Phish wasted no time showing their fan base that their triumphant return to one of their most hallowed venues would be exactly that: triumphant. A smoldering combo of Axilla > Rift, both seemingly played with an extra dash of Cholula, really kicked things off nicely. The energy was palpable through the AUD and you could feel the crowd frenzy-ing after the vocal-trill ending of Rift. Bathtub Gin comes in next, and so far in 2003, we are batting 1.000 with Gins. This one, the shortest to date (in 2003), leaves nothing to the imagination. A precursor of sorts to the styles of Gin we hear today, this one wasn't an exploratory, transcendent groove-machine a la 7.9 or 2.28. or 2.2.22 or 2.14. Instead it was a "From Concentrate" Gin that was most likely 60% ABV, if not more. This thing is fierce and has a bite! It builds into a hot climax with plenty of Trey-led crush-ness happening. What a wallop! Then it fades ever so briefly into a Gin-them fakeout and the jam subsides into a soft landing, while never breaking beat, and eventually morphing very nicely -> Mango Song, What a way to start the show! Axilla > Rift, Gin -> Mango! Holy Crap! Mango was played very well and kept the impeccable flow raging at Flood Stage level. Roggae was a PERFECT compliment to Mango, and this one, although not an all-timer, fit the set perfectly. This Roggae has more of an edge to it - still pretty and fluttery - but also crunchy. I dig. I am not the biggest fan of Discern, but its placement here was not that bad. It fit the slow-down trio-motif of Mango, Roggae, Discern that countered that frenetic trio motif of Axilla, Rift, Gin. Phish is showcasing very good balance in this set. Discern, song wise, is fine. It's just that damn jam section. They just kinda wander for a bit, with no leader or even direction. Oh well. Not the worst choice in the world, but definitely not the best. A wacky I Didn't Know reprised the comedy from the Kansas show, complete with THE FIRST EVER VERSION OF DUST IN THE WIND PLAYED ON A VACUUM. Show notes gold right there. This little break provided a big uptick in energy for the set, got us all in a feel-good mood again, and we were ready for more! A highly cost-effective Bowie drops in next. Listening in the moment, I was very impressed with the fury of this Bowie in such a short time frame. A total song length of barely 11 minutes, this Bowie uses every second to scorch the Wisconsin countryside. Wow! A handful of truly locked-in, blazing apexes sends us off into setbreak with a smorgasbord of high-quality set 1 jams and very good flow... even if the set itself was a little short.

Sometimes all you need is one song to define a show. Even with the quality of Set 1, this Down with Disease eclipses the sum of everything else in this show. Holy cow is this thing good. 26 minutes of everything your heart desires, this DWD is simply fantastic. It starts off burning phosphorus. Untouchably hot. Wow. Untouchably isn't a word, but that doesn't mean it cannot describe the heat the fist 5 minutes of this jam produce. They are just killing it. The band shifts into a DWD-themed fakeout, like Gin, before taking off into another dimension entirely. They converse musically for about 4 minutes, trying to figure out the next phase of this journey, and eventually lock into this almost surf-rock, up-tempo groove. This is one of my favorite segments of summer. It is so good. Bouncey. Peppy. Spunky. All with an edge. The jam really takes on a persona of "I Mean Business" and the business is prohibited! Dance moves arose that were so controversial that I can't legally describe them to you. SO here we are, 17 minutes in and BAM they just keep going. The jam wave crashes onto an ocean of hard-rock, demented riffing that will make you flail your arms and bang your head grunge style. Great stuff here. The jam rampages onward as the Catapult lyrics are recited over the slowly fading, yet still fiery jam. Finally, the flame exhausts all fuel and... is there anything left? Is anyone alive? The fact that you and other fans survived this jam is a testament to the heartiness of Phish fans. What a jam!!! Bug is beautifully played and placed, as we needed a cool down moment. Even still, this extended Bug really got after it, with Trey obviously feeling inspired from the gargantuan DWD that preceded it. Secret Smile was uninvited, and did not fit the bill for a follow up song to Bug. Two Versions of Me really didn't help get us off the path that Secret Smile started. It was a fine version, but a mid set trio of Bug (even though this was a great version), Secret Smile, Two Versions of Me was, uh, underwhelming considering that groundwork that DWD laid. A grimy, dark, dissonant Twist takes us into outer space, but still lacks that fire that DWD burned so richly. Perhaps that DWD did exhaust all the fuel...? This Twist might pique your interest if you;re into super dark and discorded Phish, but for me, this version is forgettable. A rollicking but almost premature-feeling Character Zero closes the set with serious musical fireworks... but it was almost a "too little too late" type of version. A huge, exploratory Hood pops into the encore slot with great gusto and surprise! This version follows the pipeline of almost all 2003 Hoods, meaning it builds into typical Hood fashion, then reaches a false summit (where you think they're gonna explode into YOU CAN FEEL GOOD) but instead they drop down into a second groove. Though similar into pattern, the feel and energy of this Hood is a little lacking (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because I find 2003 to be a great year for Hoods), so by comparison it isn't as strong as previous Hoods, but it is still one kick-ass encore!

Must-hear jams: Bathtub Gin -> Mango Song, Down with Disease -> Catapult!!!!!
Probably-should-listen-to jams: Roggae, David Bowie, Harry Hood