Tail to Cup, this was possibly the best show I have ever attended. Everybody was ON, every note played and every lyric sung was infused with full-force love from each member of the band. Trey went everywhere and beyond with every song. Mike kept it so aqua and funky, Page nailed and colored in every Page place , Fish as always hammered every beat hard into the pocket. We were treated to the dopest Gamehendge journey with Tela (which I haven't seen in over 20 years) and The Lizards continuing my experience in Hartford 2009 which brought Colonel Forbin's Ascent and Fly Famous Mockingbird. I expected rarities this evening but never would have expected such attention to be paid to details that span the four shows in seven years played in Hartford, CT. Nearly 20 minute detailing of YEM and Disease were just the deep doses of delight that I needed. I couldn't stop crying for even a moment while Let Me Lie was blessing my soul with some of my favorite things in life, riding my bicycle and redemption from what was tearing me apart. Thank you Phish for time traveling with me. Thank you for tearing the roof off. Thank you for saying it and doing it exactly the way you do.

Remember that time you really wanted to bang that hot girl oh-so-good but things just didn't work out the way you planned? The other day I compared the Mansfield show where the sound cut out during Wolfman's brother to coitus interruptus. It was like that time you had that girl you totally had the hots for and you really wanted to show her a really, really good time but then right in the middle of some of your best lovemaking someone came in and turned the lights on. Sure, after that person went away and you and her got back to doing it you did your best, but you didn't really get a chance to do it quite the way you envisioned because of that interruption. And you promised yourself that the next time you were alone with her, you were going to give that girl the good f'ing that you both deserved. You were going to do her reaaaalll good. She was definitely going to leave satisfied.

Well, that was the Hartford show last night: It was the good fucking we all deserved. Phish did us from the front, they did us from behind, they showed us all their moves, and we came again and again and still begged for more. It was glorious. Not a single low moment, not a single song that didn't seem to fit. It was all just balls to the wall awesome. From the foreplay of Pigtail all the way to the post-coital cuddling of Loving Cup.
Incredible, incredible night. I left oh so satisfied. Oh so very satisfied. Thank you Phish for a night this girl will never forget. I definitely enjoyed myself. (Instagram @sassmerch)

Fun evening streaming this show. Missed the Pigtail and Moma, but got in on what sounded like a pretty standard (energetic) BOAF. Meat got reeeeaaaaaal sludgy, and was a first set highlight, with some dirty, funky interplay between the boys toward the end. The boys helped this meat go down by bringing on the carrion birds, and boy was it fun. Vultures is a surefire was to get the crowd going, and this was no different. High energy ending, with woo's aplenty from those who woo. Woos don't bother me, as I like fan participation, so this one was all meat gravy. Free was a little restrained. Trey toyed with the echo effect during the jam, which I think took some steam out of the proceedings, but I love Free and I'll take it any day. I do wish they would really put some oomph back into this one, ala Hampton 98, but c'est la vie, and we are where we are. Let Me Lie is a personal favorite of the ballads, and I loved hearing it. Reminds me of old friends long gone..... Halley's was good fun as always. But of course, we are hear to talk about the heavy hitters, and the one two punch to end the first set was plenty heavy. You can always count on Julius to pump up the room, and it did. Intro was a little off, and had some thinking we were going to hear La Grange for the first time since 2012, but turned out to be old reliable, which is always welcome. Plenty of ass kicking rock and roll went down on this tale of Caesar's woe, but still, one got the feeling that there was time left in the set for something even bigger, and sure enough as soon as Trey finished that final ascending guitar lick, here comes YEM. Plenty of energy in this one, and a non typical pre-vocal jam jimmy jam where the funk-blues breakdown usually fits, was given unto us with Page hopping on bass, Mike moving to the keys and laying on the clavinet, and Trey moving to marimba lumina. A spacey kind of thing transpired, and eventually gave way to a short and sweet vocal jam. Plenty for everyone in this first set, and it certainly whetted appetites for things to come.

Disease went down its usually happy go lucky roads, never veering into anything too dark or disjointed. It slowed down a bit as the jam went along, but eventually the boys roused themselves up for a very nice last 3 minutes or so, full of energy and light. I was really enjoying myself, and hoped that they would continue, but the band had other business to attend to, and they got right to it. I am not a huge Sand man, so I wasn't jumping out of my seat here, but I was moving my ass IN my seat, so there's that. Many people love this one, so I was happy for them, especially whoever called a DWD>Sand opener for Set II. Good call. But shit really started falling off of people when those beautiful, subdued, jazzy chords rolled off of the Languedoc and onto your ears. The Tale of Tela, Jewel of Wilson's foul domain had not been told in nearly two years, so this telling was welcome. Trey was pretty spot on with the composed parts, and vocals were good. Furthermore, Trey made sure to finish with authority, and the ripping was really ripping in the final solo. Yeah, he still gots it. This tender moment was soon ripped to shreds, however, as Carini's lumpy fucking head came through a rift in space to scare the shit out of everyone. Dark and powerful was this magician, and it appeared he puts Fish's testicles in a vice and turned, because the man was screaming and squawking throughout the affair, and it appeared he really, REALLY liked it. This one is worth another listen. Just when things were about to turn 4th dimensional, Trey chimed in the with opening chords to Twenty Years Later. Don't get me wrong, it's a great song, but I feel like Carini was abandoned too early. Oh well, it's their show, not mine, and 20YL ended up very nicely, with a dissonant, funky, and spares jam, which hearkened back to the jams of old (first set YEM and Meat). There was plenty of funk in the trunk tonight, and the boys were set to haul all of it. But how to proceed? Well, run that funk trunk down to the plains, and see about an ungulate. Yes indeed, a non-set-ending Antelope was in order, which is my favorite place to have it. I love what Phish has been doing with setlists this tour, keeping up guessing, and this Antelope did not disappoint. Trey must have been doing hand yoga, cuz those fingers were limber. Some very nice high peaks during this bad boy, and one you could tell the band was right into 'er. And of course, because he had been a good soldier all night, Trey got to put a cherry on top for himself, with # Line. I actually like #Line, maybe not as a set closer, but what can I say. When it gets a head of steam, it's hard to argue with, and this one was no different. I think we all knew that the stage was set for a pretty killer encore, or at least that was the feeling. There had been whispers after Tela that perhaps Lizards would soon make its way into our lives, and oh joy, those whispers were correct! Thanks be to the Book! Lizards, when done to perfection, is one of those magical songs that make Phish who they are, who they were, and who they will always be. Some people might not get it, but Lizards is a song that every person with a Phish compartment in their heart cherishes. The band knew what the people wanted, and they delivered. And, just because we all needed a swift kick in the ass before we headed home, they filled us up with Loving Cup. And it was raucous. Phish has always brought the pain with this Stones favorite, but they really turned a corner with at at Festival 8, and the energy connection is brings to the band and the fans is undeniable. This one would have been a great encore by itself, but as a companion to the Lizards, well folks, that's why we listen to Phish in the first place. It was all worth it, and I was sad that the night had to end. Love, peace, and afro grease from Texas.

This was the caliber of show I had been hoping to see in Portland a few nights previous - so glad I made the drive down to Hartford for this one.

Music aside, I think what I will take away most from this show was the mellow, happy, lovey vibe of everyone I encountered that night - I didn't run into a drop of negativity. Went to the show alone and met a bunch of new friends. One of the best vibes of any Phish show I've ever attended.

A highly enjoyable first set, especially with the inclusion of Meat, Vultures, BOAF - all of which I've been hoping to hear again for some time. The YEM was fantastic and a surprise as a set 1 closer...

The DWD>Sand is probably the highlight of the show for me... Just phenomenal and I had a grin plastered on my face throughout. To hear Tela again brought me back to the mid/late 90's and some of my first experiences hearing and seeing the band. The misty rain began to fall during Antelope and heightened the climax of the tune...

Lizards again brought me back - to my first show at the Cliff Ball. Another unexpected rarity and it was played cleanly and beautifully. Loving Cup is an expected encore but I enjoyed this one more than probably any I've seen - it was pure bliss - super high energy, and a perfect cap to the night. I'm not a new-agey type but I was struck by a feeling of love for all the people around me and gratefulness for such a fantastic experience. I turned around for a while and just watched the bobbing sea of people on that massive lawn.

All in all, one of my most enjoyable Phish shows. I really couldn't have asked for a better time.

Fantastic show! Easily one of the best I've been to. Better than the SPAC shows. The band was ON all night. Moma is one of my favorites, as it is with many folks I'm sure, so that's always a treat. First set so not the crazy jam we had at SPAC but a solid one to be sure. Other S1 highlights: BOAF, Meat, Free, Haileys Comet. Then they rocked out a jumpin' Julius and I thought the set could be over... I was like play Cavern! Give me one more! They saw my Cavern and raised me all-in...frickin 1st set YEM!?! Unreal. We went nuts.

During set break I called Disease opener and sure enough...started hearing that grimey bass and we were off. Sand was groovy, Tela was a treat, they outro'd Twenty Years Later for a while which was chill then people started looking around like, Ok what's next? Right then we start hearing Antelope - hell yeah! BDTNL was fun but we knew we were in for a killer encore. The crowd went bananas when we heard those first notes of Lizards. Great song, the outro was absolutely beautiful. And then they charged up for the Loving Cup finisher. We were blown away.

Amazing show from the boys. It rained a little bit during the 2nd set but not bad, it felt good actually. So cool to see the guys switch up instruments during YEM - Page bombs! Gotta be one of the best shows of the tour.

Had a blast! We met the nicest people pregaiming in the VIP lot. Enjoyed talking about the tour and shows of old with great fans. If you came across games of cornhole with white boards - one with a large Phish logo and one a large Steal Your Face - that was our spot on VIP lot.

For me, this was the show of the summer thus far. To my ear it was immediately apparent that Trey was on, playing loose and with confidence. I knew he'd bring it for Hartford! The Julius and YEM had the crowd exploding with energy. That is how you end a 1st set. DWD had a sweet jam. It did not overtake the SPAC Moma as jam of the summer, but it was compelling. I had called Sand as the 2nd set opener and was very pleased to hear that infectious groove follow DWD. Hearing the beautiful and delicate Tela balanced with the noisegastic throw down that was Carini sums up why I love Phish.

Give this show a listen if you missed it

What a show.
This show had a lot of big hitters and when they needed a chill moment, they hit it up with some rarer tunes.
The first set was full of personal highlights (boaf, meat,vultures) but overall I'd say busting out the YEM after Julius was really surprising and put a huge smile on most of our faces.
2nd set was another great set of personal highlights (sand, Antelope) and the Disease was great!!
I'd have to say I was definitely pumped with the encore as well. Lizards is always welcome and throwing down a lil Loving Cup to top the night off will always be appreciated.
They really felt it tonight and have this crowd one hell of a show!

Honestly, between work and Pokemon Go, I've been refreshing this page incessantly over the past few days to see what .net would deem the official "Noteworthy Jams". I'm a bit disheartened to see that only Number Line was given the honor. Don't get me wrong, it was certainly a jam; but after we in attendance received the mid-set Antelope treatment, it was really just the icing on the cake that was a raging second set. Though I must admit that it's not my favorite song, I was grooving along with everyone else and was pleasantly surprised by its final peak. However, I'm not sure it's the only song that deserves "Noteworthy" status.

The entire show was on-point and I guess people are more into reviewing it as the sum of its parts rather than breaking it down piece by piece. Surely the boys seemed to have rebounded from the uneven flow present in prior weeks' setlists that evoked so much online griping. Aside from the sweet, sweet electro-funk Meat, Hartford may not have seen contenders for best-version-ever as we saw in SPAC's Moma or CDT, but you'd be a fool not to consider the YEM or Disease noteworthy!

The first-set YEM starts out strong, coming straight out of a rip-roaring Julius that everyone thought would end the superb first set. The jams are solid and then begins a laser disco dance party with Big Red on the Marima at around the 12 minute mark - it is some serious next-level shit! Cactus and Leo hold it down on each other's instruments (when Page stands up, we get down) all the way into the pseudo-stop-start jam that begins at around 14 minutes. From there on out, it's nothing but percussive madness and laughs as we break down into a thankfully concise vocal jam before setbreak.

Then, emboldened by a dope closer, the boys saunter back on stage with a ripping Disease. Say what you will, but I will never get tired of a Disease set-opener. This one nearly hits the twenty minute mark, exceeding the YEM in length for all the time-snobs out there, and it stays Type 1 for a good portion of the beginning of the jam. Then, we take a turn down the dark path and Fishman shows no signs of slowing down. He probably wins MVP of this jam, but Trey nonetheless kills it. We enter an introspective dark space for a bit in the third quarter of this beast before rock star Trey decides to throw the fuck down for the final three minutes before going into a short but sweet Sand.

Easily one of the top shows I've been to, and hands down the best show of tour so far, there's a lot to be said about Hartford '16, but I hope I've stated my case for the "Noteworthiness" of the YEM and Disease, two fan-favorites that finally quelled all the internet bitching that we've seen in forums up to this point in the tour. And if that wasn't enough, the boys threw in some Gamehendge for everyone that's been chasing those tunes, as well.

After the technical mishaps in Mansfield the night before, I fully expected Phish to bring the heat in Hartford, and boy did they deliver! Having attended 6 shows on the Summer 2016 run, and listened to every performance, I feel confident in saying this was, by far, the best show of the run thus far.

The energy was plentiful as they launched into Pigtail (which they made fun), another solid Moma Dance (not as good as the SPAC3 performance, but still great) and Birds Of A Feather before the REAL fun began -- Meat followed by Vultures (one of my all-time favorites) into a powerful Free. Then the bust-out Let Me Lie, one of my guilty pleasures as a cool off. A feel-good Halley's Comet, punchy Julius and rare first set YEM closed out set one, leaving everyone breathless.

The second set began with dance heavy faves DWD and Sand before my mind was blown with my first Tela (only took 97 shows! LOL!)

The hits kept coming with a raucous Carini into Twenty Years Later into Run Like An Antelope before jerking everyone down to earth with a Number Line. I would knock off a 10th of a point for that, but I honestly found it hilarious how fast the mood shifted to confusion and disappointment in my general area with that choice as a set closer.

I don't know if Phish considered it a "gag" of some kind, but after a solid Lizards and Loving Cup encore, everyone was left elated.

It was my only pit show of the run, and I feel incredibly lucky to have had the experience. The timing was perfect. What a night!!

Not a show FOR ALL TIME!!! but an above average show, featuring some nice rarities (yes, it's true, i AM that one dude who likes 'Let Me Lie'), solid jamming, although nothing mind blowing.

All in all, a very fun time where the boys were obviously trying to make up a bit for the technical problems of the previous night.

Also of note - the weather. How awesome is summer tour without the heat and the sweat. Also, love rain at shows.

A great follow up show from Mansfield. Probably the best 2 shows of the summer tour. The energy in Hartford was great. The band was on point. A great DWD and Carini and one of the best backwards I've seen. The band seemed to have a lot of fun. Great show.

This show was, in a word, amazing. Out of the 9 shows I've seen so far this summer, the first set of Hartford stands tall, just above Mansfield and way above the rest!

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I kind of enjoy Pigtail now and honestly I think it was a good choice for the start of the show. The BOAF/Meat/Vultures combo was sheer genius, and sounded great. Paints a really cool picture. I wish they'd take BOAF for a ride in the 2nd set but that's a different topic. Let me Lie - I don't really have any strong feelings against it. They played it well enough! Halley's was next, and kind of segued into Julius which raged REALLY hard. Trey and Page were all over it. I don't think a single person in the venue was expecting a first set Y.E.M. but boy did we get it!! So wonderful. I love this band.

This 2nd set is really something to behold. An absolute monster DWD jam. A really groovy Sand with some fun improv, and Tela! Oh my goodness. I don't think they could have picked a more perfect song for the moment. Trey has DEFINITELY been practicing this song because he nailed ALL of his parts and sounded like a freaking guitar Jedi. Unbelievable. Carini was a bit on the short side, 20YL was decent, but Antelope was awesome! In case people weren't satisfied with what had already transpired (lol) Phish decided to play The Lizards in the encore slot. I mentioned this earlier in the week but I kinda started crying at the end of Tela. It just hit me in the right spot.

This show was without a doubt the peak of my weekend. I was amazed with every aspect of it - the enormous venue, the wonderful people, being with good friends, the great weather. We have had a bit of rain towards the end of the set that was really refreshing.

I hope Phish comes back to Hartford next year. If they do, I'll be sure to follow.

After not seeing the band since the 4th of July in 2014, this show was really a treat. I got to see several songs I hadn't heard yet, and also got to hear plenty of old favorites. I saw the bulk of my phish shows in the early 90's, so I haven't seen a lot of tunes that were released after the Hoist album. I really enjoyed getting to finally hear Birds of a Feather, Meat, Vultures, Let Me Lie, and Twenty Years Later. Pigtail was totally new to me, I'm guessing it's a new song. Tela was such a treat, completely unexpected. I didn't think I was ever going to hear it again, being they don't play it much anymore. The last time I had heard it played was in 1998. They seem to really like playing at the XFINITY/Comcast/Meadows Theater, the show I saw there in 2010 was also excellent. The parking lot scene seemed a bit more mellow than it was in 2010, which was nice. I hope they play there again next summer. The thing that really stuck out in my mind about this show, was that they seemed liked they were really trying hard to put on a good show. All four of them seemed to be giving it 100%, and really enjoying them selves in the process. I had a really good time, and will be attending shows more regularly from this point on.

Excellent show. Pigtail opener was better than I think anybody expected. You can tell Trey loves that song. Moma was Moma--awesome as always. BOAF is always welcome in the first set and Trey didn't miss a note. Love that they drop "They Attack!" at the end of it now. Meat, according to most people I walked out with (and me) was the highlight of set one. It sounded like Page was trying lots of new things and Mike's groove was on point. Vultures--everybody loves to woo, and Vultures is a great song to woo. At this point I hit the bathroom though and missed most of Free and Let Me Lie. I got back in time for Halley's which had the whole lawn bouncing along. Julius had us all grooving on what we thought was the likely set closer before BOOM--we get YEM'd right there. Unbelievable. The vocal jam rarely translates well to tape and I can see why. This one had to be seen and experienced in person with Kuroda's lighting to be believed. Great first set, setting the table well for set 2.

DWD opener is always a surefire good time, and they wasted no time getting dark with this one. Lots of exploring, lots of good Fishman on this. Sand was great but I really wish they would've went deeper with it in the second slot of set 2. TELA! Oh how I love Tela. Strange placement but if you've gotta go slow song early in the second set Tela might be the best choice. Everybody was happy to sway to Tela. Ripping into Carini next had the place jumping, lots of glow stick explosions. Could've gone longer but this set wasn't about length of jams. I'm not really a fan of 20YL but this was fine. Nothing offensive. Antelope was as great as Antelope always is, Trey absolutely going to town. BDTNL was very meh, and I like that song. Solo wasn't as great as usual IMO.

THE LIZARDS! Holy shit! When those chords started up you could feel a buzz through the crowd like wait...is it...could it be...and it was! And just when they crush it and you think the show is over, the boys remind us all what a beautiful buzz it really is with Loving Cup. Great show overall. Meat, YEM, DWD, Tela, Antelope, and Lizards are all highlights worth listening to.

Excellent show. Pigtail opener was better than I think anybody expected. You can tell Trey loves that song. Moma was Moma--awesome as always. BOAF is always welcome in the first set and Trey didn't miss a note. Love that they drop "They Attack!" at the end of it now. Meat, according to most people I walked out with (and me) was the highlight of set one. It sounded like Page was trying lots of new things and Mike's groove was on point. Vultures--everybody loves to woo, and Vultures is a great song to woo. At this point I hit the bathroom though and missed most of Free and Let Me Lie. I got back in time for Halley's which had the whole lawn bouncing along. Julius had us all grooving on what we thought was the likely set closer before BOOM--we get YEM'd right there. Unbelievable. The vocal jam rarely translates well to tape and I can see why. This one had to be seen and experienced in person with Kuroda's lighting to be believed. Great first set, setting the table well for set 2.

DWD opener is always a surefire good time, and they wasted no time getting dark with this one. Lots of exploring, lots of good Fishman on this. Sand was great but I really wish they would've went deeper with it in the second slot of set 2. TELA! Oh how I love Tela. Strange placement but if you've gotta go slow song early in the second set Tela might be the best choice. Everybody was happy to sway to Tela. Ripping into Carini next had the place jumping, lots of glow stick explosions. Could've gone longer but this set wasn't about length of jams. I'm not really a fan of 20YL but this was fine. Nothing offensive. Antelope was as great as Antelope always is, Trey absolutely going to town. BDTNL was very meh, and I like that song. Solo wasn't as great as usual IMO.

THE LIZARDS! Holy shit! When those chords started up you could feel a buzz through the crowd like wait...is it...could it be...and it was! And just when they crush it and you think the show is over, the boys remind us all what a beautiful buzz it really is with Loving Cup. Great show overall. Meat, YEM, DWD, Tela, Antelope, and Lizards are all highlights worth listening to.

Hartford, CT Review:
Medium: SBD

Set I
Opening up with “Pigtail” is a cool nod back to the tour opener, and it’s nice seeing Phish bring it back around again from the TAB repertoire. The studio version is a lot of fun, so it’s cool to see Phish playing it. Nothing out of the ordinary to note, a pretty standard version but well played to warm up the show. First set is very strong starting out with the Moma>BOAF>Meat>Vultures. Moma Dance & BOAF are both standard versions but still have some heddy typeI jamming that’s unique to this year.

Meat is stellar with some strong breaks and trading of bars back and forth between the guys. Mike is especially charismatic here, laying some sticky lines with effects laden on them. They come to a nice type I peak and close it out. Set keeps rolling with great tunes, very 98-esque as they open with a perfect version of “Vultures”.
Free opens after a pretty abrupt key change by Trey, with a tiny bit of a different sound to it, than its usual composition before heading right back into the usual plate. Rolling into Let me Lie another TAB tune was a nice change up to the gritty take of Free. Jumping into a Halley’s Comet, the band was playful and fluffy, alluding to a night that was to come.

Unexpectedly, Trey opts for what almost sounded like La Grange but instead that turns out to be a flub turning to Julius instead, and it’s pretty shaky until the second verse kicks in but once the cobwebs are off, its all out blues rock city. Julius finishes out into the set closer You Enjoy Myself. YEM’s has flawless interpretation throughout. It is progressive and the band plays it with fire. Through the composed sections up to the funk, lot of highlights and phishy type jams. Mike once again coming in with some serious effects taking the funk section on a UFO ride, Page laying into the Clav and some great drum work by Fishman with Trey holding it down. This YEM is textured as it goes into the vocal movement, coming together for a harmonic and melodic few bars before colliding into madness as its end.
First Set Highlights: Moma>BOAF>Meat>Vultures, You Enjoy Myself.

Set II
Down with Disease opens the second set, as Mike brings it in and the second set is off to the races. Quickly the song gains some ground and heads into type I territory, Trey really shinning through with his victorious and nostalgic soloing. Around the 5:00 mark look for some serious type I jamming. Around 8:30 the type II slayer comes to pound town moving to a darker, more mellow and minor key space. Page begins to lay on the Rhodes around the 12:00 mark giving us some laser beams & offering trey some new direction, as they both head off together pulling Mike in on top of Fishman’s cemented groove. Sand comes next as Down with Disease begins to simmer down with a slightly ambient & funky segue perfectly landing into the funk based tune. Tela almost surprised me as much as I love the song, I’ve chased it since 2009 Miami, but this tune is the perfect thing to counter act Sand while being the perfect flow>Carini which comes out from the beauty of Tela and rips everyone’s face off as it very quickly heads into type I territory briefly with Page bringing a strong peak together as it goes type II. Listen to this jam for a shorter type II rendition but still one that delivers. Oh, and Fishman screaming Lumpy Head is always great to listen to and laugh at. It also gets pretty weird in the end before heading back into type I jam zone.

Twenty Years Later calls in as the 2nd set breather, and as usual I hope this gets the Reading, PA treatment. Alas, it is not; just standard type I jams which were a welcome after that huge segue. Run like an Antelope is always welcome with its playful and light intro, into it’s heavy E minor jam section. Trey takes us on the ride as he then hits his major chord and rolls it out into the crowd favorite Backwards Down the Number Line. This version features absolutely gorgeous type I shredding by Trey as the second set comes to a close.
Second Set Highlights: DWD> Sand > Tela> Carini. Lizards (encore)

Encore
Many bands throw away encores with greatest hits, and sometimes Phish mails encores in as well. Yet, every once in awhile they come out & and perform shit you wanna hear. The Lizards is one of those chaser tunes that does not come out too often. I am sure many people loved to hear it, and the band soars during the instrumental sections, as it fills the station with love. The Loving Cup cover sends everyone off on the right happy note.

For my first Phish show i was THOROUGHLY satisfied with the performance. Although i was near the back of the lawn, the sound was perfect. Birds of a Feather was excellent and Meat afterward was unexpected. Meat was definitely one of my favorite songs of the night. Vultures, Free, Let Me Lie, and Halley's Comet all coasted by and it felt like they were going to play forever (which is what i wanted) Then Trey started Julius and i thought for sure it would be the end of the set. After a rockin' Julius finished i was getting ready to sit down and wait out the break when YEM broke in and my jaw dropped. Junta the Phish album i listened to as a child that ended up getting me into Phish and YEM (along with Fee and Esther) was one of the songs I hoped they would play, but didn't think i would be lucky enough to hear on my phirst outing. In the middle of the song right before the music stops for a moment Trey held this beautiful note over at least 4 bars and it actually brought a tear to my eye. I was so pumped for the second set after a transcendent YEM.

To be honest though my enthusiasm did kind of die off a little after a half hour break, and although i was digging DWD and Sand, they aren't some of my favorite Phish songs and i was getting more of a calm vibe. Tela was an interesting one for me though because i hadn't put too much listening time into it and it was nice to hear a song i didn't really know so well. Then Carini broke in and I suddenly needed to throw my arms way up. I never expected to hear CARINI at my first show. They were having so much fun playing it, with Trey laughing some of the words and the band screaming at the lump! Sitting in the back it was awesome to hear the whole crowd screaming with them. Carini ran into a nice Twenty Years Later. And then I heard Trey's guitar intro to Run Like an Antelope and for the third time that night I got a song i definitely didn't think i would hear, especially after YEM and Carini. After a wonderful Run Like an Antelope in which it aptly started raining as the crowd was cranking into the high gear of their souls, I was hoping they would finish with Reba. I was hoping for a Reba all night, being it is my absolute FAVORITE Phish jam, but they finished the set with Backwards down the # Line, which was just as well.

We were slowly making our way toward the exit after they started playing The Lizards and we got to hear most of the song before we got to the opposite side of the amphitheater. We missed Loving Cup but i'm not too upset over that one.

After this show i can only say i am motivated to see ALOT more phish shows after this, I know I'll get a Reba someday.

Great show top to bottom, I was happy to get a Vultures, Tela and Lizards in the same show. Everything seemed really tight - and a first set YEM really surprised. I was expecting the walk-off Julius.

The sound on the lawn was not great, and it felt a bit disconnected from the show. I am looking forward to relistening.

I thought this show was okay. I think everyone is so hungry for a rager w/Type 2 jams that we are settling for okay jams that get a bit spacy. consider Phish's whole body of work. this is a forgettable show with some decent jams. No one will be saying "Hey remember that Hartford '16 DWD. just my opinion.

As I have never attempted a review in the past, and I feel obligated to write a bit of what I had experienced in the last few days...

First of all, let me just say that I walked out of Great Woods during the Slave, as I really did not feel the band came back from the PA problems in a strong fashion, and where some of you might be thinking nice one dude...you missed The Walrus encore... I could give two craps about that...
I come to see the boys JAM!

And Jam is not what they did on Saturday Night in Hartford. I know what you are thinking...19 min DWD...
But that jam did not go anywhere...and it still probably gets Jam of the night honors.
If any of you are thinking (right now) they played well...I am not going to argue that point... but I do think that Trey was not ripping it the way that I like him to..most of the evening.

I was on Page side, 4 rows in front of the pit..and I think the sound was a little off there, so I know that added to my frustrations with not being able to hear the subtle things Trey was doing...but still

All I can say about this show was that everything was played 'standard'.
Energy was good, boys were happy. I had a good time. people around me were great. the music was fun, the song selection was great, but nothing outside the box.
Some songs like Free seem to be shells of their former selves...
When you get a BOAF, Free, Sand, and Carini and non of those go anywhere...what do you really have? yeah it sounded good, and yeah I had fun... but I go to have my mind blown away.
and I did not.

I have to give them props for the well played Meat. Makes me cry, with the above setlist that this was the highlight of the first set.
Don't get me wrong... I appreciate Meat for all it is.

And, Tela was also played extremely well. I love Tela, and I would take it every show. So I am grateful to get to hear it the one or so time(s) they do it in any given year...
But, DWD, Sand, Carini, and Antelope are up there in my prayers for them to play, and take to new places... and not a one of them proved to go anywhere new.
All in all it was a fun show. Great setlist, and good Phishy antics (like Mike on keys and Page on Bass)