A very fine start to the Summer tour. The first set is quite well-constructed, with the Fuego tunes well interspersed between the more time-tested tunes, and Wingsuit in particular impressed with some impassioned Trey soloing at the end. Stash, as it often is these days, was the first-set highlight, and a chance for the band to stretch a little bit, thanks to Page (as he did in 7/14/13) sliding into a major key for a brief but welcome climb into the clouds. The second set kicks off with a standard but high-energy Mike's/Simple combination, reaches a first peak with a 12/31/10-esque bliss-jam Ghost that Fish neatly leads into Weekapaug (it's an even more charming segue than the 12/30/13 version, as Fish organically starts up the Weekapaug beat out of the jam), and hits a second peak with the second monster Type II Hood in 2 years.

In fact, let's give that Hood its own paragraph - Hood immediately finds a minor/major key tension right out the gate, as instead of the usual delicate Hood soloing Trey alternates between more forceful solos and non-standard chords while Page does some fine piano work. The band then moves into a major-key space (reminiscent of the pre-woo 7/31/13 Tweezer jam segment), then Page moves over to the organ and Trey starts plucking out some hazy notes as Mike pushes forward more in the mix. Trey then hits on a really neat lick and things start building towards a very nice climax, Fish picking up the pace, then out of nowhere Page moves to the B-3 and we get a brief funky segment instead, *then* they begin to build towards another climax...and then Page returns to Hood's usual key and we return to Hood's usual zone for Ye Olde Hood Finale. All in all, it's another remarkable breaking of Hood's form, with every new idea moved into with grace and ease, and (one hopes!) a portent of 2014.

Final thoughts: tour openers don't have a particularly high bar to leap, and this show hopped right over it with room to spare. You can feel good, etc., etc.