I'm a new fan - first show was actually Shoreline 2015. I had a great time. Since then, I've only been able to see shows in the Bay Area, because of life, but I've seen a few good shows. I saw the mega bustout show in 2016, along with that heavy (but short) Ghost. I got to experience that Carini at Bill Graham where Mike picked it out as one of his favorites of the tour. And, from home, I've been able to experience a few of those shows, and I've always wondered what it would be like to be at one of those. You know what I mean.

Glide and Forbins > Mockingbird had me smiling ear to ear, because I never thought I'd hear any of these songs. I'm fine with there being effectively no narration, because I got to put these in my pocket. Wolfman's Brother was up next and got pretty funky - 2021 has been a good year for Wolfman's. The big moment of the set, for me, was Stash - which got nice and dissonant and dark before landing back in Stash. Jibboo soared, and that Moonage Daydream was just heavy. I wonder what it would weigh.

The appetizer in set one was good, but the main course was certainly this Soul Planet, for 47 minutes this thing just... goes. It flowed and ebbed. It felt effortless. There are a few moments later in the jam where it feels like they were about to transition out (I swear I heard a little bit of Twist) but then it just keeps going. And going. And going. It's so well worth a full listen. As of today, it is the third longest jam they've ever played.

Everything after Soul Planet was just dessert at this point. Final Hurrah was a ton of fun and segued beautifully out of Soul Planet; Theme From the Bottom was a good one, nice and blissful... and then, as if everything before this wasn't enough, they play Part II for the first time since the 90s, and then give us a Tela, and then end it with a blissful soaring Hood.

I've been joking around on a couch tour discord with some buddies about how "they are going to play Fee tonight." I know it's probably not going to happen, but it became a joke of sorts between us all. When they came out for encore, I was thinking, "wouldn't it be funny, if........" And well, look, I feel like this is a safe space for Phish nerds, so I'll just say that there isn't a single feeling anything close to calling a song all tour only for it to pop out in the encore of the show you're at. Wilson was another victory lap.

I can't pick a point in this show that I'd call my favorite. I'd just gesture around wildly and point at everything. Rarities I never thought I'd ever hear, a multiple decade bustout, a 47 minute jam, and an encore that I've been trying to call since night one of tour. I can't even make words properly about it when I put it all together. There's a reason why I listen to every show, why I take time off work, and why I geek out so heavily. Tonight is the payoff for six years of dedicated listening and couch touring. What a beautiful night of music. I now know what it means to be at one of those.