, attached to 2017-07-25

Review by ndphanjeff

ndphanjeff Copy-pasted from here: http://forum.phish.net/forum/show/1377439620#page=1 />
Whelp, I was honestly not going to write any sort of a review but after last nights show, I feel obligated.

This was my 11th show. First time ever on the floor or anywhere remotely close to the band. I live in Manhattan and went solo. I got to the venue around 2:50 to cop a Millward poster, waited in line until about 4:50 to get it. I was probably about 80-90 people back. Some of the people I met in line were some serious phans and poster junkies. Ended up meeting a nice couple from Kentucky and played Mario Kart with him on his Nintendo Switch to kill the time. Didn't get to say goodbye to them as we got split in line (they were letting 10 in at a time). Hope they enjoy the rest of the run.

I went to Stout NYC after that and their basement bar was completely empty when I got there. I made friends with the bartender and he let me use their outlet behind their bar to charge my phone (score!) and had some food and drinks. They were streaming Saturday's Strawberry show (which I was at) so it was an awesome post up spot. Gonna go again with friends this Saturday pre-show.

Since I was GA and had no clue what the experience would be like, I got in line around 6:15. Here I met some even crazier heads, including some girl who told me she and her friends have been riding the rail all tour, and that she was hanging with Pollock at a Waterwheel party earlier this week. Having never been GA, it felt like I was special. I got the jam-filled donut and it was great, then met some more people on the floor and found a good spot Page-Side Rage-Side, about 10-12 people back. Perfect position to get the full light experience and also see the band up close. Sound was sooo much louder than any other section i've been in, my ears were actually ringing after the show.

=====

As for the show... ***DISCLAIMER - I have not re-listened to the show yet***

Sample in a (jam) jar was a great opener, one of my favorites of what FZappa20 would consider "chomper" songs. But about 3 minutes into Sample, they jump right into a jam, and I knew we were in for a treat all night.

Lawn Boy came and I thought nevermind ....Until Page broke out the Keytar, they played the Lawn Boy riff for a bit, but then came a Mike and Page breakdown, and the rest was history. At one point it sounded like they went into a new song because it sounded rehearsed, but I checked the setlist later and saw that it was indeed still Lawn Boy. Some random woman was trying to dance with me during it, and I tried to shoo her away / ignore her.. Phish was playing a 30 minute Lawn Boy for God's sake!! Any other night and I might have considered it.. 8D

MFMF came next. And I actually thought it was Guyute for the first minute (total noob right?). After the breakdown I knew they would absolutely jam it, and from what I remember it raged pretty hard and got really dark too.

Then came a standard 3.0 Stash (not saying it didn't pack a punch, just nothing crazy) and a blissful Gin to end the set.

Woof. Everyone around me had shit-eating grins on their faces. SET 1: 5 songs / 5 stars (you do the math)

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Was feeling either a Mike's or a No Men in No Man's Land to begin the second set. Got hit with a Fuego instead. Thought it was going to go deep like Lawn Boy, but they held off until Xeyed for that. Still was a pretty good spacey jam iirc.

Had no clue what Thread was when I heard it, until it got to "You're ALONE!" part. And I drunkenly thought to myself "yeah I'm alone at this show but it sure doesn't feel that way."

Crosseyed was so hype. Dude in front of me was absolutely loving it. There was a part at the end where they mellowed out and then got back into a new jam. The mellow part was amazing. I was not high or on acid, but I seriously was seeing some crazy shit looking up into the lights. Second hand high maybe? Trey was doing some ambient whale-ish calls, and Page was laying on heavy with the synth (?). The lights were just flawless in this moment. When they brought it back to the chorus, it felt a bit forced. Still I couldn't complain after a night like tonight.

Makisupa Policeman was also awesome, and I had originally called Jammin' to open the show so it was fun to see Trey quote it.

End of Session - everyone around me had no real clue what they were playing, and I only found out on the train ride home what it was. Needless to say, that's a pretty special bust-out. Just wish I would have known at the time.

I was expecting them to end the set with Tuesday, but I learned yesterday to not expect anything from this band. Cavern is one song I've been chasing and had honestly forgot about it. I was so hyped up when they went into it. Crowd was loving it.

Not a big Julius guy but it was a good high-energy encore song after a jam-filled show like that, and I thought the show was over, but Trey was eyeing the other band members to break out Lawn Boy for one final closeout.

Set 2/encore: 4/5 (really good top to bottom but def not as good as first set - which isn't saying much!)

=====

As far as GA goes - it was definitely an awesome experience. It feels really intimate when you are that close. That being said, I don't think I mind 200 level seats that much. The sound is arguably better BECAUSE you can hear the crowd cheer a lot better, which is always fun. And you can really experience the lights completely from up there. The crowd talks a bit more though, so GA is better in that regard. Also, it seemed like the GA crowd was much younger. Everytime there was a huge cheer for a bust-out or something fun, it was mostly coming from the stands. The rail-riders seem crazy tbh, I would never put myself through waiting in line from 4am on, the band doesn't even notice them..

That was probably the best show I've ever been to, of any band. Honestly can't picture them topping it the rest of the run, but seriously what can we predict with these 4 amazing guys from Vermont?? Final two shows for me - this Saturday and Sunday.

Hope the donuts are scrumptious....Will be tough to top jam-filled!
Score: 1
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