Obviously, expectations were running really high after the past two nights behind us. I was hoping we would not see a letdown on night three like the '00 run here. Some people will tell you '03 night three was a letdown, but I won't be one of those people.

SET 1: Scents and Subtle Sounds: Wow, big, huge gamble by the band opening w/ this newbie tune in the face of the aforementioned expectations. But you have to love the willingness Phish has to take chances. This Scents is not for the faint of heart. It jams way out there, a good twenty minutes or so. I personally loved it but I'm sure some will not agree w/ that sentiment. Very sweet segue into>

Theme From the Bottom: Woo hoo! Would it be as good as Philly from February? Not even close. But I love this tune when it's played just a couple of times a tour. Good Theme.

Rift: Good not great Rift. Still chasing that 100% clean Rift that I have not heard since 96. This must be such a difficult song to play!>

Sample in a Jar: Meh, it's Sample. Again.

Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley: Nice, another one we've been calling for all tour! This Sally like Scents is not for the faint of heart. Jammed out like there is no tomorrow. Definitely the highlight of the set for me. I happened to be at the 12/30/97 bust out of Sally. 7/23 is just a tad behind that one in my book. Very sweet jam.

Billy Breathes: Minor flubs, not used to hearing difficulties w/ this tune so it was a little distracting for me.

Seven Below: Very standard and short. Nothing to write home about.

Cavern: Ah Trey, you've been practicing haven't you. Quite the improvement over the debacle that was the Bonner Springs Cavern.

SET 2: Down with Disease: Great way to start off the last set of the Crick run! At 9.5 minutes it goes off into some more introspective space but by 13 minutes is back to its nasty old jamming self. At 19 minutes it calms down again and is over and done at 21 minutes and change – the last couple of minutes are very mellow but the entire body of work is impressive >

The Squirming Coil: Odd choice if you ask me. Save this for the encore but second song second set?

Makisupa Policeman: This song was quite appropriate for what happened to my dumb a** friend Pat during it! We were set up on Page side, 20 rows back: close to the aisle. He was quite open about his "smoking" and subsequently had his piece taken. Dumb***! Hilarious Makisupa w/ this as the keyword: Thought I'd write a letter to my good friends Max Creek. I said Dear Creek. [Long Pause] Then I smoked some Pot! Funny shit! Killer segue into ->

Buffalo Bill: Nice!!

Run Like an Antelope: Big dedication goes out to Antelope Greg from Trey. This version gets pretty mellow around the five-minute mark, and you can tell the boys are just settling in and will rip it in a few! At 8 minutes it slowly begins to crank back up. Page hits a really nice stride at 9:50 w/ Trey playing behind him. By 10:30 it's back to machine gun Trey, shooting holes in my brain! Nice tension and release. Sweet Antelope. Very, very impressive version, they really delivered on this one!

Thunderhead: Beautiful jam!!! >

Slave to the Traffic Light: Fuckin-A-doody! I don't care what you say, it does not possibly get any better than being at Deer Creek night 3 seeing Slave to close out the run. Magical. Apparently, the fellas read my mind and decide to melt me once again (seemed to me a constant theme for me during these shows at Deer Creek. At seven minutes Trey breaks my trance and starts machine gunning Slave the way it's meant to be! Nice, progressive build up here. Trey's solo is completely irrepressible. Was it as good 12/7/97? Course not. But I liked this version more than the Utah version if that means anything.

ENCORE: Waste - Well, at least I'm going onto Charlotte is what I first thought. However, it was played well and with plenty of feeling. Trey gave it a proper ripping!

Replay Value: Scents and Subtle Sounds, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, Down with Disease, Run Like an Antelope, Thunderhead.

Summary: What can I say? It was wonderful being back at Deer Creek amongst so many great people. This was probably, no definitely; the most fun I had on the whole tour - the experience as a whole is a must have for any serious Phish fan. Everything comes together here, and you need to see it for yourself. This was a great show and the best of the run! I would rate it a 4.4 out of 5.