I sing this show's praises so often that I decided to just chime in with my $.02 about how good it is. IMO, this is a perfectly-executed Phish show, if not necessarily the most exploratory or experimental. Doesn't matter - everything here is, for the most part, perfectly executed. Psychic link on 100. Not a dry undergarment in the house. I left with my jaw on the ground in utter amazement at how hard Phish crushed the Garden this night. EASY 5 stars. Listen immediately and accept no substitutes.

My first show. I was 51 years old. My oldest son brought me. I was late, and missed the only two Phish songs I knew (Runaway Jim and Bouncing), but when YEM came on, and the crowd began to dance en masse, the atmosphere was filled with love and music, and I was done. Hooked. 75 now. 70 shows later. The rest of the show is a blur; I was unfamiliar with the music but loved it, and I'll never forget Buddy Miles' performance (I dabble on drums), and was won over by the way the group featured their guest. Thank you Phish for the continuing music, old and new. For a guy who started on Elvis and Dylan, and then of course doo wop, r&b, the Beatles, and on and on, Phish managed to surpass all and become my favorite band.

My very first Phish show. It's a nice little hall, this place. I also saw Beck play there around this time, which was a great show. My general memory is just that this band was so fast. I was used to dancing through long slow sections at Grateful Dead shows, and this was just go, go, go. It wore out my little 23-year-old self. And I loved it. So much energy. I also remember that this is one of those places where they put a temporary floor down over the seats, so it bowed in a bit under the crowd. There were certain sections when everyone was pogo-ing, and the floor was really bouncy. In my memory, that happened during Bouncing Around the Room, but it looks like they didn't play that, so it must have been somewhere else. Probably Maze. Why Don't We Do It in the Road was really funny, as I recall. And I clearly remember the CDT Reprise (first ever!), when Trey thanked 1,000 people by name. The Simple is great, but it probably only made it on the album because it's short and sweet and stands alone. Also, I have no memory at all of DMB opening. I didn't realize it, but this was the last show of the era of the super-tour. Maybe it should be called Phish 0.5.

This show is decent, with some phenomenal highlights, but there are also some lulls in it as well. A couple of notes before I get to my highlights. The first recording of Icculus is short and rather uneventful, none of the drawn out shenanigans we will one day anticipate. For YEM, they still haven't quite ironed out the "Boy Man God Shit" transition but the main composition is fairly solid and very funky. Finally, I wouldn't say that McGrupp is recited Dylan-esque (I was expecting weird singing with that comparison). Instead, it's more like a recitation, with poetic meter (which I guess you could say is Dylan-esque... but that's not what comes to mind when I hear that phrase!). Highlights: 1) [u]Have Mercy[/u]: First known performance of this beloved cover, it has the absolutely gorgeous ethereal middle section, thanks to some reverb effects from Trey. Very cool! [b]2) [u]Harry Hood[/u]:[/b] My god, this Hood peaks pretty hard. Perhaps the first great Hood I've encountered as I'm going through Phish's recorded history chronologically. Check this one out. [b]3) [u]Help on the Way> Slipknot![/u]:[/b] In particular, the Slipknot! jam gets pretty wild, with essence of some of the ragier Antelopes that would emerge in '92/'93. The chaotic rage dissolves into some absolutely weird spacey jam with lots of synth-effects from Page and then later some echoing bass from Mike. Eventually the jam seamlessly segues into... 4) [u]AC/DC Bag[/u]: ...Such a cool little intro fpr AC/DC Bag! Very slick! The first recorded version of Bag is a banger from day 1. Great tune from the outset. 5) [u]Dear Mrs. Reagan[/u]: First recorded performance of this song... meh, it's OK. Check it out if you've never heard this tune.

I had A LOT of fun at this show, probably too much. But no one seemed to mind as they were all in the same headspace. Yes, everyone was doing their part to get weird. Right after first tube, the curtain dropped over the stage. I distinctly remember my bud getting into a yelling argument about whether the band was real or not. It was such a treat to be able to listen to phish play music without judging because there truly was no reference point. It was completely new to everyone. Surprised to hear tweezer on the first night. Third set ran out of steam. Can’t blame them. One of my favorite nights ever.

Well I guess I'll join the chorus on this one. It's not too great of a show and the recording is rough, which doesn't help. Also, I'll note that the slide guitar on Antelope is kind of grating to my ears. It is not without its highlights however!: 1) [u]Mike's Song[/u]: The jam here has some great Type I soloing from Trey. Shreddage! 2) [u]You Enjoy Myself[/u]: This YEM isn't actually too remarkable except that it is the first known recorded performance. The arrangement isn't complete yet (including a lack of the "Boy, Man, God, Shit" lyrics!). I also do not hear any violin on the recording... Oh well, check it out for historical purposes!

The recording for this show is incomplete, providing snippets of only the four songs in the second set. The overall theme I would say is self-indulgent, yet confident stoner rock. It's definitely worth a listen, especially if you are looking to explore more of Phish's vast history (and if you are digging around these early 80's shows, I'm guessing you must be on your Phish vision quest). Highlights: [b]1) [u]Whipping Post Jam[/u]: [/b]Having no context for the "Whipping Post" part of this jam due to the incomplete recording, the music starts in a pretty weird and murky place. Lots of self-indulgent jamming occurs before it takes some form at ~11 min, which sort of reminds me of an Allman Brothers jam. The Norwegian wood tease around 17 min is fun and at about 19 min, a pretty great relaxed, yet triumphant mood emerges, with Trey and Fishman charging ahead deliberately. Things dissolve back into murkiness for a minute or two but then around ~24 min, more of this triumphant jamming emerges before finally settling into a reggae-esque beat, which builds into a funky little riff that they have fun with before the recording ends. It’s a beautiful mess full of lots of compelling moments, including several where the band confidently coallesces into some powerful crescendos which explode. It's hard to imagine this jam existing in any other period of the band's history, but for that reason alone I would say its absolutely worth the listen. It's revealing to hear Phish jamming in this formative stage; their later work and classic jams didn't just magically happen! These guys spent a lot of time cutting loose in these early shows, exploring without restraint, before they learned how to reel it in and produce a more focused product. 2) [u]Run Like An Antelope[/u]: The recording starts at the jam section of the song, but we get to hear the entire band build some really intense energy! Trey is raging hard, Mike's thick bass in the mix is amazing, and Fishman is going bezerk. Unfortunately, I don't really notice the keyboards too much in this mix, but its still a fun jam. 3) [u]Dave's Energy Guide[/u]: Quintessential stoner rock at its best. The DEG riff that I've heard teased in so many later Phish shows is fun, but the extended song gets particularly far-out and space-invaders-like. Dissonance delight!

This was my first show, and I walked to the bandshell from my dorm room, South Hall, which was about 30 yards from the field. I laid in the grass that evening and just lost myself. At the time the only songs I recognized were the covers, but that didn't matter. Everything about the experience washed over me that night. Even though I wasn't able to get to another show until they came back a year later, I started collecting tapes, CDs, whatever I could get, then saw a LOT of shows between 94 and the breakup. This was a truly formative experience for me. It's also the last time I can remember the crowd not yelling "HOOD" when Trey said "HARRY!" and I liked the song better that way.

Acoustic show! Unfortunately, the recording is incomplete but what is available is fun to hear. Highlights: 1) [u]Hurricane[/u]: Only time they played this song, maybe its no the most amazing cover but a good song is a good song and hearing Phish cover it acoustic is awesome 2) [u]Piggies[/u]: Another cool cover that stands out not only because of the acoustic treatment, but for how well it fits into the bouncy Makisupa sandwich. 3) [u]Makisupa Policeman (second half)[/u]: An acoustic jam emerges, that at the start sounds reminiscent of McGrupp, but then returns to the bouncy Makisupa theme.

Fun early show, good to hear the band honing its craft and the early arrangements of some of these songs are delightful to hear. Highlights: 1) [u]Harry Hood[/u]: The Mr. Minor jam is indeed a little different from the more familiar incarnations of Hood. Mike's bass is particularly nice and thumpy in the mix. The jam after the Mr. Minor section is sublime but too brief. None of the build up of more 'classic' Hood jams. 2) [b][u]Dog Log[/u]:[/b] I am an admitted sucker for this song, but this one has a little more oomph than most I've heard. The little jazzy jam in the middle freaking rocks! Nice execution and a wonderful ode to dog shit :) 3) [u]Possum[/u]: This version is bouncier and more honky tonk than the version we've come to know and love. It's a cool rendition and worth checking out. It kind of reminds me of the 2013-10-26 version they played when Kenwood Dennard replaced Fishman on drums. 4) [u]Sneaking Sally[/u]: Really funky early take oon this beloved cover tune, and as the show notes indicate, the vocal jam on this one is particularly electrifying. Great execution. 5)[b] [u]Alumni>Letter>Alumni[/u]:[/b] I love these slower takes on this tune. The funk just oozes out of every corener, and its played with infectious cocksureness. 6) [u]Prep School Hippie[/u]: My first time hearing this tune, its got a nice arrangement and catchy. Bust out potential aside, would love to dance to this tune at a show.

What will show 2 in the final run give us? Some surprisingly good segues and an atypical Zero? Chalk Dust opens the show with a fun little Walk This Way tease. Guyute is well played and is a fine choice for the 2nd song. Wolfman's gets into some cool funk rock and has a super slick turn-on-a-dime segue into Sneakin' Sally. Good stuff. But beyond that, the set doesn't have much else to offer. LxL through Possum is played very standard with nothing to distinguish from other versions of these songs on this tour alone. Drowned starts up the 2nd set and I'm immediately expecting another 9/14. Of course while it's not stretched out to those epic proportions, it does offer an interesting jam. It starts off with a standard type 1 jam but slowly begins to morph into something like a 2.0 jam. Fish and Trey are totally in sync. The tempo begins to pick up as the intensity increases and all I'm feeling is 2.0. The jam stays in a pretty solid groove for a few minutes before a surprising and well executed segue to NICU. This NICU is played well. Bowie up next gets a spacey intro without Fish’s regular drumbeat. The jam proper starts off standard fare but eventually works its way to a cool major mode section that rocks for a bit before returning home. Definitely worth a listen. Halley’s gets a short outro as Trey starts up the Walk Away riff for a ’00 segue favorite. I’m a little sour on this Piper. It’s really felling like they have run out of ideas for this in the same way as Sand. I guess it’s a well played jam but it’s territory I’ve heard time and time again on this tour already. Zero seems like it would be a standard set closer with Trey starting off a typical blistering solo (with a 2.0 sounding guitar tone). But Trey is dragging. Every few bars he pulls the tempo back a little more. He pulls it down to super slow sludginess and starts singing FEFY lyrics. It’s weird but not in a good way. WMGGW brings the show to a close. Stick around for the segues and Drowned through Bowie. The rest of the show had me bored.

I've been dreading this one. Not a single jam chart mention and the longest song on the list is Reba at just over 14 minutes. Damn, will there be anything interesting about this show? After listening though I do have some thoughts. I think this is it. This is the show when it hit them that they were about to be done for who knows how long. 17 years of near relentless touring and making albums was about to come to an end. Moma starts the show energetically enough but it's decidedly not one of the big '00 Momas. It's Ice comes in fairly well played with a spacey middle section and nothing else. Bouncing comes and goes as usual. Funky Bitch also another standard type 1 version with nary a flair. Then we come to Reba. In the midst of the jam I think is when they realize this is probably the last time they'll be playing song for God knows how long. The gradually becomes more and more intense but has a small bit of a foreboding energy to it. But the jam cuts off before the real peak comes. I could feel they were holding back something by the end. Dog Faced Boy serves as a quick pallet cleanser. Perhaps appropriately it's one of their few outright sad songs. Antelope starts up next to bring the set to a close and right from the start of the jam the mood has shifted. Fish lays down a beat with a sense of purpose that I haven’t heard from him yet this tour. Trey, Mike, and Page interweave a jam that is at once slightly ominous yet with some sunshine. The subtle note choices really drive it home for me. Rock & Roll opens the 2nd set without the foreboding of Antelope but also doesn’t have much going for it. They pull out early and start laying down ambient effects as an intro to 2001. The one has a few moments of interplay between Trey and Fish but for most part is fairly average. Seems like at this point they’re still searching for something to really grab on to. Why they chose Sample to play next is anyone’s guess. It’s very average. Will Gotta Jibboo be where the set really takes off? No. But it is a very well played version. Would probably be more recognized if this was played in the first set, but we’re in the 3rd quarter here with basically nothing to write home about. A cool buildup lick to end the jam doesn’t cut it here. Bug tells me they’ve given up on this set... and yet Trey really goes after it with this solo. Hard. There’s some real passion in his playing. Almost like an apology for the rest of the show. I’m serious they play the shit out of this Bug. Listen to it. After that, does Hood have anything to offer? Besides the standard good Hood always gives, Trey comes up with some very pretty fluttery lines and goes after the peak like it’s his job, heh heh. I really feel him going after this peak just like with Bug. Cavern brings the house down one last time. Loving Cup gives just a little bit more. Not a great show by any means. Not even a good show honestly. But I recommend the Antelope if you’re curious and surprisingly, the Bug too.

Normally I would skip over a one off TV appearance but this one strikes me as a bit strange. Aren't they going on a hiatus in literally 4 days? Why bother continuing to promote the new album? Fish appears with his tattered dress, Trey looks disinterested... apparently the band didn't sleep from Vegas to Shoreline. Not sleeping for 5 days doesn't exactly do wonders for your appearance. There is also the parallel between this Tonight Show guest spot and their Late Show guest spot in 2004 where once again the question is why bother?

I never knew Guy Forget was pronounced "gee forjay" until now. The more you know. They really played the hell out of First Tube in '99-'00. Who could blame them though? It's a great opener/closer. Wolfman's is a fine 2nd pick and has a nice little standard peak in it. BOTT is played again to its standard effectiveness. They also played the hell out of this one in '99-'00. Beauty of My Dreams, another late 1.0 favorite, is slotted in next. Phish always seems to have a few rotating bluegrass tunes they love to play at any given moment. Vultures is given its last pre-hiatus performance and it's mostly good. Trey breaks out the acoustic for The Inlaw Josie Wales. Honestly, I'm digging the flow of the set so far. Nothing spectacular but good song choices even if a lot of them have been played to death at this point. Semi-rarity Billy Breathes comes up next... and for some reason I'm fine with two ballads in a row. Llama gets the energy back up and features Trey introducing the band and then telling the audience to slap each other's foreheads. The joke doesn't land for me. Page croons one last time for the era with Lawn Boy and the set closes with a good Runaway Jim. Roses opens the second set on the right foot but is seemingly cut short in favor of Piper. This Piper is classic '00 upbeat swirling jamming. However, in large part, the jam is dubbed the debut of Guy Forget. This harkens back to the debuts of Meatstick and Simple: when the band sings a melody over a loosely connected jam. It's good I think? If you like the late 1.0 sound there is definitely something for you here. But it does suffer from being a bit overlong in the same groove. Circus gets a stellar segue from Guy Forget and cools us down. Camel Walk gets its only performance of the year here. It's decent. Driver's placement in late 4th quarter I don't mind in theory but this is the fourth ballad of the show so it kinda kills the momentum. Bowie shines as the closer but is ultimately unremarkable. Waste as the encore brings the total ballad count to five. Obviously Piper -> Guy Forget is the only part of the show worth revisiting. This is the most tired show I've heard in this relisten. It has one highlight that's a novelty at best. The Llama joke fell flat as well. I really hope the rest of the tour is better than this.

Ah yes Live in Vegas. A bit odd to choose as for a concert DVD considering Trey's explanation of the then upcoming hiatus. I guess it shows how comfortable they were that it was not the end. Walfredo is busted out for the opener. Has the novelty of this song worn off? I would say no. The odd lyrics, vacuum reference, instrument switching. It's all very Phish. The decision to open with a bust out and then play the recently unearthed Curtain With had to have been intentional for the webcast audience. It works well. The Curtain With proves itself to be back for good with this solid version. Maze has it's typical fury but with just a little extra thrown on top of this one. Roggae cools us down... or so it seems. This one is an all timer. Intricate and airy, the band deftly weaves in and out of each others melodic lines. It really gets out there in a way Roggae hasn't before. I Didn't Know comes in next and has reference to Joe C. as a nod to Kid Rock from the previous night. Mike's is played to it's trademark intensity but never quite coalesces into anything more. Simple sounds like it might become another floaty jam like Roggae but instead it fizzles away and Trey starts up Saw it Again. On the best nights, Saw it Again can be the full the release of pent up emotion. Here it serves more as a connecting part in Mike's groove because neither Mike's nor Simple went big. Either way, it's good to hear Esther busted out. Trey makes it through all but the last verse where he flubs the lyrics and instead gives up "she died. She's dead." It's a funny moment and get's a pass from me as he got every other word right in a song that has a lot of words. Weekapaug gets super funky to end the set. Weekapaug always delivers. Timber starts the 2nd set with a bit of a gloomy jam. Melancholic notes from Trey and Mike really drive home the dark sound. AC/DC Bag at first looks like it might be a rare big one but stays inside it's structure. It does have cool false ending though. Forbin's is another surprise bust out. The rust shows a bit as this very is a little rough around the edges. As far as the narration, I did some research and concluded the hiatus was announced in an Entertainment Weekly cover story, but this being an age before social media I'm sure there were many in the audience unaware Phish was planning a break. Trey sounds a bit nervous, like he doesn't know how the crowd will react. When the audience cheers Trey laughs and makes a joke. Everyone's in a good mood. Once again this moment stands in stark contrast to the "won't be needing this anymore" moment from 8/11/04. The actual narration itself is about a Trey growing a long tooth and the earth becoming a raisin. At the end he concludes "Gamehendge is a state of mind." I can't think of a better way to send off 17 years of Phish. Mockingbird is played well and more adeptly than Forbin's. Despite Twist and Sand being jam vehicles neither go anywhere especially Sand, being one of the shortest versions since it's debut. Based on the last few versions it seems like they had run out of ideas for Sand. Given it's near complete absence from 2.0 this could be the case. ADITL brings the house down and Emotional Rescue closes the show with just one bust out. There's an odd duel/dance thing Mike and Trey do at the end of the song but it doesn't hold up on the audio. That was for the webcast. This is a bit of a weird show. Strong in some parts, weak in others... and not the parts you'd expect. Jam of the show goes to Roggae. Weekapaug and Timber aren't too shabby neither.

Kiiiiiiid Rock Carini, Rift, and Frankenstein open the show in great, energetic fashion. Mellow Mood once again this tour is a bit of a breather. I love this song. Wilson really gets the crowd moving and has a fiery little metal jam. Really nice stuff. I wish they played Spock’s Brain more. It’s got such a cool groove. Gin is another rocking upbeat version but it’s got some real nice intensity that the others on this tour have been lacking. Mike is the star here pushing the jam higher and higher. Zero closes a great first set! Dinner and a Movie is busted out to open the 2nd set. I have to wonder if the bust outs tonight and the next night are intentional book ends from the band celebrating the end of (what would later be known as) 1.0. Moma screams in again with another big, loud, and rocking version. I wish they still played Moma this way. 2001 sets the stage for some space funk. It seems like Fish really wanted this one to go big. He keeps layering beat variations and adapting to Trey’s licks but alas the final refrain comes and they transition to the last Fluffhead until 2009. This last version is very “standard good” and gets no complaints from me. It has a little ambient jam afterwards that almost feels like an epilogue to Fluff. Trey then starts up Meatstick for some silliness and type 1 goodies. Then we come to the infamous part of the show. Over the Meatstick solo Trey introduces Kid Rock to the stage. I’m not sure how out of left field this decision was. I also can’t not draw comparison to their other “last tour” in 2004 when they brought out Jay-Z to do some songs. However, Jay-Z didn’t take over the rest of the set like Kid Rock. The result is comical which I assume is the intention. Fish rapping the second verse on Rapper’s Delight had me laughing along. The whole segment left me wondering why they only did covers and not a Kid Rock song. Would them stumbling their way through Bawitdaba really have been that much worse? Good first set and a promising 3rd quarter is blocked by the Kid. Wilson, Gin, and Moma are all worth your time.

Oh yeah this was a good one. Sample is a great opener any night and this is no exception. MFMF is played well and even has a cool little spacey outro in lieu of Myfe. Beauty and My Soul are played well enough as is LxL. Nothing too memorable so far. Dirt's placement in the set is good after a bunch of upbeat tunes. SOAMelt is the usual type 1 affair but it's got good intensity. Horn cools down and Taste and Cavern bring the set to a thrilling conclusion. Both played well. Piper blows out of the gate with furiousness before transitioning into up-tempo space funk. Trey puts on this "electronic piping" effect through his keyboard and lays down some very solid licks. Really cool version. Gumbo starts up the second Piper fades out and this is also taken out for walk. The jam stays in the Gumbo theme for awhile then moves to a quieter groove. Very laid back, eventually working it's way to a little peak. Ghost is fairly standard but stays rocking the whole time. Mango gets a bit stretched out but nothing like 9/17. Trey kills it in Heavy Things. He's really feeling that melodic solo. Brother is busted out and SMOOOOKES! YEM wraps up the set with a nice little bow. Loving Cup is a fitting encore. Piper > Gumbo > Ghost is the big highlight and Brother is a good follow up. Good show overall.

Odd start here with the EGSTHEMAMM bust out, but it works surprisingly well to open the show. There's even a cool little jam too; almost like they were trying to push further with it. Worth a listen. Disease rockets out with it's usual fiery guitar solo and continues for much of the run time before settling down into a sparse spacey groove with a > into The Lizards. Good execution so far. Lizards is played well. This mid 1st Tweezer leaves a lot to be desired IMO. Another flat groove that doesn't move or change much. The jam chart lists this as a having a "curious ending" but I'm not sure what's so curious about it. It gets funky briefly before just... stopping. Not worthy of mentioning. The rest of the set is played very standard although Bug is stretched out slightly. Gotta Jibboo opens set 2 with rocky funky type 1.15 action. Good but not memorable. Mike's gets another standard version not much notable. Weekapaug finally picks things up with a cool drone jam that gets progressively more percussive and rhythmic. Cool stuff that immediately caught my ear. Axilla is good punch up at this point in the show and it leads into what will surely be a set closing Hood. However this Hood never gains much steam at all and Trey ends it without any real peak at all. It's not clear if he just wasn't feeling it or lost interest and wanted to play something else. Funky Bitch closes a blue balled set. Boogie On is fine in the encore spot. The dedication in Driver to a couple Trey met in '98 is sweet and brought a smile to my face. Tweeprise rages. Yeah... I'm not a fan of this one. Weekapaug is the only standout moment in the whole show. That's pretty disappointing considering how good the sets look on paper.

I can’t say there’s much interesting about the first set overall. Chalk Dust has some mildly above average work from Trey and Roggae has some cool interplay between Mike, Fish, and Trey. But yeah once again I got “going through the motions” vibes from this set. However, hard disagree with @jibler on this Cities. I was mesmerized! There’s the textural ambience from ‘99 I’ve been missing! The jam gradually picks up energy again near the end for a cool finale > Free. Free ain’t too shabby neither. Extended by a bit, good stuff from Mike and Trey is seemingly starting to favor the lower register and thick tones from his guitar. Kind of a proto-2.0 sound. Ya Mar seems to have potential to be stretched out but it doesn’t go anywhere. Carini is played to its standard loud metallic sludge. Page croons us down with Lawn Boy as usual. As he heads back to the keys Fish comes out from behind his drums for the vacuum portion of the show. Something about this felt a little off to me. Like Fish feeling like this joke is old. Particularly because these segments are usually a lot more joyous and silly. Cool It Down comes out of nowhere and, just like Halloween debut, this one has a nice extended jam attached. Give it a listen. Bowie has some fine set closing energy and Fire once again is a perfect encore. This one is a bit tired. Cities > Free is great as is Cool It Down -> Bowie. Give that Roggae a listen as well.

Let's go, let's go' let's go downtown! Looove this opener! Has any said how much it sounds like Free? Moma is another great version here. Hot, funky, and loud in both jam segments. Damn this song had a good year. Frankenstein eats it up as usual. This Halley's is now one of my favorite versions. It starts off rocking but quickly recedes into a mellow groove that eventually fully recedes into a peaceful space. I really dug this one. Fee keeps the mellow groove going and goes right into a set closing Stash. Bit of a short but totally sweet set there. BOAF opens the 2nd set with typical '00 type 1 action. No complaints. Then we have our first Tweezer in 16 shows and the first of fall tour. I can't describe this version in any other way than "cool". It's very cool. It also ends in classic fashion with the die out ending. Just like the old days. I'm sure by now they knew the hiatus was happening so I wonder if this was an intentional way to bookend Tweezer in 1.0. NICU and SOAMule work fine as the mid portion of the set. FEFY is a *chef's kiss* cool down and the first real cool down of the show. Piper is absolutely FURIOUS before the fully entering the jam segment. Then Fish's beat is booking it incredibly fast as the rest of the band spaces out a bit. Eventually they work their way to a pulsing melodic groove. After all that I'm in full chomper mode. Give me that Zero closer. Page's favorite song gets the encore spot along with Tweeprise. Great show! I didn't detect a hint of the bored playing I've hear previously. Just straight GOOD Phish.

Ok this one is better. Disease drops in with an 18 minute jam to start the show. I'd like to quote from @waxbanks review: The first set is more or less standard late Phish2K fare - the DWD opener cools out quickly into a pleasantly low-key groove that Just. Doesn't. Change. For fully six minutes. Not even a note, near as I can tell from my (muddy) AUD recording. This is the sound, tinged with inescapable melancholy, of a band beginning to lose its edge and focus. It's hard not to disagree with that after listening. For what it's worth I enjoyed this one jam more than most of the last show. Trey eventually guides the jam back to rocking finale and final chorus. That makes 2 Diseases in a row that start off strong, settle into rhythmic territory for awhile, and then rock back out to close. Meat is predictably funky and is oddly unfinished. It's not apparent if this was planned or Trey just forgot the ending. Poor Heart and Wilson are a nice combo. Mid set 1 Slaves are a rare but I don't really dig the flow here. Nevertheless this Slave is played well. Dogs Stole Things is a fun breather after Slave. Gin comes in once again with upbeat rocking. Always good stuff. Heavy Things cools down from Gin then the band rockets right into YEM. This one definitely hit the spot. Set 2 begins with the last Tube of 1.0 and I think this is an amazing final version. Trey sets off playing some cool guitar lines and moves over to his mini keyboard and builds intensity with Page. His mini keyboard stuff sounds like a continuation of his guitar jamming. Don’t here that too often. Finally Trey goes back to his guitar and is set take this jam to the next level... but the ending segment comes all to early. Reba has a very fine jam. Trey really hammers home the tension in this one. The final peak actually gave me anxiety for the final drum fill! Ghost comes next and to me it sounded like it had potential but Trey starts playing a single chord over and over signaling the end of song at just barely over 11 minutes. The Wedge cures any Ghost woes I might have had. Circus cools down from a hot 3rd quarter. Meatstick has some fun banter from Trey about the Japanese lyrics and a fade out while the crowd continues singing the song. Antelope rages. Overall a significant improvement from the last show. Tube is the big highlight. Disease is decent enough.

I'll be honest, this one is a step down from the last show. I love CTB in the opening spot. It opened my first show so I do have a bias. Wolfman's has a stretched out jam that's at once funky and rocking. Extra mustard and all that. Jibboo also has some great HOSE despite it's short run time. Mike's is played fine but the transition to Simple is kind of whiffed. The -> from Simple to TMWSIY is nicely executed. Weekapaug has some energy to it as does WMGGW. If it seems like I sped through that set it's because I really didn't find much passion in the playing. The jam in Wolfman's is fine but it's just that: fine. Jibboo is the only song that really felt like it had some real life to it. The rest of the set felt to me like they were going through the motions. I think this is what Fall '00 has it's reputation for. Not necessarily bad playing but lack of passion and creative energy. Unfortunately I have similar feelings about the 2nd set. First Tube kicks off the momentum strong setting the stage for a good set. LxL follows and it seems like they want to take it out for a walk but they can't quite make it work. Dirt comes oddly early in the set. However it's played well with some feeling to it. It's Ice is surprisingly the "big" jam of the night. It's actually pretty nice. At this point, Phish were masters at creating soundscapes as evidenced by how easily it comes to them here. Take a listen. What little momentum was picked up with Ice is ground to a halt by Wading. Sand attempts to restart the fire but once again they cant really connect with much. Sand in 1.0 didn't lend itself to breaking out of it's shell and the consequences are clear here. Guyute's performance is decidedly ok. At this point in the show I think the band was frustrated. BBFCM blasts out of the gates to blow off a little steam. Mike really stresses his vocal chords. Drowned feels like an attempt to finish the show off at least somewhat passionately and the result isn't bad. Cavern is Cavern. Folks, this show made me kind of bored. It has a few good moments but I do think it commits the worst sin of a Phish show: it's forgettable. Hopefully things are better next show.

The review I had written got deleted so I'm gonna blast through to the good stuff. Carini > Sparkle > Sloth sequence is a great opener. Maze is the highlight of the set. It's got some ferocious action. Guelah is always nice to hear and I wish it wasn't such a rarity these days. MMGAMOIO > Sample > Rift are played reasonably well. No complaints. Sleep tends to kill the momentum of a set no matter where it's placed and that's still true here. And I love it when Caspian closes a set. Now, *cracks knuckles* Set 2. I'll start off by saying you need to listen to this set in it's entirety. Boogie begins the set with a total dance party! Rhythmic as hell and funky to boot. The groove perfectly dissolves into a spacey transition into Twist. Twist is fairly average but has a nice patient build up from Trey. McGrupp up next is a serene cool down from Boogie and Twist. Page shines and Trey interweaves his guitar with the keys. Then it settles down into some ambience. Halley's closes the set with an absolute rager of a jam! Seriously great stuff here. Axilla and Taste close the show with strong versions of each. I can't say enough good things about that 2nd set. Terrific hour of music there. Overall the show has an ok first half but an amazing second half.

A well played Guyute opener is unexpected but welcome. The ugly pig starts us off nicely. BOTT is typical in late 1.0 set 1s and is rather unremarkable here. Gin surprises early on with an 18 minute type 1 jam once again retreading territory from 6/28. But it's a good retread! It seems every Gin after 6/28 through the end of the year chased the rocking high they found there. It is good Phish nonetheless. LxL has a fine peak as does Moma although the latter ends a bit before the true peak comes. Page croons his way through Lawn Boy like the seasoned pro he is. Call me a bit surprised to see Fluffhead next. It's great anytime they bust it out especially around this time when it was becoming more of a rarity. This Fluff is played well and the peak is really nailed of course. End of set right? Nope. The 2nd Curtain With since '88 gives us a nice jam this time. Excellently played stuff. Surely that's the end of the set right? Nope. Chalk Dust drops in with furious set closing energy and honestly it's better than it has any right to be. Finally after nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes the set ends. Why such a long first set? I'm not sure but I'm sure as hell not complaining. Guyute, Fluffhead, The Curtain With, and an 18 minute Gin all in the same set! Set 2 begins with a largely type 1 Rock and Roll for the first 12 minutes but then it breaks into a cool spacey melodic groove. Lovely stuff really. Amidst the spacey loops post R&R, Fish starts tapping his hi-hat signaling Theme. What a strong version this is. Stays mostly type 1 but maybe also type 1.5 here and there. After the traditional end of the song the band decides to keep grooving for a bit before Fish starts up the beat for Dog Log. I wish they'd play this goofy number a bit more often. Mango is always great to hear whether or not it has a jam. Lucky for me this has one! Percussive jams aren't my favorite but this jam has some interesting strangeness to it that gives it a memorable quality. Free should close sets more. Contact > Rocky Top is a bit weird for an encore but I am here for it. So you have a longer than average set 1 and a great set 2. Definitely stick around for the Curtain With, the last 5 minutes of R&R, Theme -> Dog Log and Mango.

After the heater of show the night before, what will the band have in store for night 2? First Tube and Jibboo have some great energy to open the show. Good peaks in both. Corinna up next and once again we have an early ballad. I'll say coming off the heals of the first two songs it feels appropriate for a bit of a breather. No complaints from me. Birds continues the trend of good type 1 jams in this set. Good stuff. Even the not so memorable stuff is still played well and has life to it. I'm still not a fan of Windora Bug but this one has a nice ambient middle section that's worth your time. Antelope and Golgi push the momentum to what seems like the end of the set. But there's one more surprise in the form of Bittersweet Motel. A nice rarity that's always appreciated and a nod to Pennsylvania. Set 2 kicks off with Piper and it immediately picks up where last night's Drowned left off. Trey once again sits back and lets Page, Mike and Fish do most of the work. If you liked that last night you'll love this. If you didn't this jam won't win you over as it really is more of the same. The Lizards gets in a nice cool down from the Piper. I wish they'd use this a cool down more often as it fits in perfectly after a rager. Next up, the most famous part of this show, tube > Tube! The first Tube (hehuheh) consists of a by now standard uptempo spacey funk jam. Very good stuff on it's own. The band really is pushing with this one. Really feeling it! So it's questionable why Trey suddenly blasts the jam ending guitar line. Ah well, ripcords have happened all throughout Phish history. Moments after the song concludes Trey counts off the next song and...wait, it's Tube again! I don't know how expected this was but the crowd LOVES it. This 2nd jam is not afraid to go type 2 as Fish changes up the beat about 4 times before settling into a comfortable fast paced groove eventually coming to a screaming climax!!! Must listen. A very late 1.0 cool down comes next with When the Circus Comes. I have a soft spot for this song in the same way I do for Bug in 2.0. Zero caps off a great set in classic fashion and Possum is a fine encore. This is a GOOD show. Not as good as the night before but it has a nice flow and good song choice. Some great moments with Piper and Tube. Give this one a listen.

Here we f***ing go! PYITE starts us off with some great energy and then we go straight into the first Reba of this tour. Oh man this Reba. Beautiful playing from Trey that's at once sad and restrained but with a good amount of tension. This what Reba is meant to be. Amazing stuff already and we have a whole show ahead! Now normally I don't like ballads this early in the show but Albuquerque is one of my favorite songs so I'll give it a pass. However if I could change one thing about this show it would be switching Albuquerque and Carini around. Speaking of which, Carini! Raging metallic HOSE!! Quite a far cry from Reba, this Carini is a total metal fest. Then we have a classic Oh Kee Pa > Suzy combo. Suzy has a nice jam with great Trey and Page. Just when it seems they're wrapping up for the next song Fish slams back into the beat and we get the rare 2nd Suzy jam. This jam is funky, energetic, and very engaging to listen to. Great stuff. Set 2 comes out swinging with a 30 minute Drowned! This jam is wicked! After the final chorus, Page quickly lays down some piano chords then switches to the clav immediately spacing out the jam while the others follow. Mike picks up a cool bass groove and Trey responds with light fluttering guitar work. Trey then moves to some funked out chords while Page takes the lead with beautiful piano work. Trey continues to lay down some funky rhythm and effect loops while the rest continue to follow Page. Page then takes a left turn with some evil sounding chords and all of the sudden it's like a '94-'95 jam with each member throwing out some weird ideas and the others countering with their own. Trey hops on his mini-keyboard take make some squiggle-squiggle sounds leaving Page, Mike, and Fish to dominate the improv for the rest of the jam. From there Trey takes a backseat for the rhythm section to jam to their heart's content. Eventually, Page plays some spaceship landing sounds and the jam fades away. All capped off with a little ambient addendum. WHEW! What a jam! What's next after that monster? Crosseyed of course, and it's also jammed! Strong interplay between the band here. A fantastic 1-2 punch of Drowned and C&P. Dog Faced Boy finally gives us a cool down after over 40 minutes of intense jamming. It's followed up with the fan favorite (?) f***erpants. But this version is rather well played. Even featuring some cool shredding from Trey. Loving Cup brings this great set to a raging conclusion. The mellow encore is well earned after 2 sets of crazy energy and the Sample is icing on the cake. Damn. All-timer of a show. I really can't recommend one single song because the whole show is terrific. Do yourself a favor and buy Live Phish 03 if haven't already. If you have, go ahead and spin this one again. You won't regret it.

Well unfortunately I don’t have much to say about the 1st set (aside from some interesting improv in Wilson). I found it rather boring. The 2nd set opens with a blistering Disease. Trey shreds his way out for about 9 minutes before settling down into an uptempo funk jam. Normally this would give way to space/loops/mini-keyboard but instead Trey ops to guide the jam back to a shredding finale. Spacey loops abound out of Disease and then... Heavy Things! The drop made me laugh out loud. Good cool down with melodic playing. SOAMelt gets the job done with some nice tension from Trey but not super memorable. Then some silliness from Fish claiming “I know like 2 songs anyway” followed by the vacuum solo. 2001 is fairly standard but good nonetheless. Mike’s is above average but nothing to write home about despite the jam chart mention. A well played Hydrogen leads into a standard Paug for the set closer. Coil of course might be the greatest encore song ever. Not much to say about this show in general. Just not very memorable outside of Disease. I think this is what is meant when complaints are leveled at 2000. Blandness. Not god-awful like 2004 but very forgettable. That being said the next show would be an all timer!

Well. I can’t believe this show isn’t talked about more. Roadrunner is a fun cover to start off with. Trey mentions just about everyone he can think of and really belts “I’m in love with Massachusetts.” The crowd predictably ate it up. Moma comes up next and totally rages! No funk jams here! Count me surprised. Stellar version. Rift is well played and will get no complaints from me. But I will level something at B&R. Ballads this early in the show rarely work and this is no exception. Don’t get me wrong I love B&R... but not here. Vultures restores the momentum with some great shreddiness from Trey. I was almost surprised not to here any “woos” at the end (seriously will that trend ever end?). Horn and Beauty once again are solid standard versions. Ya Mar really starts the venturing out for tonight. Really pushing into type 1.5 territory. Never quite breaking Ya Mar proper but pushing that boundary. Great stuff. Stash has a cool build up to a raging close to the set. Now for the main course. Chalk Dust opening the 2nd set used to be a rarity but from the way it’s played here you’d think it was much more common. Great work from all members on this one. Just about halfway through Trey switches up his tone to something way thicker and heavier and all of sudden it feels like 2.0 Phish. Interesting version because of this. Almost like foreshadowing. Twist emerges from the post-Chalk Dust fog for a funky dance party. Cool contrast from the rocker just prior. Piper, however is the true highlight of the set. Wonderful slow build to start, the band heads off in typical ‘00 style. They rage for awhile and then settle down to funky space and oh man I just can’t get enough of this! Terrific work by Fish. Eventually the space begins to build intensity but before climbing up to peak they instead change directions and head back into space, this time all the way. The space starts out pleasant but then turns spooky with a weird descending line from Trey. And suddenly... What’s the Use! This version has a little jam attached to it as a bonus too. So how do you top off a set like this? Hit ‘em a good ole Loving Cup? Nah give ‘em YEM. Icing on the set 2 cake. And of course GTBT rages as always. Moma, Ya Mar, and Stash are worth revisiting but the real highlight is the whole 2nd set. Even in late 1.0 the boys can put on a stellar show.

Night 2 starts us off with a classic Possum opener. Great way to begin the set. Trey starts up MFMF and the crowd goes absolutely nuts! The AUD really sells this total explosion. MFMF gets to it's standard build up ending but instead of dying down the band stretches out the climax, milking it for all it's worth. It's certainly an atypical ending but IMHO doesn't deserve the moniker of "Jam". Gumbo up next provides some great interplay between the band, weaving in and out, very good stuff! One -> into Maze later and the energy is through the roof! A huge improvement over last night's 1st set. Boogie next up and I'm honestly a little taken aback at how stellar these picks are. I had the impression by Fall 2000 Phish was tired and ready for a break and that came out in the music. But none of that is here. Moving on we finally get a cool down with Roggae but don't sleep on this beautiful rendition. Like Gumbo, interplay is the name of the game here. Guyute and Antelope close out a very good 1st. Gotta Jibboo opens the 2nd set and once again full band interplay features heavily here. Don’t be fooled by the length, there’s some great stuff packed into 11 minutes. I’m sure there were those in the audience expecting another The Curtain With after the monumental bust out earlier that summer but alas this will be the final Curtain sans With until Superball. I wish I could say this transition into Sand is good but... it’s not. Fish seems to misread his own count off and starts up the Sand beat way too quick and has to pause for Gordo to get him back on track. From there, Sand does it’s usual ‘99-‘00 space/noise jam. Unfortunately it’s not terribly interesting that is until Michael Ray comes onstage and starts blasting some big band style trumpet runs. It’s chaotic in a good way. Even reminding me of The National Anthem off Radiohead’s Kid A, although that album wouldn’t release for another month. Makisupa gets some added flair from Ray’s trumpet stabs. Just an all around good time on this one. I’d have to assume CTB was a request from Ray as he nails all the chord changes more so than other sit ins tend to. Funky Bitch also gets some flair, but by this point the gimmick was losing me. Cavern caps off a set that had some good potential going in from the 1st but didn’t meet my expectations. Hood encores are always appreciated. Bringing the night to a thrilling conclusion is one of my favorite things Phish can do and Hood will 9/10 times do it perfectly. This was... almost one of those times. Ok so the band is playing fine but Ray is out there with them doing next to nothing. The show notes seem to say he just sat on the drum riser and then pulled some fans onstage. He doesn’t even pick up his horn until 13 minutes into Hood; basically the very end. He blasts some chaotic trills while the rest of the band eschew the “you can feel good about hood” line in favor of continued peaking. I can tell they don’t really know what to do and just stick to playing the same chords again and again until Michael decides he’s done. Finally Trey decides to pull it in to somewhat of an ending. Trey thanks the audience and chastises Ray “we want to thank all the people who came up to sit with Michael so he wouldn’t have to sit alone when he couldn’t find his horn.” This show is disappointing. The 1st set has so much promise that the 2nd set doesn’t really deliver on. Add the mostly one note sit in and a messy Hood ending and it feels like swing and a miss. Stick around for the first set and the Jibboo but the rest just isn’t worth your time.

Off to a mostly good start! Mellow Mood and LxL opener give a nice chill introduction to this tour. But they’re just a warmup to a very spirited early set 1 Ghost. Listening to this Ghost gave me flashbacks to the 6/28 Gin. Seriously great celebratory jamming, and as I said earlier in this thread, it’s not even listed on the jam charts! Bouncing up next is a fine cool down, but unfortunately the set whiffs a bit. Odd because it looks great paper, but the flow just isn’t there. Glide is the low point. Trey attempts many times to lock in with everyone but he can’t seem to find his footing. It’s bad. Axilla restores some momentum with a straight rocker... and surprise, surprise we see the return of the Axilla II psychedelic outro albeit without the “don’t shine that thing in my face” line. Taste gets us back to where we were with Ghost. Strong version right here. Definitely one of the stronger type I versions of Taste I’ve heard. You’d think that ugly Glide never happened at this point. Golgi ties up an alright set. Birds starts off set 2 well enough with some good type I action. I can feel the push to hook in on something that would ascend into the clouds but it never materializes. Next up is Windora Bug and I’ll be honest, I don’t like this song. Bowie starts up with some spacey weirdness in the intro. The jam, while initially promising, results in a fairly standard version that is enjoyable but not very memorable. Back at the Chicken Shack provides some silliness at the start of quarter 4 of this show. The real star here is the Bathtub Gin > Jam. Gin picks up where Ghost left off with fun high energy licks and excited improv. While not as magnificent as 6/28, it gets the job done very well. As the final cymbal crashes of Gin fade away, a nice ambient jam emerges. But this shall be no ordinary ambient jam as Fish totes out the vacuum and Trey hops on the drums. The result is... interesting I’ll give it that. Zero brings set 2 to a close and Fire is a suitable encore. Overall, a bit weird in spots but Ghost, Taste, and Gin > Jam are definitely worth revisiting.