This show was the perfect start to the weekend. Having not seen a show since Vegas the prior Fall I was amped up and ready to go. Simple was a nice pleasant surprise to start with (though perhaps slightly less of a surprise since it had the same slot at MPP the weekend before). Concise solid version, crisp and tight then a hearty cheer from the crowd as we went back to October and revisited The Dogs (complete with introductory sound bite). This version is probably my favorite since its debut, as some of the others have fallen a bit short.

We then had our first bust out of the weekend with TMWSIY > Avenu > TMWSIY, while a decent version Trey sounded a bit hesitant until they get to the faster paced Avenu. I suppose that's to be expected given that the song hadn't been played in over 3 years. Free was relatively standard, I had been kind of hoping for some Martian Monster elements but I wouldn't be rewarded with that until Vegas. After a touching Happy Birthday tribute to Trey's oldest daughter Eliza, the band went into Eliz....errr, actually they went into Wedge. Standard version more or less but no complaints.

Then came the bust out of the weekend with Mock Song. As with the only other time they did this tune, there was no real exploration or jam but the song doesn't really lend itself to that. The Clifford, Super, Magnaball line was a nice touch as well and I'm sure many were happy to check this song off. Roggae was a bit lacking from Trey on the intro, but it picked up once they got going and then a solid Rift followed.

Then came what I consider to be the highlight of this show (as I'm sure many others would agree). This Gin is a Set 1 monster, I'm not going to bother trying to describe it just do yourself a favor and listen to it. Even if you only listen to one tune from this show.

After our first set break of the weekend (and exploring the food offerings nearby a bit), we were back with the ever growing in frequency set 2 opener Chalk dust. A very solid version, doesn't quite hit the Randall's 2014 Night 3 level as it goes into Ghost, but very good nonetheless. Ghost was chopped a bit prematurely by Trey (it sounded like anyway), my friends I was with thought the segue into Rock & Roll was a bit sloppy but I didn't feel it was. I would argue that it seemed the other guys didn't really want to go there but Trey pushed ahead, maybe that's why it came off that way to them who knows.

Hood was fun as always, though Waste seemed a bit misplaced to me here, especially sandwiched between Hood and the 2015 Tour rockstar No Men in No Man's Land (I go back and forth between this or Blaze On being my favorites). A great Slave to end the set.

I think we were all expecting something a bit more upbeat but I was happy with Farmhouse. Nothing stand out about this version, I was hoping they'd play something a bit more energetic after and was granted my wish with First Tube. Awesome.

All in all a solid night 1 with some bust outs, great jams and overall tight playing. This was a good indicator of the fun to come, what more could one ask for?