Great show up and down besides the doldroms of the TTE, Lawn Boy, Water segment where it seemed people started to get kinda worried about the direction this show would take. Luckily for them, it was but a feint.

The most 'important' part of this show is clearly the first Fluffhead jam since Alpine in 99, which as far as I know was the first "real" Fluffhead jam ever.

In typical Phish fan response, people got more excited about conceivably being able to pad their stats with a DEG than how lucky they were to see improvsation arising from the ultimate Phish fan favorite for a change. I guess there isnt a place for "Once a Decade Fluffhead Jam" on the stats page?

This was my favorite night of the run, even more so than Saturday, which many of my friends site as their favorite. Having shattered my leg a few months previous, this RR run was my incentive to stick with PT and rehab to be able to attend. Having gotten tickets through the Phish lottery prior to breaking my leg also helped drive me to get better. I was there, leg in cast and hobbling on crutches. In a strange way, these Phish shows help me mend my leg and spirit. I have to salute the staff, for even though I didn't have a handicapped ticket they allowed me to shuttle up to the entrance and even let me in the venue a few minutes before they opened general doors so I'd have time to get to my seat. Little did I know that the broken leg was going to allow me to sit dead center, row 4 for most of the weekend. Something good actually did come out of breaking my leg after all.

Friday night was a great opening night for the 4-show run and on paper it might look like the best night, but the band seemed reserved for the most part; save for a spacious 18+ minute "Stash" and second set "Ghost > Wolfman's" that really got the crowd moving. It was a great night, however it lacked the exploratory jamming I was looking for when tunes such as "'Mike's Groove" and "Bowie" are in the setlist. Friday night, however, delivered in a big way and I do think second set Friday was one of the most underrated sets of 2009.

What started out as a beautiful Colorado evening quickly turned to a freezing rain downpour during the first set as the band broke into SOAM. As much as I tried to concentrate on the music at about the 6-minute mark the weather was too much. People were scrambling for cover and we quickly ripped up our tarp up and about 10 of us took shelter under it as a makeshift hut. It was hard to concentrate on the jam not only because of the weather, but because stagehands were scrambling onstage as the band continued, tearing down much of Page's setup (rain was blowing in sideways soaking him as the others stayed dry). Page was a trooper though and continued to bang away on his piano as equipment was being unhooked and taken offstage around him. There was simply too much going on to truly get into the jam. By the time they finished it was full on pouring. Looking back, that first set was definitely cut short. It was the shortest set of the entire weekend and lucky enough after a VERY long setbreak (about 50 minutes) the rain finally died down and the sky opened to a beautiful starry night.

During the break my friends and I kept saying the boys were going to come out and kill it, and man they didn't disappoint. The "Drowned -> Crosseyed" was mind-blowing! I have never been the biggest fan of "Drowned" as I always thought Mike really strained to sing it, but this version was inspired and completely changed my perspective. Trey is a goddamn ROCKSTAR on this version. The jam out of it features the entire band going full-tilt, all out before mellowing out for one of the best, true-transitions into "Crosseyed" I have ever heard. Most around me didn't even realize they had segued into "Crosseyed" until Fishman came in with the vocal. The place went absolutely bonkers! "Crosseyed" carried the funk for about 13-minutes and Red Rocks came alive, more so than at any other time over the weekend run, in my opinion. "Joy" was sort of a letdown after the 24-minute "Drowned -> Crosseyed" mayhem, but was a nice break. After the breather the band picked it back up with a "Tweezer > BDTNL > Fluffhead > Piper -> A Day in the Life" that was again, inspired, emotional and really well-played. Tweezer was a blast and Piper was completely out of control, dark and evil goodness. The transition from "Piper" to "A Day In the Life" was again perfect, unexpected and absolutely welcomed. By the set's end the encore didn't even matter, but the "Greenberg > Tweezer Reprise" were the perfect cap to a great evening.

I definitely believe the raw energy from Friday night's second set carried over into Saturday for the band, which was also a very inspired night of music. Sunday was also a good, relaxed cap to a wonderful run featuring the novelty of having Bill Kreutzmann on stage, but Friday was the Phish I was looking for and hoping to see. Out of the four Red Rocks shows, Friday is the night I continually come back to for repeated listens and was also the night I fully realized Phish was back in full force.

Look at that first set! What an energetic series of songs. But the second scoop is the sweetest, as usual, and what a spectacular second set it is. A punchy Drowned gives way to some gnarly party funk, which *seamlessly* transforms into C'n'P. Fishman can't wait to dive into that Talking Heads tune, and it's a fine version, modulating in midstream before distilling beautifully down to Joy. Then you've got the weirdest Tweezer of 2009, a joyous segue from Fluffhead into Piper (listen for the full-band DEG jam amidships - aah, a bit of the ol' days in modern times), and a lovely bit of solo Page during the cooldown into ADITL. One of the best second sets of 2009 to my mind.

A show (or, mostly, a second set) that, if you didn't know better, you might think came from the more beloved years of 3.0 instead of the bastard stepchild that is 2009. Set 2 kicks off with a roaring Drowned that features a very prominent (and unnoted) Live and Let Die tease a la the deeply underrated 8/24/12 Rock & Roll before diving down into punchy funk, from which Crosseyed and Painless emerges with an absurdly smooth grace; it's one of those segues that you don't even realize is happening until Fish starts singing, which makes it all the more must-hear. The C&P jam moves to more of a low boil, with Mike moving to center stage as Trey fires off chords and Page goes to the piano, then blooms back to life and heads to major key land as Trey steps to the forefront. They pick up steam and gallop to the finish line, then end in a blissful haze, from which Joy emerges, before things pick back up with a spacey, relaxed, and beautiful (at times) Tweezer that shows that 2013 is not the only domain for nifty Tweezers (or Tweezers that shift moods effortlessly). And, just in case you think that that's all you need to listen in to this show for, make sure to catch the closing Fluffhead -> Piper -> ADITL triptych, tied together with legitimate segues, and an awesome DEG tease in Fluffhead + thoroughly atypical jam before the -> into Piper on top. There's no shortage of 3.0 shows that deserve higher ratings, but this might be the most needy of a reexamination of them all.

My personal favorite is the third night, but I will never forget this show.
I think the rain might have abbreviated the first set and prompted them to finish with SOAM.
There was a deluge towards the end of the first set and during break. I remember trying to stay dry in the bar tent upper level while waiting in line to order a drink. The water was spilling off the tent and onto us.
The rain actually stopped before the second set started, but obviously played a part in how historical this set was in '09 standards.
This Tweezer, along with the Miami 12/29/09 one, were arguably the best of that year.

Absolutely agree with Noob ( I usually do). This show is overlooked and underrated. But glad to see folks I am usually on the same page with also like this gem (Waxbanks; Noob, Nichobert). I liked it in 2009 and I think it stands up to many 3.0 second sets. No it doesn't have a 20+ minute "jam" but the Tweezer is a perfect example of a sub 20 minute jam where they pack in fantastic pych-funk ideas in a relatively short space. The Drowned->CEP is, to my ears, right up there some more famous versions. In particular Trey is smoking hot in the CEP as well as the Piper. Great Stuff.