[We would like to thank Matt (@coolyguy) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

I have to agree with @c_wallob's introductory remarks on Deer Creek from his review of Friday's show–Deer Creek is special. Besides the history, the convenient location, and everything else aforementioned, I would add that the plentiful nearby camping is a major manifester of the venue's signature vibe. The concertgoers here–or at least a large part of them–have been soaking up the Midwestern sun, rain, and all the elements, which contributes to a greater sense of community, and shared experience.

Which is to say, by Saturday it was hot outside. Humid, too, after the rain the night prior. My crew (The Lizards), all in from Chicago, sat on the lawn, awaiting the show's start, sweating, hoping the sun would go down, too (it usually does). Besides a frankly superhuman and very cool group of college-aged youngsters behind us, the crowd too seemed to be feeling the heat. People moved slowly, gripping their beverages caked with humidity.

It's no surprise that the opening tune, "Mike's Song," a tune that time-and-time-again has proved to bring the house down, felt hazy. The crowd showed their appreciation, but I felt like the people around us were doing that half-chatting half-grooving thing people do when a jam gets extra spacey or Trey plays one of his less-popular-but-not-totally-unpopular tunes. I don't think this is entirely a complaint, though. Rather, it felt like the band knew where the crowd was at, and rather than turning it up to 11 immediately, instead chose to warm us up–or keep us cool–with mellow playing and the intention to show us the fireworks at a later time, without the possibility of heatstroke. Trey held a long sustained note for a while toward the end of jam, a move previously reserved for peaks, but now employed as a cooling tone–met with no cheers but certainly appreciation from the crowd.

Shortly thereafter, the band melted into "I Am Hydrogen." Not a ton to report on it, really, other than I do love this song. Trey, clad in all white, looked prayerful as he played the song's delicate motif.

The moment of reflection ended as Mike (notably, wearing an all-neon yellow jumpsuit) plucked the introduction to "Weekapaug Groove." If the crowd seemed a little disconnected during "Mike's," here everyone was locked in, fully hydrated by "Hydrogen," ready to party. The jam carried over the energy from "Mike's" but it was not long before Trey experimentally began to increase the tension, to which Mike responded in kind with Page quick to follow. Soon I began to hear the first signs of a peak building, but the band didn't deliver it, instead opting for a smooth transition back to the head.

"Character Zero" followed. Although I've had my moments with the song, I've come to loathe it as a set-closer, but its placement here felt intentional and, frankly, perfect. The crowd was electric; I heard at least two people around me exclaim that it was their favorite song. The sun had now fully crested the pavilion and people were ready to rock. Mike has now taken off his jumpsuit's jacket. Trey leaned heavy into his wah-wah, suggesting something almost sinister, as CK5's light rig blushed red. The jam felt a little truncated here, with the celebratory closer coming in a litlte awkward, but the crowd still gleeful drank it up.

Unfortunately (for me at least), Trey decided next up was "Drift While You're Sleeping," sucking whatever energy they had drummed up with "CZ" out of the room. I guess this was for anyone who got too hot. Mike maybe put his jacket back on here, I'm not totally sure. People around me chatted about how sick the "Character Zero" was. I wondered if they were playing this so people could talk about the "Character Zero." Two people on paragliders went over the stage, which was nice. By the raggae-ish section the crowd began to focus on the music again, and I felt happy for Trey to have his moment.

Next up was "Maze." I imagine many in the crowd immediately thought of the previous Deer Creek's "Slow Maze." This "Maze" was no slouch, but wasn't exactly a barn-burner either. I particularly liked Page's solo here, which felt very full-featured. Trey, who usually spends Page's solo egging him on with increasingly dissonant chords here, sat back and gave Page room to explore a triumphant alien-baseball stadium zone. Trey's solo responds in kind, also nothing too chaotic. I was left feeling like I could have used a little more friction, but nonetheless a cool "Maze."

With that, a semi-sloppy-but-who-cares "I Didn't Know" followed. When the fancam revealed Fishman (a.k.a. Guy Duet, a.k.a. Party Boy according to my friend Sam) reaching for his vacuum, the crowd went wild. The vacuum solo that followed consisted mostly of fart sounds, with some jazzy accompaniment by the band behind him. I love seeing Trey on the drums.

"Reba" followed at a steady clip. Overall the composed section was well-played with Trey only struggling to follow Page during the one-note-behind part of the song. We're all here for the jam, though, and the jam came in mellow, smooth. Mike low and boomy (in a nice way). Page had an absolutely gorgeous synth which sounded like chimes in the treble and organ-like in the bass. The crowd enjoyed a nice sunset as Trey turned up the sustain. My friend Brad, standing in front of me, had an intentional emotional release; quivering, crying, reduced to nothing. Meanwhile, the teenagers behind me do some sort of synchronized dance. I love Phish.

"Izabella" closes out the first set, to full-crowd approval. I think there was a new vocal arrangement that I liked a lot. Nothing super remarkable with hard rock shredding.

Sun fully down, the set concluded. Here, my friend Eileen gave me tickets to the pavilion, so I spent setbreak refilling my water bottles and navigating down there from the lawn.

"Chalk Dust Torture" kicked off the second set, to much acclaim. The band sounded very locked in, intentionally, during the pre-jam section. When the jam itself starts we are treated to a soft locomotion, with the band eager to play in unison–coalescening and diverging, until Mike finally declared it was time to visit the swamp. The band chops up the "Chalk Dust" theme, knee deep in slime, before finally relaxing into a soft, thoughtful section. The band continued oscillating between the two energy levels, which although felt a little undecided, I also enjoyed. Smooth playing throughout. Toward the end Trey delivered a mini-peak that reminded me a bit of the famous Camden '99 CDT, one of my favorites. The jam ended with a pretty ambient section.

A kind of weird transition brought us to "Plasma," which featured a very cool, spacious, funky jam. Definitely a bit of a cool-off from some of the hotter sections in the "Chalk Dust." I should note that cool off can still be trippy, and I found this jam very psychedelic. The band wandered minor key for a bit before Trey landed on a gorgeous melodic line that begged to be peaked, reminding me of the "Chalk Dust" jam, finally returning with finesse to the head. I felt like this jam held a lot for being only 16 minutes. The band came to a full-stop as the song wrapped, no carrot.

After some deliberation, the band struck up "Monsters." I really like this song; a cool-off song that still delivers some edge, akin to "Leaves," "Walls of the Cave," or "About to Run." Trey absolutely preached his solo, with Hendrix-like playing, as the band swelled in proportion. The jam ends with another slightly sloppy return to the head, but here I found myself not really caring here. Trey added some vocal flourishes to the outro that I didn't love, but again, who cares. Phish rules.

Next up was "Crosseyed and Painless." C&P placed here usually means a pretty straightforward dance party for the rest of the night, but after seeing the Chicago United Center C&P last year, I expected the unexpected, and unexpected it was. As the jam begins, Mike set the tone with a lick that I can only describe as "circus ride from hell," which each band member took turns picking up and putting down, until the whole band lands on the motif, which finally becomes–yes, "Guy Forget!" A bizarre rarity, despite a mere 36-show gap. Everyone, including the band, smiled.

As the lyrics of "Guy Forget" dissipated, we found ourselves in fresh jam-space (is this still "Crosseyed?"). Somewhere around here Page played some of the prettiest shit I've ever heard, which I plan on revisiting.

This jam eventually made its way into "Fuego." Of course, "Fuego," it's still hot outside. This song has really come into its own; once groaning, this time I welcome the song gleefully. Full marks on the placement. Although the pre-jam is dead-serious, the jam itself is more casual. Trey played one of his signature tour motifs, then the band deconstructed the "Fuego" motif for a bit. Soon after we hear notes of "Isabella" and the crowd turns electric. The band built to a peak, revisiting "Fuego" and "Chalk Dust" as well. Finally we are delivered the peak that had been teased the entire show, and it is honestly huge. An absolute moment of ecstasy.

Overall, a super solid second set, despite no single jam standing out. I recommend listening to this show with the temperature and humidity in mind–lots of mid-tempo, intentional playing replete with psychedelia and bluesy, hazy, rock.

We were treated a single-set encore, fittingly "Rock n' Roll." This rendition was patient, rather than Trey going right to shred, instead building slowly to a peak, reflecting the patience of the show that preceded it. The band landed back on the head kind of off-footed, but it sounded cool anyway.

My crew leaves the show feeling cool, relaxed, and released. I think I prefer last night to tonight, but both shows offered solid playing and deep jams, even if there was nothing super concrete to write home about. Today is even hotter. Here I am in sitting in my camp chair drenched in sweat. My laptop is at 8%, so I'm going to get this sent over to Phish.net and drink some water. Very eager to hear tonight's show–see you out there!

If you liked this blog post, one way you could "like" it is to make a donation to The Mockingbird Foundation, the sponsor of Phish.net. Support music education for children, and you just might change the world.