Set 1 Highlights: Tweezer, Pebbles and Marbles*, You Enjoy Myself* (*Standout Version)

Set 2 & Encore Highlights: Wolfman's Brother > Makisupa Policeman, Possum*, Contact* (*Standout Version)

Night two of Phish's return to Hampton Coliseum begins with the opening riff of Tweezer sneaking out of the speakers. This Tweezer is a wonderful, extra-funky version that you can tell got the crowd rocking immediately. Tweezer slides into a perfectly placed and well-played Theme from the Bottom after a strong peak. After a minute or so of silence, Fish kicks into the drum beat of Foam and you can tell already that this set is going places. Foam itself is very well played and you can tell they spent some time really practicing that song. The debut of Pebbles and Marbles, one of my favorite "once a year" songs, comes next. This version absolutely smokes and you can hear just how excited the band was to play it as they go into the jam. The final seven minutes of the song feature some really explosive, (don't throw rocks) DWD-esque playing by Trey. The band takes a couple well deserved minutes to catch their breath and figure out what to play next. The return of YEM serves to be the perfect decision until...it all falls apart in the intro. Trey has some hilarious banter about how they had practiced the song and how disappointed he is. They give it another go and immediately, you could tell that Trey was internally really pissed that they blew that song of any as an intensity that prevails throughout the whole version. The George Takei vocal jam is pretty funny too and I'm not a big fan of vocal jams. Definitely worth checking out even beyond the novelty of the initial trainwreck. Overall, I loved this set and it is my favorite of this New Years Run by a pretty considerable margin. I feel like it serves as the precursor of some of the very well-crafted 2003 first sets (7/9, 2/20). Birds of a Feather begins the second set in straight ahead, high intensity fashion. A super slinky Wolfman's Brother comes up next and features and an extended version of the normal Wolfman's jam with a very strong peaked tacked on before dropping into a fun, spacey Makisupa Policeman, complete with Trey shouting out the everyone's favorite Waffle House that's right across from the Coliseum's entrance. The next segment leading up to Possum didn't do much for me. Possum closes out the set in rocking fashion with Trey repeatedly striking at the peak, a very fun version. Contact opens up the encore and features a must-hear, extended funk jam before dropping into Tweezer Reprise to close out the night. Overall a great show with a little bit of a lag in the fourth quarter. Absolutely must-hear first set though!