@newbornelf said:

A few notes:

During Undermind, the biggest beach ball the world has ever seen made its rounds through the crowd, and right up to the stage. Was it the Phish organization that let this ball loose, or just a fan with a hell of a pump? This ball was absolutely massive. I'm talking like 10 feet? More? Huge. The whole crowd oohed and aahed, and in sure you can hear it in the recording.

Antelope was not merely a good choice for second set closer. It was symbolic. At the gorge, one has to walk a VERY long way back to camp after the show. After night one, my buddy and I found out the hard way (actually he was so flipped we had to wait until the entire venue cleared out to make the trek) that leaving late is very bad news. People are corralled and the road is blocked as Phish vehicles make their way out of the venue for the night.
You DO have to run like an antelope to get the hell back to camp! This is no accident that this song was played last song of second set.

Show Of Life encore was indeed a thanks. But it was also a further message that ok it is time for you to leave I you are in the know. Start now and beat the crowd or else. It is such a long walk that you can hear the sing just fine and look back and reflect on the band and audience at certain vantage points anyway and knowing that you're going to beat the crowd is priceless. Good times bad times could be heard all the way walking out which is just fine. We've heard the song a million times and it rocks, especially since you can hear it crystal clear on the way out of the venue.

If I could explain how much walls of cave means to trey and all of us if we'd realize, I would. He is leaving us all a message as he says. This will not last forever. The band will not be here forever. It was moving to hear trey song this song on this night. I would not be surprised if this was the most moving version of this song ever played.

Now for Light. The first notes of Trey's solo were as heartfelt and moving as any in Light ever. The first phrase is deep. The song may not have been that exploratory as reviewer stated, by if you were there, and in the right state, you'd know how touching it was.

So much more could be said. But overall, the second set was just incredible. Amazing experience for me I can't even begin. 4th time Phish at Gorge. This was the set.

Your commentary made me smile, because you clearly were on your own personal trip that night. I relate. I remember seeing the Dead in Maine in the 80's and the second set was like a written novel to me. I coudn't really explain it to anyone, and no one understood it when I tried, but it's still vivid to this day.

Reading what you wrote, it is clear to me that we are all way too critical of the boys. This music is personal to each of us in unique ways and you really can't separate the experience from the facts. That's why the running bow-shots between old Phish-Heads and newer fans will never end. The old fans can't distinguish in their memories between what really went down and how they felt about it at the time. It colors our objectivity and that's okay, because it's supposed to. It's music, life, emotion.

You're right. Someday it will end. I sometimes go back into the phish.net archived blogs and read reviews of shows that are in some cases now considered classic, and I smirk as I read the criticisms of fans "in the know". We really are quite a crowd.

We will all weep heartily in loss and gratitude when they finally hang it up for good. Let's hope it stays real to the end.