fish is introduced as Moses DeWitt.

Foam: very nice. Another Fish-led song. Let’s see how they do. The answer is: very well! A little on the slower side but not many flubs to my ears.

Wombat: nice call, they’re having fun. Super tight, SUPER funky version. Good stuff - recommended.

Divided Sky: yesssss. I’m grinning ear to ear. Tight composed section, well done. The jam portion and ending are much less inspired. It’s still Divided Sky so who cares.

Wading in the Velvet Sea: okay cooldown placement. Good solo.

David Bowie: great way to end a set. Concise, raging, rocking Bowie. Good.

—

SET 2:

Carini: the ol’ 3.0 reliable. After the (slightly shaky) composed section, jam starts out in a typical rocking, tense zone, but very quickly moves to quiet major key playing around 5:30. Cute little space here especially with Trey’s strummy riff that starts up soon after. Good playing from Fish. Trey darkens it slightly a couple mins later and then commits to a rock-adjacent space at 9:30. Sounds like it’s gonna enter a cool Camden CDT-ish jam with whale call, but Trey abruptly aborts it for >

Waves: it was a solid Carini but they didn’t land on anything particularly special so I understand this call. Surprisingly nice major key peaks from Trey before they return to the head, then Page pushes a very pleasant droney ambient jam with fluttery Fish and plenty of Mike bombs. Remains me strangely of a Necks jam. Trey’s loops starting at 8:45 - lovely. I’m floating in the sea at night. Fades out naturally, no ripcord. Nice Waves here! Recommended. They found what they were looking for in Carini.

Wingsuit: biiiiig fan of this placement after the end of that Waves ambience. Nearly any song can be redeemed by a good placement - exhibit A here.

Piper: fast as hell to start. This is like an ‘00 Piper in the early going, minus the long intro of course. Trey is out for blood at the beginning of the jam with some aggressive playing but then he hits the wah pedal and we’re in funk zone. Holy clav @ 5 minutes! Really is the instrument of the tour. Back to rock at 6:30, then back to funk at 7:20. This section is awesome and sounds a good bit like the Fuego break, Page ripping the organ and all. Back to rock once again at 9m and with Page plonking those heavy rhythm chords we’re on the way to some nice hose. Totally shreds from here on out. Sounds exactly like a post-BD bliss jam but with that extra edge of a slightly younger Trey’s dexterity and Page’s swaggering confidence. You don’t hear too many jams like these in the first half of 3.0 so this is very cool. Good stuff, check it out! >

Fluffhead: wow, Trey’s feeling brave if he’s going for this here (and it’s fast too!) Interesting placement. Yep lol this is flubbed by Trey almost immediately after the vocals - figured this was a bit ambitious. Nothing irreparable. Pretty mundane version from there on out.

Heavy Things: Trey is for sure in a good mood if he wants to play this here. Kinda strange spot but I adore this tune. Page gets some time to shine on the organ here, the band (save Fish) cuts out for a portion. Cute. >

Slave to the Traffic Light: yesssss. Sometimes this can feel tacked on but I’m feeling this placement big time. Set ender? Standard, though I kinda enjoy some of Trey’s low-end work in the jam. Obviously not an all timer but this peaks convincingly. Nice Slave. You think the set is done and then…

You Enjoy Myself: hahahahahaha there’s no way. Fluff, DSky, Bowie, Foam, YEM and Slave in the same show - 1989 called and they want their setlist back! So cool. Opening arpeggios are majorly flubbed by Trey. A couple more light flubs later on in the composed section. A shame! Jam goes quiet almost immediately and the crowd claps along. Very funky Mike and Trey interplay here - reminds me of Khruangbin for some reason. Extremely cool stuff. Man if only Trey hadn’t fucked the composed section so badly. Mike is EVERYWHERE here. Gets dissonant and goofy at 14 mins in, Fish on the cowbell. Then Trey teases Wombat lightly at 15 mins and begins to angle towards a peak, but there isn’t much of one. Bass + drums with Mike’s crazy effects pedals and then a funny, weird vocal jam. Give this one a listen, but the flubs unfortunately preclude the listenability here.

ENCORE:

Suzy Greenberg: standard. Vibes.

—

OVERALL: don’t have too much bad to say about this show. Does it lack a ‘big moment’ or two typically present in the greats from this era? Sure - it’s a little vanilla. But there isn’t really a slow stretch here and the setlist is remarkably solid. Maybe not quite as relistenable as some other shows but that set 2 is pretty damn good, I’d be pumped after seeing that. Waves and Piper are quality as fuck, Wombat, Slave and Bowie aren’t too far behind. Check it out.

3.8 stars.

Ahh spac night 3 2014, loved this whole entire show, walked around the whole crowd and had a great time in the suzy green burg glow stick war, got it on video and all. The piper into fluffhead was chilling. Heavy things was a little fast to my ears but very good. Basically in my opinion every song was great at this show. Sad it was the last night and no more summer shows after this one for me but it was as great fun filled concert.

Honestly, I could almost quit going to Phish after this show, (of course I wont) this was pretty much my dream setlist.... Every time I go to a show I privately ask/pray/hope for a Dsky or Yem or fluff or slave or carini or bowie.....but to get them all? I also have been spouting off about Mule and Wombat and even though they are completely different, they hold the same wacky song type, and if they where to ever appear in the same show, I'd lose my shit.....well I did. I realize this isn't a "review" so to speak and I don't feel reviews are relevant anymore (for myself of course) I just hold this show close to my heart for a million reasons and needed to spout off. Was it "perfect"? nope and they never are, but this was as close to "perfect" for MY soul as I'll ever get......well till the next one at least!

personally i thought this was the least energetic of the spac run. i just couldn't settle into the first set, the crowd didn't seem to into it either at least where i was (balcony page side). trey didn't get all of our attention until the divided sky break. i never give the guys less than 3 stars and i won't ever not go see them but this is my honest assessment. definitely preferred nights 1 and 2 over night 3 at spac.

OK, this probably won’t be a popular point of view, but Trey really sounds rusty on the ole guitar. For a lot of Phish music these days, this doesn’t matter. The best Phish jams are holistic full-band entities. Trey’s “contribution” to these jams (including last night) often doesn’t depend on his “chops” (speed, dexterity, attack), but rather his ideas and communication with the other members. Now, this does matter in intricate composed sections — and last night had an alarming number of mistakes (From “My Friend” to “You Enjoy Myself” and a lot in between). I said in my previous review that I’m “at peace” with flubs — they happen. But, to be blunt, Trey just sounds downright out of practice. His playing is uncertain — he seems to play notes with a half hearted hesitance, rather than the ferocious attack we love. Maybe Trey really doesn’t practice much alone anymore (scales, metronome exercises that any guitar player needs to do with relative regularity to keep their chops) . Who could blame him? Regardless, I would expect his chops to improve over the course of tour, but last night was hard to listen to at times. Onto the music.

This show opened with “Crowd Control.” Not sure what to say about that! :-)

“My Friend, My Friend” is a great song — and even better in the first set (it has cropped up in unwelcome slots in the second lately). This version wasn’t well played. Trey started the chords too early, and missed many of the tough transition lines between chords. Perhaps they needed a few more warm up songs before diving into this beast??

“Scent of a Mule” featured the Marimba Lumina (Sp?) again. You can barely here it on the SBD recording. How was it for those who were there? This is one of those songs that was written in peak-machine-gun-Trey era (‘94) — the end section, which speeds up to an unwieldy tempo, has not been kind to 3.0 Trey. This one was actually one of the better versions I’ve heard.

“Undermined” is one of those songs that sounds like it is a thick groove that emerged out of a “real” jam like many of the songs on Fuego or Story of the Ghost. It is so textured and rhythmic. But, while it sounds “out there”, you might (or might not) be surprised to hear that it employs perhaps the oldest structure in American music — the 12 bar blues. This is a song that is all about the groove and Trey’s chops don’t matter much. His funky licks are more about “taste” than speed, and he really crafted some nice lines in this jam. Fishman starred at the end with lots of ‘start stop’ drum solo/fills.

“A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing” really sounds like a song that should always emerge from a long jam in the second set, and then, itself, go into a very long jam (I’m thinking 6/19/04-style). The song itself and the jam is so ethereal and open, I’m not sure why it has become almost exclusively a first set song. Anyway, this version is nice, but short.

“I Didn’t Know” is fun. Is it a cover????

“Foam” is one of Phish’s most technical and awesome songs. This one was played relatively well, but the solos from both Page and Trey seemed to lack “bite” for lack of a better word. In the good old days, these solos would really peak out in a beautiful, soaring way — these ones were really laid back and didn’t seem to build to much.

“Wombat” — Boy this felt longer than 5:23?! I guess “Wombat” is the next “Tube” — a funk song that feels like it should be 10-15 minutes, but actually clocks in at 4-6. The “jam” on “Wombat” pretty much stuck to the structure of the song keeping the “stops” at the end of each progression (where they would say, “Cuddly but Muscular” or whatever). It’s a fun thick groove, this song.

“Divided Sky” — This would be the second of three Junta songs in the first set alone (and there was more to come). This is usually highly welcome news, but this version also seemed to lack “bite.” Trey flubbed a couple sections and he didn’t seem to be able to get that sustain from his Koa Languedoc on the celebratory melody at the end before the jam. The feedback was overwhelming the guitar and it sounded crappy overall. A side note — I wish Trey would always play his original blonde Languedoc that he played in the Jemp Truck set on 12/31/13 — and basically every show from ‘89-’97. The guitar, in my opinion, has far and away the cleanest and most even tone of all his guitars.

“Waiting in the Velvet Sea” was oddly placed here (usually a ballad/breather after a long second set jam). Trey seemed to never get comfortable with his tone/sustain on the solo and it just didn’t reach the melodious heights the Wading chord progression asks for.

“David Bowie” -This was a standard version that stuck to the formula in the jam. The composed section again was rough doings at the end.

Set II — “Carini->Waves” — Anyone else notice that last night’s “Carini->Waves” was the flip of 10/25/13 Worcester “Waves->Carini?” It’s a really nice pairing — dark/evil and bright/flowing. The “Carini” jam very quickly created this funky vamp around 4:30 that the whole band played in unison, and then back to “Carini” territory. By 5:30 we were “out” and (as has often been the case lately) the band modulated into a major key and the jam got “pretty.” Trey found a nice little chordal vamp that was laid back and ethereal, and Page and Mike began to fill in some beautiful textures. The jam kind of stayed in this chill space for the rest of it. Nothing epic, but great textures and patient playing from all members. “Waves” was a nice segue because the preceding jam had a “Wavy” feel to it…just flowing along. “Waves” has two “jam” sections. The first is over a A-D chord progression (but they stay on each chord for a while). The second sometimes doesn’t even happen, but emerges out of the “On the wind, but under water” line and will always be something “type ii”. This “second jam” out of Waves only lasted about 3 minutes, but was a Page McConnell showcase. There wasn’t even much of a beat. Just Trey playing “pretty’ arpeggios and eventually looping some digi-crap stuff, and Page flourishing these gorgeous melodic runs on the baby grand piano.

Now, it kind of feels like this jam would have perfectly gone “->” into “Wingsuit” but it seems like with the new tunes the band has to regroup and count it off. I hope one day “Wingsuit” (and “Waiting All Night”) will emerge from a jam. This was the only song of the night where I felt like Trey’s tone and playing was strong and confident. The end-solo really is amazing.

“Piper” — This was by far the highlight of the night. At first the jam kind of seemed to be going in circles. Trey would play some punchy rhythm chords and a groove would be established, he do something else, and then end up playing punchy chords again. But, at 9:37 Trey finally decides to play some (f’in’) notes (!) and quickly discovers a triumphant melody. Page is simply going off again on the piano in the 10th minute. Trey starts trilling, but comes back to the same melody he found before, and Mike/Fish are really driving a ferocious groove beneath. As Page switches to organ the jam really peaks out nicely around 12:17. After all the laid back/wavy jams before, this really feels like a much deserved peak. The jam then descends into…

“Fluffhead” — Hey who can complain? Remember when they couldn’t/wouldn’t play this song? But, that said, I prefer a 15 minute composed song in the first set. It takes up valuable jamming real estate in the second. This version (again) was not well-played. The start of “Fluff’s Travels” in particular featured Trey just completely dropping out of the mix.

“Heavy Things” — OK weird placement. I actually love Trey’s solo on this song, but lately he’s been giving it up to Leo (like last night). A good move on this particular evening (ouch!).

“Slave to the Traffic Light” — there it is. I still think this was much needed on night 2, but it works as the set closer. Unfortunately, once again, Trey just didn’t seem comfortable. He even flubbed the F-A-G chords before the hard rock section (it doesn’t get much easier than those three chords!). The jam is good as always, but even it feels disjointed and lacks confidence.

“You Enjoy Myself” — Phish often “fakes” a set closer, like playing “Cavern” which you would expect would close a set, and then “Bowie”. But, a “Slave” fake out into “YEM” is pretty damn epic. Once again, Trey just completely falls apart in the fast arpeggio section at the outset (really the first minute of the song is the only hard part). You can hear him yell in frustration on the SBD recording. It is rough. But, the YEM jam is about as cool as YEM jams go in 3.0. I wasn’t there, but did Trey dance at all? As others have pointed out, the Trey-dance has lately substituted for an actual guitar solo in YEM. That is not good. If he danced last night at least there was a real jam to accompany it. And, this jam was actually different and interesting (not your normal Trey build on Gmin). It got weird on this kind of “under pressure” like vamp.

“Suzy Greenberg” is not often the “encore” but when you don’t have “Loving Cup” or “Good Times Bad Times” on hand, you gotta improvise. Given Trey’s playing, this was a good choice because it features piano solos (zing!).

So, two days off before Mann. Let’s hope that maybe Trey will sit in his tour bus and play some scales and metronome exercises. He could use it!

Crowd Control- I feel like this song is a perfect opener. It begs introspection, and sets the mood for the band/crowd energy transfer that keeps both parties coming back for more. The band seems to agree, with it locking down the opening gig in a full three quarters of its appearances. Well played version to set up...

MFMF- This song seems innocent at first, out for a nice stroll, but inevitably My Friend growls out from the depths of a dark alley, and before you know it, MIFE. Standard version. Definitely glad the ending's back. It's not the same without the MIFE.

Mule- No sooner had we escaped the knife than we look up to see this particular Mule bearing down on us with extra ferocity. It starts kicking right away, and doesn't let up. And then comes the Duel. I get the feeling that Dr. Moses Moses has spent every waking moment since New Year's Eve practicing his Marimba Lumina. Tonight's solo was less gimmicky than 2013 versions, and a very cool addition. Of note: Trey's portion of the duel, which is obviously not the easiest segment to play, was close to spot on. I'm a pretty big Mule fan, and this one was thoroughly enjoyable.

Undermind- I adore this song. It's catchy, fun, and has obviously shown tremendous potential over the years. Equally as comfortable in the first quarter as it is in the third, it can either stay tight and playful, or stretch its legs out and drift off into the unknown. In this case it did the former, despite Fishman's attempt to draw out the ending a couple more measures.

ASIHTOS- This was a very straight forward version. It certainly soared and wailed its way to guitar rock glory, mind you, but it was also succinct, and well placed.

I Didn't Know- Always a fun time, and if we're not going to get any Neil Diamond or Syd Barrett, at least we still get a little Moses Dewitt. I love that what started out as pure silliness has turned musically interesting over years, as Fish has learned to play vacuum solos that do anything but suck.

Foam- huge Foam fan, when it's played well. The band have mentioned this song many times over the years as one of their hardest songs to play, so let's keep that in mind when I say that this version was nearly spotless. They even stuck the ending, showing once again that they truly are THE entertainers.

Wombat- Making its first appearance of what is sure to be many this Summer, this marsupial brings out the band's best James Brown. Funky, and oozing potential, you can tell this cuddly number could have gone on for hours, but it decided it wasn't quite time yet to flex its muscles like its fiery brother the night before.

Divided Sky- Gotta love the magic of the music. Somehow this song always makes the breeze blow. Even during the crazy Deer Creek fever dream of 2012, I swear the temperature dropped from 106 to at least 104. Reasonably well played version, and if you're keeping track we're up to three relatively difficult compositions so far, played without any real incident.

Wading in the Velvet Sea- Such a beautiful song, and I'd rather hear it here than in the middle of a Mike's Groove. That being said, during this version I thought about how Trey's new shoulder-strap pad makes him look like a shaggy cyborg, how I wish there were more "I'm Antelope Greg" shirts out there (like a lot more), and finally, wondered how many other dudes have to hug their girlfriends extra tight during the sappy vocal part, while at the same time suddenly remembering that there's a Sox game on, and wondering what the score might be, and whether or not she'll notice if they subtly pull their phone out, and ultimately deciding against it because maybe they both won't be too tired later to fool around back at the hotel. And by then, Trey was in the middle of his solo, which, as I said, was beautiful.

Bowie- You could smell this Bowie coming a mile away, and it also seemed like a very logical transition from Wading. So much so that I was surprised to learn that the two haven't been paired together before. Bowie went to work closing out the first set with standard precision, and included some beautiful Trey/Page interplay. In fact, I feel like the peak was all about Page, though the whole band obviously shredded this one out as well. Always a good choice to end the set. Ready for a break, yet ready for more.

Set 2

Carini- This Carini reminded me of a video circulating not too long ago of a rare Pallas's Wild Cat, of the Tibetan Plateau, discovering a video camera outside it's cave. It starts out tentative, and maybe even a little frightened by its own shadow, and then gets down right cuddly, before settling into a repetitive rhythm and going about its day in the Himalayas. It was peaceful, and happy, and had just a touch of terror lurking over in the corner. A little too peaceful and meandering for my taste, as Carinis go. This one seemed to start out with some guitar issues, and never really found its footing. Just as it finally seemed like it had located, and was beginning to stalk its prey...

Waves- Jumped out and scared Carini back into it's hole. The first jam stayed within the Bertha structure, but did some interesting things with it as well. The second jam, however, took a delicate leap into the stratosphere (on the wind and under water, if you will). Definitely worth another listen, and made me forget I had wanted the Carini to go on a bit longer. Waves washed onto the shore and into a brief pause before

Wing Suit- Which could have seamlessly blended out of Waves, but hey, it's a new song. Everyone 's still ironing out the kinks. A well placed breather, and a nice metaphor for the band's transformation and growth over the years, with the "What's new is old, what's old is gone" lyrics. Or maybe they're just a band of dudes trying to play a good show every day, and have fun doing it, and we should all stop trying to read too much into it and think Fishman's going to know what the hell the "Second Jam" in Mike's is. Either way, This song's really growing on me, and the ambient drill outro played perfectly into Piper, which makes it a logical tool for the arsenal, as Piper can get a little clunky coming out of a lot of other songs.

Piper- This version was purely professional, and got right down to business. The band patiently picked apart the red red worm, before suddenly plowing forward, full steam ahead, into a tunnel with particularly interesting tile walls, and emerging on the other side, right smack dab in the middle of Joe Walsh's garage, which it promptly blew roof off of as it reached for the tremendous peak that Pipers do best. As the song tumbled down the other side, they could have easily finished off last night's Bathtub Gin, like Fluffhead cleaning up his patio the morning after his 4th of July party.

Fluffhead- But instead, we get a relatively smooth transition into Fluff's travels. Now here let's go ahead and note that anyone's fingers and brain are bound to get a little tired after a Mule Duel, Foam, Divided Sky, and Bowie. Still, it was a rough stumble out of the gate for this Fluff's Travels. But just when Trey was starting to look concerned about what he'd gotten himself into, all of a sudden The Chase was on. Who did? We did. Then Clod checked out a strange noise Trey's guitar had started making, before a brilliantly played bundle of joy, and a typically climatic arrival, which is really where we've all been trying to get in the first place. Overall an enjoyable Fluffhead, despite the flubs at the beginning.

Heavy Things- Felt like when they turned on the lights at Cypress. In the beginning of the fourth frame, it's a happy, fun song (minus the lyrics), with a great LEO solo (and some great Page/Fish interplay), and even though I sigh every time it starts, I always find myself thinking it could have been worse by the end. And the band certainly had fun playing it. It's like bouncing. It won't save your life, but...

Slave- will. I'm guessing Carini/Slave bookends were the favorite going into the post in good old Saratoga. Contrary to the normal closing pace, however, this Slave spent relatively little time at the city and the zoo before hopping on the Autobahn, gunning it up the side of a very large mountain, and exploding at the peak. Which would have made for an amazing ending for the set, had the burning wreckage not landed in the muck that was the beginning of...

YEM- I think everyone would have been happy if the set had ended after Slave, especially with a YEM encore, but that was not to be. This version featured a particularly rocky start (read: Trey forgot the whole thing), but settled down after the high hat kicked in, and sailed along through mostly smooth waters from there on out. Particularly noteworthy was the very nice Trey/Mike interplay after the tramps section. In the end, Mike soloed away, while Trey channelled his inner DirectTV commercial even more energetically than usual, and a standard Vocal Jam closed out the set. I'll never turn my nose up at a YEM, but this one seemed like more of an afterthought at times. Or icing, depending on your perspective.

E: Show of Life politely stepped out of the way for a typically rocking Suzy. Like Julius, or Possum, you can't really go wrong with a good Suzy Greenberg. Excellent cap on an above average night. Nothing mind blowing, but a heavy dose of technically trying and proficiently played numbers in Mule, Foam, Divided Sky, Bowie, Fluffhead, and YEM. Also of note, still no covers (and if the wasn't a Loving Cup encore waiting to happen, I don't know what is). Surrender to the flow.

This was the only show I got to watch live on my couch so far, and I was thoroughly pleased. Loved Wombat..guess we may be wrong about it, and thought Wading and Divided were stellar. I've read a lot of reviews about Trey being off, but I thought he sounding great all night.

A very tight and well played second set all around. Wingsuit, Piper and Fluffhead in particular were pretty strong. And YEM vocals were also great.

Basically this was not an EPIC show, but it was a really fun show. The Trey/Mike duet in YEM in particular made me smile wide.

If these guys are shaking off some rust, and this is what we call rust, we're looking at another amazing tour. Now, when does Fall get announced?

Thank you Phish. Wow. That show is what we are all chasing. Couch for me but I'm guessing they'd better double check the structural integrity of that SPAC upper deck after that 2nd set! Great night on couch tour, CSN from Bethel to warm up for Phish, then Ratdog(Bobby sick?) from Vegas to end a great night for east-coast insomniacs! Thank you once again Phish. P. S. Please stream Soundboard audio every night for us! Keeping relevant and keeping us involved will pay off with continued dedication and excitement for every note played. Someone just called this tour the center of the musical universe, true for many folks, but for the less hardcore audiophiles who don't seek out the nightly phone streams, relevance will fade till next webcast. Slap us with those Soundboard streams for free and cement the "center of the musical universe" idea. Also, 15 bucks a show is getting pricey. Can we get the mp3 with the 15 bucks please? Again, relevance and excitement will continue to blossom.

Not a review, but seeing in the set list that this show had a Sky, a Bowie, a Fluff, a Slave and a YEM makes me wonder about the set lists for my two shows Tuesday and Wednesday in Philly. I can already see a set closing Antelope in my future....