From 307 w/c_wallob. I've read plenty of opinion pieces here on .net about about Phish having lost the art of the big night, Halloween/NYE/what have you.

That's all bologna and all of those people are haters because this show had *it* in spades. The Tube in S1 just seemed to be psychically placed after an absolutely blistering Everything's Right. Astute phanners will note the first hint at Earth Day in the bridge of the opener! Mike had a fun little bass solo (what phrasing!) into 555, as if he was beckoning the band to follow him. BotT made its usual set 1 type 1 appearance, preceding an always welcome Army of One, which felt unspokenly appropriate given the recent uninvited meteorological phenomena visiting my home state of NY. Is it too much to read another Earth Day reference into this? Axilla II (!!!) Got *another* walk around the block, although without the same gravity it did during it's initial type II debut in Vegas last year. The Bathtub Gin was perfunctory, as was SANTOS...

Then set 2. I have a hard time imagining that they could top this tonight, and that's not for a lack of faith in the band. I don't know about you, but when Trey teased "Happy Birthday" during SYSF on Earth Day, I started choking up a little bit. I can tell you, reader, that I felt as if I had just been personally serenaded, and I think many in the room would agree based on the abrupt shift in the energy in the room. The jamming from the Birthday tease on through the end of SYSF is must hear stuff, and I would argue the best playing of the night. Every once in a while Phish gets into one of those grooves that are "self contained", as I call it, where the band seems to find a spot en route to their next peak that they're happy to set up camp in and kick it for a bit. A path of least resistance to bliss, if you will, and oh boy we have. Just when I thought the band had reached a harmonious connection (plugging my wish for tonight) that thus far I hadn't quite felt this run, Trey ripcorded into... Light! After a slow build back, they found their way back down that same gr00ve str33t punctuated with an emotional peak. All of Light is recommended. It'd been a minute since I heard Fuego, and by the sounds of it, a minute since the band had played it. It probably doesn't translate to tape very well, but there was a super serious space jam on the ass end of that Fuego, the likes of which I hadn't heard. The fade into WTU found me personally surprised with Trey's playing. The last time they played that song in that room, I was chewing my nails dozwn past the cuticle as Trey attempted to stay upright (heh) on his faulty platform. Tonight could have not been farther from that. This buttoned-up rendition of WTU featured a celebrated and longer than usual pause to accent the flawless soaring and sustained melody from Trey. After 3 consecutive barn burning jams, it was just the breathe of fresh air we were all looking for. After that birthday tease, nobody was surprised with the very intentioned BDTNL. Sappy? Maybe. Thematic? Oohhuneyyoubettabelieveit!

Set III was beyond words. The lights, the dolphins, the lasers on the waterfall... it was just beyond objectivity. I won't lie, I had to pull up the trusty ol' .net after "Free" to figure out what song it was, but hot dawg if A Wave Of Hope didn't have some hose of a type I on it. I hope everybody is happy Trey owned the whale call finally! Sand was arguably the real meat of this set, with solid interplay, most notably between Trey and Mike with that modal line towards the end. SoaM featured a great visual gag.

TREY NAILED ITS ICE

This show was truly special. Here's to another solid run at home base and another year of this band being the best one. Blaze On!