Fuckin smoke show!!!!

I mean, when you listen to enough Phish, especially in the manner of which I am currently undertaking (a full, sequential year exclusively on AUD, not SBD) you learn to hear nuances in the crowd and band alike that are harbingers of energy, feel, pizzazz, and wha-pow!

As soon as the OhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhDANIELSAWTHESTONE dropped over the PA the place went bananas. Monkeys eat your hearts out, this was your Valhalla on July 29th, 2003. There is energy, and then there is, "This is gonna be special" energy. Show like 2.26.03, 2.28.03, 7.9.03, 7.22.03 and this one all have it, to varying degrees of face-melty-ness. The place was thoroughly on fire maybe because Daniel saw the Stone hadn't been played in 228 shows. But that's none of my business. Then Camel Walk. DUHDUHDUH!!! Sashaying into the mix, another bustout erupts and the spunky funk tune fans the flames. The embers glow. Played fantastically well, the song winds down and Gotta Jibboo starts up. Again, the crowd goes wild. At this point they probably are keen to the trend of bustouts now, this being the first and only Jibboo since 2.20.03. Jibboo featured some smoking hot builds by Trey and... [authors aside: is this even the same band that took the stage on 7.27.03???] and the band is ON FIRE. I mean they are locked in. I am familiar with this show, just because when you love 2003 as much as I do, you KNOW about this show, but I had never sat down and listened to it start to finish. So as I am sitting here, more like standing and dancing my butt off at this point (even the cat was impressed) I revel in what it must have felt like to be in the crowd that night. Pretty special. Cool it Down swoops in next and dirty-cowboy-jazz-groove it creates is absolutely addicting. It is sexy, sultry, and bluesy. The show, four songs in, is an all-star. Scent of a Mule was perfectly placed and the back-and-forth duel is very very engaging. I usually wouldn't advise you to sit and listen to Mule all the way through, except, listen to this Mule all the way through. Fee drops in next and is played with a lightheartedness and playfulness that is representative of the set as whole. Although its outro jam is beautiful and cosmic, is does not reach truly interstellar levels of 2.14.03. Not to say it is bad (is isn't) in fact it is quite good, but comparatively it doesn't hold a candle to 2.14.03 Fee. A nice -> Timber and man, we are ROLLIN. I am typing faster than Shadowfax can ride. This Timber is a ltitle *too* gritty both in tone and execution for my tastes, but in context of the set as a whole, a little slop hurts no one. (also keep in mind every single song thus far is a First-of-the-tour ... pretty rad). When the Circus Comes to Town provides a near-perfect landing pad from the high-paced, primate-swooning, volcano-erupting set so far. Then McGrupp happens and we're all like, "God damn it Phish. You guys are the best." Executed essentially flawlessly, this masterful tale of fantasy, again, continues to perfect flow, perfect energy, and perfect playing of the set. Golgi sends us onto setbreak thoroughly satisfied. I need a cigarette... and I don't smoke cigarettes.

Bustouts continue with Crosseyed and Painless. And this just isn't any old Crosseyed and Painless. I tend to use the adjective "swirling" and "spiraling" a lot to describe jams. Those two words are meant for this jam, specially the final twelve minutes. Now, I am getting ahead of myself, as the first 14 minutes are a ragin orgasm of fury and passion. [author's aside: Are we SURE this is the same band from two nights ago???] The jam is everything you could want in a Phish jam. Extended type-1 (not just Trey-led, but full band) shreddage which morphs into this dizzying, spiraling, swirling, ebbing, flowing, bobbing-on-the-surface-of-an-ocean-made-of-jello jam. The second jam segment is utterly unique. I've never heard Phish play anything, stylistically speaking, like it. It's amazing. It's sublime. It's pretty. It's calming. And then it settles into, be still my heart, Thunderhead. Wow. ::Funky passes out, the cat looks on, his plan finally comple... Funky regains consciousness, cat looks on in contempt:: What a PERFECT placement of Thunderhead. Almost, and essentially, an extension of the Crosseyed jam, this Thunderhead completes the 32+ minute literal masterpiece of music. Brother starts up and, quite frankly, I am surprised the venue didn't implode right then and there. Taken straight from the mid-90s, this version is unmistakably machine-gun Trey. Holy Moly! GET IT TREY!!!! WOW!!!! Ok ok... I mean, the show can't get better rigHARPUA!!!!!! ::Funky passes out again:: Unfreakingbelievable. Jimmy finds himself solemn, lamenting, trying to find "IT>" Whatever IT is... I mean, I used to be with IT. Then they changed what IT is. Now what I'm with isn't IT and what's IT seems weird and scary to me... and apparently this happened to Jimmy. Poor guy. That's ok though, because he went the Tom Robbins route and partook with great gusto in the fairer sex, and WHOOSH, he found IT! The story concludes with a happy ending (your Freudian mind can eat its heart out) and we are all rejoicing. I imaginary high-fived many of you in the audience retrospectively. It was at this time Mrs Funky walked into the door, seeing me high-fiving imaginary people, as THE DOGGGGGGGGGGGG is being blared at full volume. It was quite a site, inspirational even, and yes, the cat looked on in contempt. A ferocious, hard-edged Bowie closes the set out with volley after volley of peaks. It was a fantastic version. A humble, well-chosen Farmhouse caps the evening on what is, to my ears, the second best show of 2003 so far.

Must-hear jams: Gotta Jibboo, CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS > THUNDERHEAD!!!!!, Brother
Probably-should-listen-to jams: Honestly, you should probably listen to this whole show