Merriweather Post Pavilion. As any Northern Virginian, current or former, would tell you: I love it and I hate it. I went to several shows there, so I loved the proximity, but hated the traffic and the parking. Now, if you narrowed it down to just Phish shows, I'd immediately think of one moment: the 8/8/98 Sabotage encore. There's a great story there, but it's not the one I'm going to tell today.

The July '99 Merriweather show has somehow been forgotten by time. It's got a lovely What's the Use? and a fun Meatstick, which had appeared just the night before, a repeated sequence uncommon by 1999. It also featured a number of songs that were a treat in 1999 that are much more commonplace today: Twist had only been performed twice in 1998, making only its second appearance in 1999 -- it was a big deal! It would go on to become an improv staple in the repertoire. By this time, Llama had already become somewhat of a rarity as well. Sandwiched in between Train Song and Driver, it was an odd change of pace. But it's not the 1999 show I want to discuss either.

Rather, it's the show from September 17, 2000, just before “the hiatus”. On that September night, Phish chose to open with Guyute, a technically complex song generally saved for later in the show. To put that into perspective, Phish has not opened a show in 3.0 with Guyute, and it occurred only once in 2.0. The first set quickly got interesting with Bathtub Gin. We all know Gin as a reliable workhorse, but it wasn't always the rock of the set for jams. Surely, this is a glimpse of what was to come, not because it's the most gorgeous Gin jam, but rather, because it displays the melodic stability common in 3.0 Gin powerhouses. Limb by Limb follows in kind - not a top version, but an admirable one - delivering a one-two punch of bounciness.

After a rousing Fluffhead in the first set - another song much less common in the late 1.0 era - Phish performed The Curtain. Some backstory - one of my "wish list" Phish songs for some time included "The Curtain With." It was a pie-in-the-sky wish, akin to another song on my wish-list, the original slow version arrangement of Rift. Glide II, a beautiful gem that appeared that the Lowell '95 show and was subsequently recorded for Billy Breathes, was permanently (?) shelved when part of the guitar line was transplanted into Guyute. In a similar vein, we all assumed, in our 1.0 minds, that The Curtain With was vivisected into The Curtain and Rift. In that era, there was a concept of "permanently retired", back before crazy bust outs. Other than a few curveballs at Big Cypress, we weren't used to long-shelved songs being raised from the dead.

A few months prior to the Merriweather show, Phish played The Curtain With for the first time in 1,178 shows. And when I found out the next day - yes, back then, often, we wouldn't know the setlist until the next day - I nearly fainted. Suddenly, my dream was in the realm of possibility. In early September, The Curtain emerged again, without the "With." So when the opening notes of The Curtain rung, I expected the more traditional without. At the end of the performance, instead of the rushed finishing "buh-duh-bum buh-duh-bum buh-duh-bum buh-duh-bum, buh-duh-bum buh-duh-bum buh-duh-bum buh-duh-bum, buh-duh-bum...." notes, the notes slowed. I, sitting Fish side under the pavilion, loosed a mighty scream. Along with what seems like just a few knowing souls understood, prior to the introductory notes, that we were about to receive the "With" treatment, only the second audience to do so in over 12 years.

To the modern Phish fan, The Curtain With is a standard part of the Phish repertoire. But at that moment, it was a glimpse into history. A majestic reward for the dedicated, a beautiful interlude for the uninitiated, and a strange Rift-y twist to the casual fan. It's not the best or most beautiful "With" played since its return, but it is gorgeous and must-hear for fans of the appendix section. That, and the fact that it remains one of the biggest surprises. It's impossible to recapture moments like that.

If The Curtain With was the surprise of the night, it was a jam in the second set that stands as the moment you should hear IINS. Set 2 opened with a powerful Rock and Roll, a 3.0 staple rager, wasn't always the vehicle is has since become. Witness this, one of the first times RnR really took off and cemented its role as a powerhouse. In fact, at about the 11:00 mark, Trey drops a Llama-like riff, and the song ignites. We get a Digital Delay Loop and some exploration. It was a good time to be a Phish fan, folks; in spite of leading up to the hiatus, the late summer tour was often times reported to be exhausting.

It wasn't just Rock and Roll putting smiles on faces, though, it slid into Theme From the Bottom. Now, I've got my issues with Theme. These days, the core part of the song - the post-second-chorus bridge that features Trey's grunge sound just grinding perfectly - it's often eliminated or, I'm sorry to say, just bungled entirely. This is a "pretty good" version - all of the emotion, if not all of the notes. When the bridge is properly executed, it makes the whole song worth it.

But what makes this Theme worth it isn't the bridge. It's the effortless bleeding into... what's this? It's Dog Log! Some sort of jazzy, off-time, high-hat heavy version. Dog Log was already somewhat of a rarity at the time, so it was extra special to see a unique version. It's fun and unlike any other Dog Log version, and definitely worth a listen for all fans.

The beautiful version of The Mango Song that follows is perfectly placed and equally capable of continuing the energy flow of the set. By now, we all know we're seeing one to remember. The jam that follows is Gordon-propelled. It's fearless in its use of space. This is the Phish that I love at its best. For me, it isn't screaming rapid-fire guitar that gets me - it's subtracting notes and connecting to heart strings. While this isn't a melody-rich jam, and it's not particularly dance-able, it's certainly bold in that it uses only a little participation from each instrument to construct a texture.

That texture smoothly transforms into Free, a ferocious, if overplayed, rock song. It was just the answer to the light jam that preceded it. As the end piece to a well-directioned set, it was just right. A rousing Contact > Rocky Top encore delivered a taste of Phishiness and a shot of zaniness, capping off my last pre-hiatus show perfectly.

Sure, there's a story about the insanity of the 1998 Sabotage. There's a story about the oft-forgotten 1999 showing. But there's a solid, multi-highlight show in the fall of 2000 that should not be ignored. If nothing else, check out the Theme > Dog Log > Mango. You won't be sorry.

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