, attached to 2011-05-31

Review by iamfluffhead

iamfluffhead Alright, I know this review is quite late but I had time to kill so here it goes. This was my first Phish show ever. I have been a phan for a few years now but never really been able to see them live. So this show had a special place in me.
My buddy and I drove all the way to Holmdel from Ohio to see both nights at the PNC. After driving for 8 consecutive hours we finally arrived at our first show (it was his as well). After checkin out the lot scene for a bit we entered the venue and found our seats, which were in the back section of the pavilion. There we waited for the show to start.

When the boys came out and Trey began strumming the initial chords to Chalkdust, my buddy and I both about lost it. A standard opener for sure, but a stellar version I must say. This one killed. While really all of the first four numbers are standard first-set renditions, each one got me dancing harder and harder. RnR gave everyone their first improv venture of the night. A great and somewhat spacy rendition led to a solid Sand, which Trey dedicated to Max(?). Very kind regardless. The rest of the set was played standardly but well, except for some Trey flubs during Divided Sky (which he laughed off and gave to the audience to finish).

The second set started off on fire with After Midnight. The boys jammed this one out for a bit an got pretty spacey before moving on to Possum. Considering it was still the beginning of the tour, I was happy to hear the tune. However, we all know the extent to which the song has been played recently. Just a normal straight forward version like all the others.
While driving out to NJ my buddy and i were making predictions for the nights show. He predicted a Hood (which he and I both desperately wanted). I on the other hand predicted either a second set Drowned or RnR, two of my favorite covers. When Page struck up Drowned after the possum, I became estatic. This version is well played. THe jam starts off with no direction but eventually it finds one. It leads into Maze, another personal favorite. This Maze is easily the highlight of this second set and should be checked out. Great rendition.
After a chill Dirt and a (to my displeasure) Alaska, the boys wrapped up the second set with a more standard YEM. Overall solid and fun second set.

Fire as the encore was fine and left everyone waiting for the next night. So theres my (Way to long and over the top) review. Good first show experience.


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