My first show was Nutter 97, and I really appreciated how many callbacks there were to that night spread across the sets. My seat was exactly one row behind the one I had all those years ago. As luck would have it the owner of that ticket didn't show up, so I was on that sweet row 7 aisle with the exact seat in which I started my phish journey.

I thought the night was marked by a bunch of tight, dynamic jams. Trey seemed pretty ready to shred and they never went full bliss, which was refreshing to someone that comes out for evil phish. Every time they approached it, Trey came out with something darker and funkier to turn away. 9th Cube was unexpected and had very many people scratching their heads. This Theme was a bit weird, very traditional but with some oddly placed and very different licks from Trey. Great jam in Cool Amber, very shreddy. I enjoyed the Gin, they went to some uncommonly traveled spaces and returned to the theme very smoothly(another thing that stood out in this show, imo). Reba and It's Ice(I know I skipped ahead with this one, but I hold them both in the same "intricate composed piece" basket) seemed very well executed to me, which was nice as the last few of both I've seen were a bit flubby.

I very much enjoyed the second set. The jams felt like they were just the right length and each one had something a bit different. It was fun to catch a second jam in Mike's, and this one was very dynamic. I didn't know Pillow Jets, but the jam made me a believer... it was big and explosive and extremely high energy. Twist is a song I've seen a disproportionate number of times, but I really enjoyed this one. Trey brought everyone down to quiet to start it off and I thought the result was some really great teamwork by both the melodic and rhythmic sections. A very emotive Slave closer alerted us that there was going to be something worth waiting for, and was another of the connective fibers stretching back to 97.

Joy isn't a song I'd ever choose to hear at a show, but Red likes it and I knew there was more so I just let wash over me. The Buffalo Bill felt perfectly placed, really picking up the mood and reminding us how silly this band can be. The Silence of the Lambs quote was fun as well, I miss when Trey talked to us. Wilson > First Tube was just pure energy. The crowd was over the moon and it felt like every effect Trey has was on display at some point in that tiny little shredfest.