6-19-04 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY

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Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 10:42:49 -0400 From: glenn roth Subject: Phish show review, Sat. June 19, 2004, SPAC This was my last show and I just wanted to say thanks to the guys because when the dust settles and people go back and listen to the tapes this will go down as one of the greatest shows of all time. If you were there you know what I'm talking about. If you missed it, I'm truly sorry. I left on such an emotional high and made peace with the band's decision to disband. I could not have asked for a better way for them to say goodbye to me. A first set that included Reba, Runaway Jim, NICU and Wolfman's Brother - I was laughing with excitement. And the Piper jam in the second set was out of this world. I thought they were going to continue the jam the rest of the show. That 40-minute jam is why we loved this band so much over the years. Once again - thanks Trey, Mike, Page and Fish for making this world a better place. Peace and love Glenn
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2004 20:29:08 EDT From: Srandallf Subject: show review 6-19-04 Saturday June 19, 2004 S.P.A.C by Scott Ferraro Im 32 and have been going to phish shows since 1990. Honestly, I lost my deep interest in the band a few years back for various reasons. The past 5 or 10 shows I have seen in the past 8 years have in my opinion, been dissapointing compared to the experience of the earlier club days. However, when I got a chance to go to this show I was very excited. To my delight, I was introduced to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. It is hard to put into words just how perfect this place is. The wonderful tall trees, pathways through woods, streams and bridges and the stage and building. wow! An architectural delight set amongst a natural setting so perfect that Im still feeling the positive energy 24 hours later. So, starting off on such a good note, I was bound to be happy no matter what the music turned out to be like. The music. Well, the music was not much different that the previous dissapointing shows that I had been to. There were some really great musical moments as usual, but overall, their later period sound tends to give me a headache eventually. Still, I could not help but be swept away by the great energy and passion the band displayed. Maybe its been a while for me, but I do not ever remember seeing Trey so completely insane with his head! Man, the guy must have a great chiropracter. He was totally into the moment as was the band and the 25,000 fans, including me. I loved it, every minute of it and unlike my more recent phish experiences, I forgot about analyzing it all and making judgments about all the musical shortcomings. These guys are very very intense and powerful. Im so glad I was there. --just prior to the show I was walking to the restroom when the girl walking in front of me skipped off to the side.....then I see a stream of water coming from the sky, look up and see a guy taking a piss from way up in a tree. The bathroom lines were very long, obviously. I will never forget this image. Also, to add to the delightful surrealism that was engulfing the entire venue, there was a screened in porch area connected to a building at the far end. Behind the screen were candle-lit tables and people dining with formal clothes on, not paying any attention to the oddities just inches from them, including the many girls and guys pissing behind the shrubs just feet away from them. (did anyone else notice this?) It apeared to be a wedding reception or something similar. It was very unusual and a great way to end my phish experience. ---to the overly aggresive security people constantly grabing at my camera....get a life! And, $5 for a water is a bit much. And, how about an exit sign in the parking lot? I put a couple photos here http://www.scottferraro.com/photos04.html
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 00:23:05 +0000 From: d.f. wagener Subject: Phish show review 6/19/04 SPAC drove up from DC just for saturday's show, and had a great time. my last show prior to it was the sub-par 11/29/03 philly. last night's was much better by comparison. i didn't think there was a dull moment, not to mention few flubs that i could hear (except the cavern lyrics). the reba opener reeled me in from the beginning. the band seemed to be in a very focused, creative mood, with the result being a lot of intense, exploratory jams, the best of which was the piper. there was a nice glowstick war during this one, and everyone was into it. cavern, to me, was a great closer. wading is not one of my favorites, but a lot of people appeared to be digging it. the venu was nice and so was the weather. i wasn't at the keystone shows, but i'm guessing the atmosphere at SPAC might have been better. it had a more woodsy, open feel to it. overall an excellent show from a band on its way out. i support their decision to go out on top and i think if they play at the level they played last night for the rest of the summer, they'll do just that. hope tonight's show rocks. see everyone at coventry. -dan
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 10:23:13 -0400 From: Alejandro Tamargo Subject: 6-19-04 SPAC review What a great weekend. The weather was perfect- 70 degrees and sunny. We got into the lot both nights right around 4:00 with little or no traffic. We parked in almost exactly the same spot both nights, had plenty of time to chill out, cook some good food, drink some beers and explore the lot. No hassles, just fun and good times. It was just a fun weekend overall. Now onto the show: Set I: Reba, Runaway Jim, NICU> Scents and Subtle Sounds, Wolfman's Brother, Walls of the Cave> David Bowie Reba was completely unexpected. I was bouncing up and down. So much fun. The jam part at the end was as usual, beautiful. No whistling this time though. Instead onto... Runaway Jim- Nice! Another bouncy fun dancing song. And this version absolutely ripped. NICU- One of the songs I really wanted to see at least one more time before it was all said and done. So happy to hear it. Another really fun song. Scents- Took me a second to figure out what it was because there was no intro. Probably the only lowlight of the show for me. I love Scents. But the intro is the best part. I also feel like they really need to start from the beggining and work their way up to the jam part. I don't like them starting Scents in the middle any more than I'd like it if they started YEM in the middle. As a result, I felt the jam fell a little flat and lacked energy. But whatever, this is the last tour ever, so in my book, they can do whatever they want and I'll be dancing. Wolfmans- Woohoo! I've now seen three Wolfman's post hiautius (1-3-03 and 12-1-03) and they've all been fantastic. Page controls the jam with the funky clav and the other three add their parts beautifully. Groovy phish phunk. I love it! Walls- I was dissapointed when I heard the opening notes, but not because I didn't want to see it, but because my good friend from Oregon was coming in for the second night of SPAC only and really wanted to see his first Walls. Unfortunately he missed it by one night. And even more unfortunately he missed an incredible version. Highlight of Set I. They actually returned to the Silent Trees referain twice. The first time they did, I thought that that was it and that they hadn't taken the climatic jam high enough to be ending so soon. But then, they rocked on for at least another five to ten minutes and this time they did take the climatic jam (and the crowd) as high as can be before bringing it back down and finishing the song. It would have been okay by me if they had gone right into Bowie there, but instead, an unexpected crazy space jam that segued beautifully into the high hat. Bowie- Not a standout version. But come on, how often are they really going to play a standout version. 1 out of every 20, 30 times? It may have been standard, but it was Bowie and it was good. A great way to finish off a great first set. Set II: Song I Heard The Ocean Sing, Piper> Tweezer Reprise Jam> Jam> Gotta Jibboo> Limb By Limb, Cavern Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea SIHTOS- I think I'm repeating what a thousand other people have said- but it is such a shame they're leaving because in another year this song could be one of the best in their repitoire, once they had time to really develop it. It's not there yet though. However, after a slow start to the jam, it really took off. Funky grooves and Simple teases were abound. Nice jamming. Piper>Tweezer Reprise Jam- OH MY GOD! The highlight of the show for sure. What was going on here? After some nice funk laid down beautifully by Page and Mike, they launch into a Tweezer Reprise Jam. I've altered the setlist to read the way I think it should read. This was no tease. This was a full on Tweezer Reprise without the lyrics. I'd have to hear the discs to be sure, but I thought I even heard Page do the Tweezer theme once on his piano. Anyway, this Tweeprise jam was the pinnacle. I was watching the monitor, and Trey was shaking his head around like crazy making jam faces and jumping around. Kuroda cranked up the lights and the crowd was insane. Wow! Moments like these are why I come to Phish. After the Tweeprise jam more nice funk from Page and Mike. Then a long exploratory jam that just wouldn't stop. They were on fire. Depending on who you ask, there were several diifferent teases heard here. I was hearing Simple (again) and Ghost. My girlfriend swears she heard Back on the Train. This guy we met at our campground heard Boogie On. Then of course alot of us heard Jibboo, and that's where they decided to go next. Jibboo- I've read a few posts on message boards and reviews where people have said that the setlists were obviously preplanned. I think this is a case where it clearly wasn't planned. They just went where the spirit moved them to go. And that's beautiful. How often do you see a mid-set Jiboo coming out of a jam like that? Not often, if ever. And it was a great Jiboo. Great fun. Limb by Limb- I was shocked to hear a late second set Limb. I wanted to hear this song, but thought I would have to wait for the following night. But girlfriend actually called it, saying that almost every time she sees Piper she sees Limb. Never would have guessed it myself. This was no ordinarly Limb. Clearly the band was feeling like exploring this night, and wouldn't let themselves be confined to the normal jam structure of a typical Limb by Limb. They just did what they felt like doing, and it resulted in a fantastic jamming session. They didn't ever return to the theme however, because they had just gotten so out there that it wouldn't have made sense. So instead they just stopped jamming so they could end the set with..... Cavern- Nice closer! Great energy. So what if Trey flubbed the lyrics again? People who complain about that obviously never saw the Dead in 95. I'm thinking back to 7/8/95 in Soilder Field, the second to last GD show. They encored with an instrumental version of U.S. Blues, with occasional moans and groans from Jerry, which I guess were his attempts to sing. I don't ever want to see Phish reach that point. Which is why I'm okay with them quitting on a high note. Anyways, I digress. Great Cavern, incredible set! Encore: Wading. Slightly dissapointed, but you know what, it's the last tour, and this song is beautiful. They certainly don't need to jam anymore, they've done plenty of that for one night. What a great great show! And a really fun time. Second night would prove to be just as great. But I'll post that review with the other 6-20 reviews.
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:35:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Redmond Haskins Subject: june 19th phish review It was my 18th birthday and we drove up from rochester New York very excited. First set I was on the lawn and I was cramped up against the rails with out any room to dance. The sound was alright nothing special, but still good enough to keep the crowd moving.   SET I   Reba- nice to hear this, the composed section was nailed pretty good and the jam following is always fun, pretty solid reba nothing outstanding but a good song to open the show and set the vibe of what was to come   Runaway Jim- song followed Reba very quickly, one of my favorites it was very nice to here.   NICU- decent version, nothing special   Scents and Subtle Sounds- i could hear this during soundcheck so it wasn't a surprise it was coming. My favorite song of the new album i love the very chill and relaxed jam. It is calm and still get things moving.   Wolfmans brother- love this song, when pages stands up and starts nailing keys on the clavinet everyone starts feeling the funk. A very funky version, well played.   Walls of the Cave- also played during soundcheck wasn't a surprise. When trey starts wailing on those power chords in "the silent trees" section everyone feels that jam   David Bowie- pretty rushed into, solid short jam, a good set closer   SET II     A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing- the 2nd set was fired up with the playing of this song, a very vibrant and powerful jam, though still very surprised that was played only 2 nights after Brooklyn...? Who knows   Piper- seems to be the song on everyones mind. I can't depict how much energy was in SPAC during this jam. Every note each member played coincided with the others making this the best live experience i've ever seen. One needs to check this jam out   Gotta Jibbo- i knew it was coming, i heard mikes bass rift, and i knew it was coming. I didn't really like this version, nothing like Burgettstown last year, but fun to hear i guess.   Limb By Limb- very excited to her this song, one of my favorite phish songs, very calm relaxed jam following is always a plus!   Cavern- what a set closer, got everyone fired up and wanting some more   Wading in the Velvet Sea- A good song but wanted something diffrent, you can't always get what you want.   Over all this show gets a B/B+ it was a great B-day present, thanks phish for the great weekend
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 14:40:49 -0500 From: Bill Davis Subject: Phish show review - 6/19/04 SPAC night 1 Phish, Saratoga Springs, NY 6/19/04 SPAC This trip was a spur of the moment decision, brought on by two of my friends having an extra ticket for this show and the second night of SPAC as well. We drove the 13 hours from Chicago to SPAC, a beautiful venue near Johnstown, NY. I have just one gripe: handle your drugs people! While the majority of the people we met at the show were kind and non-threatening, some people on the lawn really need to make sure they can handle whatever they^Òre taking. Besides some rude people that have no concern for anyone else^Òs personal space, my buddy got thoroughly elbowed in the back of the head by some dude wasted out of his mind. My friend wasn^Òt necessarily pissed off that he got hit^Å he was furious that the guy went back to yelling at the top of his lungs and flailing about without even attempting to apologize. But enough bullshit^Å this show was unbelievable. This was my other friend^Òs 50th show, and he had been fairly disappointed with the 3 Vegas shows he attended. The smile across his face and the occasional, ^ÓWow^Ô or ^ÓThis is unbelievable^Ô coming from his mouth made it all worth it. Set 1: Reba, Runaway Jim, NICU -> Scents and Subtle Sounds, Wolfman's Brother, Walls of the Cave -> David Bowie Reba: What an unlikely opener. I knew the show was going to be tight when they nailed the composed section of this song, one of the toughest ones they play. The jam was just mesmerizing, beautiful and fulfilling. What a great way to start off the show. Jim: The lawn let out a roar when they started off Jim, only my second ever. The beat and power they put into this song made it feel like the perfect selection to play on a brisk summer evening. Again, the jam was focused and thrilling. I couldn^Òt believe how unbelievably tight they sounded, especially Mike. This Jim was great. NICU: Besides Ya Mar, this is my other quintessential Phish summer song. Nothing unusual, just a great composed song to get everyone dancing. Scents: NICU segued into Scents, and the intro was real interesting, taking me about a minute to understand what they were playing. The timing of this song seemed a little out of place, but the jam made up for it once again. They really played this well and a thoroughly enjoyed it. Wolfman^Òs: Mike fucking owned this song. I felt like I was going to drown in the funk! This Wolfman^Òs was absolutely off the charts, so deep and funky that my legs hurt by the end of the song. The highlight of the show at this point. Walls: I love this song, but I was a little bummed thinking that this might end the set. The Walls I saw last year at Deer Creek was tremendous, so I was expecting this one to exceed it^Å and of course it did. This song was even better than Wolfman^Òs, hitting a few peaks that were out of control. Chris did such an amazing job with the lights during this song, perfectly anticipating when they were going to build tension and then busted out huge lights when they hit their peak. I would have been more than happy if the set ended here, but instead^Å Bowie: Fish started the drum tap to Bowie, and all I could do was smile. I can^Òt add anything except to say that this Bowie closed the set on such a high note. The last 3 songs of the set made this one of the best sets of Phish I have ever heard live. The three of us collapsed on the lawn, eagerly awaiting the second set. Set 2: A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Piper -> Gotta Jibboo -> Limb By Limb, Cavern Song: I haven^Òt listened to their new album, so I had no idea what song this was. However, once it got going, it raged. What I had noticed at this point is that Trey wasn^Òt going off on huge tangents anymore. Instead, the whole band was playing so beautifully together, which I loved. This song confirmed this. Piper: I like Piper, but I^Òve found I can only listen to a select few on tape since the song tends to get too spacey for me. Nevertheless, a concert is different, so I nodded my head in agreement as they started the song. I was praying for some focus in this song^Å what I got was so much more. I believe out of all the many Phish shows I^Òve seen, this may have been the best jam I^Òve ever heard. This song alone made the 26 hours of driving worth it and reminded me of why I love this band. There were so many peaks and levels played in the 30+ minutes that my mind totally let go. They teased Walk Away and Tweezer Reprise a bunch of times and the lights were just crazy the whole time. It was just orgasmic^Å if you can handle it, LISTEN to this Piper! Jibboo: Somehow, they segued into Jibboo. I^Òll be honest, I really don^Òt remember this Jibboo at all^Å I was still recovering from the Piper. I do recall that I enjoyed it, but it was nothing special. Limb: One of my friends has heard over 20 Limb^Òs, so he was a little upset as they segued into the song. However, he even remarked later that this song was great. Just wonderful improvisation from the boys. Cavern: The venue went nuts when they started Cavern. Trey was doing great until the last 4 or 5 lines of the song, and then we went blank. I wasn^Òt annoyed at all. In fact, I found it hilarious. From the giant screens, we could tell from his facial expressions that Trey was laughing at himself and he redeemed himself during the chorus. A solid way to end a great set. Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea Personally, I love many of Phish^Òs ballads, such as Wading, Dirt, FEFY and If I Could. After such a rocking show filled with so much hose, I was extremely happy to hear Wading. This was my 4th Wading and it also happened to be my 4th encore^Å go figure. This song was unbelievably beautiful, with Trey hitting those precious high notes in just the right way. It left me teary eyed. Besides some rude people on the lawn, the only other thing that sucked about SPAC was their total lack of preparation for traffic. It took us just under 2 hours to make it out of the venue, and I consider us lucky. Over all, this was a quality show with many highlights. I can^Òt wait to listen to the tapes. Enjoy the rest of the tour! ^ÓWhatever you do, take care of your shoes.^Ô
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 22:15:01 -0400 From: Jon Berliner Subject: Phish show review 6-19-04 Instead of wasting everyone's time trying to recapture the entire show, I am going to get straight to the point.  PIPER.  The best song I have ever seen in concert, any concert.  As soon and the opening notes began to play the crowd exploded.  The energy level could not have been any higher.  The beauty of SPAC, the music, the lights, the glow stick war - every aspect of the 30+ minutes of piper were perfection.  This song fully captures what Phish is about.  The boys feed off the crowd who feed off the band.  Words cannot do this song justice.  After seeing the boys play this one I feel at peace with the impending break up.
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 10:31:46 -0700 (PDT) From: dom lange Subject: phish show review - 6/19/04   I have to admit....I was very hyped for these shows, and there was no way that they could have lived up to my expectations, but I will say that they were memorable, and there was one Jam in particular that stands out in my mind.  I will go so far as to say that it was one of the 10-best jams I have heard in my 80+ shows.  The Jam that I am refering to is.....the ....... 6/19/04 Piper!  Now I will tell you that I am not a huge fan of this song, and when the opening notes came out I rolled my eyes, but man, this was something else.  The boys were totally on for the entire tune, and although I'd like to think that they are always trying to be "on" we all know that in recent past they had not always been giving it their "all".  Having said that I will add that in recent jams of this length I had found myself getting bored...but not tonight...not on this tune...nosiree!  By the mid-point of the song I found myself high-fiving the phans around me (yes that was me in the back of sec 8).  The song bridged all of those different styles that one has come to expect from a solid all-encompassing phish jam, and trey diddn't do too much or too little...and he left space for mike page and fish to add that special something that isn't there when trey is off all on his own.  I won't go in to too much detail on this but I will tell all of you that could't be here for this show...go out and get it and let me know if you agree that it was something special.... because I only have 2 shows left - 8/10 and 8/11 ( you know I'll probably limp into coventry) and I hope...just hope that I get to feel that magic at least one more time!   -Dom
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2004 08:48:51 -0400 From: william meland Subject: 6-19-04 Had not seen Phish in 5 years (since Alpine Valley 1999). It was a farewell. Very respectable show. The super long jam in set 2 was surprisingly interesting. Picture of Nectar was a chill, yet very meaningful send-off to the crowd, & so was Velvet Sea. The Phish crowd is unlike any you'll see. It's like an Eden, by now all renewed since my early days (1996). Most people at this show were way younger than me, and I'm 23. By now, it's not relevant if this was or wasn't the greatest technical show; time is short. The guys are still playing well... the climate of occasion is really there for the reasons we all know. Thanks Phish. Will Meland
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2004 10:12:53 EDT From: EnigmaKing88 Subject: Phish show review for 6/19 SPAC 6/19 Saratoga Preforming Arts Center, Saratoga, NY   Phish and SPAC. There are few combinations that are more perfect. We arrived at 3, beat all the traffic (we heard it got so bad that friends of ours walked a few miles to speed up the pace), and got a nice parking spot under a tree. Nothing like shade in a lot. Speaking of the lot, shakedown seemed rather subdued. We met up with our friends, went in, and picked a nice spot on the spacious SPAC lawn.   Set I   Reba: I had been calling a Divided Sky opener for months before the show, but, they played it in Brooklyn, so I changed my mind to Wolfman's. Out of nowhere, Trey starts up the old familiar riff to Reba, that great tale. The composed section was pretty much nailed, and the jam was its usual moving self. The abrubt ending to Reba just seems so perfect: how else can you end such an amazing song.   Runaway Jim - Trey started this one up pretty quickly, and the band seemed eager to play this. In many ways, I view Jim as the ultimate outdoor Phish song because it has that open and bouncy sound that just goes hand in hand with summer.     NICU - As soon as Jim ended, they started up this one. A nice, standard NICU. Nothing remarkable, but a standard NICU is a great song nonetheless.   Scents and Subtle Sounds - It took me a few moments to recognize what this was because i lacked the intro that I always think about when I think about this song. They went right into the rocking section. The outro jam was sweet and the band was so clearly into it. They were into it the entire night.   Wolfman's Brother - My fourth in four shows. This was the first song in this show that I had called, and it was a nice version. Not as great as the classic Albany Wolfman's from last December, but great in its own right.   Walls of the Cave - We had heard Page practicing the intro during soundcheck, so it wasn't that much of a surprise to hear him start this one. At first, I felt a little dissapointment, but that was washed away in a few moments. The "Silent Trees" section was jammed out incredibly, sinking down a nice ambient jam before building back up to the "Silent Trees" chords. Finally, Fishman started up that old familiar hi-hat tapping and we all knew what was coming.   David Bowie - We knew this would be the set closer, but, no matter, this was a song that I had wanted to hear, and I finally got it. The energy during this song on the lawn felt amazing, but, then again, Bowie always gives off high energy. This was not that long, but, after the long first set they had given us, it was not bad that this was not insanely long.   Setbreak - Setbreak was an adventure between bathrooms, filling up water bottles, and buying a pretzle. We made it back to the lawn just a bit before the lights went down and set two was underway.   Set II   A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing - I was very surprised that they played this one because they had played it just two days earlier on 6/17. This jam got really far out there with the entire band clearly clicking together. When I first heard this song, I had a feeling it could develop into a monster, and, on this night, the monster was unleashed.   Piper - Trey started this one up pretty quickly after the last one. They did the build up pretty quickly, getting to the words, and probably eager to get to the jam. The jam is probably the best piece of live phish music I have ever seen. My trying to describe it would be impossible. Everyone should hear this version at all costs. Piper and A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing combined for about 50 minutes from what I understand.   Gotta Jibbo - This came right out of the incredible Piper jam. The segue was a little abrupt, but it didn't matter much. This song is just a naturally great song to groove to. This jam was sweet, not as long as Piper, but with just as much energy.   Limb By Limb - I did not see this coming at all, but Phish likes to surprise me. A pretty nice version with an exceptional jam at the end. This second set was all about jamming. The band was clearly having such a great time enjoying the vibe at SPAC and enjoying their music.   Cavern - Another one that I had called, this Cavern was, in my opinion, the perfect way to end this set. It brought us back down to earth as far as jamming goes, but this was still high-energy. Trey forgot a few of the words, but, who cares? I certainly don't know them by heart.   Encore:   Wading in the Velvet Sea - Simply perfect. Looking back, there was no encore that would have been more perfect then this. It was beautiful, surreal, and magical. This song is beautiful to begin with, but combine it with all that had come before it at this show, it goes beyond beautiful.   Overall - Amazing. No further adjectives needed.
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2004 10:44:19 -0400 From: Dominic Agostini As a veteran phan who's never written a review, I've decided to write one about my last phish show ever. Let me start with the lot scene. What lot scene? I have to admit, I was disappointed. There are two main parking lots at SPAC and we had to walk across the bridge to the far parking lot to get any kind of scene. Even there, we saw some police shut down some vendors, which put a damper on things. I saw some very cool shirts though. Early on I saw a shirt that said "Mike Says Yes" which put a big smile on my face. Funny enough, I saw one later on that said "Mike Says No"...they both meant the same thing, it was just funny to see the irony. The weather was perfect though - Mid-70's sunny and a nice breeze! What I'm going to miss the most about pre-show festivities is the pure energy there is entering the venue. Its enough to give you goosebumps. Last night, there was some strong organic energy flowing through the crowd. It was definitely cool. We scored amazing tix for the show and ended up stage right, at about the 11th row. Perfect location to be keyed into Page. Quick statement about the security at the show - at least in my section, they were tough on alot of people. It wasn't until the 2nd set, when they realized it was futile to try to contain the crowd, that they let us take over the venue and enjoy ourselves. Hopefully they learned their lesson and will lay off during tonight's show. Set I: Reba, Runaway Jim, NICU ->, Scents and Subtle Sounds, Wolfman's Brother, Walls of the Cave ->, David Bowie The first three songs kicked the show off in a BIG way. Reba was solid and the jam on Runaway Jim was inspired. About mid-way into it, you could see Trey take flight. I was expecting more out of NICU, but still appreciated its placement. On the contrary, S&SS wasn't well placed at all. I'm beginning to like this song more and more, but I just wasn't feeling it last night. The next song didn't disappoint - Wolfman's was crazed! One of the better Wolfman's I've heard, the band's timing was there and I thanked God again for being placed right in front of Page. It wasn't the setlist anchor like the 12/1/03 version at the Knick, but it was still stellar. Walls of the Cave - decently played, but as far as I am concerned it was just a bridge to get us to DAVID BOWIE. Great placement in the set and really left us with the same energy we had coming into the place. Overall, I'd give the first set a solid B. Quick note about the food at the venue - FUCKING $10 for a burrito, are you on crack?!?!?! Then you run out of cheese?!?! That's just sinful. Set II: A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Piper ->, Gotta Jibboo ->, Limb By Limb, Cavern Maybe I was in denial, but the band's permanent departure hit me during ASIHTOS. I had visions of Phish playing this song for years to come and really having it take on a life of its own. The band's still feeling their way through this song. Piper was NUTS. I actually circled this on the setlist I used to track the show...complete with a Tweezer Reprise tease, the jam was f'in ON! I was feeling Mike during this song and it was one of a few times where I actually welcomed the high number of notes Trey was playing. It brought the place down and was the highlight of the show. The jam into Jibboo caught me off guard which once again made me think about their departure. After all these years and the hundreds of hours of live shows I've listened too, they can be so unpredictable! I love that and will miss that. Limb by Limb was solid and Cavern came in as the set closer. Once we heard the beginning of Cavern, the place went wild. One quick editorial on Cavern...it can be amusing when Trey flubs the words, and Cavern - true to their earlier canon of work - is lyricly intense, but the last 5 times I've heard Cavern, Trey's f'd up the lyrics. Trey left whole verses almost untouched last night. Overall, I'd give the second set an A(-). Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea Hmmm. Not what I would have picked for an Encore. Well played, but just not the closer I needed for my last show. Overall, I'd give this show a B+. There were moments of disappointment, but Phish on an ok night is still 1000 times better than most bands. Would have really enjoyed Scent of a Mule...but it just wasn't the night. To Phish - thanks a great 20+ years. Dominic Esquandolas (Marco's brother)
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