As of 1:40PM PST on 4/21/2023 this show only has a 3.75 on phish.net, something I strongly suspect is the result of review bombing/people on the East Coast voting anything on the West down.

The last two shows being rated in the mid 3s on dot net and N1 being only a low 4 is ridiculous... There is 100% either a heavy East Coast demographic or older bitter people that will vote anything low that isn't at MSG or in the eastern seaboard...

Even when discussing the merits of the shows that is so pathetic. Early 3.0 would kill to have half of the hour and ten minute dark journey on N2. You're telling me a show with 14 minute Bag and Jim in the first, a hot Mike's Groove with 15 mins of Phish's Dark Star sandwiched inside plus a 22 Set Your Soul Free that got filthy is a 3.7. Not fucking buying it. Sorry you reflex downvote every show west of the Mississippi because your boomer ass had to go to bed at 10:30pm so you wouldn't be late for that meeting with Jim from Accounting.

Extended AC/DC Bag - first real jammed out Bag since 2004. First set jammed out Runaway Jim - longest since Charlotte 2019. Second set had near-perfect flow - Cool It Down serving its name and then Set Your Soul Free was another scorcher in a mini-tour full of them, leading into dark, drippy goodness. What's the Use coming out of that ambience - and a maybe-so-maybe-not Vangelis (RIP) sounding intro. I could take Tweezer Reprise to end every show until the end of time.

Now - am I saying that every show is getting review bombed these days? I find it hard to believe - there are certain exceptions, such as MSG shows or a few others that continue to have high *venue* ratings. I think it's a combination of the expectation game - 4.0 Phish is so unpredictable, every song on every set could go deep, a level of exploration not found except for past eras that are upheld the most online (97-2000, 03). From 2009-2012 or so, if you stuck this show into a random tour, it would be in contention for show of the year. And this is a good thing - it means the boys are doing much better and this is an era of realized potential of which the roots were just growing from it back then. But the other side of the coin is that it raises expectations - so when there isn't a 25-30+ minute outstanding effort or a distinct segue-fest to hang your hat on, it doesn't shine through as obviously and it will take time for people to realize how good this type of show is. I could see this being looked at 10 years from now as another heater in the fertile 2023 Spring run. Or not! That's the magic of things.

But there are suspect voting patterns. I've seen with my own eyes organized efforts to downvote 3.0/4.0 shows, I've seen people outright saying that they are voting down new shows to keep their 90s attended ones high, and there was someone on the forums here who scraped the data for Mexico and there were onslaughts of 1-star ratings on each night - I get if you didn't like a show, maybe it's not 5 stars, but to see a coordinated 1-star effort just reeks of dishonesty. Wish something could be done about it, at least here's to spreading the word. Keep your mind open, there is a Golden Age everywhere you look.

Berkeley night three punctuates the band’s first Greek appearance since 2010 and provided the band an opportunity to add an exclamation point to their much anticipated spring 2023 run. Night one’s massive Tweezer -> Simple jam set expectations sky high — a lofty bar to clear indeed. While night two’s sequence of Don’t Doubt Me through Fuego offered full-throttle jamming, Set II’s conclusion with the pairing of Farmhouse and Backwards Down the Numberline left a few phanners grumbling — or so I overheard while exiting the venue. I personally enjoy Numberline quite a lot, especially once Trey's solo kicks off. It nearly always delivers scalding guitar licks.

For Night Three, the band wasted no time establishing a boisterous mood with a spirited version of I Never Needed You Like This Before. Aside from INNYLTB, the balance of Set I leaned heavily on evergreen favs, including a nicely jammed AC/DC Bag, a cleanly played Rift, and a Runaway Jim that featured some particularly sparkling piano work from Page. The band then walked Jim into a dark, brisk jam that blossomed triumphantly as it returned to the chorus. Lawn Boy followed and provided an opportunity to showcase the rich, organic texture of Mike’s new Serek bass. Fish drives a brief Halley’s that cruises until it pivots abruptly into Timber. At least in my experience (e.g., 12/07/97, 07/26/13) Timber is often a harbinger of a top shelf show. This Timber plies its typical interstellar territory before settling back to earth with Winterqueen, which provides the night’s first real cool down (no pun intended) before the band closed Set II with a soaring, bombastic 46 Days.

Set II opens with Mike’s Song and then Beneath a Sea of Stars — the latter providing one of two jam highlights in the second set. The loping pace of BASOS has proven favorable for improvisation. The Berkeley BASOS is a meditative tiptoe through the cosmos that affords moments of introspection where music, fans, and venue felt untethered from time and space. Weekapaug Groove bookends Mike’s Song as expected. Weekapaug was the probably only moment of Greek run where I missed the assertive tone of Mike’s Modulus bass. Cool it Down was a welcomed surprise and inspired a rousing singalong at the top of the Greek’s steep lawn where I was perched. Next, Set Your Soul Free provided the second deep dive of Set II and it lurched and churned through a murky psychedelic haze. The jam collapses into an amorphous throb pierced by pitchy guitar stabs. The chaos surrenders to the glistening elegance of What’s the Use? leading to speculation about the pairing of these two song titles. Set II wraps up with a routine, if spirited, Loving Cup and a standard two-song encore of Waste and Tweeprise, the latter providing logical conclusion to arguably highlight of the Greek run — night one’s mammoth Tweezer. Night three has a lot of replay value, especially AC/DC Bag, Runaway Jim, Beneath a Sea of Stars, and Set Your Soul Free.

Absolute masterpiece from start to finish. Solid bag and Jim to start it off. Vibes were high at the Greek. Sun was shining and about to set on an incredible 3 night stand from the vermont phishercats. LAWN BOY FIRE. Winterqueen another chaser I snagged. I really appreciate all the rarities phish played at the Greek. 46 days sent us nice into setbreak.

Second set everyone was grooving. Beneath a sea of starts went into uncharted territory and that alone needs to be recognized. Such a perfect setting for a song about weather. California is a nice place.

Mikes weekapaug COOL. COOLit down was the real cooker. They knew they needed to play that, lawn was getting too hot from me grooving. Such a solid version of this funky tune. Then SYSF rock gods summoned , pure dancy burner. Probably their most fun I had all of the 5 shows I saw this spring was this song , sysf at the Greek. The tweezer was a life changing moment , but this SYSF I was ready for and phish delivered big. What’s the use was cool . Loving cup was hittn nice tho ! Classic phish! Waste , a nice song and then an epic tweezeprise, sucha good show.

PHISH, WEDNESDAY 04/19/2023
WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST GREEK THEATRE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
Berkeley, CA
Soundcheck: Horn, My Soul, Ginseng Sullivan, Water in the Sky

SET 1: I Never Needed You Like This Before: Still not quite sure what to think of this tune. Kind of not a fan. Actually, it basically sucks. Jam is a rager, but those lyrics are super yuck. Should have been retired after the Arkansas show, which it made sense for.

AC/DC Bag: Yes! This should have been the actual opener! Everything up until “Brain dead…” seems too mellow. Very cool that they jammed this out for the first time in a long time. But it really does not do much if we are being completely honest with each other >

Rift: Cool! Keeping that old school vibe going, I like it!

Runaway Jim: Nice! Old School still rolling! LOL Trey messing up at 1:29. This jam gets heady out of the gate with some cool delay type effects in the late 6 minute range. Excellent jam!

Lawn Boy: Old School still rolling. Page!

Halley's Comet: Calm down Broadway Trey, lol. Standard. Trey has a few Marty McFly moments in here. Pretty harsh transition into… >

Timber (Jerry the Mule) – Huge LOL at taking this major chord. This tune was NEVER made for that. This jam is absurd.

Winterqueen: Standard. >

46 Days: Rager.

SET 2: Mike's Song: Not sure what was going on, but everything that preceded that jam seemed very tentative and quiet. That nastiness that Trey hits up around 6:05 is straight out of summer 97. Nice! >

Beneath a Sea of Stars Part: The first ever pairing with Mike’s. Gives me serious goosebumps. I love how quickly this gets into deep space. While this doesn’t get to the greatness of 7.19.19, it still packs a major punch and will certainly grace the jam charts for good reason. Kind of rough and forced transition into… >

Weekapaug Groove: Solid jam. >

Cool It Down: Nice! Absolutely love how muddy they get in here. >

Set Your Soul Free: Dark and down – really good stuff. Big fan of this monster jam. >

What's the Use? – Transition is admittedly contrived. >

Loving Cup: Good stuff, rocking.

ENCORE: Waste: Perfection. Couldn’t end this run with a more appropriate number. >

Tweezer Reprise: Crushed as you would imagine.

Replay Value: AC/DC Bag, Runaway Jim, Beneath a Sea of Stars Part I, Set Your Soul Free

Summary: This is an interesting show. I am a fan for the most part. It has an old school feel to it with plenty of jamming. The jams are not exactly amazing but enough to score this show as a 3.7 out of 5.