My two cents on this controversial Halloween outing (the second set in particular).

Not being at the show myself, I can only imagine all the fan's mixed feelings of excitement, confusion, and disappointment upon being handed their Phishbills. Phish would abandon their long-loved Halloween ritual of performing a "musical costume" and instead play songs from their upcoming album "Wingsuit." Sure, who doesn't love an entire art of debuts? But what about on Halloween? The most beloved and, yes, "hallowed" days on the Phish Calendar. Why not debut these tunes in the form of a casual, 5/16/95-like outing?

The answer, I believe it is Phish giving its fans an anticipation test. It is all a test of how predictable or unpredictable people think their live shows are. We all anticipated Eat a Peach or Zeppelin II for their second set, but instead we got a set of songs that had never publicly existed until that point. We were caught off-gaurd. Phish likes that.

But were we caught off-gaurd in a good way, or a bad way? Although, since this concert, phans have grown increasingly accepting of this show's mysterious ways, the answer to that question is only answered in the mind of each individual phan that was either at the show or has heard it at a later date. My own opinion? I love most of the songs that Phish debuted, most notably Wombat, Fuego, Wingsuit, 555, and Monica. I can't wait for the new album. I still feel a little bit of the mostly-lost disappointment that I felt when I heard the news, and I definitely hope to hear the band cover Eat a Peach or Zeppelin II in the future. But mostly, I am completely comfortable with the fact that I was caught off-guard. For me it was most certainly in a good way. Oh yeah, and then the PHiSH from Vermont came out with an incredible third set for all Phans to cherish, regardless of their opinions on the second.

Just my two cents. Happy 30, Phish! See everybody at MSG!