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

I was on the floor, ten deep in front of Trey for this one, which was awesome because he took over this show. I predicted a “Punch” opener, but I don't think anybody was ready for what was about to happen... “David Bowie” > “Catapult” > David Bowie!
There is no way anybody ever predicted this in a million years. The last time “Bowie” opened a show was 12/30/93. Before it started, Trey teased a riff that might have been “Julius”, though I'm not sure. That got people stoked and then he turned and talked to Mike and Fish. Fish started the “Bowie” beat and the crowd was stunned. People's jaws dropped. The energy just built up and then finally Trey pulled the “Bowie” opening off to perfection. This was probably one of the most surreal moments I've ever had. The energy was amazing during this song.
This set had a weird flow to it after “Guyute” finished. “Golden Lady” was oddly placed and I think the set could have used one more song, maybe a “Melt” after “Poor Heart”. The “Bowie” was amazing and I'm still stunned that they opened with it.
I vote for the “DWD” reprise out of “7 Below” for high energy point of the run. The second they segued back into “DWD”, everybody in Thomas and Mack went completely bonkers. I personally didn't see this coming.
The “Piper” is the best one I've ever heard. The buildup was beautiful and somewhat epic. The crowd really appreciated this selection and it was very loud in the arena. At about the five minute mark Trey hit some rockin’ chords and all of the sudden about a hundred glow rings went flying from this one spot on the floor, and then it was on: one hell of a glow stick war. Trey's face was priceless and I think it was at this point he started jumping up and down. There was such a great connection between the audience and band during this song. It went on for what seemed like a half hour, glowsticks flying everywhere, with lots of exploration in the jam.
I thought maybe they'd segue into “Guy Forget”, but instead they decided to go into “DWD” once again. The place went crazy again.