Hartford, CT Review:
Medium: SBD

Set I
Opening up with “Pigtail” is a cool nod back to the tour opener, and it’s nice seeing Phish bring it back around again from the TAB repertoire. The studio version is a lot of fun, so it’s cool to see Phish playing it. Nothing out of the ordinary to note, a pretty standard version but well played to warm up the show. First set is very strong starting out with the Moma>BOAF>Meat>Vultures. Moma Dance & BOAF are both standard versions but still have some heddy typeI jamming that’s unique to this year.

Meat is stellar with some strong breaks and trading of bars back and forth between the guys. Mike is especially charismatic here, laying some sticky lines with effects laden on them. They come to a nice type I peak and close it out. Set keeps rolling with great tunes, very 98-esque as they open with a perfect version of “Vultures”.
Free opens after a pretty abrupt key change by Trey, with a tiny bit of a different sound to it, than its usual composition before heading right back into the usual plate. Rolling into Let me Lie another TAB tune was a nice change up to the gritty take of Free. Jumping into a Halley’s Comet, the band was playful and fluffy, alluding to a night that was to come.

Unexpectedly, Trey opts for what almost sounded like La Grange but instead that turns out to be a flub turning to Julius instead, and it’s pretty shaky until the second verse kicks in but once the cobwebs are off, its all out blues rock city. Julius finishes out into the set closer You Enjoy Myself. YEM’s has flawless interpretation throughout. It is progressive and the band plays it with fire. Through the composed sections up to the funk, lot of highlights and phishy type jams. Mike once again coming in with some serious effects taking the funk section on a UFO ride, Page laying into the Clav and some great drum work by Fishman with Trey holding it down. This YEM is textured as it goes into the vocal movement, coming together for a harmonic and melodic few bars before colliding into madness as its end.
First Set Highlights: Moma>BOAF>Meat>Vultures, You Enjoy Myself.

Set II
Down with Disease opens the second set, as Mike brings it in and the second set is off to the races. Quickly the song gains some ground and heads into type I territory, Trey really shinning through with his victorious and nostalgic soloing. Around the 5:00 mark look for some serious type I jamming. Around 8:30 the type II slayer comes to pound town moving to a darker, more mellow and minor key space. Page begins to lay on the Rhodes around the 12:00 mark giving us some laser beams & offering trey some new direction, as they both head off together pulling Mike in on top of Fishman’s cemented groove. Sand comes next as Down with Disease begins to simmer down with a slightly ambient & funky segue perfectly landing into the funk based tune. Tela almost surprised me as much as I love the song, I’ve chased it since 2009 Miami, but this tune is the perfect thing to counter act Sand while being the perfect flow>Carini which comes out from the beauty of Tela and rips everyone’s face off as it very quickly heads into type I territory briefly with Page bringing a strong peak together as it goes type II. Listen to this jam for a shorter type II rendition but still one that delivers. Oh, and Fishman screaming Lumpy Head is always great to listen to and laugh at. It also gets pretty weird in the end before heading back into type I jam zone.

Twenty Years Later calls in as the 2nd set breather, and as usual I hope this gets the Reading, PA treatment. Alas, it is not; just standard type I jams which were a welcome after that huge segue. Run like an Antelope is always welcome with its playful and light intro, into it’s heavy E minor jam section. Trey takes us on the ride as he then hits his major chord and rolls it out into the crowd favorite Backwards Down the Number Line. This version features absolutely gorgeous type I shredding by Trey as the second set comes to a close.
Second Set Highlights: DWD> Sand > Tela> Carini. Lizards (encore)

Encore
Many bands throw away encores with greatest hits, and sometimes Phish mails encores in as well. Yet, every once in awhile they come out & and perform shit you wanna hear. The Lizards is one of those chaser tunes that does not come out too often. I am sure many people loved to hear it, and the band soars during the instrumental sections, as it fills the station with love. The Loving Cup cover sends everyone off on the right happy note.