As far as tour openers are concerned, this one isn't too bad. Really not bad when you consider the last show Phish played would have been a year and a half ago. There's definitely rust but they roll with it, and that's something I can appreciate. First set is pretty standard fare, with the perfectly debuted INNYLTB, which gives way to the seemingly Pandemic-related triptych of songs, Tube>Free, and Bouncin (as in, we've all been living in our respective tubes, and now we're free and bouncing around with joy; alright, maybe that's pushing a bit, but that's my interpretation).

Simple and Fuego get a lot of press from this second set, but I would like to point our direction to the Disease. While it never gets too far removed (or at least not enough for a type II odyssey), it does work as the perfect jam vehicle to truly showcase the new gear the band has been working with. I'm not very savvy when it comes to music-related technologies, so I call Trey's new rig/effects lasery sci-fi sounds, and this jam has quite a bit of that. Whatever it is, I'm a huge fan and believe these are the best effects Trey's been toying with since the forlorn days of the delay pedals and loops of '98-00. Runaway Jim with a full blown Weekapaug Groove jam/tease was a real treat and harkens back to the anything-goes days of '92-93, and Slave was as majestic as ever, perhaps even a bit more patient than usual, clocking in an extra few minutes longer than the median Slave.

Overall, I'm feeling a solid 3.5 for this, but gave it a 3/5 on the ratings as I believe it's more of a 3 than a 4. Really, the whole Disease>...>Runaway Jim suite is well worth your time. Don't get me wrong, this show is pretty uneven, but again I factor in the fact that this is the first show back since Mexico '20 plus the fact they're in unfamiliar territory (first time playing anywhere in Arkansas). Though I'm writing this review a few months since 2021's end, this show does, in retrospect, bode well for Phish in such a storied year.