10 years after, I still dig this show. In fact, through this passage of time, I appreciate it even more. This was the first time my wife made a road trip for Phish and to visit with friends and all. We had a blast. During the ride on some new (to me) Pennsylvania roads, I blasted the Darien ’00 Live Phish and got a bit nervous. She really doesn’t like spacey stuff, Dead or Phish. I do. Always hoping for a spacefest, I was simply hoping that we would see shows that she enjoyed (hit up Blossom, too).

Never in a million years could I have anticipated a show that would scratch both yens: shorter, more structured, groovalicious songs segueing one into the other for the second set. This is wifey’s jam! And yet, that song string held plenty of intergalactic goo to get me all fluttery and excited. The entire segment of Jibboo through Seven Below was firing on all cylinders, and we danced ourselves into a lather. It was magical.

Part of this magic came from the newness of our union and our first forays into exploring the continent with one another. In a truly odd twist, we had secured lodging in Steubenville, OH in an Air BnB. It was simultaneously heart-warming and sad. The hulking relics of industrial waste dominated the landscape like abandoned whales along a broken-spine river. And yet our hosts were entrepreneurial and full of hope for the future. Nary a fan or head was to be seen in the town. It was desolate.

Backroads into the lot, and suddenly familiar smells and sounds wafted over me. We had caught up to the carnival. What a feeling! We were holding tickets to Blossom and SPAC, had some roaming plans, and I was tucking Furthur shows into the quilt of summer in and around Phish adventures. The wacky, aggregate boulder field of Star Lake lot, the great venue and dance party were just what I needed.

10 years removed, when I give it a listen, this show’s precision, vocal clarity, and strong attack reminds me that 3.0 has been an incredible blessing. There are many hidden gems in the ’09 through early-’13 corridor with many doors left to open and explore. The Seven Below was, to me, the icing on the cake. They nail it.

Listen with an open mind, dropping the 2021 face melt expectations, and what you’ll find is an incredibly good Phish show, something no one else could pull off. Thanks to the Phish from Vermont, I’m still dreamin’ on the open road from time to time.