Well.. it rained, and a lot taboot!

Some concerns came up that they could cancel and postpone the show.. BU T’NOT ON THE HISS DAY!! No no!!!!

A 1 set and Encore emerge that delivered everything and then some to the rescue of its Pine Knob faithful, including me!! First time, missed 2014 even tho I first had tickets.

ER is the first gritty jam of the night and delivers the grit such a night deserves. This song is now as consistent a jam vehicle as most other highly lauded songs. KDF > Camel Walk both hold down a now quite sustainable gritty and determined show for band and phavorite guests (even some who likely it’s their only show to see the Phish from Vermont).

Stash definitely turned up the volume and setup a great bridge for snappy interplay that carried over into a fun MFMF > BOWIE!! The Bowie and Carini tandem are probably the best song selection of the night, which is no different to really anything because the other choices were splendid as well! NMINML > TWIST > Drift was a welcome (supposedly) 4th quarter of this super set and nailed it!

Bug was beautiful, Possum was just what the Doctor ordered!!!!

We move through stormy weather, we know that our days are through. We dream and struggle together. And Love (Phriends) will CARRY US THRU!!!

AND THE RAIN CAME DOWN AND WASHER IT ALL AWAY

My nephew was brought to his first show at 12 years old. He learned a very valuable lesson. Whatever happens before you get in the door doesn't matter, because as long as there is a show, it will be worth all the effort. The girl he was crushing on also was there for her first show. Needless to say, he was in heaven.

Soaking wet but in good spirits, our crew found our seats halfway through the opener and under the pavilion roof suddenly everything's right. I thought they would fill the show with rain themed songs (Petrichor, H2O in the Sky, etc) but it was not to be.

Thirty-nine shows in and this was my first one set affair. Unlike many previous single sets, there were few 'by-the-numbers' versions. Every song between the opener and the closer, aside from Bouncin', was taken for a walk.

Stash and Everything's Right were the centerpiece jams, but even My Friend My Friend had something extra to offer. Great song selection all around.

My disappointment at missing Blossom evaporated in the middle of Stash. This is my kind of show, where the exploration isn't confined to just a few tunes, but spread all through the show.

Twenty-six years after my first show, I get to share a first show with a new generation. We are so very lucky to still have our band going strong and delivering quality shows.

I guess I’ve lucked out for all of my shows weather-wise as they’ve either all been a nice summer evening, indoors, or the storms passed over head before the show. Well, now I’ve finally gotten my “I survived that show” badge. I don’t know how this compares with Walnut Creek ‘97 or Polaris 2000, but you’ve gotta understand that until Phish made an official statement, there were rumors/concerns of the whole thing being called off.

Pine Knob is such a beautiful venue and I wish they’d play here more often. The only tricky thing is that it’s got a much steeper incline than most outdoor amphitheaters (or at least the ones I’ve been to) which makes it hazardous when it’s raining nonstop for 7 hours with all the mud. But once everyone was situated, the music was able to flow through 15-20,000 dancing hippies (I’m estimating; I’m sure the venue is as well because nobody was checking tickets once gates were finally open! It was definitely a great day for the many fans I saw with fingers in the air. It’s not often the concert venue miracles you!).

Now onto the music; it’s like Phish purposely ramped up their game because they knew just how important this show was for us. The venue maintained a strict(ish) curfew, so in order to compensate, phish had forgone their usual “15-minute” setbreak. And instead we got what felt like a 2-hour second set (though I guess if you wanted to curate a custom playlist of the show, the “first set” would have likely ended at Bouncing, and the “second set” would pick up at MFMF).

There may not be one single telltale jam in the show, but rather many jams in the 15-minute range thrown all over the place: ER, KDF(!), Stash(!), and Carini(!) were all some of the major highlights. Carini, especially, hit its stride early on, and Stash continues its run of excellent versions. Even Bowie had some extra mustard in what is another highlight rendition of the song, much like the Bowie played 11 years earlier at the same venue. I should have known it was going to be special when local legend Jovi was in attendance right in front of Trey.

After Blossom, this one feels like the after party set. Or even festival third set. Whatever it is, they gave us what we needed, and we’re all so appreciative! Pine Knob 2022 is one for the memory banks for a couple reasons. I thought it was also really cool of Mother Nature to hold back on the lightening until (almost immediately) after the show ended for us to have a brief reprieve to party in Central Michigan. Also made the lot parties and extracurricular festivities seem that much more excited when the storms resumed, almost on cue.

This is a unique show in a catalog of some excellent summertime shows. Lots of jams, an excited and electric crowd, and great playing. Phish had every chance to phone in their performance, but they went an extra 10 miles for us and even risked breaking curfew for us! Thank you Phish! This concludes my journey for now…until Alpine!

Many will say that Trey was MVP of this show, and it’s a fair argument. In addition to his impeccable guitar playing, he sang lead on almost all of the songs, and led the others through a fast-paced, tightly-packed setlist. Delays can easily have a negative effect on a performance, and Trey’s personality and leadership skills were crucial to the success of this show.

But Fishman’s playing is what propels this set for me, both at the show and while relistening. During the jam out of Kill Devil Falls, his right hand is accenting every third sixteenth-note beat, similar to Trey’s melody in First Tube. This beat is so steady and unobtrusive, it’s easy to miss unless you’re listening for it. But Trey clearly was listening and basing his playing on this beat, resulting in a longer, more satisfying jam. This may have also prompted Trey to call for Stash, MFMF, and Bowie later in the set, all of which feature Fishman playing similar polyrhythms.

By the time they played Twist, we were feeling exhausted and shoulders were sagging. The four guys on stage must have been wiped out after playing a 129-minute set, but they didn’t show it!

I fear this show will be destined for obscurity in the wake of the incredible previous night at Blossom.

Here's a quick breakdown as I experienced it:

INNYLTB - Standard opener. Well played. People were still filing in as they hit the stage.
Everything's Right - Everything was right about this. Great jam. Really goes places.
Kill Devil Falls - This one has been on my wish-list for a while. Really happy to get this and it exceeded my expectations. I would've been happy with a solid standard version, but this got the full treatment! Another really nice jam - not to be missed!
Camel Walk - pretty standard - always welcome. (who's gonna complain about a Camel Walk?!?!)
Stash - ANOTHER great jam! Really shows how they've matured since the mid 90's. Their controlled chaos lends to a beautifully constructed climax.
Bouncin is always Bouncin
My Friend is always great. Never disappoints. CK5 found his stride here.
David Bowie - this version stood out for me. Seemed a little above par for the times. They seemed to give it a little extra sauce.
Carini - very bright and funky compared to the dark psychedelic versions normally associated with this song. Fizzled down to a slow funk that I was sure (maybe just hoping) was going to segue into a HYHU and possible more hopefully into a Purple Rain. Not the case. Still... ANOTHER great jam!
NMINML - the hits kept coming and didn't stop here! Yet another great jam!
Twist - Nice version. Builds to a nice peak.
Drift While Your Sleeping - Standard version, but always nice.
Trey hands his pick to Jovi before exiting the stage.
Bug encore - no surprise. Solid version.
Possum - bit of a surprise. I thought they were gonna leave after Bug. Page's piano section was a highlight. Really fun and playful. Trey brings it home and adds a little more heat. Seemingly backing up and running over that poor dead possum a couple more times to end the show with an exclamation!

Don't pass this show over!
There's a lot of really quality jamming here!

First time at Pine Knob, made the ~5 hour drive there and back for this single show. I really like this small venue. The front of the lawn felt like pav distance to the band at other venues. I had pavs and I felt like I was in the pit, amazing view. The actual pit is absolutely tiny, looked like only ~50 people up there lol.

The show was really fun overall. Every "jam song" got jammed for a bit. ER, KDF, Stash, Bowie, Carini, and No man's all got extended jams. Most of these jams felt pretty meandering to me. Really nice moments scattered throughout every jam, but this show just needed one of these jams to push a little further and it would have been a lot more memorable. A lot of these jams had some pretty low key peaks, nothing too dramatic. For a band that can get so deep and creative, sometimes peaks can feel like a crutch. You know they can pull a peak out of their ass at any moment and it's a quick way to max out the energy and get the crowd excited. They really have turned peaks into it's own artform and have done hundreds of really creative mind blowing peaks, but those real massive venue breaking peaks need to feel deserved. The peaks here knew their place, nothing too gigantic, but matched the level of the jams that led up to them.

The No Man's toward the end really did reach that next level phish creativity for a few minutes. It felt dead serious, and I was expecting it to get into the type of deeper jam territory we've been getting this year, like the bethel 2's SYSF or hartford's WOH, but it never ended up trying to. Around 7:00 - end on the sbd is the section I'm talking about. Most of the show felt like a mike/fish show to me, but this section of no man's had everybody stepping up for about 5 minutes of really engaging creative and tight improv. This section definitely got my head in the "this is why I see this band" space. The clear highlight for me by far.

The bug encore was cute. I'm glad the Jovi lore came full circle.

If blossom + this show is considered a run, then blossom wins in my book. I probably won't go back to this show much if at all, but in person it was really fun and absolutely worth it. Best band.

A quick edit to my thoughts above... it was something that sounded like a quick "Bird Song" tease from Mike... NOT "Dark Star". It was at 12:04... though it may not have been intended as a tease... the vibe was mixo so it could've just been something that came out by coincidence. But again, the boys always bring it... even when it involves a possibly hefty curfew fine. Hopefully the weather out east is more agreeable for the rest of the tour.

Solid show. Being a Detroit-burbs native I was getting updates from several different friends at the show. One friend was even there seeing Phish for the first time and I felt honored to keep him updated via text with song titles as I watched from YouTube and refreshed the screen here on .net. Solid show and set list imo, especially with the weather handicap. After listening with headphones, my personal favorite was “Kill Devil Falls” where we got a quick Jeff Beck “Freeway Jam” tease; and Mike through out a very brief “Dark Star” tease a couple minutes or so later. I also kept hearing a “Love Supreme” theme coming and going throughout the set during jams. Solid show!

I was at a pre~show party with family and friends. I was the only hardcore. My sister in law’s friend works the bar and told us gates were closed. The rain was letting up and I wanted to be at the gate to assess the situation, so I ubered since no one would drive me. They were letting us in once I arrived without even checking tickets. I texted the others and everyone showed up and got in. I wasn’t asked for my ticket until I went into the pit.
Don’t ignore this show. It’s full of big jams and so much energy going back and forth. It’s just an amazing performance. Stash, KDF, Carini, Bowie …… fucking monster jams. The whole show was so satisfying.