(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

The second day was a major upswing from the previous night's debacle. We went to the grounds and noticed hay all over the ground. It had rained during the night so the grounds were worse and huge sections of the field were covered in mud. We were a little farther back than the previous night, but we could see the lights much better. Now, this night completely blew away the previous one. For obvious reasons, but also musically.
The band seemed more in tune with each other. The show started off with “Daniel” which was sorta hard to get into. “Saw It Again” and “PYITE” were played next. “PYITE” was sloppy at times but rebounded in the end. “Army of One” was very good and I think it is one of the better new songs. Then, “Chalk Dust”. This was the most amazing version of this song I have ever heard. They jammed it for about 25 minutes and took the song to whole new levels. “Wilson” followed and it was poorly done but still fun to hear. after “Wilson”, the crowd chanted for “Fluffhead” and Trey went to ask Mike if they should play it. Mike said they should, but Trey said "Mike says no" and the crowd began to boo. “Mike's Groove” was a surprise to me for it closed the first set and I think everyone thought it would have been placed later in the show.
The second set was the best set of the weekend. It had incredible energy and never stopped giving. “Mellow Mood” was a perfect opener and quickly went into one of the most wonderful, beautiful “Ghost”s I've ever heard or seen. During the jam, which lasted for 30 minutes and longer, an incredible glowstick war occurred. The war lasted for about six minutes with glowing sticks of light flying everywhere. I looked straight up and all I saw was glowsticks. Nothing else. I wanted to grab that moment and lock it into my soul for the rest of my life. The amazing “Ghost” went into “Mist”, which calmed everyone down. “Pebbles and Marbles” brought the energy back up and blew my socks off and it quickly went into “YEM”. During the vocal jam, Page started to play “Chariots of Fire” and Trey announced the winners of the Runaway Jim Marathon. The perfect ending to the set was “Loving Cup” which led me to think, what will they do next?
The third set was a step down from the second. A massive “46 Days” started the set which went on for almost forty minutes. “Julius” and “Lizards” seemed perfect together. “Secret Smile” was also a amazing moment for IT. The entire crowd became quiet. Not a sound could be heard except the band. “Antelope” closed the set. It was a little sloppy but all around, it was a good way to end the set.
The band came back on two minutes later, and the crowd began to chant again for “Fluffhead”. But no “Fluffhead” was in sight, for
“Good Times/Bad Times” closed the entire weekend with a big fireworks display.
Overall, the weekend was amazing. I couldn't have thought of anything I'd like to do more and if I could, I would do it again.
Matthew Durkin