, attached to 2011-06-10

Review by QuinnTheEskimo

QuinnTheEskimo Very fun show! I was at the front of the lawn, near the back of the seats. People were friendly. Definitely a lot of running into old friends, which was a nice atmosphere for Camden, which isn't America's friendliest city.

Set 1: Teasing Rocky theme right off the bat will get a Philly crowd pretty excited. Rocky Top is then a great way to start a very classic feeling show. The Mike's Song that follows is powerful and gets everyone on their feet. The Hydrogen is definitely the low point of the show. I'm usually pretty forgiving, but this was badly butchered. Weekapaug picks things right up – Mike carries it beautifully. Stash is always impressive to me; you always feel it's going to fall off the edge, but they manage to pull it together in time. This is no exception. Tube, as a short fast song, brings everyone's vibes up a bit after the Stash. Leads nicely into a clean sounding Guyute. Guelah Papyrus isn't a song I particularly care for, but it works as a breather before the final four songs of the set. SOAMule is quite fun, you can tell Page is enjoying himself. Cavern and Sloth are a little messy, but forgivable. The Curtain With on the other hand is simply unforgettable – demonstrates the simultaneous finesse and creativity of 3.0. Check out the video – the guys look confident, but not at all bored. It is easily the most mature version of the song ever played.

Set 2: The DWD that starts the set is not the most interesting, besides for some very crisp playing by Page, but it works. The Free that then emerges is what really gets this set rolling. Both Free and Possum are not songs that I typically care about listening to on recording, but when you're in the audience and it's hot out and everyone's dancing, and everyone's smiling, and you've just made friends with the people standing next to you, that's what Phish is all about. Both are played well, and then we hit BBFCFM. People can say whatever they want about this song, and I agree that musically it feels out of place. But to see how fond Mike is of it makes it all worth it. Seeing him reposition his mic and sit on the stage to belt this out was a testament to his quirkiness, which fuels the entire band in many ways. Swept Away > Steep are pleasant enough as a relaxer before an intense finish. As has been noted, we got a bunch of "this is the final song of the set" teasers, and who could complain about that. Bowie is strong, if not terribly inventive. Julius is raucous and noticeably vibrant in comparison to other recent renditions. Golgi may be one of the oldest songs in the repertoire, but it really pleases as well as ever here. My buddy couldn't get into the show, and the first thing he asked me when he saw me after was "did they play Golgi??" It broke my heart telling him they had. The Fluffhead is then an unexpected treat. It is played well. Throughout the entire show Fishman was noticeably good, but he is really at the top of his game in these last few songs. It's amazing after so many years of playing the same tunes how fresh his drums sound. Some people may have been disappointed with the Joy closer. I think the disappointed people viewed it as a spoiler after a really old school sounding show. For me though it didn't negate anything that had preceded it, it just showed how multifaceted the band has become. Moreover, it happens to be a really nice sounding version. I actually thought it was some of Trey's best guitar work of the night.

Encore: Phish covering my favorite Jimi song – yes please! Kuroda had done spectacular work all night, but you can't beat lighting up the stage with these brilliant lyrics. Page sings it with enthusiasm, and Trey plays a faithful, yet distinctive guitar part. Fishman is again on fire, for a song that requires some ferocious drum playing.

On the whole, really fun night. I will note that relistening to this show has been severely hampered by the asshole who shouted "Psycho Killer" throughout the entire show. All I can say is – you should be ashamed of yourself. Phish plays for us because they enjoy it, but I can't imagine they were at all amused by your shouts, nor were the people around you and those trying to listen to the recording of the show. Let's all be respectful and enjoy the outstanding music Phish produces absolutely every single time I see them.


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