@FACTSAREUSELESS said:

"A standard lovely Bug occupies its familiar "Jerry-ballad" spot..."

Not to nit-pick you excellent review....but are we really still comparing Phish at this point to the Dead's tired old format of playing shows?

Yes, I was. For a few reasons.

First, it's a touchstone for me personally because the Dead were my first love, and while my love for Phish is different it's still similar in many ways.

Second, Phish has definitely drifted to a format much closer to the Dead's "tired old format" where first sets are mostly comprised of blues idiom or Americana idiom songs that don't stray far from form in performance and are adorned with solos rather than exploratory jams, and where second sets feature more challenging material and long stretches of improv. The "3rd quarter" at Phish shows are now where you can almost always expect to hear the band's big jam vehicles, just as it was with the Dead, and there's often a "breather song" or a ballad tucked into the late middle of the set, followed by a few danceable rockers to close.

I'm not saying it's a conscious decision on Phish's part or even that it's a strict template, but you can't deny it's gravitated that way over time.