Still baffled this morning at the skepticism this show is getting. Flubbs and slower song mix in S1? Sure. Blaze On opener was cool, might be getting overplay in S1 but there are worse things in this life. Highlights of this set were Party Time (w an absolutely filthy Fishman beat midway thru), an awesome Stash as the sun went down and a truly rocking 46 Days. I concur with a previous statement that 46 Days has been MVP of this tour. Every time played it delivers the goods and audiences have been all in for it.
S2 was tight and oh so smooth. Sand kicks us off in fine fashion and explores the space.
> Mercury. Masterful. Highlight of the show, even with an outstandingly impressive
> Ghost. I went bonkers for Mercury and Ghost. This is my 7th summer in a row (2012-2018) that I’ve gotten a Ghost. Planning to get this streak up to 10 in a row if I can help it. And a few of those years I could only see 1 show.
> Fuego. Short and intense. No hating on Diego... keep it rolling.
> Slave. Perfect finish to this 5 song S2. Mood was beautiful.

4 song encore including a BONKERS Martian Monster and my 1st MPP in the books. Raleigh may have been better from top to bottom, but this S2 is the most tight and intense that they’ve played all week. Don’t miss a Sunday Show!!!

20 years ago on 8-11-98 was my first Phish show. To get that 4 song encore to celebrate my 20 year Phishiverary was great, and to throw in that Golgi (Show closer from my first show as well.) was a treat, the Martian Monster and Rocky top sandwiched between those two did not disappoint.

First set started unexpectedly early a 7:37 start time,,, a heater, and whats not hotter to get the crowd going than Blazing on, and Party Time , a very nice Breath and Burning to heat up the Sugar Shack, they took it Home to say the least and that Joy .... stash got a nice jam as did 46 days

Now Second Set...started with a heavy sand almost 12 minutes, keep the jam jar open, here's a Mercury that you mustn't miss, and onto a dirty Ghost that i couldn't stop smiling through, saw Trey tell Page Fuego was next and boy was it, the shortest jam of the second set at just over 9 minutes, it keep the heat on, and to finish out the second set , those harmonic notes that i hear every-time a traffic light changes, a nice Slave to end the second set.

Being my first MPP show, the steep lawn was terrible to see anything,and the chompers...it got bad at points,, people, respect the artists and your neighbors,, and shut up

but all in all loved the show...heading to the Ball on Wednesday

I hope this show's rating improves with time. Nearly two years on, I still associate this show with many exciting personal moments, but the music holds up. While not an all-timer by any means, this would be the perfect show to take someone for their first taste of Phish (as I did with a group of skeptical friends).

The first set is lazes in with a Blaze On opener before Party Time gets taken out for a "jamlet" rather typical of 2018. Breath and Burning brings a "Gin"-esque double-time jam that leads to a well-played Sugar Shack. Trey does well with the quick changes towards the end of this one. Home>Joy is a breather, for sure, but hey, the sun is 45 minutes from setting by then in Columbia, MD and we were all lazing into a late-summer's fog anyway. The Stash that follows lands on the Jam Chart, and rightly so. While not as melodically dynamic as the 07/14/13 Stash from MPP, it's covers a lot of ground for an 11-minute rendition. The 46 Days that closes out is fiery and worth another listen as well.

I'll remember the 2nd set for my first-timer friends boogeying in a circle during Sand. I see some complaints about lacks of peaks in these 2nd set jams, but I'd like to ask those phans if they would've said the same things in the late 90s. Sand is our 2nd relaxed introduction of the night, while Mercury amoebas into Ghost that actually rages pretty hard and serves as a wonderful centerpiece 2nd set jam before returning to the Ghost theme and petering out into Fuego. Fuego provides some structure before meandering for a few minutes into Slave. Now, I've never been a huge fan of Slave (please don't hurt me!!), but it does serve as a great set closer. Twenty Years Later offers a few more minutes of the pensive, moody jamming that has bubbled up throughout the night before a downbeat transition into Martian Monster. A dance party ensues before Rocky Top and Golgi close the show with some 1.0 staples.

This show was beyond enjoyable for anyone who was expecting to see Phish through some jams in between a duo of song-light sets. Each set includes fewer than 8 songs, with each one being taken out for a little ride. Even Martian Monster and Twenty Years Later get some breathing room in the twenty minute encore. No ripcords to be found (OK, Mike and Fish didn't see Ghost coming out of Mercury, but Trey really snuck it in there at first), no enormous rippers neither, but an even-keel flowing show from start to end. I'll take that over a sloppy, ripcord-ridden, 25-song show any day.

And if you disagree and were expecting something like any MPP N2 from recent years, then that's why you never miss a Sunday show..especially at Merriweather Post Pavilion!

I was there and have relistened quite a few times.

Party Time has some extra party to it, and Breathe and Burning has a peak that just can't be denied.

Stash has moment or two of extra spice, but the big guns don't really get blazing until 46 Days, which is a dark, beast of a jam.

To open the second set, Sand has some nice phrasing, but never really picks up steam. Who's ever heard of a Sand second set opener without a peak? Sort of a travesty.

After no-peak Sand, Mercury comes in. Mercury is welcome company most of the time, but with such a long build up in the song, it should be coming in after a big moment, like a light cool down before the next big jam. The Mercury jam starts out strong, but Trey totally flubs the peak, as in he legitimately loses time and hits the wrong notes. A nice ambient jam after that, but it's really hard to enjoy that Mercury with the crucial climax being so badly messed up.

Ghost is the highpoint of the set with a strong build and an ecstatic peak that reminds everyone why they came to the show, and Fuego does a fine job functioning as a transition song to a nice and patient Slave.

Martian Monster throws down hard in the encore, and Golgi is well-played too.

There were a couple great moments in this show, but overall I found this performance very disappointing.
Maybe they gave it all they had at Raleigh the night before, maybe it was just an off night.
The highlights for me were definitely 46 Days (one of the best I've ever seen, it was truly next level), Stash and Martian Monster. Other than that though everything felt a little all over the place or off - even the Mercury was missing something. The low point was how early everything ended, with sets clocking in just around an hour and the showing wrapping around 10:45 (I remember past Merriweather shows going later, maybe curfew has changed) That being said, a bad performance doesn't equal a bad show since it's always fun to get together with your friends and see your favorite band even when they have an off night. Plus, they totally made up for Saturday on Sunday.

MPP is my "home" venue. I couch toured last night because I couldn't make it to either MPP show...and I'm SOOOO glad I missed this one in person. I'm a bit sad that I also paid for the MP3s, because other than 46 Days, there's absolutely nothing worth listening to again. Let's hope that "don't miss a Sunday show" holds true for tonight (couching it again), but the guys set the bar pretty low last night with the song selections and mostly uninspired performances.