Since 1994, summer shows at Walnut Creek have reliably delivered peculiarities to the Phish canon. The 1997 lightning fest is perhaps the best known, but then there was the bizarre 2003 show where Mike left and returned to the stage after allegedly purging the previous night’s debauchery. The first show I saw at Walnut Creek was in 2000, which history has relegated to clunker status. My personal attendance high point was probably the boisterous 2018 show featuring the Set II Runaway Antelope mashup. I expected the afternoon to be swelting as is often the case down south, but on this July day it was positively suffocating. The mercury soared into the 90s while the NPR broadcast crowed about a heat wave and the inevitability of inclement weather. Even the sturdy gravel parking lot appeared ready to melt leaving us to shelter in the precious little shade afforded by the nearby pines. Once inside the venue I watched cobalt clouds gather in the distance. Soon the greasy fwonk of Moma Dance flooded the amphitheater and people in all directions began to bounce and sway. Moma gave way to a rambunctious Possum, the latter of which feels like a virtual certainty in the south. Steam was a fine choice that affirmed the sweltering afternoon, which segued smoothly into Stash. The transition was slick and the blissy jam at about six minutes proved to be an unexpected first set treat. After riffing again on the Steam theme, they dropped into their reliably scorching cover of Son Seals’ Funky Bitch. Trey smoked the lead section before guiding the band through the 1.0 classics Wedge and Horn, only to raise the stakes with Rise/Come Together. The latter proved to be the night’s longest jam that oscillated around a Free-like jam segment although it never felt like it found solid footing. Since its debut in 1987, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars opened Set II for the first time. This rendition deviated from its typical angular, frenetic pulse towards a more straight-ahead rhythm that reminded me of the Dead Kennedys, or even the Ramones. Carini continued BBFCFM’s foray into the dark and edgy, which was a perfect accompaniment to the taciturn sky. After a hurried but sincere Waste, the urgent beauty of Ruby Waves revealed the night’s most patient exploration of themes as streaks of pink and purple pulsated from distant thunderheads. Ruby Waves descended dreamily into the lilting elegance of Beneath a Sea of Stars Pt. 1., only to unleash the rocking trifecta of Piper, Light, and Shine a Light, that included a brief BBFCM call back in Piper. The four-song encore spanned several moods of Phish, ranging from the lonesome sentimentality of Strange Design and to the bare-knuckled bravado of Wilson with its rowdy call and response. Altogether a fine show that displayed the diversity and depths of Phish’s catalog while also highlighting their unique ability to play to the earth and sky. Throughout the night, spatters of rain and streaks of lightning threatened but the weather miraculously veered from Walnut Creek. In many ways it mirrored Phish’s performance — both etched lively dreamscapes onto the horizon without us having to experience the peculiar experience of a full deluge.

Pretty good SBD source for this show. There’s a couple cassette generations in it’s lineage, but it has a nice bright sound overall. So grateful there was a taper there that night to capture this one! The show opens up with a raging Possum. What a treat for the students in attendance at this party! Ya Mar had a few choice Trey licks. The possible debut of Tweezer was dedicated to the Beta Intramural Hockey Team whose season went down the tubes earlier that day. Solid version! It’s possible this was debuted the night before in Columbus. Uncle Pen is another first that may have debuted in Columbus. They had a week on the road from Pennsylvania to Ohio to write and polish up some new songs. There’s a tape flip after Suzy. The beginning of A-Train is cut. Nice version of A-Train tonight. The third new song, Runaway Jim, has the OG verse. Before YEM Trey makes some more comments about the Beta Intramural Hockey team. Decent version with a nice B&D section and a trippy ending to the vocal jam. GXBX wrapped up the first half. Trey dedicates another number to the Beta Intramural Hockey Team. A blues tune of course, Funky Bitch. Solid Mike’s Groove. The second jam in Mike’s was as long as Saratoga’s version. Nice intro to Groove with some cowbell action. Different approach to the ending from what they’ve been doing lately. Jesus Left and Lizards continued the stretch of unreleased material. Fish drums out the intro to Split Open for a bit before Mike comes in. Rippin’ jam tonight. A fun Contact provides a nice cool down. Fish shushes everyone saying “this is the nice part now” before the final coda. Rift makes another appearance. They reworked the first half and slowed the pace down from what we heard in Baltimore. I love the mellow intro! They kept busy on their week off! Cavern was another new number. This version has the OG verse as well. Plus, the ending has “Penile Erector” in place of Picture of Nectar. The ending goes on a little long and it’s clear they’re still working things out here. There’s a good chance all of these new songs were played the night before in Columbus. Trey typically lets the audience know when it’s a debut. Fish takes center stage for the last song of the set. The trombone gets dusted off for this version of Brain. Trey requests a “slightly relaxed version” before Carolina. Sweet Adeline makes it’s public debut. This debut performance is “slightly relaxed”. Whipping Post cuts during the first jam, but what’s available sounds great! It’s a shame this version isn’t complete, but it’s amazing someone captured this great night of music!

Damn great spring '93 here. The first set is full of classic tunes all played strong until you get to Wilson, which is infused with extra fun improvisational playing in the intro and breakdown. The closing Antelope is a beast of a jam as well. Second set Suzy features some particularly great Fishman, and Tweezer has an excellent Trey-centric jam. Mike's Groove is really the other major high point, with special props to Weekapaug. WG gets jam of the night from me. Love the My Girl teases. Just such a spirited version of the tune.

Very upbeat Foam early in Set 1. Stash gets some sweet riffing play and harmonic exploration, and Reba grooves really strongly. Fun PYITE follow up. Very happy to see Halley's Comet make a reappearance, and it gives way to a Bowie that is compact but excellently captures that '93 dissonant and chaotic sound. Trey is just awesome at the end with the string scratching. Easy highlight of the show is YEM. Full of awesome teases and jamming in both the instrumental and vocal jams. Gotta love the Great Gig debut too.

Fantastic energy and technical prowess on this one, and the audience tape is excellent quality. Folks are right to call out Fluffhead as a spectacular specimen. The composed sections are clean, the solos are vibrant, and the Arrival is triumphant. The Antelope/BBFCFM jam is phenomenal as well. Musical and dissonant, playful and evil, thrashing and patient, dynamic and rhythmic, creative and focused...toss in the Simpsons signal close and you've got one of the best jams of 1992. Very fun to hear the secret language explanation, and Trey's critique of the audience's weak Turn Turn Turn performance on Possum.

Beautiful SBD recording for this show. Unfortunately, there are numerous level adjustments and minor distortion in the right and left channel. Things get corrected a couple songs in. Golgi cuts in to open the the show. Before Esther Trey says “this is a little Irish folk tale here now…somewhere deep in the heart of County Clare many years ago.” Nice segue between Bouncin’ and MSO. An entertaining Rhombus Narration cuts in following MSO. Solid Sky. After Donna Lee Trey says “an old Irish number called Donna Lee” Page: “Donna O’Lee” Trey: “Donna McLee” A fun St. Patty’s day version of Lizards followed. Another great Antelope tonight. The RHCP cover of Higher Ground starts up following Set 1. It’s a shame Set 2 doesn’t circulate. :(

Looking back on 2021, this has to be the most underrated show of the year. Super jammy first set with an incredible Melt -> End of Season -> Melt, and two fantastic jams in the second set with Ruby Waves and Golden Age. This show might be too bright and feel good for some and the song selection could be called a little cringy with a second set closing number line, but if you care about artistry, exploration and the flow from section to section, song to song, this is a stellar show. 4.35/10

The trek from Shoreline was oh so worth it. Quite the scenic drive from NorCal. We finally made it to on-site camping around 2am on 7/12. There were still lots of John Mayer/Counting Crows patrons in the campgrounds and those that were still awake seemed to be plenty intoxicated. I have never seen so many people aside from a DMB show that seemed to be getting drunk for the first time in their lives. Yee haw. We camped w/ a plethora of phookers: leonard, marshy1243, junkbondking, jasongladys, along4theride plus the 4 of us. It was great to finally meet and party w/ Gladys (already met Rebecca last year, so good to see you again). All I can tell you is Klingons can party. So junkbondking (and I think Leonard and Melissa too) went in real early and reserved a sweet spot for all of us on the terraces (thanks dudes and dudette). Tons of room to dance and get down. Many thanks for saving that you guys. What can I say? the Gorge is a spiritual place to see a show. I had been here before for the Phish '99 run. However I made the trek by myself, and it just wasn't the same as being w/ a big group of friends. To the Gorge gang: this is the best experience I have had since we had our whole college "family" together at Deer Creek in 97. Everything just felt right. Sound cheesy? Yup. But that is the truth. Anywho, onto the show. SET 1: Taste: Interesting selection as the opener, I think this may well have been the first time I've seen this tune open a show. Solid version though I think Chula's is a bit better. Mexican Cousin: Good spot for it (i.e. not an encore). Smiles all around. Stash: Like Phoenix, a good Stash but nothing mind blowing here. Love Stash this early in the first set. NICU: Standard. Heavy Things: If they are going to play it, this is the place for it - mid first set. Mock Song: Debut. Army of One: Phish debut, Vida Blue tune. Nice vocals by Page but not a big fan of this tune. Maze: Too dang long for my tastes. This one meandered, lost momentum and didn't have the blitzkrieg ending that I am used to. Still a good set closer, I was wondering when they would play Maze this tour. SET 2: Piper: Ah the boys mean business now! Excellent opener and a nice reward for the people that traveled from near and wide. Very good Piper that did not quite match the Shoreline Piper yet still very good in its own right. > Two Versions of Me: Concert debut. Very nice new song, I instantly loved the harmonizing vocals and lyrics. This would turn out to be my favorite of the new songs behind Scents. Tweezer: Now we are talking! Excellent choice after what had just preceded it. Like Chula, another relatively short, succinct and to the point Tweezer. No boring spacey jams, just the 4 fellas bringing some heat. Nice Tweezer! Good bit of Free teases/jamming. Great segue into… -> Dogs Stole Things: Man did I ever think they were going to bust out a Jesus Left Chicago here. Both intros are relatively similar, but I was a little surprised to hear Dogs emerge (not sure if I have ever seen this in a second set before). No worries, the segue I thought was sweet – very tight. I must say this is the best Dogs I have heard, be it live or on tape. Trey was just smoking on this one - damn! I was a bit in awe when this one was over, so I wasn't to bummed w/ the next selection. Water in the Sky: Bad placement. Standard playing. Ghost: Ladies and Gentlemen please buckle your seatbelts. No loop intro to this Ghost. This one starts quietly as do all Ghost's w/out the delay intro and I think it caught a lot of people off guard. Crowd goes nuts as they figure it out. This Ghost is just friggin' crazy people. 18-19 minutes of no letup whatsoever. No space, no ambience. Just 4 guys up on stage doing what they know best, shredding like madmen. This Ghost will surely go down in the books as one of the best. Pure Phish at their collective best here.> David Bowie: Wow! Take no prisoners attitude by the band here. Like the Phoenix Bowie, nothing w/in it seems too crazy. The composed intro to the song sure was a lot tighter than the botched AZ version I will tell you that much. Strong Bowie to close out on hell of a second set. This set would end up being my favorite of the 4 Washington sets, no doubt in my mind. ENCORE: Frankenstein - Hell yeah! No let up at all. I love this cover and what they do w/ it. This one was definitely torquing on my reality helmet. > Tweezer Reprise: Everyone knew it was coming and welcomed the opening notes to it. Nice and subdued glow stick war upfront. That's right, no one whipped any at the stage or soundboard or taper's section. The west coast knows what's up! Replay Value/Summary: I would recommend Taste, Maze for the uniqueness of it and definitely Ghost – all timer right there. Nice show and had a wonderful time w/ good friends. The best part? We got to do it all over again the next day! Woo hoo! It was nice meeting clearerphish I believe before first set (or was it the next day?). These things tend to run together for me but very nice meeting you Patrick. The next day I met many a phooker - review tomorrow. Score: 3.5 out of 5.

Like the first two nights of The Front, this source isn’t great. It sounds like there’s more than two cassette generations present on Source #1. Unfortunately, both sources suffer from pitch issues throughout. The levels are hot for Set 1 and from Sloth on in Set 2. Surprisingly, they opened the evening with Contact. TMWSIY made another appearance on this three night run. Avenu pairs nicely with Reba. Unfortunately, only the first note of Reba is available. :( La Grange is completely missing. Mike’s Groove keeps the energy up. Sick version of Possum to close the first set! Carolina cuts in to open the set. The first Roll like a Cantaloupe since 7/12/88 is up next. Another great version of Antelope. The return of Cantaloupe was the cherry on top! Nice transition from DaaM into A-Train. The levels brick wall at the start of Sloth. Strong Ya Mar tonight. This is followed up with a raging Split Open. Pretty straightforward version of Harpua. Nice version of Slave with a cool buildup during the jam. Another strong Bag tonight. Bowie picks up as Bag fades out. Bowie gets a little more experimental than it has so far this year. It doesn’t get too crazy , but this is a really nice version. Unfortunately, the jam fades out as they start to build towards the trill section. The Tela encore is missing as well. Strong second half tonight.

Chalk Dust kicks up a storm to open the show. Scorching solo from Trey and great work all around. Moma up next with some slightly extended opening and closing jams. Energy is high so far; we're doing good. I love a good Foam! This one has some stellar work from Page and Trey. We are poised for some big set 1 improv! That's why it's a bit weird for Lawn Boy to appear here. I mean, who can complain about some lovely crooning from Leo? Ah well not every show is 2/28. A mid set Zero? Yes please! Just like that the energy is back in full swing. Divided Sky, like the earlier Foam, allows Phish to flex those hard toned compositional muscles they're known for. Very well played version here to anchor the set. Mountains gives us a nice big breath before we plunge into a late set Waves. A good but standard Waves. It feels like they want to take it further but Trey pulls them back and into Sample to close. Fine set here. Rock and Roll appropriately rocks with some fiery type 1 action. I feel this had potential to go big but Trey apparently didn't. Wilson is super fun and keeps the energy up. Piper finally gets down to some real improv. It keeps the uptempo feel while moving through several sections. It's decent but it doesn't grab me that much. 2001 is right change of pace we need here. Funky goodness is abundant. Trey's growly tone works very well. The funkyness continues into a mid set Wolfman's Brother in which I have to give the star performer award to Mike. The transition to Boogie on is a bit forced; they could've worked out the chord and rhythm changes better but it's clear they wanted to keep the dance funk going! Wading cools down after the high energy of the set so far. Antelope is passionate! They really get after the peak! Trey pushes the tempo faster and faster like it's 1994!! Rather than end the set there, Phish opts for a little barber shop number. Can't end the tour without a little more goofy fun. The YEM encore is every fan's dream. The vocal jam brings us full circle back to Phish's first show with Proud Mary. Damn what a tour.

Birds of a Feather smokes right out of the gate with some got type 1 action settling us in for what is soon to be an all-timer of a show. Destiny Unbound comes out of nowhere! The crowd is so confused at first; it takes a minute for them to realize what they're witnessing. I hear on the tape a girl saying "what?! Holy shit!!" Not a single ounce of rust on this Destiny. You'd think they'd been playing regularly all this time it sounds so natural. Horn is a damn near perfect selection to calm down a bit from the opener. Now we arrive at the third in a trilogy of historic Winter '03 Gins, this one being my favorite. The traditional type 1 jam is beautiful and would be noteworthy on it's own. Trey leads them into a slightly softer jam and plays a riff similar to Mr. Completely. Gradually they build back up to an explosive peak!! Everything after is just icing on the cake! Sleep is another damn near perfectly placed ballad. We need a nap after that Gin. Back on the Train is an entirely type 1 exploration and it is perfect. Not a single note out of place. This is the only time I will describe a Phish jam as perfect. Bouncing is yet another flawless choice to cool down a bit before leading into a great rendition of WOTC to close out the set. This set is damn good; not a single down moment. Song placement is top notch, song quality is top notch, and the jams are top f***ing notch! Tweezer - Right from the get-go there is something special about this one. Trey is playing around a lot more than usually, goading Fish into spicing up the rhythm. The post Ebenezer breakdown is double its normal length much to delight of myself and the crowd judging by the roar on the tape. The jam launches straight into cowbell work from Fish and bubbly, bouncing grooves from Mike. The band effortlessly moves through several sections of soft textures and loud rocking. Page is absolutely sizzling on the keyboards, adding stabs of color in just the right spots. Like a bird they flap their wings to gain speed then spread out to glide along in the wind. Trey's pulsating vibrato syncs up exactly with Fish's raindrop like cymbal hits. All at once they stick their heads above the clouds and bring us up to bathe in the brilliant sunshine. We are soaring. High over the clouds now, Trey finds an emotive pattern knit in the sky and grabs hold. Tears stream down my face at the sight of such beauty. Trey pulls us higher and higher, so high he stretches the seams of reality, pushing into outer space. At the last possible moment he relents. We slowly make our way back down beneath the clouds into some jazzy funk-lite. From there we return to a rocking celebration jam gradually taking us all the way back down to earth. Soul Shakedown Party reminds us where we are with some fun sing along reggae. The needed follow-up to what we just witnessed. Bowie slithers in with a little major key work from Trey in the intro. The jam explores some darkness, then pulls back, then goes dark again; this time really dark. Positively demented in the best Bowie way. They pull us back to the ending section of Bowie and then we are finally given a slight break in the form of Round Room. I say "slight" because you never want to skip Round Room. Hood is the only choice to end such a set. You couldn't ask for a better send off than a traditional peaky Hood. The finale screams, sending us into the encore break. Contact > Mexican Cousin > Tweezer Reprise is fitting. Honestly they could've played nothing and I would be satisfied. Phish can do no wrong. This is music for the ages.

Holy shit bro this set is so good omfg how have I never listened to it before Starting us off with YEM is like signaling an oncoming storm. You know the show has some massive potential starting with the quintessential Phish song, and especially a version played like this. Trey is peaking again and again, much to the delight of the crowd. In fact the crowd is loving this so much that I had to turn down the volume a few times. Fantastic YEM all around from every member (even the vocal jam is fun to listen to). Clone is great little Mike tune. Like Round Room, it's so slightly off kilter and so very very Mike. I agree with the others in this thread, bring this one back. This Roggae is played so nimbly, so intertwined, so dexterous. It really reminds me how good this song can be when the band is really feeling it. Drifting had me surprised it's only been played once. It seems so obvious this would be good pick to keep in the rotation much more than Plasma IMO. Blue Skies is fine, not very notable other than it being Fish's song. Moma Dance is so f***ing good hot damn. Groovy funk rock out the ass. They seriously killed this one. Final Flight is the only real down note in the whole set and it isn't even that bad. Maybe they should've gone with Most Events Aren't Planned but who knows. Maze is absolutely explosive! I'm not big on Maze but this one is making me reconsider. The middle section of fiery noise scratches an itch I didn't even know I had. Damn... by far the best I've heard this tour, and we still have more to go! Stash opens up heading into some 2.0 dark funk with Fish on the woodblocks. I love it when they take it in this direction. Otherwise it's a fairly normal but strong Stash. Ghost gets us going with an almost immediate drop into a smooth slinky groove showing off Mike and Fish. This groove reminds me of the Radio City Ghost. Super danceable and impossible not to head bob or tap your foot. Trey lays back for most of jam letting the rhythm section work their magic. Finally the intensity starts to build culminating in an unexpected -> into Low Rider! Continuing from there we get another smooth segue into Makisupa! Trey sings a lyric referencing a fire in the band's hotel in Cincinnati and then leads the band into yet another smooth af segue into Ya Mar!!!! 2003 had such amazing segues!! Guyute up next and despite a few minor flubs they really go after this one hard. Waves always kills with a standard type 1 jam and this one is no different. I love Prince Caspian, this is perfect placement and Trey passionately solos in the best way. Another wtf segue into Frankenstein?!?! Golgi mops up the set screaming but Phish is still not content. Loving Cup is a ferocious encore! Do NOT skip!

This Disease opener has some good type 1 exploration and a decent peak. Nothing mind blowing but fun. Corinna is an old Phish favorite that is always a joy to hear. Kinda makes me want for them bust out some of the old jazz standards they used to play back in the day. Wolfman's is sooo tight, the jam is typical but I can tell they were grooving this one but didn't want to stretch it out too much. Limb sashays into the set with its signature whirlwind of notes. It continues to amaze me how they can pack so much into such little time. Then B.B. King comes out and ruins everything... nah I'm jk. I'm sure this was a cool experience for the band and probably felt significant to those in the audience. Playing with a legend like King is an absolute honor. Looking at pictures from the show the band seems really jazzed to get to play with him. I'm glad they were and I'm glad this exists... but there's just not much replay value. I can hear Trey trying to goad King into trading solos but, well, that's not the kind of player his nor is that his background. In summary: not great, not terrible. At least it wasn't Jay-Z! Am I crazy or does Trey's noodling at the start sound like Reba?? Halley's starts off noticeably slower than normal (although about as fast as they play it now). Consequently it heads straight into a quintessential 2.0 deep groove. No fog or haze just a late night drive with sprinkles of light from Page. I've never heard this jam mentioned before; definitely underrated. After a strong peak, Fish switches up the beat to sounding almost like Hydrogen. Trey jettisons the idea with some choppy riffs and then some swampy effects leading us into Hood. This a quick midset Hood, all killer no filler. Heavy Things is fine as a slight cooldown and has a typical super melodic solo from Trey. Twist gets back into some deep jamming with that sludgy noise jamming that many 2.0 haters point to. I for one love this kind of sound. AOTD is played once again this tour. Waves is a very solid version that I wish continued on a little longer. Sample & Chalk Dust are the 1-2 punch needed to end the set with some energy. I've never liked Farmhouse as an encore.

The Sloth is such a great opener I'm surprised it took until 3.0 to get used in the slot more often. Dogs Stole Things is always a treat. Piper in slot 3 is so crazy but very in line with 2003. Trey really shreds in this one. It's mostly a typical type 1 rage fest until the surprise segue into Weekapaug. This was totally out of nowhere and felt so good. Paug gets it done like a late second set version. Man they are really cooking tonight! Dirt calms us down before heading into a goofy Scent of a Mule. I'm not big on this song so I can't speak to if this is a good one or not. WOTC by now has firmly established it's chops as a powerhouse and this version is no different. Huge and thick, this Walls just keeps getting bigger and bigger as it builds to an extreme climax. Mountains in the Mist is such a delicate vulnerable song. It lays us down to rest. Sample is good closer. Tube starts the set with great work from Trey and Page. Interplay is abundant in this incredibly fun jam. Next up is one of the biggest highlights from the tour. This Gin is all over the map. Type 2 very improvisational. Trey's growly tone works so well with this kind of jamming. He starts to reel back the jam with the standard Gin closing line but then they decide to hang out in the exit lane for a bit longer for a decidedly demented take on the Gin theme. Friday settles down and leads us in to Bowie. David Bowie goes intergalactic several times before getting mellow and ramping back up to big finale. Another stellar jam for this ferocious set. Bug caps off one of the best sets I've heard so far. Stick around for Suzy Greenberg to hear Page light up the keyboards with 3 different breakdowns!

Wilson > Frankenstein opens with a hug exclamation mark to begin the show. Mike activates a growly distorted bass tone in Wilson and brings down the house. Disease up next to continue this fiery combo. The jam is decently fun and upbeat. We keep our heads above water with this one; no diving into the 2.0 depths. Whaddya know they actually finish this one. Lifeboy is a needed breather after all the high octane energy. Boogie On gets the funky dance going and leads to some fun playful bass and keyboard break down segments. A pretty good Antelope brings the set home for the close but count on Phish to do something weird like closing with I Didn't Know. This is a fun set; pretty light and bouncy. Mike's Song hits the ground running with Trey immediately laying on some dark and strange melodic lines over the typical jam. It's interesting, but doesn't peak in any way. Rather it drifts into industrial noise/space for awhile. Fish attempts a move to Hydrogen; instead they move to Free. Weird; not bad, but very weird. Free is competently played but not notable. Waste deflates some energy so early in the set. Thankfully 2001 gives a kickstart and I'm dancing again. Trey lays some fun teases in with this one, even almost breaking into a Stash jam. Hood is great choice here. I love the fake out peak echoing 2/15's version. Good stuff. AOTD is a deserved break after 2001 and Hood leading us in to Possum. Man, the standards for Possum used to be so high. Very well played version that I will call average-great for the time. Cavern caps off a good set. Overall I like set 1 more but set 2 really picks up in the 2nd half.

Rift starts out a bit rough and doesn't really recover until half way through the song. But it's not terrible, in fact it gets pretty good after the initial shakiness. Rock and Roll comes in hot with steamy type 1 scorcher that just about feels like it's going further but Trey pulls it back to end the song. Ah well, very good none the less. Guyute is the composition heavy selection for tonight like Divided Sky and Guyute itself were at the previous two nights. Driver is next and I guess it's appropriate to get a quick breather in after the last tunes but I'm not a fan of this one. Waves begins the second half the set with some deft, artful playing from Trey during the jam. Man, I love Waves. It's my favorite 2.0 song and it fits perfectly with that sound. Fitting that Phish sounds so good among the Waves. Simple lifts off into a top tier jam that morphs and sways in the breeze. This is stuff dreams are made of. Fantastic work from the band. This Gotta Jibboo is one of the best out there. It's essentially a big fireworks display that just won't let up. Starting out as a quick type 1 jam it builds into legendary status when it peaks and instead of taking the off ramp, Phish forges ahead in to type 1.75 territory. Not fully breaking away from the song structure but an eyelash away from doing so. Once again, fantastic work from the band. Tweezer is always a welcome set 2 opener and this one is no slouch. It lifts off with a spirited jam of funky goodness before transitioning to that sludgy 2.0 noise jamming. You either love or hate this sound and I love it. The noise eventually gives way to a huge peak and rousing conclusion! PYITE is a great follow up to the big Tweezer and gets the crowd dancing again. I'm really feeling the energy on this one. Trey sounds almost giddy. FEFY finally gives us a break after the jammy dance-fest of the last tunes. Seven Below gets going right away with ANOTHER 20 minute jam! This one picks up right where Jibboo left off. Moving as one organism, full band interplay. Honestly this reminds of some the best moments from Fall '97. Pebbles closes out the set with more of that noisy roaring but idk this time it didn't work for me like it did with Tweezer. Still, it is the melt-your-face set closer they were hoping for. Three song encore is a rarity for this era but that's pretty much all there is to say.

Like night one, the source for this show leaves a lot to be desired. Again, there’s multiple cassette generations in the lineage. However, this source does have brighter sound compared to last nights source. Unfortunately, only the first set is in circulation. The evening kicks off solid versions of Wilson and Esther. A fan in the front row requests McGrupp. The next three songs were a flashback to Fall ‘89. McGrupp transitions into Who Do? We Do! which then transitions into a solid Bag with Hot Blooded teases. There’s some channel dropouts during Bag. Decent versions of Bitch, Sky and Jesus Left. There’s a tape flip before Sky.

Jim > Water In The Sky > Twist is a fine opening salvo but none of them seem to connect and get the creative juices flowing but they are played well at least. Coil is odd coming in so early in the set and is the first momentum killer. I do like the transition into Brian and Robert from Page's closing notes but damn it's a kinda lame 1-2 punch. Stash finally gets us going with a good version and some nice work from Page. The Wedge is typical and a fun little nod to Denver. BOAF really starts to get cooking with some Trey shred but the momentum is once again halted with Lawn Boy. Fine song to be sure and place correctly it can be a great breather but after this set it's a swing and a miss. WOTC closes with some pretty good improv and I just find myself glad they're finally stretching their legs. As far as sets go this is the weakest so far on the tour. It suffers from some odd song placement and failure to really build any momentum. Oh well, set 2 coming up! Moma Dance is good pallet cleanser to get the crowd dancing right away. I love that 2.0 haziness they deploy here and it seems like they're about to take Moma BIG. But the jam starts to recede and out of the fog comes LxL. I really like this Limb and agree with some other in this thread that it gets unfairly overlooked. It's a dark journey followed by very nice peak. Thunderhead is a cool little 2.0 ballad. I'm not gaga over it like some people but I get the appeal. I would certainly prefer hearing it over some of the ballads Trey writes today (sigh). Divided Sky and Carini are honestly a GOAT combo. Light and dark, white and black. Divided Sky soars while Carini burrows into the dark depths. YEM closes out the set with some hot jams I've been craving. Yeah I wish they still jammed YEM like this! Very fun stuff. The vocal jam and Lion Sleeps Tonight is a classic goofy Phish move to end on. NICU is a suitable encore and LOL Mexican Cousin is such a dumb song.

Bowie opener is really nice! The jam starts strong and begins to go deep and dark. Trey finds a crunchy little riff and starts the Catapult lyrics over it. This is evil! The sudden launch into the end of Bowie closes a top tier opening segment for any Phish era. Horn and Guyute come next and are mostly fine with a few hiccups. Nothing to write home about. I really like this Round Room and I wish they would play this one more. It's such a slightly off kilter song that screams "Mike wrote that." The jam seems to keep building into a big break but it never comes. Aside from that, I dig vibes of this one a lot. Golden Lady is an odd but welcome cover. I don't detect any obvious errors but it does feel timid overall. Shame this never popped up again for them to really kill it. Poor Heart and Pebbles liven up the last bit of the set but are straightforward. Bowie is the star here but the rest of the set is a little aimless. Disease open set 2 just as it has many times before in energetic fashion. Things start to get more interesting as Fish pulls back and the jam gets spacier. Trey comes in with the Seven Below lick in what appears to be a tease but morphs into a full on segue. Seven Below is pretty good but it doesn't get too far out there before Trey pulls us back to the end of Disease. A good little jam sandwich. After a breather, we get an absolutely Piper! It starts off with balls to wall rocking then settles in to a funky breakdown with Mike and Fish. It builds to Trey hamming it up with some stop and start chord breaks and a surprising turn back into Disease! This is one of those jams that has me smiling the whole time through. Makisupa allows the band to goof around a bit before closing things out with Character Zero. W O W what a set. Especially that Piper which I believe is the first of the big '03 Pipers. Things are really starting to heat up only 3 shows in!

A top shelf Llama starts us off. Trey is really digging in with shred and the energy is high. Wolfman's up next and we are treated an extended 2.0 funk jam. Oh yeah this is the good head-bobbing stuff I love from this year. I swear I can almost a hear a Black Eyed Katy jam forming. Eventually the jam recedes into Reba for the 3rd song of the show. Reba's jam is a little different from the norm. Not so much bliss as it is a smooth crest. Life on Mars is an unexpected but good choice after 30 minutes of jamming. 46 Days brings back the scorch with a quick set 1 romp. It's Ice is also fairly standard but well played. I wish Frankie Says got played more. Antelope has a really solid peak that's worth a listen despite the "nothing special" opening. Waves slides in to open the set in very cool fashion. I love a good Waves, it should open sets more often. I can feel a second jam coming on but it doesn't quite materialize. Instead we get Bug a little over 10 minutes into set 2. It's played well and with power as Bug usually is but this emotion feels like it's here a bit early, especially right after the semi-low key nature of Waves. Things really pick up with Ghost and oh man this Ghost. I'm fairly unfamiliar with Winter '03 aside from 2/28 but this Ghost has been in my rotation for years. It ebbs and flows from dancyness to funky grooves to quiet musings. All around a great time! Free is up next and it strays a bit from the norm with some fun stop and start bass breaks. Hood starts out playful indicating a little "extra mustard" is incoming. We get much more than that with a fake out peak and a subsequent rock explosion bringing up to a final peak! Damn, Phish is good.

Interesting tour opener with My Sweet One but it fits vibe for Valentine's Day. Cover of A Rolling Stone is fun little nod but the set really gets going with CDT and a nice type 1 jam with good energy. Of course the big highlights are Fee > Taste > Gin. Man, when Fee jams are good they are GOOD. Speckles and sparkly. Taste is definitely above average but I wasn't going crazy about it. The storied Gin lives up to the hype! I see a lot of similarities between this and the Went Gin. More of a vibe than anything I can put into words. I'll say that the Went Gin was the culmination of an entire summer tour and festival whereas this Gin is in set 1 of the tour opener! Heavy Things and Golgi close things out in a fine fashion. Phish is back, baby! Possum comes out swinging with a very well played average-great version to kick off the set. WOTC in its second ever appearance gets an extended type 1 jam followed by a cool ambient digression and mellow jam. This kind of pattern would pop up a lot in big '03 jams. An old school Carini is next and its loud and fiery like any old school Carini should be. From here the set kinda loses a lot of energy. AOTD is a nice little break but LxL comes out a bit sloppy (it sounds like Fish couldn't quite remember the beat). Bag seems to restart the energy but instead gets really quiet. It's cool in isolation but feels a bit weird. Caspian as well remains subdued rather the power ballad form it took in '99-'00. Overall the set starts strong and kinda peters out.

I somehow managed to wake up early along w/ Tony so we could have the oil changed in our cars. This would be the first of four for me. We checked out of our hotel, got a bite at a Thai restaurant, and got in line for them to open up the lot. Met some cool people from L.A., Michigan, and Oregon. Also, a reporter for the Orange County Register briefly interviewed Tony,Lee and me for a spot in the Travel section. It is supposed to be 8/24 according to Tony. They opened the lots around 3:30. The weather was nice and sunny. I met Nestamarley and his girlfriend Kelly (hope I spelled that right Mike). It was really nice meeting him - I have been seeing his posts for a few years now . I'd be seeing Mike on and off all the way through Pittsburgh! Anyway, the cops/security seemed much cooler today for whatever reason. I managed to put a nice buzz on before heading off for the gates. I went in w/ Tony - we both had lawn tonight (my first of the tour) and got a good spot front and center. Problem is if you are that up front on the lawn it's tough to see the stage (yeah, it sounds strange but true). SET 1: Spices: Well, Trey did promise to play this at Shoreline so there you go. -> Waves: Standard. Reba: Excellent version of Reba! Soaring. Would recommend. Lawn Boy: The Moma Dance: I really got a groove on during this one. It funked out for a good 12 and a half minutes. I especially enjoy the minimalistic nature of the last few minutes – very heady and ethereal. > Run Like an Antelope: Trey is quite sloppy in most everything leading up to the jam. Jam is run of the mill – so it rocked just nothing out of the ordinary. For set break Tony and I wandered up on the hill Page side and met up w/ a friend of his. You've got to be careful up there. If you lose your balance mid-dance, then you can tweak your ankle(s). Reminded me of Alpine in regard to how steep the lawn is. SET 2: 46 Days: Pretty solid jam right here. Nothing that I would seek out but good way to come out of set break. Divided Sky: Very, very good Sky. Would recommend. The Dave’s Energy Guide stuff starts around 15:45, love this – it is interwoven beautifully. Mike is really thumping here. Page lays down some interesting effects around 16:45. Friday: Brutal, horrid placement. Why would you put this here? > Free: Mike crushes his solo. Outside of that, not much to see here… > Seven Below: Standard. Wading in the Velvet Sea: Standard. Also Sprach Zarathustra: This was a nice 2001. But really short. At just under 7 minutes, I think this well could be the shortest 2001 I had seen since the mid 90's. Segue into > Down with Disease: Ripped, Type I face melter. ENCORE: Rift - Minor flubs galore in this one. The one I saw in Rosemont in February seemed much tighter. Character Zero: Replay Value/Summary: Reba, The Moma Dance, Divided Sky. Not much to chew on here, folks. They fell flat after a very hot show the night before. Out of the first 4 shows of the summer tour, 3 of them were mediocre at best. What happened with band in between the winter and summer tour? Winter tour raged and now this? A head scratcher for sure. This is one of those rare Phish shows for me where the first set is better than the second set. Everything in the second set seemed to be slightly rushed with some sloppy playing taboot. The band could have been a bit tired after 4 straight nights on stage; especially after the heater that was the night before. I know I was tired and definitely not looking forward to the 16-hour drive to the Gorge. After the show we hit the road for the Gorge and pulled over about an hour later and grabbed a hotel. The next day would be a festival of driving - we would not pull into the Gorge's onsite camping until 2am. Score: 3 out of 5.

The SBD recording for this show leaves a lot to be desired. There’s definitely a number of cassette generations in it’s lineage. Art worked his magic to make this one sound as good as it possibly could given the circumstances. This one would make for a great archival release! The show opens with an appropriate TMWSIY after a fan requests a couple of songs that haven’t been played since the mid 80’s. This opener pairs nicely with spicy versions of Caravan and Ya Mar with the addition of Grippo. Forbin>Mockingbird and Sloth continued the stretch of unreleased material. Possum has a chunk of music missing due to a tape flip. Smokin’ version tonight! Grippo comes back out for the last two songs of the set. Beautiful version of Donna Lee. An engaging Antelope wraps up a rock solid first set. A nice version of Reba opens up the second half. Bag has some noticeable CD skipping. Absolutely smokin’ version of Bag! Out of Bag comes the first Curtain of the year. Curtain slams into the first Dog Log since 10/21/89 at The Front. The amazing setlist flow continues into Slave. Grippo joins the band again for Slave and Highway to Hell. The latter sounded odd with the addition of saxophone. Grippo remained on stage for an incredible YEM! La Grange segues out of a trippy vocal jam. An inspired version of Contact provides a nice cool down. They invite Grippo back out for a whacky BBFCFM. We are treated to a rendition of Whipping Post for the encore sung by Mike’s 2nd grade English teacher, Marco Esquandolis. Trey takes the drums for this version and Fish attempts to play the guitar. Fun way to end an incredibly fun night in Burlington. A+ show, C+ recording

The SBD source for this show is very clean with bright sound. DaaM cuts in to start. A few rough spots on this one. This slams right into a pretty straightforward YEM. Possum segues out of yet another vocal jam. It was a pretty smooth transition until they dropped into Possum. They got it back on track pretty quickly and stretched the intro out a bit. Nice A-Train>Antelope combo to wrap up set 1. Inspired intro to Antelope. This inspired play continues into the jam and Marco section as well. Antelope basically carried the first on it’s back. Divided Sky cuts in to start set 2. Super cool version of Sky! Trey is en fuego during the jam! Solid Gin. MSO has an extended drum opening while Mike changes his bass string. I Didn’t Know featured Marco Esquandolis on vacuum. A possible nod to the strong Antelope to close the first set. Solid Mike’s Groove. Mike’s had the longest second jam up to this point. Weekapaug was electric per usual. Curtis Lowe provided a nice cool down song. Before the encore Page mentions that it’s their first time in Saratoga. Fish jokes “this has been one awful reception!” “If only we had a crowd…we could pack a few more people in here.” A playful Contact and roaring GXBX closed things out. Trey comments afterwards “Saratoga should be proud of being the town that generates more body heat than any town I have ever been in in my life.”

After the Chula Vista show we drove to some point north of L.A. and holed up in a motel. We made the long drive to Shoreline the following day. Got to love driving by Gilroy, CA - garlic capital of the world. We checked into our hotel in Mountain View, hit a liquor store and rolled into the lot around 5:30. Cops were being complete pricks making people pour out coolers of beer. That's how it was on 10/6/00 but they got more mellow for the next day and the same held true for this two-day Shoreline run. So we are sitting there drinking beer when a ticket broker tells us he has 3rd row tickets. Malcolm and I talk him down to $90 for the pair. So I take off to sell my sec 201 or 202 (whatever it was it was in the 200's: not a bad seat). The extra situation was unreal, so many people had them, and lawns were being miracle left and right. After 45 minutes I found some dude that gave me $25 bucks for it. I lost $20 bucks on the whole thing but as this night turned out, I could care less. I ambled in and found my seat. So the Ticket Broker guy was incorrect in saying we were 3rd row; we in fact were 7th row, just a couple of rows in front of junkbondking. Great seats, better than the 8th row seats I had for Phoenix and Chula; the Shoreline seats were much more centered. Malcolm walks in and sits down next to me, and a few minutes later out walks the band. Shit eating grins all around us not to mention on stage. SET 1: You Enjoy Myself: Jesus, you've got to be kidding?! Is this a dream? You have to love a band that does this kind of stuff: 10/7/00 last show before hiatus at Shoreline and they encore w/ YEM. First time back at Shoreline and what do they open w/? That's right folks, freakin' YEM! Damn I love this band! This was a smoking YEM, Cactus dropping bombs all over the damn place - woo hoo, 17 minutes of bliss for this guy! There were a couple of Simple teases in there somewhere, no vocal jam and segue into -> Simple: We indeed have it Simple! Pretty good version - not too long clocking in at 10+ minutes > Mountains in the Mist: After the blistering start to this show, I was pleased w/ this selection. Trey's vocals sound great. Chalk Dust Torture: I kid you not when I say this Chalkdust is fire. Machine Gun Trey at his finest here. Awesome. Bathtub Gin: The band really means business tonight as was made apparent here. Holy cow, this Gin is just insane. This was my 63rd show and I love the fact that twice in this almost 27-minute song that I had to look at my setlist notes to realize "Oh yeah, this is still Gin!" No other band has ever been able to take me on such a roller coaster ride w/ songs of this nature; and alas they are still doing it to me! Love it! The whole band was such an intense groove machine throughout this monster, always listening to one another while maintaining their own distinct playing. SET 2: Boogie On Reggae Woman: Standard as they get but still a great tone setter coming out of set break. > AC/DC Bag: Completely smoked, hot fire through and through. > Piper: > Twist: Some excellent jamming here and no wasted space and an extremely cool segue into… -> Scents and Subtle Sounds: I was excited to hear this after seeing the Phoenix debut a couple of nights ago. After reading a review on Phish.net I have realized what that middle jam in this song sounds like to me: Sparks. It is very similar. I know very little when it comes to the technical side of music. All I know is that the middle jam does have a similar sound to Sparks and the end jam is similar to a Hood or a Slave. It matters little to me. What mattered to me this night was the way this song MOVED ME. The lyrics are beautiful number one. But during the jam I found myself getting very verklempt. I was so touched during this tune and couldn't help but feel that this song says a lot about the upside of Phish's future – looking back on this review 20 years after having written it – I couldn’t have been more wrong. Definitely a classic in the making. Mike's Song: My buddy Malcolm called this one! I didn't think the night could possibly get any better and then they drop this atomic bomb on us! The place just erupts as the opening notes ring out. YEEEEEEEESSS! This Mike's would be relatively standard but very well played at the same time. Just the fact that they were playing Mike's this deep in the set, I was at a loss for words. 10-minute Mike's w/ a segue into > I Am Hydrogen: Thank you, thank you, thank you Phish. So classic, so old school. Pretty well played and a segue into > Weekapaug Groove: Mike just brings the house down as usual. Again pretty standard Mike's Groove as a whole but very solid too. A ten-minute Weekapaug ends the set. Page has a nice funky breakdown with Mike adding some nice accents. The band says nothing after first set and after second set, they didn't need to. They looked pretty pleased, we sure were! ENCORE: Loving Cup: A more appropriate song could not have been played in this spot. Yeah, it's played a lot maybe overplayed. Didn't matter tonight one bit. "What a beautiful buzz" indeed. After my disappoint w/ the Phoenix and Chula shows, I felt like this show completely validated just why I was on tour -> you never know when the band is going to sneak up and grab you. Well they did tonight, and this guy was back on the train (yes, I am a dork). Replay Value/Summary: Would highly recommend Bathtub Gin and Piper. Then I would say it wouldn’t hurt to listen to YEM, Simple, and Weekapaug. Malcolm, I am really glad I was able to share this show w/ you bro - I will never forget it. People, haggle w/ ticket brokers - trust me on this one, it just might be worth your time like it was for us tonight. The energy of the band just rolling off the stage was incredible. It was like a heatwave coming off the band and enveloping the whole amphitheater, the boys were FEELING it tonight! Back to our sweet hotel (good work on that one Malcolm) for some late-night partying. Ah, the best of times this night folks; the best! Score: 4.2 out of 5

So the four of us made our way into the lot shortly after it opened. As I saw in 2000 here, it's an extremely laid-back lot, Southern California style. Lots of really cool folks out there. Ran into some buddies of mine from Denver (two of which would do Deer Creek > Burgettstown w/ us). Like Phoenix, I was sitting 8th row again, but Page side on this night. When I got into the venue, I saw Bill Walton stride into the 200 section with his better half. I'm thinking to myself, I have better seats than Grateful Red? Hell, this is going to be a fine night for sure! Well sort of - onto the show... SET 1: Guyute: This is one of the songs I was really happy to see back in 97 when it was being dusted off the shelf. Now I see it way too much. But it's good as an opener. A few minor Trey flubs throughout and the ending is sloppy for sure. Horn: Nice placement. This song can always be a bit hit and miss but it was a hit for me tonight. Sloppy in spots (Trey) > My Sweet One: Standard. > Tweezer: Here we go! I love me some first set Tweezer. This one was 13 + minutes. This is a straight ahead, balls to the wall, head banging, RAGER. Very good Tweezer had a little bit of everything even an old school, tempo wind down at the end. > Limb By Limb: Very clean version. The Dave’s Energy Guide jam is utterly sick. Wish they would have kept that going and explored that them a good, bit more! Fast Enough for You: God I love this song. Fantastic version, just as good as Rosemont 2/22/03. Frankie Says: This song is so trancey for me for some reason. It makes me feel like I need to sit down and smoke a cigarette and I don't smoke cigarettes!! > Taste: Wow! This Taste just rips. If you are a fan of this song you will want to seek out this show. I remember at the time not being very happy about the set being closed by Taste but in retrospect it definitely works. SET 2: Down with Disease: Hard driving version! At 12:00 it gets downright funky as hell and I'm thinking of a segue into Sneakin' Sally. Three minutes later they were done with the funk theme and by 16:45 they were jamming much like the Wolfman's the night before: very dark and heavy. Pretty sweet DWD, by 19:40 it is done. Vultures: Nice! I've really liked seeing this song since seeing it at Deer Creek in 97. Very tight version especially w/ all the tough lyrical parts and being so early in the tour and all. Secret Smile: Another TAB > Phish debut. Attention Phish - Please stop playing this song. It's not good. Leave it for Trey's band or not at all. Harry Hood: Holy Toledo! It's so refreshing to see the boys take a song like Hood that's never had any serious improvisation before (not along the lines of say a Tweezer or DWD etc.). This one definitely goes Type II and in 2003 they really push the envelope with Hood many times. They played Hood this night with absolutely no fear, just four guys playing the hell out of their respective instruments. > Carini: Standard. Discern: Yet another Trey > Phish debut. At the time I was really unhappy about it. The placement is just no good! But in hearing the tapes, it does in fact have a lot of potential. Potential or not why mess w/ a set that is seriously going somewhere? Waste: Ummmm, ugh! ENCORE: Bouncing Around the Room: Christ!!! As the opening notes rang out, I headed for the gate. Trey was flubbing all over the place. > Tweezer Reprise: Standard. Replay Value/Summary: Limb by Limb, Taste, Down with Disease, Harry Hood. Wouldn’t necessarily seek them back out but I liked the jam in Tweezer and Discern too. But this show was so choppy, horrible flow. Score: 3 out of 5.

I absolutely believe this show is criminally underrated. the playing is blissfully focused, while the setlist has superb diversity. After freshly rewatching this show righr now on youtube I can say its 5* no brainer! That mike song rips the jams are focused, and there are many rarities and bustouts and songs that became bust outs and rarities later on in phish history. Epic! Everything well played- sounds perfect to my ears and then some!

I was pumped to be getting back on the road after having done the whole winter tour. I set out from Denver and picked up a phooker in Golden and we lit out for Phoenix. We met up with two other phookers in Phoenix and checked into a hotel. We didn’t leave our hotel until after 6pm. We figured the lot would be slim pickings w/ the temperature hovering around 110-115. Not to mention the lot is on blacktop. Got to the lot. Nothing going on. There is definitely a security presence in the lot here. Drank a couple of beers and headed in. I tried to bring a pack in to no avail. Had to check it at guest services. Malcolm and I had 8th row Mike's side, nice seats. SET 1: Stash: Nice opener! You have to love when they open a tour w/ a big gun like Stash. Nothing to crazy here clocking in at 11 and a half minutes. Good jamming just nothing mind blowing. Mike sounded great, very fast and pronounced. Sample in a Jar: Eh, at least it keeps the energy up. A couple of minor flubs by Trey. Billy Breathes: Nice breather, well placed. > Waves: Very tight, could have been jammed out a little more but was good. Spices: Phish debut of this TAB song. We figured we wouldn't hear this until Shoreline after Trey's little speech after playing this at the Warfield a couple of months ago. I really liked Page's playing during this. Other than that, not much to say about it. It does have some decent jamming potential but this one was just 8 and a half minutes long. Anything But Me: Breather #2. I like this tune but at this point the momentum is nowhere to be found. David Bowie: Holy flub Trey. Between 21 and 30 seconds in the intro it's almost like he dropped his pick on the ground or something. Ouch. But they do find the groove shortly thereafter. The ending coda is sick with Trey just making his guitar scream at the end. Dirt: Weird placement. I love this song; love it - but weird placement. Gorgeous rendition, nice vocals by all. Possum: Great buildup in the intro. A typical high energy Possum cranks everyone into a frenzy. Really good Possum. SET 2: Birds of a Feather: Good opener, gets everyone on their feet and moving. This one gets pretty funky around the 5-minute mark and stays that way for 3 minutes. Wolfman's Brother: Heavy, dark, and spacey. You can really hear Mike's new bass tone; I like it a lot! You can also really hear a new tone from Trey too - very heavy/chunky if you will. This one has a heavy metal edge it. Very, very dark. Loops at 11:15 – didn’t really hear hardly any loops during the winter tour. This section will tug on your psychedelic helmet for sure. Segue into something that is not familiar at all -> Scents and Subtle Sounds: I really liked the lyrics and the jam segment that follows; very Hood/Slave esque. I loved it and personally think it is better than anything on Round Room. The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday: No, it couldn't be! I was thrilled considering this was my first in 61 shows! Page and Trey have some difficulty syncing up in the intro. > Avenu Malkenu: Of course this is another first for me and it did what I expected: flat out rocked. Mike just tears this up and again his new bass tone is very evident here. > Walls of the Cave: : I felt like this was the highlight of the set along with Wolfman’s > Scents. Great jam that does not let up for a good 15 and a half minutes. Although there are some odd key changes in the last minute or two. > Prince Caspian: This was a real WTF moment. Couldn’t believe they were playing this tune this deep into the set and then to find out it was the closer? Not great! ENCORE: Character Zero: Standard. Replay Value/Summary: Wolman’s and Walls of the Cave I would recommend. Outside of that, this show was disappointing. Fun to be back on tour, but this really fell flat. My third tour opener and I was learning the hard way what that really meant. Back to guest services to claim my stuff and the lot for a beer. Back to the hotel to party it up and get pumped for Chula Vista the next day. Score: 3 out of 5.

SET 1: Sigma Oasis: Standard. David Bowie: Very cool placement! Is it just me or is Fishman doing something atypical during the David Bowie, David Bowie, David Bowie intro lyrics? 9-minute Bowie, gotcha. Trey rushes for the climax. Wolfman's Brother: Very solid and enjoyable jam. Tube: Good lil’ jam. > Prince Caspian: Standard. Mull: What’s with Mike’s vocals for the first few lines? Sounds like he is singing out of a closet or far away from the mic. They should take this song for a real ride sometime; this was a good lil’ jam. > Ghost: Cool placement! Excellent jam, no wasted space whatsoever. Good stuff. The Squirming Coil: What in the hell is with the beginning here? Just reworked to emphasize the beach part? Very strange and cool, I guess? Then Broadway Trey’d. Ugh. SET 2: Possum: Standard. > Julius: May be the worst example of Broadway Trey yet. Extremely cringe. Other than that, this is a cookie cutter Julius. You Enjoy Myself: Cool placement! Creepy nirvana section. Trey rips the solo hard. Good stuff, would recommend. Everything's Right: Lots of it is fairly mellow but the complete body of work makes up a good jam, would recommend.> Simple: Great jam, like Ghost – there is no wasted space. Just lot’s of rocking out and I love that they actually ended this one. > Backwards Down the Number Line: Trey blisters this one. > Suzy Greenberg: Standard. ENCORE: McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters: Cool placement! Only three times has this been played in the encore slot: McGrupp in the encore slot: 7/11/1988, 6/16/2009, 2/26/2023. Waste: Broadway Trey’d to the max. Slave to the Traffic Light: Very strong version, Trey gives it a proper ripping, would recommend! Replay Value/Summary: Wolfman’s, YEM, Everything’s Right, Simple, Backwards Down the Number Line, Slave to the Traffic Light. This is a nice comeback show after a below average show played the night before. Nice flow, one big jam that was good, and many, fiery, focused jams. Would have been pleased to attend this one for sure. Score: 3.9 out of 5.

SET 1: Gotta Jibboo: Solid jam – has a nice bounce and energy to it like any good GJ should. I like the loops that introduce the jam in this one. No Men In No Man's Land: Solid, lil’ jam. Upbeat and blissy. Steam: Standard. Poor Heart: Standard. Halley's Comet: Broadway Trey’s vocals are absurd. Nice micro jam -> Saw It Again: Pretty cool segue! Theme From the Bottom: Standard. > Maze: Standard. About to Run: Standard. Most Events Aren't Planned: Standard. SET 2: Down with Disease: composed section is a mess! Vocals are Broadway Trey’d. Ugh. Extremely mellow through almost 17 minutes when Trey decides to actually play guitar. Up until then Fishman was just DESTROYING his kit, that man is in top form apparently after his surgery. No man his age should be able to play this well, but here we are. In the late 18’s Trey decides to just go back to that lazy strumming stuff. Thankfully Fishman is there to pick up the slack and he goes right back to beast mode. I feel like I read a good bit of chatter about how good this jam was. I don’t know about that. I think it’s good enough but certainly not great. Fishman surely was the clear MVP throughout! > Golden Age: Standard. > Soul Planet: Standard. > Runaway Jim: This about the laziest, uninspired version I can recall. > Light: In the same vein as Runaway Jim, just…boring. -> Piper: Finally, some energy! This one really rocks out. Again, Fishman is just a huge beast on this one. So fast. > Also Sprach Zarathustra: Solid jam, patient and slow. Out of sync a bit in places. One spot specifically where it’s real quiet and Trey goes for a peak out of nowhere. > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. – Standard. ENCORE: Fee: Standard. The Wedge: Standard. Replay Value/Summary: There is unfortunately nothing I would personally recommend or revisit from this show. It started off well enough with the first two songs. You would have thought they could have harnessed some of the momentum from that great show the night before, but not so much. Score: 3 out of 5.