Okay, so just a bit of background, I did not attend this show, but I did Couch Tour from the stream along with many other people. Being able to get the SBD of the show early in the morning is a real blessing, and I’m really enjoying being able to write this review with the recording playing in the background.

Anyway, last night’s performance at DCU Center was absolutely smoking. The band in general sounded better than I have ever heard in 3.0 (sound-wise). One of my main complaints with this era of Phish was always Trey’s “squaky” tone, from his Ocedoc guitar. As far as I can tell, the “screech and squak” is totally gone. Either I’m crazy, or he really wants to lay back a bit this summer. His playing in general is also different. Gone are the “race to the peak” jams from the last 3 years. One might wonder if this is some kind of fluke, and we’ll be back to 8 minute Ghost’s next week. But the way the approached their songs tonight, and the enthusiasm they showed for experimental jamming, makes me very hopeful. Anyway, enough n00b fluffing and on to the show...

Buried Alive opener serves no purpose other than to tell everyone that this show will rage face. Runaway Jim comes in as a more “official” opener, and is played very well. Nothing terribly out of the ordinary here, but again, very relaxed and mellow playing from Trey, which makes this a great Jim, for the 8 minutes it exists. Torn and Frayed ups the rarity factor for the set, and allows the band to rock out a bit and get the energy up in the set. Next up comes Funky Bitch. Nothing to see here folks, except for the fact that Page makes his solo, well, his Funky Bitch. Moma dance continues the Funky theme but doesn’t go anywhere interesting, other than the fact that there was a bit more wah wah in the intro, which I always like. > into Rift continues the energy from the band. The show takes a bit slower turn with Nothing, which is a song I’m not to fond of, but it works well in this mellow set. Ocelot comes up next, and while some despise this song, even the most jaded 1.0 vet can’t complain about this version. Slow and groovy, Trey really shows his newfound patience here. In my opinion, the highlight of Set 1. Then comes Beauty of a Broken Heart, while not exactly the most face melting song out there it’s nice to get some solo Page songs. Then comes a weird-o Possum. Like, “Table for one in the middle school cafeteria” weird. Then Rocky Top! closes set one. Overall, strong set, little jamming, not much to go back for other than one of the best Ocelots ever. Nice Flow, and good rarity factor. On to set II.....

Carini Opener. Brace yourselves folks, this Carini goes Type II instantly in the jam. They really stretch this one out there, and get to some interesting places in 12 minutes. This is no Essex 2011 “Dark to light” jam either. This is a deep, throbbing, jam that moves through many emotions and unique rhythms. VERY improvisational. The last few minutes reminded at least one person of the Siket Disc instrumental “My left Toe”. As it should, this jam is very “Siket-like” Then comes one of the smoothest segues of 3.0 into “Taste”. This wonderful Taste is a perfect addition to the set, and Phish does a fantastic job of matching the tone of the Carini jam. This Carini -> Taste is more than worthy of some bold type on the Jamming chart. Then comes the Ghost, which features a great, smoooooth intro, which contrasts the way Phish usually “stumbles” into the song. Even the little silent part before “I feel I..” is unique. Now describing this jam to you is tough, because it is all over the place. Definitely Type II, and changes keys twice, and ebbs and flows magnificently. One of, if not the best, Ghosts of the era. It’s only competition might be the 12/31/10 Ghost, which wasn’t anything too out of the box to be honest, and the Albany ’09 Ghost, which is longer I believe, and very good also. Anyway, you have to listen to it to decide yourself. Mike takes over in the end and throws us headfirst into Boogie On. This is fantastic. Mike absolutely dominates this jam, and he and Trey build this into an absolutely face-melting, body grooving, baby making peak. MUST HEAR.
If I Could calms things down perfectly, and is far better a choice than “Farmhouse” (a la The Gorge 2011) Quinn comes in to remind us that Phish has no plans to play the expected songs like “Bug” and “Julius” after huge jams. Then comes an excellent, mellow, non peaking Hood, then they close the set with Cavern> Buried Alive, which is really the cherry on top of this Phish sundae. Loving Cup encore is the second ‘Stones song of the night, and while some are sick of it, well, too bad. Phish obviously likes the song, and was making a statement that they loved the show also.

Overall a fantastic show, certainly one to silence the critics, and will most definitely boost some of the ticket sales this summer!