Things got off to a fun start but earlier than expected. We came in during the middle/end of Party time. Followed by a rockin, short version of 46 Days. All good by me! Another short tune, Poor Heart so obviously the anticipation was mounting. With the cue of the "woman" track, I immediately thought it was Martian Monster but delighted that The Dogs were out tonight. My buddy Ethan hadn't heard the song at all so we were both siked to get some fresh tunes. Then Bathtub, always a favorite of mine. I must have said this a hundred times but during the jam, Fishman was pushing the tempo to try to bring some life into the set. Pushing the pulse helped to get the crowd going for sure. FEFY started and we weren't sure if this was actually happening. A pretty rare tune now, right? Love the lyrics, great feel, although they didn't bring the studio style energy that is my point of reference FEFY. Still good to hear them digging deeper. How Many People brought the intensity up a notch with a droney, ripping jam section and vocal teases by Mike (somebody said Beatles maybe?). Going to listen now.....Strange Design...just hit me in the heart and reminded me that I should relax amidst a busy time. Not a perfect version by any stretch but doesn't need to be. Then...rollin' in the Fuego!! Rockin and as you guys know, the crowd goes nuts for the "OOOH" part.

So Cities is where things started to getting strange. Trey broke a string right after they started I think. Guitar goes way out of tune, he calls for the tech to come out. Brian hands him the other guitar while he's still singing the song. The broken string got caught on Trey's shirt and he tries to rip it off which lead a to clumsy transaction. The crowd freaks out and he take the opportunity to introduce Brian and make it fun. Then Cities gets downright funky into a synthy space jam where Trey ran to the Marimba. Swells everywhere as Mike goes to the guitar but he can't figure out how to turn it on. Haha!! Brian comes back out and gives Mike a somewhat lengthy tutorial. Then more space funk to the max! As the tune comes to an end, the crowd is going bonkers at this point. Then Space Oddity to end. Freakin' sweet. I'm honored to have seen that song live.

Second set, as they started Ghost I was returning from a beer run/pee break. Listened from the concessions as they do the classic awkward Ghost break haha. Will they ever get that right? Doesn't matter though. The jam was awesome and segued into Light well. the Light jam had some really high points and almost a Foam-esque beat to it. I thought for sure Mike would start slapping the Foam line to start the song. Also, a "Tahoe Tweezer" cheer section happened which I didn't pick up on right away since I've only heard that version once or twice. Anyhow, top notch and was the most solid jamming of the show I think.

As Wolfman's started people were loving it!! when they get to the funk section, I'm not sure exactly when but out goes the PA. Of course, I picked up on it quickly and alerted my friends to make sure I wasn't crazy. I could hear Fishman pretty well with Trey playing along side him because we were in the pavillion but not much else. Apparently the Lawn sound never returned for the rest of the show. Mike was playing keys with Page too but it was barely audible. When you listen to the recording, it's a very sick keys/drum jam and they are really connecting. You can't tell that the sound cut out. I saw Trey talk to someone in the front row briefly and their instruments weren't coming out of the PA so they quietly left, with all of us puzzled. Was it a "Ghost" in the machine?

They come back out with Chalkdust but kept it brief while the sound engineers are troubleshooting. The sound never came back to the original settings because they probably lost a few Line Array speakers. From what I remember, I think Mikes' bass was way quieter and surprisingly more focused than the sub-by bass woof in the pavilion. Vocals also seemed down in the mix or something. Then a quick Saw it Again and Back on the Train too. Fun but lacked the same energy due to the sound issues. As they started Slave, I was pumped!! Love that song and a great way to wrap up the set.

Encored with I Am the Walrus. Not rock solid however I love the lyrics and enjoy that one. At the end, everyone expected a big encore because of the weird sound issues plaguing the night. A bow from the band, house lights come on, and cue house music. Goodnight folks!