Last night's show in Grand Prairie, Texas came on the heels of what some were calling a lackluster show in Austin the night before. A return to Trey's birthplace yielded a very connected show between the phans and the band while bringing me an unusually clear picture for what life is all about. "They attack"shirts were answered with a BOAF. The Connection sign was answered with a bust out that most would have never predicted. Mike and Trey's bromance continued with lots of synchronized dancing and stage antics. Fish dusted off the vacuum and the entire night the audience fed the band energy and adulation. There was no filler tonight and the high energy inside this tiny modern theater seemed endless. For the second night in a row, more than half of the set list was filled with tour debuts, but the result was all together as different as the stages' temperatures at show time.
I had traveled with my wife from Oregon and had met one of my best friends for these two shows. After a fun night in Austin, my wife wasn't feeling good and decided to stay back at the hotel. This meant I went to the show with an extra pit ticket. When we got into line, there was a young couple in front of us attending their first shows. Another phan came through the line wanting to know if anyone wanted a separate pit ticket and I hatched a plan to get these new phans onto the floor. He wanted $ for his extra, but when I offered mine to the couple for free, he changed his mind. I then took the couple's upper level tickets and miracled two people in the parking lot. The couple stood right behind us on the rail and were our enthusiastic partners the rest of the night. Now on to the music.
The amazing first set was one of the first since Atlantic City to not contain a song from Fuego. Each selection was met with a loud YES! from our section of the floor and a wide range of styles and emotions were on full display. Tube brought a quick funk warm up and Guelah, some welcome playfulness. PYITE was super tight and uptempo while a rare first set Steam brought a slow simmer with a massive peak. We thought sparkle would be the boot stomping antithesis of the last song, but Fish slammed into Poor Heart instead. The remaining songs, each more different than the last, peaked with a very emotional Divided Sky. This inspired performance reminded me of my fallen best friend Tom and the new friends standing all around me. Page's beautiful solo in Coil brought the set to a close.
Set break was also very meaningful at the phellowship table. A large meeting brought many phans who were overjoyed to be seeing the band sober with others who were struggling to find a new way to live and enjoy life on its own terms. Both sides needed the other and many brave people didn't let their vulnerability get in the way of their path ahead. Joy and community were on full display, much like the second set that followed.
The second set opening Chalk Dust was the night's lone type II excursion and continued the journey began at Shoreline the weekend before. The amoeba playing continues and I'm so excited to hear where the rest of tour will produce. The return of Simple was short but oh so sweet as Trey made a fantastic segue into Silent. Even the jaded vet next to me threw his approval on the move. The rest of the set leading up to Hood's sustain and huge peak showed that it doesn't matter what songs Phish selects on a night like this. The band and audience are in such a positive place right now and it is such a joy to be a part of our scene. Gratitude and a common send for purpose permeated last night's show. Seeing the Connection crew take a photo together afterwards will always be my lasting memory of my air conditioned evening in the heart of Texas. What wonderful moments await us down the road? Hop on tour and find out!

It is legal to take your armadillo to a show here in Grand Prairie. So I took mine. Travis (his name), my girlfriend (Doreen) and I went. We received looks from many of the attendees, but shook them off as noobs. I taped this for my brother Stanky Aaron. He's in jail for 50 years for having a joint at a Taylor Swift concert here. Travis loved the Punch and Steam. His tail grooved to those in the first set. Doreen loved the Divided Sky and Coil. I danced like a dervish to 'I didn't know'.

Travis had an expression for Chalkdust and Simple that radiated pure 'Dillo Joy'. He thought the end to simple too abrupt and was hoping it went deeper like the Bend version. I like The Line. It's a favorite of Stanky's. Doreen and I danced the rest of the show. It's possible we conceived during First Tube. Fun show. Stanky will like it. Travis wants to go to more shows. Not quite as good as LA or Shoreline, but merely an armadillo scale away.

This is one of those phish shows where everything gelled together the band the venue and the crowd...the tube opener and closer sweet. My wife a native texan never been to a phish show asked her for over a decade to join me and she never did .well she has listened to phish in the car and herd my stories of the many many shows over the years .she decided to go to austin just to go.the show in austin was good but we had a blast.i talked her into going to the ft.worth show last night...the band delivered they were having fun and it showed.by the time the music stopped and the smoke cleared.my wife said austin made her go to ft.worths show.but last nights show made her a PHAN. THANK YOU PHISH!!

Around 6pm on Tuesday, 7/28/15, I boarded a "party bus" to head to the Austin 360 show. This version of a "party bus" had NO A/C and NO MUSIC except for the screeching owl sounds emitted through a small speaker next to the driver. The bus scene was reminiscent of a not-so-savory show... hot, the sounds don't quite hit your ear the right way, kind of feels like a mockery of what should be party time... but the people... oh the people... new friends, future friends, old friends... the people are always solid. After "Mock Party Bus 3.0" and the heatwave of an Austin show, Grand Prairie's intimacy and air conditioning were welcomed.

The boys fired up Tube, and signaled that 7/29/15 would be a super-happy-fun-time-funk-fest. Guelah with A/C warding off the Texas heat means antics from the boys... dance boys, dance! Love it. I won't go through the whole setlist, but PYITE is always appreciated, and the STEAM. For my ears, Steam was the first set highlight... savory, tight, and exploding with energy at points. I had never heard it in a first set, but I'll leave it to the experts to tell you how many times that has happened. While I am prone to hyperbole, I will say that this Steam was at least up there with any I've attended live. Stealing Time seemed to have some extra mustard. Divided Sky was Divided Sky (meaning always great), and when it started rolling my neighbor showed me her picture of a dog exclaiming that the best part of Divided Sky is "the paws." Oh cheesy dog puns, why can I never (and always) get enough? Squirming Coil was the first Phish song that got me into the band back in '95, and this one didn't disappoint... pleasant, beautiful work by Page to end set one.

Set 2 got off to a rockin' start with CDT. Would I get a CDT to parallel that fateful night in Commerce City when the jam played the band? Of course not, this is Phish... don't ever expect the same thing twice. That's what is great about this band and it's phans... we're always changing, always creating, always dancing, always open to that which is... IT. CDT into Simple... savory memories of my last Simple at Dick's plastered a smile across my face, and it stayed for the rest of the show. BOAF answered phan requests, and I started wondering if we would also get The Sloth to answer the gigantic sign hanging between the 200 & 300 sections. Fuego Fuego'd up, and the 25 year old Colorado Native next to me crossed his arms and said with more than a hint of annoyance, "not another Fuego." Being an old ass bastard of 38 these days, it was my place to tell him that in '96, I could have done without another Free or DWD, but now I look back on those days as some of the many best days of my life. Now I yearn for those same songs that I once rejected. He told me with smiles that he could only be happy if the next song was Julius, and man, what a Julius it was! Way better to my recollection than the last Julius I witnessed at '14 Jazz Fest. There were more goodies on the way in the form of phan phavorite Harry Hood, followed by The Connection bust out and JUICY FIRST TUBE... man that song sounds great indoors! (First time I saw it was 5/19/99 at the TAB show, Fillmore Denver.)

Grand Prairie was great. The critic in me would say it wasn't quite near the best show I've attended (Big Cypress), but definitely fiery and worth a re-listen... especially that Steam. I'd take a show like this anytime! Come back to Texas, Phish!!! Just come in the Fall or Winter next time for cryin' out loud... or just keep it indoors in the Summer.

Other notes: My favorite moments of Dallas Summer '15 were randomly meeting up with my new best friends from that hot Austin mock 3.0 party bus, dancing in the aisles with a friend of 20 years and a new friend of 2 days, bonding with some college kids and reminiscing about that batch of college good ol' days, THE MUSIC, Fish on the vacuum, and Trey holding his guitar directly above his head while standing on his tip toes. You could tell the band was in great spirits, and that the energy in Atlanta would be infectious. Go get 'em boys.

Chalk Dust was sure to please most, if not all. The transition from Simple to Silent was inspired. Hood peaked well, and First Tube was a rager! This show stands in the top three of the tour so far. I agree with the aggregate ratings order of Shoreline, Forum, Grand Prairie. But as a disclaimer, I went to the Shoreline show. There's nothing like the facial assault of the PA and its venue-centric presence. That venue can make an exceptional show spectacular. I'd have loved to have been in the Verizon theater. That place looked really sleek and enjoyable. I'm sure attendees were thoroughly satisfied!

Phish came into Texas strong and brough the energy, but they left Texas even stronger. For me this is easily the best show (so far, thanks Homer) of this tour. I love that I have so many more shows to look forward to.

First set just rocked my world. Even with the constant flow of the locals going to pee like every 8 seconds (come on guys get bladder control or move up top). I had a great view just a few rows up from pit on same level as stage. Trey and Mike had a lot of fun from beginning to end. Fishman played the vacuum, Page had a solo at the end of set 1 that was just beautiful. If you like piano you must listen to that solo everyday for the rest of your life.

Short and sweet on this one, there were no low points. This is a must listen show.

Incredible show! Trey must have heard some of the negative reviews from last nights show and wanted to show Texas who’s boss.

It doesn’t happen too often but I think I like the first set of this show better than the second. Tube was a great way to open the show and it was pure heat until the cool down with I Didn’t Know. For me the first set highlights were Steam, Stealing Time and The Squirming Coil. Steam has some monster riffs that just make me shake my head in amazement and this Stealing Time is dark and nasty (in a good way). Divided Sky is always special and the end of this one is awesome, but Im glad they decided to play one more to end the set. Page was pure genius with this Coil. Love it!

Can I live while I’m young? That is one of my favorite questions of all time and I think everyone that screams this question during Chalkdust really feels it, especially Trey. When they start the 2nd set with CDT you know they mean business. This version has a beautiful quiet segment that only means they are going to turn things around and pick it back up. Great version.

I don’t think Trey meant to leave Simple for Silent in the Morning, but he got caught on that Silent sequence during the Simple jam and just couldn’t let go, so he gave the nod to Page to start it up.

Im not a big fan of The Line especially during the middle of the 2nd set, but sometimes people build you up just so they can knock you down. And, then to end the set we get a triumphant Harry Hood (which is still my all time favorite Phish song). This version can easily bring a tear to your eye. Perfect way to end a 2nd set or any set for that matter.

Encore Connection was a little rough but First Tube made up for it.

The boys are rolling strong and I think it will only get better. See you in Atlanta! (at least the 2nd night) where I will hopefully get a killer Fuego because EVERYONE GETS A FUEGO!

The First set really did it for me at this show. The energy was insane inside Grand Prairie when they took the stage and opening with Tube is one of the best ways Phish can start a show and this version was also a poignant tip of the hat and tribute to Harris Whittals, the Houston native who made clear in his Podcast, Analyze Phish that Tube was his favorite song and his passing is a true loss to the community. Im glad i can say i was in the audience with him at the NYE MSG 2012 shows. Sharing in the Groove with him who did a lot of positive things for the band and its fanbase by raisning awareness and bringing positive vibes regarding the band to those who arent necessarily into phish is someting i will happily and gladly build upon to keep his memory and spirit alive. RIP Harris, wish it didnt happen and we could have hung out. My first ever Guelah Papyrus had me super pumped and was a perfect placement and one of those Phish songs for long time fans that is engrained in your phish DNA that when out of the blue they start playing it live in front of you(i was three people back from Mike during the first set and beginning of the 2nd) the music just clicks and sets off all these receptors in your brain pertaining to music reward centers and GP(do you think trey chose GP because it has the same initials as the venue, Grand Prairie that the show was played in-answer is yes of course Trey thought of this!!!) hit on all of them that had been waiting to fire until this moment!! The choreographed dance Mike and Trey do for GP is an absolute treat and only enhances the im seeing the greatest American rock n roll band play a show feelings and also took me back to 1.0 days seeing them play YEM and the dances and trampolines. Next up PYITE. Love this song and is another that is engrained in my musical dna starting from age 17 and just listening to Phish ever since and PYITE being such a prominant song in this soundtrack. Upon relisten what i thought was an exceptionally tight and patiently built version truly holds up and should be a go to version for lovers of the song in the recent vintage. The intensity kept up and the old school vibes with poor heart and NICU. NICU is more classic phish and again they are hitting on the musical pleasure receptors in my DNA. Divided Sky was a great choice in this venue bc the craziness and nuclear energy built up during the divided sky pause was a true test in breaking the sound barrier. The crowd as has been mentioned was just bonkers for this show. Being so close to the stage and indoors on a summer tour stage just was really amazing and im still pinching myself. Steam is one of my favorite 3.0 songs and was really nice to see them play and sing the complex song lyrics and song structure so close up. Plus the steam effects were quite appropriate considering the sweltering summer heat just outside the doors. And just to add im blown away by the lyrics of steam and the story it tells and am constantly amazed every time ive scene it for them to get all these lyrics out in such a meodic way. It aint no Waiting All Night but they still pull off a catchy melody through the ryhme scheme. The new song, Mercury does this in a similar way. Every show you see Phish its a thrill as the set unfolds and you begin to observe to yourself what songs you have collected and how well during the set the songs being played all mesh together. Dallas 7/29 somehow everything just felt magical and exactly what i wanted to hear without even knowing it. I could not have predicted the Squirming Coil as the set closer although its a perfectly reasonable pick but for whatever reason it wasnt in my head and for somewhat good reason as the Coil doesnt get to squirm as frequentlty as you might think. So in that sense even though its such a common song every phish fan knows and loves getting it live is a really big treat and had been quite a while i realized since the sunset had been so in my reach. Seeing Page playing his baby grand so close to where i was standing was truly a magical phish moment for me. I had not been this close to the action yet thus far in 3.0. I was so happy to hear this song and the classic phish songs played the first set

The second set opening CDT and subsequent type II jam is a vivid memory of just loving the improv as its going down and being blown away by what they were creating in the ether. This jam belongs with the rest of the standout jams of summer '15. It modulates from a minor to a major at the end and has an awesome last couple minutes that could have gone on for another 10 minutes but it was still a nice 16 minute jam. Simple came next and i was really hoping the CDT was gonna be the jamlet to the more expansive Simple ah la the porno funk of Dicks Simple 2014 alas was not meant to be and instead got a really cool -> into Silent In The Morning which was very spacey. Ive grown to hate the Line and this show i began my Line dance which is to shoot air free throws. I never want to shoot air free throws again. Since we were not at the Mann in Philly Feugo didnt go deep but the Harry MF Hood to close the set was so very welcome and peaked hard. This was a special Summer '15 Hood!! Wow The Connection is encore which i happebed to be living in Houston the summer of '04 where I bought Undermind the day it came out on cd and the first week or two would listen to exclusively on my sony discman riding the metrorail to work. Make your connection-get off on the right stop which on the day was going to see phish at the movies in houston showing their coney island show just so happened to pass a fellow fan in his classic logo tee getting off the train as i was getting off. Dont know why always stuck with me but guess was living with my gf that summer new to the city and looking for some kenship. Anyway the First Tube closer managed to rage and peak harder than the second set closiing Hood and that Folks is how You Texas Tube step when youre phish in texas on an evening in late July. Soplando En El Viento.

Tube: great way to start. Nice funky jam but not too lengthy

Guelah Papyrus: only time played in 2015

Punch You In The Eye: great performance

Steam: glorious build and peak here, and they extend the outro with some funk that has late 1990s vibes

Poor Heart: standard

NICU: standard

I Didn’t Know: the best man

Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan: nice Trey soloing

Divided Sky: some trouble before the blastoff but the rest is outstanding

The Squirming Coil: Page takes us out into setbreak with a fantastically long (for 3.0) solo

Chalk Dust Torture: after a great Trey solo they decide to keep it going and break into type 2 territory with a gorgeous serene jam that includes some Mike action, later on growing powerful and hitting an insane peak. It starts to settle again but Trey finds

Simple: beautiful. Once the jam settles down Trey leads a great transition into

Silent In The Morning: standard

The Line: standard

Birds Of A Feather: good type 1 jam

Fuego: breaks off type 2 after a while and it’s short but nice Trey and Page

Julius: unusual Page led jam before Trey peaks it out

Harry Hood: awesome patient build to end the set + Mike drill

The Connection: 200 show bustout

First Tube: Jedi Trey closes it out

Solid night from Summer 2015, but overshadowed by other better performances from the tour. The first set has great song choice but nothing exploratory and while the jamming in the second set is good, there’s not much. With that being said from every other standpoint it’s a nice fun time. This is a 7/10 show. Highlights are Tube, Steam, Coil, CDT, Simple, Fuego, and Hood

The Connection was perfectly placed for its long awaited bust out last night, I highly enjoyed this song. I hope this song begins to make a more regular appearance in the set lists, it has the potential for flying rock inspired jams.

Overall, I grade the show a 7.8/10. A good set list of songs that were mostly all well played, enjoyed by the crowd and band, and Divided Sky is always a welcome song. If this is a standard show for the tour then ’15 will continue to be a good year.

That's pretty tough, man. The playing was fine. A song like MFMF the other night shows a deliberate attempt to 'use' tempo as means to shape sets and moments. Guelah was cool; moreover, what should be noted, is the PYITE PLUS the Magilla tease in Simple. Couple this with what we get in Scabbard, and we see the band reverting to pre-arena rock days (when they felt venue size rendered those songs 'unplayable.'). This is a really cool and interesting development - roots-rock, could that be applied to the band. Toss in a couple tour bust outs - not to mention the placements - and it's a really cool first set.

The second set boasts more fine playing. Love The Connection, as it truly serves to illustrate how attuned the band is to themselves and their fans. A lot to like as the tour trajectory continues to rise. I have a feeling this will coalesce with a totally electric, 'retro' Hood.

listening to this show now...

after only 3 songs I've decided its some of the sloppiest playing I've ever heard from trey ever. the ass festival lived up to its name. and the landlady was equally horrible...

if trey can't handle these songs anymore, maybe he should just stick to 3.0 phish songs like steam.

its pretty sad to hear an endless slew of mistakes, and a complete lack of rhythmic accuracy, in both of those songs.

I know, I'm just a hater... blah blah blah... i call it as i see it... i will update this review once i listen to the rest of the show, just had to get this out there.