SET 1:

AC/DC Bag: always cool with this as an opener. Really solid Bag! Trey takes a couple runs at the end solo and comes out of the gate with some cool plucky country playing. Good way to kick off another Gorge run. >

Timber (Jerry the Mule): LOVE this placement, exactly where it needs to be. Standard, does what it normally does, no more no less.

Wolfman’s Brother: usual clav-driven funk to start opens up into another typical rock jam that Trey (for the era) rips to shreds. Rock god scenery chewing all over this one, he’s full of energy tonight. Would recommend!

Funky Bitch: it’s a funk rock night at the Gorge! Great placement - not ready to let up just yet. Similar to Wolfman’s this is shredded by 3.0 standards. Hard to get much better than this in the era - really good stuff!

Happy Birthday to You: adorable, for Kuroda. If this is the cooldown song in your set so far things are going pretty well. There’s randomly a small Satisfaction jam following this one (???) and then Trey calls for >

Wilson: cool! Trey talks during the pause about an NFL player named Wilson, I’m not a football fan so can’t comment on this - context?

Possum: non stop rock n roll indeed. Standard for the most part.

Tube: nice, was hoping for something jammier/funkier and this delivered. Standard mostly but definitely enjoying Trey’s playing in the jam here - the 90s called and they want their wucka-wuckas back. Funk for days.

Secret Smile: oh wow okay! I’m a big fan of the studio version of this song, one of my favourite Phish ballads in that incarnation. Live it’s… just okay - the production/performances that make it so magical are stripped away. Respect them for giving it a go though.

McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters: yeahhhhhhh very nice. Good placement! Sounds clean to my ears and has an awesome transition >

The Ballad of Curtis Loew: fun! Page sounds good!

Split Open and Melt: good set closer. Fast out of the gate and the jam, while nothing special, gets the job done. Good set.

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SET 2:

Crosseyed and Painless: awesome! Fits the vibe of the first set perfectly. First 9 minutes of this is given over to Trey who does all the usual rock god theatrics, then it moves in a weirder slightly atonal direction for a while. Fish and Trey move to dissolve into space but then both attempt to reform it at various points over the next few minutes, to no avail really. Shuffles along in slightly awkward spacey wanderings until eventually it reforms in a half-time feel with a couple minutes to go. Sounds EXACTLY like Roggae for a minute there and would’ve made for a perfect -> but Trey opts for Twist instead. Not a great jam IMO. Soloing is good at the start but a lot of this is very uncertain-sounding and tentative. Don’t believe the timestamp. >

Twist: what is Trey doing during the last set of ‘twist around’s? lol. HEAVY Tequila tease at the start of the jam. Jam mostly goes the usual route with some atonal edge to Trey’s playing, then he fires off some funk siren notes and we get a minute or two of really cool spacey playing reminiscent of the middle section of Echoes. Mike fires off a few fight bells here, he’s clearly a fan! Then out of absolute nothingness this forms >

Steam: wow, nice transition and call here. This actually gets a really solid type 1 jam, rages more than you’d expect. Check it out if you like this song. >

Waves: nice, definitely enjoying the mellow vibe this set is cultivating after that Crosseyed. Cute first jam and then a very pretty outro that I wish turned into a jam of its own. >

Twenty Years Later: standard. >

The Mango Song: yeah!!! Perfect for the sort of set they’re cultivating here. Playing isn’t perfect but who cares. Gets a little extra length at the back end.

Bug: nice! Played well I thought.

David Bowie: nice! LOVE Trey’s dissonant quote of the Bug theme in the intro - that’s how you create a narrative for a set. Chill jam for a while with a big Crosseyed tease from Trey. Nice strumming at 10:00, then a quick move into a standard peak. Not topping any highlight lists but goes over great all the same.

Rocky Top: awesome! My favourite bluegrass tune now and forever. Set closer? >

Character Zero: very cool with this as the REAL set closer. Trey asks ‘Toph’ (lol) to turn off the lights and the band starts howling at the moon during the typical solo, amazing. They tack on a noisy AMM style jam at the end here before finally ending the song. Love it! Great set!

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ENCORE:

Harry Hood: love whatever Mike’s doing in the intro here. Trey’s playing in the leadup to the miracle riff is AMAZING, like really really melodic and beautiful, but then he just sort of slams into the end without the customary minute or two of rock shredding. A shame as this was shaping up to be an exceptional Hood. >

Fire: fast, sloppy, fun. A reference to wildfires in the area, apparently?

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OVERALL: great show! I’m a big advocate of this show, it really delivers the goods and then some. What it lacks in brilliant extended jamming (C+P is extended but not brilliant) it makes up for in setlist construction, goofiness and type 1 playing. Set 1 is balls to the wall rock-out music and set 2 is serene and calm and must have been great on a summer evening at the Gorge. Clearly surpasses the following night for me!

4.2 stars.