First, let me say how appreciative I am to Phish and SPAC for having these benefit concerts. I think I read they raised over $2M for the flood victims of VT and Upstate NY (where I live).

The energy was a bit different from Friday from the get go. At least on the Lawn. It was more crowded and people didn't seem as into it as the previous night. But it wasn't going to stop me from having a great night. What almost did was some inconsiderate "dad" and his 2 kids that pulled up and stood directly in the dancing space in front of our chairs we had been sitting in for a hour. After politely asking if they wouldn't mind respecting my space and possibly relocating, he and his buddy used colorful abusive language towards me in front of their kids and didn't budge. This being my 248th Phish show I decided it was better to be the bigger person and accept that this guy was not gonna move and I wasn't gonna let it ruin my night. I definitely said something about being more respectful to strangers, especially in front of children, but then I let it go and moved away to a new spot. At setbreak I even apologized to him for the inconvenience, even though I had done nothing wrong but I wanted to give him an opportunity to "be a good dad" in front of his kids. He barely accepted my apology but again, I wasn't gonna let it ruin my night. It was probably his 2 teen sons first Phish show and I wanted them to enjoy it.

Musically, The show started out strong with great first set staples and a fine version of a newer Trey song. The Tube was short but sweet but led into a tasty Twist and terrific Hood. Not on the level of the N7 MSG Encore but I could still feel very good.

DWD 2nd set opener is almost always a good sign and tonight was no exception. The segue into Ghost was seamless and I could tell we were in for a good set of music. It was a solid version of one of my favorite songs with some nice major key bliss jamming. Good use of guitar looping and echoes, crystal clear tones on the baby grand, creative melodies from the low end and Fish was keeping it as tight as ever. The night air was cooling off and the band was heating up. When they dropped into 2001 I felt like I was back in 1998 for a moment. The lawn crowd finally seemed to start getting into the groove.

I had read there might be a special guest(s) and a setbreak tip from a local newspaper reporter fan tipped me off it was Derek Trucks. It wasn't my first time seeing them together though. I was lucky enough to attend a TAB show in 2001 or 2002 at a tiny festival in Angel's Camp CA. Both Derek and Les Claypool joined Trey on stage. This was an outstanding sit in and I enjoyed every minute of it.

It was one of the better versions of Golden Age I've heard, mainly because Derek's slinky blues riffs complementing the band's solid rendition. I had hoped to hear Everything's Right for the Flood Victims and this, another one of my (more recent) favorites, did not disappoint. It actually did feel like "It's Gonna Be Alright" again in our little corner of the world. Phish was here to see to that. The energy was high and positive and the interplay between the two guitarists was just right. The end of the jam before going back into the chorus even sounded a bit like like The Allman Brothers. They were on fire!

Which is why I thought this was a curious place for ALBTD. But no matter what I think about the band (Trey's) choices of songs I often have to remind myself that "they know what they're doing". This was a beautiful version that allowed for some time to cool down after dancing hard for the past 5 straight songs. It was also the point in which "dad of the year" and his 2 teen sons decided to finally make their exit. This allowed for my GF and I to finally have the space we had saved for an hour+ before the show back to ourselves and we made good use of it; Slow dancing and twirling to the sounds of "Love will carry us through".

I have mixed feelings about First Tube. Sure, it's a 'banger'. The crowd generally loves it and Trey sure seems to love playing it. I think maybe after seeing it played 62 times I'm a little over it. But this version was different. The harmonies between Trey and Derek made for some fantastic listening and dancing music. I still just kinda chuckle to myself a bit when he's lifting and moving the Laguadoc around like there's a secret theremin in it when in reality he's stepping on a pedal. But the crowd loves it and it's a great way to put an exclamation point on a terrific show. This version in particular was smoking.

I wasn't sure what they were going to pick for an encore. Might it be Funky Bitch like they've played together before or the My Soul from the previous night's soundcheck? The high energy Possum Encore fit the slot just perfectly. I loved how both guitarists patiently waited for Page to take the first solo before ripping into this one. There was no "I'll go high and you go low" here though. Both Trey and Derek seemed to want to go higher and higher and almost duel each other with their nearly piercingly high notes. It was pretty awesome actually and sounds even better on the recording. Trucks' bluesy style lends itself effortlessly to this 12 bar style number.

All in all Saturday's show had some solid versions of songs in the first set and even a first set closing Harry Hood. The second set starts off like a 1,2,3 punch straight out of the late '90's and it topped off by one of the best sit-ins I've seen Phish play. They don't do it often but when they do it's pretty much amazing! I personally liked the Friday show better but it's mostly because they played the first ever Simple at SPAC and it was glorious! It was an amazing weekend and I'm happy I could be a part of helping the fine people of VT and Upstate NY putting their lives back together. I love that my favorite band is so socially and environmentally conscious and spreads such joy while doing so.