Oh my !! The Philly energy is real! A 2nd set that dreams are made out of ! The Tweezer that could not be stopped! You can call them > or -> it does not matter this was a continuous shredfest weaving in and out of Tweezer jamming. My 50th show and i could not ask for a more cathartic performance, it was truly a bliss-rock masterpiece. What a reward for sweating it out in the heat and humidity.

Space Oddity > Martian Monster > Halleys had everyone calling a space theme show, which was not to be exactly although space theme and teases would reappear late 2nd set. Halleys has a magnificent jam that might have been the highlight of a show with a more standard 2nd set, but even still it is a beauty and well worth your time. Rest of the 1st set was great, if not remarkable, stuff, with highlights in Jiboo and a Walls set closer with energetic shredding from Trey, responding to the Philly crowd egging him on.

More 2nd set opener was the table setter for the Tweezer everyone called but i doubt anyone anticipated a Tweezerfest of these proportions. The segs in and out of Cities and Passing Thru were seamless, creating the kind of set where the band fits the songs into the jamming , instead of the other way around. Piper gives us a deep late set 2 jam with waves of energy passing thru (wink) crowd and band. Mercury > Piper ( brief Tweezer) > 2001 also revives the space theme for the evening. 2001 > Character Zero were simply raucous, crowd in full throat and grooving hard, and responding ecstatically to Trey’s callback quotes to MM and Space Oddity (i think?).

DWYS is a gentle goodnight, and it seemed ripe to punt the Tweeprise to Night 2 but the band wanted an exclamation point on this first night, and the Philly crowd did noy mind one bit.

What a night. Lets do it again tomorrow.

The first night at the Mann saw a show with a rather strange beginning, followed by a massive redemption in the second set’s Tweezerfest.

The acapella Space Oddity that opened was not the finest example of our beloved band’s barbershop prowess, but interesting- the Martian Monster and Stash that followed were noticeably flubby. The band seemed unable to hear themselves and/or each other and both Trey and Page made many gestures to the sound technicians to tweak the levels again and again. Treys playing felt faltering, and he forgot both composed sections and lyrics alike. I personally was a bit concerned and mystified, wondering what had changed since the very strong show in Bangor.

When the second set opened with More, I was about ready to throw in the towel for the night (I was couch touring this one), but was expecting a big Tweezer to make up for the roughness of the first set…. The band indeed delivered a Tweezer, which evolved into one of the best 2nd sets I’ve heard since… 12/30/19 perhaps? The upbeat Tweezer pushed into a gooey Cities that had me feeling Fukuoka vibes. Heading > Tweezer, the band sounded like a *completely* different organism than it was in set 1. Another buttery segue into Passing Through and the goodness continued… Izabella had everyone remembering the classic Auburn Hills Tweezabella, and Phish was sounding positively 1.0 as Trey shredded his way through the Jimi Tune. Mercury was brief which preserved the set flow - more tasty Tweezer Jamming, and then a Piper/2001/Zero that absolutely NAILED the landing pad on this second set.

Had the first set been on par with the second, we’d be talking about an all-timer kind of show here, but nevertheless the 2nd set was, as a stand-alone, one of the greatest powerhouse sets in recent memory, all the more remarkable because of what preceded it. It’s safe to say that the Mann Tweezerfest will be getting many, many relistens over the coming years, and joins a storied tradition of memorable shows at this Philly venue.

I cannot believe that the average rating is merely 4.1 as of this writing.

I don't think it's just the fact that I hadn't seen them since December 31 2019, but during the whole show I really felt like it was a special one. I understand being stingy with five-star ratings, but I specifically don't understand how anybody who was there could find much fault with it. The energy was just brilliant both on-stage and in the crowd.

Was Trey weirdly off on his vocals at points? Yeah maybe kind of but who cares.

As I said to my neighbors in row MM section 400: "it's always nice to be in the room for an all-timer". And maybe I was biased for one reason or another, but I really think it was that good. Very probably the best I've been to. Granted, this was only my 16th show, but I've listened to many more than that. You can't save five-star ratings only for Big Cypress and NYE spectacles, and I don't see why this doesn't earn the full nickel.

Sometimes there’s a band. And sometimes the band plays you.

Three songs into a space theme with a sparkling Comet that sounded like it was juat about string theory sand we ripcord into Stash. (The solar garlic starts to rot, as the Instagram account @mywifehatesphish observed.) Our trip was short, after all. Which we were fine because the rest of the set did the job. The quick nonsense of Jibboo made the perfect potty break and a towering Walls left us sweating and ready for more.

So they delivered. Mann, it was way more. It’s as good as it looks and just as fun as you want a TweeFest to be. But that 2001 really tied the room together. Musical and lyrical callbacks and teases were the thread connecting space/time. By the time we hit the end of Character Zero, the whole place had goose bumps from the rising sing along oneness.

Listen to these silent trees.

Sitting in the Uber back and boy was that a heater— the highs were super high, the low points were low, and the experience couldn’t have been any better. My first time in both Philly and at The Mann: quick note, the staff and people were discernibly friendlier than nearly any other venue I’ve ever been to. The skyline is beautiful. Check it out. Anyways, without further ado:

THE LOWS: Trey had troubles connecting at times, notably in the first set. For whatever reason, the beginnings of choruses were off at points. Even the Stash intro and Moma had their own struggles. I also think that Drift While You’re Sleeping was a poor selection after the environment in the venue after Character Zero, but that’s neither here nor there.

The Good: First and foremost, the pseudo-space themed show. After breaking the streak to open the show, Phish responded with a Mercury and 2001 in S2. Additionally, Instead of having one marquee jam, the boys really stretched it out all over the show. The Halley’s first set jam is a must listen— genuinely my second favorite Halley’s behind Hampton ‘97. The Philly Tweezesteak sandwich was awesome and they really brought their all to the entire second set with confidence and without losing their pace or depth of jams. They built on the foundation from the S1 WotC closer and ran it all the way through a super high tempo Zero.

The REALLY good and personal notes: Aside from my first show, this was the most first-timers I’d gotten. Was really sure I’d never see Izabella in my entire life and after chasing for a few tours I grabbed a 2001; what more could you ask for? Oh yeah, some a cappella Bowie to open the show. If nothing else can be said about the show, though, listen to this Piper. In a night of really strong jams, this one really did it for me. Just a top caliber jam that was damn near flawless.

Probably a 4.5/5 for me. See you tomorrow night!

The Tweezerfest wasn't just token transitions to other songs. That's what's appreciated. Mike was my MVP for the 2nd set. Filthy stuff and he turned 2001 extra funky. Kuroda's lights were also fantastic last night. Especially in Walls of the Cave, the use of those "line" lights was terrific. I swear it's a throwback to the 80s arcade games with those lights looking like something out of Missile Command, where you have to shoot down missiles, and when connecting, make small or large bursts.

When Trey started bouncing and hopping around before the Piper proper, i knew we were in for a bangor of a Piper. i was not wrong...>Tweezer Holy Phuck!!!>2001, took us into orbit. Thanks to the freaky freak with all the hair, totally bringing everything he got for us and the band, riding the rail dead center, you all saw him.
i agree with all the stumbles and all the jumbles, i also agree with the extra - ordinary slithery, slimly, and power to which this set 2 was performed for us luckily phans. i just had to add my 2 cents and ive been around awhile. Lets go again tonight, bring H2O.

When Trey started bouncing and hopping around before the Piper proper, i knew we were in for a bangor of a Piper. i was not wrong...>Tweezer Holy Phuck!!!>2001, took us into orbit. Thanks to the freaky freak with all the hair, totally bringing everything he got for us and the band, riding the rail dead center, you all saw him.
i agree with all the stumbles and all the jumbles, i also agree with the extra - ordinary slithery, slimly, and power to which this set 2 was performed for us luckily phans. i just had to add my 2 cents and ive been around awhile. Lets go again tonight, bring H2O.

I've been going to Phish shows since 12/28/12... and back in my youth (2013-2017) stumbling upon a real monumental effort by the band was not out of the ordinary.
I have moments; Alpharetta KDF, Magnaball, 8/15/15 - Bakers Dozen shows 3- 13... but tonight was a night. Reminded me of the band playing fall tour in 2013... it was beautiful. 7/27/14... that was a tweezer fest.... this was better... by alot