The second night of my first experience of the historical venue Deer Creek. After adjusting to the heat the first night, it only got hotter the next day (thank goodness for shakedown street for the cold refreshments).

The first set got off to a quick start with a semi-rare Phish tune Crowd Control. It was my first time ever hearing the tune, but it suffices as a set opener to get everybody moving. From there, Dinner and a Movie, which hadn't been played since the '11 UIC run in the same exact same set placement, surprised many but was a welcome addition. The elusive song selection didn't stop there with Velvet Underground's Sweet Jane being busted out, the first time in over 14 years and only the 3rd time ever.

The first set didn't end there with surprising songs; Mound and Life on Mars? were both played for the first time since SBIX. Musically, the highlights of the first set would have to be the tight Mound and Life on Mars? (thanks soundcheck), and the raging Possum.

Now for my favorite part of the show and coincidentally the first leg of the '12 tour, the 2nd set.

The musical highlights of the night all occur here. DwD was energetic and flowing. Sand was just flat out jammed out, definitely a must-hear highlight and in my opinion DwD>Sand is the highlight of the tour so far.

Twist had a clever maneuver from Trey, which broke from the usual Twist verses, that he twisted Mike and Page's letters in their names around. Twist was tight with more room to jam, although it was abruptly cut off with Trey leading the band into Rift.

The Rift was a basic one and not out of the ordinary. Bathtub Gin held a very tight jam led by Page when Trey was "twisting" Fish's name around. Although the Gin is short (only 8 mins), it is a pleasure filled 8 minutes that segues seamlessly into Fluffhead (another one of my favorites).

The Fluffhead was played very precisely and tight with little miscues. Out of Fluffhead came Ride Captain Ride, yet another rare bustout. As it was my first Ride Captain Ride, I was ecstatic when it was being played.

And to close the second set, Run Like An Antelope was a blast. With teases from Ride Captain Ride, Twist quotes, and more it's an action packed Antelope that ends with a little game of Marco Polo with the band and the crowd.

The encore was raging with an always energy filled Cavern segued into a Sanity. The sanity was insane. The band knew they couldn't leave everybody off with Sanity, so they busted right into the groove full First Tube.

To wrap it all up, the second night of Deer Creek had it all with many rare live songs in Crowd Control, Sweet Jane, Ride Captain Ride, and Sanity, jam filled ragers in DwD, Sand, and Bathtub Gin, and tight played complicated pieces like Fluffhead and Mound. The combination of these made for a great time for everybody at the show. I'm glad to be able to say I was there, and I enjoyed being there with all of you who made it as well!