On paper this show could come across as easy to write off given the song selection, but in person the show had some incredible playing and sustained high energy, particularly in set two. Once the jam kicked in during Ruby Waves, the boys didn't let up through the remainder of the show. Some of the most fun, rocked out Phish I've seen in recent memory. Ignore the show rating and give the second set a listen. Can't wait for the next 3 nights!

A solid Night One.

Other than the opening Sand > Disease which got some jamming treatment, set one was mostly standard fare. Well-played, flowed pretty well, not a whole lot of complaints from me.

I feel like I may be in the minority when I say I think Possum is a better opener than it is a closer. Just my two cents. I was slightly surprised Twist didn’t go deep, but they followed up with Ruby Waves which stayed relatively close to home while stretching its boundaries. Say what you will about the Sci-Fi Soldier songs, but they’re pure and unmistakably Phish songs, and I enjoy most of them. A Wave of Hope was phenomenal. Neither sprawling Type II exploration nor standard perfunctory run-through, Trey plows through the last chorus and sends the entire place TO THE MOON. Jam of the night. Finally, Howling -> Piper is a fun exclamation point, and a Harry Hood encore never fails to send everyone off feeling good about Hood.

No, it’s not your pantheon level Dick’s show by any means, but there is plenty to like here, and was still a whole lot of fun. 7.25/10

A solid Night One.

Other than the opening Sand > Disease which got some jamming treatment, set one was mostly standard fare. Well-played, flowed pretty well, not a whole lot of complaints from me.

I feel like I may be in the minority when I say I think Possum is a better opener than it is a closer. Just my two cents. I was slightly surprised Twist didn’t go deep, but they followed up with Ruby Waves which stayed relatively close to home while stretching its boundaries. Say what you will about the Sci-Fi Soldier songs, but they’re pure and unmistakably Phish songs, and I enjoy most of them. A Wave of Hope was phenomenal. Neither sprawling Type II exploration nor standard perfunctory run-through, Trey plows through the last chorus and sends the entire place TO THE MOON. Jam of the night. Finally, Howling -> Piper is a fun exclamation point, and a Harry Hood encore never fails to send everyone off feeling good about Hood.

No, it’s not your pantheon level Dick’s show by any means, but there is plenty to like here, and was still a whole lot of fun.
7.25/10

Friday was my favorite night experientially, 4th quarter of Saturday was my favorite dance party, and the Icculus on Sunday was probably my favorite moment...but now that I finally relistened, I think Thursday was the tightest night musically- or at least the little subtle things that I enjoy. Every now and then, I feel like they go into Goddard College music nerd mode (night 2 of Orange Beach is a good example) and you can hear little nuances like the flowing tempo and pitch changes by Trey throughout the 2nd set- 5:00, 8:00, 10:00, 11:30 of Ruby Waves and the last half of Hope, in particular. The navigation through Don't Doubt Me I think is the MVP of the wknd for me, Page and Trey are doing a lot. The Piper has all the patience, nuances, oscillation, and power that you can ask for in a Phish jam. Fish is a beast as always. First set had special moments, too- the major chords in Disease and "a mile away" transition into Mule, so much fun. I REALLY liked the distortion by Trey in Theme- again, subtle and nerdy, but unique and distinct. Sand, Ocelot, and Train cooked too. And it's been played a few times in 21-22, but Axilla II is still a big deal!

I came DWD aka Covid the day after arriving home from Alpine. Sent an IG post to Mike asking for a DWD for what should have been the opening show to my 4-day 50th birthday party at Dick's but after having literally spent 3 weeks in my bed, I wouldn't be able to attend. This is the 4th collective time between Mike and Trey breaking my heart in the best way possible over the past 27 blissful years with requests. Cried like a baby. Thank you.

A show/setlist that truly toyed with your emotions. The atmosphere was everything you expected last night. Sand>dwd>soam brought a solid start to the evening, with a few extra spicy licks from Trey. Mike was sending shots of bass into our souls during this intro.... He knew what he did. Ocelot cooled things off, a welcomed splash for some in those fields. Heavy things seemed redundant, furthering the flow. Axilla 2 sent the crowd back into a frenzy, then dragged us through the muck. A fine back on the train chased the darkness, an unwelcomed lifeline in my opinion. Theme toyed with us all again, engaging in emotional emancipation, page with his plinko. Blaze on colored in the lines, and left the crowd anxious, per usual.
A satisfying Possum got the show back into swing. The twist that played out of it could have gone deeper (fish is out of this world). We all want twist to go deeper. Woooooo! Here's where the show earned its stripes.... Ruby Waves was hot. The structure of the song doesn't necessarily send me into outer space, but the improv that proceeded sure as hell did. This second set had excellent pockets of cow funk, all tracing back to the scene of the crime that was ruby waves. Don't doubt me was.... Well I'm not super familiar with it but it really threw my shoulders out. Wave of hope had a Lil something extra, howling gave the crowd some added release. It goes without saying that Piper is welcomed almost anywhere, and slotted into closer role didn't hurt. Was it the set list we wanted? I dunno I don't know that we get to fairly have such expectations. I will tell you this, I'm no expert, but this is the greatest band on earth. Greatest production on earth. Harry hood reminded us that, at any point in time, Phish speaks to us in a language most don't understand. For that, I'm grateful. 4.2 for me. Still one of the best days of my life.

Friday was my favorite night experientially, 4th quarter of Saturday was my favorite dance party, and the Icculus on Sunday was probably my favorite moment...but now that I finally relistened, I think Thursday was the best night musically- or at least the little subtle things that I enjoy. Every now and then, I feel like they go into Goddard College music nerd mode (night 2 of Orange Beach is a good example) and you can hear little nuances like the flowing tempo and pitch changes by Trey throughout the 2nd set- 5:00, 8:00, 10:00, 11:30 of Ruby Waves and the last half of Hope, in particular. The navigation through Don't Doubt Me I think is the MVP of the wknd for me, Page and Trey are doing a lot. The Piper has all the patience, nuances, oscillation, and power that you can ask for in a Phish jam. Fish is a beast as always. First set had special moments, too- the major chords in Disease and "a mile away" transition into Mule, so much fun. I REALLY liked the distortion by Trey in Theme- again, subtle and nerdy, but unique and distinct. Sand, Ocelot, and Train cooked too. And it's been played a few times in 21-22, but Axilla II is still a big deal!

SET 1:

Sand: Really like the crunchy effects put in play at around 10 minutes. Outside of that, this is standard yet solid Sand and a great way to open the 4 day run. Nice tone setter. ->

Down with Disease: Love the placement. Means business. Not opening a second set! Solid version. Quite an abrupt and rough segue into ->

Scent of a Mule: Sloppy. If you are going to bust out a tune, practice it?

Ocelot: Standard

Heavy Things: Standard

Axilla (Part II): 6th time played this year. Back in the rotation. >

Back on the Train: Smoked big time, nicely done! >

Theme From the Bottom: Standard. Well played.

Blaze One: Standard, short. A bit shreddy.

SET 2: Possum: Standard, good choice to open the second set. >

Twist: Not much here unfortunately >

Ruby Waves: Fantastic jam though I felt like going back into the chorus was unnecessary & felt strange >

Don't Doubt Me: Has some jam length to it – but for me – a song such as this deserves a dark, minor chord jam and not something as upbeat as this. >

A Wave of Hope: Very high energy but was hoping for something epic that would cap the second set>

The Howling: I am sure it would have been fun in person? ->

Piper: One dimensional, straight ahead rager.

ENCORE: Harry Hood: Standard

Summary: Show really doesn’t do much for me and would rate it 3.5 of 5 and in the bottom third of summer tour. Started strong with two big guns. Mule was a bust out but sloppy. BOTT was a standout out but that’s all she wrote as far as the first set is concerned. Second set? Ruby Waves was really good and Piper raged many a face I am sure. But in terms of anything I would go back to and seek out for a re-listen? Only Ruby Waves.

Fun night! Well-played, solid weekend opener. Anyone else notice the "Supper's Ready" quote by Trey in Piper? It's about 7:40ish in. It's just a two measure run, but it is unmistakably from the "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men" portion of Supper's Ready. Coincidentally (or not) it is from around the same point in each song, and we all know how much of a Genesis fan Trey (and Fish) is/are, so it was nice to see the nod. Anyway, glad I went and am excited for the Sunday closer :-)

Couch toured this one. First Set was really good Phish. Ocelot and Heavy Things back to back was whatever but both were plated well. BOTT -> Theme -> Blaze on is a great way to end a first set.

2nd set this show for me does fall off a bit. I dont like Possum in this spot. The jam in Ruby Waves was the highlight - 16 mins of goodness. The next 3 to me also pretty questionable calls - but well played. This i think is the only piper closer ever and it was insanely good. Hood encore closes out a solid show, what I would expect from night one. I think we only go up from here on this dicks run.

3.6/5