You know that feeling when you're either a new fan or an old fan who's just getting back into Phish? You go through the top rated shows on .net maybe to see what all you missed out on and need to catch up on, or where you might need to go to get started... I'm laughing right now just imagining someone's face when they look at this setlist. Phish has done it again.

Thousands of phans fantasies were satisfied in a single show. The highlights are the lead up to the show, the entire show, the excitement, the reviews. This is not the best show for some but will go down as one of *those* shows forever - Jim Symphony, NYE 95, Cypress, IT, FYF, Magnaball.... ...Jam-Filled

On the sacred Mayan "Day out of Time" (their equivalent to leap day), Phish played a show out of time. A show for the ages, but, with a 30 minute jam in each set, a show outside of any age. If there were any doubt creeping in as to who's currently the greatest improvisational group within the rock idiom, this show should dispel it. The band is at ease and locked in like no one else on the planet.

Attended these first 3 shows and couldn't be happier. If you are reading this and live within striking distance of NYC, get yourself a ticket ASAP! You won't regret it. Saturday night was the best show of the weekend. All of them were tremendously enjoyable with the bust outs, doughnut references and solo tunes, but this one had me reeling from start to finish. I love a first set jam, which we got with Moma, but it seemed like every song before halftime was stretched out and played brilliantly. Second set tore the roof of the mutha. The dark and dirty melt took me to the brink of madness and the disease reprise made me jump for joy. Shine a light to keep the euphoria rolling and then a 3 song encore. Peaches was flubtastic, haters! I don't see how you could give this bad boy anything less than 4 stars. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could. When you think about what these guys are doing, playing 13 semi-themed shows with no repeats (it is obvious at this point given the song selection), it is fucking incredible. I also love the fact that every bar and restaurant within a 3 block radius of the Garden is catering to phans with specials and phish heavy playlists. It's not just the band who is in residence for 2 plus weeks. Had a great experience and it really sucks to be back at work today. : (

I was at this show and think that it is criminally underrated. On one hand, the shows before and after this (Mann 2 and MPP 1) are top tier shows in a top tier tour. With the Mann, you have arguably the best jam of the year and with MPP, you have an incredibly *fun* and energetic show top to bottom. On another hand, Walnut Creek was a bit out of the way in the context of where the tour was taking the band. I think that this definitely had an impact on attendance and in combination with no webcast of this show being available, it is definitely not getting the love it deserves. Anyways, onto the show itself. SET ONE: The first slow Llama ever!! And boy did it get the crowd going. My buddies and I danced our way down the lawn to our pav seats during the jam and knew that the party was on. Chalk Dust was short but sweet. Next we have an unusual Moma Dance, but unusual in a great way. Lovely little jam in it that stays in major mode and finds itself in a lovely place. Trey's playing in this reminded me (a lucky attender of 7/3 Fare Thee Well) of how dialed in that whole experience made him and how it was paying off in dividends this summer tour! Next up was Yarmouth Road. Very well played, I love this song and welcome it anytime. Tube into to Bouncin was very nice and well received. Next up was Maze, which I would refer to as an above average version for sure. Very on point playing by all band members and definitely reminded the crowd that the boys weren't there to fuck around this tour. Waiting All Night was what it was (not a huge fan of this song). Lawn Boy was great, Page addressing the crowd and Mike ripping a lil' bass solo is always a treat. Devotion to a Dream was fine (like WAN, not one of my favs off of Fuego) and hey, two Fuego songs in this show and both were placed very well in Set 1! Next up was Wolfmans which was my favorite jam in Set 1. Instead of the normal funk, it opted for a straightforward, type I fierce energy-building jam that peaked nicely. Suzy was fun as always (love when Fish screams) and closed out a set that was pretty par for the course (the course being held to an extremely high standard - Summer 2015). SET TWO: Opened with the Wedge...have always loved this song and every time I get one, I immediately hope it will get jammed out similar to the one at Northerly Island in 2014. Unfortunately for me, it got pretty standard treatment but was nonetheless a superb way to start off a great set. Next out of the gates was Golden Age. It ended up being probably my favorite jam of the night. Starts off in typical major key jamming and then finds itself in some awesome funky flowing territory. Upon re-listening, there are definitely some themes that now remind me of 10/28/16's monster version. Anyways, from the funky section, Trey starts to lead us up the mountain in a real nasty and well played manner. Someone reffered to this as a "dirty peak" and I could not agree with that description more. The jam then fizzled out into some reflective quiet space and while I was praying that they would keep the jam going in another direction, the next best thing happened and Trey went into Reba! As far as I remember, there were little to no flubs in the composed section and the jam was rather decent for 3.0. (Side note: boy do I wish Phish could still jam Reba like they could in 1.0 and 2.0 - I hope to someday eat my words about a comment like this) Either way, a second set Reba is always welcome and ended up crashing into an absolutely excellent Mike's Groove. Would have loved a second Mike's jam like those lucky bastards did in Nashville but I was still very satisfied by clean and energized playing by our phour phavorite nerds. Ghost was song one of two that served as the sandwich in this edition of MG and it was a mean rendition that meant business. Trey put to work his echoplex and after ten minutes or so of multi-layered jamming, No Quarter emerged. God damn Page loves playing this song and I am so glad the boys let him. It was a great version and I was really happy to check it off my list. Out of No Quarter, the beloved rhythm dept brought us in Weekapaug and it was an impeccably played version. It somewhat reminded me of the Clifford Ball version and to me at least, was yet another reminder of what wondrous things Fare Thee Well had done for the Bad Lieutenant's playing. He and the boys brought it to a ripping peak and after some fun No Quarter Teases, it was time for First Tube. I often refer to FT as the song whose jam "can do no wrong." It always brings the energy and served as a a perfect closer to an incredible set. ENCORE: I am totally fine with Farmhouse being played as the first song in a two-song encore (It worked pretty well a week later at Watkins Glen). I always loved that song before I really *got* Phish so I'm never unhappy to hear it. Fire was a great way to close out the show. I had been hoping to catch one someday and while it lacks the energy that the RHCP brought to it during their performance at Woodstock 1999, I still really enjoy what the p-fish do with it. OK! I know that this show didn't have the bust-out *special* moments of Alpine, nor the *big jam* of the Mann, and obviously didn't have a set to rival either of the two at MPP1. However, it is an incredibly well-played show with an above average second set during (maybe) the best tour since Summer 03. Excellent song-placement, plenty of fun covers and well worth-it risk taking (slow Llama). Again, I understand why this show gets overlooked based on where it was on the East Coast, and its lack of a webcast. But I do challenge some of you to give it a re-listen and tell me I am not crazy for thinking that it is very, very underrated. Side Note about the Lot: There was a sting by the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement and they ended up apparently arresting 65 people on lot...I remember seeing some very harmless folks getting cuffed and it really was sad to see. I am, for the most part, very happy with the work that law enforcement do for us citizens, but I thought this was complete bullshit and it was very obvious that they were targeting us phans. Anyways, as far as the venue, I loved every aspect of it aside from that. Looking back I really miss this tour! Had a great time driving down from northern VA for this show and then making my way back north for MPP and the Ball. So glad I made it to this show and hope to see them again someday and Walnut Creek1

I was at this show and think that it is criminally underrated. On one hand, the shows before and after this (Mann 2 and MPP 1) are top tier shows in a top tier tour. With the Mann, you have arguably the best jam of the year and with MPP, you have an incredibly *fun* and energetic show top to bottom. On another hand, Walnut Creek was a bit out of the way in the context of where the tour was taking the band. I think that this definitely had an impact on attendance and in combination with no webcast of this show being available, it is definitely not getting the love it deserves. Anyways, onto the show itself. SET ONE: The first slow Llama ever!! And boy did it get the crowd going. My buddies and I danced our way down the lawn to our pav seats during the jam and knew that the party was on. Chalk Dust was short but sweet. Next we have an unusual Moma Dance, but unusual in a great way. Lovely little jam in it that stays in major mode and finds itself in a lovely place. Trey's playing in this reminded me (a lucky attender of 7/3 Fare Thee Well) of how dialed in that whole experience made him and how it was paying off in dividends this summer tour! Next up was Yarmouth Road. Very well played, I love this song and welcome it anytime. Tube into to Bouncin was very nice and well received. Next up was Maze, which I would refer to as an above average version for sure. Very on point playing by all band members and definitely reminded the crowd that the boys weren't there to fuck around this tour. Waiting All Night was what it was (not a huge fan of this song). Lawn Boy was great, Page addressing the crowd and Mike ripping a lil' bass solo is always a treat. Devotion to a Dream was fine (like WAN, not one of my favs off of Fuego) and hey, two Fuego songs in this show and both were placed very well in Set 1! Next up was Wolfmans which was my favorite jam in Set 1. Instead of the normal funk, it opted for a straightforward, type I fierce energy-building jam that peaked nicely. Suzy was fun as always (love when Fish screams) and closed out a set that was pretty par for the course (the course being held to an extremely high standard - Summer 2015). SET TWO: Opened with the Wedge...have always loved this song and every time I get one, I immediately hope it will get jammed out similar to the one at Northerly Island in 2014. Unfortunately for me, it got pretty standard treatment but was nonetheless a superb way to start off a great set. Next out of the gates was Golden Age. It ended up being probably my favorite jam of the night. Starts off in typical major key jamming and then finds itself in some awesome funky flowing territory. Upon re-listening, there are definitely some themes that now remind me of 10/28/16's monster version. Anyways, from the funky section, Trey starts to lead us up the mountain in a real nasty and well played manner. Someone reffered to this as a "dirty peak" and I could not agree with that description more. The jam then fizzled out into some reflective quiet space and while I was praying that they would keep the jam going in another direction, the next best thing happened and Trey went into Reba! As far as I remember, there were little to no flubs in the composed section and the jam was rather decent for 3.0. (Side note: boy do I wish Phish could still jam Reba like they could in 1.0 and 2.0 - I hope to someday eat my words about a comment like this) Either way, a second set Reba is always welcome and ended up crashing into an absolutely excellent Mike's Groove. Would have loved a second Mike's jam like those lucky bastards did in Nashville but I was still very satisfied by clean and energized playing by our phour phavorite nerds. Ghost was song one of two that served as the sandwich in this edition of MG and it was a mean rendition that meant business. Trey put to work his echoplex and after ten minutes or so of multi-layered jamming, No Quarter emerged. God damn Page loves playing this song and I am so glad the boys let him. It was a great version and I was really happy to check it off my list. Out of No Quarter, the beloved rhythm dept brought us in Weekapaug and it was an impeccably played version. It somewhat reminded me of the Clifford Ball version and to me at least, was yet another reminder of what wondrous things Fare Thee Well had done for the Bad Lieutenant's playing. He and the boys brought it to a ripping peak and after some fun No Quarter Teases, it was time for First Tube. I often refer to FT as the song whose jam "can do no wrong." It always brings the energy and served as a a perfect closer to an incredible set. ENCORE: I am totally fine with Farmhouse being played as the first song in a two-song encore (It worked pretty well a week later at Watkins Glen). I always loved that song before I really *got* Phish so I'm never unhappy to hear it. Fire was a great way to close out the show. I had been hoping to catch one someday and while it lacks the energy that the RHCP brought to it during their performance at Woodstock 1999, I still really enjoy what the p-fish do with it. OK! I know that this show didn't have the bust-out *special* moments of Alpine, nor the *big jam* of the Mann, and obviously didn't have a set to rival either of the two at MPP1. However, it is an incredibly well-played show with an above average second set during (maybe) the best tour since Summer 03. Excellent song-placement, plenty of fun covers and well worth-it risk taking (slow Llama). Again, I understand why this show gets overlooked based on where it was on the East Coast, and its lack of a webcast. But I do challenge some of you to give it a re-listen and tell me I am not crazy for thinking that it is very, very underrated. Side Note about the Lot: There was a sting by the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement and they ended up apparently arresting 65 people on lot...I remember seeing some very harmless folks getting cuffed and it really was sad to see. I am, for the most part, very happy with the work that law enforcement do for us citizens, but I thought this was complete bullshit and it was very obvious that they were targeting us phans. Anyways, as far as the venue, I loved every aspect of it aside from that. Looking back I really miss this tour! Had a great time driving down from northern VA for this show and then making my way back north for MPP and the Ball. So glad I made it to this show and hope to see them again someday and Walnut Creek1

With one day of rest between me and the opening weekend of the Dozen the first show stands out as both a fine run opener and a clear indicator of how the band seems to be approaching the run. All that to say, set I jamming, anything goes song selection, set II jamming, donut theme, and great encores! (basically awesome top tier Phish) Set I opened with Shake Your Coconuts. I didn't know the tune, but it was a fun and energetic start and set the tone with regards to the theme. Martian Monster works almost anywhere and it did so in the second spot. Good version with plenty of fun. Timber Ho! is similarly always welcome and this version is sublime. It's not too long but makes and immediate detour to the upbeat major direction and is really quite stunning. Fantastic first jam of the run. 555 was ordinary. Pigtail was afterward and similarly pretty normal. I did think it had a better than usual solo from Trey, but I can't say that definitively. Halfway to the Moon completed a bit of an odd run of songs, but this version also had a better than usual solo from Trey in my opinion. Surprisingly strong. Reba was very welcome with it's coconut reference. The composed section was not perfect but also not terrible. The jam was great and the finale peaked several times. Very strong and emotional playing. One of the best I've heard. Moonage Daydream carried my favorite guitar solo of the night. Boy did this thing slay. Trey was an absolute monster. Unbelievable. Almost wish he played with that ferociousness more ;) WOTC was a great choice and closed a very strong opening frame out in style. Fits this spot like a glove. Set II opened with a Tweezer that took a nice long road to a blissful peak. a very Groovy bliss jam basically carries this 16 minute version all the way home, with a sublime full band peak accompanied by some glorious Trey trilling. Seven Below emerged and was another fine jam and probably my favorite of the night. Definitely grab that opening 30 minutes!! Billy breathes and Sparkle was an odd but fun pairing. Everything's Right was new to me. Bad song. GREAT jam. This one was awesome (after the song part). Probably the second best jam of the night! Slave emerged from the jam nicely and was very sweet, albeit a bit short to me. Still beautiful and a nice conclusion. Suzy was a really energetic choice and worked very well. Page was absolutely on fire! Coconut was a riot. Great job. Encore of Mango to GTBT was pure inspiration. Both were excellent and GTBT was a clinic from Trey. Overall an amazing opening show. Great jamming all around in Timber, Reba, Moonage and WOTC; Tweezer -7 Below and Everything's right were all very choice. Great show top to bottom.

This show is the highest rated of the first three, but is perhaps my least favorite! (testament to the quality of these shows) Set I opens with an a cappella Strawberry fields Forever. Nice. Predictable, but awesome. A short and sweet Halley's doubled down on the thick strawberry goo theme. They dropped into Moma, which didn't waste any time in asserting itself as an atypical take. This one was long and moved around quite a bit. Really good jamming, without perhaps a signature moment, made this 17 minute monster a clear winner in the set. I thought it hit on a bunch of cool segments and was an amazing statement of intent, much like the previous night's Timber. Without finishing the song, they dropped into Breath and Burning. I've caught it before and expected a predictable romp after the deep Moma. Well I was happily wrong as this jam immediately moved outside the box and gave yet another fine experimental jam within the first 4 songs! Funky Bitch was a great call and the energy in the room just ratcheted up. Saturday night party time. Mound followed and was a pretty solid version. The opening notes of Foam were a joy to hear, alas, much of the song was not well played. That said, it was awesome to hear this tune, which seldom pops up these days. Roggae was the best peak of the set (and I've seen some great versions at Hampton 13, MPP, and Magnaball). This was one of the cleanest and finest peaks I've seen Trey hit in a while. Tremendous trills! Wowzer. Squirming Coil was a great closer and I thought was well played and had a very nice Page outro solo. Overall, another fantastic set I, Moma>B&B and Roggae were all very noteworthy takes. Jamming in set I continues! Set II opened with DWD, which was a nice albeit common opener. This version had a good long jam and lasted nearly 20 minutes and sure was fun! Definitely a great version and not to be overlooked. This version was a sublime showcase for the CK5 tapestry. Strawberry Letter 23 returned us to the theme, and was a pretty fun little choice. I thought it had a nice noise jam, much like A Day in the Life carries. BOAF was up next and I was hoping for a good long version. This one was short though. Certainly fine and fun with some more crisp soloing, but nothing to notable. I Always Wanted it This Way is not really my cup of tea as it's a bit electronic/EDM for me. If you like this tune and those types of jams though, this version will please you. It had a Marimba Lumina jam and was certainly a danceable time. All of These Dreams was a real treat (probably had some grumbling for a slowdown). I loved it. Melt was my favorite moment of the night. This one was crazy! Dark and dissonant. I thought it was fantastic (and really brought the edge back to the set). Great lighting and generally just awesome playing. I thought they hit the drop back into Melt proper at the end pretty nicely too! Well Trey got an idea to simply dive full speed into the DWD riff out of nowhere. At the time I sort of though it was a lazy move, but within seconds I let that thought go and just enjoyed that they could turn on a dime like that. They played a decent little jam too, without simply driving back into the chorus and everyone was feeling fine. Awesome. Shine a Light was nice and I love exile. It was a good conclusion. The encore was pretty special. Peaches (poorly played) was a nice treat, Cities was excellent and My Sweet One was just a bonus. Overall, it was another great show with plenty of highlights throughout. These shows are all easily top draw stuff for the era. Set I jamming is real and it's back!! Grab the MOMA, B&B & Roggae; DWD, I Always Wanted (if you like it) & Melt>DWD

Wow, what a show. Even though I said this during my review for 7/21/17, I'm going to say it again here: this is the best Phish show I've ever witnessed live. I'll probably say that again just a couple of more times throughout the rest of the Baker's Dozen. The first set was solid throughout. The show opened with a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning". It was hilarious getting blessed by the Pope John Fishman, and it was cool to see Trey on the kit and Mike get low on the stage to take a bass solo. Highlights from the first set include excellent versions of "Back on the Train" and "Theme from the Bottom" with sweet Type I jams. "It's Ice" segued out of a wonderful "Theme", and very quickly went spacey. The jam flew out to Saturn and then returned back to the cool "Ice" theme in 15 minutes. I hear that 15 minutes is the longest "It's Ice" to have ever been played. Wow, what a monster jam for the first set. The second set started with my first ever "AC/DC Bag", and I thought we were in for a monster one. But after only 7 or so minutes, the band built up the speed of the jam faster and faster, and then subtly transitioned into "Wolfman's Brother". Much like the "Ice" in the first set, the band quickly weaved their way through familiar "Wolfman's" territory before diving hard into a Mike driven funk jam. Mike was absolutely killing it, dropping perfectly timed bass bombs that I could feel through my whole body. The jam rides funk waves for a few minutes, before almost completely stopping. The band then goes through a minimalist spacey jam, which is extremely psychedelic. They slowly build and build on this space, and then Trey starts some joyous improvisation. The band picks up speed for a few minutes of joyous interplay, before Trey ripcords this wonderful "Wolfman's" into a "Twist" for the ages. This "Twist" is an absolute monster. Once again, they start jamming extremely quickly. The band continues the fantastic funk from the "Wolfman's" prior, and they slowly weave their way into and out of improvisational funk jams. Every few minutes or so, Trey plays a familiar but not exact Twist riff, reminding us that we are still listening to a "Twist". Trey plays a few joyous measures here that sound very similar to the Grateful Dead tune "Bird Song". This jam is absolutely glorious, and I was having the time of my life in section 214 of MSG bopping along with Mike's funky bass lines and Trey's joyous leads. Fishman anchors the jam down exquisitely, and Page adds perfect fills to the space funk. After 13 or so minutes of balls to the wall funk/joy jamming, Trey brilliantly and subtlety brings us back into Twist riffage, much like the monster Twist from 6/14/00 in Fukuoka, Japan. The band then transitions into "Waves". At this point I was at a lack of words at the behemoth of the Wolfman's > Twist jam I had just witnessed life. I had to regather my thoughts so I took a quick bathroom and water break. I made it back just in time for a wonderfully minimalist yet joyful "Waves" jam. "Waves" transitions into "Miss You" and this song truly tugs at my heart strings. Trey also nailed the emotional solo at the end. I gotta be honest, when I first heard "Big Boat" when it came out last fall, I didn't like it much. But I truly have been enjoying this bands' live performances of the Big Boat songs, particularly "Blaze On", "Miss You", and "More". "Miss You" was perfectly slotted in this second set. A great ballad to let the MSG audience regather their thoughts after being shot out into the Oort Cloud by that Wolfman's > Twist. The "Boogie On Reggae Woman" and "Wading in the Velvet Sea" that followed were both were very fun and had some nice jams, but didn't reach the psychedelic joyful spaciness the "Ice", "Wolfman's", and "Twist" had earlier in the show. "Sweet Jane" was a fun way to wrap up a monster show. It was the first "Sweet Jane" performed by Phish since 2012. This is a fantastic show, and I'm sure I'll be revisiting this show many times in the future. I can't wait to be back at MSG again on Tuesday! I'm bringing a friend to his first Phish show. Until next time. -Josh Dublin

Sunday night at the Garden was a great closing show to the first weekend of the Dozen. Plenty of fun tunes, great jamming and a very enjoyable theme made this a show to remember. The first set opened in hilarious fashion, with Bishop Fishman blessing us with Sunday Morning (Trey on the kit). Nice opening. Axilla was a nice energetic second song, which got everyone ratcheted up to 11. Your Pet Cat was fun, although nothing extraordinary to my ears. Back on the Train, however, was absolutely clinical. This one really soared, with amazing playing by Trey in particular (and some great stylings from Page). How Many People Are You also had a pretty darn good jam section. This is a fu song and this version surpassed the Magnaball rendition in my estimation. The unmistakeable Glide intro popped up next and was a great treat. Very well played by Trey, which was good to see in light of some sloppy renditions of tunes the previous nights. Theme From the Bottom carried a powerful, if typical solo and was also a bit better from an execution standpoint that some versions I've heard the past few years. It's Ice was the clear highlight. This one was a 15 minute springboard into jamland and really hit the spot after a very well played, but pretty in the box first frame. More was a predictable set closer to a pretty unpredictable set. Feel good solo to close this one out. Overall, a good first set. Personally, i'd put it just behind the first frames of the other two nights, but to be honest, each of those represents perhaps the best first sets I've managed to see. Great jamming found in It's Ice, and excellent versions of Glide, BOTT, How Many People Are You make this plenty of fun upon re-listen. On to Set II, which I was hoping would be big and open and spacey. Well, this one did not disappoint. AC/DC Bag had me hoping for a 12/30/97 blowout, but this slow version didn't manage to break free, despite a quieter than usual jam and tempo that seemed to indicate some intent. A fine opening nonetheless. Wolfman's in the second set holds the promise of days gone by jams. Well this one delivered on that promise with aplomb. A fantastic solo with a rocking peak gave way to some funkier jamming, which was followed with an incredible spacey jam that concluded with some emotional and ethereal playing from all members. Twist emerged from the space in slightly forced, but not atrocious fashion. Twist continued the sequence of jamming and wasted little time in breaking new ground. This jam traversed some new spaces and hit a nice major key section which hinted at returning to Twist. The band sticks it out though and finds some more territory to cover with Trey leading a full band build into a screaming peak. This one was awe-inspiring in the live scenario, as Trey was looping various screeching notes to build a very atmospheric and carnal peak, which may not hold up quite as powerfully on playback. Awesome version returns to the Twist vamp. Waves concludes the incredible opening sequence of the set with a nicely executed type I jam followed by something I haven't heard them do in 3.0. The jam after the second chorus simply fell down a black hole into the nether realms of outer space. This jam was more IT '03 Waves than any other counterpart, with a depth and depravity that was uncharacteristic of the all too common major jamming we've seen lately. It was simultaneously unnerving and stunning and will probably not be everyone's favorite, but was the highlight for me. Incredible. Miss You was a bummer, but not all that out of place after the deep jamming beforehand. Boogie On was a surprisingly nice call, since this set wasn't really the dancey type up to this point. Definitely a good funky workout and felt a bit unique to me, without breaking much new ground. The Velvet Sea conclusion was a guarantee and I also enjoyed this placement as the emotional conclusion to the night. Very well played and a good solo. The encore was Sweet Jane and the joyfulness of this tune was palpable. Great version of a cover they do very well. More Trey heroics and just a big celebratory release. Excellent. Overall Set II: Great space jamming, best set of the run? I know I'll keep the Wolfman's>Twist>Waves in rotation for quite some time. This was a great show, a true Sunday space adventure, with some totally unique jamming and plenty of great song choices. The upward trajectory continues and the bar is set high.

The bulk of the jamming in Set II calls 6/14/00 Fukuoka to mind, for me. Wolfman's Brother and Waves (and even the end of Boogie On Reggae Woman) contain some of the most purely ambient jamming since that show, Ball Square Jam and Drive-In Jam notwithstanding. Sunday Morning is a phun Phish debut. How Many People Are You may be the longest version of that song to date, I'm not sure. It's Ice goes Type II to great effect... probably the longest version in some time. The flavor themes are a really funny running gag, in my opinion. I'm looking forward with great exuberance to Tuesday night's "Jam-Filled" donut flavor theme!

Here's a few personal highlights from the couch. Glide was a nice treat, there was a thread on facebook earlier in the day about Wading and Glide from Coventry. They ended up playing both which was cool. Trey's face during Glide was awesome too. What a weird song for them. Wolfman's->Twist is strong 3.0 jamming. They've really ridden songs harder in 2017. Now the next donut is Jam Filled!

Wow. Let’s try to put that one into words. I’m couch touring so I can only imagine what it was like being at MSG. With the announcement of red velvet being the doughnut of the day (I think red velvet everything is overrated and that will determine if we’d be friends. Don’t @ me.), we spent our day wondering what songs would show up. Everything from Loaded was open, Rock and Roll was all but certain to make an appearance (until it didn’t!), Velvet Sea for sure. Sunday Morning gets the first slot call and makes sense in retrospect. Fishman taking us to church and blessing us in a bishop’s hat, spreading incense around in a thurible, and tossing water at people to open the set makes for a fun opener. Back on the Train stays type 1 but this is a great version within its structure. How Many People Are You also gets a nice treatment that’s worth listening to. The real highlight you’re looking for here in the first set is definitely the It’s Ice, which clocks in at 15:13, making it the longest version ever (just by glancing at the .net jam chart for It’s Ice). A quick aside, I’m thoroughly enjoying how Trey is having a hard time playing things like the chords to Your Pet Cat, but then goes on and does a great job with Glide, Ice, or solos/playing like he did in the second set. The second set opens up with a Bag. At the start of the freeform, the band drops to an area similar to the 12/30/97 Bag and has us thinking we’re in for a deep one. Instead what we get is a typical Bag played relatively quietly that finds its way to a proper ending. Initially disappointed, the band makes a great call with Wolfman’s Brother. The jam starts in typical type 1 territory and starts off patiently allowing room for the build. The jam peaks in type 1, then Trey drops chords on us to let us know they are not ready to go home with this one just yet. They reach a really pretty space/ambiance point that I can only explain as something like a cross between the 8/17/11 Crosseyed drop before No Quarter or the Coventry soundcheck. You’re assuming/waiting for this to get ripcorded into something else, but it doesn’t happen. The crowd realizes what’s happening and starts cheering. They stay in this space for a few minutes before Trey THEN ripcords it into Twist. Again, initially disappointed that they’d take those pretty sounds away from us, Twist goes to a place that makes me realize I need to stop doubting Trey Anastasio because I am a mortal who knows not of what is right, and he does. Almost immediately, Twist drops into a quiet space and goes type 2 about a minute or two in. This Twist goes into a major key direction, Trey starts playing chords that seem like a signal back into Twist (might just be me), but the jam keeps going into a high energy disco funk section with Page leading us to a place that sounds like a 3.0 version of the Riverport Gin. The funk builds to a peak for a bit before Fishman leads Twist back home to a proper finish. Trey starts up Waves next. As soon as the song proper ends, and yet again, they immediately drop into ambiance and minimalist space. Sounding blissful at first, the effects take a dark turn, building up like you were in a scary movie and the antagonist was about to jump out of the bushes. Miss You fits nicely here after all that, allowing us to collect our thoughts after the band took us to outer space and back, leaving us vulnerable enough to allow the song to hit us deep. Boogie On keeps things going, and the set ends with the Velvet Sea we’d just been Wading to hear. The Sweet Jane encore is really fun and Velvet Underground bookends the show. At the end of the show, I realize two things: 1) Rock and Roll is being saved for later in the run, and I’m ok with that with hopes that it’ll be a second set jam vehicle. 2) I forgot that they hadn’t played Tweezer Reprise yet. I don’t want to get ahead of myself because we still have TEN more shows left in this run, and I definitely thought night 2 was a heavy contender for show of the year… but night 3 made its own statement. I had to rewatch the webcast after attempting to gather myself. Let’s just say I should stop worrying about whether their best music of the year is behind them (Too soon and bold to say career? They are playing some stellar shit, though.), and should enjoy what’s happening night in and out this summer.

Many of the jams from the tour to date have featured a section or two of laconic, almost dream-like playing, akin to the relaxed egolessness previously relegated in the modern era to soundchecks. The jams from this show are no exception. This Disease will likely be overlooked, if only for the prevalence of great DWDs lately (such as Dayton), but it shouldn't be. The aforementioned dreaminess borders on the spooky here, with foreboding lines from Mike and fearful ambience from Page. Trey eventually layers over a dark theme, and MSG is treated to a walk through the edges of Mirkwood. I've already heard the ending section described as a bliss jam, and I've got to say I disagree. It's a [i]triumphant[/i] jam, and moreover, a [i]statement of intent[/i]. This is the band trying on the outfit of residence/Vegas act and discovering they like the fit. Love it or hate it, welcome to the likely future of Phish.

Well due to a medical emergency I had to cancel my trip to MSG for the first weekend of Baker's, needless to say Couch Tour is always a great option. Set 1 was one of the most well played sets I have heard in quite a while with some extended jams, great song placement, and a catchy debut to boot. The theme was the strawberry doughnut in which the boys started the show with an interesting acapella of Strawberry Fields Forever. I feel like Trey's voice has been off as of late, like he is getting over an illness, it didn't stop the crowd and myself from having an ear to ear grin though. Highlight of the set for me were the extended Moma that was one of my favorite jams of 2017. It went from the standard and keep building onto itself layer after layer into some groovy, spacey, rocky mash up of goodness. B&B, which I actually don't mind if placed well had a nice extension keeping along the same lines as moma and is probably the best version played to date. Funky Bitch had some soaring soloing from Trey, a better version than the standard. Mound and Foam were well played for 2017 and had me gitty. Another highlight was the Roggae that had a nice extension like most as of late and was played well, definitively worth a second listen. Phish's placement and Page's solo for Coil were spot on. Great way to end the set. Page got a bit funky with some ragtime rifts in the solo, which was longer than most. Set 2 was not as good as the first, however, it did have some highlights. It began with a short spacey intro into DWD. This version even though started rather standard got some treatment toward the end when the boys tightened it up and we got some soaring rifts from Trey. Kuroda's lights were spot on with the bands tempo energizing the crowd with blinding bursts on his new rig, which by the way is epic. I Always Wanted It This Way had an interesting jam that had me grooving. All of These Dreams was pulled from some bag of old tricks and even though put the brakes on is a nice song to hear. I still cannot figure out if I enjoyed the Melt. It definitely had its purpose with mixed with Kuroda's lighting created the ambiance of dissonance that would have a sober phan tripping all over themself. It deserves a second listen. Than the real highlight of the set occurs when Trey pulls the DWD high peaking rift from nowhere and the crowd goes nuts. They didn't play the composed section, just from the rift into another DWD jam that not as good as the first one was well played and hat the floor at MSG moving like a wave of energy. The three song Encore is always nice and had some spotty playing by Trey at points. After Cities Trey says goodnight and Fishman was not having it and started the drum rift for My Sweet One. Trey was all grins and followed his lead to end a great Phish show. One that I wish I could have attended. Page shined in this show as well, he was playing spot on full of energy, and used his new synths perfectly to create texture in some of the extended James. Looking forward to the rest of this doughnut themed run.

I will venture the opinion that this show borders on epic. You got your Phish debuts (Strawberry Fields Forever a cappella, and Strawberry Letter 23) matching the "theme" of the night. You got a Type-II The Moma Dance... [i]in the first set![/i] Breath and Burning also takes a bit of a jam, and I think it was placed well after the big Moma, bringing me to my next point: placement/song choice. Mound makes an appearance, you get a Foam, and The Squirming Coil closes Set I (a placement for Coil that's unusual, and reminds the cognoscenti of The Great Went, I daresay?) Then there's another big jam in Down with Disease to open the second, and though [i]its[/i] placement is routine, the jam is inspired enough to carry it. Then I Always Wanted It This Way appears in the second set, as does Split Open and Melt: both songs which have as of late typically appear as first-setters. Penultimately in this show's favor, DWD is reprised/finished between SOAM and Shine a Light! Finally, the song choice in the encore is unpredictably amazing, with what I feel is a slightly tighter take on Peaches en Regalia than Dayton's, then Cities, and finally My Sweet One (with an huge "pause," to boot!) I have to rate this show a 4 out of 5, and I definitely feel like the first set is the best so far this summer. It's almost as if we stepped into yesterday for three hours, with big jams in both the first and second sets, and the concept of "quarters" negligible, but with a decidedly hopeful 3.0 spin on things. I may have the CHImple as my best jam of the year, but this show is the all-around best show so far, IMO.

This show was so much fun from the beginning to the end. Amazing Moma....Foam(!!!!!), Roggae and Coil were all beautiful. DWD was jammed out nicely and the rest of the set was a lot of fun up too when the Dwd reprise blew it up!! Rochester 97 style!!! Encore was a lot of fun with Peaches coming around again and Cities is always fun as hell!!! Great show, great people, great fun!!! Thank you badger!!! Thank you people on the floor in front of mike, it was an awesome time!!!

Loved the show! Just wanted to point out that it probably wasn't coincidence they played "Mercury." Per Wikipedia: "In other languages, such as the French mercredi or Italian mercoledì, the day's name is a calque of dies Mercurii "day of Mercury"." Considering the previous show's opening number, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. There's so much deep, rich meaning in the lyrics that I'm sure they were aware.

I found this opening show of the Baker's Dozen to be average-great (a steady 3 out of 5 stars.) Reason being, there are two exceptional jams (in Seven Below and Everything's Right), but otherwise, there are somewhat typical renditions of many songs, including a particularly slow Reba--a song which lends its talents best to a faster tempo, in my opinion--and a Tweezer which, although 15 minutes long or so, didn't ever really shift into It territory. The Phish debut of Shake Your Coconuts was phun, and I hope they employ similar disco-type rhythms in the future in some of their jams. That and Moonage Daydream were probably the highlights of Set I, unless you were jonesing so much for a Reba that you could deal with the knowledge that this one isn't legendary. The a cappella turn at Harry Nilsson's Coconut didn't really cohere, for me, and I'm a big fan of that song, so I'd hoped they'd've played it straight (i.e., with instrumentation) but their vocals aren't really up to scratch for a song like that at this point. As always with average Phish, it's the premier alternative to mainstream pabulum and so forth, but I just thought they'd come out quite a bit more revved-up after the previous 5 shows. I'll be glad to see the return of big jams, tighter playing, and more polished vocals, through the remainder of the B. D. There'll be water if God wills it.

So a little personal backstory before I get into my review of this show. Feel free to skip ahead of this next paragraph if you don't care about my personal attachment to this show and why it means a lot to me. My first Phish show was 12/31/15, which was an absolutely fantastic show. However, at the time I only knew a handful of Phish songs and was incredibly stoned. As a result, I have very few memories from that night. I remember getting Possum, Wilson, and Wolfman's Brother at that first show and being excited because I actually knew those songs, but that's about all I remember from that night. Fast forward a couple months into the early months of 2016, and since that New Year's 2015>2016 show I had transformed into a huge Phish fan. My favorite song when I first started really listening to Phish a lot on my own was Tweezer, and it's still my favorite Phish song now. When Phish announced the New Years run going into 2017, I knew I had to attend a couple of those shows. My second and third Phish shows were 12/28/16 and 12/29/16 respectively, and while those were also great shows, I was dissappointed that the Tweezer I was hunting for kept eluding me. This brings us to Friday, July 21st, 2017. Today was the first night of the Baker's Dozen, and my fourth show. Now let's get to reviewing the show. ---(Review starts here)---- After a pretty hot first five nights of tour, Phish finally rolls into the Big Apple to start their highly anticipated Baker's Dozen. Each night of the Baker's Dozen has a different Donut flavor as a theme for the show, and it appears that Phish will play a couple songs each night to suit the flavor Donut of that night. So Phish starts the first night of Baker's Dozen with the debut of Junior Senior's Shake Your Coconuts, a rocking and high energy song to get the Donuts rolling and the fans dancing. Martian Monster came next, which is always fun and a little trippy. Timber Ho! is a good addition to any setlist, but this version was way too short. The boys have probably been dying to play Timber since the "Chimple" 6 days prior, which was filled with Timber teases. They finally decided to jam on Timber proper, but the song only lasted seven or eight minutes. They should've jammed it out more to follow up the "Chimple".from 7/15. Strong versions of 555 and Pigtail came next. At this point I was a little underwhelmed with how the set was panning out so far. Well executed versions of each song, but shortish jams and not much to write home about. The Halfway to the Moon that came next got things much jammier. Page and Trey particularly shone in this excellent version. I much preferred this version to the one I got on 12/28/16. And now finally, after a full calendar year and 31 Phish shows, our little lady friend REBA was dusted off and taken for spin. This wasn't my first Reba; I got one at my first show, but for reasons mentioned prior, I have no memory of that Reba taking place. But boy was this a good Reba. Trey nailed the complicated composed sections, and during the bliss jam towards the end of the song I truly felt like I was going to start crying from joy. Moonage Daydream, a song debuted last Halloween, was given a kickass reading. Trey sounded fantastic with the grungy riffing. A nice Walls of the Cave ended a good first set, with Reba and Moonage Daydream being jams of the set. Now during setbreak my friends and I were debating what would open the second set. The two most likely candidates we came up with were Tweezer and Mike's Song; two typically second set songs that can be used as monster jamming vehicles. These songs also had both not yet been played during summer tour. When the opening notes to TWEEZER kicked in after a 40 minute setbreak, I screamed as loudly as I ever have in my life. Finally after more than a year and a half of waiting to get my favorite Phish song, it was finally happening. I headbanged my head so hard during the first 10 seconds of the song that I think I may have concussed myself. Whoops. This Tweezer had some great tension build ups and releases, and the band quickly left the composed section of the song behind for a bliss jam that had me enthralled. 16 minutes of glorious bliss jamming ensued, and I was digging every second of it. The band cools down the jam and moves into Seven Below. Seven Below felt extremely mellow, groovy, and funky. The composed parts of the song were once again quickly executed and the band jumped right into improvisational mode. This Seven Below jam was quite excellent, and almost itself reached the blissful peaks that the Tweezer did prior to it. This Tweezer > Seven Below should really be listened to together as one jam. All 30 minutes or so of it are incredible. Billy Breathes and Sparkle were interesting, yet enjoyable picks to round out the first half of the second set. Everything's Right is a new TAB song that was debuted by Phish on the first night of this tour, 7/14/17 in Chicago. I remember livestreaming that show and being impressed by the jam potential on that version, but the version from tonight just blew the cover off of the debut. This was another glorious and happy jam that the band took farther and farther out there. Mike especially was strong in this version, and I felt he moved the jam along perfectly with his playing. When they went into the joyous classic Slave to the Traffic Light, I thought that this would end the set for sure. But nope, the band treated us to an energetic Suzy Greenberg with a little extra mustard. I was even more sure the set would end after Suzy. I couldn't believe it when the band walked to the front of the stage to perform an acapella song. "Coconut" by Harry Nillson was a hilarious and goofy way to end the set, all keeping within the theme of Coconut for this night's show. For the encore, the rare "Mango Song" was played for the first time in over a year, and I was so happy to get this song. Just earlier today before the show I was telling a friend about how I really wanted to hear a Mango song, and like magic, I got it. I thought that Tweeprise would for sure close the show, but instead of doing the expected, Phish surprised everyone with a rocking version of Good Times Bad Times. It was great seeing Trey get so into these Zeppelin licks. It proves that Trey can still shred like the master guitar player he is. The show ended on Good Times Bad Times, the second time I've gotten that song as an encore. This was all around a terrific show. The first set highlights were Halfway to the Moon, Reba, and Moonage Daydream. The second set highlights were jammed out versions of Tweezer, Seven Below, and Everything's Right, and a joyful Slave > Suzy. All I can say is that this is definitely the best Phish show I've ever been to. The emotional weight of getting a Reba and my long awaited Tweezer is what makes this show truly special for me, but overall the band played excellent from the beginning of the first set to the last notes of Good Times Band Times. I can't wait to go back to MSG and do it all again tomorrow.

The buildup to this Wednesday night began way back in the spring. Once this small jaunt before the Baker's Dozen was announced, it was decided that a large group of us from all over the country was going to get together and celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first show just days before the actual anniversary (7/22/97) in a city hungry for some Phishing. As well, Phish hadn't played in the city limits of Pittsburgh since 1996, and this is basically a hometown show for me, as I live just 2 1/2 hrs away and see all kinds of shows and games in the 'burgh. Arrangements were made, and entries in the PTBM lotto were made. The force was with us as we were all successful in the lotto. Each set of us would be scattered inside the building, but the Pete is small enough that we all ended up seeing and waving at one another once at our seats! Day of the show rolls around and our phamily has gathered at a buddy's house outside Pittsburgh and we head out in two cars to the show. We really wasn't expecting much of a shakedown, being in the heart of the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, but to our great surprise there was a small but thriving shakedown kicking right outside our parking garage. After meeting up with everyone and exchanging hugs and greetings with friends from near and far, it was time to head into the Pete. The security and ticket scan went smoothly, and soon we were saying our parting words before heading to our respective seats. After locating one another with a wave of a hand or hat, we settled in for a night of hoped-for magic. Soon enough the houselights dimmed and out they came. Set I My Soul - tight version, good shake-loose opening number to dust off the dancing bones. NICU - Greeted with a cheer. Feel good tune, lots of singing along. Halley's > Well play Halley's, and the band appears to be getting warmed up a little bit. Undermind - aahhhh yeah, that's more like it. A nice little jam here that portends things to come. Divided Sky - Such a needed song, for me personally, and boy do they nail it. Trey is on fire, and is hitting all the key notes of the composed sections and just a bright feel to the whole song. They are really playing well - together - this tour. Sounds like their chops are up too! Marissa - neat little tune from Mike. Good feel to it. Home - The jam out of this one was tasty. I even labelled it on the setlist on the back of my ticket stub as "Pittsburgh Jam" after Home, as they just hit a whole other gear! Prince Caspian - What can I say? Jam of the night? Mr. C may have something to say about it in set II, but I think it goes right here. So many interesting places and themes are hit on in these 16 short minutes. Is it better than Magna-Caspian? You be the judge of that, but my money lays here. Great way to end the set! Once the house lights came on, many of us stood there - in stunned silence - needing a moment to collect our thoughts on what just transpired. Set II PYITE - great way to open the set, got all of us up and dancing right away. Led into... Mr. Completely - first time played in 14 years, and only second time ever, and boy do they hit it hard! Another hard to beat jam weaves through the very fiber of this one, and there is no way to put into words the places we go together during this jam. Mercury - Always glad to hear this one. It doesn't disappoint and although it isn't long, it's meaty in the jam department, leading into the first Phish version of... Come Together - Well played and fit nicely into this slot in the set. Contact - a good cool-down number and one not too commonly played. Steam - Revving the engine up again, a good Steam leads into BDTNL - I love this song, and I don't care! The jam leading out of Number Line really gets everyone rocking again. The version is fire! Encore: Things People Do - this little ditty from Page is quite catchy. Bug - powerful meaning for me, and well played for the most part. Just when we thought we were blessed with a double encore, they play a quick... Rocky Top - great way to end this show! The aftershow included the mindless wandering up out of the bowels of the arena and up the multitudinous steps leading back up to the parking garage. The whole way just trying to digest what just happened. Was it the greatest show in history? Nope. Best of tour? Who knows? But to me it's just amazing to think that we still have these four guys up on stage still out there making fresh, quality, ground-breaking music. The Caspian for the ages alone makes this one to listen to. I'm glad we were here, and can't wait until the next one...

My first review (3.0 Noob!), so go easy on me folks ;) N1 really set the tone for what turned out to be some amazing music, oozing with soul and passion...such a good-feeling kinda vibe that continued through the whole weekend! What's the Use opening the tour was a total surprise, but a great one! Tears were streaming down my cheeks. Wolfman's was off the chain, really high energy, good funky grooving. The debut song (Everything's Right) did not take long to get on board with at all - the energy was so positive and happy spirited and the guys wasted no time getting right down to a hot jam! A definite highlight! Limb X Limb was a nice continuation, great crowd energy and Nellie Cane pure fun - fans doing a jig, goofy hoedown dancing abounded all around me, myself included. A surprise for me was how I reacted to Theme From the Bottom. I like Theme, but it's never been one of 'those' big heavy hitters for me until this night. I never would have anticipated the kind of emotion and feeling that came over me during that song - it started after they sang the line, "...know who's your friend" and as they started into the jam. From that point and into the start of the build, I was instantly moved to uncontrollable tears that would not stop for the rest of the song. I was sobbing. The band was really feeling it and the vibe was undeniable and soaring - soaring is the best way to describe it! I get emotional on playback and probably always will, I suspect. On to Set 2 and the momentum just kept going. NMINML was every bit as amazing as you would imagine - what a jam, so great! The My Pet Cat - Golden Age - My Pet Cat was unique, unexpected and a lot of fun. Tons of heavy funk that was impossible not to dance to! Harry, Shine a Light through Julius was a favorite sequence - straight fire and undescribable energy from beginning to end. The encore was the perfect recap for the evening. Though the "Love is What We Are " debut 'could' come off as cheesy, it worked with the vibe of the evening and the high-energy classic Golgi as a follow-up, perfect (and my first Golgi taboot)! What made it all the more fun is I had taken a pic of myself before the show holding my ticket whilst singing, "I saw you, with a ticket stub in your hand" - my phish road crew all turned to me with cheers and high fives once they started playing it. I could just feel a Golgi coming, lol I could go on and on... N1 is one of those shows that will probably not get much buzz and most likely fall in the underappreciated category. I'm grateful I got to be a part of it because it was really pretty special imo - a sweet start to a beautiful weekend of great Phish music.

This was a really special concert, that's about all I can say right now. So many things in so many ways that I have never even heard before. This second set is absolutely hands down one of the best I've EVER heard. The Caspian was unexpected and incredible. I've seen like 3 or 4 different versions of Mercury now and they've all been great. Show was a freakin blast

Awesome show but i won't review only because i am extremely biased since it was my 12 year old son's first show! I just wanted to drop a note into posterity to thank everyone that helped me usher Javin into our wonderful community....you guys know who you are! A million times, thank you! I will note that this show gave me a number of firsts personally, these guys seem to play what i think to myself pre-show would be great to hear (i'm sure a lot of us feel that way in retrospect), i.e., My Soul, Halley's, PYITE, Mercury(!!!), Contact & Rocky Top! And that Mr. Completely was a wonderful, totally unexpected, treat!

Well, I had set out to review the entire tour, but this is becoming ridiculous! Mr. Completely!!! Out of control. I did the math (like lots of others) and looked at the number of songs that V3 has played in the past, and either: 1) Are Phish originals 2) Are band member originals 3) Are songs that the band has played at least 4 times (to get rid of the one-off type stuff) And I get that there are still 239 songs left! That's if you don't include any new things, second timers, etc. Is this a real thing??? It sure could be! BTW - Whoever's being a total dick and skewing these ratings downward... KNOCK IT OFF! This is an incredible tour.

Wow, nothing to add for review notes. The rest have done a good job with that, but one comment and one question: -Love Trey's tone thus far. Back where it should be! -From the above note....is it even conceivable that they could go Summer (18 shows) without a repeat? My god that would be killer, and statistically frightening for a band. Phish, Dead, or otherwise, I can't think of any tune/song based band doing that!?!?

What a great show! NICU and Axilla seemed kind of downtempo in comparison to their usual tempi, but that doesn't detract from the one-two punch to close Set I: Home > Prince Caspian, where Caspian manages to get dark, but still peak excitingly. I like the new Mike song, Marissa, but it has a similar reggae-fied lilt to Yarmouth Road and (to a lesser extent, but still following a firmly Little Feat-influenced pattern) 555. Punch You in the Eye opening the second set is an harbinger of greatness, I think, and the Mr. Completely to follow (the fourth 20-min+ jam of tour so far!) proves that admirably. Its jam starts out in a kind of blissy holding paradigm, but shifts towards a funkier headspace (reminiscent to me of Fall '97 in moments) and peaks with an intensity that bears comparison to some of the bigger Bathtub Gins. Mercury is always welcome, and this time it jams into the new Trey tune Come Together. The remainder of the show is full of shorter, Type-I tunes (well, Backwards Down the Number Line is about medium long, LOL), and as I said, Axilla doesn't really churn the way it usually does, but hey, the encore is fun (nice to see Bug) and why not take a victory lap after the hour or so comprising Home > Caspian // PYITE > Mr. Completely > Mercury -> Come Together? My star-rating for this show is influenced by the Phish debuts as well as the jams.

I personally heard this as another strong 2017 show that started with an eclectic first set, though this first had more highlights than any of tour so far. Undermind sucked me in, Divided Sky lifted me up, and then Caspian chewed me up and spat me out in the best way possible. I love this tune but I was really wanting SOAM to end the set and then of course, in classic Phish fashion, they showed me both that my expectations don't matter and that they can blow my mind at any time. Starting any set with PYITE is a great way to rouse the crowd and being that it has not once been taken for a walk (as far as .net reports), one may intuit that, because this started the second set, the boys are preparing to either weave a concise, coherent, and complementary set or just drop a monster jam. Tonight we get both. Only Phish's 2nd take of Mr. Completely yields a stellar jam that sounds (to my ears) like a functional, progressive conglomeration of the sounds from some of the most notable jams in the past 2 years. But then again, as some other .netter once quoted Elvis Costello in a review, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture", but I digress. This second set has some serious flow but not allll the way from start to finish IMO. While I wish the Mercury jam wouldn't have cut off when it did, after the first set goodies and the Mr. Completely, I was plenty fine with another TAB song as a breather. I could have seen a Dirt instead of Contact to really get into the feels before hitting the Axilla > Steam > BDTNL closing train, but if their playing Contact mid-late second set is my main gripe, I enjoyed the shit out of the show. Loved to hear Steam and then BDTNL brought some high energy happy raging to close out a set that leaves us drooling for the BD. Encore was standard 2017 fare. Well my good people, we are 5 shows into tour and we already have four 20+ minute jams to digest. These shows may be considered a warm up but seems like the boys are already playing loose, tight, and ready to get reeeaaalll comfortable at MSG.

Whoever it is that is giving every show a low star count and downvoting other reviews, please stop. We are experiencing something special this summer, so it's not fun to go to a show, scroll down to the ratings/reviews and see that every time. That being said, the show in retrospect was a little all over the place. But knowing what's been happening every show this summer, the bar is set pretty damn high for what to expect. Prince Caspian gives us our first big noteworthy moment in the first set this tour to send us to setbreak. The Punch opener kept things going, and then we get to Mr. Completely. Initially wondering about the song choice, the band churns out the 4th 20+ minute jam of the summer on a song played by Phish for the 2nd time ever. Like, what??? I'm sure someone else will review the jam itself later, but this is a moment that just shows what Phish 2017 is all about. Last night in Dayton gave us a unique Wombat among other things, and tonight Mr. Completely makes its case for jam of the year out of nowhere. The rest of the show had me (and I'm sure everyone else too) just waiting for another 7th/8th/9th slot batter to step up to the plate and hit a grand slam, but it wasn't to be. There's a clean segue from Mercury into Come Together, Steam comes in late but fizzles out, and Number Line has a great Trey solo to close out the second set. It's saying something that 5 shows into the summer tour, this one is lowest on the totem pole in listening priority outside of Prince Caspian and Mr. Completely. Phish continues to deliver a massive 3rd quarter jam and sprinkles some exploration elsewhere too. We'll see what the boys have in store for us come Friday.

Who the hell is already rating this show 3 out of 5 within the first 15 minutes of voting being available? Jaded vets? TAB critics? We just got the 2nd Phish Mr. Completely EVER and a Caspian that flipped to building upside down out of nowhere. There was ridiculous firepower tonight in the burg and the song exploration has just begun. No repeats all summer, this appears to be the consensus. S1 didn't have a set flow, but it didn't need it. They were enjoying just playing tunes and making up on the fly. Having fun pays off for the quality of the performing. Caspian proved its worth again (Magna, Dicks12...) this song is no joke and deserves versions like these. Mr.Completely gives this show its history making moment in time and will still be in the argument for jam of the year even after BD. I won't say it will win, but it will be strongly strongly discussed and analyzed. And hey, it COULD win if given the credit it deserves. Mercury as well was a very welcome surprise after Mr. Completely along with a Q4 Steam > #Line that was nothing short of exceptional. They were just vibing. If last night Dayton was more about song selection and placement, tonight was more about let's just whale everybody's faces off because we're all really REALLY excited about BD. Esp, the band. Til Friday, pholks. Phish will be waiting with guns a blazin... Indeed :-)