Posted on behalf of @phanastasio:

Set 1: Demand - This is apparently some new song that Trey wrote. The lyrics are disjointed and make no sense, and musically this song is all over the place. I guess they haven't quite figured it out how it should end yet because it just kinda stops. What a weird way to start a show. Should've gone with Kill Devil Falls. Next up was another weird song called the Curtain Wish. It started off interesting with some cool guitar runs, but then it had this weird big E minor section that was just a watered down copy of the same section from Slave to the Traffic Light. And speaking of copying, then this song just straight up RIPPED OFF the solo section from Rift, except it played it really weirdly slow and in a different key. And just when you think the mimicry was done, they just stuffed a sped up Reba jam to the end of it. This band is really starting to run out of musical ideas. It's time to revisit some of the song-writing techniques they mastered while recording Joy, or else the next few years are gonna get really boring. After the Curtain Wish came some boring ass blues song called The Alumni. Once again Trey got overly nostalgic with the lyrics, saying something about getting a degree. Dude, you're 50 years old. It's time to move on. Although at least it had this cool little instrumental section in the middle, but that was way too short before they went back to the college song. After Alumni Whatever came this super weird Mike Gordon Band song about face fucking. Dude is so weird. After that awkward interlude came -- you guessed it -- ANOTHER BEATLES SONG. What is with this band and the Beatles this tour!? I'm so sick of all these Abbey Road songs. PLAY YOUR OWN MUSIC. Speaking of their own music, finally something good! Sing Monica was its usual rocking self. I cannot get enough of this song...I wish they'd play it every damn set. It didn't go Type II though, so that was kind of a letdown. After Since Monica was another weird jazzy number called McGrupp and the Horse Masters. Lyrically this song proved once again that the band doesn't know how to write songs anymore. There was some ridiculous line about a guy named Dave. HAHA PHISH! ANOTHER INSIDE JOKE! Get over yourselves. After The Horse Master was that stupid song they played at Halloween last year. Why they didn't cover something cool on Halloween, like the newest Mumford and Sons, I'll never know. Oh well, I guess that's just Phish for you. Okay, so remember that weird Mike song about face fucking? Well next up they played a very similar song except the tempo was sped up. This one was about aliens. Fucking weirdo, Mike. After the Mars song came yet another bluesy song in A. I think it was a cover or something but I've never heard of it. It sounded really 1970s-ish though. After that came a kinda cool song that got really intense. I think it's called Stars Suck or something like that. Pretty cool. After all that ridiculousness we finally got a song that made the set feel special--David Bowie! I'm so glad they played one of their good songs. I think they closed the set with this song -- which is rare these days -- as a tribute to David Bowie, who died a couple weeks ago. Anyway, all I can say is that set was fucking weird and stupid and so I left at setbreak to go play Pokemon Go down at the wharf. I miss the old Phish.

Congrats to all those in attendance last night that probably crossed a bunch of tunes of their bucket lists. I wish they would spread the goodies out a little more instead of just doing one throw down show per tour ala Alpine /15 and MSG bus set in 13. I guess there is something to be said for going on a full tour and ensuring you do not miss a show like this. I always cringe when I see these sets as I have chased a show like this all of 3.0. Oh well. Maybe someday.

first set was a rock concert. just sick. curtain was great, not amazing, but enough to get me locked in for the next 60 minutes. alumni blues is the kinda song every high school kid loves and when you hear it for the first time in years (me last night), it all comes back to you. does anyone not like fuck your face? is there any better rock song than one about an awkward teenage gordo getting a guitar and fantasizing about violating listeners with his chops? also, wtf is this time signature? cry baby cry is a beautiful tune - one of the first songs i fell in love with when first diving into hampton comes alive. nothing amazing about this version or any other, but trey's guitar tone complements the song so well that the beatles version is left in the dust. cant tell if i like sing monica, but at this point - who the fuck cares? they have earned the right to do and play whatever they want in this particular show and i am going to respect it. did you just go take a piss during sing monica verse? fuck your face. get off my lawn. respect your elders. mcgrupp is a true old school song that prompted me to listen to zappa all morning. BBFCFM was beyond sick. back to high school again, but this time with a chain wallet. why does my neck hurt? oh yea. trey lied down with the microphone next to him, guitar on belly for about 2 minutes shredding this. it was fun. got another walk away and who doesnt love the james gang? rapists, that's who. sanity to bring us back down and then a nice, tight bowie that features some cool trey work towards the end of the peak. all in all what a set - 2 songs written after 1988. not bad. 42 minute set break! (cant remember where, but we had funky bitch, tweeprize teases that went for a few bars in one song)

second set was a phish show. no man's is gonna be around for a while and i love it. i say this every time i hear it, but the groove is undeniably "dancin in the streets" and i am beyond fine with that. this song has so much potential and is a great way to start a 2nd set. really got the place moving. mikes brought the rock concert vibe back but then fee was a very welcomed change of pace. huge fee sign hanging off the balcony, so people went apeshit and trey started yelling about nipples and nectarines. ck5 matches lightboard colors to those of the fee sign. these guys are all pretty good! what's that a jibboo? you're not hungry? sure put it on my plate. could get that every show and i wouldnt complain. even got a whale call started. then they played miss you. good for you, guys. i miss you every time i dont see you and i will gladly put my pop rock hat on for three minutes. solo actually ripped, once again proving they are the pros and we are a bunch of snotty pre-teens bitching that our parents are making us go to an SAT prep class on saturday morning. at this point in the night/run/tour, being disappointed in a song choice signals that you do not get it and/or dont want to enjoy it. paug>julius was a lot of fun. very straightforward and all featured excellent work from all the boys.

character zero encore after wading was easy to call, but a new one for me. trey got about 3 words into verse, pushed the mic aside and let the crowd do it all. full crowd vocals, harmony and everything (i took on the "eye eye...... eye!" portion). perfect way to send off this run that truly was special and i think became that way because of a lot of factors, not least of all the intimate nature of the venue and the fact that the vast majority of attendees were there 2, if not all 3, nights.

so after the last three nights i think there is a very clear distinction between the shows. 3 legitimately unique shows. i would say night 2 is a clear champion, with nights 1 and 3 slightly behind (yet 1 and 3 are about as different of a phish show as i could imagine). great run. they could box set those 3 shows tomorrow.

rant portion of review:

as with everything, your opinion of your interests invariably changes with you as you grow, mature, and change as a person - for better or for worse. i have been on every inch of the phan spectrum, from "i think i dont need to see phish anymore" to "i am going to steal a homeless man's kidney to get a pav ticket". i have also, but self-servingly for a short duration, failed to appreciate the skill, devotion, and pure willpower needed to do what this band does, night after night. however, post-mexico i reached a point where i trust and respect these guys as musicians to such a point where all i really want to do is see them have fun. and if you see enough of that, you will see them show those flashes of magic that make them so revered. saw some of that this weekend.

i raise this issue because this tour, moreso than i remember in recent years, has been scrutinized for what the band is doing wrong, or probably more uninformed, what they arent doing right. everyone is now the leader of 30+ year old band. everyone knows what songs should come next, what songs should be shelved, what songs should be in the 1st set, etc. truth be told? nobody does. maybe not even the band, but they are the best people to make those decisions.

i have been thinking over this analogy for a few days now, and i think it fits pretty well. phish is like your A+, #1, ace starting pitcher. doesnt matter what his season is like, he is starting game 1 in every playoff series. he will pitch on short rest. he will come out of the bullpen. doesnt matter. earlier this tour, it felt like he was struggling with his command, missing pitches, looking shaky, but he would always seem to get out of a jam. by the time the gorge was rolling around, people's opinion of the band and their "inability to jam" or pointed ability to nutpunch you with the line 2nd set reached what i would call a trip to the mound. much like a baseball manager, phish's fans have very little impact on the true quality of their playing. make the lineups, guess on matchups, hope for the best. to be honest, we deserve no credit for their sucess. so here we are, walking up the mound, telling phish we are taking him out. you know what he says "sit the fuck down, i am the pro here, not you. i got this." he then proceeds to strike out the side, finishing another gem of a game, and fuck the proverbial faces of every peanut and cracker jack in the park.

`Cause when I get mad, I get red, and then I start to steam.
And this guitar is gonna fuck your face `cause it knows how to scream!

So, one of our pups sadly had a case of the runs last night...wake up at 4AM to whining and a crate full of nothing pretty. However, following that clean-up, check my mail and see the setlist from LivePhish come through. I think, "After a nap, this is going to be a great morning."

I was able to listen up through Weekapaugh before work. My goodness. First set was off the hook. Getting rarities/bucket list tunes is one thing, getting them played this well is even better.

Really liked the Fee > Seven Below transition. Didn't expect that and it was well executed.

Minor lulz - my wife, not the biggest phan, wanders out this morning in the middle of McGrupp. "Who's Dave?" she asked. Internal chuckles ensue.

Congrats to all in attendance - what a winner.

Wow, still uncertain as to how I feel about that show. Obviously the first set was bonkers. I was sweating bullets by setbreak and felt like I just saw an entire rock show. Bowie was tight, Walk Away and Cry Baby Cry were so well placed in the midst of the chaos of FYF, BBFCFM and Sanity, Curtain was beautiful, only song that I don't think fit well in that monster first set was "The Very Long Fuse".

NMINML opener was actually exactly what I wanted, and this was an average but good version, would have been great but Trey pulled the cord for Mike's. OK! Standard, but high energy, the crowd was going nuts and the energy from the first set was still there.

There was a huge "FEE" sign hanging from the balcony, so when they started up the first notes, the crowd was more pumped than usual for Trey to start signing through the megaphone. Nothing memorable about this version or the Seven Below that followed.

When Waiting All Night started I was happy b/c I figured this would be THE slow song of the set. Since "Fuego" producer Bob Ezrin was in the crowd, it also made sense for them to showcase WAN. Standard version with no curveballs.

Gotta Jiboo is when the night started going SOUTH. The jam was uninspired and the energy in the crowd became absolutely flat. Now that the room was nice and cool, the band decided to give Trey's new ballad "Miss You" another play. This was a bummer.

Weekapaug started off solid, Mike was killing it, then Trey hoped on the Lumina and Mike joined Page on keys. The jam was pretty cool with Trey and Fishman syncing up on drum patterns while Page and Mike funked it up.

TOKPC > Suzy: Short and sweet

Good Julius.

Overall it felt like two different shows. Set 2 had its moments, but there wasn't even an attempt at transcendent jamming, which is my favorite type of Phish. To the band's credit, Tuesday night's 2nd set was full of spacey/progy/posty-rocky jams, so it made sense for them to play things a bit different.

Mooseman, I think it is obvious to all that the first reviewer was being sarcastic for comic effect and I'd say they succeeded. It's not often that I get a laugh reading these "reviews."

At least I hope to god they were being sarcastic; for if not, then I'd say you're right, they have no business here.

A different type of show in comparison to the previous two nights.

First set:

Demand - wow, awesome bust-out and a good start to the show

Curtain With is always beautiful. At the time I was hoping for a With-out just so they still had a shot at playing Reba, but by the time they go to With I was pretty content that they did it this way. Nice playing from Trey in the jam.

Alumni -> Letter to Jimmy Page -> Alumni was another awesome call and solidified the theme of the bust-out/rarity/old-school feel to the set. Always a good one to catch.

FYF was great, and another one that doesn't come out too often.

Cry Baby Cry took me a second to even place this tune. On the shelf for like 8 years, so I'll pass out the rarity points on this one.

Monica was for Bob and was peppy enough.

McGrupp is always welcome and this was a fun version. Great song and nice placement. Keeping it up with these rare songs.

Very Long Fuse was cool and I don't think I've caught that before, so fit the bill of a rarity for me at least.

BBFCFM was fun and Fishman threw in some oddball 1, 2, buckle my shoe lyrics, which was amusing.

Walk Away was great and kept the energy up.

Sanity is just a ball. Awesome tune, great energy and I always like the Row Jimmy lick.

David Bowie works well as the set closer after all those rarities. They went toward the major key for a significant part of the jam and I thought that was pretty cool and made this a notable version. The return into the trilling conclusion was awesome as ever.

Overall Set 1: If you like rarity/bust-out setlists than this one was for you. I was having a great time during the set and Curtain/Bowie even gave us some nice set I jamming.
Highlights: (pick your favorite bust-out) I'll say Demand, Cry Baby Cry, McGrupp, Sanity & Bowie for me personally.

Second set was a different story, and not a particularly good one.

No Man's kicked in as the opener and I thought that might bode well. It was pretty solid, if not exceptional. Trey played a nice solo and they managed to get spacey for a brief moment at the end. Alas, it was not to be and they opted for Mike's.

Mike's Song gives me the opportunity to take to the soapbox for a second. So, at this point I do not want to see Mike's in the second set two hole. In a past life, Mike's could stroll around a setlist with impunity landing wherever it damn well wished to. But it's 2016 and Mike's songs just ain't what they used to be. This version was fine, good lighting from CK5 and Trey did make some nice use of the dirty tone. Overall, safely inside the box.

Fee was a nod to the large sign posted on the mezzanine and people seemed happy enough to belt this one out. I was still holding out hope for some jamming either out of the fee harmonics or towards the 4th quarter.

>Seven Below was dropped into pretty smoothly here and is a song I really like and had me thinking back a few years to a fine start stop version they played in this very room. This version did not hit those heights and contained another fine, but very in the box jam.

So we stood at the crossroads and like The Line during the first night Phish served us Waiting All Night. Bummer.

Jibboo was up next and gave us the requisite 8-10 minutes of head bobbing. Another tune that I don't really want moving in on second set real estate.

Miss You was another difficult choice to swallow and pretty much signaled that this was not going to be a great set. At this point I was liberated from my expectations and decided to just smile through the rest and enjoy the remaining minutes of Phish in the Bay.

Weekapaug kicked in and was its usual fun self. More rotation jamming occurred much to my chagrin, but if you don't enjoy Weekapaug you probably don't have a pulse.

OKP>Suzy Julius was a fine little run, which capped of an underwhelming set in underwhelming fashion. (OK I definitely was dancing pretty hard, but objectively, just nothing notable).

Overall Set II: What can I say, it was a bad second set of Phish.
Highlights: Nothing to see here.

Encore: Well after that I was praying they at least threw in a Hood. Based on the first two encores of the run I thought they'd keep it going with something interesting.

Wading>Character Zero signaled that sometimes you just have to pick up and go home and wake up the next day without a Phish show to attend.

Some final thoughts:
This is a tough show to really rate. As far as a live experience, the first set was really something to see with that song selection, but I don't think anyone will ever need to download this show unless they have a thing for one of the rare songs.

The second set was really really disappointing. For whatever reason it seems like stringing together 3 great shows in a row is not easy (go figure). I figured after the bust out fest they'd be feeling loose enough in set 2 to give it a go.

Overall this show was fun to attend and I certainly danced a whole heck of a lot. I have no musical must hear moments to recommend however. At the risk of sounding like a jerk I can't help but be disappointed.
2/5

Never miss a West Coast Wednesday show apparently.

I don't really care that much when/where they play crazy stuff like this. I am just happy to still have the opportunity to possibly be there.

Regardless, I am grateful to just sit back and enjoy the Phish from Vermont and the joy they have brought me since that cold December night back in '92.

Thank you for being my co-pilot on this thing called life, and continuing to produce new content for our enjoyment year after year! Hell, phish is cheaper than therapy and I'm enjoying the ride.

I am currently book ended with Landlady appearances. My first show (12-12-92) and so far, my last show (7-10-2016)

See y'all at Dicks!!

FIRST SET:

Like ''Live in Brooklyn'' and Sunday of Super Ball IX, the first set is this show's highlight. Demand, the first since NYE 2009, opened and from there on out it was bust out city: Alumni Blues, FYF, Walk Away and for the first time since Hampton '98, Cry Baby Cry.

They also busted out one of my all time favorite Phish songs, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, and Bowie closed out the set. Anyway, onto the Second Set...

SECOND SET:

NMINML kicked things off and while it didn't go anywhere really, it's fairly common for the band not to find their groove in the first song and jump ship onto another, in this case, Mike's which... same as NMINML, not a lot really. But then, we got Fee and Seven Below and Waiting all Night, and my face was in my hands by this point, because this just stunk of a fourth quarter and while they did jam Jibboo out a bit, this was the name of the game.

Miss You came next, and to finish off the Groove, Weekapaug kicked in and nothing happened except a rotation jam, which quite frankly I'm sick to death of: It gets nothing done, and while it was funny the first few times, this shtick has gotten old.

To finish off the set, it's Oh Kee Pah > Suzy > Julius and Wading and Zero for the encore.

OVERALL: This show would be standard underwhelming fare at the start of the tour, but when put in front of two incredibly adventurous and brilliant shows, it makes it look that much worse. The first set is cool, but I don't think I'll really listen to it again.

All I hope is that this is an anomaly like Gorge Night 2 was, and I'm fairly sure it is. But it'll still be the stain on the beautiful cloth woven by Trey, Mike , Fish and Page on the first two nights.

RATING: 2.5-3/5

How does this show not have a higher rating? They played a unique mix of songs, definitely not the regular routine Phish show for anything post-90's. Good luck if you're trying to hear them play Demand again.

Cry Baby Cry was a huge bust out, last played in 1998.

The Mikes Song suite contained Fee, Seven Below, Gotta Jibboo - can't beat that.

Any show with a McGrupp is always special.

Still one of my all time favorite shows, and I've been at many of the famously good shows.

Yo, mooseman! If u don't get the first reviewers creative, hilariously spot-on review, maybe YOU shouldn't be here! Phish answered Frank's question, and yes, humor does belong in music, and apparently, show reviews! I'd like to thank that first reviewer, who's obviously been around a while, for giving me, and a few of my friends ( I sent screen shots of the comedy gold, they loved it!) a good laugh!

This show was great! I got to meet Fishmans dad and that first set was just amazing being a guge fan if the old Ernie Styres era Phish compositions. Demand was funny cua Fish didnt play at first, making a funny hand gesture and looking awkwardly haha. Live it love it

NMINML kicked things off and while it didn't go anywhere really, it's fairly common for the band not to find their groove in the first song and jump ship onto another, in this case, Mike's which... same as NMINML, not a lot really. But then, we got Fee and Seven Below and Waiting all Night, and my face was in my hands by this point, because this just stunk of a fourth quarter and while they did jam Jibboo out a bit, this was the name of the game.

Miss You came next, and to finish off the Groove, Weekapaug kicked in and nothing happened except a rotation jam, which quite frankly I'm sick to death of: It gets nothing done, and while it was funny the first few times, this shtick has gotten old.

To finish off the set, it's Oh Kee Pah > Suzy > Julius and Wading and Zero for the encore.

OVERALL: This show would be standard underwhelming fare at the start of the tour, but when put in front of two incredibly adventurous and brilliant shows, it makes it look that much worse. The first set is cool, but I don't think I'll really listen to it again.

All I hope is that this is an anomaly like Gorge Night 2 was, and I'm fairly sure it is. But it'll still be the stain on the beautiful cloth woven by Trey, Mike , Fish and Page on the first two nights.
Happy Diwali 2016 Happy Diwali 2016

This show has everything to love and hate about phish all wrapped up into two sets.
As the show got going, I felt as
Though the energy was stronger in the room than the two previous nights. For all of us who'd done the long slog to the Gorge and back, this was the end of the road, and thusly time to rock it out.
As the bust outs kept coming, the energy kept jumping. This was capped off by that Bowie closer you'd been waiting for. And it got real. Lots of slick work by Page and Trey here. Riding high into set break.

And out of it! While I was surprised to hear no men's AND mike's (both repeats), they both sounded really good with some really heavy funk work out of Page and Mike. Pretty excited when they pulled out Seven Below and it was okay. From here on out, it turns into a different band. I *wanted* to hear jiboo, but it didn't really go anywhere. This sandwiched around Waiting all Night and Miss You (a truly awful song) were enough to effectively kill the set. Even weekapaug had a chance to get us back into dance mode, but they killed the jam for a rotation jam. Again.

Suzy and Julius took the bad taste out, but the damage had been done on what started as such a great second set.

Blame me for the velvet sea/zero encore. Those songs follow me everywhere. Overall, an interesting first set and moments of really good music in the second set, marred by some terrible (UNBRLIEVEABLE) song choices.

I think the first reviewer on here needs to brush up on his Phish history. Although I was not at this show, any real Phish fan would tell you that the first set was a classic old school Phish set, full of bust outs. If you would rather hear Kill Devil Falls than Demand, then I suggest you go see a doctor. And it's "The Curtain With."