, attached to 2019-12-31

Review by Juliusismypetcat

Juliusismypetcat I hesitated at first to provide a review because I think I'm still processing what I saw a day and a half later.

TLDR version: Solid show overall, and where would you rather be on NYE?

Set 1
Martian Monster gets the party rockin with some filth right off the bat. From section 322, the party was full-throttle; a short but sweet opener to get us up and moving. With the opening to Buried Alive, we all knew it was gonna be a great night. AC/DC was standard--but that's still great! Halley's has a special place in my heart, and was welcome in any capacity. However, this longer-than-usual in 3.0 version was excellent. I hesitate to use the "R" word, but it certainly felt like it would have blasted off if given a few more minute to breathe. Alas, Caspian is an excellent set 1 sing along and The Garden is bubbling with smiles. The train keeps rolling for Sparkle. Just a good ole fashioned throw-down. Axilla was fun to experience in this environment and the anthem-rock nature of the refrain was just plain perfect when looking out on the crow of phans screaming "AXILLA!" in unison. Here we pause for some stage banter, which admittedly, we couldn't really understand from up in our area. However, the weirdness was welcome as the entry-point for my first ever Maze. This one has got quite a few bags of goodies to pass out. Don't skip it! I needed a breather after raging the Maze, and I could barely believe the opening notes of Fluff! While not perfectly executed, it was still a welcome /unexpected treat to hear this behemoth. Rise/Come Together sends us packing on the first set with some smiles and high fives.

Set 2
For many of us, we like to think we know what the Phish from Vermont have up their sleeve. If you haven't figured out that abandoning your expectations is the only way to really get the most of your Phishing, then I don't know what else I can say for you. Conversely, when the lights went down for the second set, I said, "I feel a PYITE" to my seat partner. Holy cow was that surreal to just "know" it was coming like that!!! (And now I will go my entire life without being able to call it ever again I'm sure.) Wolfman's gets dark and dank with the whole room swaying. This entire set flowed beautifully. Light is magnificent and for this listener's ears, there was a "flavor" of some ABB influences--not necessarily prominent to be called a "tease". The Twist is where it's at if you can only listen to one thing from this show. I could feel my brain liquefy and puddle on the floor around me. This is why we Phish. While I could sense some folks in my section not feeling the Soul Planet, I was most certainly fired up. This one goes for a quick dip into funk-town. While perhaps not jam-chart worthy, I felt it very unique. Mercury continues to be a steady workhorse and never disappoints. My third and final of 2019!!! Finally, a much needed Type 1 Possum brings out the rowdy in us all. Up from the 300's, I felt like I was at a football game with the crowd gearing up for 3rd down of the opposing team. A little extra mustard on our road kill in this one.

Set 3
I won't give a detailed account of set 3 because much will already be written and spoken of with the whole Trey being stuck debacle. All I'll say is that I thought the gag was a home run (aside from the technical issues) and the band handled the whole situation with great professionalism. It's a mark of how truly awesome this fanbase is that most people were more concerned about Trey's well-being than for the show to go on (but I mean come on.....we all wanted him to just finish it up right?). The song choices for set 3 were the perfect "jukebox Phish" and I use that term here in a positive manner. Loved the call to play Sand 20 years after Big Cypress. Amazing crowd energy during the quiet parts of WTU? and a clone-produced extra vocals in YEM were all I could ever want.

Considering that I have seen two shows in the last yearish with a Tweezer but no Tweeprise, it felt fitting that my 2019 come to an end this way. Rescue Squad the cherry on top of a great time, and happy for Trey to get down safely.


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