This first set hangs on a strong Moma and the tremendous Ya Mar/Stash twofer to close, but Set II's *superb* Twist bleeds into a saggy Piper and too-mellow-for-mellow What's the Use. Your enjoyment of the second set will likely scale directly with your love of Phish's opioid millennial chillouts, but this remains a mid-period highlight even if fans of Machine Gun Trey need to fast-forward to summer 2009. It's a shame there's no official release of this show - these detail-oriented ambient soundscapes are made for headphone listening, and cry out for clear SBD treatment.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

September always sees Massachusetts in its best mood (if all is going as planned, of course). The leaves are turning just right, the air is crisp but the sun hangs on until early evening, the Red Sox are clinching a spot in the playoffs, and Phish is ripping it up at Great Woods - � a place that will never bow down to its newer corporate name. Great Woods has a way a capturing the energy of a Phish show and holding it out in the palm of its hand. Maybe it's because Boston and the surrounding area is Phish's home away from home; there's so much history between the Commonwealth and the band. It's a relationship filled with loyalty and admiration on both sides.
You can always count on Phish to make you feel special, and they begin the show by paying homage to the great state and their loyal Masshole fans (yep, I'm born and raised) by opening with "Roadrunner"�: a Jonathan Richman tune that references such Massachusetts inside jokes as 128 and Stop & Shop, declaring "I'm in love with Massachusetts!"� Ah, aren't we all.
The set continues to flow in waves, from energetic highs to gentle lows. Next stop is "Moma Dance"�, and the funk is unleashed, only to be topped by "Rift"�, a perennial crowd pleaser. The energy is high and "Rift"� is tight. "Brian and Robert"� follows, with its lullaby-like soothing quality, only to transition into a dark and stormy "Vultures"�. And then, of course, "Horn"�! I think my body reacted like an exclamation point, I was so excited.
It's a back and forth of song moods. Bluegrass emerges as "Beauty of My Dreams"� takes hold, and the crowd relaxes as it gets its fix of Page. "Ya Mar"� is complete with a choppy stop and go jam that leads into a "Stash"� that swells with musical improvisation. Trey has the crowd under his thumb, and we all know how much he enjoys that.
The sky is dark now; the air cooler, and the second set begins with "Chalk Dust", a rare placement for a common song. The set continues and is reminiscent of the lazy summer days of Tour 1999, as "Twist"�, "Piper"�, and "What's the Use?"� follows. No one complains as the night melts into "YEM"� and they jam the set to a close. The boys encore with "Good Times/ Bad Times"�, and the crowd reciprocates the energy. Everyone goes home happy.
On this night that was to be my last show pre-Hiatus, the boys proved to me why I keep coming back, year after year, show after show. This magical night at Great Woods exemplifies all the best of Phish's qualities: humor, mad genius, simplicity, solidity, and timelessness.
Exactly a year later our world took a horrific, unimaginable fall"...I realized a while ago that I had seen a show on 9/11 before "9/11"� even existed in the way it does now. I think of this night and I'm reminded of a time before "that"�: happy, careless, and innocent. Just like the feeling of getting lost in the spirit of the music or the energy of a pre-show Lot.
Perhaps that's why I hold this show so close to my heart (though it could just be because I'm a sensitive and emotional chick).

Was away from Phish for a while and came back to see this show. I was not impressed. Growing um in MA the Johnathan Richmand cover was the highlight. Sadly it was another three years until I saw my next show.

Roadrunner kicked off the first set on a fun and humorous note, with Trey referencing everyone in or related to the band from Massachusetts. At the time, I wasn't familiar with the song (it has since become an all-time favorite), but as soon as Trey belted out the "I'm in love with Massachusetts" line the crowd went wild. Moma was fairly typical, with some extremely tight playing by Mike and Page, and a fun solo from Trey at the end (not really a jam, though). Rift was fun, ended with a sustained note/feedback from Trey while the rest of the band started up Brian and Robert. Don't get me wrong, I like B and R as a song, but in concert it can really suck the energy from the room. Luckily the Vultures moved in and picked up the pace. Horn and Beauty of my Dreams were standard. Ya Mar has a cool quiet jam about 7 minutes in, with a fun start/stop at about 10:30, overall a very fun Ya Mar. Very uptempo driving Stash, possibly a tease at the very end that I can't place before they get back to the standard stash ending. Strong finish to a somewhat uneven set.

Highlights from the 1st set: Roadrunner bustout, Ya Mar, Stash.

CDT started off set 2 with a bang. Trey plays a racing guitar solo that gets the crowd revved up, then the band kicks off a smoking jam that threatens to go into a CYHMK tease but somehow stays away. Back into the lyrics, then a cool little spacey coda which might actually be a spacey intro to Twist, although it isn't tracked that way on my files. Fantastic set opener in any event. Incredibly chill funky Twist, good stuff. A 23 min Piper followed, with some very cool moments, especially about 12 minutes in when Mike lays down a particularly sweet bass groove. The jam completely devolves into psychedelic spaciness about 20 minutes in (which some idiot fans attempt to clap along to), then segues into a languid What's The Use? Some light noodling wraps up WTU - is this a DEG tease, maybe? Or a DDLJ? In any event, the beginning of YEM soon followed. Fun YEM, nothing crazy, some excellent bass work by Mike in the jam section. Great stop/start stuff right before the vocal jam. A really cool set that shows right where Phish was at in the fall of 2000.

Raging GTBT encore.

Highlights from 2nd set: CDT>Twist>Piper

Overall a very solid show from the first "farewell" tour.