I must admit that the ratings on this site are sometimes a complete mystery to me. To wit, I am perplexed at how Friday night's show received a higher rating than this one. Having been at both, I can't claim any sort of bias either way, so I am surprised that my experience (and, incidentally, the experience of just about everyone I have spoken to at The Gorge this weekend) seems to contradict what people are saying here.

First, let's get something out of the way: there are a lot of slow songs in the second set of this show. Yes, some may suggest they killed its momentum, but that's ok. After all, variety is the spice of life. These ballads were beautifully performed and bookended by some truly spectacular jams and high-energy material that more than made up for any dips in momentum. More on that in a moment.

In contrast to Friday night's loose, jammy first set, Phish delivered a more streamlined take on the first frame this time around, featuring a great one-two Party Time/Punch opener, a 'classic' Mike's Groove sans the second jam, a strong reading of It's Ice, and a fabulous sunset Divided Sky for the ages. It also featured the debut of Infinite, which appears to have some jam potential and could be a great addition to their catalog.

Now, about that second set...

No, they didn't drop another exploratory 24-minute jam a la the previous night's Chalk Dust. But does that matter? Hear me out: for as exploratory as Friday night's show was, it seemed to lack focus and discernable peaks. Most nights, I will take a 24-minute ANYTHING, but I will be the first to admit that you could have easily trimmed five or six minutes off that jam and it would have actually been more focused and cohesive. And, occasionally, those bold experiments don't pay off -- see Light from the same show as an example -- so you're left with a lot of aimless, directionless noodling that never establishes interesting themes or reaches the transcendent highs we all know this band is capable of reaching. By contrast, the first two songs of this show's second set, while not as long or as exploratory, featured some incredibly cohesive playing from the band, focusing on dark, melodic passages characteristic of last summer's Baker's Dozen run. I would urge anybody focusing so intently on a handful of six-minute ballads to go back and listen to the peak of this Tweezer or the inspired mechanical soundscape late in Golden Age as a reminder that this second set was more than just Farmhouse and Velvet Sea. Ditto for the thrilling, energetic Piper.

And, frankly, it's difficult for me to understand how someone could complain about a set that starts with a powerful Tweezer and ends with Antelope (even a by-the-numbers Antelope like the one in this show), effectively ignoring just how well those two songs frame a set. A great sandwich starts with the bread. In this case, we had at least one familiar ingredient in between (Piper) but also had some lighter fare that helped elevate its taste profile. I will be the first to call the band on their momentum-killimg moments, but I didn't feel that way about the ballads in this set. Farmhouse seems to be a nod to the remoteness of the Gorge, Caspian featured a truly serendipitous moment of powerful sustained wind right as the solo reached it's climax (sorry, webcasters -- nature really came through for those of us in attendance!), and Velvet Sea was... well, it wasn't the worst Velvet Sea ever.

Sure, I understand that most of us don't associate these songs with strong second sets, but they have an emotional resonance that matches the natural beauty of The Gorge and delivers a different kind of Phish experience to those willing to open themselves up to it. Last night's show was expertly performed and riddled with highlights. It felt tight, focused, and emotionally rich. Even as someone who considers myself more of a jam guy than a song guy, I'm having a difficult time finding faults in this show. It was a wonderful and memorable experience, proving that this band is equally adept at playing clean and tight as they are at playing fast and loose. Can't wait to see what they have in store for Night 3!

Ratings schmatings! Listening to this show from the East coast this morning was a great experience! Party Time and Punch to start things out with some great high energy fun leading into a very classic Mike's Groove! Can't get a better start to a show than that! Infinite is a new tune that sounds like it can have great potential coming out of a serious Type 2 dreamscape style jam in the future! It's Ice had the funnest funkiest breakdown of the night which just cuts right into your soul going right into a Divided Sky that reportedly was played right around sunset for the Gorge, which must've been pure magic! Cavern is always a fun tune to end a set.

Tweezer opening is always a treat and went into some dark places before yielding to the light of Golden Age, giving us one of the most uplifting fun bliss style space funk jams this year! Going back into a quick Tweezer rift before leading into a very beautiful Farmhouse and a ripping Piper that just revived that style of jam in Tweezer to new heights! Prince Wading and Rise as a 3 hit cool down combo was very beautiful...I imagine actually being at the Gorge, on a head full, looking out into the ravine, having these songs played after that disco tech funk dance party, this section probably changed lives! Antelope is as good as ever, and the band is right, it doesn't matter! Who cares if some folks rate the shows down to a 3, as long as you're having fun and enjoying yourself that's all that matters! Who cares what the internet has to say about YOUR experience. Tweeprise ending always gives the energy and now we are on the cusp of the first ever third night of the Gorge. There's always ever been 2 nights runs, and this being the first third nighter, and first sunday show of tour...strap up, it's gonna be a wild ride tonight!

Really loved the first set. I thought it was an indication of an absolute barn burner of a set 2. Tweezer > Golden Age then opens set 2 and I thought i was correct. Im sure that the show was slowed by that farmhouse rip chord in response to the madness. Still an amazing show, had so much fun on the floor despite the marshmallows being thrown and turning the floor into a sticky mess and my shoes into glowstick magnets. IF YOU TRED IN MARSHMALLOWS PLEASE WIPE THEM FROM YOUR SHOE.

I would agree with the reviewers above that this show gets a bad wrap because of the slower than normal for this tour fourth quarter. The first set included some good highlights with a Weekapaug that was just oh so close to breaking away, a solid jam out of Infinite (just want to say this chorus is so corny, but i loved the jam), a better than average It's Ice and a Divided Sky that built so nice and might be one of my favorite versions from 3.0.

Both Tweezer, Golden Age and Piper all have great jams. Golden Age in particular has a solid type one jam before breaking off in an awesome fashion. Sounds like 2013 jams where Trey would just hit a chord with the delay and let everyone else find a beat. While I agree that the set slows down towards the end, I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would and with a solid Antelope closer I'd still say this was a solid show.

I thought this show was solid thru and thru. Party Time/Punch to start! We get the full Mikes/Hydrogen/Weekapaug. The Infinite jam has potential (and everyone singing) and the It's Ice follow up afterward was rewarding. Divided Sky for those who were in attendance at the Gorge must've loved it and ending the set on Cavern always provides a great bridge into set break. The Golden Age goes super funky and deep in the second set.

In this ballad-like second set - don't overlook the energetic Rise/Come Together! The song starts with some nice Mike riffs which sets the stage (he can be heard really great thru out). Trey's jam builds to a roar! Risssse Up Pholks; and Come Together!!!