Last Friday, my favorite band played an incredible show, capped off by an encore featuring a song that really helped me get into the band in the first place (Fee).

Tonight, my favorite band played an even better show, highlighted by a song that really helped me get into my second favorite band (Everything In Its Right Place).

The Baker's Dozen. What a time to be alive.

Set 1: A bit of a dog's breakfast, honestly (the no repeats gimmick was taking a bit of a toll around here, at least for Set 1s - none of these songs are bad, but there wasn't much in the way of flow); the Blind Lemon Jefferson cover was interesting if nothing else (I called it!), and First Tube had some real extra rev to it. Perfectly good first sets are entirely forgivable when you get second sets like these, anyway.

Set 2: Dem Bones, the first acapella Set 2 opener in (I think) 20-odd years, kicks off the proceedings, then NMINML busts on in, and the band seems ready and willing to luxuriate in the usual jam, with Page going to electric piano to add some warmth to the proceedings. The synths worm their way in as the jam ratchets down to a lower boil, and Trey really begins cranking out some filth with Mike and Fish dancing around the song's usual rhythm. The jam comes to what feels like a satisfactory close, but (in a running theme for the set) the fires keep burning and they appear to maneuver to a new key, but instead they gently wind down and (with the unmistakable sounds of an egg shaker) Phish finally take on Radiohead with a cover of Everything In Its Right Place.

EIIRP is absolutely amazing, all the more so for how obviously Trey had studied Radiohead's live versions (I don't quite get @Philbombs77's complaint about Fish's vocals - nobody in the band is matching Thom Yorke's original vocals, and the off-pitch nature is kind of obviated by the electronic manipulation anyway); the crowd roar is enough to warm one's heart, and the looped vocals of "yesterday I was sucking on a lemon" would be put to good use throughout the rest of the set. WTU? pops in for a few minutes (with Trey rather hilariously making a meal of the intro), then comes the set's main event with an absolute MFer of a Scents that first bursts into a hearty and fast-paced race-to-the-peak (with Trey shouting out NMINML lyrics, the goof), then shifting to a *relaxed* semi-tropical Mike-led groove as Page goes to work on the organ and Trey lays back and adds color (seriously, this jam is so relaxed it's like they're playing it in Barcaloungers), with an EIIRP quote just for funsies.

Caspian slides into the fray in that Caspian way it has, but instead of the usual chill Caspian jam Trey just starts hammering away on his strings like he's possessed by Joe Satriani or something, then builds up a torrid storm of noise as Page goes to work on electric piano and the rest of the band gently fades away. A cloud of industrial grinding spookiness floats across the stage, as demonically dark and crazed as anything from 2003-04, the sort of truly frightening music the band only whips out when they're really feeling it in the modern era. That darn EIIRP quote pops up again, and Page wanders over to the theremin to add another level of craziness to the proceedings...and then Trey gently leads the band into Fluffhead, of all things (apparently Page was none too pleased he had to move away from his favorite toy, but curfews and all that), a wonderfully performed version to cap off a killer set. Frankenstein, with one more EIIRP quote for the road, sends everyone out into the NYC summer night with huge grins on their faces (I'd guess).

Final thoughts: Look, man, Radiohead's probably my favorite non-Phish or Beatles band. They could have played Everything In Its Right Place and Alaska 12 times and I'd be cool with it (well, probably). Instead, they played Everything In Its Right Place and a tremendous set of music that ranged from funkiness to major-key joy to calypso-esque groovin' to whatever the fuck the end of Caspian was, AND quoted it extensively on top. This one's going in my personal Phish time capsule.

Well it feels good to be able to write a review the morning after seeing the show, for the first time in a while. But the glow from it has not worn off at all, so you might want to take what I have to say with a grain of salt. Or maybe a dash of lemon? Time will tell how this ones stands up but I can easily say it's the best 3.0 show I've seen, and I'd rank it right up there with among the some of the best I've seen in any era.

Simply put, there are no weak spots in this show. The energy in the room was off the charts from the get go, the band finding peak after peak in the unlikeliest of places. The PYITE>Party Time combo and the Bold As Love, First Tube that bookend the first set are both worth hearing in that regard. The whole show is, really.

Dem Bones set a gospel tone for the exorcism that was about to follow in the second set. Hear the word of the Lord indeed! I can direct you to the afternoon post where I suggested that No Men In No Man's Land->Everything in Its Right Place would make for a pretty incredible way to toast the lemon flavour of the night ("yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon), but that doesn't mean I was any less floored when the actually did it. The set seemed to trade off between intergalactic space travel and hose, the crowd in it every step of the way. Scents offered arguably the best jam of the night, after reprising the No Man's refrain briefly it went off into a incredibly danceable delay jam that saw Mike take the fore. Caspian continued to cement it's late bloomer status with a full on space denouement that saw "sucking a lemon" Everything in its Right Place sampling, before a very meaty Fluffhead brought the house down. Though its composed offering wasn't flawless, Trey more than made up for it with incredible atypical peaks. A must-hear Fluff.

Though not Lemon-related that I can see it, Frankenstein did tie into the ghoulish 'undead' vibe of both set openers. If they had encored with the Lemon Song it might've been too much to handle. Maybe

What's on the menu tonight, Boston Cream? Think I might go early and get me a donut. It's my birthday.

The Phish debuts in this show--continuing the trend, though I'm not taking it for granted!--are Blind Lemon Jefferson's See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, which deviates from the original by adopting a New Orleansy type of lilt, and Radiohead's Everything in Its Right Place. The first set feels a bit abbreviated, to me, probably because of the 11:30 PM curfew at Madison Square Garden for all of these Baker's Dozen shows. Party Time has a great crowd reaction about 5 minutes in, if that's what you wanna do. I'm glad to see Dinner and a Movie busted out. The second set has jams in No Men in No Man's Land, Scents and Subtle Sounds (sans Intro), and Prince Caspian, and Fluffhead is played particularly well. Frankenstein is a classic show-closer. This is a well ambitious show. A lot of phans have been wanting a Radiohead cover for quite some time, and Phish weaved it into the fabric of the second set, in a similar fashion to the recent Crosseyed and Painless-fests. I hope this second set's darker tone was an extension of the serendipitously dark tone of 8/2/17 II (at least through O Holy Night: true, authentic psychedelia) and that that means we'll keep getting Mike's Song 2nd jams!

This isn't a review as much as it is a need to comment. I'll leave the reviews for those with better writing abilities. Please share if so desired. But here we go:

Earlier this week we saw an “article” from the Dead’s former tour manager absolutely ripping Phish and the entire scene. He didn’t even name the band he saw in the rant. If you haven’t read it yet, you probably shouldn’t.

Last night, on 8/4/17, Phish opened the 11th night of the Baker’s Dozen MSG run with, See that My Grave is Kept Clean (One Kind Favor), an old blues song played by the Dead in ’66 and revisited often by Garcia and friends.

Phish followed the nod to Garcia with the original tune Punch You in the Eye. Do you think that was an accident? It is not my place to say.

I use to have over 200 bootleg analog tapes of both bands, and have never really considered them to be similar bands. I have never understood what all the beef was about or comparison for that matter.

However, the rant was reckless and mandates rebuttal. So whether you enjoy winding through the hills of Marin County in a brand new Tesla, sucking on your CBD isolate or if you just enjoy a nice water fall in the green mountains with some Ben and Jerry’s and the northern you’ve been back crossing for 20 years, one thing can be agreed upon is this:

We all know who to call, when you need to sellout Levi’s Stadium.

Thank you, Ernest Joseph Anastasio III, for playing the blues. Can we get a Crossroads? Be kind, ya’ll.

Seriously, what is there to say at this point? Our favorite band from Vermont is hotter than even the L.A. Dodgers right now, and the energy inside MSG simply cannot be described. Last night featured a thoroughly enjoyable first set that ended with the scalding 1-2 punch of Bold as Love and First Tube, followed by a near perfect second set that toggled back and forth between deep space and unmitigated shredding. Download or stream it, but do not miss it.

Whoa ! I can't possibly state how strong this show was on 8-4 , listen to it ASAP, my FLAC file is loaded and ready to go this morning .
Set 1: lets focus on Axis Bold as Love > First Tube closers...pure jam energy and amazing collaboration, everyone was in the zone . You can read others reviews on the other set 1 .
Set II blasted off , I'm talking about another epic Baker's Dozen evening , who can even keep up with which show is top 3? There have been so many amazing shows since the 2017 Tour opened in Chicago .
I'd like to reiterate No Man's (and reprise ) Scents , Fluff were kickass powerful Phish jams , all you could ever dream of . The Frankenstein closer with Trey , Mike , and Page in front was a blast and Jon was crushing the beat . Enjoy !

They just continue to make each BD show surpass the next, and this was no exception. I streamed the audio of this show while at home, and I'm quite sure my neighbors wish almost as much as myself that I would have just gone to it in person. The Frankenstein was a phenomenal cherry on top of what was damn near a dream show. A+

The band started out an outstanding Friday night with a song most know as "One Kind Favor" but for which the boys decided to use it's original title by Blind LEMON Jefferson "see that my grave is kept clean" (it was kind of funny since there were a lot of puzzled faces around me) - the first set was good until the boys hit Bold as Love and First Tube which featured Big Red with some Townsend-esque antics with the guitar at the end of the song. The energy peaked at 11 with First Tube and did not let up for the rest of the night. From No Man through a cover of Radiohead's Everything in its Right Place to an amazing Jam through Scents and a Caspian to a housewrecking Fluffhead the boys were on the mark all night. and when Page walked out with the Keytar for the encore we knew it was going to be a special night. https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Su0PKQeu8Mo/WYXY8oeRfXI/AAAAAAAAARU/WATIVNKxYoEMmb3fsajOiMtsueps09NHwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_3673.JPG
https:// https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BDlLXm84PWA/WYXY8sqs7ZI/AAAAAAAAARY/8qwnc8HGEHUR25JAKimZgOWXBi84oajgwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_3674.JPG

All I can say is that while I had listened to a bit of phish through high school and college(most of my exposure was from the Bittersweet Motel documentary and some of the live albums); this was my first Phish concert and none of that could have prepared me for this experience.

I didn't have the encyclopedic knowledge of Phish's catalog like some fans, so while there were some tracks I recognized, the rest of the show was full of musical surprises.

The high points for me were definitely the transition from PYITE to Party time; very feel-good sequence. BBFCFM was a classic silly song to add some chaos into the set. Winterqueen I can only describe as a light and fluffy jam, and let us coast to the buildup of Bold as Love into a phenomenal First Tube.

Set two was solid. The second the chords from EIIRP were played, the crowd erupted, and we were just taken away on a musical journey. S&SS was great jam, with some callbacks from NMINML.

Fluffhead. I don't have the words to fully and accurately describe how amazing that finale was. The combination of the crowd's/band's energy, the lights(

This was my 100th show. In a startling yet utterly predictable move of personal synchronicity, Phish opened with a blues standard that shares a lyric and alternate title with the name of the small record label that I run (One Kind Favor). Rest of the first set was fun and I caught my first Dinner and a Movie since 2.0.

The second set flows very well and is one of the better complete sets of the run. This version of NMINML has a really great vibe and sets up a debut that I'm sure a lot of fans were thrilled by. I am not a fan of Radiohead so I am being 100% serious when I say I enjoy listening to Fish sing this tune more than Thom Yorke. Trey was having a blast messing with the vocals on his Kaoss Pad. What's the Use had some more vocal-sample tomfoolery...come to think of it, maybe every song after this point contained an Everything in it's Right Place quote. The back half of Scents contained some truly unique and impressive jamming. Put that one on your mix tape kids! Caspian was shredded extra hard and Fluffhead closes the set properly.

See you all at my 200th when Phish covers Coldplay :/

August 4th, 2017 was the date of my 100th Phish concert. The show was at MSG, night eleven of the Baker’s Dozen run, the doughnut was lemon poppy seed, the band closed the second set with a killer Fluffhead, I didn’t sit in my actual seat and the strangers sitting beside me were so nice they were almost as cool as the strangers sitting behind me. It was an epic show and a fantastic time.

Now, you may be asking yourself: A hundred shows!?!? Why on Earth would someone want to go see the same band a hundred times? Todd, are you crazy? Who in their right mind…!?!??

And to be fair, you would not be alone.

Tell someone you have season tickets to the local sporting team and nobody even blinks, unless they are maybe a bit jealous. Lots of people plunk themselves in front of the television set and watch the same program every night, nothing unusual about that (“But I wouldn’t pay to watch it,” they might cry. “So you’re saying you sit and watch something every single day and you don’t even care very much about it?” I might respond).

Heck, I know people that take the same vacation every year, and others that go to the exact same cottage every single weekend.

And there’s nothing wrong about any of that. I don’t consider any of these to be examples of strange behaviour, and though a lot of these activities aren’t for me I can easily see the attraction in each of them.

And yet, going so many times to see a band that plays a limited amount of shows per year (like a hockey team does), where every show is different, if thematically similar (like a tv show), and where I find a revolving groups of friends and likeminded strangers and generally have a really great time over a few drinks (like going to the cottage) always seems to raise eyebrows.

Like, what’s the difference?

I’ll tell you what the difference is. While most people follow sport teams, watch television shows and yearn for more cottage time, most people don’t go to see the same band over and over. To do so is unusual, and you gotta be crazy to do something unusual, at least if you do it often enough. But like I’ve always said: sanity is decided by consensus, truth is not™.

But what about the money!?!? Fortunately Phish still keeps their prices lower than most bands at their level; to date I have never seen a Phish ticket priced more than $75. So if you average it out I’ve spent about as much on Phish tickets as I would have on a used car.

Asked to choose between all the memories I have from Phish shows and a used car you can give me the shows every time. Heck, I wouldn’t even trade the things I’ve forgotten at Phish shows for a used car.

Not to mention all the great places I’ve visited and the amazing friends I’ve met along the way. It’s always an adventure, and it’s one I love. Lake Tahoe, SPAC, The Hollywood Bowl, The Gorge, New York City, Atlanta, Miami, Maine, Mexico*…I’ve seen so many amazing chunks of the continent because of this band and when I get there I always hang with good people.

And people say I’m crazy! I say: Bring on the next hundred shows.

*Okay, two used cars.

http://www.toddmanout.com

Still been listening to a good amount of Phish, but a lot of LivePhish radio and studio work instead of full shows! Hopped back onto the Baker's Dozen grind the other day. N11 here we go.
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See that My Grave is Kept Clean is a fine opener.

PYITE is upbeat and rockin' with slick jamming.

Party Time... Well I just didn't enjoy that one. The jam felt like it went nowhere, and the song itself was very irritating. I had never heard it before.

We get BBFCFM which is always ridiculous and fun.

Dinner and A Movie goes pretty steady, but not too memorable.

Ocelot slowed the pace down a bit, and jammed nicely.

Poor Heart. It is what it is.

Winterqueen is a pretty 3.0 song and it had a nice jam.

Bold as Love was nice, and we closed with First Tube which was funky and groovy.

Set 1 was okay. It didn't grab me. After hearing set 1 I was shocked to see the .Net rating. I hoped set 2 was better.

SET II
We begin with Dem Bones which was, again, fine and fun.

NMINML goes deep and already starting this set off to a better start.

Everything in It's Right Place was a debut by the band, and not much else.

What's the Use was another not too memorable track. Passed me right by.

Scents and Subtle Sounds is a nice song that I don't appreciate too often. It was good to hear here right before the end of the set.

Caspian was gorgeous and soaring, great jam.

Fluffhead was performed well, and it was an exciting closer.

Encore was Frankenstein which served its purpose at the end.

Overall, this show as sub-par. I don't know why, but the setlist didn't grab me very much, and the jamming felt empty. I don't blame them for it this deep into the run, but I do hope the remaining two shows pick it up a bit!

In the wake of all of the 2-year anniversary of the BD, I thought it would be fun to go back to the shows I was lucky enough to attend. BD was the first time I actually won the presale lottery, and it got me seats to the final 3 shows. I got into Phish in the summer of 2015, and 8/4/17 was my 6th show at the time, so I was still relatively new to the scene. Having been to my first MSG shows in December, I knew how much fun the Garden was. But the Garden in the summer was a whole new ballgame! As we all know, before the run began, it wasn't a given that the band was going to play all 13 w/o repeats. But once it did after the 3rd or 4th show, the it was magical to see how they would handle it night to night. Highlights of the show for me were PYITE>Party Time, Bold As Love>First Tube, and of course NMINML>Everything in its Right Place. The crowd totally was feeling it. Also got to cross Fluffhead and Frankenstein off my list.

This show would have been amazing to see live due to the power and revelatory nature of the jamming. And when I streamed it, my friends and I had a great time watching it. However, we all agreed that this isn't going to have much replay value. There's so much potent arena and revelatory rock jamming going on, but there was also very little tonal and thematic diversity in the jams. That was probably the best First Tube I've ever heard and this song is meant to be played full throttle, but then the NMINML, S&SS, and Caspian all exhibit the same 6th gear element and I wanted something more. I will concede that S&SS did introduce a partial funk section that caught a bit of a groove to close it out after the guitar hero climax....and there was a short, yet duller, ambient section after the climax in Caspian. However, they were overshadowed by the homogeneous nature of the rest of the jamming.

Additionally, everyone (including me) went crazy when the first notes of Everything In Its Right Place were played, but what could've been a memorable debut of a notable Radiohead cover devolved into a memorable debut for all the wrong reasons. Because Fishman doesn't even feign to sing on pitch, the band essentially made a joke out of a serious song that kicks off one of the finest albums of the last decade. It's a shame because Mike's voice would've been perfectly suited to this piece.

If I looked at the second set list today without having seen the show last night, I would've automatically assumed that this was a homerun. Like I said - if you were there, I know this was an amazing show for you. But when Phish has lifted the bar as high as it has, from the Northerly Simple to start the summer to the Top Tier MSG renditions of CDT, Lawn Boy, Tube, Mike's, etc.., to the overall beauty and diversity in their style of jamming this year, a show like last night's doesn't measure up as well as it should.