Dayton-Phish has been on my bucket-list since listening to the 12/07/97 performance on repeat for an entire summer - "psycho killer & dayton jam"!!!! Shakedown was solid, sound in the venue was crisp. At set break I felt like it could've been the end of night-1. There's a few points in "twist" where you can feel how intimate the size venue is. One thing worth noting here, during pillow-jets this dood totally tossed his arm-UP with a gigantic thumbs-DOWN .. ppl all around were incredibly confused.. like okay buddy, let's see you pick the set-list? Anyhoo I was on the floor pretty close to the guy, and Trey took notice.. then proceeded to f*cken rip open pillow jets via evil-phish and melted this guys arm back down, thank god! I also think this was the inspiration for Joy in the encore... "You can be happy" 1. COOL AMBER & MERCURY -- best version to date?? 2. Bathtub gin 3. CDT 4. Mike' Song 5. Pillow Jets->Weekapaug Groove, twist

The old saying of "never judge a book by its color" sure rings true for this show. I am a South Floridian and as a result have to travel across the country to see Phish do their thing. While I wish that the band would visit FL again soon, I like the opportunity to explore new cities, venues, and have new experiences all while on the road catching a Phish show. I found myself in Ocean City, NJ on a family reunion trip the week leading up to the Chicago run. The noticeable pep in my step that week on the shore was attributable to the fact that I was flying out of Philadelphia on Friday to head to meet with friends and catch the Saturday night show at the United Center. Friday night, my friend and I elected to drive to a Chicago suburb and catch a local jam band called "Mr. Blotto." While I was sad about missing N1 at the United Center, it was cool to catch some great local music. This band played Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley that night, possibly as a nod to the big show going on up the road. Some great Dead tunes and other songs carried us through that night. A nice warm up for another Saturday night with Phish. Saturday finally came but the day dragged on. The whole "a watched pot never boils" theory always holds true on show days for me. Time seems to stand still as the show grows nearer. After a walk-through a summer street fair in Streeterville and a couple (few, maybe more) cocktails at a local pub, my friend and I were in an Uber on our way to the United Center. There was a long line to get in, which I learned was similar to N1. We were on the floor, which I was really looking forward to. My last Phish show prior to this was at MSG on 12/29 where I mistakenly bought seats in a section which had an obstructed view thanks to the Chase Skybridge. Floor was essential at the United Center - redemption. Okay, enough of the preamble. On to what really matters - the music. Immediately, I knew we were in for a "box of chocolates" setlist. The Life Saving Gun opener was a bit of a surprise - FTP as an opener since Nashville in 2023. I thought very well played and cool to hear this song live. The Steam that followed was almost predictable, since my friend and I had heard that song on Ch. 29 about two or three times that weekend prior to the show. Cosmic coincidence, maybe. I really enjoyed the intro into McGrupp and was surprised to catch this one tonight. I've always been a fan on The Line, and it may have been played for the first time in ~8 years as a nod to the Chicago Bulls. Pretty cool to see this one make a return, despite the hate that this song gets. The instrumental Seven Below was interesting and unexpected, I believe this was the first time played as an instrumental. This was my first Phish show with my friend Jeff since 2023 at Star Lake. That night, they played Ocelot - a song that we always seemed to catch together. So, of course I predicted that we would get an Ocelot on this night and that obviously happened. Not my favorite Phish song, but always fun to hear. Ya Mar was welcomed and added a nice kind of reggae flair to the night. They can keep Mountains in the Mist. At this point during the show, I felt like the setlist was a bit of an uphill climb. Some clunkers, some odd choices, some odd placements; despite each song being well played. The crown jewel of the first set came late with the one-two punch of Golgi Apparatus and Most Events Aren't Planned. Golgi had the whole arena buzzing and the MEAP was shocking in how it brought the house down to end the set. I was blown away by these two songs, and it totally changed the vibe of the night for me heading into set break. During the break, my friend and I grabbed a table in the concourse and had a couple cocktails and shared our thoughts about the first set. There were grumblings around us "last night was better," "terrible setlist so far tonight," etc. Like I said, a box of chocolates! The second set got off to an immediately hot start with Tube. At this point, my friend and I had moved closer to the stage on the floor, and I noticed that the sound mix was just a little bit off for the first two minutes of Tube. It was rectified quickly and the rest of the song proceeded as normal. I really enjoyed ASIHTOS tonight. Perhaps a nod to me after spending the last week on the beach in Ocean City (ha)! The DWD>7B>DWD sandwich is the meat of the show, and boy is it some delicious meat. I could have left after this and been fully satisfied. I was especially happy that they finished DWD instead of leaving it unfinished and hearing the 7B reprise with lyrics was again a twist I was not expecting. Always on your toes. Pillow Jets was okay, kind of wished there was a stronger song in this slot. It just kind of meanders. My friend and I always joke about how we get 2001 when we are at shows together. Similar to Ocelot, we got 2001 at our last show together in 2023. So, of course we got it tonight deep into the second set. I really enjoy how they tear this song apart. This performance was no exception. The Chalk Dust was out of this world fun. I don't have many words other than "wow!" Trey went full rock star for the Gently Weeps into First Tube encore. At one point, he was using his guitar as a sword; holding it above his head, pointing it at the crowd, wielding it around as the final notes of the show came crashing down around him and the band. All the while, CK5 is blasting the entire arena with an incredible barege of lights, sending us home with stars in our eyes and ringing ears. What a fantastic show and what a way to end it. I stayed in Chicago the next night too and had a last-minute opportunity to go to the Sunday show. But, despite the odd setlist, I decided that I got everything I needed from the Saturday show. Some may look at this show and scoff at it. I truly believe this show is a collector's item, a "you had to be there" type of night. I am so glad I made the trip to Chicago to see them. And I am super excited to see my next show at MSG in 6 short days. All I can ask for Christmas this year is for the boys to do a FL run...

SET 1: Architect: very curious opener choice. I’m not as fiercely against this here as the crowd would’ve been but it’s definitely a very mellow vibe for an opener, I guess Trey was in his feels about something before the show? I appreciate the rare placement and I do like the song. Trey’s solo is pretty mediocre though. Definitely in the market for a rager after this. Golgi Apparatus: I like this placement. Surely swap around this and Architect though? Whatever. Played okay. The Curtain With: awesome! This during a Gorge sunset = perfection. Pretty flawless version to my ears - far from my favourite early tune but absolutely nobody can complain about this. Kill Devil Falls: good version, Trey rips it up. Show is warming up and more and more with every song. > The Moma Dance: LOVE LOVE LOVE this placement. Like seriously - mid set 1 after a raging rock song? It cannot get any better really. Standard version Maze: starting to look like a 2024 setlist with this run of songs, not against it though. This is an interesting version, Trey does the usual ripping that you’d expect at the end of the solo but the leadup to that is surprisingly jazzy and modal in a much more overt way than usual. Page’s organ solo leans much more towards jazz fusion-type playing than anything else. I’d recommend giving this version a go. Beauty of a Broken Heart: sure. Standard. Roses are Free: fun call for sure. Standard. Jam it! Say Something: hmm a little similar to the last two rhythm-wise for my liking. I guess this was when Trey bringing his solo stuff to Phish was still relatively rare so Trey allowed Mike to have a tune too lol. Can’t say I fuck with this one very much. Only got one more play later this tour and then was shelved permanently. Ocelot: rages hard as most Ocelots from this era do. This one definitely has some extra sauce though, the Trey peak is super confident and assertive. Recommended. After Midnight: WOOOOO!!!!! Fuck yes!!!!!! They had to do it in honour of Cale’s passing and I’m so glad they did because this one of my favourite covers that Phish does. Good version too although the outro jam (which I thought was awesome at first) seems to drag on a little long, it feels as if they’re unsure as to where to end it. Very cool set closer though. — Down With Disease: yep, that’s a second set opener alright. Composed section is what you would expect. Once the jam starts Trey immediately steps out in front to take a bright, energetic solo. Some real machine gun stuff between 7-8 mins, love to hear it. Sounds like a 3.0 take on the 94-95 approach to this song. I would recommend it for that reason. A brief hint at a funky space towards the end and then Trey finds a great -> into… Undermind: good placement and great transition. Trey laughs at a couple points during the verses (does anyone else think his voice sounds odd here in general?) Usual composed section and type 1 solos in the body of the song then they wander around in meditative space - kinda sounds like the buildup section of Hood or Slave at points here. Trey signals to bring it back up with a new riff at 8:00, but it goes mellow again soon after. Another new section around 9:40, a neat, droney, spacey thing led by a two-note riff. It lasts for about a minute then finally gives up the ghost and we get a properly spacey ambient outro with this huge, deep bass drone led by Fish on the marimba lumina. Sounds like sheets of metal whistling through space. Very cool ambient section! For me personally I won’t be putting this in my rotation because the jam that gets it there is very average and the section is only short. The phambience fans will love this one though. > Light: good call by Trey, definitely the best placement for this. Very standard composed section and standard moderately explorative jazzy space. Fucking fantastic transition though -> Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley: haha I loved that transition. Keep the party going! Funky as HELL in the composed section thanks to clav work from Page that sits right up at the front of the mix. Trey instantly takes the jam into plinko at the start at Page’s urging, and it’s a damn good plinko space at that. Fantastic fantastic funk jam for a good chunk of this - icky and sticky and humid. Then Trey indicates he wants to solo and oh boy does he solo! Rock god stuff, makes his guitar scream at 9:10 and does a Hendrix cosplay for the remainder. Once Trey has had his moment in the sun they fade into an outro section that sits just barely above total ambience, seems more jazzy to me with Page tearing it up on piano. It’s pretty clear for a minute or so that Trey is setting them up to play 2001 and they finally pull the trigger after 13 minutes. This is a fantastic Sally and has an argument to be the best of the era. Check it out! > 2001: man, I miss when this song sounded so crisp. Page rages in the intro with the same clav sound he employed on Sally. They enter into what almost sounds like an early Martian Monster jam around 3:00???? What the fuck????? It sounds great. Yeah wow this is definitely an early Martian Monster. A few flubs and miscues toward the end of this one as they shoot for the refrains, it sounds like Trey is distracted by how he’s gonna turn that jam into a new song LOL. Have heard that they played this jam a few times in other songs this tour and if so I need to hear that. Really recommend this 2001 even despite those flubs and the short length, super unique. > Walls of the Cave: can’t say I’m thrilled by this placement. This is pretty ripped though if Walls of the Cave is your vibe, Trey does very well. Uncommonly for the era they actually give this one a little bit of a type 2 jam at the very end and don’t finish it. Trey fades it out and they go > Fluffhead: ahhh yeah that’s the stuff. Does Trey say ‘pearlhead’ and ‘fluffhen’ at the end of the vocal section? Standard version outside of some small flubs/miscues. I’m really vibing with this here though. Run Like an Antelope: third set closer in a row! Standard version, maybe not the best peak. Trey thanks the crowd and talks about how jazzed he is to play at the Gorge afterwards (love his ‘WOW!’). Good set! — ENCORE: Show of Life: I’m absolutely not gonna be mad at Trey playing this here. He must have felt great about this run. Good Times Bad Times: standard. — Overall: really fun show, I’m happy with this one for sure. If you only look at the track lengths Set 2 doesn’t look impressive, but these jams pack a real punch and the flow is primo stuff. Best Sally of the era in there and great Disease + 2001 + a cool Undermind ambient jam to boot. First set is a mix of the usual setlist calls with some cool unique picks that spice it up enough for me. A good show to wrap up a great Gorge run. 3.9 stars.

A special night, indeed...I Miss Phil. Cried and cried for the Box of Rain opener. We discussed what the nod could be all the way to the venue, never dared ponder it would be That. Unbelievable moment, and a great show and a great weekend. I'm mostly chiming in here to say that I think that Mike wearing that wristband for the evening should be in the show notes :) Cool that you can see it in the featured photo for this show. I thought that that was a lovely tribute, too. Cheers, friends

Heading into the Saturday’s night show in Birmingham, I couldn’t help but notice an unmistakable energy in the air. It wasn’t just the normal pre show, giddy restlessness. This event had something else working for it. Something that Phish is known for embracing, this night just had an extra dose of the [b]unknown[/b]. You see, the Coca-Cola Amphitheater was brand spanking new, I mean [u]brand new[/u], having opened not even two months before. It’s safe to say the band were feeling this energy as well and decided to take full advantage of it. [u]Some Personal Highlights[/u] — I’m was happy to see they went ahead and played [b]Cities[/b] early and I was even happier that they [i]“went in”[/i] and jammed it out. — [b]Bathtub Gin[/b] was perhaps the deepest dive of the night. Jaw on floor. — As Gin was winding down, I was certain it was the end of the set, but lo and behold here comes [b]Runaway Jim[/b]. A++ — For the 2nd Set, it was time to push the petal to the floor. [b]Sigma Oasis>Down With Disease>Lifesaving Gun[/b] was a weird, scary, and beautiful stretch of music. — During the [b]LSG[/b] jam, I really thought we were going to make first contact with aliens right there in Birmingham. [i]Far Out[/i] indeed… —The [u]Encore[/u] was perfect. They tugged at my heart with their version of Shine a Light causing me to shed a tear or two. Then they brought the whole thing home with a high energy final wind up with [b]Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S[/b]. — During the PEAK of the final song, one last [b]jet airliner[/b] , flew directly over the venue, which raised the energy that much more. Oh I forgot to mention, the [b]unknown[/b] really did come into play that night in Alabama. To my surprise (and I’m sure many others), the venue was right beside the airport. So at least a dozen or so times through the night, a huge jet would fly (fairly low) right over us. This aspect will always make this show special to me. Oddly enough, even though the planes were pretty close to us, I couldn’t hear them at all so they didn’t affect the show negatively at all All in all, it was a great weekend in Birmingham and Sundays show the next night was no slouch (shout out [b]Fee[/b]), Saturday reached heights rarely seen. [b]5 Stars[/b].

My 34th birthday show and a great start of a four night run down to Hampton. Got off the plane, hopped in a taxi (wow remember those!?) and made it to the show with about a half hour to spare. Ran into DJ and several of my Phriends and the party started and didn’t stop until #rockytop. After having to skip most of the fall tour, it was awesome to be “back in the saddle for a short run.”

SET 1: Cars Trucks Buses: BIIIIIG fan of this as an opener! Time to get down! This is just a totally raging version too. You can tell Trey is chomping at the bit to take over during Page’s solo and then when he gets his chance he rips it to shreds, good stuff. Very good version – the show is ON! Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan: perfect follow up tune, really feeling this here. This one has another just totally ripping solo from Red. 4:00 and on is pure rockstar material. Maybe the best version of this song if you want the jam section to stick to the blues rock feel of the original, which this one very much does. Ginseng Sullivan: hahaha fucking hell I’m such a big fan of this setlist right now. Recently come from listening to a lot of summer 2014 and the setlist quality is just so high here in comparison. Tight version of one of my favourite bluegrass tunes. Wolfman’s Brother: fine by me, fun choice here. Clav-and-wah-heavy affair for quite a bit of time at the start of the jam, then Trey starts soloing but the other members stay in their funk bag for a little while longer. AWESOME held note from Trey in the six minute range, then when it ends they go into a typical short rock outro and then close. I enjoy most Wolfmans jams and this one is no exception, the peak isn’t special but everything leading up to it is primo stuff. They’re four for four so far. Page talks to the crowd after this song ends. Sparkle: sure, no issues with this here really. Standard. Page’s messy playing in his solo is cool. > Walk Away: there’s no way! Awesome! So much conviction from Trey with these calls! Page’s voice sounds good and outside of one or two eh moments from Trey in the song proper this is done well, good soloing as usual. Divided Sky: holy hell. As good as a 3.0 setlist can get really. Composed section pre-pause is spotless and fast. Enjoying the LivePhish mix having Page’s organ so high in the lead-up to the pause. Small Fish flub at 9:08, no biggie. Really lovely Trey solo and a good version all round. Not quite a highlight as is sometimes claimed but really no issues here at all. Split Open and Melt: great call again. Tight and energetic in the composed section. Rides standard 3.0 Melt territory for a lot of the jam but Trey’s playing is a lot more vaporous and sickly than usual especially in the section starting around 8:00, he starts messing around with his delay and loop pedals and creates a crazy droning soundscape for a while there. There’s a feeble attempt from Trey to push into the ending but the space has become so weird that he bails and Fish pretty much has to reform the jam from scratch. They ride some mellow space here then Trey hard ripcords > Julius. This is a super unique version in that Trey just has no idea how to land the (really fucking unnerving) jam and has to totally bail on the song altogether. I feel like 1.0 Trey would’ve worked out a way to put the pieces back together, but as it stands I’m a big fan of the risks the band took here and it sounds great while it lasts. Bizarre and recommended. > Julius: yeah I wasn’t crazy into this call when it started up but man Trey does everything he can to prove me wrong here. Very good soloing, ripped. Forgot how good this song could be in early 3.0. Great set closer to a real spotless set. — SET 2: Down With Disease: LOL @ Mike(?) playing Pop Goes the Weasel in the intro to this. Trey is unusually active in the intro too – something is up here. You can practically see the grin on his face, ready as he is to melt faces. Trey is immediately on top of the jam in the early going with spirited playing. The first 9 minutes of this goes past pretty quick, then things fade into a quieter, more contemplative section. Funky-ish motif from Trey at 10:30 that leads into the next phase of the jam and it’s a really solid, coherent, riff-based one. Trey takes the lead with a chordal riff that sounds great in his tone, bit mellower overall and a little dark. They then collectively bring the jam happier and bliss-ier but still mellow. Then around 14 mins in you can juuuuuust start to hear things ramping up. Full band upbeat Allmans jamming starts up here but not in the usual BD era way, this is REALLY good. God I’m just so in love with how full-bodied the jamming is at 16 mins in. So awesome, every member pulling their weight. Once Trey takes the lead it’s game on! He proceeds to play a gorgeous triumphant solo with a ton of defined melodies, really just fantastic bliss peak here – absolutely hosing down the audience. Love hearing the crowd explode at so many points here. Once they’ve finished laying waste to the venue they fade out into a fantastic outro full of psychedelic arpeggios, this bit is really underrated in discussions of this performance. Could have honestly sat in this space for a little while longer but Trey goes (smoothly, to his credit) -> Taste. This is fantastic stuff and one of the best DWDs you will ever hear and this includes ALL eras, with a peak that deserves all the hype it gets. An essential listen if you can only hear a few 3.0 jams – hose central. -> Taste: really solid follow up choice, would have actually loved more of a cooldown here but kudos to Trey for keeping the energy high. Solid and well-played version outside of the very end. Twenty Years Later: sure, if you’d like. Not my favourite song but it’s not like it isn’t earned here. Immediate thought to take this on a ride during the outro from Trey with his crazy ominous wah and delay. This combined with Page’s organ, extra funereal here, is an incredibly intimidating combo. Pretty sludgy for a while until it takes more of a rocking turn with some great bluesy playing and interplay between Page and Trey. Reminds me of one of those old Pink Floyd blues jams from the early 70s. God they’re really just perfectly locked in this set and show aren’t they? Then on a dime they move to a borderline plinko jam at 9:30, so incredibly percussive and funky. So sick and importantly very different to the DWD jam. What I wouldn’t give for Page to stay on the organ for this long these days. Trey’s chordal riffing at 12:00ish is so fire. Trey switches things up at 12:30 with some new chords and now we’re in a rocking Allmans type jam??? Big big fan of this outro, almost Camden CDT ish for a minute there. The move > Piper feels so logical and earned after that. What a journey. Very good jam, covers a lot of territory with very little in the way of aimless wandering. Recommended of course. > Piper: fast and driving out of the gate. Trey is on some FIRE cold green tea tonight. Upbeat jamming out of this is as you’d expect and then there’s a turn towards funk, LOTS of Page on organ. Love the organ chord he holds for a solid 20 seconds about six minutes in. Bit sparser than the funk jam in 20YL but still solid. Then Fish, with no warning at all, starts playing a bluegrass beat(???????) at 7 minutes in and for about a minute and a half we get this manic space jamming????? It’s really good????? Great stuff but such a tease, another 5 minutes of that would’ve been just fine for me. Instead Trey hits the only properly questionable song choice of the night by going > Backwards Down the Number Line: yeah I’m not sure about this here, and I DO like this song for the record. That Piper had gas left in the tank. Not that I’m complaining too much lol this show is primo and this isn’t a set-ruiner like some other bad calls can be. Anyway I hate to say it because it makes me sound like a fluffier but even this performance is great for the song! Trey just has a ridiculous amount of pep tonight. Check out the trills at 5:40 and then the effortless peak. It’s a good run-through. I’ve forgotten why I didn’t want him to play this. You Enjoy Myself: YES!! Bit of an awkward intro with the rest of the band seeming a bit unprepared to go into this, Fish and Mike especially. The whole composed section is kinda clumsy actually, just rough around the edges and sounds like they’re hanging on for dear life until they can hit the jam. Funny hearing Fish scream ‘motherfucker!’ in the Charge section though. Once the tramps section hits it’s like Trey and Mike get a moment to recalibrate and center themselves and then you can just tell the jam is going to be rock-solid. They sit on an ominous funk groove from minute one that sounds to me like Trey is messing around with some early Your Pet Cat ideas. God damn Mike is absolutely popping in this mix! They’re really firing on all cylinders here. So much confidence needed for Trey to hold back and throw out funky licks for minutes on end like he does. Great held note with whale call at 14:30 which signals to the band that a peak is coming. Page switches to the piano and a more traditional YEM peak is clearly incoming. Peak is below average but B&D has some uniquely frantic playing from Mike and is good. Vocal jam is equally frantic. I’m going to recommend giving this a listen but it sadly falls short of the true rager that this set deserves. The body of the jam is great and highly recommended, whenever I relisten to this I’ll be skipping straight here, but sadly the composed section is well below average and the peak is surprisingly timid considering the rest of the set. It’s still a good experience overall and a good call in this slot. Risks were taken. Grind: great end to the set. Very much into this placement for this show. It’s earned. — ENCORE: Bouncing Around the Room: standard. I honestly would’ve been fine with this as a solo encore, but then… > Reba: NO WAY! That’ll teach the people bitching about Bouncing! I wonder if Trey planned this with the others or if he called an audible here. Either way this is such a cool placement and I love this band. There’s like one small flub at the beginning of the instrumental composed parts and then from there on out it’s golden, no issues at all. Jam section is standard but peaks triumphantly and Trey plays well. Must have been a blast to be in the building while this was happening. Whistling et fin. Good Times Bad Times: ripped to absolute shreds by Trey. This is utterly demolished by 3.0 standards. Seriously. Fantastic end to the show. — OVERALL: absolutely fantastic show front-to-back. I’ve been working my way in reverse chronological order through the 3.0 live material on Apple Music and the sheer difference in the band’s – but especially Trey’s – energy in Fall ’13 and earlier compared to ’14 and later is pretty shocking. But even for the tour Trey really is in incredible form tonight. By the era’s standards he just crushes nearly every solo he gets a chance to play, so many coherent melodies and dextrous fast arpeggios and all-round brilliance that reminds me of an only-slightly diluted 1.0 Trey. When you add that to a great setlist (out of this entire setlist only Numberline feels even remotely out of place), an absolute all-timer DWD jam, probably the best 20 Years Later and a bonkers encore, it’s impossible to think of this show as anything but brilliant. The crown jewel of Fall ’13 I’d say. 4.4 stars. If YEM composed section wasn’t botched I’d be prepared to put it even higher. Up there with the best of the era.

SET 1: Farmhouse: LOL, what an opener for the big SPAC run. I like the song and actually prefer it as an opener to 555 which opened the following night. Obviously everyone would agree this is far from ideal though – can’t imagine how much kvetching there was over this one in the crowd. Gets a nice little rock’n’roll solo from Trey for its short (very short – this is the shortest version of 3.0 up to this point and possibly earlier) length. Wolfman’s Brother: still kind of a milquetoast start to the show even with this in the two. Jam gets funky immediately as is typical with Wolfman’s. The clav-heavy sound of Summer ’14 is apparent right off the bat, this exact jam style would pretty much define the tour. Good jam all round! It was clear from the Farmhouse that Trey wanted to play rock god tonight and that is proven in this Wolfman’s. Very solid raging solo with Mike slapping along and everything. Recommended. Maze: call Farmhouse a small lapse of judgement because we’re back in business now. Bass sounds nice and full from the start and in general this show is very well-mixed like the rest of the SPAC shows. Page rips on the organ to start and Trey is right there with him the whole time. The handover to Trey is smooth. Veeeery brief Munsters theme tease early on in his solo (later to be quoted in full in the (phenomenal) 8/1 Antelope). Trey’s solo is succinct and does everything it needs to. Only real flub is Trey playing the end tag in the wrong key, and you can hear him quietly replaying it after the song is done, LOL. Good Maze for sure. Yarmouth Road: honestly the most notable aspect of this playthrough is Fish doing a partial stick-count(!) to get this one going, how many instances of that are there???? Otherwise this is as standard as it gets for a Phish Yarmouth Road, including Trey forgetting parts and the whole song kind of just being all-round terrible. Sucks as much as you’d expect. Strange Design: would’ve worked awesome as a cooldown song out of Maze, why would you not just skip over Yarmouth? Doesn’t feel needed in this spot as it stands. Well-played and pretty though. Devotion to a Dream: much better. Haters BTFO. Ocelot: meh. Indifferent to this in this slot pretty much. This is an above average version though, I really enjoy Trey’s playing at 7 minutes in and onwards. In general there’s a rootsy crunchiness to his approach here that sounds very good. I’d give this a relisten when I’m in an Ocelot mood. Chalk Dust Torture: ooo nice! Good placement that compliments that Ocelot real well. Good tempo for the era. Average succinct jam. Mound: ooo interesting late set 1 spot for this. Little unconfident from Trey early on but corrected pretty quickly and then smooth sailing from that point onwards. Still not a favourite song of mine by any means but a good bone to throw the fans nonetheless. Roggae: works great out of Mound. Standard. Possum: standard. — SET 2: Bathtub Gin: cool second set opener! Builds anticipation for sure. Swims along in standard Gin space for a while (check out the cool little Trey riffs starting around 8:20) and reaches a decent peak before Trey starts slamming on the wah pedal at 11:00 and signals for a funky change. The funk doesn’t stick for long at all though, Trey and Page don’t latch onto anything in particular and the jam enters a wandering space with Trey chordal-riffing around in search of some inspiration. Eventually Fish cuts out and the other three play off each other for a while (not particularly coherently I might add.) Interestingly Trey offers up a darker rock direction at 14:00 with some very rhythmic playing but none of the others bite, wonder why Fish didn’t jump on that feel. I respect the intent to do something here but it’s a bit of a mediocre attempt to jam this one I’d say, below-average version. > Limb by Limb: hmmm, strange call I’d say – you’d think they’d reach for another jam vehicle after Gin fizzled. Composed section is strong and then you can hear Trey looking to push this one long as soon as 5:00. A touch of a calypso feel in the early going here that just gets stronger and more percussive by 7:00. Wow @ Fish’s on-the-fly new rhythm at 7:50, that’s my drummer right there! Really appreciating how slowly and subtly this jam is souring. Then Trey makes a real bold call and pushes this FULLY type II by playing a new riff at a different tempo, which Fish catches onto, and before you know it they’re in a super janky and cool jam that sounds like one of the funkier jams from ’94-’95 – the basic rhythms of funk music being thrown into a washing machine and spat out. For SURE check out the passage from 9-12 mins, or just listen to the full thing – it’s worth it for sure. Maybe the coolest 3.0 Limb there is. Fish offers up the LxL rhythm again at the end, but Trey doesn’t bite and instead goes > Winterqueen: let the melts begin. I like this placement! Carries the same sort of energy as Limb to me, works decent in this spot and they play this with enthusiasm (occasionally too much – Trey makes a couple little flubs.) An uncommon level of swing here to my ears for the song. Good, punchy Winterqueen. The Line: omg no absolutely not what the moment was asking for lol. Times like this I’m almost glad they have songs like No Man’s and Blaze On these days so they have an easy energetic jammer to reach for after cooldown tracks. This is not it in this spot. Tweezer: yeah Trey realised the set was on life support after The Line so had to reach for something of Tweezer proportions lol. Hopefully this’ll put things back on track, though similar to Yarmouth in set 1, why would you not just play this after Winterqueen???? A little faster than usual to my ears. Super assertive Mike at the start of the jam, with Trey providing some deep dark effects, that opens up into more standard Tweezer soloing soon after. Winds down into prettier piano-led jamming next (I quite enjoy Page’s work from the 9 minute mark on.) What’s Trey teasing at 10:30? I swear it’s from something I’ve heard. Love Mike at 11:45. Really this is quite a nice jam, nothing to write home about but definitely a bit underrated. It’s nice. > Prince Caspian: a logical enough choice out of that Tweezer jam I figure. Short, decently pretty jam. > Sparkle: maybe I’m just dumb but I’m enjoying these last couple choices. Coherent vibe and feels early 90s in its succinctness. Standard of course. > Run Like an Antelope: ha they’ve managed to make something out of this set at least, even if that something isn’t what we expected. This one takes a pretty tense and evil path at points en route to the peak. Decent Antelope, effective set closer. — ENCORE: Sing Monica: Page introduces this one with a nice little preamble. Pretty good soloing actually, don’t know if you’d need another version of this song really. Tweezer Reprise: standard. Charming. — Overall: arghhhh I don’t know I think I might actually be HIGHER on this show than the .net average, even if only very slightly. This show is weighed down by two particularly terrible song choices (Yarmouth after Maze and The Line after Winterqueen) and if they were omitted I’d be rating this even higher. The thing is I respect shows that take an ambitious swing with the setlist even if it’s a swing and a miss. The worst thing a Phish show can be is predictable BOTT > Moma > Stash > Wolfman’s type stuff and this one most certainly isn’t that. No real crazy bustouts but it’s ambitious with how it places the standards, which is something I appreciate. There are also some genuinely good versions of songs here. Check out Wolfman’s, Maze, Ocelot, Winterqueen and especially Limb, one of the more unique versions out there. 3.6 stars, about on par with the next night. Can’t place it higher with those few horrid placements in here.

I'm getting ready to release the 12 minutes of soundcheck audio I recorded of this show... in celebration of, after 35 years, I'm finally getting this recording out into the Phishosphere and it feels really good! So happy 35th anniversary... Oh and I've got a 45 minute interview too ... but I'm still figuring out the best way to line up my melons on the whole video release thing. Here's the track list 01 Bang a Gong dittles 02 Trey Diddles 03 Bang a Gong 04 Assecapella Festival 05 Have a Heart 06 It's No Good Trying 07 Sweet Adeline 08_Asse Festival 09 Pendulum Jam Stay tuned for the 12/7/25 please :) Tom, ReelifeProductions [url=https://youtu.be/FoOZK8OxM1M?si=9VRTZ12FWjBiMhHc]All My Plastic Melon Dreams playlist[/url] [url=http://www.ReelifeProductions.com]Reelife[/url]

There’s a segment in Ghost from 6-10:30 that recalls the Bag from 11/21 and *almost* takes off. Page gets on a serious piano run and injects the “sizzle” synth, Fish gets on the ride cymbal, Trey stays solid, Mike playing some lead bass, then we squash the beat harshly and never really get back to it. Julius and Simple rock, and as mentioned the Ghost has a good passage. Above a 3.9 overall, definitely.

30 years ago today I went to my first Phish show. I still have the ticket stub. Old and faded, you can not read anything on the stub. The price for the show was $19 and some odd cents. Driving from Indiana to Ohio, we were reading from what I think was a pre-release paper edition of The Phish Companion, or something very close to it. We were discussing what we wanted the band to play. Being a huge fan of Frank Zappa's album Joe's Garage, I was instantly hooked by the Gamehendge story. I had a copy of the 07/08/1994 GREAT WOODS Gamehendge show. I wanted to hear The Lizards. I did not care what else the band would play as long as I got that song. I had no idea what was in store for that evening. Brad, whom I bought the ticket from, told me Phish is gonna get you. He kept saying this the whole ride to Dayton. I asked him what he meant. He said at some point you are going to be standing there, mouth wide open, in pure amazement of what the band is doing. I scoffed at this. Took a hit of some dirty paper LSD and smoked on the nasty brown swag joints still not knowing what was coming. We get into the show, we are sitting in about half way up straight on with the stage. Sitting in front of us are 2 old ladies, totally out of place. The lights go down the swag lights up for us and the music starts. I am not astute enough to go into some elaborate breakdown of the music. I like Phish, I move the way the music makes my body move. Phish plays, I am standing there. looking down on the stage, I think Trey is running the light show with all his guitar pedals. I am 22 years old and have no clue what the hell these dudes are doing down there but it is bad ass. How can 4 people make so much noise? How can this sound like total insanity and then it instantly snaps into beautiful melodies. My mouth is hanging wide open, I am locked into the stage like a hawk, my brain is melting, Brad slaps my should and says "Phish just got you!". You mother phucker, you are right, Phish got me. The 2 old ladies sat thru all of this madness, swag smoke, screams of joy and elation, and musical bombardment. They did not look very happy. The last song of the second set, Phish sings Amazing Grace, a cappella. As the band closes the set. The 2 old ladies (Like in their 50's, i was 22, and now am 52 so....) give a standing ovation, both smiling, they look at each other and leave. Brad turns to me and says "See, Phish plays something for everyone." Mind blown again. 30 years later I echo those words, "Phish plays something for everyone." (I strongly remember this when the band plays The Line) I hate sports and that song. BUT Phish play something for everyone. Even that kid shooting phantom free throws in the row in front of me during The Line at NYE 2015 in Miami. It is his song too. I got everything I wanted and more than I ever expected from this show. 30 years and 174 shows later I still yearn for live music from Phish, the smells and community of the lot and the freedom of the road. I have not been to a show since 2021. Sadly my elder dog passed away 11/3/25. While I whisper his name every morning when I wake up, I am now free to travel again. I am doing the entire 2026 summer Phish tour, 30 years later I am still upside down.

SET 1: The Star Spangled Banner: perfect. Had to be done considering the date. Crowd gets really into this and leads a USA chant at the end. No better way to start up a Fourth of July show, it’s on! 555: not crazy about this placement. 7/4 and 7/18 are the only two times they tried 555 as an (in this case quasi-)opener and it just doesn’t have what I’m looking for here - a very rare instance of an opener choice that I struggle to get down to. Trey’s backing vocals are distractingly loud in the mix. Playing is good. Kill Devil Falls: eh, sure. Jam starts with Page on the organ and some light, patient playing from Trey. Slowly builds into a peak. Solid little Kill Devil Falls jam, typical of this era. Page wishes everyone a happy 4th after the song – something special next, hopefully… The Moma Dance: interesting placement. Swap this and 555 around and we’d be in business. Very standard take on this one, but I’m having a good time. Reba: now we’re getting this thing on the road! Decent tempo and great work in the composed section, only a few Fish(!) mistakes to speak of. Some lovely interplay starts up around 8:30, listen to Page tickling those keys. Pretty chill jam until Trey suddenly starts ripping it a new one at 10:40 and peaks the song nicely. Whistling and all that jazz to end. Nothing out of this world but no slouch either. Waiting All Night: chills. Much better versions of this out there though if you’re as big of a fan of it as I am. Runaway Jim: sure, good call to get things back on track here. The instrumental bridge here is notably long and turns into a cool plinko jam for a while. The jam proper is decent if a bit meandering. 46 Days: decent enough. Rages just like it should. Rift: little bit flubbed. Split Open and Melt: very nice! Would be happy with this and Slave swapping frequencies at this point in 3.0. Good composed section leads to a standard-for-3.0 jam that turns dark at 6:30ish and stays in that space for a while, then it turns pretty frantic and intense 9 minutes in and glides cleanly into the ending. Solid Melt. The Squirming Coil: valid, no complaints at all. Mike screaming in the final chorus, LMAO – check out the 7/18 version for another instance of this. Actually a really awesome Page solo on this one, not a whole lot longer than usual but every minute is put to good use. Bodes well for the next set. — SET 2: Fuego: most 2014 set opener of all time. Composed section is clean and you can hear from very early on in the jam that Trey is determined to take this somewhere. Floats into a jazzy, slightly tense space 10 minutes in, no clear direction yet. Very pretty playing at 12 minutes in - Mike’s tone is just outstanding here, does anyone know if he’s played with that tone before? Starts to sour at 13:30ish and seems ripe for a transition but Trey settles on a new progression soon after (sounds a little like WTU? to me, anyone else?) and we find ourselves launched into a more solid feel with effects-laden ‘phone ringing’ playing from Trey. We’re building into a peak. After lots of exploration Trey finally takes this jam by the balls at 16:50 and we’re off! Absolutely searing, raging playing here for a bit! Wish this went on for a little longer, but Trey tears it apart and leaves it in a big ol’ puddle quite soon after, from which we > DWD. Here’s the rub: this is a solid and lengthy Fuego, and it has some great passages and moments, particularly the end. But there is a good amount of meandering in order to get there. I’d say it’s worth a listen for the peak though, it’s real good. > Down With Disease: like this as a follow up. Small Under Pressure teases early in the jam, fun. Anticipatory start. Standard DWD jamming goes funky after a few minutes by decree of Trey. Very typical ’14 funk jam here with awesome Energizer Bunny playing from Fish. Some cool choices from everyone towards the end stretch, especially Mike’s atypically busy and dissonant playing and Page’s organ/Rhodes work. 12 minutes in sounds pretty much exactly like a King Crimson jam or maybe a transition period in a ’94 Phish jam. Then we get a vocal jam(!) with various percussive mouth sounds riiiiiiight at the end. Wish this lasted longer, but Trey goes > Twist after a little bit of vocal jamming. Very weird jam here, interesting stuff! > Twist: the mouth noises continue for a bit into Twist. Love the Santana-ish Trey and Page call-response at the start of the jam. Trey tries out some tenser playing at 6:00 but abandons it for chill Twist jamming soon after. BIG big fan of the super quiet space they arrive at with a minute left to go in the jam, just awesome spacey play from everyone and I wish it continued for a little bit longer. > Light: another really weird jam in which Trey, atypically, goes for more atonal playing. If anything this sounds more like a Stash jam than a Light one. The rest of the band doesn’t bite, but Page offers a minor key riff at 7:30 and things turn real stormy real fast, lots of effects-driven droney weirdness. Loving Fish’s dextrous Latin grooves here. An even MORE droney space at 10:30, Trey’s riffs and Page’s synth flowing into the abyss. > Theme From the Bottom: ha, I enjoy this placement actually – jells nicely with the tense weirdness of the rest of the set. Flubs galore from Trey in the ‘buildup’ section just prior to the jam. Suuuuuuper uninspired to be honest, only partially saved by the good placement and some unique delay effects prior to the final refrain. Backwards Down the Number Line: out of place here to say the least. I guess Trey was spooked by the Theme not going great and opted for this one as a safety net. Not really a hater of this song but doesn’t work at all in this spot. First Tube: veeeery lightly flubbed by Trey at points in the composed portion, but he hits us with some serious old-school riffing in the jam. Dang! Raged! — ENCORE: Character Zero: standard and really short. That’s all? — OVERALL: good show that lacks that one single highlight to bring it to the next level. Lots of cool stuff around here though, like the Reba, Melt, Coil, Fuego, First Tube and (if you’re brave) DWD. Set 2 falls apart right at the end but Fuego > DWD > Twist > Light is a really cool and WEIRD stretch of music that isn’t especially smooth or IT-filled but features lots of risk-taking from Trey – early-to-mid 3.0 is not really the place to go for janky dissonance but the guitarist sure does delve into it at various points here. Overall an interesting and good show. 3.6 stars.

I don’t know about an “off night;” this Wolfmans brought me back to Phish after, let’s say, losing interest for a couple of years. I’m a die hard v1 guy, but this Wolf and then the Sightless Escape in S2, listening via Phish Radio serendipitously in a rental car made me revisit it all. That’s how they get you dude, just that one groove Mike throws out at around 11 minutes deep into WB, classic stuff.

The Gin is solid, but overwhelmingly upbeat. The Mule may be the GOAT. But I’m just here for the Tweezer. Whatever settings/configuration/pedals Trey and Mike use in the Tweezer jam right off the bat…it’s like walking through electric syrup. The late 7s contains one of those 20 second “holy shit” musical phrases that only v1 badassery could produce. Top ten, definitely turn the bass up.

[b]Bootsy had a funky bass![/b] Pretty tight that Trey gave a shout out to Cincy's own, Bootsy Collins, and even dedicated a jam to the legend. TAB is sounding better than ever, the joy permeates from the stage, and the sound is what gets a through. Surrender to the flow, and you're glad you did.

This Sigma Oasis is legit, it is borderline yellow on the Jam Chart. I’ve recently discovered that Phish probably won’t regress to the late nineties sound again, so maybe I should adapt. I don’t like the way they play 1.0 jam vehicles in 4.0 for the most part (Ghost and Tweezer in particular), but the 3.0/4.0 jams like this SO, played in 4.0 fashion, LFG.

Well, this being my first show, and not knowing anything about phish except the name and that there were from Vermont, I didn’t stand a chance. Overall, I was totally confused and dis-oriented most of the night. I remember the singing being rather flat, but that the guitarist was insane (Trey was his name, I later came to learn). But the drummer was very familiar. Some days later I realized that it was the guy who played in the lounge of my friends Scott’s dorm at UVM. I spent a lot of time wandering around UVM late at night in the early 80’s, “investigating things”. Never saw phish then in Burlington, and by 1989 I was living in Nebraska. I was home on a school break before Thanksgiving and was hanging in Northampton with college friends. We were all deadheads, and had been out to see Max Creek around the same time. I remember there being a bunch of hassles in the club trying to manage who could and couldn’t drink. It was a very young crowd. Further, I vividly recall this crazy song with words “boy, shit, god and man” with a lot of strange sounds and screaming. (YEM, I came to learn). After YEM and crazy pyrotechnics from the stage (Frankenstein?), we had had enough and decided to leave. We were very, very elevated, and walked from the show to Hadley, MA 5 or so miles away. It was nice to get out of Pearl Street and all the chaos. The stars we great by the river. I do remember the bottle throwing that someone mentioned, but I am not sure if that is a personal recollection or has been over laid on my memory over the course of time. My next show was July of 1992 at Stowe with Santana. That one I was ready for. Having returned from Nebraska, we were now living in Burlington. I had grown a collection of tapes after this show, and was well on my way…Now it’s 36 years later. Last show was Manchester, NH 2025. Still on the train.

Fantastic digital audience source for this first set. Big thanks to Chig Martin for capturing it. A solid first set, even if it leans a bit straightforward for this tour. The heart of the set lands in a lively Bowie that works its way into the official debut of Birdland during Bowie’s opening stretch. Trey uses the moment to introduce yet another crowd to the secret language. Bowie is played tightly, but like the set as a whole, it’s very much standard Spring ’92 fare. And thanks to a plumbing disaster that flooded the theater, the entire second set ended up being performed without microphones.

I’m still new to this world. 8 phish shows since 2023 (being from Colorado is a blessing) and last night was my first TAB show. And wow what a night. There’s something really so powerful with the brass section, and the two percussionists. The funk, the samba, and equatorial/tropical style of this group is such a nice compliment to the phish tunes that I have gleefully come to know. You can tell that Trey is just having so much fun. I’m really constantly grateful that I get to experience this kind of music in my life time. I’m turning 30 in less than two weeks and this show is really kicking off the festivities. And even tho the world and the politics and civil upheaval here at home is a constant pressure. There’s something just so brilliant about being present, seeing someone who has touched your soul, and be reminded Everything’s right so just hold tight. On to Night two. Thanks Trey and Co. yall fucking rule.

Nice audience source available for this show. Big thanks to taper Bryon Sosinski and Jason Sobel for mastering. Trey opens with a playful tease of We’re off to see the Wizard before launching into a raucous Llama opener. A thunderous Reba follows, with Sky firing on all cylinders. Page delivers a standout solo on electric piano during Maze. Set one closes with a scorching Antelope, complete with another We’re Off to See the Wizard tease from Trey and a cool Marco section. The second set kicks off with teases of Auld Lang Syne and Stairway to Heaven leading into a solid Mike’s opener. The band introduces a different approach into a playful version of Hydrogen, followed by a fun Weekapaug. An extended intro into MSO features a multitude of signals, including a Me and My Arrow moment aimed at someone in the front row. The band powers through with a turbo-charged performance. During the ending pause, they break into an impromptu VJ “Pitch! Pitch! Pitch!” The DaaM>Magilla pairing work well together. During the Hood opener, Fish calls out to a fan to let him know he loves his t-shirt and also quotes Marvin Martian. Beautiful Hood. Trey, Mike, and Page are introduced during Fish’s vac solo in Love You, and Fish brings out his Bag-Vac for the Cold as Ice outro. Golgi wraps up a strong set of music. For the encore, the band cools things down with two a cappella numbers to end the evening.

Killer audience source available for this show. They kick things off with a Landlady > Jim combo that sets a great tone early. There’s a cool little All Things tease at the start of Foam and a strong jam in Stash. Fluffhead is inspired, unfortunately there’s a tape flip. NICU features a cool little jam that leads nicely into a tight, albeit straightforward, Bowie closer. Set two opens with Trey wishing Amy from Florida a happy birthday before asking if Jimmy Herring is still in the house. He jokes that they’re about to play “variations on a theme by Jimmy Herring, also known as Buried Alive.” Suzy is lively, and a solid Brother leads into the first TMWSIY > Avenu > TMWSIY of the tour. A smokin’ Possum wraps up the set, complete with two “Ah fuck!” signals when Fish forgets to stop playing for the first one. Fish’s voice goes full Peter Brady during his part in Sleeping Monkey, which cracks everyone up. The walk-out music after the first encore is The Stars and Stripes Forever by the Czechoslovak Brass Orchestra and Rudolf Urbanec. Encore two brings a rippin’ Chalk Dust, and encore three a fun Harpua. Trey takes the crowd to the “jungles of Brazil” while Fish quotes the musical Brazil. There’s a quick Fire tease as Jimmy is introduced, and before Page’s organ solo, Trey calls him “a beacon of light in the world of flight” — the second nod to Clifford Ball in as many days.

My first show and I hated it! Mini tramps came out so there must have been a YEM. I left early, telling my friend Quinn (one of the bouncers - the Cabooze was a big bar for deadheads), “I can’t believe I paid seven dollars for this bullshit.” 🤣 Now, I can’t even begin to calculate how much I’ve spent on them since!

Beautiful MCass SBD available for this show, with patches throughout from Cruchy’s AKG 451’s. Big thanks to Arty for mastering this one! A clean audience patch covers the first half of Wilson, offering a cool A/B comparison between the audience and SBD sources. Melt is solid, and Trey slips in a nice little solo during Rift. Page and Trey both shine in Maze. Jim is an enjoyable ride. Ice features a groovy midsection, and a smokin’ Antelope caps off a fine first set. Set two kicks off with a subtle Chalk Dust Reprise tease, it almost sounds like they were about to launch into Possum, but instead they dive straight into a raucous Tweezer. Mound pairs perfectly with it, and is followed by a beautiful Reba. Before All Things, Trey jokes that they’d just mutilated it a few days earlier on NPR, then adds, “So here comes the unmutilated version.” Coil has a groovy little outro, and YEM is inspired, with a fun jam and strong B&D section. The VJ segment is hilarious—“White Boys Attack!” lol “Take that rat outta my ass” Wtf!? The VJ then morphs into the fourth known performance of Setting Sail. MSO is super fun, Chalk Dust absolutely rips, and a highly inspired Golgi closes the set in style. A sweet Sleeping Monkey and arena-rocker Tweezer Reprise wrap up the night, as Benny Goodman’s Let’s Dance plays the crowd out.

This was the fall semester of my senior year at college. I had heard of the HORDE bands from the previous summer but not seen a show and didn't know their music at all when a couple friends suggested going to see the WBCN "Rock of Boston" concert at the Garden, headlined by Spin Doctors and Phish. One of those friends went to the box office the day of the show and scored an unused ticket in the first few rows that had just been returned for some reason. The other two of us were up in the stands, at the other end of the arena from the main stage. I'm pretty sure there was a smaller stage at our end, with the various opening acts alternating between the two stages. I don't remember much from the smaller bands, but by the time the Spin Doctors came on we were flying high. They were OK, with a flashy light show synced with their standard rock material. I probably recognized a couple of their hits. The comedy act that came on next was on the smaller stage at our end. I think the bit that got them booed off the stage was some kind of parody of low-budget kung fu movies, complete with fake Asian accents. Unfunny, cliched, and kind of offensive even by 1992 standards. (The friend who was near the main stage later told me that people there couldn't even hear any of it, though, so it might be true that some people were just impatient for Phish to come on.) Finally Phish took the stage. I had seen a couple of Dead shows, and knew they could take most of a set to get warmed up and into their more interesting playing. This band was different. About a minute and a half into the first song (Runaway Jim) they were already into a spacy jam. And the only light show at that point (in contrast to the previous band) was a solid green light shining out at the audience. I was entranced. The next song (Maze) was even better, mixing virtuosic but catchy riffs with more high-energy improv. My memories of the rest of the set aren't as clear 33 years later, but in a single set of little over an hour they managed to touch on all the major features of early 90s Phish: the poppy Bouncing, a vacuum solo (a what?!) sandwiched in Cavern, the serene extended piano outro of Squirming Coil, Stash transitioining between its rhythmic hook and transcendent group improv, a brief vocal jam leading into the a capella Sweet Adeline, and finally the proggy and absurdist YEM (with another vocal jam). By the end I wasn't sure exactly what all I had just seen, but I knew I had a new favorite band. My friends were equally blown away. First thing the next morning I went to the Coop and bought Lawn Boy and Picture of Nectar on casette, and then signed up for some tape trees on rec.music.phish.

Personally, I feel like this show gets (maybe somewhat rightfully) overlooked due to bakers dozen. Perhaps, part of this is needing to be in the building, or maybe my fondness is obscured due to being on the floor, or the people I was with. IDK, but from what I heard that night this show is a true gem. The first set has a few standouts but it became clear in maze and solidified during Jim that they were warming up for something special. Set II imo is some of the tightest, most fluid, playing I have personally seen. Some special standouts too. In particular, wombat, one of if not the first truly jammed out version. Really though, everything from ghost onwards was pretty great. Overall, great show that hints at what would later transpire.

Decent audience source available for this show, video footage as well! The opening of Stash is cropped a bit—ripping version. Solid version of Rift, and Llama slays per usual. Trey gives the Gamehendge cliff notes in Forbin>Mockingbird, and a fiery Bowie closes out set one. Set two wastes no time, kicking off with Curtain>Mike’s Groove. Nice Mike’s with a cool Mainstreet tease. Groove has Mike screaming and shouting “Make!” just like he did in Binghamton. The jam rips, though it doesn’t quite reach the creative heights of Binghamton’s version. Carl Gerhard joins for a solid Brother, and Clifford O’Sullivan, a true beacon of light in the world of flight, pulls out his Bag-Vac for I Didn’t Know—taken just before he DIED!!! Page is back on B3 for Suzy. Hood is beautiful! Carl Gerhard returns for Cavern, and Trey is en fuego during his solo in Fire. Walkout music is Glenn Miller’s Sunrise Serenade.

Others have dug into the setlist/expirence. I wanted to call attention to this being the Mangold Set Trey speaks about after meeting his NFL hero and inspiration for what it means to be a good teammate and showing up to work hard. I take this as a reminder to be grateful for every opportunity we get to share space with our community! Tao Nick on the stairway to the stars!

1st Gen FM Broadcast of this short set—big thanks to Arty for the cleanup. Things kick off with Sparkle. No official notes on phish.com for this show. It almost sounds like Page and Fish might be on borrowed gear. A mutilated take on All Things. ;) Strong versions of Foam and Landlady wrap up this short set of music.

Nice, crispy DAT audience source available for this show—my birthday show! Big thanks to the mystery taper for making an incredible recording. Things kick off with a well-played Landlady, followed by solid versions of Jim and Foam. Melt is decent, and after Silent, Trey mentions how happy he is to finally be playing Philly. The recording really picks up the crowd’s ooo’s and aaahh’s during DaaM. MSO features an inspired, extended intro, and the audience claps along enthusiastically during Stash. Set two starts with a tease of the Ferris Bueller song that leads into a tight Buried Alive. Suzy is strong, with some extra percussion added during Page’s B3 solo—possibly Trey? A flawless All Things smashes into a ripping mid-set Bowie, complete with cool All Things teases during the intro. Fish also slips in a Long Tall Glasses quote. The Crazy Train suggestions from the crowd crack me up, but instead, Fish treats everyone to his new Neil Diamond number. He even brings out the Bag-Vac for Rosie! Tight YEM closer with Mike or Fish dropping a “saay what?!?” in reference to Wash Ufizi, plus a fun Three Blind Mice tease in the vocal jam that wraps up with the Lights Out.

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.