So, I have been enjoying my ventures into the venues of America and travelling tp Phish shows for over fifteen years now. I have listened to Alpine Valley shows, heard people speak of the venue and have wanted to mark it off my venue list for some time. The energy was muddled by people who like to dress up and feel a vibe. The grandest issue I have as I grow up and love to phreak out, is that I become incredibly frustrated with the number of people who have no clue of what they are listening to, or the significance of a FUCK YOUR FACE at a show, or in incredibly intimate Jam and evolutionary process being explored right before their very ears! Go to the top of the venue and do all the sloppy screaming, bumping into people, complaining, or talking about all the class times that you can't believe your going to have to wake up for. When I go to Phish, I am in a cathedral! This Venue was a pretty cathedral with a huge sloping dancefloor that was soggy from the rain the night before, making it a bit slippery; however, after being at Coventry (remember these dates are 6 years exactly from their break up(GOD BLESS IT THAT I AM AT A SHOW)) I will take a little gradient and slippage.
Being a sober Phishphan and having been so for over ten years now, I will tell you that I have never had a problem with energy. It is just an attention span issue. The kids these days. . .
THE MUSIC: This was not a show for anyone that does not pay attention to the rich history and intimacy of the JAM! This was not the show for a new girlfriend introduction to a "cool band we just heard about," This was a rich and varied show played so tight that I couldn't get out of it! (even with those around me). The band is playing so well together, they are indulging in each other (or so it seems) each of them take time to hold the light saber and show their Jedi Mastery, and I gotta say: vocally, they are hitting notes and sounding super strong. This was an incredibly vivid show: the lights were astounding, video master even had a great time throughout (but props during Sparkle); and I was a part of a grand Phish Show!
6 years ago I had a campsite and mud up to my ankles in glorious Vermont for a strange two day goodbye party that the world conspired against. My favorite band was choosing to break up (and the way Paige cried 6 years ago tonight) it felt like it very well could be true. I am in beautiful Wisconsin today, relaxing into the afterglow of an incredible set with Phish last night, and heart pounding nervous excitement about what tonight could possibly become.
Cheers to Phish for their continued willingness and exploration. Cheers to the Phans young and old. And cheers to another setlist and venue into my own collection of the Book!

(Commentary on DWD > What's The Use only)

The first half of this version can;t be characterized as anything special. It lacks the power and pure energy of many other 3.0 versions. In my mind, it's kind of a snoozer. BUT, 12:00 in this jam goes to a whole other level. Beginning with the Sparks-esque break down in tempo, Trey starts one of the little riffs that I think define his sound mid-jam. When you hear that noise, something good is about to happen. Page, Trey and Mike are all run through patterns that build and then fade. Crazy stuff. At 14:20 Mike starts a new pattern that progressively goes lower and lower and the little solo Trey has over-top is so in sync. Loving it. The jam gets sloppy as Mike and Fish move into a darkened march, but Trey tries to maintain what everyone else has moved on from. Somehow he manages to find everyone else and comes through with a pretty little interlude that actually contrasts the previous minute quite well. At 18:18 Trey shifts towards What's the Use and Mike picks right up on it (Page had teased his part even earlier). Pretty tight.

The What's the Use also lacks the energy in other 3.0 versions, but the segue is really cool. All in all 6+ minutes of some very high level improv.

I have been Phishin since the early 90's, and have seen a lot of shows..a lot...Alpine Valley, WI ...night one..was maybe the best show I have ever been to. Phish wanted to jam..some of the songs were on the shorter side but their energy was to flat out play..I think the night belonged to a good atmosphere, and a band that after almost 30 years is..well, phuckin' starting to peak..again..they were so crisp and sharp on this night..I agree with one of the reviews that some folks there may not quite know the magnitude of what they just saw..I had so much phun I had tears twice and Trey's smile plastered on my face the rest of the nite. The Tube>Ceremony>Suzy was a really phun start..Funky was good..and the Reba had a melodic jam in the middle that I have never heard them play before..it really funked out(was hoping they'd end it before the end of show) FUCK YOUR FACE?! That's all i can say about that treat..Alaska turned into a nice little groove and Back on the Train was the phreakin best I have heard, maybe the highlight of the show..maybe...Taste was fairly norml..but Tasty..huh..go figure. and Circus was a surprise and treat..Lawn Boy(sinatra style) was so fun with a hearty Sparkle... good Gumbo..and whew!! Antelope?! Phreakin awesome jam..maybe this was the highlight...oh, that's the first set, are you kidding me??

Second with a pleasent but short Sloth with a rocked out, jammed out DWD...great rythym that had me really goin now.Whats the Use was a great segue i think to Scent of a Mule, and I don't care what anyone says, Mule is a killer tune!! and rare and they played it very nicely..it was super fun to hear..the band was really on fire..and kept it goin for Mikes Song..Dirt was place a smidge in a slow spot right after Mikes but still really crisp...Sneaking Sally was a total treat..anyone remember when that was played last??!!...Weekapaug and Bug were just icing on the cake..for me, Quinn was song in a way that was a total tribute to Jerry..it is August and the Dead played some great shows at Alpine..what a way to end the show..I was thinking ..maybe...just maybe one more due to the shear force the show was played with..then I remembered there was another night to go!! no worries folks, Phish are really hitting stride..I was blown away..my friend and I could hardly talk after the show..we didn't listen to the radio..we just sat there and reveled in what just happened..if you were there and missed it, that sucks ..i did hear some folks really hoping for tunes and we all do..i'm a Halley's Comet kinda guy, but ironically the show itself was so fitting because it was a rare, special event that only happens every now and then..so in essence I got my Phish....I felt some emotions that struck pretty deep, stuff I haven't felt at a Phish show since..I dunno, maybe the Clifford Ball..what 95 or so? I encourage everyone who is a true phan to really listen to depth at which these boys are playing with..transitions, grooves,jams...on cue and just ...I just couldn't believe it..thanks gentlemen!

I'll wait to get voted down for this, but to me, the only thing that saved this from being two stars for sloppiness was the DwD-> What's the Use? And that was only special, like @ericwyman said, in the second half. That part was very nice. The rest of the show, not so much, and I certainly don't know how anyone could think it was tight.

My one disclaimer is that I've only given this show one listen, as I have been plowing through a MOUNTAIN of shows. But I certainly think it's heavily overrated. DwD-> WTU? is special, but beyond that, pretty standard show that gets pretty flubby in places.

2 cents.

This was show number 22 after a 10 year gap from my last show (9/17/200 - my 25th b-day lol). I have to admit that after they broke up in 2000, I got out of them for a long time and didn't listen to any Phish for years. I have pretty eclectic musical tastes and still hit other concerts but Phish kind of just drifted away from my thoughts for a long spell. It was nothing they did but a few break ups kind of put them on the back burner for me.

For some reason, I decided to revisit what they were doing a few weeks back and saw they were on tour. Tickets were still available for Deer Creek and Alpine and the weekend dates at Alpine were appealing to a working slob like me. My old roommate who was a companion at a lot of old shows back in the late 90's was game to go so we hit the road. His last show was Coventry 2004 so it had been 6 years for him. I started watching YouTube to get a glimpse of what the band sounded like after all my years of not listening. The new tracks were sweet and they were busting out some really classic stuff and jamming pretty well.

I won't do a song by song of this show b/c there are more analytical folks than me who have already done that. But I must say that the boys blew me and my buddy out of the water. They are sounding so tight even after all of these years and, judging by the setlists and reviews on this page, I think we can safely say that 2010 summer tour is going to go down as one of the more epic tours of their rich and ever growing legacy.

Even if the boys aren't doing 30-40 minute jams on some of the tunes you may expect them to, they still pack in some really great exploration and just seem to feed off each other in the jams they play. First set Get Back on the Train was unreal. I normally am not a huge fan of this tune but Trey just smoked a hot solo on this one and it was a highlight of the set (go figure with a Tube, Suzy, Reba, Antelope in the same set and i'm calling a GBOTT a highlight). It just goes to show that they boys are always evolving and you can expect the unexpected as usual.

Second set from start to finish was just sick. DWD>What's the Use was smoking and Mule was fun to watch. I see some folks have complained about the Dirt after the Mike's but I wasn't too offended by a little chill out after the first 5 smoking tunes. Dirt is one of my more favored lullaby's anyway. The placement was definitely unexpected for sure coming out of Mike's but I didn't mind. Sneaking Sally>Weekapaug brought the energy right back up to a frenzy. Bug was hot and I thought for sure we would get one more but I guess that jumbo first set kind of put them on the clock. Quinn was short and sweet and I was so amped for night two.

I'm here to talk about the Reba.

I haven't heard many 3.0 Rebas so I don't know if this one is getting hidden amongst a lot of similar sounding, decent Reba jams or if they are all this good. But if they are all this good, I would expect to hear a lot more talk about how fire they all are.

There's a really dumb flub in the beginning. Trey comes in with the lyrics a couple beats too early, even though Fishman signals when that happens. Oy vey... The composed part is done really well, Trey might have messed a couple times during the last part but whatever, its not very noticeable.

Jam.
From the moment Trey enters, he doesn't play a single note I don't like. Starts off with a smooth-as-hell two chord slide (he has a lot of really smooth moments) and then backs off to twirl around the scale. A lot of really great interplay between the whole band, they pretty much move all together hitting the same odd breaks. There's chord changes that Page and Mike hit at the same time underneath Trey's sustain. Trey presents a riff that he repeats 3 times and when he deviates the fourth time, the band take off at the same time. That riff shows up later. The energy begins growing and Trey once again plays around a riff 3 times and on the fourth, the whole band moves. Now were sailing freely. Then Trey sustains a note while Mike dances around. That sustain is the signal that something great is about to happen, at least when I listen back. Then that riff comes back and Page responds perfectly. Then it builds... and builds... and then.....

BOOM! This climax sends me to tears almost anytime I hear it. Mike drops a huge bomb at the same time that Trey hits this high bend followed by a slow descent, one unlike anything I've ever heard in a Reba jam. Fishman and Page catch on immediately and they repeat this glorious phrase until Trey quickly climbs back up and continues the jam. I disctintly remember being in the middle of the lawn and Chris turned on the glorious beams of white light and everyone around me screamed and it was such a feeling of intense euphoria to everyone that was there.

They finish of the rest of the jam decently, but how can you follow that? They hit it the best they were going to do on that song. I highly recommend everyone give this Reba a really good listen.

Still trying to figure out how praise of the final 6 minutes of DWD ultimately compelled two people to vote the comment down. LOL.

This was my 1st show and all I can say is my mind was blown. Amazing energy

The only complaint I have is I want to see them someplace that I can dance without worry about injury from the Hill at Alpine.

Tube>Oh Key Pa> Suzy. What a start to a show. Only my 9th ever but i knew saturday night was going to be special. AND THIS GUITAR IS GONNA FUCK YOUR FACE CUZ IT KNOWS HOW TO SCREAM!! awesome. to say that i saw a song that was written 20+ years ago and only performed what 3 times out of like 2000?? sweet. the circus defenitly came to town. and antelope, sick as ever!

sloth opener!! someone in the 4th or 5th row in front of mike had a sloth sign, the band obliged, first time ive ever seen this live, another great opener. ( there were also colonel forbin and mound signs either of these would have been sweet too ). DWD>whats the use>SCENT OF A MULE!!! energy was never lost, then MIKES!!! Bug!, it doesnt matter but i would have hoped for something else here, not my fave, still shouldnt complain.

Quinn the eskimo, my moms a HUGE dylan fan she would have loved this, also my first ever phish encounter was the Hampton comes ALive box set, so this one brought back some good memories of burn cruisin during my lunch break in high school. Good tune.

Great show! was only planning on going to n1 but after that set and the combo of finding even better seats for n2, what a treat of a weekend at alpine!!

My wife and I have been seeing Phish together since 1996, most of our 18 shows have been at Alpine. Couldn't make the 2009 shows so we were happy to be back in the Land of Cheese again after our own 6 year Phish hiatus.

Set I Highlights:
Tube Opener, good choice.
Suzy got the crowd going
Fuck Your Face - holy shit an oldie!
Back on the Train - got people dancing
Gumbo > Antelope - was great ending!

Set II:
Sloth - Great opener, love this song
DWD - Very exploratory jamming, would go somewhere, then take a left turn, then a right. It was fun to hear them try and find direction - and when they did...
What's the Use? - Wow! Beautiful, soaring guitar. Absolutely amazing.
SOAMule - Awesome! Great long version, you can tell they love playing it too.
Mike's - This version didn't thrill me
Dirt - Seriously? After Mike's?
Sneakin Sally - Ok, I forgive you for Dirt
Weekapaug - Nice wrap up, figured it was the closer, but no...
Bug - Great version, another favorite song of mine in concert.

Encore: Quinn - Great cover, decent encore - could have used one more Phish standard, but we did have another night to go.

Overall, set II was towards the top for me on sets I've seen.

They were really tight tonight. Probably one of the best shows I've seen. Great setlist, great energy. Tight.

Get this show!!!! I've been coming to phish at alpine since 98 and for me it was the best phish show at alpine I've seen! The antelope was off the hook! Dwd>wtu? Was super cool trey hit all the right notes! Over all great setlist great show!

This was my first show. Looking back on it, it's not the best show I've been to. But it was certainly a good show, and a great introduction to Phish as a live band. For a first-timer, getting to hear Antelope, Suzy Greenberg, Mike's Song and Down With Disease on my first night was exactly what I needed. However, adding in Fuck Your Face and the Sloth was icing on the cake. The second set lets off the gas a bit after Mike's Song, but is still a good set. However, the first set is where it's at with this show. It's worth listening to for both new fans and veterans.

This was my first show. It's crazy to think that it was five years ago! I remember the drives to and from the venue and the crazy bumper-to-bumper traffic. We were camping out at on a friend's uncle's lawn a couple of miles away.

I had casually been into Phish's music for years prior, but had never gotten up the nerve to see a show in person. That changed in 2010 at Alpine Valley. Going into the shows, I didn't know what to expect. I had been to other bands' concerts and figured it would be entertaining but not much else besides that.

We were on the lawn hanging out with a new group of friends. My eyes were opened immediately by the level of musicianship and band interplay. Also, the light show was amazing. Chris Kuroda is definitely the "fifth Beatle" in this group.

I remember the FYF and it didn't seem like a big deal to me at the time, but my more seasoned friend was losing his shit. Most of the show is a blur to me. I just remember being overwhelmed by this force of music and finally getting IT and wondering why it had taken me so long to see a Phish show.

The whole weekend is a blur really. I've watched the Alpine Valley DVD and I keep asking myself if I was really at the show. Something stuck with me after that first show though, and I'll be attending show #30 at Magnaball next Sunday. Long live The Phish from Vermont!!!

As I recall this was my first ever phish show. Needless to say I was so super excited but had no idea I was in for such a treat. The First set was just blazing with high energy songs, but nothing could prepare me for set two. Since December I was telling myself i was getting a sloth. After seeing that they played it earlier in the summer I figured I wouldn't get it...but i was dead wrong. Then I saw what would become one of the best jams at alpine ever. DWD>WTU. Then a quinn encore? I couldn't have seen a better first show.

(still need to relisten as of this review)
If a Tube, Oh Kee Pah>Suzy opener doesn't do it for you, I don't know what's wrong with you. Well, throw in [a good] funky bitch, [a good] reba, and Fuck your face, and you have an awesome half of a first set right there. Phish wanted to play, you could tell. I was happy to see taste, i had been feeling it pre show for some reason and said i thought it would be played. Page shook someones hand (or something of the like) during lawn boy. Was happy to see gumbo again, wasn't expecting a jam and I don't care. I have nothing against a classic gumbo with the page ending. HIgh energy antelope to close.

Sloth opener for set 2?! NIce non-standard set 2 opener (which these days there are very typical and predictable openers/closers). DWD followed and it rocked. Nice jam that segued into What's the Use? PERFECTLY. Was stoked to see this and it was great. Scent of a mule got destroyed by page, it seemed like Trey even started to do a little fancy work. Nice to see him try. Coudln't keep up with the dancing/playing at same time so he stopped dancing. Ha. Mike's groove - quite awesome. All that really needs to be said. Bug was surprisingly rocking. Enjoyed that version.

Quinn the Eskimo is another song I never thought I"d see pop up again (and catch). Glad to see it, almost thought it was gonna go into a little jam for a moment. Mike started popping. Nice encore.

Happened to be in Chicago and went with one of our kids (14 at the time) to this show. It was a perfect experience. A lot of songs my daughter knew, great energy and between DWD-WTU, Mikes-Dirt-Sally-Groove, and many others, and a great crowd around us, felt like we were lifted off the ground on a great flight.

From the start of me listening to music, I never thought Id find something that made me feel like I do when I see phish. This show was during the summer after my junior year in high school and I had been looking forward to it for months, I was finally going to get to see the band that brings that feeling into my heart and soul. I Met up with a bunch of friends from my hometown at bark river campground an we headed to the show. I was amazed by the sheer volume of this event. I'd had been seeing concerts for years at this point but nothing so massive. We eventually found our way into the venue after hanging out for a while and making some food. We found a good spot near the front of the lawn and sat down. At this point a few more friends that were coming from deer creek (and had gotten in an accident on the way) finally met up with us. The second the boys walked out on stage we all stood up. I remember thinking what will they open with at my first show?? Bang - tube started- the crowd started roaring. I remember the feeling I had inside, total loss of control, my body was lifted into the sky and gently brought back down. It was a feeling like no other, my heart started filling with so much love an happiness. This was the moment I got 'hooked' on phish. I next remember hearing the starting lick to fuck your face, which I had heard on tape for the first time a few weeks before. Again the crowd erupted with so much emotion, it seemed like this was something a lot of people had been waiting for, this was my first time hearing about what a 'bustout' was, and that felt awesome to me. Finally when everything seemed to be going so well, they played run like an antelope and things got so much better. My friend and I started jumping up an down, with the incline at alpine the ground was hard on your ankles, and spilt beer made it kind of muddy. All of a sudden my buddy jumps up and on his way down he slips straight onto his back, after a quick laugh we were back to dancing. After the first set I couldn't believe the feeling I had inside. I had no idea that feeling could escalate to such heights, but then again I had never been to a phish show. At set break we all refilled on water and waited for the next set. When the band came out and busted into Sloth, again the energy lifted the crowd, it was so much fun feeling all that energy keep going and going. After the dwd the perfectly segued into what's the use. I had never heard this song before that so it felt like almost an 'extended segment' or something, but it was one of the most beautiful moment I've ever seen. I was hoping for a mikes groove since my friends and I enjoyed playing it from time to time when we jammed. Sure thing, they stared playing mikes, I was in awe seeing this, wondering what would be contained in between the weekapaug. Dirt came up and even though it's not my favorite I got a happy feeling starting to brew up, and then sneakin!!! I was so grateful to be here in this moment in time. Everything had worked out so perfectly, and my love for phish was growing exponentially with every note that was played. I was lifted to a point of pure bliss, the show ended and I was standing there in pure amazement. What would the encore be? Quinn the Eskimo which was one of my buddies favorite phish covers at the time. We all yelled and danced out the last song of my first show. To this day I still have the same feelings about phish as when I first saw them. Every show is a new experience and along with that comes plenty of good times and new friends.

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stellar setlist, stellar show. phuck your phace....amazing. the boys tore this one up for sure. i was on the lawn for the first set and happened to sneak down to the pavillion during sneaking sally...go figure. the last show i saw with my buddy who was shot & killed a year later. ended up finding it on dvd the day after he died. i'll will definitely always remember this show

Great energy thru out! nice dirty Sally and the Antelope blew the top of my head off!

In my top 3 of favorite Mike Groove's

50th Known performance of Sneakin' Sally.

Right before Reba Trey teased "My Sharona"! It was the single greatest moment of my life!

I had written a longer review than erased on accident (shit)! So I'm going to keep it simple. This was my 22nd show and it made my top 4 shows that I have been present at behind The Palace 12/6/97, Oswego 7/18/99, and Deer Creek 7/11/2000.

Any concert with set openers (though short) like Tube and Sloth and you could tell the band was in for some evilness. I found a solid position on the lawn and I was surprised that the sound quality was raging. All I can say is everthing was solid. Even songs like Circus and Bug (I normally take a piss break when these type of songs play but didn't want to trip through the crowd at Alpine) were good.

I just finished listening to the DWD>What's the Use> SOAM and confirmed to me that it was my highlight of the concert. Throw in Fuck Your Face (Fuck Yeah!) and a snarling Sally in the Valley and I was a pretty happy. The Quinn Encore was a good way to end, although I too wish they would have given us 1 more.

The concert was great. It was also fun with classics like Suzie, Sparkle, and Antelope. Funky Bitch was short but nicely placed and played well. The crowd was loving these and the love was strong.

I Apologize for the out of order rambling..... to finish I think I felt my face melt a couple times and caught myself saying "Ohhhh Shit" several times as they moved in some crazy directions all night long. I sensed positive vibes from the band and the crowd at Alpine Valley.....

Not a review here, more of a note. Dixie Chicken by Allen Touissant (and performed by Little Feat) was directly quoted in Alaska. Listen starting at around six minutes and you will a really distinct riff by Trey played quite a few times. I think this is notable. If there's anyway this could be added into the notes on this show it would be awesome.

Phish is playing very well right now. They are clearly enjoying the tour and they are playing a very nice balance of old and new. The ways in which they are playing some songs--a part of "Reba" or the tempo of "Down with Disease"--are better than ever. Reading the reviews of this show, it seems that some of us are easily distracted at the shows: focusing, for example, on how others are reacting or not reacting to songs in order to consider how good or bad the show is. My advice would be to focus on the music at all times--not the scene in the parking lot, not what the guy next to year is wearing, and not on how someone reacted to "Fuck Your Face."

To get specific here, I thought that the highlights of this show were the "Reba," "Taste," "Antelope," and the entire second set. "Taste" was good, but it could have used a little more gun powder. The song was originally called "The Fog that Surrounds." When it was first being played, it seemed to have more vocal harmonies and more of an individual vocal from Fish. I miss that a bit. At the start of the second set "Down with Disease," I was recalling one of the greatest versions that I heard back in my touring days: the one they played in West Virginia in late June of 1994 (during set when they played all of Hoist). I was thinking that they would never be able to play it at that level. However, there were really good moments--new twists--that made it really good: though they just don't do the version w/ the ten minute insane ending. The "Antelope" was good, but a bit too short. However, I think they played 14 songs during the first set. It seemed like an entire show in some ways.

I have been seeing Phish for 18 years and did my fair share of touring in 93, 94, and 95. And I used to host a radio show back then called the "Phish Hour" for a small radio station in Carbondale. The best show that I ever saw them play was on October 18th, 1994, at Vanderbilt, in a show that saw Trey dueling on a banjo w/ Bella Fleck. Other shows that stand out to me were the shows in 1994 at George Mason U., the whole NYE run of '94, the NYE run of 95, Vancouver in November of '96, and the Europe tour from 97, especially the Lyon show. I have seen them in very small venues that fit 400 people and enormous venues like MSG and NO Jazz Fest. However much I miss that part of my life--I was in college in the early '90s--the way they have played this year and last year makes me feel good, quite good, about Hood.

Not sure why Scent of a Mule has been getting shelved by the boys, because this version was as good as I have heard them play it in a long time. I was itching for it at Deer Creek, and then they delivered at Alpine. The whole Midwest run was sick this year, and I was so fortunate to attend all four nights. Surely a run to be cherished. Thanks Phish, I know I lucked out with these set lists and I appreciate your efforts more with each passing day. Let's return to Minneapolis (not played since 2000) for fall, huh?

It had been a little more than a year since my last Phish show and I was ready for the weekend. It didn't have the same energy as last year, the RETURN year, but like any Phish show, there is always a general good vibe. Interestingly, the turn out for both Alpine Valley shows this year was way down. In years past I was in the furthest reaches of the parking lot. This weekend I was amazingly close as far as parking was concerned. I talked to a couple of security guards and they estimated that the crowds were about 20K and 18K respectively. Seeing how capacity is about 38K, that is quite the dip. I think a couple of factors are involved; first the economy. Going on tour is an expensive undertaking and I think more than ever before, people had to pick their spots. Alpine is kind of out of the way for most tour rats, so if shows need to be skipped, these looked like the best bets. The second factor is the over saturation of the Chicago market. Phish played Alpine and Toyota Park last year, then Toyota earlier this year then back to Alpine. That's a lot of shows in a relatively short period of time, so maybe it's just too much of a good thing. The third reason is the Sunday show. Sunday shows in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin are easy to skip, folks got to work at some point. Finally, maybe after the euphoria of last year, the overall popularity of the band has waned a little bit and two nights at one of the largest outdoor venues in the country isn't where their numbers are anymore. I think the smaller crowds led to a little lighter security in the lots because for the first time in a long time a little bit of Shakedown Street was apparent. Inside the venue the lawn was pretty sparse on the second night and I had lots of elbow room on night one, not that I'm complaining.

The show got off to a great start with a Tube opener, which was kind of a precursor for the weekend; short, well played pretty high energy. Going from Tube to Oh Kee Paa/Suzy Greenberg kept the energy up, but with Funky Bitch next it really was a long run of songs that didn't have much in the way of jamming. Even Reba, a great extended tune, which came next, isn't what I consider a jam vehicle and when it only lasts about 12 minutes, not a Reba for the ages either. Seeing a rarity like Fuck Your Face is always nice, but it just added to the long set of short songs. Back on the Train turned out to be the biggest surprise of the set, a decent little jam followed by another personal favorite, Taste. The rest of the set followed the theme of short, tight songs until the Antelope closer which is always a nice way to go into the break, but I was definitely hoping for more in set two.

Set Two started out much like set one, with Sloth starting out. The Down with Disease  What's the Use? combo was pretty much what I was looking for; a good jam, led by Trey and What's the Use? has a pretty strong ambient feel so I was very pleased. It's funny, but the kids around me were all excited for the Scent of a Mule, calling it a bust out of all things. I suppose it as this point, but it really isn't that great of a song, and without a true duel portion within the song it feels kind of flat. Seeing how we got a Down With Disease, I knew when Mike's Song got started we were in for a short and sweet version, keeping with the feel of the night. The middle songs, Dirt and Sneaking Sally Through the Alley, kept a very mellow groove going and even though Weekapaug is a great finish, even that was relatively speaking pretty mellow. The final song of the set, Bug, with it's refrain, "It doesn't matter," sums up this show well. The songs were good, if short, and the overall feel or mood to the whole night was reflected by the closing song. I'm a firm believer that the encore is a kind of coda to any show, and a Donovan cover, he of the Mellow Yellow, tells you all you need to know how Quinn the Eskimo sent people off; happy, glad to see a strong show, but also wonder if the next day would bring a little more adventure.

Haven't had a chance to go back and listen to the sbds yet, but that will be a best way to determine how good this show was. I'm not sure if it was just in the pavillion or all over the venue, but there were some serious sound issues going on. Page was nonexistant in the mix and there were times where Mike was blasting. The former being a big problem considering that 1/4 of the band is inaudible. The latter wasn't so much of an issue, but just at certain points, especially when he'd climb the neck and really pull on the string, we were just getting blasted with it. We even switched from Mike's side to Page's side at set break AND moved up about 20 rows and it didn't change. Everything just got louder.

So, not sure how much the sound issues have to do with my initial opinion, and that is that the show was a C+/B- overall. The song selection was really fun. Definitely some rarities in there, but there seemed to be a lack of cohesiveness all night. The Tube opener was so short it was disappointing. The funk in that needs some time to develop which they didn't give it. Next five tunes were solid, first set tunes. Good stuff. And yeah, Trey tore up Alaska and Back on the Train, but that didn't make them great in my opinion. We all know he can solo, and raging out a song like Alaska seems more like a wank-fest than making for a good tune. Gumbo was alright, but the transition to Page's outro was totally forced. I will say this, that was the best Antelope I've heard live since they came back (Jones Beach 09 and Chicago 10 being the others). Trey was able to really rage.

Second set also had some highlights in What's the Use, SOAM, Mike's and Sally, but DWD really seemed lost with Trey just raging the whole time. The transition into WTU was pretty freakin' tight though. Just all of the sudden, there it was. Scent was awesome. The jam didn't get too far out. Some great work by Page. The Dirt after Mike's was down right lame. Horrible. Mike's was raging so hard and after the outro transition it just stopped and hit, well, dirt. Sally was pretty funky too, but the show pretty much stopped after that. Groove, Bug and Quinn are all just okay. More Trey just going off without any real gelling going on.

So, this is definitely a "live" review, meaning what I was hearing in the moment. I leave room to change my opinion after hearing the sbds. And hey, they're definitely entitled to an off night, especially since they have been playing so incredibly well lately, and this wasn't even entirely an off night. Just not a great one.

A super short tube set the course for the first set. Very high energy, fast paced tunes. thy actullly slow it down a bit with oh kee pa before launching into suzy. suzy was awesome...once agagin high energy. funky bitch is another quick n fast one before reba. reba was stellar and it was very tight playing. fuck your face is when people were kinda realizing this was gonna be an awesome show. alaska was very good and then back on the train. an awesome tune was thrilled to hear it. taste into circus was beautiful. then lawn boy.listen to the crowd go freakin nuts during lawn boy. sparkle and gumbo were quick and fun before a fast antelope. what a set and a long one. they open with sloth...wow then DWD. as mike played the opening notes i knew it was going to be special. some amazing type 2 jamming here. this one can be added to best of 2010 list. then into whats the use?...are you kidding me?...then SOAM...WHAT THE HELL THIS IS NUTS was all i could think. mikes starts and i was hoping for a monster mikes groove. mikes was solid and then dirt. a real energy killler. beautifully played just poorly placed. then sally ok here we go energys buildin back up. thought we were gonna get a nice long vocal jam but they pullled out. then groove...to be honest this groove was a bit of a letdown. very well played just not up to the standards of the rest of the show. this mikes groove is outdone by its 2010 counterparts (6/29, 7/4, 8/6). then bug, which was beautifully played. quinn was a pleasant surprise for the encore. thought we were gonna get one more but i think they were savin up for night 2. overall an awesome show!

This is my first review, so bear with me. When we got to the show, we went down to will call straight away cause we had tickets waiting for us. We found out the tickets were waiting backstage for some reason, so we have to go down there. We ending up waiting until a minute into Tube until we got our tickets, which were very close, and very slanted onto Page's side.

The first set opener was amazing, never heard tube live before. I wasn't listening intricately to the details, but it sounded great through my passive listening. When that merged into Oh-Kee-Pa, I knew this wouldn't be a standards show like I was thinking it would be. They launched from that into Greenberg. This is my first live show this year, I have been on the couch tour until now, but we all heard that Suzy from the Greek, and while this one didnt have the same intensity, it was still pretty amazing. Then funky bitch and reba, nothing spectacular to say, but nothing BAD to say either. and then I saw Trey talking to Mike, and there it was. Fuck Your Face. This was only my third show (I'm 19 and paying for college, shows are second priority) so I pretty much ruined those pants when I heard it. Could this become a standard? Hopefully.

I must have lost track of time, because that seemed like the end of the set. But no, they launch into three of secret favorite phish songs. And then the great Circus, which was a surprising segue from a Taste, which, BTW, had some spectacular piano work from page. He was on fire that night. And when Lawn boy came about, it was just perfect timing, the whole first set was Page and Cactus just being on fire, with Trey taking a bit of a back seat, which sounded just great. And eventually they worked to Antelope, which, along with Disease and Mikes, were the three songs I said they would do. Trey was on fire, and in the "lyrical" part, he changed the Marco Esquandolas into something else. I couldn't make out what it was though, can anyone help me out on this?

So anyway, after that first set, I was just blown away. And the bonus was, we found out we were in the wrong seats, so we got to move more toward the center, which was very good. Unfortunately, we were by some very nice phans originally, to be moved into a very weird group. One piece of advice I have for all phans.... IF YOU GO TO A SHOW, DON'T JUST MAKE OUT WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND THE WHOLE TIME WHILE IGNORING THE SHOW! Someone with lawn seats would have valued the pavillion seats more than this couple would have.

They opened up with the Sloth, which is one of my favorite semi-rarities. From Disease, I was hoping for the regular ending with the "this has all been wonderful...." stuff after the jam, but the jam significantly lacked that. not in a bad way, but in an unexpected way. The jam quickly slowed down, and after a while, I noticed that they were playing What's the Use?. That alone was enough for me to freak. And to go from that into SOAM....wow. Just wow. This was definitely Mike's and Page's show. The interplay between all the members was just astounding. I like what I'm hearing and want to hear more, which is the best anyone can ever say about any band, really.

So from Soam, into Mike's...I get excited for a minute, but that turns down after I realize Hydrogen may come with it. Looking at the song performance histories, It's interesting that Hydrogen has been played 4 times this year, in comparison to 8 Mike's. Could they be scrapping the song? I personally want it gone, I don't like it. One of the few phish songs I don't like. BUt anyway, they merge from that into Dirt, which was just beautiful. The guitar solo seemed a bit off, and that seemed to be the only flub I heard all night. And to merge from that into Sneakin' Sally....I think they did that song as a tribute to Richie Hayward, as the original backing band on that song was Little Feat. My buddy thinks they teased some Little Feat during Funky Bitch, but I didn't hear it. The groove was right on, and I thought they would end the set with that, which I would have been fine with. But to play Bug, the first Phish song I ever learned on guitar...I cried when I heard the first notes. Wow. Just wow.

So my buddy wanted to leave before the encore to beat the rush. I told him to stay, that the encore will be fantastic. And it was, hearing a Quinn. They seem to be adding songs into their sets more frequently now, I mean a Fuck your Face and a Quinn in the same night is unheard of. And the Quinn was just fantastic. 12 hours later and it is still in my head.

Going back to alpine tonight for my fourth show, and I couldnt be more excited. I like what I'm hearing, and want to hear more.

"Fuck Your Face was brought out for only the second time live ever!"

Nah. 3rd time.

Ummm Hello where is the mention of the entire Fiddler on the Roof song during Scent Of A Mule? Please add that to show notes.