This show was one of the best days of my life. Amazing time, amazing show.

Had a great experience with the crew coming down on the 7:00am train from Seattle, pulled in, walked to Voodoo Doughnuts (they were tourists, they had to) and then chilled at my apartment, had lots of beers and 4/20 was celebrated for hours. After some great food (shoutout to Nong's Hao Man Gai in SE PDX), we split, and I hosted a nice pre-show party with folks from all over. Among them were 3 of my female coworkers, none of whom had basically listened to any Phish, and who were going to their first show. Oh yeah, and we were on the floor. Lmao. My parents also came up for their first and we were set to have a great time.

Walked over close to showtime and we were just getting out of the bathroom when I saw a familiar face - my new boss, who I had no idea was a Phish fan. Another great coincidence. Glad they saw me before I was ripped out of my mind from the secondhand smoke.

This show was FIRE. Obviously, 4/20 at Portland, where they hadn't played in 26 years - it was going to be special no matter what. The 46 Days started as we were walking down to the floor and we were on the back right-hand side. This 46 Days is special. It goes pretty far out and created a really nice soundscape. Special for sure. Moma Dance in the two slot is as trusty as can be. I love Moma, so always willing to take it live. My dad (who as previously mentioned, was in for his first show) has had Talking Heads as his favorite band since about 1979. I was telling him about the potential covers as we prepared, so of course they had to oblige by playing Cities within the first 3 songs. ALWAYS happy for a Cities as well. Perhaps the only low point of the entire show was that it was only like 5 minutes long, but they immediately make up for it with a nice segue into a burning, molten-hot Plasma. This is the second incredible jam of the set and we're four songs in. Must-hear! A coincidence as well that we had nice segues into Plasma at other Oregon shows - 10/17/2014 Eugene (my very first!) and also 10/19/2021 (the one with the longest opener in Phish history). Also there is a clear Norwegian Wood tease in Plasma around 11:35 in that is not marked yet on Phish.net.

Always love Bouncing. Sigma next is just another fucking BOMB that they dropped on this crowd, many of whom were likely seeing the band for the first time in a long while. They got a treat. This may be the best jam of the show, although the second set has something to say about that. It just keeps going and going. Just when you think it is about to peter down, it goes for another 5-7 minutes and peaks hard.. then straight into the Antelope afterward.. That was the shit, lovely Lope too. This one really got to me on the floor. I've seen some good Antelopes lately, Dicks 2024 likely being the best, but this one hit different. My coworkers were really taken aback because they didn't expect the craziness that Antelopes bring, that was super cool. They were enjoying it! Thought that it was gonna close but they added SANTOS, hell yeah. I probably smoked more in this arena during this show than I have in the last 3-4 years combined. I got very high LOL. But so was everyone else. I don't think I've ever seen more weed being smoked at a concert!

Set 2 also brought the heat in different ways. Wave of Hope starts off and I always welcome this, it's been an incredible jam vehicle. This is Great Jam #3 of the show. Wave > Twist > Scents is 45 minutes of prime Phish. The Scents is amazing. I literally always want to see this song when I walk into a show, and it brought it. Welcome Back To The Good Stuff, truly. I was on Cloud 9. Everything's Right is also one of my favorite recent jam vehicles and we were pleasantly surprised to get into dance territory with the Boogie On - everyone was grooving, perfect placement. The Boogie On > 2001 was a reward to the Portland faithful who had been so long without a show. I always want to hear both of these two as well, and it was like a perfect setlist. By this time we had moved from the floor to the 300 level to try and find a seat - and also let me tell you, there were none available - the place was FULL. This was a true sellout for the band and it was definitely one of those times where they delivered. The punchline to the 4/20 show was that it was literally smoky from the vantage point - you could barely see some of the lights and band members at times LOL. Just a wonderful dance party and a great setlist for the new fan as well.

Trey earned the ALBTD, which I also enjoy - there was a little bit of everything in this show. Exploration, peaks, dancing, ballads, and everything in-between. You had to expect the Hood as Mt. Hood was nearby, this is a very solid version. There's been some real good versions of Hood lately, that song is on a resurgence.

Encore is a nice victory lap and I'll take a Wilson or an ST3L any day. You have to think they knew they played a good show when there is BOTH a Hood and a Slave to the Traffic Light.

Anyways; just an incredible show from top to bottom. Seek out the 46 Days, Plasma, Sigma Oasis, Wave of Hope > Twist > Scents, Hood. Also a fun dance party late in the 2nd.

We all walked out of the show happy (met some unexpected folks from local stuff on the way out), and my coworkers got to experience the nitrous mafia at full blast. Lmao. None of them were convinced to buy a balloon. But all of the people I got to come to the show - my rookie coworkers, my parents - they all told me they had a blast and really enjoyed themselves. That's the real win! Such a fun show! Got to sleep in my own bed and got ready to prepare for the San Fran side of things, which were another two next-level shows.

See you all at Providence Park in Summer 2026 or 2027 (one can hope!)