, attached to 2016-07-19

Review by HarpuaTheBulldog

HarpuaTheBulldog Was able to catch a show in full for the first time in a while.

Chalk Dust to open the show was short and sweet, not really jammed out, but it sets the tone for the show.

Free was standard and Breath and Burning was a nice newer song (they've been experimenting a little bit with this, I like that).

Theme was great as usual, I kind of like the first set spot for that.

Cities was some good shit, although this Theme > Cities was no where near 12/31/2014.
Wombat was great for some mid-set funk, and the boys really exploded on SOAM. Great jam, I would definitely listen again.
Sparkle and ASIHTOS were standard, great to hear Sparkle again.

Space Oddity was a nice treat to end the set. The boys must be proud of their acapella version to keep singing it past the tribute version at Wrigley.

Now here comes the meat of the show, and what a good one it was.

Down With Disease opens the set, predictably, and soon launches into the jam. Trey leads with some inspired Type 1 jamming for a while, and it sounds like he was teasing Under Pressure for a little bit. Page took it into blissy haze for a while after that, and after a nice peak, they quiet down and here come the opening piano chords to...

Fuego, which is great placement in my opinion. They nail the composed section and go into the jam, which is type 1 for a while until they bring everything down. Beautiful jam in Fuego, and I think the transition to Ghost should have been a ->, but some may disagree.

Here comes the absolute highlight of the show and possibly the tour.
This Ghost begins softly, but soon picks up the 3.0 funk style. It starts to get a little murky and deep, but Page picks up a good backing rhythm and when Trey pitches up from C to D, we get our FANTASTIC HOSE JAMMING!!! Fish's fills become legendary, and the whole band is in cohesive synchronicity, and Trey peaks the Hose!!!!!!

Fantastic interplay coming from all members of the band.

Next is Scents and Subtle Sounds, which upon looking back proved to be the slowdown song of the set, but what a song this is! I love SASS and the vocal interplay, it's one of the ones that I seek out and listen to when I see that it's played live. Lovely version!

In comes the segue to Light, which was a great choice, because Light has been the jam vehicle of the tour. Also surprising because I can't remember a complete and tight -> into Light before. Quickly Light is brought into the jamming arena, and again the band works very well to create a groove.Trey leads a blissy peak again, and then we get a moment of Swirly Funk that leads into CRAB IN MY SHOE MOUTH !! A Manteca tease, at a good time.

Next is No Quarter, with a good segue into it. Love the riff and Page's vocals as always.

Someone was saying at this point that the only thing that could improve this magical set was a Fluffhead, and look what happened. The boys mostly nail this with a celebratory air that said "Look at the show we just performed."

I was hoping that there would be Chalk Dust Torture Reprise in the encore, but I was not disappointed in the slightest bit to see Bug, which was also celebratory in nature, and then a fat First Tube to send us off.

Highlights: Theme, SOAM, Sparkle, The Entire Second Set

What a wonderful show. This is 2016 Phish at its best, this is 3.0 at its best. Enjoy it while you can. 5/5


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