So I built this little Phishow Rater over the summer on GitHub but haven’t been to a show since to use it. Last night was my first chance to do so. I was tired of guessing on show ratings so this was my attempt to get more precision. (It’s in beta so only the rating functionality works, haven’t had time to go back and build out the log in UX, etc…).

Show Rating: 3.65
Favorite Moment: Sleep on accoustic
First Set Highlight: Wolfman’s Punch
Second Set Highlight: Theme~>Simple

Surprised the wife with a night out away from the kids for the holidays. Didn’t have plans and was playing it all by ear. Had sushi in Fairfield and Tycho came on the sound system. Checked ticket prices at 6p and too high, finished my sashimi and ooey gooey chocolate cake and rechecked prices: well below face value. Scored 100 section fish side behind stage. Raced into Manhattan with the wife and parked across the street. Didn’t miss a lick of music because of the Sirius stream but entered during wolfmans. Vibe was loose with a Sunday kinda of love. No expectations, like the day had played out; I was just grateful to be listening to my favorite band at one of my favorite venues.

Aside from the bag and wolfmans, the acoustic sleep and raucous antelope were highlights even if they completely missed the landing after the crazy build up. Fever pitch. I sing Sleep (poorly) to my oldest at night so it was tender moment.

Set two’s oblivion opener set the stage for some deep dives into Phish staples. While the first two segues left something to be desired(disease to simple and simple to jiboo), prior to the abrupt transition into Simple, Trey appeared to be trying to get fish’s attention for like a full minute, trying to make eye contact. His shift to Simple got his attention for sure. Probably not what actually transpired on stage but that is how it looked from 111 row 15. While the transition left something to be desired, the Simple that ensued was made up for it. Crowd pleasing owing to its mention of saxophones and sky scrappers, it devolved into a charcuterie of sonic effects fitting of a holiday fest.

The next segue was equally as abrupt but landed in siren loop heaven with Jiboo, which became an after thought because of the subsequent Theme. This was THE Theme from Theme from the Bottom if there ever was one. The song melted to oblivion, cascaded though sonic landscapes fitting of the upside down and any grudges held by the not so smooth transitions and obvious flubs that abounded throughout the night were forgiven by the buttery slide back into simple. All Smiles! Alls well that ends simple.

Everything’s Right rounded things out, my son’s second favorite Phish song (after Ghost) brought more tenderness and we were ushered into the midtown evening with Slave.

I was excited to finally dust off the show rater and put it to good use to give me an accurate 3.65. Let me know if it works for you.