Riding the wave of creativity of Fall 2013 and before the big peak of Summer '15, the 2014 shows offered a whole lot in the creativity department along with some very nice and precise playing.

My first chance to catch Phish was MPP and I was hitting both nights then hopping down to Portsmouth, VA for another 2.

Sample is a bit weak as an opener.

Moma and Wombat kicked in some fun funk.

Numberline was pretty typical.

Roggae in the cleanup spot was really well done. This was a big and beautiful take. I feel like they have just crushed this tune and at this point I always hope they bring it out. This is a glorious peaking version.

Wedge is a personal favorite (on a breezy summer day in Maryland).

Wolfman's was fun, but I didn't find it to be out of the ordinary.

Nellie, Lawn Boy, and the Line were all thoroughly within the lines.

Stash was a nice bit of darkness in what was otherwise a very very upbeat & happy set. Not a fantastic take, but I liked that they gave us a bit of that tension.

Suzy brought back the good times.

Overall Set I: It was a fun, and super upbeat set. Not exactly my cup of tea, but it felt like a nice way to let the air out in preparation for a big set II 3 more shows to follow. Yea, go snag that Roggae.
Highlights: Roggae!!

On to set II.

I was hoping for a big dark blowout. Carini kicked in and was an inspired choice. This version really moved around. I thought it was a pretty stellar version, covering a ton of ground in a relatively short time (although I think this one clocked in at a respectable length as well!)

Nice little -> into Ghost. Energy was through the roof as this one promised another big jam. I didn't think it was 100% the best segue, but I wasn't really complaining. This one was a real blast too. I remember when they got through the lyrics and Trey hit a note and just let it hang. It was so incredibly open. I love when they just wait a few beats as if to collect their breath before signaling a journey. The name of the game here was fun. This was like a classic rock vamp that built pretty nicely. No truly soaring peak or deep and dirty grooves, but a great upbeat jam.

They broke it down a bit and Trey hit the opening notes to Steam. They really could have had a -> with just a touch more patience. Again, I wasn't complaining. Steam is great to hear, the last one I heard at Hampton was great. This one had an atypical ending jam and Mike was pretty prominent from my recollection. They found an awesome little segue here as the Mango lick emerged! Awesome!

Mango was great, and a big upgrade over some versions I'd seen. Love it, awesome spot after some great jamming.

Monica fit the breather spot, but kept the energy pretty high. It's an ok tune.

Light is another oft jammed song. This one broke out pretty quickly into a nice jam and Page was really shining at the end as he guided the band into 2001.

Really nice ->, Page driven, and this version was a nice cherry on a great set. Give everyone a big ol' dance groove.

Harry Hood was another heavy hitter to finish us off. This was a good version. I don't think I'd put it on par with the one they played the previous year at MPP (that Trey peak!), but this one was also much more memorable than many of the standard Hoods of 3.0.

Julius was a good encore. I was fine to give myself another 8 or so minutes to groove.

Overall Set II: Really good set. Lots of jamming and great songs (Mango and Steam were nice mid set treats). I thought this show was one of those not legendary but so much fun types, where the jamming is there (without having the atom bomb moment) and they play Light->2001 > Hood to close out. It's non-stop smiles in this one.
Highlights: Everything but Monica, but honestly, I'd grab this set 2 and just give it a listen all the way through.
3.5/5 Good times!