I got into Denver on Friday night @ 5pm. I mail ordered for Sat&Sun only...... I spent the night staring at my Blackberry....my review is, Santa Fe street has some nice gallerys, great mexican food at El Noa Noa, the weather is perfect, and I am an idiot.

Behind the soundboard was a large, fenced off grassy area into which many glowsticks landed. As dusk began to settle toward the end of the first set and continuing into the second set, a security guard patrolling the interior of the fenced area patiently gathered glowsticks and slowly spelled out F-A-R-M-H-O-U-S-E. This endeavor was interrupted about halfway through so that he could build a large glowstick "S" above Farmhouse.

A simply magnificent way to open the summer's swan song run, this performance exemplifies why so many keep coming back for more. Creativity, rarities, jamming and exploration. So many highlights and almost no missteps, with just the right balance of rock and roll and exploratory moments.

Trey was energetic and full of life tonight, but Mike Gordon drove the bus and elevated the performance. Sally>Sparks was a real musical treat, but Stealing Time and even Susskind Hotel were notable for their enthusiastic deliveries.

The segue of the night is the Simple>Steam, but the entire second set smoothly fit together and never felt forced, with the exception of a slightly out-of-place Silent in the Morning. At one point (I believe during the end of Seven Below) Fishman was so lost in a jam that when Mike walked over to tell him what they planned to do, Fish never even noticed him. Eventually rest of the band were all staring at Fish grinning, looking at their drummer whose eyes were closed while he was lost in the moment.

A Soul Shakedown Party indeed.

What a fun show. Once everyone realized what was going on it went to a different level with trying to call what tune would be next.... especially considering how it became so limited with "S" tunes. Good jams, awesome breakouts. This show is one of the reasons I love this band. They mix it up so much and have a blast doing it. They looked like they were having more fun than the crowd. Can't wait to see what the next two nights bring.

couch toured this show.. loved the whole "S" element..as I'm sure a lot of other people did...couple of bust outs..which were a nice treat..sparks, sabatoge..this is why I love this unpredictable band..

P.S. I'll probably get a -1 for this..since some fool did it to all the other reviews for this show..

My Couch Tour Review- SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Fantassssssstic. Must download now.

THIS IS WHY WE LOVE PHISH. DOWNLOAD ASAP.

Yes, it was a gimmick show that featured 26 songs that began with the letter “S.” However, this gimmick show worked for me, providing an interesting and entertaining night of music. Even though there was very little big exploratory jamming (excluding the meandering “Split Open and Melt” and space jam of the night “Seven Below”) or smooth seques (“Soul Shakedown Party -> Seven Below” was very forced) the sheer volume of rare material played made the show a perfect opening night for a three-show run. Simply put, it was a very fun night of music.

To put the Friday show into perspective think about this: Two Rolling Stones songs (“Sweet Virginia,” and “Shine a Light”) were played in the same set, The Who’s “Sparks” was played for the first time since 11/29/96, the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” was played for the fourth time-ever, the first time since 11/21/98, “Sweet Adeline” was played for first time since 08/01/99, “Silent in the Morning” was played for the fourth time-ever without it’s typical intro “The Horse,” “Soul Shakedown Party” was played for the third time since 2004 and “Suskind Hotel” was played for the second time-ever. On paper this show would make most Phish junkies drool. It is easily the biggest stat-building show of the summer. However, as crazy as the show concept was and as sporadic as the song selection might have seemed, or felt, there were definite highlights. The Mike Gordon-penned song “Suskind Hotel” was a pleasant first set surprise, providing the first inspired weekend solo from guitarist Trey Anastasio. The crowd energy in the first set seemed to really take off during the “Sneaking Sally through the Alley > Sparks > Scent of a Mule, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan” run, the later featured some smoking guitar work from Anastasio as well. By set break everyone at the show was buzzing with “S” excitement—would the “S” theme continue in the second set? If so, what songs would they play? Truth is, at that point it didn’t matter if the first set lacked flow, the “S” buzz had taken over and that carried into the night’s second set.

Perhaps by sheer luck, Friday’s second set flowed better than the first and the opener “Sand” only fueled the crowd energy. A few of my personal second set highlights include a very beautiful and often underrated “Scents and Subtle Sounds” that gradually slid into a pretty divine “Slave to the Traffic Light,” which could have easily ended the set and left the crowd roaring for an encore. The “Sanity” and “Sweet Adeline” that followed and the “Sabotage” encore continued the “S” madness and were all fun, at times hysterically funny, and totally unexpected. Was Friday night a mind-blowing show? No, it really wasn’t. But it sure was fun as hell and was absolutely entertaining to be there.

Like many in Denver last weekend, I was convinced to make the trip after hearing summer tour. I made the call after Super Ball, but it took UIC to bring more of my buddies to town.

I experienced a lot more of the pre-show butterflies than normal. For some unexplained reason, I was much more pumped for this show than usual. The Sloth only fueled my fire.

Our area of page side started chattering after the start of Suskind. Something was definitely up. Songs were especially spicy, and we all made calls for the rest of the set list. Throughout the night, one by one, all of us seemed to get a few right. Scent of a Mule got a huge response from our side of the crowd, but I was most excited about my first Sparks and great jams out of Sally and Melt.

Sand can do no wrong right now. This version will stand the test of time for me because it was so patient. Trey doesn't go for the jugular until the very end, allowing Page and Mike to play a bigger role. The peak was still HUGE, don't get me wrong. Simple brought its usual sweetness and Steam finally payed me a visit. Seven Below was my favorite jam of the night, mostly for the last few minutes. Suzy slammed into Scents and Subtle Sounds telling us there wasn't going to be a break. Keep moving people. Trey's endless sustain in Slave helped set up the final emotional moment of the show. This version reminded me that this song will never be ordinary again.

The most impressive thing about Friday night was how engaging it was from start to finish. No filler whatsoever. Even ballads seemed to have more luster. Jamming was sprinkled throughout the entire show and the set list had to be creative to work. We'd get big jams the next two nights, but I left feeling like I didn't need anything at all.

I agree with what everyone has said, great weekend opener, funny Phish joke with the "S" show - which somehow did not seem too forced. Even before I had figured out the "S" theme while knowing all the songs (yeah I know I'm pretty slow and a bit twisted at the time) I commented to my friend (who had also not figured it out either in my defense) at the end of the 1st set that they came to freaking play in Denver for Labor Day. I think it's pretty phenomenal to be able to say that your favorite band can play a show composed only of songs in their library that begin with the letter "S", with out too much shenanigans (i.e. some songs that they haven't played in a while but not full of random covers), and still put together a great show that actually flowed very well for the most part. But I digress ...

I wanted to comment on an earlier review stating that the only exploratory jamming in this show occurred during SOAM and Seven Below. Although I agree that those jams are great and some of the best of the night, the jam from Simple into Steam is both exploratory and pretty darn good as well. It's not very long but I would definitely recommend giving it a spin.

In the campground after this show, I think one of the common themes was "Phish is REALLY back." That sums up pretty well my entirely satisfied state of mind at the end of this show ...

a lot of unexpected dankness, and a lot of unusualness which is great, download asap

My CouchTour Review is 5 out of 5!! If I was there I would have shit myself with joy!

Alliteration at its PHINEST!

first Silent without The Horse since 12-13-99 (?? shows)
fourth time ever

heard it on the couch tour. Insane!

thats what you get for a non sell out, look out all weekend guys...

All you can say is just wow. Too early to rate this Stealing Time the best ever?

Hisssssssssssssssss

Great " S " show. What is the actual stat on the Silent without the Horse? Is is 12/13/99 ?

did trey play his old guitar in the encore?

surprised there wasn't a secret smile during this show.

This run of shows was the only I was able to make this summer, I can't be happier with my choice of shows to see what an amazing high energy and musically incredible labor day weekend!!

Hopefully you skipped all the crap above and scrolled through to read an actual review. So this show was fun and played pretty damn good but is not spectacular. Definitely a show to have to pop in and play once in a great while. Nothing in this show is going to just blow you away. I think the bust outs were fun the only one i really liked personally was the Sparks though.
My highlights of the show was
Stash and Slit Open and Melt from set 1.
Sand>Simple, Seven below, Scents & Subtle Sounds>Slave
I was not a big fan of the Sabatoge encore. didin't really care for it in 98 and I don't much care for it now other than it was fun. But I do feel that it probably was one of those "lets play this song I know we haven't practiced it since 11/21/98, but what the hell we sabatoged these people tonight."

As for the crap above that are not reviews, I really hope they do something here on this site to be able to fix this non review of reviews.

ssssssssssimply amazing

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssssuper Phun!

If not the best show of the run musically, it was simply the most fun I have EVER had at a show

Was not able to attened the show because I was getting married but we had S's on all the placecards because that is the letter of our last name. Kind of funny.