I haven't chimed in with a review in a while. Listening back to the Ziggy set now after the initial impact of the webcast (the day after), and other listens. I feel compelled to say a few things. Firstly, when Bowie died in January, I was one of those people that put their headphones on, walked out of the office, cranked Starman, and balled my eyes out. Not so much out of sadness (though I was sad), just because of how much his music and persona has meant to me and so many other people I cherish. Anyway, it hit me and we cried and danced and celebrated. Not many artists mean as much to me as Bowie did and does, but Phish is certainly one of them. So already this was a win in my books, in much the same way that seeing Trey play with the Dead last summer was thrilling just to see him on the stage, standing in for Jerry. So take this with a grain of salt if you must...

Musically it's been an odd year for the band, but that doesn't mean it hasn't had its highlights, and after what they put together in 2015, no one is in any position to complain. The fact is I thought the band was done in 2004, and from that perspective we're on year eight of bonus material. Let that sink in for a second. The fact that these same four guys are still playing music 30 plus years in and reaching the heights they're still capable of is a staggering accomplishment in the history of rock n roll. So let's get that out of the way, too.

What I absolutely loved about the Ziggy set is the emotional earnestness that arose from it, and how Bowie, his songs and music, his influence on Phish, Phish's history, and Trey's, all of it, informed the overall impact. "Five Years" has never been more relevant as a song as it is today in the world, with the ice caps melting (to say nothing of next week's election). And yet the beauty of that song was also in how personal it could also feel. You can't help also thinking with the band exchanging verses, and sharing the chorus, just how many years they've got left. A feeling of gravity and gratitude just kind swelled up in me listening to it, and it makes me emotional to think about even now.

They fucking slayed Moonage Daydream.

I've fantasized about Phish playing the title track for probably twenty years. Funny, in my mind it was always Trey singing it (in addition to slinging that iconic riff). To see Page get up and walk over next to Trey and sing about Ziggy in the third person, with Trey inevitably in that role, playing guitar, making love with his ego, breaking up the band (remember that? twice?), I was just floored by how much I genuinely love these guys. And how I much I loved Bowie, and how lucky we are to still have them.

Oh that was alright, the band was altogether

For however many years we've got left.