When the universe tells you something, you should listen. I was supposed to go to night 2 in Alpharetta, but through a snafu with my ticket provider, I ended up switching to this show about 4 hours before the boys took the stage, so instead of going home after a long work week, I was in my car driving to Alpharetta. Let me just say that the universe was right to send me to this show.
First Tube kicking things off was a total surprise to me, but the perfect start to a set
Filled with fire and exploration. NMINML followed, and while I’m more familiar with the earlier catalog, this song is growing on me, and this version was pretty great. Following that, however, was the centerpiece of the set, a 20 minute monster of a Ghost. The boys jammed this one in so many different directions, and I can’t wait to give it a re-listen! At one point I think I caught a harbinger of things to come when Page teased the Martian Monster that was on the way.
All of These Dreams isn’t one I had ever heard before and was a nice break, but when Free came out, the crowd went nuts. For me, it was especially meaningful as this way first show since ATL summer 2000. I indeed felt the feeling I forgot with this standard, but energetic Free.
Martian Monster was solid as always, followed by Tube, which has always been a favorite. I was feeling a little bit of a space theme going, and wondered if a 2001 might be in the coming, but instead we got a 555 with some really nice jams, followed by a Walls of the Cave which left us hungry for more.
My prediction for the second set was either a Mike’s opener or a Tweezer, and as it turned out, Tweezer one the day and came out of the Gates with a massively exploratory rendition. The Blaze On that followed rocked the house before drifting in to a nice Prince Caspian, but none of us were prepared for what would come next in the form of a 20 minute Carini that took exploration to another level. This will most likely go down as The Carini of all Carinis.
Simple and Winterqueen were standard but great, and the boys reached deep into their past to pull out a fantastic Harry Hood to close the set.
I was ready for a Tweeprise encore, but the surprise came with More instead, leaving a treat on the table for those lucky enough to be coming to the other shows of this run.
This is a must listen show, not just out of 3.0, but from the entire Phish catalog.