Corporate promo gig or not, there isn't a Phish fan out there who wouldn't have liked to be in attendance for this show, with its intimate 3,500 seat capacity. Reminiscent of the Flynn '97 which was a one-off small venue show as a Ben & Jerry's promo. To see Phish in such a small venue is a rare treat for any fans who weren't seeing shows in the early 90's.
The Met was one of the most hyped shows in quite some time, and all those who couldn't be there were tuned into the audio stream to find out what was going to go down.

Musically, this show featured some interesting segues, some funky grooves, and markedly slower tempos on a number of tunes. Tweezer, Chalkdust, Mike's, and Twist notably had a more slinky pace than usual - not quite to the extent of a "Slow Llama', but quite apparent. This listener happens to be fine with a slower paced funky groove and voiced no objections. The several return segues to Tweezer made for an interesting setlist construction, but in at least one instance (out of Moma?) felt very forced - as opposed to the same-key slickness of Tweezer>Free. Though 'Hello my Baby' was the biggest show-gap bust-out of the show, the tune that felt like the biggest prize to pop up in the first set was 'Jesus Just Left Chicago' which found Page in very fine form, and Trey boasting some tasty blues riffs. Standouts in Set 2 were, IMO, the slinky groove out of Mike's and the true gem of the night, 2001. The odd Mike's Groove sandwich of Sparkle and Ass Handed were amusing, in classic Phish fashion, but didn't exactly provide re-listen value. The 2001 on the other hand is probably the one track most fans will revisit from this show - 11 minutes of goodness that peak into an interstellar liftoff, aided by deep envelope filter tones from Mike and wild synths that created an exciting, futuristic soundscape. For a tune that seems to rarely get the 10+ minute treatment any more, this seemed to be the gift of the night - with Phish pushing into exciting new territory which I hope will be revisited and expanded upon.

For those who managed to get into the building, there is no doubt that this was a special night - maybe one of the most special nights - in their history with the band. For those listening along at home, there were some tasty nuggets sprinkled here and there along with some playing that was at times disjointed, as if the band was having trouble hearing each other, keeping time, and making cues. That said, the good far outweighed the bad, as it always does with a Phish concert. I, for one, am heading off to listen to that 2001 again.