From the moment they came out, you could hear them playing with a particular crispness in the way they hit their peaks and lows. Mike particulars, and Trey as well. The notes were pronounced and the base was particularly deep.

While the first five songs were well played and high energy, with the exception of the smooth segue from Tweezer > My Friend, they were pretty much as written with little to no improv. But that Wolfman's was something special, a nice brief trek off the beaten path that was funky and lead perfectly into a Walk Away, which has developed into on of my favorites.

The second set was brilliant....not because of the brilliant music....but the way they did it...without many of the second set show stoppers we've come to expect. Perhaps because of the omission of the DWD's, Chalkdusts, Pipers, 2001s, Yems, Fluffs, Slaves, ....it gave the set a unique feel. A "hey, to all of you that say our sets are uncreative and our shows have been repetitive...kiss our @sses.". The Back on the Train was intense and it lead the way for a deep funk, almost ominous Boogie on. The true surprise of the nigh was the way Waves felt like a second set masterpiece and sequeing seemlessly into Caspian was superb. The Crosseyed was the absolute highlight of my set.

My only sadness is the omission of Tweeprise. Perhaps two tonight? See you there!

Before this show started, a friend and I were hanging out at the campground. I've never listened to Yes, but he told me they're a band i absolutely need to check out. he kicked on The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus), and i was blown away by it.

Was it a coincidence that when we showed up to the show, Trey fucking TEASED IT BEFORE STASH?

no. it was magic. that whole weekend was fucking magic.

I love the way Boogie On Reggae Woman descends into a spacy chaos jam which transforms beautifully into the blissful Waves and then transforms yet again into the celebratory Prince Caspian.

An absolutely transcendental slice of Phish.

this is a ridiculously underrated show in general and a ridiculously underrated first set in particular.

set 1 is dynamic, intense, and filled with purposeful; set 2 is fun, wet, wild, and brilliant.

Tweezer: technically short, I know, but by design, I think, and not for any other reason. I'll say this: it doesn't "feel" like a "standard" Tweezer, it has all the energy and tell-tale signs of an absolutely filthy, gorgeous, 30 minute monster... and I think the band recognizes this and makes a creative decision to apply the breaks - which is what, in my opinion, leads to the much talked about seamless segue into My Friend, My Friend.

I could write about this show all night but I'll content myself with just getting those quick thoughts on the short Tweezer off my chest.

If you haven't listened to this show, GIVE IT A LISTEN.

If you haven't listened to it in awhile, give it a re-listen.

Wow. What can I say that truly expresses how awesome this show was. The first set was fairly normal (besides the segue into MFMF) until Wolfman's Brother. The jam coming out of this Wolfman's was tight and impeccably played as was the segue into Walk Away. Watch this combo. Stash was also incredibly tight and jazzy, but it didn't get quite as psychedelic as it could've IMO. But, the highlight of this set was by far and away, Kill Devil Falls. My jaw dropped when they hit the jam. I think that this version demonstrates 3.0's newest jam vehicle. It was that insane. Bold as Love had a great peak solo and made me wish that it closed sets more often.
The first set was great. The second was beyond words. Carini opening a set is always an exciting prospect in my mind, and I was not let down. Carini was well played and featured a spectacular if slightly abrupt segue into Back on the Train. Once Boogie On hit, however, I knew we were in for something special. Boogie featured some great bombs from Mike, and once it felt like it was going to slow down, before it hit into this wonderful effect-laden jam from Trey that felt almost like Boogie was being played backwards. It was brilliant. From there, there was an awesome segue into Waves. I'm going to be honest, I'm not that familiar with Waves. This version makes me wish I was. There was some absolutely beautiful jamming into Prince Caspian (anyone else catch the theme? Both Caspian and Waves heavily reference water.). I think the best way to describe Caspian would be mellow-raging. It sounds odd, but, that's the only way that I could think of to describe it. Bethel heated back up with Crosseyed. I've always loved this song and this version was no different. The segue from Crosseyed to Wading to Possum was also a real treat (I lost the stream at this point, but LivePhish the next morning truly is a lifesaver). Coil and Julius were simply the icing on the cake. I was truly amazed at the creativity that they put into the setlist. Get this show now. If nothing else, get the second set. It is truly amazing. Here's to stellar beginnings and what promises to be a stellar tour.

I had committed to doing a huge chunk of Summer 2011 and heading up to Bethel woods to camp at the Equifunk campground was an amazing way to partake in a 3 show opening run.

They had music in afternoons and post show (Benevento, Heavy Pets among others) - which was amazing!

It had a festival vibe, except the campground was so small and cohesive that it made for just an unbelievable community. Plus they had school buses running everyone over to the shows!

We headed over early on night 1 and checked out the lot, which was a fun one and seemed pretty expansive. It was a beautiful venue, absolutely stunning, quite possibly my favorite.

Set I started with Tweezer! Hell yea! This was a compact version, but well-played and came to a fiery peak.

>MFMF wow, what an opening sequence. Good version coming on the heels of Tweezer. This is going to be a good run of shows.

Poor Heart was a bunch of fun.

Roses > Funky Bitch was a nice pairing of covers. Energy level was high for both and they both featured good playing. This show had really good flow at this point.

Wolfman's Brother was really solid, and actually took a nice deviation from the main theme. This was a unique version and carried a pretty cool --> Walk Away. Definitely worth a re-listen.

Oh yea and Walk Away was awesome!

They followed that up with Stash. It wasn't the best version, but it was good for sure and kept up the jamming/great song selection.

Bouncin' was well placed as a breather. A good chance to survey the venue and just soak it in.

Kill Devil Falls turned up as an all-time version. There's been a few notable versions of this tune, but this one clocked in at over 13 minutes I think and was a straight up blissful excursion. It had a similar sort of guitar climax to the Undermind from the Dick's FYF show. Go grab this version for sure.

Bold As Love capped off an unreal set I in style. Wow.

Overall Set I: Highlights abound and great song selection throughout. Absolutely nothing negative to note.
Highlights: Wolfman's->Walk Away, KDF

Set II opened with Carini, which was short but oh so sweet. Rocking.

Back on the Train was actually really well played. Trey took an inventive and rocking solo in this one. Heck I think this clocked in near 10 minutes.

Boogie On Reggae Woman was super fun and then they took this inventive approach to the outro jam, playing with effects and tempos. They were pushing and pulling and I think I heard a voice box being used. Space Age and segued beautifully into the show highlight.

Waves was tremendous. This was a multifaceted beast. The initial jam was awesome with good type one playing and interplay. They took this one out there and it clocked in at a more the respectable 15 minutes from what I recall. I remember Trey playing these nice downward flurries of notes before they melted into Caspain.

Well after that Caspian was actually a nice one, and this jam was actually pretty interesting (as I think is noted above). Oh and they make their way into a late set Crosseyed.

Crosseyed was the driving energetic rock that the delicate Waves was not. This was a great counterbalance, and energy was through the roof. The end of the jam culminated in some ascending snarling reminiscent of the Walnut Creek 97 Mike's song conclusion jam. Pure power!

Wading cooled everyone off.

Possum relit the fire!

Coil was a perfect way to soak in the beautiful spring night air.

Encore: Julius was another chance to dance before heading back to camp for more music (or sleep).

Set II: Great set. Two big jams in Waves and Crosseyed with a really cool Back on the Train and Boogie On as well. Even Caspian was interesting!
Highlights: Back On The Train, Boogie On>Waves>Caspian>Crosseyed

Overall: What a tour opener - up there as one of the best tour openers. The playing was super strong and there were some take home jams as well. Song selection/setlist flow was also great (especially set I).

4.1/5 Up there for sure.

Stunning show, one of the best of 3.0 for sure. Today of course marks the third anniversary, and I'm also reading a book called "You Don't Know Me But You Don't Like Me" in which the author declares this show as his first spiritual experience at Phish. I can hear why. I would be loath to add to these reviews as I agree with much that has already been said, but there is one thing bugging me after listening to the second set, in the Boogie On>Waves transition in particular:
You can't tell me that Mike's NOT quoting N2O over the madness in between. Either I'm nuts, or everyone else missed it.

If you're reading this right now, head over to the Live Phish video of 'Waves'. Immediately!!

There is a nice tease of "The Fish" by Yes right before Stash. You can hear Trey say "Sounds like Yes".

@Piper72, i was a little enhanced that night but i was freaking out during the transition into waves thinking it was NO2 the whole time...my buddy thought i was nuts

I had a blast at this show, very solid first set with a great wolfmans>walk away and a kill devil falls that goes out for a stroll and a bold as love first set closer??!! second set had an excellent flow and i love them closing with coil and letting page play us out

Was not at this show, but just listened to it yesterday for the first time.

Something about the Tweezer opener seems to launch the boys into a firey first set of awesomesauce all around.

Second second Waves is by far the ticket with a beautiful transition into a a heavenly Caspian!

Definitely worth a listen or relisten!

the true gem was the squiring coil closer.... i was there insaane . They killed the light show and left page on stge alone to do his thing so so badass amazing opener and great show

Very underrated show and not one I attended.
First set highlights: Wolfman's>Walk Away transition and a really good Kill Devil Falls (one of the best versions to date)

The second set in my opinion is one of the masterpiece sets of the summer. Just a great flow from beginning to end with lots of Page stepping up. I love the irony of prince caspian following waves on the setlist. One of those Coil otros where you can tell the crowd had the time of their lives and is grinning from ear to ear.

one of the best tour openers I can remember

Tighest tour opener I've heard in a while. First set was better than the first, IMO! Second set made me wanna snooze! Did anyone else hear the Tweeprise called for near the end jam of Walk Away?!?!? Still two notes left! I'm stoked for a Woodstock M'bird!