I hadn't had the chance to get to a show since the end of 2009. I was actually a bit down on the 2010 tour and just felt like they weren't blowing out many big jams. I should say the playing was sounding much more polished however, but the whale call was just not my cup of tea.

Nevertheless I packed up some clothes and my buddy and I decided to make a weekend of it. We drove the 13 or so hours up from Virginia, stopped in D.C. to pick up another phan friend and made our way to Providence.

It's a town I had spent a fair amount of time in as I've had family there for a long time. It's a really cool spot in my opinion, so I was pumped Phish would be hitting 'the Dunk' or the Civic Center as it was called. I'd seen a bunch of PC Friars games there.

We got to the venue and swung through the Trinity brewing bar for some nice Imperial IPAs and there was a pretty decent Dead cover band playing in a covered tent area. It was an awesome pre-show.

The venue was pretty packed and I remember it feeling pretty hot and swampy (in a high energy sort of way).

When they kick in with Down With Disease to open the first set it bodes pretty well. This one ripped and Trey's solo was really smoking.

Funky Bitch up next was another high energy choice, and showed of similarly strong guitar theatrics.

Fluffhead in the 3 hole - heck yea, Great choice, pretty well played, and the crowd was loving it.

Roses are Free is always welcome and was a great choice for this spot.

Rift was fun and galloped along.

Moma Dance was fitting for the swampy dance vibe inside.

Ocelot was really good for my money. It loped along in a leisurely sort of way and carried that breezy Grateful Dead type of looseness. I was impressed.

NICU, Sample, Julius was a fun run of tunes to end the set. Plenty to sing along to and ample danceability.

Overall Set I: Tons of energy, good song selection kept this flowing and frankly the set seemed to zoom by.
Highlights: Ocelot, Fluffhead

I was really hoping for a heavy improv set II and I thought this show delivered in a pretty good way.

Rock and Roll was an awesome kick off. This version featured some stellar improv of the dark and dirty variety, with Trey's guitarwork towards the end of the jam proving to be pretty awesome.

It wasn't a perfect segue, but Carini was more than welcome. The song was its typical evil self growling and exploding as the crowd erupted. The jam took a turn towards the major key, which was pretty uncommon (although became the trend for many subsequent 3.0 versions). My recollection was actually a springy dancey sort of jam and Trey hit a cool guitar theme that he revisited in the Light later in the set. Page was also holding it down.

Another segue into My Problem Right there emerged out of a spacey end section. They stopped playing this after 2010 I think. This was more of a sing-a-long for everyone, but it felt pretty good after the heavy jams preceding it.

This was a good spot for Mike's. People still holding their breath for a second jam, but a strong in the box version was still plenty dark and fun. I always like the red lights Kuroda kicks into.

Sanity! Awesome choice. This was the best version I have seen. They built this noise jam at the end creating an incredible wall of sound. After a few seconds Mike hits this absolutely bonkers bass line that is just unreal. Seriously just go check that out. Unfortunately the rest of the band resists the urge to pick up on Mike's idea and the noise fizzles out into the familiar Bass of Weekapaug.

We all shared in the Groove and this was another nice spot for something upbeat. Good version if not notable.

Suzy Greenberg was fun and kept the energy riding high.

Light, deep into set II, was really welcome as the song always kicks into a nice jam. This one was a decent version, if not the most groundbreaking. It did find it's way into a nice upbeat groove and Trey was able to locate the same line he was playing during the Carini jam, which was super cool. Overall, some bonus jamming was awesome here.

Character Zero had me thinking end set, but the band had other ideas.

2001 - boom, sweaty swampy funk, energy was glorious.

Loving Cup ripped it's way to the finish line.

Encore: First Tube was it's rocking self. Great send off into the streets of Providence.

Set II: My hopes for a jam heavy set were delivered. A great mix between dark evil stuff and some more upbeat major sections. Overall a set with really incredible energy and strong jams.
Highlights: R&R -> Carini, Sanity, Light

Overall: Great show, and gave me high hopes for the following two nights in Amherst. A comfortable 4/5 and above average.