Ok formalitiees out of the way. Set 1 was fun. A bit of jamming, nothing too big. What ev, who cares?

BUT SET 2 ON THE OTHER HAND! Wall to wall jamming, with trimming, teases and quotes. Fucking brilliant. We got type 1, we got type 2, we got it allllll!!!! No but really, if you can grab this Light do it. If you can grab this show, do it. If you can travel through time and space to be there for the show, do it.

And GTBT encore, rocked sufficiently.

GG world.

I don't always give out "5 Star" ratings, but when I do, it had to be epic!

keep dancing my friends

Very enjoyable start to finish. Everyone should reduce the criticizing and remember back to when the boys weren't playing for oh say almost 5 years. During the break any fan would have begged for Caspian 50 times in a row of that's all they could get.

Why isn't anyone mentioning the "wooo" from twist brig belted during PYITE intro. It became so evident that the boys continued to play into it it.

17 years of Phish 67 shows later and this was my 1st Manteca. Was stoked to even get the 20-25 seconds of it

The boys are enjoying themselves. And did am I. Solid show.

This show is great, warts and all, and you don't need a review to tell you that. But one thing I want to point out is that the banter after Wolfman's before Lawn Boy is priceless and tells me one important thing: the boys are having a lot of fun. This is reflected in the music as well, and it in turn ignites the crowd. I can't wait for Bill Graham! 8/19/12 will be my first birthday show, in my home town ta boot ta boot.

The sound was a bit patchy for the first couple tunes but they sound great on the recording. The Horse was aborted!(for the record, I do not support equine abortion in ANY form). The gallon of water was misplaced somewhere around the time of PYITE but if I'm being honest it was pretty cumbersome and a human may not need to consume a gallon of water during a show. Suzy rocked and the setbreak was essential although it was a bit odd looking forward to hopefully tripping LESS hard by the start of set 2.

Set 2 is where it really starts to get good and it is evident that Kuroda has blown most of the lighting budget for the whole run on night 2 alone (excellent decision Toph!) Crosseyed was the fun enough to snap me back into the groove and then Slave was probably the most therapeutic performance that I've experienced. Freak out averted and now we're feeling GOOD. Light was a solid version from before I came to hate the song. Theme, Golgi, and Sand are songs by Phish that were played.
Now the troubling part, BDTNL 2nd to last. A little late in the show to be eating more doses, but hey, I love the song and tradition is tradition. Antelope was good but confusing. It kinda sounded like it had a "silent jam" towards the end but I later concluded that it was just encore break. A silly mistake sure, but silence and the lack of music can be eerily similar. Anyways, since I hadn't figured that out yet it was shocking to hear them transition into GTBT out of the silent jam and I was very eager to hear the return to Antelope. But then they just stopped playing and left... all in all, still a pretty good show.

Step Into The Sewer Pt 2

After a night of blackjack at a table full of Phish fans, I woke up nice and late and ready for more. Day 2 brought it from the first note, even though the first set had little exploration to speak of. What it did have was 13 very tightly played tunes. Then there’s set 2… Smart, explorative, occasionally sloppy and totally brilliant. The band was ready to go anywhere and try anything. Light alone was worth the price of admission. And as if looking for a little extra punctuation, the GTBT encore took heads clean off bodies. Really, it did. I saw heads all over the lawn on the way out. Poor bastards.

What you can’t see in the download – a greatly increased crowd size from night one. If someone said it was double Friday, I wouldn’t be surprised. It was also a crowd that desperately wanted to party. I stood roughly where I was the night before, but it couldn’t have been a more different experience. The crowd was pushy and shovey throughout most of the show and it got very sloppy up front. Guy behind me rage-puked so hard I thought I saw part of an intestine on the ground, another dude hardcore face planted during Wolfman’s. His buddies righted him, my wife (who sadly missed Friday’s show) gave him her bottle of water, and off they swayed. And that was all before the set break.

I had no idea how many more people were there until after Phish kicked our teeth in with that GTBT. The field was just a mass of bodies all moving toward the gates, yet no line at the ol Spicy Pie. Couldn’t resist, got a slice, and made my way out. Albany Avenue, the four-or-so lane road that bears fresh losers out of AC and soon-to-be losers in, was completely shut down to traffic. It was wall-to-wall fans, and it was kind of awesome. We looked like an invading force, only armed with more happiness and euphoria than AC probably deserves.

Tonight had another kind of “unlicensed vendor,” only this one had ice cream. In the thickest south jerz accent you can imagine, he was yelling, “Yyyyo Phish. Fudgie Wudgies. Choco Tacos. One buck. Whaddya say.” A straightforward offer like that is tough to refuse, but somehow I found the strength. One more night! Woot!

With a workday under my belt after catching just the Saturday show, I think I am in a good place to give an honest review. First of all, I didn't mean to give this show a 1 - I clicked on that star by accident. I will give it an honest 6/10 in my opinion. Lucky enough to be staying with a cousin at his family's beach house only a short 15 minute cab ride down Ventnor Avenue, our crew was chilling on the beach by 2pm, at the lot by the Ferris Wheel by 5 and in the show with enough time to grab a FOAM and a nice little plot of land by 7:30.

Set 1: The Mike's Groove is always a sign that the band means business and I was into it - until the jam stayed a little stagnant and they closed it out and went into Hydrogen. The mellow melody mixed nicely with the ocean breeze and I liked it, but again, once we go right into the Groove, I just got the sense that it was a little plain and uninspired. In fact, I get that sense from most 3.0 Grooves. Still, we are off and running and Gumbo kicks in. Of course I love the song, but something still doesn't feel right - the sun was still up, maybe it was me or the sound was a little off, but I couldn't find the flow - same for Halley's Comet. A great song that I love, but I just didn't particularly dig it. OK, here we go. My Friend is a GREAT song with that distinctly Phishy sound that drew all of us "jaded vets" to the band. Love it and this version smokes. The band found me here. Wolfman's sounds good, but last year's version at MPP was way better. That's it! I heard Gumbo, Halley's, and Wolfman's at my only show last year - hence my slight disappointment. I pee during Lawn Boy (love ya Page, and I still heard it). Possum. Do they know we are in joke territory here or are they not onto us? PYITE is tight - great intro, great song, and a version that is easy to dance to. Here is where I surprise and enjoy myself. The actual song of Ocelot is towards the bottom of my list by the band, but the jam out of it makes me a believer. They were going places and really giving effort. I have only re-listened up through Possum, but I can't wait to rehear this because I know it was great. Suzy continues the inspired trend coming out of Ocelot and rages big time. Nice momentum going into the set break.

This venue is really cool. Everything worked well and for so many people, it did not feel crowed whatsoever. They should make this a regular happening. Plus, it's the perfect mid-Atlantic meeting spot.

Set 2: This is a really good set. C and P keeps in line with the show I saw last year and was funky and fun and gets us off to a good start. Slave seems odd here as I usually peg it for a set closer, but I will take it and despite a rough patch or two, comes through and lands into Light. Just like Ocelot, the slightly jaded vet in me is bummed, but again, the band puts me back in my place. The jam out of Light is so damn good, that I am speechless. When they get to Theme, it's a perfect example of song placement. Right on flow and strong jam on Theme. Golgi seems a little extra pumped with glowsticks exploding everywhere and as Sand starts up, I am locked in. I was able to completely absorb and zone during Sand. This is a stellar version of the song and skeptics of the tune should beware. Maybe it won't translate as well on tape, but to use a Noob phrase, "It was SICK bro." BDTNL is the perfect chance to hit the loo before the home stretch and I hear a sweet little jam as I head back to home base for Antelope. I loved this Antelope. It goes strong for a while before stopping on a dime at the conclusion. Overall, a terrific set of music that roped me in and had me believing. Nice work fellas. We give you a hard time sometimes, but you are working your asses off up there and I appreciate it. Set 2 was a great set of music.

I had a great time in the capital city of the 51st state of South Jersey and the event was a nice one for AC. Good crowd, even if a tad drunk and slightly distracted. Nice venue with promise for shows in the future. Thanks to the band for putting this together, and hopefully see you next year.

Dosque

This show was off the fucking hook. I was really into it. We showed up super early and sprinted to the very front of the venue, right up next to the stage.

We set up our sheet right in front of these two older women from South Jersey. Seemed as if they may have been dating, I couldn't tell. One of the ladies told me all about how she'd seen the Dead at Englishtown 1977. This was their first show, and they didn't know what to expect. As the crowd started to form, one of the ladies got real upset about her friend's space being blocked and kept asking people to move because she was short. Shit was getting really tense, and really weird. They wound up leaving after a few songs.

The inflatable animal war became so intense during the first couple of songs that I thought Trey was going to get upset and intervene. It was real chaos and some super drunk girl picked my hat up of the ground and chucked it back into the audience during the melee. I remember shouting 'NOT COOL!' I'd lost my fricking hat! How middle school was that?! Somehow I got the damn thing back, thank God.

This was the first show where I really felt an abundance of community during the actual performance. Prior to this, I'd met cool people in the lot, but usually just did my thing during the music. Some great kids up front kept taking the inflatables and sticking them in this giant pile. This freed up some space as well as kept the focus on the music as opposed to the chaos. These same kids, I believe also reacted really well when this superdrunk douche Sasquatch kept bumping into people. Security was chill too. Good vibes.

The Music: Mike's opener was a great move. Stuff was strong since the very beginning. I remember digging My Friend My Friend as well. Crosseyed was great too, and I loved how everything was woven together. Set break was tough...everything was just a mess...I remember a huge hulabaloo involved in me getting to the bathroom and back. Sanitation was poor, let's put it like that. I was glad that I was able to get so close to the front, because the place just seemed like one giant pit.

I was totally focused this entire show, shaking and dancing with my eyes closed for most of the time. At the very end, one of these kids we'd been talking to set up this kind of cannon thingy then shot this flare filled with confetti at the band. It exploded above them, showering the stage with confetti. Those kids had guts, and I'm glad security didn't like crack skulls trying to find out who was SHOOTING STUFF AT THE STAGE. Vibes were good after the show as well. Too many cops in AC, though.

This is probably the show that's spent the most time in my mind. I loved seeing the Ferris wheel, being near the ocean, being out in the summer night. The band was super on point as well. Great night.

Punch You In The Eye was the first set highlight for me, awesome crowd participation. Also thought Ocelot was much better than usual. Solid Wolfman's. Nice SG 1st set closer.

Lighteca was really on, probably the highlight of the entire show. Liked the C&P opener, but though STTTL was rather dull. Really good Sand but I didn't think BDTNL was a good fit for that late in the second set.

Outstanding show for me....Loved the strong start in set one with the funk....

Show #400 for me

Every show I have attended usually gets a 3 or 4 on rating, 5 is reserved for the unique occasion where I am completely blown away and glowing.
Like I will give a show a 5 after the first set if it's that good.

This show would get a 5 if a few things happened. I won't go into detail because they didn't.

The highpoints for me were:

Mike's with the phish war. Very fun and the Mike's was punchy and set the stage for rocking.

PYITE was funkified and worth continuous listens.

Crosseyed and Painless > Slave to the Traffic Light > Light[4] -> Manteca -> Light[5] > Theme From the Bottom

Best song flow of tour IN my opinion.

Golgi was cool to get as I had only seen one in 31 shows. But not a great placement.

Sand was excellent.

GTBT was pretty much spot on. Very well done.

This show is a solid 4 and probably the best of the weekend.

With a workday under my belt after catching just the Saturday show, I think I am in a good place to give an honest review. First of all, I didn't mean to give this show a 1 - I clicked on that star by accident. I will give it an honest 6/10 in my opinion. Lucky enough to be staying with a cousin at his family's beach house only a short 15 minute cab ride down Ventnor Avenue, our crew was chilling on the beach by 2pm, at the lot by the Ferris Wheel by 5 and in the show with enough time to grab a FOAM and a nice little plot of land by 7:30.

Set 1: The Mike's Groove is always a sign that the band means business and I was into it - until the jam stayed a little stagnant and they closed it out and went into Hydrogen. The mellow melody mixed nicely with the ocean breeze and I liked it, but again, once we go right into the Groove, I just got the sense that it was a little plain and uninspired. In fact, I get that sense from most 3.0 Grooves. Still, we are off and running and Gumbo kicks in. Of course I love the song, but something still doesn't feel right - the sun was still up, maybe it was me or the sound was a little off, but I couldn't find the flow - same for Halley's Comet. A great song that I love, but I just didn't particularly dig it. OK, here we go. My Friend is a GREAT song with that distinctly Phishy sound that drew all of us "jaded vets" to the band. Love it and this version smokes. The band found me here. Wolfman's sounds good, but last year's version at MPP was way better. That's it! I heard Gumbo, Halley's, and Wolfman's at my only show last year - hence my slight disappointment. I pee during Lawn Boy (love ya Page, and I still heard it). Possum. Do they know we are in joke territory here or are they not onto us? PYITE is tight - great intro, great song, and a version that is easy to dance to. Here is where I surprise and enjoy myself. The actual song of Ocelot is towards the bottom of my list by the band, but the jam out of it makes me a believer. They were going places and really giving effort. I have only re-listened up through Possum, but I can't wait to rehear this because I know it was great. Suzy continues the inspired trend coming out of Ocelot and rages big time. Nice momentum going into the set break.

This venue is really cool. Everything worked well and for so many people, it did not feel crowed whatsoever. They should make this a regular happening. Plus, it's the perfect mid-Atlantic meeting spot.

Set 2: This is a really good set. C and P keeps in line with the show I saw last year and was funky and fun and gets us off to a good start. Slave seems odd here as I usually peg it for a set closer, but I will take it and despite a rough patch or two, comes through and lands into Light. Just like Ocelot, the slightly jaded vet in me is bummed, but again, the band puts me back in my place. The jam out of Light is so damn good, that I am speechless. When they get to Theme, it's a perfect example of song placement. Right on flow and strong jam on Theme. Golgi seems a little extra pumped with glowsticks exploding everywhere and as Sand starts up, I am locked in. I was able to completely absorb and zone during Sand. This is a stellar version of the song and skeptics of the tune should beware. Maybe it won't translate as well on tape, but to use a Noob phrase, "It was SICK bro." BDTNL is the perfect chance to hit the loo before the home stretch and I hear a sweet little jam as I head back to home base for Antelope. I loved this Antelope. It goes strong for a while before stopping on a dime at the conclusion. Overall, a terrific set of music that roped me in and had me believing. Nice work fellas. We give you a hard time sometimes, but you are working your asses off up there and I appreciate it. Set 2 was a great set of music.

I had a great time in the capital city of the 51st state of South Jersey and the event was a nice one for AC. Good crowd, even if a tad drunk and slightly distracted. Nice venue with promise for shows in the future. Thanks to the band for putting this together, and hopefully see you next year.

Dosque

Still waiting...for a cab or a rickshaw to ride me back to the boardwalk. Thanks boys for throwing down! Next time you have my permission to finish the prudence - good to see you smile again

First set was fun. Even possum. Which I normally don't get that into. And the late in the set punch was nice. With an extended funked out intro.

Set two was sick. I was hearing the transition into slave for a little bit. Then all of a sudden it dropped into it a little bit acwardly. LIGHT. Need I say more? I will. In and out of a lot of jam territory. Great Manteca teases throughout. I was hearing Manteca in sand and Bdtnl as well. The anteloPe was pretty standard. But good. Great choice of encore. Tomorrow is gonna be balls out. I'm thinking Reba yem fluff head. Good times will be had by all.

Posted by That_Guy_Chino on 07/06/2012 06:10 pm, attached to 2012-06-16

"Why isn't anyone mentioning the "wooo" from twist brig belted during PYITE intro. It became so evident that the boys continued to play into it it."

Yeah I don't understand why that isn't included in the notes? Just because the band didn't actual sing the "woo's" (the awesome crowd did) doesn't mean it's not distinctly heard in the song.

Posted by That_Guy_Chino on 07/06/2012 06:10 pm, attached to 2012-06-16

"Why isn't anyone mentioning the "wooo" from twist brig belted during PYITE intro. It became so evident that the boys continued to play into it it."

Yeah I don't understand why that isn't included in the notes? Just because the band didn't actual sing the "woo's" (the awesome crowd did) doesn't mean it's not distinctly heard in the song.

Hot damn that 2nd set is gold. Top notch transition from CandP and Slave, Lighteca is legendary and speaks for itself, and a top notch Sand toboot toboot