with a week + between super ball and myself, i figured i'd throw up a review for those that may not have heard it yet. the boys may not have completely let loose too many times over the weekend, they still put on one hell of a festival!

possum: after so many panning possum for being overplayed, the boys come right out and drop a nice bluesy, rip-roaring version. trey has a good time playing with the tension and release, working the amped crowd.

peaches>: boom! fishman cranks this one up right as possum comes to an end. the boys nailed it. one more can you say?

moma dance: this is one of the finest versions of this tune i've seen in a long, long time. the boys may not have taken this one too far out there, but it was a patient, funky exploration of moma. great take.

torn and frayed>: i'm not a big stones fan, but this one worked well here. rarity points, i suppose.

nicu>: nice straight-forward version. love any chance i get a chance to hear leo "play it."

bathtub gin: this gave us our first glimpse of some super ball jammin'. once again, patience is the name of the game on this one. they don't stray too far from the bathtub gin theme, but they do just about everything with that theme possible as they climb to a nice peak. great page/trey interplay, as usual on this tune.

life on mars: yes! like peaches, another one i had been chasing for some time. great version. well played for a bust out!

my friend my friend: this was a pretty straight forward version. it was excellently placed between life on mars and ...

wolfman's brother: good things happen when page leads the way. it's amazing how phish can play this song every 3rd night and still blow people away with it. anyway, gordo and fishman lay down a nasty foundation, and trey is smart enough to follow page. greatness ensues...

roses are free>: pretty sweet cool down tune. standard version.

funky bitch: great soloing by trey. this got the place rocking with set break looming...

quinn the eskimo: i challenge someone to find a more rocking version of this song, by anyone. they took this one for an extra long stroll, and it definitely payed off. trey delivers a victorious solo.

set 2:
jam>cross eyed and painless: the boys hint at things to come with a nice ambient jam, which had many guessing...dwd, bowie, maze, 2001. nope. bang, they shoot into cross eyed and painless. like many version from the summer, this one holds tight to that cross eyed theme, but it doesn't keep the boys from crushing it. eventually, it gives was to a more ambient jam. as this unravels, trey finally steps up and tries to ease the boys into...

chalk dust torture: not the best segue into chalk dust, but it was by no means abrasive like some we have heard from the boys. trey quickly leaves the ambient behind, and rocks the crowd with this one. it doesn't go anywhere particularly new, but it does get the crowd revved up for...

sand>: one of my favorites. gordon and trey both sound great on this one. like many songs from this weekend, they don't go particularly far off the beaten path, but they do an excellent job exploring the melody/theme of the song. page has some excellent work here. as does trey.

wedge: this song follows sand very well. excellent breezy version, giving everyone a breathe before...

mike's song>: i still love mike's song, even at 7 minutes. the boys were playing as one as they climbed to a firey mike's song climax. trey absolutely shredded the whole way up. they skip simple on the "simple section," but they wait to let this jam crash all the way down before trey rips off the intro to...

simple>: this was your type 2 jam of the set. it doesn't take them long to get into the stratosphere on this one. trey moves seamlessly from soft melodic playing to feedback drenched wailing. this one settles back down and moves with ease into...

bug>: i have never hidden the fact that i strongly dislike this song, but i have to admit, at this point, it seemed to fit well. plus, it was played very well. great playing by trey and page highlight this one.

the horse>silent>: following bug, i was hoping they'd bring the energy up a notch, so as much as i like this song(s), i wasn't to into in this slot. it was well-played though.

weekapaugh's groove: after spending the last little while in mellow land, the boys had trouble cranking it up for this one. it wasn't bad, but it certainly as impressive as pretty much every other one from the summer. for the first time on the night, trey fell a bit flat on a jam. not bad, not "great."

joy: well, they killed the momentum again. once again, not a bad version, just not what i was looking for at this juncture.

character zero: i have always found this song to be cheesy. this one was not an exception. well-played if you're into this tune.

enc:
show of life: they were pretty mellow for the back half of the 2nd set, so this seemed like a fitting encore. well played.

all in all, this show was very sharp. not a whole lot in the world of type 2 jamming, but they showed true mastery over their catalog. most of their exploring came within the framework of the songs, and each time, they seemed to bury it. it was a great first night to the 3 night run.

highlights:

set 1: peaches>moma, bt gin, life on mars, wolfman's, quinn (yeah that's a lot of highlights)

set 2: jam>cross eyed, sand, simple>bug