A fun show with some real highlights. For the first time ever I missed the start of a Phish show, due to exceptional venue organization (see below). Only missed the Happy Bday and a couple minutes of Free, but I like to see the full show regardless. So I was contending with a bit of a scattered mindset at the start, which took a bit to fade.

I, unlike many, quite enjoyed Trey's high singing in McGrupp. Does he have a future in the opera? No, but it's clear he's been working hard on his singing voice and it shows. I thought the higher range gave the harmonized vocals a nice shimmery effect, and injected some different energy to the traditionally stoic vocals of this oldy. Nicely executed McGrupp with some great play on the Grand by Page.

We had seats near the back of the pavilion, Mike-side. Right on the outer edge, which afforded excellent people watching. Kids chasing balloons, adults feeling the effects of balloons, EMTs hard at work, attempts to fool pavilion ticket checkers, etc. The sound was ok. Mike was hard to hear, and this being my first Serek show I was unsure whether all the anti-hype I'd been hearing about it was true. I missed the clarity, punch, and depth of the Modulus at this show. Spoilers, he sounded great on the lawn at the Mann the next 2 shows, so it wasn't merely the Serek at fault. On the other hand, Trey's tone is great. To my surprise he was not playing the 4.0 Languedoc, instead playing the late 90s 'Doc. He does seem to struggle getting the same sustain he used to, but he's optimizing his rig a LOT (see his What Are You Doing? with his guitar tech) and overall I think this is his best post-hiatus tone yet.

I had high hopes they'd go deep on TFFB when it started up later in set 1, but they had me fooled and instead went to town on KDF. Wow. If you like big jams, just go listen. They cap it off with a soaring, major-key theme that felt Allman-esque.

Imma say it...never been a fan of Suzy. But it did T up a monster Tweezer, so props for that. Old Faithful Tweezer; every version I've seen live has just cleaned up. This one went for over 27 minutes, and I feel it had two distinct movements to the jam. The first section had some nice exploration and was largely major-key. I thought I caught an allusion to Zeppelin's In The Light (the intro, upward run) in here, and also heard them revisit it somewhere during the Mann shows. I love me some dark/minor Phish, but they seem to be inhabiting major-key jamming a bit more frequently these days (especially compared to many of the 2022 summer shows I caught, which featured lots of dark jams and dissonance). Anywho, the lads flirted with the main Tweezer riff on and off, but didn't pull the plug. Good things often come when Phish doesn't pull the plug, and after the second round of the main riff around 22 minutes in, Page was like "HOLD MY BEER" and started laying it out thiiiiick on the synthesizer. Section 1 gives way to Section 2: Groove. Mike turned on his distorted synth effect, Fish loosened up the beat, and we had us a full blown dance party on our hands. Page went to town, faces began to drip onto people's shirts, and he eventually ceded control via the chaotic rising twister effect on the synth. Trey immediately jumped in with what was definitively the dirtiest, most disgusting little run I've ever heard someone play on guitar. It wasn't just in the pocket, it WAS the pocket. Absolute madhouse groove in this moment. A couple minutes of more subdued groove close this out and transition beautifully and ethereally into the new song Oblivion.

This song has big Warren Haynes vibes in my opinion. I like it. Trey is clearly excited about singing in the higher register, as this new song exemplifies. The boys then stretch this, the third rendition of a brand new song, into a 22 minute monster. After the varied exploration of Tweezer, this jam felt more consistent in theme and pace, and more contemplative. Plus, mostly minor-key this time around. Two 20+ minute jams back to back?! How rich are we? And also a first for me. Big jams are my favorite part of seeing Phish, and I was feeling rich indeed after 3 huge jams in one show.

Can't end without shouting out the encore. IDK had some witty banter re: Fish's Syracuse upbringing and dead end prospects as a teen. Great vacuum too; that low end Suck just has to be experienced at concert volume. WTU was powerful and sensitive. I love how the wall of sound just flattens the audience when the full band hits after the intro guitar notes. This is one of my favorite Phish songs, it's such a beautiful exercise in restraint and full-band dynamics. CK turned all the lights off during the quiet middle part, with Fish barely suggesting the tempo on the cymbals to bridge the two halves of this song. With all the lights off, I could see that Trey still has his candles, and wondered if they're scented. Does anyone know? But anyway, Tweeprise is always the right song choice wherever it comes.

We're in a really cool era of Phish where you can go to any show and have a really good chance of seeing a huge jam(s), big white-light peaks, goofy Phish stuff, ballads, and oldies all in one show. Just go see them.

A note about the venue. Don't drive there, unless you plan to show up hours early. The bus from town or biking in seemed like much better options (now we know). Arrival parking was a nightmare, rivaled only by my experience in Hartford '22. It was 2 hours from leaving Dino BBQ (4.7 miles away) to getting our tickets scanned. Poor parking design, minimal staffing, and poor traffic/crowd flow abounded. The venue funneled cars and people alike into 1-at-a-time choke points. Entrance to the venue involved a 1+ mile walk from the parking, to be greeted by a 45 minute line at the gates. I've never had such a slow entrance experience at any concert. Either the venue is critically understaffed or they've put zero thought into any of this stuff or they don't give a shit. So if you go to a show here, heads up that getting in is an utter nightmare. On the other hand, getting out was lightning speed (getting parked so far away has some benefits).