Southern air is pure AF. Landing in Nashville I was reminded of this fact. When I breath better, I think better. When I breath better all seems right with the world; probably something to do with the optimal amount of oxygen getting into my system. And the pure southern air clearly is influencing the band as well. Of course this is all conjecture, but when the band drops into a set one opener 2001 and then seamlessly weaves it through out the first set, it feels like supporting evidence to the pure southern air theory.

I’ve got Hose on the brain so I’ll give it to y’all like this:
Set One gets going at 803
1. 2001 (11:52) instant hose worthy of a relisten
2. Gumbo (6:47) had this fork in the road moment towards the end when it couldn’t have dissolved/ evolved into a jam, but instead just finished with gusto and customary Page outro.
3. Beauty of my Dreams (3:24) standard average great
4. Mull->2001->Mull (8:10, 1:25, 0:30) now a Mike staple this Mull disintegrated into a jam like the foam padding that line the box of my farmers dog orders when I add water and spontaneously combusts, is beamed up, or evaporated and arrives in space. Hosetastic
5. Dirt (4:31) lands perfectly post hosefest and the contemplative lyrics and inspired solo are fitting of Nashville.
6. Stash (15:27) yet again conjures the headless hoseman, who veers hard left to smashville and stretches the improv section longer than music row. Smooth shifts from major key to minor key (something that is prevalent all night) are on full display with a patient start to the jam which turn frenetic before tapering off into…
7. Ether Edge (6:46) which just rocks. Again could be the increase oxygen to the dome piece but felt like this rocked and bled neatly into…
8. About to Run (6:37) which has this rocking, rollicking, driving sound that feels like equal parts Carini and No Quarter (their Nashvillian love child) which again flirts with hose before yielding to…
9. Split Open and Melt (18:45) and I was really really disappointed withy sections reception of SOAM. I mean a Stash/SOAM set one and it felt like no one was psyched where I was getting down. Split lived up to its name, drove hard for toward hoseville and modulated between major and minor key before slipping back into the typical outro.

Set one closes at 928 and setbreak last 38 minutes
Set Two launches at 1006
1. Life Saving Gun (8:48) immediately reminds me of Sand with its Gun sentiment. Not sure why exactly but I kept thinking that as they plugged away at this number. Embracing the newness I found the jam refreshing and sort of ethereal and as the jam crystallized, there it was
2. Sand (9:17) evokes that similar life saving gun PSA, and then does something that I was not expecting, it hints at the Camden Sand 6/7/09 with its jam aiming straight for the cosmos. Definitely punching above it’s weight, this Sand hit hyper speed Ala Buzz Lightyear circling around a fiery planet and slingshotting back to earth, remind Sox that…
3. Everything’s Right (10:17) which i am still a firm believer that the universe cues this song to remind the spunion among us that the long nights over and the sun’s coming up. Jettisoning the song proper, Everything Right competed the opening triplet of songs all containing right micro jams with well developed improv: the Nashville air must be getting piped in through the vents. So when
4. Cities (16:22) drops in, the stage was set, the evening was poised for pure hose. What happens next is what dreams are made of, top notch, top shelf, upper echelon Phish, improvisational mastery, splicing the ends of two songs and fusing them as one as only the hose can do. More of that major minor key modulation begins its metamorphosis into…
5. Slow Llama (5:22) which clearly displays the vultron connectivity that these two songs have. I might have not been sold on Sllama before but now I am. Letting the pressure cooker do it’s job, Llama hits the spot, crawling to a halt for the first break in the set. The air is pure, brothers and sisters.
6. I always wanted it this way (12:59) is psychedelic to say the least. The 12 minutes that elapsed were jarring and spellbinding, relentless and effortless (like something was in the air). So when
7. Bug (8:23) arrived that Phishy nod to what had just transpired was not lost on this listener. Your closet doesn’t disappoint and takes the W straight into the locker room.
Set two expires at 1118 clocking in at 1 hour 12 minutes.
E1. Lonely Trip (?:??) goes contemplative which is what we all should hope for with an encore. Followed by
E2. Harry Hood (?:??) and life is good, the air is pure and Saturday night reads like some choir playing in Elysium.

The air is pure in the south and oxygenation might have just forced the band into some of the greatest music they have every conceived. Or, put another way, the band might have successfully gotten out of the way and let the headless hoseman drench the crowd with the musical equivalent of loving kindness.

(Note times are approximations as are the theories out forth. Also, I decided not to edit so apologize on advance for the errors)