Gin worked well as an opener, possibly because it was so unexpected, but the Hampton crowd sure likes to take a bath. First set was solid afterwards, although I'd personally stop way short of hanging banners from the rafters for 'best first set of 3.0'.

Tube and Yamar were especially tasty funk dishes. Stealing Time was fine, but felt too concise; was hoping for another tripped out extended ending ala BGCA 8.2. Mikes felt like redemption for the sloppy 9.1 version, really laying down the fire with the whole band in synch. Thought they would maybe play one more song after Groove but not this time.

If Carini was night 1's peak performer, Ghost was night 2's MVP. As with Gin, I love hearing the boys start a set with a statement tune like Ghost. Beautiful, stretched out ensemble jamming led into a spooky ambient section that provided the night's first "keeper." One of the longer versions lately also (~17 min). On my 3rd re-listen.

I love Disease and many of the recent sicko versions, but wasnt overly impressed by last night's take, which very quickly wound its way into Steam. Steam, however, was my second big highlight after Ghost. The middle jam was unique and got all experimental with Trey moving over to Fishs drums and Mike doing weird things with a drill again, before dropping back into the tune's last verse. One of the better Steams to date I'd have to say.

Maybe its just me, but Boogie On has really felt ripcorded lately although Theme was its usual soaring self. I guess I'm just spoiled by that 6.7.12 version, but BORW has such potential to be a big dance number every time they clip its wings I am mildly disappointed. Hampton fav Harry Hood brought the set home nicely, although as with the Groove in set 1, I thought perhaps another song was coming afterwards... until Trey said "see you here tomorrow".

Overall above average very fun show. highlights: Gin, Tube, Ya Mar, Mike's, Ghost, Steam

This was my 27th show, started seeing the boys in 1997. However, this was the first time that I was actually up close. Normally I'm a lawn lizard or sit up in the seats of an indoor show, but this time we decided to get as close to the stage as possible. I was literally 15 to 20 feet from Cactus the whole night. Watching a show that close and actually hearing the music through the band members' speakers and not the house PA speakers was a whole different experience. Being able to watch the band interact with each other and being "under the lights" instead of in the back was amazing. This show was the only one of the fall tour that I was able to make, and I wasn't disappointed.

Highlights:
Set 1: Bathtub Gin, FEFY (my first time getting this, never realized how hard it could rock at the end), Ya Mar, Mike's Song

Set 2: There wasn't a bad song choice in the entire set, but my favorites were Ghost (might be the best one since 12/31/10), Steam, Theme, The Wedge, and Hood. Cap it off with a sick Quinn the Eskimo encore and I left that show with a completely different perspective of my favorite band.

There's not very many bands out there that you can see 27 times and still learn things about and be completely surprised by. That's what keeps me coming back. Here's to a great rest of the fall/holiday tour and hope I get to see my boys next summer! Boogie on everybody!

Normally, I rate shows that I was at 2 seperate ways. I like to rate the show based on the quality of the music, and the pure energy of the crowd.
Musically, I would have to give it 5 stars. This was probably one of the best shows I have ever been too in terms of jamming and song selections.
Speaking for the energy of the crowd, I'm actually looking for a rating higher than 5, like maybe a 7 out of 5. Then again 1st set I was 8 rows from Cactus, and 2nd set I was 5 rows from Cactus, so it might be bias, but Everytime I looked up in the balcony it looked like a party, which Im almost quite sure was just as good as my spot. It's sad that I've heard people say "The Mothership is overrated", because the only way that could ever possibly make sense to me is that you've never been. In fact I got kind of bummed out while walking out of the Coliseum hearing a guy fighting with his girlfriend saying he had a horrible time because he got sold "bunk L"...Do you even realize what you just witnessed...Were you at the same show I was at...

I got my first Bathtub Gin as a first set opener, and from that point on I knew what kind of night it would be. Funk, rage, and jam that continued with Moma.
I loved the Tube > FEFY segue, it was a killer song change, I remember an old head next to me said "Why'd they play this slow song after that killer jam?" I just smiled and said "It's the perfect cool down."
With Curtis Loew which felt like such a tease after FEFY, but I knew it was just going to be a vehicle into a killer jam that ended up being a greatYa Mar, which I am quite satisfied to have in my stats now.
I'll be honest, a Joy song that's not KDF or Light after Ya Mar would have normally brought my energy down a bit, but that STFTFP really suprised me. It's safe to say that's probably the best Faulty Plan I've heard in a while, but I'll attribute that to the Ocedoc during that intro
Okay, okay, I'll admit it...I really lost my shit during My Sweet One...I just want to apologize to the people around me...I was the guy jumping up and down screaming "Holy shit" over and over during Fishman's intro. I absolutely love that song, it's really special to me, I teared up a little bit because when I got my tickets in the mail and opened the envelope all I could say out of pure shock was "My Sweet One, I call you My Sweet One."
What is there to possibly say about the absolutely classic Mike's Groove other than, listen to it. I remember late in the Mike's Song jam I was helping a young girl no older than 10-11 pick up glowsticks to throw (I approve of young Phans throwing glowsticks, she was having a great time), then suddenly I heard it slow down and I was down on one knee and said "I feel the Hydrogen." Then as I stood up to Trey's little solo 2 people hugged me and said "thank you for bringing the Hydrogen." Which made me laugh.
During set break I was so happy, shocked, and wired from that Mike's Groove that I didn't even care that I had to go to the bathroom. At the time it was far more worth it to move up 5 rows than to drain the main vain.
Getting closer to Mike was worth it...he dropped so many bombs between Ghost > DWD > Steam, it shook the need to piss right out of me. All I can tell you is that Ghost really did happen...2nd set opener, killer jam, the boys were having fun. That DWD is what I consider continued Ghost insanity, plus I had a great time jumping with Trey. Also that Steam gave me a whole new appreciation for the song, I loved the way they had been playing it in the summer, and I got to witnessed it first hand, with Trey jamming out on the kit with Fishman. Into a Caspian, which is another song that is close to my heart.
That Boogie on Reggae Woman, was the exact type of song I was looking for out of Caspian. Mike's bass is always killer in that song. Theme from the Bottom had me waiting for the vocal jam at the end, I just wish people wouldn't have sung with them during that part, that was the only part of the show where I was upset with the crowd lol, halfway ruining my favorite part of the song either way, it segued into an awesome Wedge. Silent in the Morning with no Horse either way I knew they were going to end the set with either a fire YEM or Hood, it happened to be Hood...my 3rd in 5 shows, but also my favorite surpassing this years Merriweather Hood.
ENCORE LIGHTERS! How was that on the webcast? Was it crazy? It was crazy inside the Ship. Trey and Page couldn't help but eat it up. They gave us a Quinn which was great. An encore I have always wanted to see.

Overall.
Music 4.8/5
Energy 7/5

Just a note on Steam...the extended jam with Trey on drums and Mike on drill/bell was due to Trey's amp taking a shit in the middle of the song. I was up front and watching as Trey tried to figure out what happened. Mike picked up on the issue and started doing his thing. While the tech was working, Trey made his way over to Fish's kit. It was cool seeing him get the thumbs up from his tech, and come charging right back into the jam.

Well, I feel a little badly to be the first negative reviewer, but...did nobody else feel like Fish was off his game? Moma and Ghost both had some weird hiccups, and I just generally didn't feel like he brought the fire he was showcasing during summer tour. Everybody has off nights though--we all know he'll bring it back.

Other than Gin and the Mike's Groove (which was absolutely BURNING hot), set one felt a little stiff to me, especially as compared to night one. Crowd energy was great though, seemed like the Mothership was ready to party from well before night one, and the celebration as Weekapaug began was the icing on the proverbial cake.

Set two was definitely an improvement; Ghost through Caspian was a fun stretch, nothing too off the charts in the jamming, but definitely some good stuff to sink your teeth into. Floor was PACKED for most of the set. Boogie On didn't really do it for me, but was fine if you're a fan of the tune. Theme was gorgeous, as it is wont to be; Wedge felt a bit sloppy (maybe just my vantage point in relation to the speakers, hard to say), SITM did what it does, but Hood! Short intro, but that was just fine, because the rest of it was smoking. Moments of beauty juxtaposed with the harsh darkness that tune brings out for just the right amount of time, tight composed sections, harmonies felt dead on, crowd loving it, that's how you end a set.

Loved seeing Trey saying, "Wow," over and over again as he looked at all the lighters out for encore--nice to know they can still be impressed by fan participation! Standard reading of Quinn, which is to say, a blast to be a part of.

All in all, nothing to write home about, but definitely not a waste of time either. Can't be too unhappy at a Phish show! It's been touched on elsewhere, but Mike's cold was definitely a bit of a hindrance--somebody get the Cactus some Emergen-C and get that cleared up, we'll be good to go for the Mothership closer.

Pretty sick show.

Best 1st set I've seen in the 3.0 era. The Gin opener was tight and let us know that the boys meant business. Highlight of the 1st set for me was Mike's, which was unique and really well played.

2nd set was solid with great song selection and really good execution. Highlights for me were dwd, theme and boogie.

Trey all but said "show up Sunday" at the end of the show....

I guess I had forgotten how great this 3-night Hampton Fall '13 run was! You can find a lot of steadily strong playing throughout the run, and you can see my reviews of the 2 other shows if you want my thoughts on them, but rest assured they're typically enthusiastic. This show might be slightly below-average for the 3, but it's still at least average-great. That's how fantastic this run was. I think, given the Phishtorical context of Fall 2013, Phish was really amped-up to be debuting songs on Halloween--which is a run you should also not miss from this watershed year--and that they were generally just altogether in a very healthy musical place at this time. The name of the game for Hampton was polyrhythms, with Fishman in particular getting good showcasing workouts each night, and the Bathtub Gin, Weekapaug Groove, Ghost, and Steam from this show display that in spades. Steam actually has me reconsidering my partial dismissal of it, whereas I haven't always been ready to get in the headspace necessary to enjoy it, but this is a great version.

Hampton night II

Set one opened with Gin. Awesome call (like Wolfman's of last night). Typical fiery 3.0 peak. Nothing out of ordinary, but great show opener.

Moma Dance is always pretty comfortable in the two spot. This was a standard version, but the energy remained high.

Tube was very sightly stretched out and made for a good version. Solid, more high energy and a good dose of funk when paired with Moma.

>FEFY was beautiful, stunning really. In this spot after some high octane Phish, this tune really fit in. It is just sublime and this is a nice version.

Curtis Loew was my second and was equally fun. This is a nice one to catch.

Ya Mar was nice, but nothing too special here.

STFTFP and My Sweet One were both pretty much straightforward. This was a decent run through some tunes during this stretch, but started feeling "jukeboxy".

Mike's song assured us a nice Groove to close out the set. I thought the Mike's worked well here. Great energy.

I was super happy to get hydrogen, and this one was much improved in comparison to the version I caught at Camden '11. Nice.

Weekapaug was in the closer spot and this one was great. They took a nice patient approach to the jam focusing more on rhythm then Trey soloing. Page hit the clav hard, and after some time Trey circled the wagons for a victorious conclusion. Great way to end the set.

Overall Set I: Another nice first set (like last night's). For me stronger than night one, with good jamming found in Gin, Tube and Mike's Groove. Plus some cool song selection with FEFY and Curtis Loew. Very solid.

Set II opened with the familiar sound of the big Ghost chord. I was 0-2 on my Ghosts with both versions I caught in 2011 being very weak. This one set me straight though. It was quite long at around 17 minutes or so from my memory, and Trey took a good and interesting path to bliss-town. They also got some good spacey/evil sort of jamming in for good measure. It wasn't maybe the cleanest of all peaks, but I thought I peaked really well nonetheless. This was a take-home version for sure. Show highlight probably.

Disease popped up and rather than continuing the big type II jamming it served more as a rocking bridge, and worked pretty darn well considering it's such a glorious tune. It was sort of a quick version, but I thought satisfying tacked onto the Ghost.

The dropped into Steam, which was awesome and fit right in with the song selection. This was a great version. There was a technical issue at one point with Trey so he slotted over to the kit and him and Mike just started banging away on Fish's gear. This was a cool rhythmic segment and gave Page some space to just color the rhythm. Definitely a great version.

They had given us plenty of jamming through three and the next run of tunes was a sort of back to the jukebox run.

Caspian cooled us off, Boogie gave us a chance to get moving, Theme and Wedge were both pretty straight, but fun. Silent was Horseless and was ok.

They dropped into Hood in the closing position and that was a great call. This one was a really interesting take too. Rather than go for the straight up blissful build they took a dissonant/minor key approach and the jamming was actually pretty tense. It's not overly long, but it's not your straightforward standard Hood. This one is worth a listen and I really enjoyed it. Just a nice fresh take.

Quinn sent us off into the night happy. Nice in the encore slot.

Overall set II: This one started really strong. In hindsight it would have been preferable if they took disease a bit deeper and cut off some of the middle song based section of the set. Ghost, Steam, & Hood were all keepers though, so I can't complain.
Highlights: Ghost, Steam, Hood

Overall: I thought this was the better overall show than night I, but didn't have the top jam a la Carini. Good solid above average show. Serious fun.
3.85/5

A solid show, no question about it. I thought the first set was well played, nothing mindblowing, but just solid. Good to see I Am Hydrogen back in the rotation, as well as a few firsts for this noob (My Sweet One, Curtis Loew, FEFY). I also thought the Weekapaug was outstanding (one of the better 3.0 Paugs?),even though Mike's voice was shot. Second set was also solid, the Ghost being especially good.
I could only go to one show on the Hampton run, and this was a good choice overall.

This show is beautiful from start to finish... don't know why its just a 4.1 rating... I thought it matched night 3 of Hampton... the first set is awesomely phun and a beautiful fast enough for you and set 2 has 3 improved gems in ghost, dwd and steam all in a row (total jam/dance fest) and an incredible hood that goes type 2 for a while... great show, hard for me to pick a fave between H2 and H3...def believe this deserves a higher rating... keep it playin

One of the most PHun and enjoyable PHirst sets I have seen. The boys from Vermont are so in touch with eachother and the audience. The music PHlows so well and they have the ability to really take control of the room. And what a room it is!! The Mothership! This shows was PHree of a lot of the PHirst show tour opener bumps and drum beats, but great thing about this band is they make even those moments magical and perfection is never PHar around the corner.
Grateful Dale
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