Wow what a show. We know expectations should be avoided going in, but this was my 36th birthday, a Sunday show, and the 20th anniversary of Jerry's passing, so it was hard not to expect something great. After a strong show the night before, we awoke to a cloudy morning, but the sun broke through later that afternoon and we enjoyed a low-key, relaxing time on the lot before the show.

The second-ever Very Long Fuse opened, literally starting things off with a bang. When we heard those familiar opening chords of Col. Forbin, we knew we were in for something special. The narration seems a little silly (with a very corny "second shitter on the grassy knoll" joke) but has lots of meaning when you give it some thought. Trey starts with a joke about not being much of a talker anymore, which seems to me like a tongue-in-cheek reference to refraining from some of the marching powder that may have fueled things in the past. But then the lines of time become much more blurred - the story is supposed to happen "this morning" but there are at least a couple hints that this is really a timeless parable. Most glaring is the "mixtape" - c'mon - it's 2015. There is also mention of the weather and there not being a cloud in the sky that morning. Well, the sky was nothing but clouds until later in the afternoon, so it seems like this story really could have taken place any other morning. And then finally we hear about shifting perspective from what is seen on stage to what is seen on the lawn. Reminded me of the various perspectives seen in cubist art, which is based on the idea of time being an illusion and things being seen from multiple perspectives at one time. Then we get the shitting bird, which could represent Jerry (would be interested in your thoughts on this) and the metaphor could be Trey's way of showing humility and respect for Jerry after taking his place on stage for 3 HUGE shows little more than a month earlier and just a few miles south. Then Trey thanks the mockingbird twice for inspiration. I don't know, but we had a nod to Jerry 3 years later with the 8-9-98 Terrapin Station and I was lucky enough to celebrate my 26th and hear Trey do Ripple on 8-9-05 at White River in Indy, so I don't know how the 20th could go by without some recognition, especially after the FTW shows earlier that summer. Anyway, the seemingly silly speech broke down the illusion of time and really seemed to show the eternal Jerry / Trey connection; maybe Trey is the second shitter?

From there on out, we get a ridiculously sick show. Nothing but bustouts in the first set. I would consider myself a vet but caught several first-timers in this one. And if I'm making a dream setlist, there's no doubt that SOAMelt is closing the first set.

Then there's nothing better to keep the energy going than Antelope to open the second. The Carini and Waves are great, as well. On to Tweezer. Clearly one of the top 3 from Summer 2015, along with 8-1 and 8-22. I would have picked 8-22 as my favorite until really recently, but now have to say 8-9 takes the cake. Just beautiful and is much more subtle than 8-22. The Mike's is great and features the second jam that would have been shocking had it been played just a week earlier. But what I love most is the symmetry between the second song of the first set (Forbin) and the penultimate song of the second; the "climb that hill" in Blaze On was inspirational and so appropriate for the steep lawn at Alpine. After the shout-out to the lawn in Forbin; the Blaze On was a great way to tell us to keep on Truckin'.

And the encore was fun and the icing on [my birthday] cake. This is my pick for best show of an incredible Summer 2015. Only some attendance bias (I also went to Magnaball and Dick's) but maybe birthday bias plays a part. Hope the rest of them are even half this fun.