[We would like to thank Matt Schrag aka kipmat on dot net for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

Since the dawn of the touring scene, the second week of tour has been an interesting and mildly confusing time. In the pre-internet era, it was a time for vital information regarding the shows to be passed along: what was played, how they played, what to expect at that night’s show. As information-sharing moved online, one could form one’s own opinion by reading a posted setlist and show reviews, without having heard a note of the performance.

Thankfully, both the tapers and the Phish organization quickly made possible the sharing of show recordings with practically no delay. Now we can all be on tour, hearing the shows as they happen, from the comfort of our homes and private lives, and we can voice our opinions on those shows on community forums (like the one hosted on this very site). And, individually and collectively, we critically evaluate the first week of shows, trying to get a handle on how our favorite band is performing, and adjusting our expectations accordingly.

Still, the VR tech wizards haven’t figured out how to replicate the immersive experience of attending a show in person. Every Phish show is a unique and special experience, but some venues carry a greater historical weight than others. Friday night’s show was the band’s 24th show at Alpine Valley, and for myself and other #JadedVets, it feels like a family gathering, in celebration of lives lived and shared with each other. It’s such a pleasant surprise to recognize someone in a crowd that you haven’t seen in a few years, and reconnect with them through the experience of a Phish show.

If “46 Days” appears deeper in a setlist, it can be an unlikely jam vehicle, but as the kickoff of a three-night run, this was merely a warm-up, testing the stage and sound setup to ensure all is just exactly perfect before Phish is ready to begin melting faces. And this #JadedVet couldn’t complain about tour repeats when the next seven songs were first-time appearances on this tour, starting with “Moma Dance”. Although not jammed-out, the performance was noticeably tight (as was everything played in the first set); the band must’ve had a productive rehearsal before the show.

After a message of welcome from Trey, “The Well” made its return to setlists in 2024, featuring a full band intro instead of the Trey strumming intro from last year. I haven’t had a chance to hear the version released on the vinyl edition of Evolve, so someone else will have to confirm if the intros are the same. The main song still dropped into the heavy metal coda that works so well in a live setting. Alpine Valley still can’t accommodate the moving light trusses, but Phish Lighting Director Chris Kuroda was able to show off some scary-fun looks with his rig during the jam.

If you’ve already looked at the track listing on your LivePhish app, “My Friend, My Friend” is likely the first timing that jumped out at you, and maybe the first track from the show that you listened to. The outro jam for this version found a great dance groove, continuing the song’s run as a sneaky-great jam vehicle since last year.

The jam segued into a pleasant “Brian and Robert”, a song which frequently resonates with my partner and I. Last night’s show was not a sellout, and there was plenty of room on the steep Alpine lawn for kids to run around and scramble for glowsticks and turn cartwheels and other gymnastic feats. If you are reading this and happen to feel anxious about attending a Phish concert for any reason, I would encourage you to seek out the accommodations you might need to attend, because the experience is IMO absolutely worth the effort.

Ensuring that playing a “chomper song” didn’t stop the set’s momentum, Phish kicked into a typically rocking “Llama”. Two of the band’s oldest cover songs, “Cities” (in its first performance ever at Alpine) and “Ya Mar” boosted the party energy. “Stash”, while not a groundbreaking version, was a welcome breeze of psychedelia, and “Cavern” completed a trifecta of tunes from the A Picture of Nectar album. I was impressed by the set overall, and looked forward to what they might play in the next frame.

After a surprisingly brief setbreak, “Axilla (Part 2)” announced the band’s return to the stage, another first-time-at-Alpine performance. Trey’s incorporation of “Happy Birthday To You” over the Axilla outro jam was a clever nod to celebrating Chris Kuroda’s birthday. Perhaps it wasn’t quite as goofy as the dedication at Deer Creek in 1999, but it was still a nice moment of recognition.

Fishman’s drumpad led into Mike’s bass intro to “Down With Disease”. Maybe I had pushed my earplugs too far into my ears, but this jam didn’t thrill me in the moment, although it still provided a gorgeous musical space for anyone on a headfull. DWD is also a great showcase for the light show, and Kuroda performed splendidly, at one point making a swarm of fireflies seem to appear above the band on stage, an appropriate touch for a summer show in the rural Midwest.

I am a fan of the band’s more advanced compositions, so I was particularly pleased to hear the band begin “Mercury”. This night’s performance was excellent, nearly flawless. The song received another modest outro jam rather than an extended exploration, which I was expecting and didn’t mind, but I would’ve liked to have lingered in that sparse, rhythmic groove.

Trey has occasionally struggled with playing “Taste” in the last few years, but he made a strong showing on this night, while Page and Fishman carried the song with their performances. “Ghost” followed, inverting the jam combo from the band’s 1997 performance at Alpine Valley. Last night’s version quickly modulated to a major key, and eventually the band picked up the tempo, building to a rocking peak. The lights also looked like fireworks at one point in the jam - or were they birthday candles?

“Limb By Limb” continued the “Highlights of 1997” theme, another tricky song for Fish’s excellent drumming, and also played at Alpine for the first time. Then came setlist stalwart “The Horse” > “Silent In The Morning”, giving Page an opportunity to sing a lead vocal, along with the rocking set-closer “Good Times Bad Times”.

At the risk of reading too much into setlist choices, I have noticed that the Led Zeppelin cover is sometimes played when a set hasn’t gone as well as the band had intended, and I believe that might have been true on this night. Even so, only the crustiest of tourheads would decline to stick around for a jolly “Contact” and rousing “Run Like An Antelope” encore combo, with yet more astounding light work from Chris Kuroda.

I hope that someone took pictures of the unique looks Kuroda was showing; I’d buy a ticket to see him run this light show over an empty stage. But musically, Fishman was my MVP for this show, continuing to demonstrate his complete mastery of skills and his immense musicianship. Overall, I was going to give this show a three-bowl rating, but Fishman’s performance and Kuroda’s birthday pushes the rating up to two bong rips, one bowl and a one-hitter. Your mileage may vary ;-)

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