@FACTSAREUSELESS said:

Was at the show last night, which I felt was stellar. I disagree with the reviewer who categorized the show as "a good show with some good moments and one great one."

I thought some criticism of the show is fine, and I agree with most of the reviewer's points, but let me share why I thought that this was a great, and not merely a good show.

Time will tell where this tour will ultimately land in the hearts of the phans, and also how history treats it over time, but as the reviewer mentioned early in the writeup, the playing, in terms of technical proficiency, was outstanding. I remember a time in the not-too-distant past when, even while the band was delivering excellent jamming, they also received consistent criticisms for being sloppy and for "flubs". This criticism often overwhelmed the boards when it came to Phish performing its more difficult numbers. Over the last couple night, several of these musical land-mines, such as Foam and Reba, have been not only performed with precision, the playing has been at mid-90's levels. I'm not entirely sure that we have enjoyed this combination of technical proficiency combined with excellent type-1&2 moments, together at the same time, on tour, since then, to be honest. And this is worth noting. Even on the number that the reviewer dismissed as almost standard, run of the mill renditions, were played with such clarity and precision that they were inspiring, even if straightforward. This was consistent throughout the night. The playing was superb, as were the transitions.

The band is more in-sync than I think I ever remember them being this early in a tour, particularly after a long break.

The first set absolutely raged. SYSF was a rugged, soulful version, played very patiently and very clean, and which took full advantage of Kuroda's new light rig. The whole place was buzzing after the excellent Type 1 peak the song delivered. Speaking of the lights, I don't know how it translates on couch-tour, as I haven't done any couch-touring yet this year, but in person the new lighting rig is simply staggering in its beauty and in the way it enhances the in-concert experience. It was spellbinding. Artistically brilliant, is the phrase that comes to mind.

Perhaps the reviewer was in the bathroom at the time, but 555 got far more than a "competent, but short reading". On the contrary, the middle of the song felt completely reworked by the band, and they turned a funky afterthought, played once a tour, into a potential heavyweight piece. I'm reminded of how Tube went through a similar purge a few years ago. Remember the funky 3 minute Tubes? I felt this was easily the best version of this song performed yet from any tour. the KDF>Jibboo combination was also better than I think the reviewer felt that it was. He is correct that KDF was standard, foot-stomping fare, but the Jibboo had some very interesting innovative work by the band during the jam, that, to my ears at least, made it stand out to me. I didn't feel that they were playing it straight, but that they were reinterpreting it. I don't ever recall hearing a Jibboo like last night's version.

The reviewer also claimed that the run of Sparkle, Thread and Meat "robbed the set of momentum." Again, maybe the reviewer was tired and couldn't focus, and maybe that was the sentiment in his section, but that's not what I saw on the lawn. Sparkle was a dance-party and man they really PLAYED IT. It's one of those songs that is like that. It's like US Blues used to be with the Dead. The Dead would play US Blues, but sometimes they would PLAY IT, and the place would jump. That's what Sparkle did. I can't believe I'm taking time on this threat to comment on Sparkle, lol, but the band really played their asses off on this and the crowd was going bonkers. Thread is a dark and mysterious song. I'm not a huge fan of it, until now. Last night was completely different than other versions I've heard. The jam was pure evil. It was a haunted house, and it was brilliant. I couldn't stop talking about it after the show. They really did some work with that one during the hiatus. Meat was played patiently and very well, and the crowd on the lawn was loving it. People were totally into this version. I'm not sure what the reviewer was seeing from his vantagepoint. Again, not being critical of the review, just disagreeing with the take.

Totally agree with the reviewer about Antelope. This was a stellar version, played with fire and clarity that I haven't heard in many recent versions, if any since 3.0. Good call there. A very noteworthy version of Lope.

I'm more in agreement with the reviewer about the second set. More was an afterthought, almost immediately after it started. The crowd was not into it at all. They expected something else. It felt, to me, that Trey was determined to play the song and decided to place it in front of the Tweezer that myself and many others expected to lead off, and who were thrilled when the riffs opening the song began. More just didn't fit at all. It added nothing. That Tweezer, however. Holy fuck. That was one of the best jams I've ever been present for at a Phish show. It was much more enjoyable than the Great Tahoe Tweezer (mentioned by the reviewer), or, frankly, any Tweezer I've heard since the band came back in '09. Tweezer is my favorite Phish song and this was my favorite version thus far. I was in heaven during this jam, as were many others. I heard what the reviewer called an obvious China>Rider phrasing but to be honest I also heard the same phrasing during the Chalk Dust jam the previous night and have to say that we are speculating by assuming that Trey is paying homage to Jerry here. This is not the first time Trey has "teased" this riff during a jam over the last few years. It's happened numerous times since the FareTheeWell concerts. Perhaps Trey just likes the riff and keeps playing with it. That's my impression, anyway. I fet it was organic and not premeditated.

Like many, I ran to the port-a-johns as Twist was revving up, not because I was disappointed in the song choice, but just because we were all dish rags after the Tweezer and needed to take a piss. Twist was awesome. It was a patient build up with an excellent peak that was honestly surprising in how good it was after the masterpiece of the Tweezer. I felt it was house money after that. The Piper was old-school and evil. Like the reviewer said, it was a perfect call here. The band was totally dialed in, and this Piper, while not long, should merit some consideration, in my view, for the jam charts.

I love Farmhouse. I did not feel it was out of place here after Piper. The band had just completed 56 minutes of outstanding improv and the stroll through an easy number was earned. This is an excellent Farmhouse, for what it's worth at that point. It was curious to follow this up with Waste. I agree with the reviewer that Trey should have picked one or the other (the reviewer preferred Waste) and not play both, but again, after the Tweezer, Trey could have played the spoons on his thigh for twenty minutes and would have forgiven him.

It seemed to me that Trey became quite emotional during this song. I am not completely sure from my view from the lawn, but that's how it sounded. Perhaps that's why he played Waste. He was personalizing it.

Anyway, I think the first set was quite a bit better than the reviewer gave it credit for, but I agree with his assessment of the second set, and I think this was great show, not a good one.

As always, thanks for taking the time to do this write-up. It's appreciated.

Interested in hearing from others and their experience with the music laid on us last night.

This is such a better take on this stellar show than the actual review. This show was a scorcher and only an ultra-jaded vet could complain about the elements of this show. Incredible playing, great cohesiveness, great song placement, and a really great crowd. I guess the reviewer left before encore since he didn’t even mention it…