"For the first time ... it felt like Phish to me."

I think this is a much more operative statement in the introduction than the tangential mention of first sets. The essay is about the huge jams of Fall 2013; most of the action is in the second sets.

But to the point, and this is the feeling I got - the excitement that every show was likely to produce standout, exceptional, progressive music. Not just the hope or possibility that it could happen. But the momentum, energy, and synergy were real, and not going anywhere. That's what phish and phish tour should feel like. Feeling like there is like a 90% chance on any given night that IT is going to happen. IMO that started to evolve over the summer of 2012, grew through 2013 (especially late summer), but absolutely exploded for the fall tour.

Thats my takeaway from the intro and essay.