Phish's triumphant return to the Mothership blasted off in truly galactic fashion. Listening to the AUD, you can hear AND feel the energy when the Chalk Dust chords start to rip. The place just erupts! Chalk Dust immediately feeds off of this energy and is played with a little more oomph and pizzazz, not that CDT ever lacks oomph and pizzazz, but this one really brings it! Wasting no time, Phish breaks off into a peppy groove at about the 7 minute mark continuing for the next 4 minutes or so. Really good stuff. It then morphs into a nimble little groove, led by Fish's percussive playing and accented by Trey's tasty little notes - I am not sure what tone/filter Trey is using, but it has that organ-esq sound that is so representative of 2003. I love that shit. The final 120 seconds of the jam segment features really inspired, cathartic playing that is symbolic of the renewed energy Phish brought to us in 2003, and then CDT winds down to a psychedelic, echo-plex(?)-fueled closing-segment before exploding back into its formal ending. What an opener!!! Bathtub Gin hits next and picks up right CDT left off. This jam really gets into bliss, major-key territory. I am already into novella territory with one song, so I will try my best to not make this a novel -- but damn it, I want to! Long story short, this Gin is made of happiness and inspiration. It is hose jamming. For the love of god do not skip over this 1-2 CDT/Gin combo, it is so incredibly good.

Keeping with the pattern set 2 days earlier, Phish threw in a compositional piece early on in the set, really showcasing their chops. Though this It's Ice isn't anything particularly interesting, it is a statement to place it in the #3 slot after 30+ minutes of hose. Back on the Train follows, and it if you are a fan of 2.28.03's BOTT, seek out it's little brother in this show. This one doesn't quite reach the stratosphere like 2.28, but it absolutely gets down! Round Room comes in next. There is something very alluring about this song. It is weird and quirky and in the few times played seems to both be played with humble focus and confused meandering -- an odd juxtaposition, but somehow, it makes sense with Round Room. Probably because Mike wrote it. f***ing love you Mike. Anyways, Round Room shifts things down a couple notches, but in a very interesting fashion. Seems like this could be the next "Fee" with the type of jams it could lead into, but that's for another discussion. Horse > Silent gives a nice little break from the absolute scorcher of set we had under our belts so far and sets up a pretty interesting Stash. Not sure how I feel about this Stash. It features "typical" Stash syncopation and poly-rhythmic playing but in a fashion that is more perfunctory than original. Nonetheless, it is well executed and is definitely not boring, as it culminated a strong peak. Water in the Sky is played in (my preferred) upbeat tempo and has some nifty Page/Trey interplay... with Trey really hitting some nimble, quick high notes towards the end of the jam, super good stuff A good little ditty indeed. The second Zero in as many shows puts an exclamation point on a white-hot first set.

46 Days opens set 2 and, like the set opener before it, wastes no time launching into deep space. [author's aside: This is what is so awesome and representative of 2003 - the band's willingness and focus to jump right into an extended jam with any song, in any set, in any slot. Phish was a jam band jamming for the sake of jamming. The consistent purity with which the improvisation flowed out of them was something unheard since the 97/98. THAT is why 2003 is so special.] 46 Days gets dark. Gritty. Gnarly. It's a soundscape of hallucinogenics and emotional mastery. For a band to be able to take you that deep, whether you are on drugs or not, is a spectacle to behold. So go forth ye dedicated listener, and be entranced by this 46 Days - and stayed tuned as it melts into a sublime Simple. Simple sways into a breezy, soft jam that is absolutely worth a single listen, although you need not revisit it. Nonetheless, a -> My Friend My Friend punctuates the rhythmic beauty of Simple and adds a splash of raging gusto in the middle of set 2. Limb by Limb steps up to the plate, and delivers a momentum gaining performance on the heels of the raging gusto of MFMF. This LxL really swoops and swirls and surrounds the venue with mesmerizing playing from Trey. I am particularly fond of this version as it really brings some great creative energy.

I will let my bias do the review for the next song: Thunderhead. I f***ing love Thunderhead. I love all Thunderheads. To me, if I were inside of a puffy white cloud, it would sound like Thunderhead. It would sound like bouncing on a plush mattress in the heavens. This one is that... and to quote Liz Lemon, "I want to go to there." PLAY THUNDERHEAD MORE DAMN IT! Antelope is scorching hot faux-closer that delivers the same extra-oomph that we saw in Chalk Dust, Gin, 46 Days, and LxL. I would not skip over this version. Cavern adds a couple more exclamation points to a really solid show. And Mexican Cousin sends us out somewhat bewildered (at the time it wasn't the cult-favorite as it is today) but hey, Phish is weird and does weird shit like that.

Must-hear jams: Chalk Dust Torture, Bathtub Gin, 46 Days, Thunderhead
Should-listen-to-jams: Back on the Train, Water in the Sky, Simple, Limb by Limb

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

My story for this show actually starts two days earlier, on NYE. As with most people, it seemed my friend and I were shut out of the NYE show at the Garden. Not to miss out on seeing a show to ring in the New Year, we decided to check out Govt. Mule at the Beacon Theatre, which by the way was a great show (for proof check out the blistering 2nd set, with Vernon Reid on guitar, in which they blazed through Miles Davis' “Freddy the Freeloader”, but that is another story for another time.)
On the ferry ride into Manhattan, my friend’s phone rings, and it was someone wishing us a happy New Years and, by the way, she may know someone who has two tickets to the first night in Hampton that they me need to get rid of... but they are not sure yet. Every free moment at the Govt. Mule show we spend calling our friend to see what the status of those two tickets is. She is still unsure, she tells us.
The next day we wake to the phone ringing. The guy with the extra tickets still hasn't made up his mind if he is going to be able to make it down to the show. I had to leave to head back home to Baltimore to meet up with some friends. My last words to my friend are to do what it takes to get those tickets.
A couple of hours later, while sitting in traffic on the Jersey turnpike, I get a call from my friend. He is on his way to Connecticut to get our tickets. The guy decided he was not going to go, and if my friend made it up to Connecticut that night we could have the tickets. Right before midnight my phone rings again. "One man gathers what another man spills" is all I hear from the other end. Two free tickets to the first night at the "Mothership". My friend leaves from Connecticut early the day of the show and drives down to Baltimore to pick me up and head on down to Hampton.
Less than forty eight hours ago we had nothing and now we are heading down to the first night of the Hampton run. Having never been there, I was bouncing off the walls the entire car ride.
The first time seeing the lights is an experience not soon forgotten, and one truly can see how Hampton Coliseum obtained the nickname "The Mothership". With its colored lights that surround the outside of the building lighting up the night sky, it sends its beams of light skyward, like a twisted "Bat Signal" for Phish fans.
The lot scene was pretty good despite the freezing temperatures. Everyone seemed to be in a very festive mood. I am sure the holiday season and the boys being back at Hampton had much to do with it. While cruising around I saw Mike chatting up some fans, and Fish was later seen checking out the lobby scene inside the venue.
A strong "Bathtub Gin" got things started off, and we do love to take a bath. While this was not the strongest show that Phish has ever played, is still always great to see the boys live. It bothers me when people want to deconstruct every show, setlist, and song to the point where they feel that there is never ever a good show. It always seems to some that it was better when...
Just as with everything in life, there are highs and lows. Sometimes Phish has a night of highs, sometimes they have a night of lows, and sometimes they have a night of both, but I keep in mind that a night of Phish lows is still better than any other band out there. To me there is no such thing as a bad Phish show, there are shows that are not as good as others, but their bad moments can still be pretty intense.
This night at Hampton was a night of highs and lows. There were some flubbed verses, a mixed change or two, "Character Zero" repeated from NYE. There were also some highs as well: the "My Friend, My Friend" in the second set, Fish's dance during "It's Ice", "46 Days" (this has great potential), and the "Antelope", which definitely got up and ran out of control at times.
The best thing about the Hampton show was that The Boys Were Back, back onstage doing what they do best, and what we like most. They took some chances; some worked and some did some did not. It gave me a chance to see some old friends, meet some new ones, hear some great music, and provide 10,000 people with great way to spend an evening.

I think this show is pretty underrated. I see what has been said about some slop and warmup jams as this is the 2nd show in about 2 1/2 years. But I like a lot of the ideas that come out of the jams in these shows however sloppy or directionless.

CDT opens and rips and blasts the audience off into space right away. Gin is in a pretty weird 2nd song slot, it goes into a nice groove before going into atypical Gin hoseyness towards the end. Excellent BOTT it's a nice little taste of what will happen on 2/28. Stash is pretty average but not bad still. Character Zero has a great solo and excellent peaks that you would expect from it.

46 days makes it's debut with what starts off as a somewhat thunderous jam. Then it mellows out quite a bit for a little while as they try and find some kind of ground. But the thunder returns as they take us for yet another crazy Trey led roller coaster ride. Simple is extremely sloppy but the bliss jam after is quite nice. Antelope has a little stretch to it and has all the ferocity you would want, no complaints!

However silly Mexican Cousin is as a song, the guitar solo is no laughing matter. Trey just nails it!

Overall I quite enjoy this show, maybe it's just my taste being able to see past some of the faults of a warmup show.

This is part of my project to contribute reviews of all my shows. This was my second show, having listened to lots of live Phish since my clueless self had seen Phish in 1999.

The energy was high of course, this being the second show back from the Hiatus.

CHALKDUST TORTURE was a great choice for opener. This version clocks in at 14 and a half minutes, longer than any subsequent versions I have heard. I like this version. It goes lots of different places, straight-forward jamming with some light handed Trey guitar work, an abstract section that eventually become almost static but suddenly (my favorite part) in the 12th minute explodes into an intense climactic jam. BATHTUB GIN follows, again relatively long by post-09 standards at 17 plus minutes. After a raucous Page opening and the vocals, they seem to be meandering a bit, trying to find a groove. They find it in the 7th minute and proceed to build a great climax over the next 9 minutes. Straightforward, propulsive without being in a hurry (tricky to pull off)), incremental build, thoroughly enjoyable. IT”S ICE seems an excellent change-up with it's darkness and minor-key moments. A straight build opens into a quiet motionless moment (yeah) followed by some Page grand moments. The song flows straight into BACK ON THE TRAIN. The lyrics with their metaphoric references to the band and their return were great moments (even if they did get back off just 19 months later). Another relatively long version at almost 12 minutes. A linear jam building though without any big finish. ROUND ROOM comes next, the first of only 5 times so far. I like this goofy song, wouldn't want it every third show but it would be a good change up once in a while. THE HORSE>SILENT continued the mellow middle of the set. STASH got things rolling again with a version I like a lot, getting sounding out of control by minute 8 building to a frenetic climax with great contributions from Page and Fishman, love the distorted guitar. An uptempo WATER IN THE SKY provides another change of pace, again at 6 minutes longer than post 2009 versions. Nicely done. CHARACTER ZERO follows closing the set. High energy and intense.

46 DAYS was another debut, this time of a song that has stuck. This starts rather mellow, slightly slower tempo than recent versions I have heard. Again not in a hurry as this version, at 20 minutes, is one of the longest versions to date (not nearly IT long though). This one builds some low level intensity into the 8th minute then shifts to a mellow and meandering jam, like it better now sipping coffee on my couch than I remember liking it then. The tempo and energy does build to a loose Can't You Hear Me Knocking jam by minute 15. An intense finish slides into SIMPLE where they do struggle with the vocals, both the harmonies and getting the lyrics right. The instrumentals are mellow and only get more so, getting quiet, gentle and delicate for the last few minutes of the 10 minute song. A static finish flows beautifully into MY FRIEND, MY FRIEND. They seem a bit unsure of themselves until it shifts into the vocal section. The build into the “knife” section is nicely menacing. LIMB BY LIMB delivers just what I want from this song, vocals clean, good intense jam to a big climax. The third debut of the night is THUNDERHEAD. A melancholy ballad with a tasteful guitar solo at the end. RUN LIKE AN ANTELOPE starts right away to the delight of the crowd. While not a particularly clean version, I like how the intensity builds. A good jam moves along until about the 6th minute when the intensity really starts building. Distorted guitar effects ensue by minute 7. By minute 8, it starts being fairly out of control, in a way that I really like. A satisfying climax finishes at 9:30. The finish is fine, with a “spliff” reference, and not particularly out of control. CAVERN follows straight on. I was happy to get my first one. Trey struggled at a few points with the complicated lyrics. Fun and mostly what you want from a Cavern. The encore included the fourth debut of the night, MEXICAN COUSIN. Honestly, this is a song that I never have appreciated here or since. In this version, Trey starts his guitar solo at about the 2:30 mark and slowly builds. Nothing notable.

To wrap up, is there any reason to check out this show so many years later. Well it does have 4 debuts in it, of which the 46 DAYS is notable. I prefer the first set to the second, with strong versions of Chalkdust, Stash and Gin as well as a cool (sorry) It's Ice. This was certainly a great show to attend with lots of happy positive energy in the Mothership.

The band sounds really rarin' to go in this second return to the stage as Phish of the post-hiatus (2.0) era! Chalkdust ranges over some very interesting peaks and valleys, including an ambient/space type of jam that features Trey in full-on Hendrix effects mode and just the barest taste of Page's Moog Little Phatty before a return to the Chalkdust climax. With the hindsight of 3.0 now fully in swing, it's tempting to compare Fish's performance in this show with his more gradual return to peak form over these past 7 years, but what's the use? (I do want to note that Mike sounds more engaged here than he seems to have been--in broad strokes--in the post-breakup (3.0) era.) Trey flubbed the lyrics to Chalkdust, but I think it must've been because he was so pumped to be jamming in the Phish context again, his first love. Gin is relatively laid-back but has some prominent Page clavinet action, and the Gin builds to a satisfying peak, albeit without a machine-gun Trey crescendo. BOTT, in a rare extended version, verges on Type II. I've grown less fond of Stash, for musicological reasons related to its modes or something that I don't fully understand, lately than I used to be, so let someone else tackle that one. As for the rest of the set, an observation that It's Ice evinces a respectable control of composed portions which would later be lacking in 2.0, and Round Room's debut is pulled off nicely, including a synthy outro.

46 Days, its debut at over 20 minutes, encompasses quite a few stylistic progressions, with an overall feel of the band seeming very comfortable with the tune already, which, like Suzy Greenberg is described by I think Fish in The Phish Book, is something along the lines of an excuse to jam. In retrospect, it's too bad Phish seem to have done all they really want to do with 46 Days as a showpiece for jamming, because I'm not a big fan of the song itself and the way it gets Type-I'd so much in 3.0 seems a disservice with this excellently jammed version in full view. Thunderhead and Mexican Cousin are also debuts... sure wish they'd bust out Thunderhead! This show overall proves that Phish still had it, that they could explore new spaces sonically in their Type-II excursions, and that they could--at this point--honor both the letter and the spirit of their more time-honed compositions from a technical standpoint. As an individual show but knowing that NYE had just occurred two nights before, I think they sound just a little bit tired, but I wouldn't dare say they sound rusty. I would absolutely have paid more attention during the two fleeting years of 2003 through 2004 if I knew we phans were facing a breakup, and I commit myself now to revisiting with more TLC a lot of the high points from those years in the future, because honestly, the "let's just jam" mentality is impossibly attractive to me, 3.0 notwithstanding.

Rust and slop is to be expected from the second show after the hiatus, and this show certainly has it. It's Ice, Silent In The Morning, Simple (lyric snafu and train wreck transition to jam), MFMF, Antelope, etc. etc. Now, glancing at the track times, you might think there would be plenty of jamming to overcome the slop and make this a quality show. But don't be fooled by a 14 minute Chalkdust > 17 minute Gin opener. The overall sense I got from the jams is "directionless," even by 2.0 standards. Very rarely do all four members seem to really connect on anything. Most of it isn't really bad, per se, but not much really grabbed me, either.

There are some moments that are pleasant, certainly. I like the album-style ambient ending to Round Room (even if the song itself was a mess), maybe a moment or two of the 46 Days jam, the peak in LxL (although something that sounded like it might get interesting instead just petered out and died at the end), and a tad bit of Thunderhead.

These moments, though, are way too few and far between. I think it's mostly slightly below average jamming and quite a bit of slop, and not something I'd really be anxious to revisit often. Two stars.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

My husband and I left Harrisburg by train for NYC December 30, with high hopes of scoring tickets for MSG on New Year's Eve. We wandered around the Garden for hours hoping for a "miracle on 34th Street", but it was not to be. During the first set, I remember gazing up at the higher levels of the Garden thick with steam, the windows dripping with condensation. I was certain the energy circulating in that building was going to blow through the roof. Fans standing at the middle level waved down to us as we circled the Garden with envy, wishing ourselves inside. So close. We had made it so far but not far enough. We reveled in the fact that we had tickets to all three nights of Hampton, and focused on the days ahead.
After hearing of a terrorist threat on New York Harbor New Year's Eve and not being able to shake the feeling of having to watch our backs, we left on the first train out of New York in the early morning hours of New Year's Day and headed back to Harrisburg for a day with my parents. The morning of January 2, 2003 we packed our new car - œ a 1992 Buick LeSabre just given to us by my parents - œ and headed to Hampton, VA, full of gear, lots of love, and pounds of my Mom's incredible penne and meatballs.
Five hours later we arrived at the Arrow Inn in Hampton with a "Welcome Phish Fans" sign on the motel marquee. The adventure ensued.
After not seeing the boys in more than two years, the first night blew away my illusory imaginings of what it would be like to finally get "back on the train." Indeed, it stoked our fire for Phish and we finally understood why the Mothership is their favorite room to play. The "Chalk Dust" opener would later prove to be an omen for us.
The following day we cruised to Virginia Beach and enjoyed the humid, salty air and the somber, gray sky that always dominates East Coast winters. Brian and I strolled along the beach and I encountered a mound of foam the Atlantic had spewed forth. And as always, observing cues that the universe provides me, I said to Brian, "We're gonna hear `Foam' tonight."
Remember, how I said "Chalk Dust" was an omen for us? Well, after a search with the Colorado DMV in which we supplied a fifty item-long list of seven character Phishy names that could be used as a personalized plate, we finally discovered that "CHLKDST" was available. And after "Reba"'s christening as our new Phish Tour-mobile, "Contact" took on a completely new meaning for us.

On January 2nd, 2003 (yep, that’s 010203) I saw Phish play at the Hampton Coliseum all the way down in Virginia. The band had just come off a 26-month hiatus; having played a reportedly triumphant comeback show at Madison Square Garden on New Year’s Eve a couple of days previously they were kicking off their 2.0 era with a trio of shows at a venue that fans have come to longingly refer to as The Mothership.

The band’s return was so rabidly anticipated that I took it upon myself to drive solo all the way from Ottawa to Hampton, Virginia to meet up with some friends who assured me a bit of carpet in their hotel room and a ticket to at least the first concert. I generally love a nice long drive so I hopped in my Honda Accord and down I went.

It was my first time seeing a concert at the Hampton Coliseum and I remember little about it aside from thinking the show was so blatantly meh that it made me feel like a fool for coming. As one mediocre, under-rehearsed song after another went by I felt dumber and dumber for having undertaken the time and expense of making such a big trip. I actually got kind of mad at the band.

Which in retrospect was pretty silly, and if I took the time to listen to the show again with the same retroactive perspective I probably wouldn’t find it so bad after all. But at the time I did, and I guess that’s all that matters because I bailed on the next two shows and got out of there.

I do remember seeing a full-grown, real-live elephant in the parking lot of the hotel after the show. When I mentioned as much upon returning to the hotel room everyone gave me a hearty guffaw and accused me of hallucinating, lying or worse. It was with great satisfaction that I threw back the drapes and pointed out the very-real pachyderm (who was standing just below our window) to the room full of astonished afterpartiers, all of whom were forced to immediately retract their nasty accusations.

So there’s that, I suppose.

However, no amount of convincing was going to get me to stay for any more Phish, and despite assurances that I would easily find tickets for the next two nights (no surprise there) and that they were bound to be better shows (again, no surprise there) I packed up and drove out of town in a huff (and a driving rainstorm) first thing the next morning.

The rain was bad – really bad – and it didn’t relent until it finally changed to snow and became a bona fide blizzard, and still I drove on. The little traffic that was on the highway – mostly snowplows and crazy people – was slowed to no more than twenty-five miles per hour and still, driven by the invincibility of anger, I drove on. I very nearly stopped in Albany and tried booking in to a friend’s place but in a fit of further foolishness, I drove on. I remember gripping the wheel with steely fear and determination as I laid fresh tracks in the passing lane for what seemed like hours.

In all, the twelve-hour journey took almost twenty, and in no way did I feel it was at all worth it.

Can’t win ‘em all.

http://www.toddmanout.com

SET 1: Chalk Dust Torture: Trey completely skips these lyrics in the opening stanza: I'm bought for the price of a flagon of rice - The wind buffs the cabin - You speak of your life - Or more willingly Locust the Lurker – goes to the second stanza, completes half of it and then comes back to what I quoted just now, ugh. I love the spot they get into early on in this jam, specifically in the 8’s on on – it is sooooo good. Things get into a very cool, quiet headspace in the mid 10’s. Lot’s of cool stuff from Trey. In the mid 11’s Trey is hitting on these big reverb type of sounds (I am sure that is not the technical term for it, but whatever) – this sounds awesome. This was going great until Trey is hit with a sudden surge of ADD and goes into heavy guitar god mode and this is very awkward, the rest of the guys are totally caught off guard but somehow quickly recover. They rip up the ending in fine fashion. >

Bathtub Gin: Wow, can’t believe they would come back with another big jam tune after that long CDT. Cool! Page really brings the funk in the early going in this jam. Trey reaches for that super crunchy tone in the early tens, his fingers are flying all over that fret. Really good jam here! After these two jams, most in attendance had to be thinking that this show would blow New Years out of the water.

It's Ice: Sloppy. Very forgettable version. >

Back on the Train: Page owns this bad boy. Trey eventually takes the lead and throws down some nice lines. Excellent jam here. 4th longest played ever. Some difficulty with the ending.

Round Room: Seems well received by those in attendance. I love the big wall of sound that crops up in the mid 4’s and then the killer effects that come after that in the late 4’s and into the 5’s. I have never quite understood why this tune wasn’t explored more. I love this stuff in here! >

The Horse > Silent in the Morning: Pages vocals seem weak – emo?

Stash: Not too bad all things considered.

Water in the Sky: Quite the energetic solo from Trey, lot’s of trilling, pretty cool!. >

Character Zero: Standard.

SET 2: 46 Days: I love the descending theme Trey hits on at 10:50 and then repeats through 11:46, pure magic. Brilliant, muscular jam. The debut of this song and it’s an all timer! >

Simple: Vocals are thoroughly butchered. Really embarrassing. Solid, little jam though. ->

My Friend, My Friend: Sloppy intro.

Limb By Limb: Good jam.

Thunderhead: Listen to Trey burn this one up, he just kills it. Yet all the flubbing on the older stuff. Shows you they didn’t practice the older stuff. Trey does blow the ending on this one a bit though. >

Run Like an Antelope: This jam is red hot. It’s flawed in the early going but once it gets going – look out. It’s a barnburner for sure! >

Cavern: Trey blows lyrics, funny/not funny listening him mumble into the mic at one point. Ugh.

ENCORE: Mexican Cousin: Trey just rips the hell out of this solo, for real.

Replay Value/Summary: CDT, Gin, BOTT, Round Room, 46 Days, and Antelope. I prefer this show versus the NYE show. They came out swinging. 3.9 out of 4 – I know, I know – but I really like this show!

Set 1 Highlights: Chalk Dust Torture (Standout Version), Bathtub Gin, Back on the Train

Set 2 Highlights: 46 Days (Standout Jam), Thunderhead > Run Like an Antelope

Phish comes roaring out of the gates with a stretched out version of Chalk Dust Torture that explores absolutely every inch of musical structure available before returning to the theme to close. Bathtub Gin follows up (8/9/04 is looking mighty similar at this point) and breaks into a groove from the initial jam before returning to the Gin for a rousing conclusion. It's Ice follows up and proves to be as bold of a choice as it looks on paper with Trey trying to keep up with the monster composition. Back on the Train comes swaggering on in next and is a groovy version highlighted by Trey and Page. The rest of the set was like a shrug in my eyes, no real flow present. The debut of 46 Days busts the doors off to open the second set. I hadn't heard this version before and man, it's a real doozy. Absolutely, must-hear material. Simple and My Friend, My Friend come in next and are both pretty full of flubs (across the whole band). Limb by Limb is a very typical version and doesn't do anything to rekindle some of the energy that was lost after 46 Days. An absolutely beautiful Thunderhead shows up next. As the main man of 2.0, @FunkyCFunkyDo, says, Thunderhead f***in' rocks. Run Like an Antelope emerges from the ethereal mist of Thunderhead and is a bit of a Yin-Yang version. The compositional portion is pretty meh, but I enjoyed the jam quite a bit. Cavern closes out the set and Mexican Cousin takes its turn to close out the night. Overall, a very up-and-down show that I feel is representative of how a lot of people on this board categorize 2.0 as a whole.

This was my very first Phish show. Rode a Greyhound bus for 24 hours from northern Indiana for this show. I was still 15 and travelling with my sister. I was going mostly because of her excitement for it and what the little Phish that she had exposed me to. At that point the only album I had listened to was Billy Breathes and the only live show I had heard was the Nectar's show from mid 80's, so my Phish knowledge was very low. Not knowing 95% of the songs they played hurts my memory of the show itself. I didn't know what I was hearing. All I knew is Phish took control of my body with their music and made me dance my ass of like I never knew I could. Such a mind blowing feeling. I'm kind of glad I hardly knew any Phish when I went to these first shows because I wasn't chasing songs, I wasn't worried about how long jams were, and I wasn't picking the show apart which happens when you become a jaded vet. I had no expectations at all so I could be completely unbiased in judging what I saw and heard. And my judgement was indescribable love for this band, scene, and whole community.

Since then obviously I have seen many shows and immersed myself in their vast live catalog and I've listened back on this show many times. So to actually review the music. The Chalkdust opener is really good. You can feel the excitement when you listen to it, both of the band and the crowd. Then the Gin gets a good funky kind of groove for a while before climbing to a satisfying peak. I love this version of BOTT. It explores a bit more than the norm. wouldn't consider it type 2 but it gets close to it. I also love the Round Room that follows. Underrated song and should be played more. It has a sick outro that leads into The Horse very nicely. The Stash isn't bad but it isn't great. Some good tension jamming but this is one of the songs where you can hear the rust the boys were shaking off from hiatus. 2nd set starts with a banger. "Another new song?" You're damn right another new song and they are gonna jam it out over 20 minutes. They used to jam the hell out of that song in 2.0. The jam dies out into the start of Simple. The rest of the show is good but not great. I like Thunderhead and like most phans I wish they play that more and Antelope is always fun but nothing else stands out in the 2nd set besides 46 Days. Cavern is kind of butchered by Trey flubbing the lyrics and guitar multiple times. Mexican Cousin encore was ok but there really needed to be a 2nd song in that encore IMO to make it satisfying. Overall, I think this was a good, fun, exciting show but setlist flow is a little lacking and, like I said before, there is some definite rust in there. I gave it a 3 star rating but it's more like 3.5