SET 1: Cities: Standard, played close to the vest. The Curtain: Standard. > Sample in a Jar: Has a little extra juice to it. Ginseng Sullivan: Standard. Bouncing Around the Room: Standard. Maze: Surely melted some faces. Something: Standard. Ghost: All gas no brakes. Seriously. This is straight hellfire. Trey is a juggernaut. Would definitely recommend. The last minute things mellow out with Trey playing around with the reverse reverb and Page throwing in some heavy effects. Would recommend this version. > Golgi Apparatus: SET 2: Also Sprach Zarathustra: The chorus or whatever you would call it doesn’t even start until about 7:20. Dance party USA. Above average version, very good stuff. Would recommend this version. > Rock and Roll: Plenty of reverse reverb in this one, especially at the end – it’s very mellow and spacey – pretty cool. Decent version of Rock and Roll. -> Taste: Page on a mission for his solo, crushes that baby grand. Trey destroys his section too. Monster, monster Taste. May as well be straight out of summer 97. How this is not a jamcharts version is absolutely criminal. Would highly recommend this version. Frankie Says: Standard. Gumbo: Very funky at first. And slow. From there – in the latter stages – this one gets muddy, dark, and has a certain edge to it. Then some big, crazy effects starting around 9:18 will snap you of the ether. Nice juxtaposition. Very cool Gumbo right here, way above average and bordering on great. Would recommend this version. -> Chalk Dust Torture: Ripped. Frankenstein: Standard. Been Caught Stealing: It’s less than tight to open so it takes the crowd a good while to figure out what this is. Then right before the lyrics the lightbulb goes on. ENCORE: You Enjoy Myself: Mike is loud and proud in this one. Love the theme that develops in the jam. So smooth. Very reminiscent of a fall 97 jam, the funk is very deep. Drums and bass jam is super sick too. Killer encore! Would recommend this version. Summary: Solid first set with Ghost being the obvious anchor. Very good second set, lots of fun. Taste really blew me away! I think the Phish.net rating of 3.848/5 (92 ratings) is right on the money. Replay Value: Ghost, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Taste, Gumbo, You Enjoy Myself

Spring 1990 is home to some great material, and it was also a time of development and exploration with a lot of songs, and both are very apparent with this show. Shows during this time have that old, nostalgic feeling, like being back in high school again. The early days were so sweet. The sound quality of the tape is pretty awesome considering the time, though there is a slightly annoying echo during the first half. SET I - Reba: Great starter, and has some very simple yet satisfying work from Trey. Cavern: A much slower than the version we've gotten used to, and there are some minor lyrical flubs. But, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt; they were still working on it. All things considered, it's not too bad. The Oh Kee Pah Ceremony: Standard, but always fun. AC/DC Bag: Standard Caravan: Great. Everyone is going all in, and they're all laying down milky, jazzy goodness. They really need to bring this one back. Rocky Top: Standard Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page: some fun additional lyrics, but otherwise standard Ya Mar: Page and Trey have some great moments here. "Leo on guitar" The Sloth: Unfortunate cut at the beginning, but what is available is standard :/ McGrupp: Amazing, played almost to perfection. Again, Trey and Page are the clear winners here. The ambient section is incredibly soothing, and the end crescendo is oh-so satisfying, even if Trey has some minor slips. 9/10 Dinner and a Movie: Great organ-play with Page, but overall standard Bouncing Around the Room: Standard Runaway Jim: Standard, but Page playing the end-of-verse lick a couple steps down is kinda fun David Bowie: The intro is very fun, with some Walk This Way and Runaway Jim teases. Other than that, this Bowie is kinda sloppy, even by David Bowie standards. Though, in my opinion, the kick-ass outro section justifies any bad Bowie. Set I summary: Average first set, though there are some great moments. Highlights here are Caravan and McGrupp. 6/10 SET II - Funky Bitch: N/A Esther: To be honest, it was very sloppy in some places, including a lyrical slip in the beginning (though we'll give Trey the benefit of the doubt, Esther's lyrics are like a damn novel). Everyone kinda just seems confused for most of it. Not one of the best. Uncle Pen: Standard La Grange: Above average; great energy Foam: Standard Harry Hood: Totally sweet; the intro is much slower than the version we have now, but this in particular is a very great intro segment. Page rocks the keys, and adds some really fun sounds. While a bit short, there's not a single mistake in this one, just great overall. Jesus Just Left Chicago: standard Divided Sky: PAGE. He's so good in this one. Wow. Anyway... there is a slight skip in the tape that picks up at the slow section, which is alright, because that part's sweet anyway. Trey's guitar tone at the time just completes this song, it's so gentle and soft, it just fits right in there, which can't be said for a lot of Skies in future shows. Trey beautifully nails the solo, and the boys send us into pure bliss... until the end. Trey has some issues with timing, and everyone kinda falls apart for a second, but they pull it together for the final notes. 7.5/10 Love You: Fish blows Tweezer: Early version, you can tell they aren't necessarily taking the song very seriously yet, but they're sure as hell having fun. Mike shines here for the first time in the show, he goes to town the whole time. They continue the groove for a bit, then we get into the sauce. Y'know, the scary Tweezer sauce. Trey gives us some cool riffs around the 7 minute mark. The build-up (and subsequent build-down) is fun and hectic, albeit a bit messy. And then, we get a sudden explosion of sound, and we're back to the main section. Hell yeah. Quite silly overall, but really fun. Whipping Post: Allman Brothers. Need I say more? Everyone is turned to 11 here, and is hitting the mark in all factors. Trey absolutely kills the whole time; shooting his knives of sound into our hollow, susceptible ears, and I never want it to end. And I'm sure I don't have to mention Page doing work as always, especially after the second chorus; the organ has never had a better time being played. The jam keeps getting hotter and hotter, then Trey gives a sudden, raspy roar of emotion and soul, but unfortunately this means it must come to an end. Phenomenal all around. SET II summary: An average start, but the real highlights come after Foam. Overall really fun, with some great moments. Show Summary: Page dominates this show, he is the standout talent in all of the songs. There are some great moments here, but all in all, this show isn't spectacular in any way. It's just a simple, silly time. 7/10 Replay Value: Reba, [u]Caravan[/u], [u]McGrupp[/u], Harry Hood, Tweezer, [u]Whipping Post[/u]

SET 1: Back at the Chicken Shack: Just the second time played (debuted at 10.30.98) and you can tell by the crowd reaction or the lack thereof that they are unfamiliar with it. Props to Jimmy Smith, the author of this tune. Birds of a Feather: Standard. Farmhouse: Standard. > My Soul: Standard. Guyute: Standard. Lawn Boy: Standard. Love Me: Standard. David Bowie: In the composed sections that lead up to the lyrics there is the strangest echo going on – very distracting. This Bowie gets the job done. It has good length and a solid ending. But nothing truly unique or interesting about it all the same. Carolina: They screw up in the middle and restart from the beginning. Wish I could make out the banter after the screw up, it’s all kind of muffled but sounds like they were all cracking up. Trey is laughing throughout the song. Pretty funny. From Phish.net “Carolina was restarted after Page’s miscue and ended with a choreographed stage routine. “ SET 2: Wolfman's Brother: This version boasts that deep funk that eventually evolves into an organic upbeat jam – not that cookie cutter 2017 and newer MSG bliss jam. No sir. This one takes it’s time in getting there and even at its peak it never gets too self-absorbed. Great version! -> The Lizards: Clean version. Very well done. Second and last version of fall tour not to be seen again until 7.12.99. The Moma Dance: Vanilla. > Albuquerque: Fantastic. Slave to the Traffic Light: Somehow, this seems to fly under the radar. But I am here to tell you this is an easy all timer, right up there with the very best. Inspired version, not that different from the top of the mountain 12.7.97 – no, I am not kidding. Fluffhead: The beginning of this one is all goofed up. But that is short lived, and the body of work here is fantastic. It is crushed throughout. Easy all timer. > Character Zero: Standard. ENCORE: Brian and Robert: Standard. Sleep: Standard. First time played in the encore slot. Dog Faced Boy: Standard. First and last time played in the encore slot. The Squirming Coil: Standard. Summary: Yikes, that first set is very, very boring. Just going through the motions. You would think after having two days off they would have more to offer. The second set though does it’s level best to make up for it with a strong Wolfman’s top notch versions of Slave and Fluffhead! Maybe one of the most unique encores ever – it’s like the band felt they needed to deliver a large dose of landing gear to those in attendance in the best manner possible. Really interesting show. Would rate it as a 3.5/5 – Phish.net has it as 3.767/5 (90 ratings). I wanted to score it higher but that first set its just so boring. Replay Value: Wolfman's Brother, Slave to the Traffic Light, Fluffhead

This was my 4th show. I had seen my first at this same location a year and a month earlier. Many of the same songs which is not surprising as they didn't have that many songs then. I really have no opinion on the songs because I loved them all then. I had the non-descript black junta tape and had listened to it many times by now. I also had a few bootlegs as they were called even though taping was allowed. For me at this time it was about the change in scene. A year after the 88 show this band had definitely grown in Vermont. In Johnson for this show there was a large party held on railroad street (thanks Todd) It was clear many people from UVM and other colleges were in town. The excitement was palpable. The 88 show had a few hundred. There were already a few thousand in Johnson who were not getting in. The band played. They were amazing, and it is still so funny to me that I recognize the screams of people, i literally knew who was screaming. During the set break the band went to Arthurs hall, closest to the base lodge and did some ummm "stuff". You hear this when Trey calls them out, "you know who you are, we know who you are." I think the 2nd set shows that whatever they did do helped :) It's a lot more fire. Overall an amazing experience looking back 34 + yrs ago. Im still here and had this same experience at SPAC for the flood benefit as I had great seats but not as close as I had that night watching pages hammond leslie spin from 10 ft away

SET 1: My Friend, My Friend: Good opener. Two nights in a row though that has deviated from this tour’s show opening norm of a face melting rager to begin the show. Ghost: Trey rock god clinic and then about three or so minutes of the funk with Page paving the road. I love this Ghost, always have. How it’s not a jamcharts version is beyond me. > Driver: Funny banter – Driver of Fishman’s Head, thought better of it – then Trey mutters almost under his breath Driver of Horns (Fish’s viking helmet?) - and a standard version. Scent of a Mule: Not a fan of this tune but this one I am. Great Page section, really engaging. Cavern: Standard. > Limb By Limb: Very strong, plenty of trilling. Trey and Fish just own it. Would recommend! Roggae: Standard. > La Grange: Trey showing off those chops, but something is a little off in heading back into the closing lyrics. SET 2: Runaway Jim: Great energy to open the second set, but standard as she goes. > Stash: Fish and Page are great! Other than that, not much to say. Mike's Song: Smokes, huge fan. Would recommend! > Simple: Standard. > Wading in the Velvet Sea: There is an outro jam tacked on to the end of this one that is absolutely ethereal. A must hear. Very similar to the ending of the 5.26.11 Waves soundcheck. > Loving Cup: Standard face melter. > Weekapaug Groove: Trey absolutely rips this to shreds, very impressive. Recommended. ENCORE: Rocky Top: Summary: Shortest US show of the whole year clocking in at 2:15. Very strong first set anchored by Ghost, Scent, and Limb but has great filler in there too with the rare La Grange and the only My Friend of the tour. Second set is equally as strong with the Mike’s, Wading, Weekapaug and strong bookends. Rocky Top is a given and the crowd roars it’s approval. Phish.net is way, way off on this one as the current rating is 3.62/5 (92 ratings). I love this show and have always given it the dark horse nod. I would rate it as a 4/5. Replay Value: Ghost, Scent of a Mule, Limb By Limb, Mike’s Song, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Weekapaug Groove

SET 1: Funky Bitch: Solid – first opener of the tour that I would not consider a rocking face melter. But plenty of strong energy, nonetheless. > My Soul: Standard. Reba: Solid version, definitely gets the job done. Little sloppy here and there. Bouncing Around the Room: Standard. Tweezer: Yes! Mid first set, love this placement. Right around 7:10 sounds like a Whole Lotta Love briefly from Trey. Balls to the wall rager and then a humongous peak in the late 9’s, very impressive. This settles down a good bit. In the early 12’s it almost sounds like they are angling for TMWSIY. I would recommend this version as it has a couple of nuances to it and that huge peak and that spacy 5 minute segment that defines Fall 98. It is a very good version, but not great. > The Moma Dance: Standard. > Sparkle: Standard. > Character Zero: Definitely has something a little extra to it, it is quite ripped. SET 2: David Bowie: Rock solid for sure. Like Tweezer, I would call this a very good but not a great version. It does not stray far at all from what your typical Bowie is or does. It is Type I all the way. But that said it does have all the elements you would assign to a strong version. Clean composed section, dark and patient intro to the jam and then a gradual building of tension and ramping up the jam into the trills at the end. It is a good enough version for the era, but I would not ever need to relisten to this one. Something: Very cool, thought they did a good job with this. Page is good enough on the vocals. Crowd loves it. Piper: Very short. Very standard. Golgi Apparatus: Clean version, strange placement. Guyute: Hate this placement. Hold Your Head Up > Sexual Healing > Hold Your Head Up: Funny. You Enjoy Myself: Vanilla version. Julius: Standard. Hello My Baby: As you would expect. ENCORE: So Lonely: My ears might be broken but I thought the vocals actually sounded pretty good here. Pretty cool cover and took some guts to play this for sure. > Tweezer Reprise: Standard. Summary: Pretty strong first set with a solid Reba and that very good Tweezer and some good filler on either side. Pretty long second set, 86 minutes. Phish.net has this as a 3.962/5 (130 ratings) indicating that it is well above average. This show, outside of the Tweezer, and a good Bowie and Reba, and a couple of cool covers – just doesn’t do it for me at all. Two shows in a row since Grand Rapids that just don’t cut the mustard. I will rate this – like Cleveland – as a 3.5/5. Very average Phish show. Replay Value: Tweezer

The levels on this audience source are a bit hot. Plus, there’s a handful of cassette generations in the lineage. Suffice to say this source leaves a lot to be desired. The Buried Alive>Sky pairing is a great way to open a show. After Paul and Silas Trey mentions that they wrote 15 new songs during their time off. Nice segue from a rippin’ Bag into The Asse Festival. Great mid set Bowie complete with an Asse Festival tease and more secret language. Solid versions of Stash and Magilla. Coil closes out set 1 for the first time. The quality degrades for the start of set 2 but improves a bit after Melt. Solid version of Melt. The debut of Eliza was up next with no introduction. Things fade out after Foam. When the recording comes back in Trey introduces Zero Red Donut Man for another rendition featuring alter ego, Michael McFishman singing Minute by Minute. lol A decent Hood follows Minute by Minute. Possum wraps up set 2 in fine fashion with more secret language. Communication Breakdown makes another appearance after a brief hiatus. Although it’s reported that it was played at a private party over the summer while the band was on break. There’s another cut after Communication Breakdown. The beginning of YEM is cut. Not sure why they chose to patch in the intro from 6/16/90? When The source switches over it’s pretty clear it’s the same source used for this show. They say good night following the vocal jam so I’m pretty confident YEM closes out this show. Fun YEM with an entertaining vocal jam.

SET 1: Chalk Dust Torture: Great energy out of the chute, yet another rocker to open the show. Standard fare for Fall 98!!! Wolfman's Brother -> Mind Left Body Jam -> Wolfman's Brother: Super slinky and funky. The MLB stuff is fantastic! Amazing in the two hole this early in the show! Roggae: Standard. Ginseng Sullivan: Mike forgets lyrics. It's Ice: Sloppy intro and the immediate stuff that leads into the ‘jam’ – some of that is suspect as well. The jam is very lengthy, dark, and evil. > Cars Trucks Buses: Standard. Farmhouse: Standard. Water in the Sky: Standard. The Sloth: Sloppy. Run Like an Antelope: What is Trey teasing in the intro? GTBT? Ramble On? I can’t place it. Anyway, very chill and mellow beginning of the jam. Patient. This version gets really strange in the 11 minute range, sounds like Trey is killing cats. Not good sounds coming out of that doc. But the trilling that comes out of that around 12:17 is sweet. Antelope's lyrics were changed to "suck the deershit from this side of the hole." As it turns out this was not a very good version, it’s just mostly off all the way around. SET 2: Down with Disease: Trey messes up the lyrics. I LOVE the space this gets into in the late 14’s. Not quite ambient but so chill and patient. Then Trey strumming that starts at about 14:53 and well beyond is very pleasing to my ears. Around 17:25 though it sounds like he is kind of running out of ideas. Someone needs to rescue him. There is no rescue to be had and they find their way back to the closing segment at 18:40. Kind of meh. The overall body of work is good enough though that I would recommend this version. > Sample in a Jar: Oof. Dirt: I love this tune, but not in this spot. No sir. Set needs much, much more. Birds of a Feather: The band sounds tired and bored. This version is very meh. The fact that this is a jamcharts version is laughable. Meat: I love loops - love them. This is basically a super mellow soundcheck jam. I don’t like this in this spot of the set based on what had come before, the set needed more. > Harry Hood: Loops continue into the Hood opener which is neat. Pretty solid Hood right here. ENCORE: Good Times Bad Times: Raucous version, they rip it big time. Summary: I remember reading that the night before the show the band was out raging it in The Flats. This is basically confirmed by Trey when before the second set he introduces Bruno and says he was late to work this morning because he got drunk partying in The Flats the previous night. I just don’t think this is a very good show. They crushed it in Grand Rapids, rolled into Cleveland and got wrecked the night before apparently and this show mostly just sounds tired/bored uninspired. The current rating of 3.828/5 (128 ratings) seems to strong. I would rate it a 3.5/5. Replay Value: Wolfman's Brother, Mind Left Body Jam, Wolfman's Brother, Down with Disease

Ok long time listener first time caller here but thought I would add my thoughts on this one because it constantly sticks out in my head as my favorite set of Phish I’ve ever witnessed. I thought the first set was mediocre at best and thought maybe I had seen enough Phish and was ok with that. I’d seen some great shows over the years. Then the second set just absolutely crushes from top to bottom. Just crushes. If I’m ever in a bad mood I just put this gem of a set on and it changes everything. It’s like riding one big giant wave that never crashes. From tweezer on it’s just peak live music and now I’m hooked again. Just absolutely incredible. Thank you Phish. I’ll never forget that hot, sweaty night in Georgia.

SET 1: Punch You in the Eye: Killer opener. Yet another Fall 98 show opening rager. This one is fast and light on it’s feet. Very well done! Gumbo: Ethereal and sublime. Easy all timer right here. Right up there with Star Lake 97 and Deer Creek 03. Gains significant momentum as it rolls along, each member an equal member of this effort. If You Need a Fool: Standard. Sleep: Song is awesome. Tela: Nice reaction from the crowd on the opening notes. Birds of a Feather: Straight ahead face melter. Theme From the Bottom: Jamcharts version. It’s fine but I don’t get where it stands out enough to gain that recognition. Julius: Trey really runs roughshod on this one, it crushes. SET 2: Halley's Comet: Rock and roll – into a bunch of funk – into more hard core rock with Trey doing his best impression of Hendrix leaning as he leans heavily on the reverse reverb. An incredible jam. Easy all timer! > Simple: Beautiful little micro jam, very delicate. Nice Trey and Mike interplay at the end. But the last ten seconds or so they just kind of get lost and don’t know what to do with Trey just kind of strumming around and then… > Walk Away: More rock and roll! > Limb By Limb: Much like that beautiful Simple jam, this sounds very, very similar in the early going. It eventually picks up speed as the entire band equally contributes. It’s the Trey show towards the end as he lets it rip. Another all timer right here. When the Circus Comes: The first break of the set. They earned this one for sure! Nice respite. Ghost: The effects to kick this one off are delicious. Huge loops. The way it should be played every time. Once this one gets going, I swear – Mike has never sounded so good. Epic. Page throwing down. Trey just crushing that cow funk, and Fishman driving the bus like a boss. So very good. The funk is so deep. Eventually this evolves into a rocking jam which peters out into very heavy effects. Outstanding version, what a way to leave the stage as the effects die down to nothing and the crowd roars their approval! ENCORE: Contact: You can hear just how much fun they were having up there. > Rocky Top: Fun as you would expect. > Funky Bitch: You can hear Trey call for one more and then they start this up. This one is fire. Trey is in all his glory. Shredsville. Summary: Really fun first set. That Gumbo is sick. Set two is just nasty as hell. Halley’s is unreal. Limb and Ghost are great too. Smoking show. I am on board with the current rating on .net of 4.533/5 (199 ratings). Replay Value: Gumbo, Halley's Comet, Limb By Limb, Ghost

This show was a lot of fun, for the band & audience. Yes there are sloppy moments, but it was all "fun sloppy." I remember dancing like the world was ending with some great people and we were all having a blast. The 2nd set was pure fire. Don't believe the couch warriors when it comes to the low rating here.

SET 1: Llama: Another Fall 98 set one smoking opener! Lots of crunchy reverse reverb here. Horn: Sloppy! I Get a Kick Out of You: Trey – “Captain Gactin (?) will now sing a song for you.” The second and last time they played this Sinatra tune. Divided Sky: Very, very long pause. Crowd is frothing at the mouth – super loud and into it. Strong version right here people. Frankie Says: Standard, couldn’t touch the Denver version. Dogs Stole Things: Standard. Poor Heart: Sounds like they are really having fun. > Free: Definitely has extra juice and groove. Would absolutely recommend this version! Very chunky and funky. NICU: Standard. Bold As Love: Rocks hard. Feels like Trey doesn’t want to leave the stage. SET 2: Bathtub Gin: This has it all. Rock, funk, ambience and groove in the middle, and then they ever so gradually build it back up to its original theme. Page sounds like a ragtime piano player on the closing. This is an all time version for sure but the reason it doesn’t get more notoriety is likely because it doesn’t have any one signature moment that folks can grab onto. Instead, it’s the entire, consistent body of work that is impressive and workmanlike. The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday: > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday – Mesmerizing. > The Moma Dance: Standard. > Slave to the Traffic Light: Nice version here. > You Enjoy Myself: What in the world is Trey doing during Page’s solo? Weird issue on the source from the Relisten app. Listen to Page’s solo – it has Trey overlayed over the top of the Page – his strumming part that leads up to the Note. Very strange. Funky jam. I don’t think it’s good enough to be a jamcharts version though. ENCORE: Frankenstein: Crowd goes nuts before they play this. I guess they turned the house lights on on purpose as a joke or something? This is from Marcus Pearson marcusp@LEXIS-NEXIS.COM “When they went off stage, the house lights came on. Everyone freaked out and started screaming, booing, and yelling. The crowd got really loud, and the lights eventually went back down. They came back on a minute later.” Anyway, typical Frankenstein, great effects. Free Bird: Trey thanks the crowd, we had a great three nights. Thanks for having us, etc. Then, What song is it you wanna hear? The crowd instantly clamors for Free Bird. Great stuff! Great encore. Summary: Solid first set but nothing that will truly grab your attention outside of Free. Gin is really, really good – but not great. Phish.net has this rated at 4.377/5 (122 ratings) which seems absurd to me. Why is it so high? It’s a good show, better than average. But, whatever. I would rate this as a 4/5. Replay Value: Free, Bathtub Gin

Taste: Very consistent Page solo with a nice, gradual build that he creates. Trey crushes his solo, it’s fantastic and a must hear. But what holds this one back from the very best like so many from 97 and 03 would be the ending is mess. But cool way to open the show and we are off and running. Carini: First ever naked dude lyrics due to the naked dude in Madison a couple of nights ago. Other than that, this about as vanilla a version as you will find. Love Me: Standard. Ride Captain Ride: Opening notes attract a roar from the crowd as this was the next version played after the huge bust out at Deer Creek from 3 months earlier. Fee: Nice jam following the composed song. Paul and Silas: Standard. Roggae: Standard. Water in the Sky: Standard. Stash: This gets dissonant at 8:50. Lots of tension building! Crowd roar at 10:20 in appreciation of all this. Return to normal theme at 10:50. Big, big peak at 13:03. Really like this Stash and would recommend – plenty of relistening value! Cavern: Standard. SET 2: Chalk Dust Torture: Standard. Meat: Oof. > Rock and Roll: Standard. > Down with Disease: Tons of reverse reverb in this one. Trey plays hardcore rock God on this one. This one is ALL Trey. Smoked. 4 minute chill ambient jam tacked on to the end. Would recommend this version, I am definitely a fan. > Piper: Standard. > Wading in the Velvet Sea: More mellow than usual. Run Like an Antelope: White hot, Trey rock god stuff. Just absolutely smoked! Would recommend for sure! ENCORE: Been Caught Stealing: Great encore! Summary: First set has a great opener, then a bunch of meh, and a strong, late second set Stash. Second set does not really have much in the way of exploration but if you are into Trey led smoke shows, then you should check DWD and Antelope. They blitzkrieg’s. I think the current rating of .net suits this show: 3.86/5 (100 ratings) Replay Value: Taste, Stash, Down with Disease, Run Like an Antelope

SET 1: Buried Alive: Great opener! > Character Zero: Awesome placement, love this here. The arena is rocking. Guyute: It’s fine. > Bathtub Gin: Very solid jam! Would not necessarily recommend but it holds its own here mid first set. > Ya Mar: It’s a jam charts version. Not sure why honestly. Lots of wood blocks in play which was cool. Birds of a Feather: Standard. Brian and Robert: Standard. Frankie Says: Sick as hell. Not sure there was a better one until Miami 03. This one gets out there big time. 98 ambience and loops for the WIN. Loved this. -> David Bowie: Nice! Very solid version although Trey struggles a bit with the ending for a moment. SET 2: Runaway Jim: Very solid jam. But would not go out of my way to revisit this one. It is a very nice opener. > The Moma Dance: Standard. > Piper: All timer. I love this version. I have attendance bias but this one has the goods. Ferocious through 12 or so and then great ambience with loops. Thought we were headed for the moon at this point. -> Also Sprach Zarathustra: I loved hearing this ring out but there isn’t much to grab on to here… > Chalk Dust Torture: What? Very strange placement. Was scratching my head. Loving Cup: Wow, ok. Guess they had a hot dates lined up for the bus or the clinic. ENCORE: The Squirming Coil: Standard. Summary: Very solid first set. With that Jim and Piper in the first quarter of the second set, I was hoping they were gunning to try and revisit the heights of the previous years shows at this venue. It was not to be. Very, very average show. I was a new resident of Denver and very broke, so I was lucky to attend this show in the Coors Suite (raged it hard). But waking up Tuesday morning and seeing the Utah setlist broke my heart. Would rate this as a 3.5/5. Extremely average show. Replay Value: Frankie Says, Piper.

SET 1: Tube: Has everything you would except out of an easy all timer: The funk, ambience, ferocious and driving jam – it’s incredible. I absolutely adore the big, ol’ loops that are such an important piece of any good Tube jam. Wish they still played a part in tunes these days other than when you occasionally here them in First Tube or Gotta Jibboo. Killer segue into… -> Drowned: What an opening to this show, wow!!! This Drowned is absolutely fantastic. Again, like Tube, it incorporates all the elements of this era that made it so great. I love the droning aspect that is prominent to open this jam and it eventually evolves into intense rock and roll. Then with three minutes to go you get some big, nasty effects and then a very spacy and ambient thing, and we get another awesome segue into… -> Jesus Just Left Chicago: Awesome. Page has a great solo. Driver: Nice banter RE: Dead Goat Saloon Bittersweet Motel: More fun banter about the experience at the bar. Limb By Limb: I LOVE how ambient and sparse this one gets. So quiet and patient. There is absolutely no peak to speak of so this one will never get much press. But it exemplifies what this era was about. Wading in the Velvet Sea: Oof. Love this tune. But the set needed more at this point. > Sample in a Jar: Oof. The set started so strong but ended so poorly. SET 2: Down with Disease: Type I face melter. The Mango Song: Interesting placement! > The Moma Dance: Standard. You Enjoy Myself: Pre Nirvana section is exceptionally heady. Super spacey complete with loops. Doesn’t get any cooler than this!!! Other than that this is an average YEM. Harpua: Very funny and reveals what many had wondered about – Vegas was too ‘overwhelming’ > Speak to Me[3] -> Breathe[3] > On The Run[3], Time[3] > The Great Gig in the Sky > Money[3] > Us and Them[3] -> Any Colour You Like[3] -> Brain Damage[3] -> Eclipse[3] > WOW. Incredible. What a band! I had just moved to Denver two months ago and recently graduated from college. I badly wanted to go to Vegas > SLC > Denver but was flat broke. When I saw the setlist the next I thought I would die, what a cruel joke. Snooze you loose! Harpua: Triumphant return. ENCORE: Smells Like Teen Spirit: Sloppy as hell. Didn’t matter. Summary: An all timer. The ultimate snooze you loose show. Such an odd turn of events with what happened during set III of Halloween and then this. That they learned how to play this album the day of the show is mind blowing. Tube is a must hear, easy all timer – same with Drowned. By the way, Drowned isn’t a charted version? What???? Replay Value: Tube, Drowned.

My life took a turn in 2023 when, after several years of apprehension, I started listening to Phish. Just before the pandemic, the Grateful Dead entered my life and I spent several years taking the headfirst dive. After immersing myself in their culture and experiencing the blowout of Dead and Co’s Final Tour, I was ready to embrace something new, and Phish instantly came forward. Within that very same week, Trey announced he was bringing Classic TAB to my favorite hometown venue. A small 1500-seat venue with ornate designs I had seen many shows in over the years, but never a name as big as Trey Anastasio. By the time the night finally arrived, I got fully into the world of Phish and was extremely looking forward to seeing Trey play in front of me. Monday night and the line was around the block before doors opened. The place was absolutely packed by showtime. I got my favorite spot behind the elevated rail behind the soundboard. Practically standing eye-to-eye with Trey as he and Classic TAB tore into his solo material and a healthy smattering of Phish jams. They might not go Type 2 in this lineup, but they know how to groove real hard and Trey was up there clearly having a blast playing to a small room. Something I imagine has become somewhat rare for him. Some of the best guitar playing I’ve ever seen in person. They took the jams tonight to some staggering heights and cathartic releases. This four-piece arrangement on one hand had a “back to basics” feel, but at no point felt simplified. They dug deep and gave Richmond one of the best shows we’ve had in ages, and we’re lucky enough to get some pretty great shows in town or nearby. I feel extremely grateful to have made this show and have this experience. My first time seeing Trey perform and I know it won’t be the last. See you next year at my first Phish shows!

Sigma Oasis: Pretty much a standard version > Down with Disease: Run of the mill jam and the re-entry into the ending is trainwreck city. Oof city. The Moma Dance: Ugh. So greatest hits is what this show is going to be? > Kill Devil Falls: This is gonna be different. Um, no it won’t. Standard… Free: Standard > Everything's Right: Solid jam! Would not revisit but would have been great fun to get down to. Roggae: Nice held note, Trey. > The Wedge: Great placement – just played at SPAC in a similar placement Gumbo: Standard. > Also Sprach Zarathustra: Solid, enjoyed listening to this. But they kind of all sound the same unless they *really* take it for a ride. Hope this makes sense? > Fuego: Pretty decent jam but seems to end kind of abruptly and then segues into > Runaway Jim: Felt very, very rushed. > Twist: The definition of cookie cutter. About to Run: Standard. Harry Hood: Was going ok but then they just rush through the ending, like someone had the runs and had to book of stage but that wasn’t the case as they went on to go into > More: UGH. Wow. ENCORE: First Tube: Same as the last one played and same as the next one they will play. > Tweezer Reprise: See notes for First Tube. Summary: Circumstances were not ideal. But why play a generic festival set? This show is almost as long as Thursday night. So why not jam it the hell out? Seems like such a swing and a miss. I would rate this as a 2.7/5. There is nothing here to grab on to. Replay Value: None.

The highlights of this show have been duly noted, and rightfully so. But overlook the acoustic mini-set at your own peril! To do so is to ignore an important part of the transformation and growth of the band amidst one of the most important eras in their history. Yes, it breaks up the flow of the second set - an inexcusable act in the eyes of some - but as a very different sort of "breather" (different compared to what they're doing these 4.0 days, anyway; it certainly wasn't different in fall of '94), it's a wonderful look into what makes them tick, what inspires them, what makes them truly joyful - and as a fan, I always appreciate getting to see that. Also, listening to these songs it's astounding how impressive their musicianship really is, attempting different arrangements, different styles and in some cases different instruments than they're more used to. Viva l'acoustic mini-set! Viva la bluegrass!

Such an interesting show; that second set just smokes! Not quite a Tweezer-fest, but a nice theme felt throughout. I'm ALWAYS happy to hear Walk Away - it's strange, too, because I like the song enough by the James Gang, but by Phish it's one of my favorite covers they do. And it's not even like they do it all that differently. But man, there's SO MUCH energy. I'm glad it's as much a regular as it's become. Also, listen close for Trey's count-off to Sand: "One, two, [i]motherfuckin'[/i] three..." Dude came to PLAY!

SET 1: Fluffhead: Exceptional time II jam. Easy all timer. Truly inspirational and wow – what a statement to open up Saturday night’s show. It’s ON! My Soul: Trey melts some faces. Cavern: Intro sounds odd. > Reba: Seemed it was played kind of fast. Wish Trey’s tone wasn’t quite so shrill and sort of thin sounding otherwise this would have been great. Mound: LOL, train wreck city. “We're talking about practice. Not a game; not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it's my last, not the game, we're talking about practice, man.” > A Wave of Hope: Played close to the vest – but that’s fine – it rocked. > Taste: Pretty decent version right here! The very ending Trey kind of struggles with but no big deal. > Ghost: Type I face melter. Interesting placement – very cool! SET 2: AC/DC Bag: Pretty cool jam here. Nice, aggressive, and intentional. It is very cool to see jams coming out of this tune! -> Chalk Dust Torture: No let up in the energy with this in the two slot. Let’s go!! Pretty mellow jam here. It seems that this may have been practiced as it seemed to seamlessly peter out and went into the next tune rather perfectly. > Ether Edge: Yuck, terrible. Slick segue though into… -> 46 Days: Heavy effects drive a chunky, funky jam. I appreciate the band thinking outside of the box on this one. Cool stuff would recommend! > The Howling: Such a lazy tune. But this one actually has a nice jam to it. > Piper: Another bliss jam. ENCORE: Theme From the Bottom: They continue to play around with the composed section. I love it! 28 years after it debuted, and it is still open to being tweaked pretty cool. > The Mango Song: Cool in the encore slot! Don't Doubt Me: Now things are getting interesting. Is this turning into a third set? > Evolve: Yep, a third set. But this song is still lol. Golgi Apparatus: Little bit loose but whatever. > Run Like an Antelope: Standard as she goes. But the effort and energy of this encore is very telling. Way to go Phish! Summary: Strong and fun first set. Second set ok. Crazy encore feels – tacked on. C’mon, you know it’s true. If you were there, you were all like – best ever. But then the drugs wore off. This is a good show with honestly just one major highlight (Fluff) and then a couple of good jams and then basically a third set. You know this to be true. Search your feelings. 3.9/5 Replay Value: Fluffhead, AC/DC Bag, 46 Days,

[u] [b] Posted to Rec Music Phish in November 1994[/b][/u] [b]11/2/94 Bangor Municipal Aud., Bangor, ME[/b] If you went to this show, you may have seen my friend walking around outside with a GIANT sign that read "Drove From Arizona Have Cash and Halloween Tapes for your Extras" etc. Anyway, I went to Halloween and Bangor with him. We were horrified to find out that Bangor was sold out, since weeks ago we had the option of getting tickets. In desperation mode, Dead (his nickname) whipped up these signs and proceeded to gather three tickets for himself and two of our Maine friends. I said I would find a ticket myself, since I had enough Phish on tape and had seen them enough times that I wouldn't be too unhappy to miss Bangor.. I got a ticket finally, from dreadlocked Jeff Drudge, and made it in during the Maze jam in the first set. If anyone knows Jeff Drudge, from Ohio, please be in touch. Setlist Note: fish was on ukelele, not washboard, for MOHP and Foreplay/Long Time. (Mike on banjo, page on standup bass, and trey on classical guitar) I missed the Suzy, Foam, and If I Could, but heard that they were good but nothing to write home about. The Maze jam that I caught was strong but not awe-inspiring (for those who have seen and heard it done well before). Guyute and Stash were also nothing to speak of. Especially Stash. I was hoping they would do more with it.. not tonight. The Scent of a Mule was the most incredible one I have heard up till now. Just ridiculous. You have to hear it. I couldn't believe it. They were really, really screwing around on it. Very, very long, too. The WMGGW was sick, just like at Halloween.. a great set closer!! Halley's Comet was great to hear.. my first one! I was leaping up and down with glee.. most of the people around me didn't get it (in fact, most of the people THERE didn't get IT.. I thought the bangor crowd was worse than charlottesville and INSERTCOLLEGECROWDHERE crowds combined.. clueless people galore, lots of moshing and people getting carried over others' heads on the floor, even during Lizards.. it was a god damn embarrassment, and you could tell that Mike was not pleased.. oh well, guess I'm too old..). The Tweezer was over thirty minutes long and was the longest, weirdest, and most peculiar Tweezer I have ever heard so far. If you like Bomb Factory, you will love this one.. lots of weird chaotic mayhem in this Tweezer that i couldn't relate to. It was still incredible... an experience! [See "A Live One".] I liked it much more than any other tweezer ive heard this year, including Bomb Factory. Mango was great as always, and Possum and Lizards were fine, just not impressive. I won't comment on Axilla and Sample, which the masses ate up, and which were played just like they are always played. The encores were great.. really like MOHP.. the Tweezer Reprise was typical (which surprised me since the Tweezer sure as hell wasn't). It was nothing like the extended Tweezer Reprise we got at Charlottesville. I really enjoyed this show, and recommend you veterans check out the Scent and the Tweezer, which were just exceptional versions. Everything else was pretty standard... don't get me wrong folks, I love phish, but when you have seen them a certain number of times and have waaaay to much stuff on tape, you reach a certain point were you have got to make calculated decisions about what tapes/versions to hear and what not to hear. Peace charlie

POSTED TO REC.MUSIC.PHISH on 11/15/94 Well, it was worth the hike from DC, even though there were many, MANY repeats from Halloween/Bangor. [b]11/13/94 The Warner Theatre, Erie, PA[/b] Well, the show was very good (as Phish shows always are), but what really rocked was the venue! Carpeted halls, LUXURIOUS PLUSH COUCHES, paintings, detail in the baroque style everywhere (even in THE john!).. red carpet at the entrance.. the place was just incredible! I think it holds 2500, or so I was told. It was just an incredible place to see a show.. extremely nice.. I can't imagine Phish ever playing there again. They could have sold out the nearby Civic Center, given the number of ticketless people who showed up. Ok.. The Wilson opener was longer than usual (yes, longer than Charlottesville), and was played excellently. Sparkle was just as you have always heard it. Simple was good (I love this tune!! so simple and yet so fun..), but certainly not even close to the version we got at Halloween.. no groovy ending jam. REBA WAS FANTASTIC!!! Though shorter than the Halloween Reba by two minutes, it was a cheerier, more joyous Reba (not a dark and spooky one..). Just fantastic! They are playing this song much better than they did a few years back.. in general. The kiddies went nuts for Axilla (I was pissed to hear this quickly after an excellent Reba.. Axilla is such a tremendously lame tune in comparison). Axilla was played exactly as it always is, so far as I know (listen to the CD). I love Axilla Pt 2's ending jam, that Beatles-esque groove.. I wish the whole song was based on this creative theme. Ice was well done, with Page just wigging out during his solo (Page was HOT all night.. I mean REALLY hot.. there was smoke rising from his piano..). Fish did a little silent dance during Ice at one point.. pretty funny. I thought this meant we'd get a vacuum tune in the 2nd, but, alas, we did not, to my extreme disappointment. Vibration of Life came after Ice, and IT WORKED!! At least for me..it was really cool.. I've caught this a few times now, and each time Trey has talked about it, and each time I never felt anything weird happen. This time, Trey didn't say a word about it, and it WORKED.. they were clearly doing it, so, don't believe any setlist that doesn't list it. They went right into Horse at the end of the Vibration, and did that and Silent as they regularly do. Nothing weird. Antelope was a mere 13 minutes long, but DAMN WAS IT HOT!! Halloween's was excellent, of course, but this one didn't have the screw up after "Bid you to have any spike" and also had thunderous applause for Marco "Mike Gordon" Esquandolas.. Fish was screaming "Marco" and numerous other things during the end jam.. It was a real great version, folks. I highly recommend it. A lot of fun.. I was psyched that the first set weighed in at over an hour! I had heard that there was an 11pm curfew and was concerned. Suzy opened the second and it was very good. I imagine it was better than bangors, but I missed the first few songs at Bangor so wouldn't know. Judging from what I heard though, this one probably was better. About 5 and a half minutes or so. Divided had a few little mistakes (Trey), but it was STILL very well jammed, and I could tell a lot of the LOCALS (they were at this show IN FORCE.. lots of people sitting down right before serious jams were to begin..) really dug this one. Frankly, though, it was a typically great Divided, though not perfect. LIZARDS WAS TREMENDOUS.. there were no people crowd surfing (for one), and the boyz clearing were loving it. The audience really got into it.. at least where I was (Page side twenty rows back). I liked Bangor's, but it wasn't as together as this one... Tweezer was a mere 14 minutes (which is probably average length for this year about), but with hints of RocknRoll Hootchie Koo, it was tighter and better jammed than what I remember about Bangor's EPIC version (would someone please hook me up with a copy of this show??). It was a good Tweezer, but certainly not one of the best or better versions. Mango was sweeet as always, with the ending jamming being especially calypsotic. BBFCFM saw the same damn trey microphone waving during the strobe lights crap that he did at Charlottesville (I thought we got a treat at Charlottesville.. if Trey is going to keep doing this.. whatever). This version of BBFCFM was much better than the one at Charlottesville, though, thanks to a brief but wild drum solo a la Zeroman. I am forgetting something else that was cool about this version.. oh well. Amazing grace a capella without mikes came next (this appeared to surprise some of the older people in the audience.. there were many more older folks at this show than any other I have ever seen.. locals with I guess nothing better to do, apparently un-accompanied by their kids.. it was weird). Amazing Grace went well, with only a token amount of assholes-screaming. Squirming Coil was as good as, if not better than, the Halloween version. Page nearly made me weep... it was tremendous. I was of course shocked and delighted by the Phunky Bitch encore. It was my first one, even though I know it was played a lot last year.. this year it was played at the fox 4/23 show and I think 7/6 as well but i am not certain. Anyway, like Icculus at Charlottesville, I was fucking PSYCHED to hear this one.. The wheat were separated from the chaff when phish SMOKED this tune! It was a great version.. Tweezer Reprise was standard (no long final chord jamming as at Charlottesville). All and all, a very decent show. Highlights were definitely Reba, an un-narrated Vibration of Life, and Antelope in the first set, and the Lizards and Coil in the second. It wasn't a life-changing show, like 6/30/94 Richmond or Halloween, but nonetheless very good. I went with a few first-timers, and all of them were very pleased! Please remember, this is just two cents.. hey, can someone tell me what that damn mike-stand-like-thing is that Mike Gordon sometimes brushes his bass strings up against?? He did this shit on Wilson and Coil for a little while, and I know I have seen him use this thing before.. what is this .. device? oh yeah, and I almost forgot... to all you "Western PA Phishnetters"..sorry your "Confusing Phriendly Plan" to "Help Surprise Phish" failed so miserably (at least where I was). There were WAAAAAAY too many phirgins there for something this nuts to work. I mean, seriously, "Animal Noises" at the end of the first set before they leave the stage? Oh well, nice try.. charlie

SET 1: Wolfman's Brother: Easily the best of the run so far. Sick, patient, old school funk in the intro. Good stuff and a helluva way to open this show. Woo hoo! Sparkle: Slooooow. Old. One of the worst versions ever? Probably. Time for the shelf. > Bathtub Gin: Trey’s voice sounds hoarse. Solid jam, good version – workmanlike. No bliss crutch! Back on the Train: Trey blows one line of lyrics. Halfway to the Moon: Fantastic back and forth between Page and Trey! Really nice jam. Bouncing Around the Room: Sounded good I thought. Stash: These days, the beginning of this jam is about as patient as we can hope for. Very well done! Great peak too! For the era, I would recommend. It has replay value *for the era* Esther: Good version, clean. > David Bowie: Pretty good. I have been calling for them to shelve Bowie. Still feel that way. But this was pretty good. SET 2: Sand: The first part of the jam is super lame. But with 8 and half minutes it gets weird and cool. Lots of reverse reverb from Trey. Sounds like a fall 99 jam! Check out the effect Page throws down at 21:20, woo hoo! I bet CK5 went wild with that. Again at 22:00 > No Men In No Man's Land: Nice and sparse to open the jam. But it unfortunately moves on quickly to the canned bliss jam you have heard hundreds of times since 2017. -> Llama: Like the placement. Mountains in the Mist: Nice cool down. Scents and Subtle Sounds: Lots of whale call in here. Did not like this one. > Shine a Light: Nicely played, sounds great. ENCORE: Wilson: Standard. > Split Open and Melt: I guess I just don’t ‘get’ this song anymore. I feel like you need to be there and be on drugs to ‘get it. Summary: Really good first set, very fun. But the second set just doesn’t have much to hang your hat on outside of 8 and a half minutes of Sand. Would rate this as a 3.8/5. Replay Value: Wolfman’s Brother, Stash, Sand.

Enjoyable audience recording after the somewhat lifeless SBD source from the Wetlands. Possibly one or two cassette generations in it’s lineage. Great version of Reba. Strong early versions of Landlady and Stash. DaaM has a train wreck midsection. I Didn’t Know features the “Red Doughnut Man” on the bone. Nice Mike’s Groove closer with another rippin’ Groove! Set 2 kicks of with Asse Festival. Awesome Tweezer jam complete with some more early secret language. They omit the “penile erector” line from this version of Cavern and replace it with “Picture of Nectar”. Tape flip after Lizards. This cuts into the debut of Destiny Unbound. Great early version. Rippin’ little version of Fire closes out set 2. Goin’ Down Slow closes out the show in fine fashion.

Decent SBD source for this show albeit a little flat/lifeless. There’s a healthy dose of low end. Things kick off with the debut performance of Landlady. Solid work from Mike on Sky. The debut of Tube doesn’t feature the bluesy section out of the jam. Afterwards, Trey fills everyone in on the names of the new debuts. Asse Festival makes it’s debut next. After a hot Antelope Trey introduces Zero Man to center stage for the comical debut of Minute by Minute. Fish does a pretty good Michael McDonald impersonation. lol No HYHU for this version. Trey teases Buried Alive before launching into the debut. Trey said Buried Alive was inspired by a strange dream he had. Haul and Silas makes it’s debut being introduced and sung with an incorrect title. A solid Possum closes out Set 1. This version features the debut of the Secret Language. Set 2 starts off with Mike’s Groove. Groove rips hard per usual. Magilla made it’s debut next. Nice debut versions of Stash and Going Down Slow. Excellent version of Bag complete with a full on Buried Alive tease! This slides smoothly into a playful A-Train with more Buried Alive teasing. Out of the ashes comes bust out cover, Sparks. Last seen at Sigmi Phi on 11/5/88. After a great Reba Trey welcomes the Dude of Life to the stage for the debut of Self. The music itself has hints of Chalk Dust. The debuts Dahlia and Revolution close out set 2. A double encore of Lizards and La Grange wrap up a damn fine show. I nice audience recording of this show would be amazing if it exists.

SET 1: Carini: Dedicated to Frenchie. They go for that canned bliss jam immediately. Last couple minutes are pretty good though. > Halley's Comet: Standard. > Blaze On: Standard. Prince Caspian: Lots of effects (not the good old school ones though) We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains: Oof. Mercury: Standard, no jam. > Ruby Waves: Canned bliss jam. 9:30 – 12:45 is solid. The last two and a half minutes Trey falls back on old tricks, repeated lame effects and peaks. > Character Zero: Standard. SET 2: Set Your Soul Free: Standard, no jam. Tweezer: Standard, canned bliss jam. The last three or four minutes are decent. - > Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1: Nice! Just wish they would extend this. Has so much potential but it has been neutered almost every time they have played it since the CT show. Oblivion: Meh. The jam is upbeat and it’s obvious for well over a minute that Trey wants to abort this for Light > Light: The beginning of this is rough as hell. Slow. Decent jam held my interest for the most part. Nothing I would revisit. > Slave to the Traffic Light: Another throwaway 3.0 Slave. Sad. Shelve this and figure out how to play this song – show it some respect and play it the way it is supposed to be played. ENCORE: Show of Life: LOL. Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. – LOL. Just played at SPAC. Summary: Negative review? Yeah. I call ‘em like I see ‘em. This show was a far cry from the first night of SPAC. Would rate this a 3/5. Not a good show at all. Replay Value: LOL.

SET 1: Carini: Dedicated to Frenchie. They go for that canned bliss jam immediately. Last couple minutes are pretty good though. > Halley's Comet: Standard. > Blaze On: Standard. Prince Caspian: Lots of effects (not the good old school ones though) We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains: Oof. Mercury: Standard, no jam. > Ruby Waves: Canned bliss jam. 9:30 – 12:45 is solid. The last two and a half minutes Trey falls back on old tricks, repeated lame effects and peaks. > Character Zero: Standard. SET 2: Set Your Soul Free: Standard, no jam. Tweezer: Standard, canned bliss jam. The last three or four minutes are decent. - > Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1: Nice! Just wish they would extend this. Has so much potential but it has been neutered almost every time they have played it since the CT show. Oblivion: Meh. The jam is upbeat and it’s obvious for well over a minute that Trey wants to abort this for Light > Light: The beginning of this is rough as hell. Slow. Decent jam held my interest for the most part. Nothing I would revisit. > Slave to the Traffic Light: Another throwaway 3.0 Slave. Sad. Shelve this and figure out how to play this song – show it some respect and play it the way it is supposed to be played. ENCORE: Show of Life: LOL. Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. – LOL. Just played at SPAC. Summary: Negative review? Yeah. I call ‘em like I see ‘em. This show was a far cry from the first night of SPAC. Would rate this a 3/5. Not a good show at all. Replay Value: LOL.

During the pandemic, my wife and I spent a lot more time listening to each other's music than we previously did. We made jokes that we were going to design a music festival that was the center of our Venn diagrams of musical tastes. When the Catbird Music Festival lineup was announced, we decided that this was basically as close to the center of the diagram that we'd get. She wanted to see a bunch of the alt country bands (they all slayed), I was there for the jam bands (they did as well). I knew after the first day that Trey Band would be on an exceedingly tight timeline as every act was right on time, so I was going through my head of what I expected they'd play. Called the Cayman Review, POTTD, and knew they'd close with a First Tube. Turns out I was pretty spot on. They came out swinging with a hot SYSF, everyone sounded great (big shoutout to the road crew who made everyone sound super good). Great versions all through the setlist, Trey was having a ton of fun getting the crowd that was at that point all waiting for Tyler Childers into the jams. When he got to Life Beyond the Dream, he stopped and pointed out the mic stand that James would have been occupying, asked for love and light from everyone there, and then proceeded to play a very emotional version. For those of us who were there for TAB, there were a lot of misty eyes. It was very special. I was surprised at the length of Everything's Right, and also the depth of the jam. They sent it in what can only be described as type 2 territory. I was watching the clock, knowing that we'd have a condensed First Tube if he didn't wind it up soon, then just as if he knew I was getting nervous, launched into a blistering FT. A few minutes shorter than you'd normally expect, but with an intensity that came from the depths of his soul. The entire place was screaming as it reached crescendo, and a big sustained roar as he lifted the guitar in the feedback peak. Amazing show, amazing weekend with my wife, and if next year's lineup is anything like this one, we'll be back for year 2 of Catbird!

Free: Good opener, played well. Wolfman's Brother: Strong as usual. Maze: Fine version, keeps the energy going strong for sure. Sigma Oasis: I groaned a bit as this started up, but Trey really crushes this one. Definitely worth a listen if you have not heard it. Pillow Jets: I liked the jam in Star Lake. But the lyrics, woof. This one does nothing for me at all. Hope to not hear it again really. Tube: Played too fast. Throw away version. > Twist: Another throw away version. > Harry Hood: And another throw away version, no patience. Three top shelf Phish songs played right in a row with no heart and no soul. What happened? SET 2: Down with Disease: Yikes, another throw away version. Straight up boring. -> Ghost: Throwaway version. After the composed section they opt immediately for that canned bliss jam you have now heard hundreds of times. The last couple of minutes are decent. Also Sprach Zarathustra: Short version. > Golden Age: Derek Trucks nice, crowd goes nuts when he comes out. I thought, what a strange tune to collaborate on. But the jam is sick. Two legends trading licks and jamming like crazy. Great stuff, highly recommended. > Everything's Right: Another awesome collaboration. Great, great stuff here. Highly recommended. A Life Beyond The Dream: Good stuff. First Tube: Like Golden Age, I thought this was such an odd choice. But again, they made it work and very, very well. When they team up and play the same ascending notes, it just sets SPAC on fire. Awesome! ENCORE: Possum: An obvious choice but strangely it wasn’t that energetic for some reason. Page’s solo was especially benign, and I don’t think I heard Derek play a rhythmic not during it. Summary: The first half of the first set was good, but the second half was not. The first half of the second set was not good, quite vanilla and boring. Derek and Trey crushed Golden Age and Everything’s Right – awesome stuff, love it. First Tube too. The complete body of work of this show though doesn’t compete with the night before. The show is better than average because of the collaboration but the not by much. I would rate this show as a 3.7 out of 5. Replay Value: Golden Age, Everything’s Right, First Tube.

Great show! I think now that time has passed since I got back from Colorado, and a couple of re-listens in between, I will admit that the spectacle of the Encore did cause me initially to over-value the concert. But, and I will come back to that in a second, it truly did feel like the cherry on top for an overall awesome show. Set 1 was very good overall. As is becoming all too common nowadays, it bucks our traditional expectations of a toe-dipping excursion. Fluffhead was the obvious stand-out, and I am so glad I got to hear a 20+ min version of this one. Its composed section was tight, with nice little interludes throughout, and some solid jammin' to close it out. Reba was well done, and the final quartet of songs had great energy and nice transitions, seeing the band members work so well and patiently together in spite of the shorter type I jams. My buddy posed an astute observation/question at the end of this set, "how would this band function if just 1 of the members was down with disease?" As if to defiantly refute that thought, an amazing Set 2 emerged. Typically, one would expect an amazing set 2 to include bust-outs and/or extended songs, and this set had neither. However, it traded in 1-2 show stoppers for 4 great type I-II jams, broken up only by an energy lifting CDT and a briefly calming Ether Edge interlude. The fire was burning from the 1-2 punch of AC/DC->CDT, and we were all feeling it. 46 Days was great, full stop. Having been at 10.31.2021, my wife found the musical costume to be bland. I told her it is hard to hear 90 minutes of new music, but that there were going to be some good jam vehicles coming from this work, and lo and behold, the Howling was probably the unexpected highlight. 30,000 adults howling in unison was hilariously incredible, and Page and co. really got everyone's feet moving. It was, I guess, predominantly type I (if you believe there is any structure to these songs to begin with...), but incredibly funky. Leading into a 2nd straight year of a Dick's Set 2 closing Piper, and another worthy jam. K, Encore time. I will start by saying that I have always craved a solid encore. The typical 2 songs for an encore often feels limiting for them, and I always feel like if they could, they would (play longer), but they don't know how... Every now and then we get a barn burner of an encore, and I already felt fortunate to have just experienced it the prior night with SOAM. I am standing next to a newly made friend from Denver and a veteran at Dick's, whose expectations for this Encore were low (as he felt the band would be building, as usual, to a bigger finale on Sunday). Well, things start out very nicely with a Theme that may well be considered jam chart worthy (as an aside, check out 08/10/22 version for those who love this song) when all is said and done after the powers that be review this tour. Beautifully played with a nice solo. Mango Song follows and is a pleasant surprise. As the song ends they hold those final notes and everyone, me included, thinks they're packing it in. But still, a glimmer of hope, and I shout "keep going!" The Denverite taps me on the shoulder, as if to suggest, "don't be greedy, young man..." We all know what happens next, they launch into Don't Doubt Me, followed by Evolve. Neither of which, admittedly are my favourite songs, and seemingly weird choices to close on. At the end of each of these, I again yell, "keep going!" People in front of us have left, such that we now find ourselves several feet closer to the action by the time Evolve has ended. Golgi starts, and we are all smiling ear to ear, half-bewildered and looking at one another in disbelief, and half-ecstatic. A high energy Golgi, and we will all happily vacate the arena with a 30+ min encore in the books and a story to tell, right? Or, maybe....? By the end of Golgi, everyone around is cheering and yelling with anticipation, and an even more perfect set closing Antelope ensues. The crowd is in a frenzy by the time Trey speaks the name "Marco Esquandolas," and there is no doubt that each of our souls are in high gear. Over 3 hours of delectable music, great song choices, great jams, and the longest encore in Phishtory all makes for an excellent event! Other notes: 1) From the rhythm crew, Fishman gets a lot of love and deservedly so, but this was Mike's most outstanding show of the weekend (continuing from the great work in SOAM the night before) 2) IMO, Jam Chart songs - Fluffhead, AC/DC Bag, 46 Days, The Howling, Piper, Theme(?)