, attached to 2009-11-28

Review by Menses

Menses I could easily go on and on about this show, but calling it a show or concert simply isn't doing it justice, it was an experience. Night two in Albany was one of those rare occasions where everything just seems to "click". The energy flow between band, audience and Chris Kuroda's MASTERFUL light display was awe inspiring, the vibration of life was strong and everyone was riding the wave.

Take the Seven>Ghost out of the equation and you could still write home about this performance. All the new songs played happen to be my favorites and are the finest renditions of each you'll find to date, all the classics are tight and Uncle Pen was a very, very pleasant surprise. Treys guitar licks and tone during Stealing Time are SEARING, Alaska is this centuries "Tennessee Jed" and to start out the 1st set was "Party Time", literally the perfect song to set the mood for what was to come. Set 1 was a dance party.

At set break you could tell the audience knew it was in for a special night, what will forever be known as the "Albany Seven-Ghost" was proof that Phish is not only back, but in old form. Seven's jam kept coming in wave after wave, each time driving the crowd into a frenzy, each more rowdy than the last. Even the most reserved people around me couldn't help but scream and high five as each peak was hit, only to be driven to even further heights of excitement over and over again. The jam teased too many songs to rehash but the whole time I would have bet the farm that 2001 was coming soon with the way page was "droning" the first note through almost the entire jam. I was wrong, but couldn't be happier with what was to come.

Ghost started out standard fare, and soon morphed into a dark, foreboding assault on the senses. Again CK's amazing lighting display fully engulfing you and taking you off to the Mothership, off to "that" place between here and there, the reason I and countless others go see Phish. The "backlighting" employed towards the end of this EPIC jam was one of the coolest visuals Ive ever seen at a show, there's a few videos on YouTube that show it, but it doesn't even come close to making you feel the way it did when you witness thousands of people being illuminated, strobing and changing colors "floating" above the band. Seven set it all up, and Ghost knocked it all down.

The rest of the set was great, Gotta Jibboo was tight and made me fall in love with the "siren sound" Trey loves to loop all over again. Wolfman's and Julius capped off arguably the best set of 2009 (night 1 in Philly was amazing as well).

One word to describe the YEM encore (notably the vocal jam) was spiritual, my favorite to date.

This show is a must have, after many, many listens from beginning to end I can easily say this is one of the greatest concerts, or should I say "experiences" I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing.


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