Getting into Raleigh was as bad if not worse than getting into Charlotte. Massive lines off of the interstate that held us up for upwards of two hours. When we finally got to lot it was already 7pm. I chugged a couple of beers and headed for my pavilion seat. We were in the 200 section on Page side. I did have the pleasure of meeting phishmarisol18/John pre-show in my seat (very nice to meet you bro). He was with his Dad; I sure hope to take my Dad to a show someday but I kind of doubt I’ll be able to talk him into it. This was my first time to this venue and besides the ugly traffic scene getting in, I really liked it. Phish has really thrown down here over the years (95, 97, 98 ? w/ the exception of that ?00 show) so I was gearing up for a great show. We had tons and tons of room to dance in our aisle, so I was pleased w/ that!

SET 1: Runaway Jim: Nice opener, relatively standard. Sounded good to my ears. >

Ya Mar: This is where some strange on-stage vibes makes their way to me. No scatting Yamar lyrics by Mike at all in this one. Matter of fact, most of Mike’s lyrics are so soft and quiet, very unusual. Something just seemed off to me after this and now listening to the soundboards I can see what was going on. In between more than one song during first set you can clearly hear the band expressing concerns in Mike’s direction. Trey says something like, ?I don’t want to play if you can’t play.? This song should be totally owned by Mike but it sure wasn’t tonight. Trey takes over and lays down some blazing guitar licks to compensate towards the end, but I could feel something was off.

Down with Disease: In between Yamar and DWD there is a Very long pause. Get the soundboards so you can hear some disturbing banter between the band. Very strange. Obviously, we couldn’t hear this from the 200 section but again there was clearly an odd vibe permeating the air. Trey to the crowd - Sorry guys, just ironing out a couple of details before we (makes flying motion) Take Off.? I love me some first set DWD, you cannot go wrong w/ it and if you get one in the first set than it’s probably going to be short and ripping. Which this Disease definitely was. Trey rips this one a new one, more than making up for Mike’s problems/lack of presence. Very choppy at the 2 minute mark (Mike?). Trey really shines during the jam segment.

Divided Sky: Sweet! I just love the fact that this is securely back in the rotation. A beautiful version to go along w/ the impending sunset. This is the perfect spot for Sky, middle first set. The pause is only about 30 seconds or so which is nice. Very nice Divided!

Sample in a Jar: It’s Sample.

Discern: Decent jam segment (very ambient laced), but for many it was there first time seeing it and seemed to detract from the energy that was brought forth by the DWD and Divided Sky. Oh well, good Discern and this tune has all kinds of jamming potential, I think. Keep your eye on this one.

Anything But Me: God, please play Anything but This Song in this spot. Awful placement and the energy just gets sucked right out of the joint.

Llama: Flat out raging! Very good way to end the set, especially after two new tunes that managed to put many people into their seats.

SET 2: Ghost: Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! Thank you! You know it is on now baby. I love this song opening up the second set. The non-looped intro really sneaks up on people and it is fun looking around and seeing the growing realization on peoples mugs, like: Oh hell yeah, it’s Ghost!? The band is quite patient in building this Ghost, very solid, progressive groove building. Mike sounds quite good as the backbone, viva Cactus! At 15 minutes the jam grows quite ambient w/ some Trey loops being thrown into the mix, nothing overbearing though. This one peters out 3 minutes later and ends. >

Halley's Comet: Woo hoo!!! I don’t think they would have played this if Mike wasn’t semi back to normal. Very short version: Just as this Halley’s is getting down to business an absolutely fluid segue into ->

Seven Below: God that segue bowled me right over. So dang fluid. Loved it. Ever since I first heard this on Round Room, I knew it would be a favorite of mine for Trey’s licks in between lyrical segments. Soaring! As the jam segment comes to life, there is some cool interplay between Page and Trey. At 8 minutes the band departs from the original theme of the song and takes it for a ride. At 10:35 I for thought I was hearing a bit of a Sneakin Sally tease by Trey, but it was not to be. Speaking of teases, can anyone pin down exactly where the Mozambique tease came into play? At 11:50 Trey is hitting on some really repetitive chords firing the crowd up quite a bit. One minute later they return to the theme and shortly thereafter it’s over before you know it. Excellent version!

Tube: I called this one big time after 7 Below was finished up. All tour I’d been salivating over the prospect of just when we would get a Tube. Finally, the long wait was over. On the audience copy you can hear some fellows bellowing for Tube. ?An asteroid crashed, and nothing burned? Yeah, I flipped my lid at the onset of the lyrics. If you cannot bust a groove to this song, then I honestly don’t know what to tell you. Page lays the funk down early while Trey backs him up with some downright sinister loops. All the while Mike is dropping bombs and Fishman laying the brickwork behind it all. White boy cow funk at its finest! The band just gels together so well. Trey leaves the funk behind at 4:45 and starts burning it up. The return to the theme is a little sloppy but not as bad as some people would lead you to believe! Nice Tube, nothing really groundbreaking. But I will take a mellow Tube over a lot of the rest of the catalogue that much is for sure! Sorta segue into >

Prince Caspian: Noooooooooo! Time to hit the little boy’s room. I was back in time to hear a bit of the wank fest, trailing into a very mellow, ambient space. Sorta segue into ->

Also Sprach Zarathustra: Pretty standard version here. >

Fire: Holy shit, what a sweet surprise! Can’t recall the last time I had heard this played (possibly on 11/30/95)! It’s been awhile for me. Twas a tad rusty but what can you expect? Great, great set closer! Phish is always full of surprises as this one flat out shocked me! Gotta love that people.

ENCORE: The Squirming Coil - Cool contrast to the smoking end to that second set. However, the playing in this Coil was nothing short of sad. Many a flub by the red headed one unfortunately. Not a good way to end this show at all. Coil typically is a really nice encore for me, but it has to be technically proficient for me to enjoy. Tonight the flubs were much to apparent and auditory to get past. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Oh, and to the dirtbag that threw the glowstick that landed on Page’s piano: karma will find you one of these days, IDIOT! Seriously, I hope whoever was close to this person gave them a piece of their mind. I’ve never heard a louder bang come from one of these stupid glowsticks hitting a piece of equipment. Disgusting to be sure.

Replay Value: Ghost, Seven Below.

Summary: There just isn’t much here to grab on to and revisit outside of the Ghost and the Seven Below. Mike was not right – at least for the first set – and it seemed to throw things way off. There was absolutely no lot scene on the way out thanks to the overly aggressive Raleigh oinkers. Which was really too bad because I was really starving coming out of this show. Oh well. Onto Pennsylvania! I would rate this show as a 3.3 out of 5.