SET 1:

Mike’s Song: pretty decent fiery jam to get things going. Nothing special but I’d be sufficiently pumped up if I were there. Pretty abrupt into >

Back on the Train: Mike’s Train Groove? Sure. Another solid standard version. Quality 3.0 Phish. >

Weekapaug Groove: Page totally rips it up on piano here and Trey gives it back with some crazy old-school runs at around 4 minutes in. Serious rippage from both Page and Trey here! Would recommend this Weekapaug for sure, definitely in the upper tier of 3.0 versions. Crowd is successfully fired up by this point and they could get away with playing just about anything next. There’s a big gap afterwards as the band works out where to go. Crowd is rowdy.

Wingsuit: very valid placement. A nice soaring Trey solo here, reminds me of a good type I Wading. Ends with some eerie synth pads that build up some pretty massive anticipation, and then like the master he is, Trey drops into… >

Possum: YES! Way to make the crowd eat out of the palm of your hand. Fish keeps this intro going for a solid minute which feels very long for the era. Standard, but awesome placement.

Tube: Somehow not an ideal placement IMO but can’t hate on a Tube. Fish misses the very beginning but recovers quickly. Jam is short but good while it’s around, including an ersatz whale call section from Trey that fits this song absolutely perfectly. Mike also slaps his way through nicely.

My Friend, My Friend: back to a great placement. Flow in this set is on point so far.

Winterqueen: could’ve probably used another song between Myfe and this. Very whale-heavy Trey solo and I’m torn on whether it works or not for this song. He’s clearly trying to make his guitar sound otherworldly and fae but it definitely sticks out.

Beauty of a Broken Heart: standard.

David Bowie: nice. Some talkbox-ish stuff in the intro from either Trey or Page, what’s up with that? Also some noticeable echo on the vocals which you don’t really hear on other versions. Beginning composed section is very clean – well done. Jam is classic tension and release stuff but very well done. Trills are a little shaky. Overall a good Bowie for the era and adds to the set.

Golgi Apparatus: probably could’ve ended on Bowie but I’ll take it. Quite a few Trey flubs, he seems to forget a whole section at a point.

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SET 2:

555: lol @ the lady screaming ‘play Harpua’ before this, good luck with that. It’s 2014 so this showing up somewhere is to be expected, but set opener? Probably not necessary. Very slow funky version, mostly standard though.

Chalk Dust Torture: okay, let’s start the party! Has good energy early on for sure. Trey starts a great funky ‘woo’-laden section at 6 minutes in, but this does not last long. Band seems unsure where to go around 8 minutes in so Page lays down some awesome pads and effects, Trey doesn’t really take it in any sort of direction though and there’s a lot of treading water here. Trey starts strumming chords at about 13 mins and it’s clear he’s already looking for an escape hatch. Mike and Trey lock in on a couple motifs trying to get something going; no dice. Dissolves into space at 15 ish minutes and then transitions. Pretty whatever version. >

Fuego: like CDT, pretty good until the jam and then the wheels come off, just treads water until a great transition into ->

Twist: some vocal miscues in the composed section. Page wrests control of this jam almost immediately and pretty much exclusively makes it good! Feels like a 7 minute long Page solo as he starts with some crazy jazzy piano work and then moves to some awesome electric piano stuff, very Miles Davis. Trey for his part doesn’t add much at all. He feels MIA this set. Worth relistening to though, because of Page. Another great segue here – you can tell Trey is setting something up but you can’t put a finger on what until suddenly ->

When the Circus Comes: not sure we needed a cooldown here but the transition is elite – not even a tempo change needed. This version isn’t one of the best they’ve played or anything but definitely is unique because of how they ride off the end of the Twist jam. Feels a little faster, a little fuller, a little bit jazzier. >

Piper: pretty fast out of the gate. Extremely short version. Did anybody really need a 4 minute Piper, Phish? This one’s funny though because Trey basically ripcords it into Rift about 40 seconds before the transition happens and the band (especially Fish) fights it tooth and nail for that 40 seconds. Trey’s playing the Rift riff so long that he starts flubbing it out of exhaustion/frustration, lol. ->

Rift: Fish and Mike are unsure when to go into the main feel. Trey actually executes this one mostly fine which is funny.

Waiting All Night: love this wherever it’s placed. Can’t imagine the crowd shared my love though.

Reba: nifty placement of this, always down for a set two Reba. Composed section is pretty spotless. Jam is good for the era too. They deconstruct this one to near silence and build it back up to a mellow peak. Fuego teases in the jam. Would recommend this Reba.

Character Zero: the ol’ ‘let’s wrap this shit up and get to Merriweather already.’

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ENCORE:

Loving Cup: this works well in many places but needed more after that second set.

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OVERALL: there are actually some pretty nice – albeit vanilla – highlights in this show. Weekapaug, Wingsuit, Bowie and Reba all deliver the goods and are firmly in ‘strong’ territory. Set 1 is also strong with a particularly well-paced first half. It’s just that the second set craps the bed big time. Trey just is not firing on all cylinders is any of the jams, especially CDT and Fuego which are sadly aimless. The Piper > Rift is worth hearing for the LOLs though.

3.4 stars seems about fair.