I can honestly say I called the opener for this one. Drove in the day before and stayed at the camp grounds, drinking wine and meeting new heads. The drive from Potsdam NY where I was going to college to Buffalo is a hell of a drive. But on with the review.
SET ONE- PYITE, called it. High Energy and high impact this set the tone for the night IMO. Second, Reba- This Reba was probably as good if not as good as the first Reba i heard in Glens Falls. I was lucky to catch probably the 2 best versions Phish had played. This continued to be the best 1-2 phish punch we have gotten at a start of a show, third came...Albuquerque. Nice Cover, Carini seemed to shatter the calm of Albuquerque, Carini was just downright hard and seemed to be one of the best versions i have heard live. Oh Kee Pah > Suzie Greenberg was a solid reality that Phish is anything but a band, they continued this Suzie G into the downpour which i think Trey knew it was coming, animals have a sense of knowing when storms are approaching and they were not human the way this Suzie was going.
SET TWO- freezing and cold on the hill, Drowned, a good extended jam but seemed a little to ambient for us poor wet children on the hill. Crosseyed got the mud, the water and the blood flowing a little bit, good playing, seemed like the energy is coming back. Dog Faced Boy > Caspian, eh. Love em both but wasn't feeling this at the moment. On tape it was solid, live in the cold it was just another stage before hypothermia kicked in. They closed the show with Loving Cup which IMO is one of the best Phish covers, thanks for keeping us warm with the playing. The Encore needed to be something solid, it seemed like a majority of the lawn was either empty at this point or everyone huddled up near the "tent top". Driver > Inlaw > Sample, I really enjoyed these three together. Was hoping for something to really hit home and leave us with something to talk about. Not a bad show, regarding he weather this wasn't Darien 97 but it was phish and I am grateful to have survived the rainstorm.