Before last night's show, I found a little slice of Chicago at The Overlook, a bar in Midtown that advertises itself as the #7 ranked Bears bar in the country with the first six being in Chicago. It was a great way to pre-game as I had visions of a Bears win and the Phish show would just be the icing on the cake. Well, the Packers won the game, but I still had the icing on the cake as Phish delivered a remarkable performance.

Like last nights opener, "The Wedge," the boys threw another curveball with "The Moma Dance" opening things up. It was only the fifth time it opened a show since July 24, 1998. "Rift" kept the energy up before the band took us on a dreamy ride through "Roggae." I was completely tuned into Mike once the jam began as his bass work was the perfect compliment to Trey's soaring solo.

The Wingsuit songs continued in the first set with "The Line." I was not at Halloween, but I was a big fan of the Wingsuit set. Of all the songs, this was the one I was most looking forward to hearing. It's such a well written song and it will a welcomed addition to the rotation. After a fairly standard mid-set "Stash," we got our second offering of "555." Judging by the Atlantic City performance, I pictured this song as a second set jam vehicle. The song stayed pretty true to it's structure, but we have to be patient with all the new music as they will all find their places in sets.

The first set ended on a high not thanks to a funk infused "It's Ice," a slightly jammed outro in "Gumbo" and an excellent "Walls of the Cave." I really dug that set as it had much better flow than the previous night. But the band had bigger plans for the second set.

The lights went down and the band went into a short ambient jam in which Trey noted "We just wrote that song." It reminded me a little of the intro to "David Bowie" from December 28, 2003. Mike started shaking his bass and that means, one thing, "Down with Disease." I love this song as there is something about Trey's riff that just makes you smile. Right before the jam began, Trey took the opportunity to take a look at the crowd and he was all smiles.

Over the course of the 20+ minute jam, the band seemed to let the music come to them as nothing seemed rushed. Fishman took a back seat in the jam as he let Page, Mike and Trey lead the way. At 13:42, Page starts a beautiful riff on his clavinet and Trey would eventually follow. For a minute I thought we could see "Winterqueen," but the blissful jam would slowly build up and we got a Disease Reprise! I love opened ended DwD's, but it's magical when they bring the song full circle.

A little over halfway through "Disease, " I turned to my friend, Jessica and told her that "Carini" would be next. And sure enough, Trey wasted no time and jumped right in. The band was locked and loaded during this whole jam. Fishman came to the forefront with a solid beat and the entire band hopped on. In addition to excellent bass work from Gordon, Page lived up to his Chairman of the Boards title.

Song selection after two incredible jams is key and last night's selection of "Waves" as a come down song with absolutely perfect. While the jam didn't reach the length or sound of the previous two, the openness of the jam allowed fans to catch their breath and try to wrap their head around the last 35 + minutes. The "Twist," featured a funky "Oyo Como Va" vibe and "Golgi" brought the energy back up before a set closing "David Bowie."

So we had a six song second set complete with two songs eclipsing the 15 minute mark and just magnificent playing. The old time staple, "Possum" brought the evening to a close but it really didn't matter what they encored with because it was merely the icing on the cake!

Show Highlights: The Line, It's Ice, WoTC, Down with Disease > Carini, David Bowie