WHAT!?

Off the hook personally for me, 1st set great, 2nd set better. Perhaps it could have sounded better where me and my beloved peeps hung out with plenty of space in the rear of the right loge but with everything factored it sounded good enough.:-wink/smile. What it afforded us was tons of space, actually too much space to give me as it was, as they so reminded us after set break, indeed, Party Time, in all ways, shapes and forms as they reached for the stars and I, too, tried, successfully, I might add. I could not happily raged it any harder and blessed to still have this kind of fun. 'Cause they want us to be happy.

No matter, they bought it to Merriweather tonight. My first highlights were Crosseyed and Painless and First Tube. Though I had a great time with everything in the 1st set I just finished listening to the C and P and it was everything my ears originally told me it was. The Steam that followed it was a full blown-out production complete with so much "steam" emitted from behind it that it totally enveloped the stage to the point that nothing but the lights thru the "stuff", lol, could be seen.

The Buried Alive opener was from a huge sign that he personally requested from the fan and showed it personally to the members of the band first before facing it up towards the audience so they could see what was being requested on it. Ha Ha Ha. yep, got it...:-wink. Sample, Sky, Wolfman's, Boogie On, blah blah blah, loved it all, as opposed to the rock monster that Camden was IMHO, tonight was Funk night at the Post. Personal favorite is Bathtub Gin, Jesus Just Left Chicago rocked many in the house and probably was my first, haven't gap charted yet. Character Zero was a good sign that all was good for both the end of the set and the tone for the next one, a pretty happy mood pervaded the venue in between.

Working semi-backwards, Trey and the rest of the band ripped the heart out of Alaska. Light>The Wedge, funkenlicious, other songs speak for themselves, the Crosseyed and Painless was and will always will be a personal highlight.

Halfway to the Moon is IMHO one of the coolest songs in the repertoire and was another one of "those" songs in all of the best ways possible.

Hood was Hood, BDTNL rocked rocked rocked, my Loving Cup was going to my soulmate Angela dancing with us, the Sanity was, well, insane. My first, I think, Makisupa Policeman was really sweet and I wasn't giving into the finale, First Tube was all that and more, the final musical orgasm both thru the ears and the eyes, yeah, a fitting climax to though I wasn't there on nite 1, an overall fine experience with two shows that I hope were fine to your eyes and ears but this night that I attended was perfect, if not perfectly played. But perfection, at least for me, is overrated when it comes to this. Thanks to the peeps who would have made this the perfect night anyways but, musically, Phish wins. Again. T/U.

Peace,
Alex

@the_Crested_Hogchoker: i believe i am the birthday boy you speak of, and yes, my head did explode when they played BDTNL. 2nd set opener: Party Time, 2nd set closer: BDTNL...I mean, does it get any better on your birthday?

C&P>Steam was also incredible, and I had been waiting for a Buried Alive opener for forever, and we got a comparably long one. Mindmelting encore as well.

THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO SIGNED MY SHIRT! YOU MADE MY NIGHT AMAZING, THANKS SO MUCH. SEE YOU AT SBIX!!!

It was this kid's birthday in front of me on the lawn... he about lost his cookies when they started party time. I lost track of him but his head might have exploded for BDTNL.

This was a great, upbeat close to a rockin and occasionally dark (see: Rock and Roll-> Albuquerque from Sat- mmmmm... I can still feel it in between my teeth) weekend.

Fishman and Mike stole the show IMO, esp from Wolfman's on. Steam was pretty wild and obviously has a lot of potential. Between Steam and Halfway to the Moon, I think I've founf my two favorite 3.0 songs.

The band obviously had a lot of fun this weekend, all four of them looked absolutely euphoric as they lit into the "beautiful buzz" part of Loving Cup, and they giddily joked around in the encore before tearing up First Tube.

Saturday was the highpoint of the weekend, but MPP2 was not far behind in my opinion.

This was my second show after seeing my first the previous night. I had lawn seats originally, but I checked Ticketmaster the morning of the show and was able to get some nice pavs on a re release. This being a hometown show, I just drove to Merriweather a few hours before showtime, got rid of my lawns, and hung out in the lot. The start of the first set was really fun. Buried Alive is a great opener, and then you get two Fishman songs in Lonesome Cowboy Bill and Ha Ha Ha. I was fortunate enough to catch two bustouts in my first two shows. The day before, I got Daniel Saw the Stone and got Lonesome Cowboy Bill at this show. Sample in a Jar and Divided Sky were flawless. Wolfman's through Gumbo brought the funk. Wolfman's->Boogie On Reggae Woman was a great jam. The slow, funky Wolfman's and the smooth, patient segue into Boogie On was awesome. Mike's playing was amazing in Boogie On, as usual. Halley's Comet had a short jam that slammed into a really good Bathtub Gin. I think this Gin may be a little underrated; Trey plays really well in this one. It was fun to hear Page get down and dirty in Jesus Just Left Chicago. Character Zero brought the house down. Overall, I thought the first set was really solid.
Party Time was good as the set 2 opener. The following Crosseyed and Painless was excellent. Trey tore this one to pieces. After a brief ambient jam at the end of Crosseyed, Steam made its second appearance. I knew of the song but I hadn't heard it yet. The fog that filled the stage and the pavilion was cool. Steam ended with a crescendo of effects and the chords of Light emerged from the wall of sound. Light's jam had its moments, but it was nothing special overall. The Wedge and Alaska were well played, but I think the set lost some steam (pun intended) here with some questionable song placements. Halfway to the Moon is a really nice song, and I was ecstatic to hear Harry Hood, which is my favorite song. Although, I think the jam was cut short by BDTNL. BDTNL did feature some serious playing from Trey though, as did the set-closing Loving Cup. The second set was a 3.0 showcase, with more than half of the songs in the set being from the 3.0 era. A three-song encore is always great. Makisupa Policeman was funny with all the "What!" shouting from the band and also included a bass solo from Mike on his new bass that he used for the the encore the previous night, as well. First Tube ended the show with a bang.
The highlights of the first set were Wolfman's->Boogie On and Bathtub Gin. The second set highlights were Crosseyed>Steam and the encore.

Well, during Phish 3.0, I am 3 for 3. The shows I was able to catch were all really solid in their own unique ways. The first Wachovia Center show on 11/24/09, MPP on 6/27/10 and this show. Again, I chose the second night at MPP, or should I say it chose me. The Sunday scene usually is much more enjoyable for me on a weekend run. Must be getting old. In any event, this is a really good show. I took my brother-in-law to his first show and was nursing a vicious hangover from a fellow phan's BMore wedding the night before. With that in mind, I sipped a few good ones in the lot and cruised into pavillion seats in the loge. I really wanted the band to shine, as we all do when we introduce our band to someone new. They met and exceeded expectations with ease.

Quick note: Either I am being Captain Obvious here or I have made a breakthrough. It seems like the past few nights have been tailor made setlists for personal band members. On the couch tour, I have noticed. 6/8 looks like Trey, 6/10 has Mike written all over it, and 6/11 focused on Page. Well it looks like we got Fishman. I didn't know what to expect.

Set 1:
Buried Alive is old school Phish and the sound just takes me back right away. Nicely played. Not a fan of Velvet Underground (I know, I am in the minority, but we all have our preferences) so the second tune was boring for me. Ha is silly, but cool and once Sample hit, I was a little worried. But I shouldn't have been. Sample is perfect for a new fan and he was digging it. Plus, it is a good song. Solid version. Divided is what it is...a classic tune that never gets old, but it has been following me around and I haven't really heard it stray enough. In the hopes of not sounding like a jaded fan, it's kind of predictable lately. Ok...throw all that out the window. Once Wolfman's kicks into high gear, this set shines right through Zero and leaves ears ringing during setbreak. The jam out of Wolfman's is pure funk, but when it turns to Boogie, watch out. Page is out front here, just killing it on the keys and the band is locked in. The phunk persists and Gumbo is strong as ever. Just amazing. I was feeling it and heads were grooving. Not to be outdone, the Halley's is especially strong and goes right into a stunning Jesus Left Chicago. Despite Page ripping the vocals, it is Trey's soloing here that stands out. Really nice work. When the kick into the cliche Zero, no one even groans a little. The earned the right to rock out hard and this edition seems right on this night. Ears ringing and happy fans.

Set Break: Some air up on the top of the lawn, a loo break, and back to the seats.

Set 2: Party Time starts up while I am still walking, but I settle in for the jam. First time I heard it live and frankly, only the second or third time I heard it ever. It's ok. Kind of cheesy, but a fun way to kick off a set. CandP. Now here we go, the funk returns. I read somewhere that this song is getting overplayed and is not deviating much, but who cares? This song thumps and the band is digging it. I will take this tune any show I see. The playing moves into a distinct riff and it turns out that it is a new song...Steam. I really liked it. Nice little sneaky melody, thick bassline, and cool stage effects. I will take it. When they go into Light, I am disappointed. I know there have been some tight monsters of this song and listening back, this is a really solid piece of music, but being there it was a different story. It felt like Trey had his mind set on playing this song even if it didn't make sense with the vibes in the place. Awkward move from the new song Steam and the crowd sags a little. The Wedge picks us up a bit, but I am more a fan of The Wedge in the first set. It's too short and predictable to be the centerpiece of the second set in my opinion. I pee during Alaska. Sorry to be negative here, but to me, that songs sucks. The come at us with another new one...Halfway to the Moon. It's better than Alaska, but I am not into it and neither is the crowd. More sagging. That song has potential if appropriately placed in a set, but this didn't seem right. Especially after the Saw It Again second set from MPP 2010, this set was petering out hard. Hood has the potential to rescue it, but again, here goes Trey cutting the jam part short. It was just starting to bliss out and engage me when I was jolted back to a Number Line. Good song. Terrible placement here. To me, I would have much preferred them to take Hood for another 10 minutes and just end the set. Oh well. Decent jamming, but uneventful. Loving Cup was extra strong as previously mentioned in the reviewing. I agree. Real good stuff. The encore is above average and a lot of fun. First Tube was insanely out there and peaked really hard. Just like the Zero that ended the first set, ears were ringing.

This is a nice, solid show and really gets by on the mid-late first set. Hard funk. I say seek it out and focus on Wolfman's-Zero and again from Crosseyed-Steam. Besides that, the encore is worth a listen, and that's about it. Still, I left pleased and felt like the band played their asses off. I am happy they are back and even this 6.5 out of 10 show is really great stuff.

I made the 40 Minute Bouncin signs. I wish that Phish had contacted me and told me to get the story of the 40 Minute Bouncin And The Never Ending Coral Maze -> Maze ball rolling. Had some great arguments / conversations / pep rallies with people over Bouncin, 40 minute jams, dreams, etc.

Loved the whole weekend for the most part, really good song selection where the only hiccups were the placement of Sample & Chalkdust which kind of disrupted what would have been really cohesive sets otherwise, despite those offending songs being well played in a vaccuum.

Second set of the second night was the most impressed I've been with the boys outside of the first two Bethels or Detroit. They really put the faith in the newer material for the most part as Hood & Loving Cup were the only 2 songs to be "in rotation" previous to 3.0 - usually that might make people cringe, but on this night the second set unfurled perfectly. Very Fish heavy show!

Great show overall, from Hood on things started descending in to craziness. Then the encore is where this show got real. It left you wanting more. It will be great to see what they can come up with at Superball when the time restrictions aren't so tight. They still had energy coming out of first tube but the show wound up right where they wanted us to be....

WHAT?!

Closing out my run of shows until Watkins Glenn, MPP2 represented my final stop.

Set I opened with Buried Alive - super opener.

Lonesome Cowboy Bill was a great bustout. Love me some Loaded.

Ha Ha Ha was similarly awesome and is pretty rare.

Sample was sample.

D-Sky was well played and was pretty nice.

Wolfman's -> Boogie On featured some funktastic playing and a great segue. Boy was that fun!

Gumbo is a great tune.

Halley's is similar a great tune.

Bathtub Gin gave us a bit of jamming. Nothing insane, but Trey peaked these 3.0 Gins pretty hard pretty consistently.

JLC was great to catch. Love it.

Zero closed us out with some rock and roll.

Overall Set I: This was a fun set. Like the night before it had good song selection and some nice jamming in Wolfmans->Boogie and Gin. I was happy with it.

Set II opened with Party Time? Bit of an odd one, but I was fine with it as a table-setter.

Xeyed is always raging, this one raged adequately, but it's not a top version.

Steam was awesome and this is a fine version indeed. Good solo and good outro jam. Grab this if you like the tune.

Light was underwhelming actually. It had a jam, but just wasn't so interesting.

Wedge>Alaska>Halfway to the Moon was ok. Nothing more (although I love the Wedge).

Hood was kind of short with an average jam, but it's always good to hear.

Number Line>Loving Cup closed it out. Some good guitar work, but pretty standard.

Encore was amazing with Sanity>Makisupa>First Tube - that was a ton of fun!

Overall set II: Good not great. Fun, but nothing magical. Encore was worthwhile for sure though!

2/5 A little below par for both nights I think.

On my first day off from my day-of Winter/Spring '93 extravaganza (I'm listening to all of Winter/Spring '93 on the days the shows occurred as well as reviewing each, 2.8 was the first break in the tour) I decided to listen to this show, which isn't a bad show. A quick run-down:

Set one is super fun for a 3.0 first set. A rare > bustout > rare sandwich opens the show in style. Divided Sky, the first land-mark song, is good save a little shakiness after the pause. A true first set segue is a rare treat that Wolfman's -> Boogie offers. Gumbo and Halley's are standard, but Gin receives some harmonic exploration. It still has a straightforward build, but they mess around with many more modes than is normal for the song. Instead of one major mode shift, there are several one after another. JJLC is always a treat; this version is well played. Zero is 0. This is definitely in the upper echelon of first sets from 2011.

Party Time opener for set two! Woot woot Partayy! Xeyed > Steam > Light is a good sequence that, Steam's ending notwithstanding, doesn't venture outside the box. This was back before Light was cemented as a major jam vehicle; keep that perspective check in mind as you listen. I've never understood the hate for Alaska. It seems rather misplaced considering Ocelot has firmly planted itself favorably within fan culture. That comparison might seem tired, but the two songs really are pretty damn similar in feeling and structure. However, I loathe the Alaska intro. It wouldn't be so bad if they could actually plant the landing on that shit, but they rarely do. It's always a mess. This one particularly so. That's my biggest beef (or should I say salmon... holy shit that's dumb, I don't know why I thought of that) with the song.

The rest of set II is uneventful. Hood isn't particularly good. Even if the peak were better it wouldn't have been that satisfying because the beginning of the jam is so impatient. No payoff without anticipation. Numberline? Yawn. Loving Cup? Yawn.

Encore: Sanity? Loose but fun. Makisupa? What!?!?? Laughter. First Tube? Rage that shit yo.

Ranking each set for what they are, I'd say that set one is better for a first set than set two is for a second set. Set one is really quite spectacular as far as first sets go. And set two is pretty fun if don't go into it expecting super-duper h3tty jamz.

2nd set & encore should be ones focus here....the steam was steamy and showed us the light up into Alaska where the Northern lights were upon us....the hood was typical bliss......Makisupa Encore....Hell yes....heady funkalishious

First show, Sample in a Jar made me realize how incredible Phish and it just got better and better

Makisupa, What!!!!!!!!!

triple encore.. WHAT?!

@mbk4380 I was on the rail this night and the guys next to me had the Buried Alive sign, I really don't think it's planted. It's possible the band sees the signs before they walk on, but other than that, I think it's legit. Kuroda's lights are already setup for the entire show when they start, he just goes with the flow so no rigging is necessary.

@mbk4380 - Kuroda doesn't NEED to rig his lights ahead of time.

They need to start playing Steam some more...love that new song! Great show overall, another 2 nights of good music!

Sorry man. You're wrong on that one. Phish's lights are all always custom all the time. Chris Kuroda has been at the helm of the lights since 89. And that ain't gonna change any time soon.

You might get a setlist you personally like more then this show, but you won't get any better from the boys. They were sublime. Everything was a highlight. Just take Trey on Divided Sky for example. Flawless! And that Encore. Are you kidding me? What can you say about such men?

policeman, blunt, bundt cake, house!

In response to the criticisms about my post re: the sign selections being rigged, I'm not suggesting the band plants someone in the crowd with a sign. It could just as likely be that they pick a song, and then go out and find that sign (like first night in Alpharetta).

I sat right next to the sound/light boards the second night of MPP. Despite how awesome CK is, and I'm not criticizing you, he for the most part can run a program for many of the songs and watch the lights go. That was the case with the first songs each of the two nights in Maryland.

All I'm saying is that when the band takes the stage, and the place goes nuts, I don't think they're being as improvisational as you might otherwise believe. And, this approach would be consistent with Phish 3.0 - lots more songs per set, less jamming, more predictability. But still a lot of fun.

The signs Trey "randomly" picks from the crowd have to be planted by the band. There is no way that the lights were magically rigged to be perfect for Buried Alive and Daniel Saw the Stone (the night before). I think it's cute, but no way is it as spontaneous as they make us think it is.