Im really glad I went to this show because nothing outside the Carini Plasma sandwich really stands out on paper but man oh man, this show rocked.

The aforementioned Carini -> Plasma -> Carini was a great start, bathtub gin was the set 1 highlight and Mikes was slinky while Weekapaug was a thriller.

But dawg, let me speak on this Wave of Hope. This has been said a bunch, but the improvisational highlights of post 2020 Phish have often been these multi-part 30+ minute odysseys - at times in summer 2025 it felt like we were getting a Tahoe Tweezer every night. But for as dazzling impressive as these journeys are, they can sometimes feature so many distinct peaks and valleys as to sacrifice a bit of thematic coherence.

But this Wave of Hope reminded me of the more economical jamming of Bakers Dozen (seriously go back to your favorite BD show, you may be surprised at how little outside of *that* one have jams that stretch much beyond 20 mins) and probably gave MSG its most gloriously Allman-esque peak since the Chocolate Chalkdust. But I honestly would go further back than that to the 10/29/13 Reading DWD for a jam that built with so much tight ferocity around a single theme before exploding in wave after wave (NPI) of pure hose.

And the lead up to that flamethrower of catharsis may be my favorite part, with the band leaning into a metallic thrash groove that's more reminiscent of the 8/8/97 Gumbo than the brief foray into doom metal seen in the Alpine Waves or the preening cock rock of the Prague Ghost. It is a connected whole, barreling towards pay dirt from the jump.
A must listen.

And then...a very solid 4th quarter! Lizards / Possum Encore!? I love this band so much.