At the time I thought we were seeing the best gig of summer so far. Well, maybe. Within a week we had incredible new performances to talk about, but this remains a fine outing. In the first set you've got a tremendous Possum, gorgeous Reba, and fine readings of Wolfman's Brother, Foam, and Moma. (What a year Possum is having, damn.) It's a more or less standard summer '10 opener.

As for Summer of '89...y'know, it's a pretty song with an uplifting lyric, and the ending jam definitely gets somewhere, but it felt long on this night. (My friend Laurie was reduced to this: 'I'd rather hear "Let Me Lie."' Trust me when I say that such an admission could not have been easy for her, though I kinda like both songs.) Like Dr Gabel and Idea, I think Summer of '89 could come into its own. in time.

The second set is huge. Light gets deep, and the segue into Billy is gorgeous; this is the first *flawless* live performance of Billy I've heard. (I've yet to hear Phish surpass their delicate, layered studio version of this song.) In the anthemic two-chord Tweezer jam Trey shows just how much he can do with the much-derided 'whale call,' hopefully silencing his increasingly shrill critics. Tweezer melts into a face-melting Theme, an unexpected highlight: Trey played this tune like a man possessed, skipping over those pre-jam arpeggios to get right to the hose. Beautifully patient Harry Hood to follow. The rest is gravy, but when the band ended the second set with Stealing Time you knew they still had energy to spare - hence the ecstatic cock-rock encore. Twoprise!! That blowout tune is obviously important to Trey; certainly it's one of his purest nerd-god achievements, and offers the whole band a couple minutes of straightforward energetic release at show's end. They deserved it this night.

Seek out the Light > etc. > Hood immediately.

Lots to say about this show, most of it good. My first show since last fall and its pretty obvious that Treys jamming style has changed somewhat. There are people talking about it and criticizing it. I thought the vast majority of the playing last night from all phour was nothing short of brilliant. Were there some flubs? Yeah. Were there some alight changes to the way we're accostomed to hearing some songs? Yeah some minimal changes. But including the 7 shows I saw in '09 this show had the best jamming I've seen in 3.0. Easily. Just have to look at Tweezer » Theme and Reba as good examples of that. Personally I think last year's Hartford show was better because of rarities and inspired playing... But last night to me is all about #1 jamming #2 funk (wolfmans, moma, tweezer) #3 fun. I love Treys new style because it is far more textural than even the spacefunk '97s - im thinking its more like an impressionist painter like a Pocasso than a jazz improvisation - and it opens new doors to new jams based on new sounds. The only critique is that it is DIFFERENT. And that throws some people off. Not me. In fact that's why I love Phish. I remember people hating on Hoist and saying that phish sux now. Well I'm still enjoying every twist and turn all the years later. Thanks for another unique mindblowing experience to the four sonic wizards.

This show was so smokin' I threw up on my girlfriend's shoes and she didn't even care!

In order to get stoked for the impending throw-down that will be Summer Tour 2013, I've been re-listening to some Summer Tour 2010 Leg I shows. If, as the kids say, you were "hip to the scene" back in June 2010, you will likely remember the pure euphoria the entire fan base was feeling during this tour. I'm not a huge detractor of 2009, I think there is lots of great shit from the first year of 3.0, but the opening notes from Toyota Park made it painfully obvious that this was a different band. Rejuvenated, if you will. I remember listening to my AUD of Toyota Park in the early afternoon on 6.12.10 and just grinning ear to ear. I was still pretty "noobish" back then, but I still knew. Shit was different. On another level.

Now, of course, this tour has been completely overshadowed by the three that have followed it: Fall '10, Summer '11, and Summer '12. Each of which, in my opinion, have blown its preceding tour out of the water. ::fingers crossed this trend continues:: It's interesting, at the time, the band sounded reinvented and rejuvenated, but now, with the benefit(?) of hindsight, there is still quite a bit of easily identifiable rust. An innocuous miscue at the end of Julius nearly train wrecks the song and things generally still feel a little forced, like they're reaching for something that is just barely out of grasp. However, nostalgia and rust aside, listening back to these early Summer '10 shows is a lot of fun. There's a bunch of great music within this tour, rust notwithstanding.

That said, the first set is somewhat lackluster. Summer of '89 is a song that I just don't think fits well within the Phish canon. I appreciate the meaning and connection Trey has with it, but it sticks out like a sore thumb, especially given its length. Wolfman's, Foam, and Possum > Moma were my favorite parts of this set. The Reba is not particularly good, it just doesn't go anywhere and features some of Trey's much maligned "whale call". I actually didn't mind "the whale" call in the context of spacier jams, but in the middle of eighth note lines in Reba? No, thank you.

The second set is much better and features a great Light -> Billy Breathes (great in song pairing and segue, but the Light jam isn't particularly amazing), and Tweezer > Theme > Hood. The best part of the latter segment is the spacey jam in last four minutes of Tweezer. None of these jams are *that* great in retrospect, but this set flows really nicely and definitely has some solid moments. The encore is one of my favorites, and not only for infamous double Tweeprise. The Sleeping Monkey featuring some great Trey banter and audience singing is great too. The double Tweeprise is awesome too, of course.

This is in the upper echelon of shows from Leg I of Summer Tour 2010, and is definitely worth checking out, even if the band has far surpassed themselves by now.

Wanted to say that light through hood should be sought. Halley's is not noteworthy in of itself. However, I am a fan of how the chords of "light" suddenly come out of nowhere and the jam that results is interesting (most light's have been 'interesting'). One reviewer for this concert likened trey's jamming to the brush strokes of a painter like Picasso. I really enjoy that analogy for this jam. Something about his playing really captures that idea of a painter and a canvas. But the real gem here is "billy breathes". Maybe I just don't hear this song enough, but the transition from light was perfect and the song's performance was stellar! Emotionally stirring and beautiful! The tweezer that follows is funk-tastic and a superb jam. The funk just does not let up and the whole band is locked-in. Its seems unfair to mention trey's incredibly jamming without mentioning the contributions of the all the other members. Absolutely love it. About the 13:30 mark of the jam, the band dissolves down into a dark spacey semi-frightening tense ambiance. It is definitely a chilly way to end the jam and bleeds beautifully into theme. Theme is treated beautifully and takes some great twists during its jam. When fishman's tom rolls for Hood kick in, the excitement of all the greatness that has just occurred prior rolls over into this song and some of the instrumental breaks during the beginning of this hood are particularly unique and inspired. Right before they start singing "Harry, harry, where do you go...", Page uses an incredibly wild synth effect that makes me feel crazy everytime I hear it. What a great segment of music.

Main idea: Billy breathes performance and the context of its placement make it a superb hidden gem worth seeking out. Light jam is abstract messy/spacey and tweezer funk will blow your mind. The transitions and energy stay throughout theme and hood.

Nite 2 of Hartford'2010 started off in rare form,w/a Fee opener runnnin'straight into Rift...a groovy Wolfmans kept things a movin'the debut of Summer of 89'came next,and while some say it sucked and ruined the flow,dont listen the song is a beauty!!! A standard Foam,a roll-lickin'Possum Slamming right into Moma Dance was vermont nasty.
they kept it goin w/Julius(i thought this would end the set) then we got Whammy'd w/a Reba and a Cavern to close the set.

Halleys started the set off nice,but like it has been going,it did not go anywhere.Just a plain Halleys,jumping into one of my favorire parts of the nite.Light->Billy Breaths,Loved it..Tweezer was rockin'Theme was Theme.a very enjoyable Hood and Velvet Sea and a BALLS TO THE WALL Stealing time brought the set to a close..

the encore was freakin'nuts w/Trey Jumping off his amps playing like a mad man..LOVED IT!!!

(This is a review of Light only)

Light, Number 12*

Placement: 2nd song, 2nd Set
Preceded by: Halley's Comet

An abrupt end to Halley's Comet and the opening chords to Light begin. Jam begins at 2:53. Trey is heavy on the pitch shift for the first minute, alternating between firing and pitching. Around 4:30 Fish seems to signal the opportunity to slow the jam. Mike slowly follows down pace as Trey lingers in the murky tone established in the earlier portion. Page provides a deeper layer using the piano and a synthesizer together (see 6:50) to provide a contrast to Trey's general noodling. At 7:30 Trey goes through some quick progressions and settles in on a riff as Page moves completely to the synthesizer providing the beginnings of a wash. By 8:30 Fish and Mike have slowed considerably. At 9:00 Fish has faded into almost nothing and Page is into the heavy synthesizer wash, bending the notes up and down until they begin to spin. At 9:30 Trey has faded and only Page and Mike remain. At 9:52 the opening notes of Billy Breathes are heard in a beautiful transition.

Overall, a messy jam that has no focal point. Trey seems to play with his 2010 style throughout and never finds a riff or a groove to progress on. Page provides nice layering in the background.

Below average.

* was in attendance

I've seen a lot of shows and it's nights like these that keep me coming back.

I'm at the point in my show-life where I've stopped nit-picking at flubbs and phuckups and revel in the joy of the experience and the sheer pleasure phish shows elicit from my usually grumpy-old-ass. And when shit like a Sleeping Monkey > Tweeprise > Tweeprise encore with the volume at 11 and trey doing his best Jimi Hendrix is utter silliness that brought an ear to ear grin to my face.

Thanks again boys for a real good time.

Never been a bad show with a Fee opener and this was no exception. Despite the potential cheese factor with Summer of '89, there was actually quite a bit of nice guitar work near the end....the second half of Reba was just stellar, perfectly played... the segue from Light into Billy Breathes was best of the year so far.... Theme > Hood was likewise a great transition....

On June 18th, 2010 a crowd of us woke up and stretched ourselves awake from various beds, couches and inflatable mattresses at our friend’s house in the ‘burbs of Hartford, Connecticut. It was a beautiful day so we spent it lounging around their lovely backyard pool with drinks and guitars working up an appetite for the epic barbecue that was promised and delivered.

Come showtime we cracked beers for the ride (open liquor laws in Hartford are so very civilized) and got to the venue. I believe our hosts once again showed off their in-your-face stealth style of smuggling liquor into the show, an admirable display that has one brother lob a two-liter bottle to the other brother once the latter has cleared security. It’s an over-the-shoulder football catch that invariably arouses cheers from the crowd lined up to get in that in turn create confused looks on the faces of security, so busy searching bags and purses that they miss the whole maneuver.

It’s beautiful, victimless anarchy and just a joy to behold.

M’lady and I were in the pavilion for the show – which didn’t really matter because it wasn’t raining – but it was nice to be fairly close and central. The show was great from the get-go with a particularly fun three-song second set punch in the form of Tweezer/Theme From The Bottom/Harry Hood, a musical triumvirate of personal favourites.

Speaking of favourites, given the haphazard nature of a Phish non-setlist set it’s very tempting to turn to the person next to you and make a guess at to what the next song might be. Anytime I hear even the slightest musical tweak, a particular chord or snare hit, or just get the same gut feeling that helps me pick numbers when I play roulette I turn to m’lady and confidently tell her what song is coming next.

Of course I’m usually wrong. It’s not like I’m some sort of gambling millionaire or anything.

Because of this, and out of an abundance of sympathetic empathy to a habit that must get quite annoying I resist stating these guesses out loud whenever I can, which I’m sure isn’t often enough.

Now, when you get to the encore of a show (like this one) where the band has played Tweezer but they haven’t yet played the nearly-ubiquitous follow-up Tweezer Reprise (like this show) there’s certainly no cache in turning to your lady and calling for a Reprise. To do so would be the newbiest newb move ever; in this situation everybody knows the reprise is coming.

And come it did, right after Sleeping Monkey.

However, on very rare occasions the band forgets to bookend Tweezer with Tweezer Reprise, and as they were finishing up it occurred to me this had been the case the last time they played Tweezer, just a few shows before.

And so just as the band was going into the riff that wraps up the song and bid us all goodnight I had a thought. It was an exciting thought and it came like a flash. It went like this: “Phish should play the reprise twice in a row to make up for skipping it at the Hershey show!”

Of course the notion was silly and to my eternal lot-cred detriment I somehow resisted stating my prediction out loud. And then just a few seconds later, wouldn’t you know it, Trey said this:

“You know what? We’re all having such a great time and we’ve only got a couple of minutes before they kick us off the stage, and we played, uh, Tweezer at Hershey Park where we never did Tweezer Reprise so we’re going to play it again! This is for Hershey Park!”

Then Trey tore into the riff to restart the song and the crowd went bananas. Especially me.

“I called it in my head!” I screamed with delight, jumping up and down.

But really, could a claim be much feebler? “I knew they were gonna do that…” Harumph. My one chance to be a Phish genius, blown by a courtesy.

Me and my little mouth.

https://toddmanout.com/

pretty great first set...fee was cool to hear but not the best way to start up a show.
set two came out with a great comet>light.
as soon as i heard the opening notes to tweezer I knew we would get a tweeprise. To start the encore trey made note of a great sleeping monkey sign from the night before and explained how they love the hear from the crowd what they want to hear. after the first tweeprise trey said that the band had heard rumblings that any tweezer must be encored with tweeprise so since there was no tweeprise in PA they would play it again and it was fucking epic! best encore ever!!!!

Double Tweeprise got everybody pumped up for the ride.
The whole show was as epic as last nights. The downside was we were on the lawn with broken jumbo-tron. I really didn't care.
2 thumbs up the nose!

Super Fresh show. For Trey to give a nod and and mention the a tape of rhe show was awesome as a super trade back then.
Page and Fish launch this band into an atmosphere so awesome and delicious . I feel blessed to ha e seen them at all. This is a heavy heavy head show. So much music. I was working for the Yankees as as a fan photographer . My high-school/college friend said he had my tix for both nights.
I can super say...It was plucking worth it. )Reba!!!!!! Clankitty Clank!

I wanted to submit a bit of praise for this show. The first set is well played and features a great setlist, even though many of these songs have ceased being TOTALLY interesting in the opening frame (Possum, Julius, and even Moma...so sad). But let's not forget: they'd been back for just over a year here. At the time, I was delighted by how it unfolded. For the flubfree junkies out there, I recall this first set featuring very few, if any. Enjoy! Highlights include a pulsating Wolfman's and a solid Reba. Summer of '89 may not be the greatest song, but it isn't the cheesiest debut I've seen *cough*letmelie*cough*.

Got psyched for the Halley's set two opener, thinking positive improv thoughts, but then I remembered that this is 3.0 and not to get caught in that fantasy land. Disappointment averted! Light was still morphing into the dependable vehicle it is today, and this one alllmost got there. Not quite, but almost. Solid segue into Billy, and a grade A Billy it was. I didn't realize at the time how little stage time this song actually gets...I feel lucky to have seen it.

Tweezer was...okay. It was funky and very minimalist, even for this band, almost to the point that I couldn't take it anymore. Trey repeats a single little riff for much of the jam, and by the end it makes me antsy and annoyed. But the final 3 minutes or so are absolutely beautiful. They descend into spaceland...almost 2.0 sounding...and just vibrate and dwindle like the setting of the sun. Worth the wait, if you can handle Trey being painfully repetitive. Pensive, deep space gurgling and glacial drone await you, and the coda is exponentially better when heard in the context of the entire jam, rather than skipping right to it as I often do.

Absolute standout Theme follows, with Trey ripping it up in ways we perhaps have come to expect...but it was out of the blue, especially for a Theme, and totally worked. A much needed boost. Listen to it. I recall Hood being decent, and the set closed on a predictable note.

The encore...well! I enjoyed Monkey thoroughly, and loved the energy of Reprise live. But the second one was a surprise and even more energetic than the first, which I didn't think was possible. Again, one of those moments when you feel lucky to have witnessed it. Truly special.

To conclude, in the words of my fellow .netter Waxbanks: the show is "wonderfully inessential" - but well worth the listen.

my first show and let me tell you....changed my life...i'm a musician so from musician to musician, straight mind numbing....so good changed my life....i only listen to phish now because of this experience and love this band...double tweeprise.....holy SHIT!!!! blew my mind...PASSION

My first time seeing Phish in an ampitheater i was amazed at how big the crowd was , we had seats at the end of the pavillion area and i have never been a fan of ampitheater sound but they sounded great , louder than i expected and it seemed like the onstage gear was maxed out during Stealing Time, Wolfmans Brother was superb and Theme was killer as well

I know its personal opinion but this show had the most energy to me. Maybe because it ended so strong? I got the reprise that I didnt get in Hershey and it was my birthday at the strike of midnight. This show had me flying high all the way to toga. Such a great night! Tour highlight for me.

Can I just mention here that I wrote on this forum the night before that fee would be played for sure a the next show: see this link...

http://phish.net/discuss/?thread=1276849139 />
then the band OPENED with it.. now come on people, I am thinking that the band has to be reading us here, right ???? there is no way this could have been a coincidence, I have been to 4 shows in my life starting in 91 (with fest 8 being counted once)... I really don't know anything about the band, but am actually reading up and doing my homework, just so I can know what a song like fluff head is really about rather than my sick and twisted interpretation.... 3 nights at the Greek here I come !!!!!!
and please boys, if you are reading this... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE save the Lamb Lies down on Broadway Halloween set for a So Cal location !!!
can I beg you hard enough on this ?????????

Set 1:

Fee: ****
Rift: ****
Wolfman's: *****
Summer of '89: **
Foam: ***
Possum: ****
Moma Dance: ****
Julius: ****
Reba: *****
Cavern: ****

Set 2:
Halley's: ***
Light: ****
Billy Breathes: ****
Tweezer: *****
Theme FT Bottom: ****
Hood: *****
Wading: ****
STFTFP: ****

Encore:
Sleeping Monkey: ****
Tweeprize: ****
Tweeprize: *****

Score: 85/105
Final Grade: A/A-

Notes: Double Tweeprize. You should really youtube this so you see the amazing energy that is poured into the second one. Up to this point, this was possibly the best show of the tour.

Starts off just Ok for me...Fee was nothing special and I am not a fan of Rift or Foam. Wolfman's is always good but the same. I actually really liked Summer of '89 - reminded me alot of Lazy River Road or Peggy O. The real meat of the set is the Possum > Moma > Julius - all three rocked hard and it was really nice three-peat to give the venue a serious energy injection.

The whole 2nd set was fatantastic. Halley's was its ripping short self and the Light was just fantastic and I really like the placement of Billy Breathes. But what really pushed this set to the next level was a way better than normal Theme and Hood. Haven't heard them take Theme that far out in awhile.

And I would be remissed not to mention that the Faulty Plan to close was crushing - what a great call from Phish, and Sleeping Monkey > Tweeprise was as classic as they come. Fun, raunchy, east-coast show

Fee hasn’t appeared as a 1st set opener since 11/21/95... See more

Battle of the Tweezer's ( Hershey -vs- Hartford )
Tweezer for Tweezer, Hartford takes it down...
Hershey just seemed to melt away, while Hartford is an Everlasting Gobstopper of goodness.

Dark Jam out of Tweezer (Sweet Emotion Tease ?) into A Kuroda Light Jam into Theme... Tasty !

The missing Tweezer Reprise from Hershey showed up X2...
After Tweprising for this evenings effort, Trey announced that Hershey never got one... So they played it again for Hershey !!!

Over all an average night, though made made memorable by such an unusual and energetic encore.
1st & 2nd sets didn't have much flow; there were some high points as well as some flubs and it just had an odd rythym.
Tweezer was the biggest jam of the night, but they dropped out into bland space just as it seemed they might take it to the next level.
Seeing Trey jumping around the stage during the 2nd tweezer reprise was pretty amazing, and an amazing way to bring the night to a close.

I now have a new category to compliment "solid performance" and "mind-blowing transformation". This show was "solid Deluxe". Fee IS a tremendous opener, though it lacked a bit of soul. Foam, one of my all time favorites (duh) was simply good. Trey's words before Sleeping Monkey were, "We are an all-request band, we try to read everyone's signs but sometimes we don't see them all. However, this guy's Sleeping Monkey sign was very beautifully decorated and if that guy with the sign isn't here tonight.....TOUGH!" The Twee-prizes debuted Phish digging a lot further down to kick up their jam a notch. Trey was jumping up and down off from the speaker housings, getting all excited and triple extending his jam to close out Hartford. Schweeeeet!

Fee was "not the best way to start up a show"? Are you serious dude? Is that not EPIC!!! enough or something? That is damn sad.