[We would like to thank Harrison Hartley (user HotDogKnight on phish.net and Instagram) for this recap. You can also find him as quadbasspickup.bsky.social on BlueSky and [email protected] on Mastodon. -Ed.]

There is an aura to a tour opener, especially the summer tour opener. Riviera Maya and The Sphere offer appetizers for us this year, but I feel summer tour is the entrée of Phish performances.

Walking to the venue you’re hit with the realization of “we get to see Phish play music in just a few short hours.” I am a little bit of a freak when it comes to outdoor shows. I prefer to get there early and unless I’m really looking for something specific will tend to skip The Lot. I like to enter when doors open, if for no other reason than getting security personnel who aren’t completely frazzled, pissed off, and suspicious about what could be brought in at this very moment. I custy up the $60, helping a family in Mansfield make their mortgage payment, park in their backyard, and walk down the road to the entrance of Great Woods. (Yes, I know it’s The Xfinity Center, but this is a concession you’ll have to make for this recap).

Once in the venue, I grab a spot on the lawn and settle in for my other favorite pre-show ritual, listening to music on a PA system that costs more than some corporations make in a year. In 2022 I got to listen to Paul McCartney’s “RAM” played at surprisingly loud volume for the middle of the afternoon and this year I got treated to Steely Dan. I see other fans start to make their camp on the lawn. Families and small groups of people start to find each other. Small groups become larger groups. I hear a noticeable amount of people around me say it’s their first show. Ecstatic greetings are made, hugs are given out freely and conversations start, centered mostly around what everyone has been up to since the last summer tour. “We’re all here” goes the phrase that Trey stole from Ella Fitzgerald.

Set One starts out with "Buried Alive," not only a good indicator that we’re in for a hell of a show but an auspicious start for this whole weekend run. Trey comes out of the gate with fluid phrasing and sharp attack. Not bad for a show opener! We move into "Character Zero," which I welcome with it mostly not being in the encore slot, but also keeps the party vibe set by Buried Alive going strong. "Hey Stranger" comes in with even more syncopation and rhythmic cookin' from Fishman. Angular funk has started to take hold. Rhythmic accents pop up over the surface, but not always where your head anticipates them. We get a smattering of synth tones that start to emerge, as if almost a teaser for the rest of the show.

Mike starts his intro to "Down With Disease," but with a brand new effect patch. More synthy sawtooth-waved goodness, less Eventide reverberation that we’ve had for the last 30 years. Not that long into the song, what seems to be the entire left side of the lawn has the PA go ka-put. Like the world’s biggest left earbud has just shuffled off its mortal driver coil. I can hear the crowd's fundamental collectively pucker from the last time this happened at this venue. Some try to dance through it. Others look at each other with extremely worried glances. During this event Page drops into some Swirly Wurlitzer (or is it the Fender Rhodes?) areas which gives the other members almost silent permission to try and stretch out. The dancing in the crowd has noticeably dwindled while the jam goes on. The PA eventually comes back after a few minutes, almost in sync when the band moves into a major key jam (which is a bit too on the nose if you ask me). Fishman continues to take the syncopation mantra from “Hey Stranger” and push it in this "Disease." The entire band successfully modulates back into the original key of "Disease" at once and finishes the song, sticking the landing.

"Roggae" gives us another cool-down moment with its Great Woods debut. The band are taking their time, carving out spaces to breathe and stay for a moment within the song. The moon starts to rise over the lawn to my right and I start to think about the passage of time. Not only for myself, but for this band and its community. With the 40^th anniversary it’s not hard to think of the changes that come with that long of a time span. Some fans come for their first shows, some fans don’t get to see any more shows. Some people get the light, some get the dark, but the earth keeps turning. The upstrokes of "NICU" takes us off of our feet for dancing time, even if Trey did hit a noticeable flub. “It’s been a while” the guy to my left exclaims to his group. We’re only human.

"Stash" comes with a warm welcome, the crowd happy to add their percussion to the tune. The band hits on a more gentle tension than previous versions before shifting into a major key. Maybe it's just me, but it feels as though there's a shadow of a much more well-known version lurking behind the roof of the shed. Trey starts some reverse guitar loops and adds some more synth textures before Mike compliments with additional synths and dissonance of his own. They shift back into the original key of the tune to end. "46 Days" announces itself with it's guitar and drum intro and is greeted by a "Fuckin' GO!" from a gentleman behind me. I do some quick mental math and head to a porta-potty at the top of the lawn to beat the set break. Fishman is pounding the toms and Trey is tapping into some Hendrix-like phrasing, with some good ol' dripping univibe effect offering some help. Every single person I pass on the walkway is dancing HARD, myself included. Hell, even the people in line for the bathroom can't stop dancing and you certainly couldn't blame them. If the majority of the first set could be described in a single word, "Percolate" might be appropriate, with 46 Days being the moment of taking the feeling into 5th gear for just a moment to show what they're capable of.

Set Two starts with "Suzy Greenberg" which I have to admit is one of my least favorite tunes in the catalog. Something about it never really grabs me, however I look around and quickly realize that everyone else is having fun, so why am I not? I start to move my hips and shoulders and soon find myself getting down to the "Suzy, suzy, suzy, suzy!" The power of suggestion wins again. We get the familiar intro chords of "Run Like An Antelope" which Trey may or may not have subconsciously stole from a certain member of a certain band. If the band was percolating for set one, this was definitely the moment in set two where the pressure valve was released. The energy from the lawn was palpable, and Fishman missed a cue into the "Rye Rye Rocko" groove which gave us a 4 count mini-drum solo before bringing the dynamic back down. It's ok Fishman, I'd be going apeshit too. The A minor chord of "Ghost" is welcomed warmly by the crowd. I do wish I had taken better notes, as the first word I wrote down is just "Lit." While a little too succinct, is appropriate. The band has hit cruising speed and is not going to stop. Playful dynamics are in effect and the band is very aware they can't be at 10 all the time, but carry incredible momentum throughout the set. Some new arpeggiated effects come in, possibly from Mike, who also hits the thickest, most rumbly bass note of the night on his synth pedal. I can feel my water bottle vibrate as the cheers erupt from the crowd, and I turn to my left to make eye contact with someone. We both nod in acknowledgement. Shit has just gotten real. Fishman starts to push into double time syncopation while the rest of the band moves into a major key, then pushing into staccato rhythms with more glitchy tones. The band has been taken over by the "Gonk" droid from Star Wars. Hello to you too, atonal evil Phish.

Not so much a segue, but not a ripcord either (Segue-cord?), the move into "Light" feels well deserved and a splash of cool water after the dissonance melted circuit board space of Ghost, but ironically moves into a minor key jam with an ambient-but-driving groove. Fishman moves to an open/closed hi-hat pattern that pushes the band but doesn't feel overbearing. Repetition is a form of change. This leads the band into a nice major key area and a very nice flow in "Pillow Jets." While I haven't been a certified hater for this song, it's not one of the newer tunes I've been hoping to hear. Leading into the jam, Fishman once again played with the pulse which I have listed in my notes as "Throbbing with time." Mike pushes through with more fat synth tones, and Trey really taps into his influences with some extremely Zappa-like phrasing. Trey hits the opening arpeggio to "Beneath a Sea Of Stars" and the crowd cheers with the line "We're all here together and the weather's fine". I look up at the sky and stars to take in the moment and check my gratitude. Trey flubs the lyrics, which counter-intuitively makes the moment even more special. The band moves into a very gentle ambient space with more glassy, shimmering electronic tones reminiscent of Lanois & Eno records. I can't tell if they're coming from Page or Mike, I suspect Mike. A delicate suspension which almost makes me hold my breath. At one point I'm shocked to hear bird calls from the trees behind me singing in response. Turns out it's just some guy's phone going off in his pocket. The tune ends and Fishman strikes up the beat with Mike for "Split Open and Melt."

It is at this point that this author will lose objectivity for the rest of the Recap. In July of last year, I had a loved one pass away from cancer. I know, you didn't expect this review to get heavy. Neither did I. We all gotta go sometime. But it's this author's sincerest hope that you, Dearest Gentle Reader, will not know the grief of having one of your show buddies not be there for a long, long time. One of my favorite memories of them is from the Giant One-Set Fenway show in 2019 where the band also played Split Open & Melt. My friend was grooving along and playing air keyboards so well, with correct piano fingerings and all, I wondered if they actually learned to play this song. Now whenever I'm couch-touring and this song pops up I'd like to think it's her way of saying "Hello, I'm thinking of you, I hope you have a good show!" I play air-keyboards for her during the tune. The band gets the memo on the "Melt" portion, Mike's synth bass so thick and heavy it reminds me of a train with a cow-catcher barrelling down the tracks, pushing everything out of its way. Fishman has stopped playing the beat and is just playing accents to deliberately fuck with us. Page and Trey leap away from any semblance of tonality to a massive liquid pool of sonic textures. It sounds like a B-2 bomber is flying at us through the PA and stalling out into a nosedive. Pull up, pull up! Dank rolls of psychedelic sound pour out across the venue, and spontaneous waves of cheers erupt from the crowd. Fishman brings the beat back to wrap up the tune. Every single person around me is looking around and making eye contact with the silent "Did we really just hear that?!" not having to be spoken out loud.

As they come back out for the encore, Fishman hits his sampler with the "Who wants an orange whip?!" clip from The Blues Brothers is launched. Did that sample come stock, or did Fishman make it himself? I don't think I'll ever find out. The opening drum hits of "Harry Hood" start, and I get choked up. To semi-dox myself, I've been called Harry for a majority of my life, even if it's not my "Government name". There's nothing like 20,000 wooks singing your name. (Ok, they're mostly singing "Hood!" but the statement still stands.) A past memory of my friend at Thanksgiving singing "Harry! Harry!" to get my attention rings in my head. As the last round of the three chord progression circles about, I clutch her laminated memorial card in my left breast pocket and hold it against my heart. "You can feel good, good about Hood." And we certainly do. Summer tour for a lot of fans means getting together with friends new and old, sharing life stories and telling what they’ve been up to. The tour opener is also special as I, for better or worse, don't have any other shows this run to compare it to. It stands alone, on its own, until the next show is played and we can compare and contrast. But for one night, it's the best show of the tour.

We're all here together. Some of us are just not in corporeal form.

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