It's tempting just to talk about the two monumental second-set jams on which this show's reputation'll inevitably stand or fall, but there was something in the air from the very first note: Carini / Wolfman's / Sand is one of the strongest openings since Coventry. It's not experimental Phish by any stretch, and I can imagine a non-initiate finding the whole thing repetitive -- but the band's communication is smooth and immediate and the detail is there. A sign of what's to come, not to mention 36+ minutes of pure groovy pleasure. (Note: the repeated minor > major shift of those opening jams will be darkly mirrored in set 2 by the Space Madness out of Simple...)

My favourite moment of the opening set might be when the Wolfgroove shifts subtly after 7ish minutes, with Page hopping from clav to piano-stomp for a long climb, Trey and Mike surrounding him with echoes as minor fall goes major lift. Fishman's beat gets elastic (Fish is on a tear this tour, Big Divorce Energy I bet), Trey leslies out, Page pushes the cart across the finish line, just awesome. And look, Sand is no great piece of music but this is a rare Sand jam that in Olden Days would've been an 'instant must-hear version' -- take a minute to appreciate that this is now Phish's baseline.

Blaze On is smoooooth: watch Page drift from chunky clav to groovy Rhodes with Trey's Mu-tron(?) tone thickening things underneath, then out come the Galactica synths for interstellar passage, signature sound of Phish 2021 and the first opportunity for your Phish-curious date to turn to you like 'Is this still the weed-dad song?' Hearing Page's alien dance underneath Trey's spry moves around the 13 minute mark, with Mike rolling those big bass bubbles across the cornfields and Fish marking punctuation -- and then finally a discrete pattern/progression in the 15th minute, just effortless union -- I get that old paradoxical excitement, like there's this familiar feeling of newness, the joy that's always animated them is finding fluent expression and so it's experienced (anyway I experience it) as a brand new thing somehow.

And that's less than 2/3 of the jam; on the other side of the bliss-peak is another 10+ minutes of music, another sweet sunny old-school 'Type II' progression emerging (check out Page's passing minor colours once Trey starts soloing, and of course Trey's into it, 'into it' one of the things he's best at), plus a revved-up CHARGE!! to the finish, sudden flashback to the Bomb Factory '94, Trey-guns aimed right at the crowd (just kidding folks, it's only rock music, relax and enjoy the show) -- after which a proper cooldown song is earned and called for...

...just kidding, it's goddamn Wilson next. And simpleton than I am, I'm fond of the next tune, called 'Simple' --

OK, as a 42-year-old man I can't help but find the domestication and commercialization of space flight to be the contemptible sullying of a shared species-dream, even if space-tourism will be rad someday. Based on what happens 10ish minutes into this version of Simple, I suspect the lads in Phish, children of the space race after all, agree... I can only interpret the synth-countdown madness that emerges as a deliberate reinjection of pulse-pounding sci-fi horror into the increasingly banal world of space flight. The band rides a fishbeat that might put CERTAIN wishful old farts in mind of, say, 12/6/97 (or indeed 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World,' fitting given the galactoconquistador vibe of the thing), and then the support staff fills the tank with some Floyd-juice or whatever weird fluids were to hand and we're racing off to the stars. LETO II OF HOUSE ATREIDES, YOUR GOLDEN PATH IS FULLFILLED.

I was never into Primus but perhaps this is also what Primus sounds like? It's what their album covers LOOK like they sound like, to me.

Someone (Mike? Trey?) starts moaning. The vibe gets extremely Tower Jammy for a hot minute. Easygoing drifty trips turn DARK real fast. They start singing the fucking Simple lyrics over this pounding groove! And Phish are doing, without question, the exact thing that for years after 2009 I was bummed that they weren't really doing: going weird and staying there, in deliberate spite of Trey's/their(?) tendency toward ocean-of-love uplift, to see how far a groupmind can bend before it permanently creases. Imagine an actually enjoyable version of the last 10 minutes of the 11/30/97 Wolfman's jam, or if the climactic stretch of the Hampton '13 Tweezer kept going. A good look on them: Technicolor black.

Hood > Never Needed to close (the latter tune seems to function a bit like GXBX, if you ask me -- I like a huge set-closing Hood myself but this was a pretty good call), surprise triple encore that starts with a sloppy Sanity. Sheer enthusiasm and energy pouring off the stage, even as flubs and repetitions tend to pile up.

The verdict, of course, is that this is both a sublime rock'n'roll show and one of the best Phish shows since the Obama administration, if not the Bush administration.

...

The band sounds REBORN right now -- Fish is bringing huge energy, Mike and Page are totally energized by the sounds they're making, and as for Trey...

Trey came into this tour totally warmed up and ready for action in today-Trey's technical terms, obviously shy of perfect in that first show but increasingly hungry and confident. That said, we have to accept that he's entering his late 50s, y'know? 'Approaching retirement age.' They all are.

So I encourage everyone to take this music for what it is -- the work of once-a-generation (collective) genius that's lost a step and gained something in return, music that seeks peace rather than chasing prey, music that defies age -- and to marvel at the fact that our favourite band, much the best improvisatory rock band ever, is playing (what the kids call) KING SHIT like this.

First time to Deer Creek. First show since Covid.

Set one got tasty from the jump with a surprising Carini opener. Wolfmans and Sand are special too with great focus and persistence (Tube too, lots of groovy medley early and consistently in this set). I’ve heard others criticize Rift but I’ve definitely heard much worse versions live than this (Horn was fun, and probably the cleanest one I’ve seen). The whole Rift trio kinda reminded me of SPAC3 in 2013 (It’s Ice > Mound > Maze at that point.. gee I wish id catch a Lengthwise already lol). WOTC never disappoints.

S2 was clearly about 2 jams. 2 incredibly versatile, surprising and spectacular jams (albeit nothing alike).

Blaze On had the hero’s charge and proved victorious. This tune is beloved by the band and they had to prove it’s not the “soft” jam but instead a real stalwart jam that won’t stop being awesome going forward.

Simple is just indescribable how badass it is. That building was legit engulfed in a monster movie with the distinct possibility of being swallowed alive. Sludge, Yum…..!

it feels like the MELT influence N2 S2 at Ascend had a profound effect on this show and these 2 instantly lauded jams.

Phish, I never needed you like this before. And I’ll always remember Deer Creek.. when the music continued to survive the pandemic and great fun was had. Thank you and rest up for more hits to come this weekend in Hoosier country… indeed!!!

what a joy to be back reviewing shows. and what a show to begin with!

from the moment the carini jam went type-2, one could tell the band was feeling it, especially Trey. he was so precise with his melody creation during the short-but-sweet opening jam--it was a precursor to later events. and then they follow it up with a raging wolfman's--great placement for this. a beast of a Sand follows, again going into a beautiful hose section led by trey. we "cool down" as it were with a pleasant pairing of Lawn Boy and WACTOOB, followed by a Tube proper. Tube was very solid--again it was clear the band was feeling. not stretched as long as purists might long for, but it got the job done and more. Nellie Kane was normal--always a pleasure to hear though. next came 3 songs in a row from Rift, which was a great sequence. Trey absolutely nailed the middle section of Horn--i didn't hear a single wrong note. Wedge one of my personal faves, followed by Walls which is actually not one of my personal faves but definitely a fitting end to a great first set of phish. but little did we know...

set 2. oh man. this is for sure among the best sets ive seen in my 100+ shows. the blaze on was simply magnificent. for so much of the jam, despite modulating into several different keys and alternating between modes, fishman and mike stayed locked in to the general Blaze On rhythm. however, at the perfect moment, as the band settled into to an I Know You Rider-esque chord progression, fishman kicked the jam into high gear by going into double time. mind you, this is like 18 minutes in to an absolutely elite jam, but the rhythmic change really took it up to 11. best version of Blaze On ever if you ask me.

wilson is just perfect placement there--keeps the energy up and is more unexpected than in its typical set opener/closer spot. and then we get to the Simple. simply (no pun intended) one of the most distinct phish jams ive ever seen. after a brief type-1 section, the band then launched into a thrilling jam, featuring dark funk and deep rhythmic exploration. jon fishman put on an absolute clinic. the drumming in this jam is truly outrageous. it must be heard to be believed. listen to it.

another perfect placement for hood, albeit a standard version for 3.0 (meaning contained interesting playing and was very good). INNYLTB (they don't make these initialisms easy...) is a great song--i think as fans become more familiar with it it will be very well received.

and then, after a 27-min best-version-ever blaze on and a 24-min absolutely top-tier balls to the wall simple,, they encore with Sanity. this band, man. LxL was nice here--i am enjoying the strange placements during this tour so far. and then SANTOS sends us home.

what a show. this tour is unreal. phish is the greatest band.

Thank you Phish! This Is why I love you. You play an absolutely stunning show on Wednesday night and follow it up by trolling us with repeats for this show. Yet it was still an absolutely stunning show with stellar jamming, fun/ny new arrangements for old favorites, and an adventurous spirit that permeated into my soul as I watched from the couch. Never afraid and always willing to
add new flavor to everything in the catalogue, these guys are taking this tour to a new level.

As this is my first review, I'll leave the gory details to someone more experienced, but Bravo. This is a top notch show that everyone should listen to over and over.

It’s currently the morning after the show and I’m still buzzing with excitement. This was my first show at Deer Creek, first show post-Covid (or at least since the shutdown), and first show of any kind since I last saw Phish during their fall run in 2019.

As with any Phish show, you can feel the energy; you can feel the electricity in the air when they first hit the stage. But it felt so much more palpable this time around. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing phish, or that we were finally witnessing the show that was supposed to occur last year, but this one just felt different for me. Even before phish rang the first notes of Carini, I just had this overwhelming feeling that everything was lined up as intended.

I can’t even go into a song-by-song review of the show, but I will briefly say that this second set is bar-none the best set of phish I’ve ever witnessed. And while i lack the impressive 3-digit stats that many long time fans have, I’ve had the privilege of seeing some killer shows (Blossom ‘15 immediately comes to mind). And let’s talk about that first set; Carini opener!??! That gets blasted into outer space without any hesitation? And then the Wolfmans, which seemed to have some extra zest? AND a Sand??! Talk about a 1-2-3 punch to start things out. Even WOTC went for a stroll before the huge buildup and climax. I will admit I was a little worried about where phish would go in the second set after such an impressive first set. But then I remembered that I’m the passenger and they have total control of where we go, so I figured what else is there to do but enjoy the ride?

AC/DC Bag to open the second set; “let’s get this show on the road” was a very apt mood given the entire year we all collectively lost. And it set the stage for a massive set. I don’t even know how long the jams were and I don’t really care because They. Just. Didn’t. Stop. This is the set I’ve always dreamed about having. This is (thus far) the apex of my decade-long phish career. I don’t know if it’s must hear Phish, but I think time will look kindly on this show.

Quick little anecdote. I somehow convinced my girlfriend to come along with me to this show (and the next 2 nights). She doesn’t really know Phish, other than what I’ve showed her, but she enjoys some of their songs. Somewhere in the middle of Simple, she asked me what was happening. And I really couldn’t find the words myself. I just said they were finding it. And she didn’t really understand what I meant at first but a few minutes later (jam still going on), she pulls me down so I can hear her say, “I think I’ve got it now.”

Tl;dr this show had me saying “WTF???” for a contiguous 3 hours (in a good way).

Thank you Phish, and thank you fans. We met some really cool people at this show. I can’t remember all your names, but hope to bump into you all again the next 2 nights!

Set 2 is instantly up for discussion as a top 10 Phish set of all time. That might seem crazy, but the band's playing right now is on another level. At the moment they are making the 3.0 era seem relatively irrelevant given that they were capable of playing like this the entire time

Encore was the ::chefs kiss::

First set was very solid as well

The text chain that accompanied this show between me and my buddy probably equates to gibberish but while in the moment represented the power of this show. I continued to be blown away over and over by the level of play on display.

Peaks, over and over, drove much of the type 1 arrangements and when push came to shove Blaze On tilt-a -whirled this show in a cataclysmic state. The simple that followed absolutely clinched this second set as top prospect for beat set of tour.

When the band stopped worrying about unique set lists and minimizing repeats they opened up the realm of possibility that had been lacking, a realm that catapulted this evening into pure stardom.

Mahalo Nui,
Matthew

Prior to this 3-night run, the best show I had ever seen was at Magnaball. That was a very special weekend for me. My first festival. The entire weekend was great but that second night was stellar! That Sunday was my birthday. Everything fell into place with that festival and I had regarded night 2 to be the best Phish I will ever see and I was fortunate to have been there. With that being said, some of that would be proven to be wrong.

Six years later and absolutely sick with, not Covid, but a raging case of cabin fever, me and my tour friend set out on our third trip to Deer Creek together. Our first was 2003 and then 2012, although he had also been there in 1996 as well. In between the shows we went to was a span of 9 years. Nearly a decade. It can almost be used as a sort of measuring stick in our lives. How much has changed, but most things stay the same. We were in our 40s now, still doing that thing we love so much. Both of us had been seeing this band since we were teenagers.

I suck at money lotteries. I never win the free money. But I notice we play a lot of lotteries in life, not just monetary ones. One lottery I play is in the tickets I decide to buy. I'm hoping my ticket holds the prize of the best show of the tour. Unfortunately, I can't stray too far from home so the numbers (venues) I pick are usually the same.

There was an energy in Deer Creek the first night. It's recognizable when you've seen it a few times. When the band came out and opened with Carini, that energy was responded to. I noticed at the end of the song, the crowd was not letting up. High cheers and applause kicked Phish into a Wlofman's that didn't disappoint anybody. A repeated heavy applause after Wolfman's and still no sign of let up from the crowd they gave us another good one. Sand created a bit of a three headed monster of an opener. I could begin to feel it. This was going to be a special night.

Though nothing spectacular can be said about Lawn Boy through The Wedge, I thought Walls of the Cave was a banger. That was a great first set closer. It was confirmation the night wasn't over.

When AC/DC Bag started, both my friend and I thought this was going to be the jam of the night. Suprised us both when it was cut short from that. Also surprised us when Blaze On turned out to be what it was. Clearly Blaze On took over the song of the night. That was an amazing jam. Top tier Blaze On. Wilson was confirmation that the crowd was still in it. I think at this point we all knew this show was going to go down as one of the best.

What else is there to say about Simple that hasn't already been said? I was out of my mind for the majority of it. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen the band do on stage. The lights were fantastic all throughout. I remembered the art print for the show had aliens on it and I was wondering if Phish was trying to get a U.F.O. to land at the venue because that's what the music was sounding like. Extraterrestrial.

Harry Hood as a contrast to me personally was on the other side. That song signifies everything is going to be all right... here on Earth. I Never Needed You Like This Before was mutual. I needed what they gave me that night. I remember walking back to my tent that night after the show thinking I had quite possible seen the best show I have ever seen. 22 years after my first show. That's incredible. Find me another band capable of that.

Just finished my Deer Creek -> Hershey run so figured I'd get around to publishing my notes from each show.

After a year and a half of anticipation, I made my return to live Phish last night. Arriving in the campground and walking through the lot did nothing but help escalate that anticipation-- it just felt like Phish was really back. Me and my buddy settled in our seats in the Pav before a ripping Carini opener that really set the tone for the show: up-tempo, aggressive, and exceptionally in-sync. Carini's nice jam section is succeeded by a traditional yet well-played Type I Wolfman's before my personal Set I Highlight of Sand. Page sounded unbelievably on-point and for the first time in a long time I was actually able to hear the cues that each other member was setting for eachother courtesy of Fishman's pacing abilities. Lawn Boy is always fun to hear and set the stage for a light Kasvot Vaxt interlude with WACTOOB. Tube picked the jamming back up ever so slightly with a six minute version that highlighted Trey's contemporary funk. Nellie Kane and Horn brought the tone of the set down as they approached set break with, in my opinion, a forgettable and semi-flawed Rift. The Wedge gave us a nice and short jammed out version before a beast of a WotC with a substantially exciting Silent Trees jam to take us into set break on a really high note.

The second set of this show is really what set this one apart. AC/DC Bag was a fun opener that got the guys playing together and the crowd moving before transitioning into Blaze On. This Blaze On may arguably be the definitive best version of the song ever played-- innumerable sections that allowed all four of them to open up and dive deeper and deeper into the jam. It evolved into a light Type II jam highlighted by multiple Page sections that sound nearly immaculate and this could possibly be my Jam of the Tour so far. After nearly half an hour, the jam took a cool down song with Wilson, which, of course, was still substantially fun from the crowd perspective-- I mean, who doesn't love the chant? They dove right back into their Blaze On form, though, with another scorching Simple clocking in at just under 25 minutes of pure synchronous harmony. Trey's 4.0 guitar was probably the highlight here-- the whole jam portion had a psychedelic-funk feel to it that continued to evolve in an unforced manner. Oh, there wasn't enough face-melting this set? That's fine, they'll just play Hood. And I did in fact feel good about this Hood, with each intersecting jam period between the vocals providing the tenacity and high energy expected of an exceptional version. The set closed out with the second-ever I Never Needed You Like This Before, a fun ode to the crowd completing an absolute masterpiece of a set.

The three song encore was a fun one, too-- definitely super cool to get a Sanity as an encore and Limb by Limb gave the band one more chance to showcase their soft jamming abilities. Santos was an incredibly exciting finale-- we were sitting on Page Side and everyone was getting out the last of their dancing until the show tomorrow. Quite a fitting ending to an unbelievable show.

Fishman's sample pad put it the best-- "YEAH". We headed back to the campground for a night of socializing and resting before the Saturday show, but this one will be a tough one to beat and will certainly be constantly on repeat on my LivePhish app for years to come. Until tomorrow!

Up from hell the answer blew


Good ol' early August, what is this, the 6th? The band loves these fiery Leo Days Between. I love them too; I was born on the 5th, and the really last top-shelf show I saw was on 8/6/17 at MSG, after catching the two prior, including a Boston Cream in the face on the ol’ day of birth, and a lemon-sucking scare at the airport on the 4th. Travel has gotten even more complicated since then. I’m wiring this in from Canada. Vermont basically (er, Montreal), but you know how it is these days with borders and passports. What a time to be alive huh? What a time to die. Lots of both since we last tuned in, but yeah sending a wire in to say this ol’ amphibious polymorph still writhes out there in the ether doing the Lord’s work—and Wilson’s—to wake us up and lay me down. Holy intergalactic reincarnation, Batman! Is Adam West still alive? Is the Joker? What the hell just happened here?

But I digress. It’s been an emotional road these last months. The stomp choreography outro to the Beacon shows made me cry, man, I don’t know about you. The Rescue Squad, that Slave. Tony. I’ve missed these guys and love these guys. Chess ’95 redux over New Years was fun. I’d put that promo vid up there with some of the gems of this show as pandemic highlights. Anyone else catch Fish go full 91 bonkers and victory-shave his head as the match came to a close after we crashed Chess.com? No? Just me? My first Schvice had a photo of Page holding the Queen aloft. The internet was a newborn, and I was green. What a gambit.

But here I am listening to this Blaze On for a third time, just out of my gourde grooving and laughing that this miraculous music came out of the wreck of this whole last couple years in a steamy, fiery, burning to the ground kind of way. The Blaze On just wraps all that was best about the last decade+ (3.0+) and all the grief and energy and love of all the pain we’ve all had to endure these additional last months, and shoots it through a Greased up Fizeek. That’s what music’s for, folks. That’s why I’ve been coming back going on 30 years. Anyway just tuning in to say there’s as much here to sink your teeth into as any show from any era. Again.

The trifecta to open? Outstanding. Efficient, inspired, jaw dropping synthesis. The best of 99-esque vibes emerging from the space and delay of that Sand jam. The precision and confidence of a shift in Wolfman’s rarely seen since the 90s, and then a cathartic tight release to finish. The Carini! We’ve seen a few fabulous first set Carinis under 15 minutes since 2010 and this among the best. Yeah the opening 40 minutes of this show goes toe-to-toe with 8/31/12, imho, and maybe 8/3/98, too

I can’t say enough about the tight and glorious Blaze On, in which Trey, as he’s done many times before, just finds a pocket and rides 3-4 themes to perfection. The whole band responds, constantly. Page is a beast this tour, it’s ungodly. They are making everything of playing together again and I’m here for all of it. The Blaze On has shades of the Amsterdam 97 Stash in Trey’s melodic threads towards the end, the party-bounce of the Baker’s Dozen Simple, and the everglades-calypso-grooves of the the Cypress Split->Catapult and the Blossom Birds of ’19. As if that wasn’t enough, it was made even hotter (or cooler?) by the Simple that then countered in completely different, dark, fresh fashion. The broody yin to the sunny Blazed On yang.

You’ve got one life /
Keep it simple.

If folks like the Simple more than the Blaze On it could be because the Blaze perfectly executes tropes that we’ve had around for a while now (the bliss-bounty of the Everything’s Right from 12/30/98 comes to mind), while the Simple here is gnarly, scary and new. (Is it better than Chicago 17? Not sure. But it’s deeeeep.) What’s more, the short and sweet Wilson between them is a reminder of the fire literally burning all around us, of these end-times, of hope, of the redemption of music, of vanity, authority, and the futility of guarding gold like dragons. All the heavy sand-Dune Beetljuice junk that keeps the source pumping, ya know? Sorry, have I lost you? Wilson was a nice energetic, political gate for the rush and inversion from one jam to the other. What a trip.

The Hood clocks, too. Trey goes off, bluesy, Chalk Dust-like. And he says something later about having been thinking about Limb by Limb.

Anyway that’s about all l got in the tank. Hope it’s worth something. Apparently these old guys still have something in the quadrophonic tank too. Who knew?

The Simple is the most compelling Jam since at least 2017...maybe 2015. Few long 3.0 jams actually stick to a theme and explore it, are rally more strings of several micro jams (many exceptions to this rule), but this morphs very comprehensively for almost 20 minutes. Reminiscent of the 8/5/11 Rock and Roll, not just in tone but in that level or true organic development, hardly any "forced" moves, Trey largely taking a back seat and meditating on a theme. 10 years later, Phish has many new toys in their arsenal though, with Trey and Page continuing opening their synth/pedal toolbox. Meanwhile Fishman sounds like his 2011 self has discovered a psychedelic-induced drum logic formerly unknown. I do think that while less frequent, early long 3.0 jams like that R&R had a higher "hit rate" because the band didn't seem to plan to jam, it just happened, whereas now I do think there is an expectation to elongate jams, often leading to "intra-jam" >s rather than ->s. This is not that at all (not to say 2011 Phish is better at all btw! I just think from 2017 onwards especially, long is increasingly less correlated with good IMO, but there is more good overall).

Completely remarkable, can't recommend it enough, this is a jam for skeptics, even though the music itself is challenging.

What can I say about my first show back? Nothing short of magic. Carini, Wolfmans and Sand are about as strong of a trio as you’ll hear out of the gates. Fast forward to the second set and absolute fireworks. I’m not traditionally a Blaze On fan but that jam was outrageous. And that Simple? Otherworldly. All I can say is, THEY’RE BACK.

This was my first time at Deer Creek, and I have to say- it is a beautiful setting, and the weather last night was perfect!

Right out the gate- we get a blistering Carini in. to an awesome version of Wolfman's Brother. Always on of my favorites, and this one did not disappoint. Sand is always a great funky tune, and this one has some funk. As I listened and enjoyed the song, I found my mind often thinking of Tony, and how he would sit on a stool, all chill like, and just work his magic laying down a backbeat groove that just grabs ya! R.I.P. Tony! Lawn Boy, The Wedge and WOTC are other stand outs in the first set that come to mind this 'morning after review.

Set 2 is what this show will be remembered for. AC/DC Bag gets things going and was a great set opener. It had quite a number shows since the last time I caught one, and I really enjoyed it. Then come Blaze On. I did not expect this tune to turn to turn out to be the beast that it became last night, but WOW! Mind blown!! Wilson is always a fan favorite and kept the energy high going in to Simple. This Simple is just other-wordly. Not sure how else to describe it. There were times last night when I had to ask my buddy if this was still Simple? I was just lost in this jam. The show could have ended there and I would have been stoked, but no, we get Harry Hood. I knew it would come up this weekend, so glad to see it, and this is one doesn't disappoint.

To close out the night we get Sanity (been chasing that one for 17 years!) and it was fantastic! I was not expecting a Limb by Limb in an encore slot, but it was great (another favorite to see) followed by S.A.N.T.O.S to take us home Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho!

If last night is any indication of what is to come these next two nights, all I can say is 'buckle up' kids and hold on to your hat, this ride is about to blast off! Enjoy the Show!

I

Have to second Guttermitts for his comment on dark Phish. Literally turned to my wife and said if I was at this show I would be scared right now. That is such a vivid emotion to feel when listening and one that I relish. Remember a few scared moments and mostly in enhanced moments and last night was able to replicate sans enhancements. Just had to second that emotion.

Morning objective: Trying to figure a way to Dicks. Never been more compelled to sell everything and leave the baby and four dogs with strangers just to see this band.

I would just like to start out by saying that I am making this comment from the couch and wasn’t lucky enough to attend the show. This show was probably one of the most incredible shows I’ve ever seen Phish play being there or not. The way they are making the old standards sound new and fresh with page playing straight from Mars! It is a synthesizer summer It seems, and I love it. I actually got scared during that Simple. Trey was looking to spook a few out tonight! Lucky ducks. More DARK PHISH PLEASE!! I can’t get enough! This show is a masterpiece in a lot of ways. Trey can Flub rift a bit for the rest of his life if he puts down shows like that! I got up this morning feeling amazing! Looked up if I could even drive there in time for tonight….. Man they are really putting it all out there with no fear. It’s just insanely incredible this early in tour to get this. I’m Beside myself and not even the smallest fraction a wordsmith some of these You are on reviews so I’m gonna leave it right here. Oh one more thing. YEAH. I’m going to pick my brains out of the carpet now. THANK YOU PHiSH!!!!

what a joy to be back reviewing shows. and what a show to begin with!

from the moment the carini jam went type-2, one could tell the band was feeling it, especially Trey. he was so precise with his melody creation during the short-but-sweet opening jam--it was a precursor to later events. and then they follow it up with a raging wolfman's--great placement for this. a beast of a Sand follows, again going into a beautiful hose section led by trey. we "cool down" as it were with a pleasant pairing of Lawn Boy and WACTOOB, followed by a Tube proper. Tube was very solid--again it was clear the band was feeling. not stretched as long as purists might long for, but it got the job done and more. Nellie Kane was normal--always a pleasure to hear though. next came 3 songs in a row from Rift, which was a great sequence. Trey absolutely nailed the middle section of Horn--i didn't hear a single wrong note. Wedge one of my personal faves, followed by Walls which is actually not one of my personal faves but definitely a fitting end to a great first set of phish. but little did we know...

set 2. oh man. this is for sure among the best sets ive seen in my 100+ shows. the blaze on was simply magnificent. for so much of the jam, despite modulating into several different keys and alternating between modes, fishman and mike stayed locked in to the general Blaze On rhythm. however, at the perfect moment, as the band settled into to an I Know You Rider-esque chord progression, fishman kicked the jam into high gear by going into double time. mind you, this is like 18 minutes in to an absolutely elite jam, but the rhythmic change really took it up to 11. best version of Blaze On ever if you ask me.

wilson is just perfect placement there--keeps the energy up and is more unexpected than in its typical set opener/closer spot. and then we get to the Simple. simply (no pun intended) one of the most distinct phish jams ive ever seen. after a brief type-1 section, the band then launched into a thrilling jam, featuring dark funk and deep rhythmic exploration. jon fishman put on an absolute clinic. the drumming in this jam is truly outrageous. it must be heard to be believed. listen to it.

another perfect placement for hood, albeit a standard version for 3.0 (meaning contained interesting playing and was very good). INNYLTB (they don't make these initialisms easy...) is a great song--i think as fans become more familiar with it it will be very well received.

and then, after a 27-min best-version-ever blaze on and a 24-min absolutely top-tier balls to the wall simple,, they encore with Sanity. this band, man. LxL was nice here--i am enjoying the strange placements during this tour so far. and then SANTOS sends us home.

what a show. this tour is unreal. phish is the greatest band.

As there is so much talk about the Simple jam, it is worth mentioning that the audience recordings are a required listening as well. Particularly from mics that capture the heavy deep end. There's a monstrous bass bomb right in the middle of the jam that doesn't come through with the official recording-- at least not on the version available via YouTube (which I am assuming is the same recording as the LivePhish app). To me it is the epicenter of the jam. Placement should be right at 13:30. You can hear the crowd react, but no elephantine bomb. With the aud mic recordings the reverberation lasts for about ten seconds. Experiencing live, because you could feel it simultaneously with hearing it, the end effect was as though it came from some place other than the band. A multidirectional quantum that emerged out of nowhere, warmly enfolded everyone in its presence and then faded back to the alternate plane where it had been summoned.

It is pointless to provide analytics on a show that has a blow by blow by @waxbanks. Thus, these comments are a bit more personal.

Having been out of the live music thing since March of 2020, and having waded through a host of personal (in the dome and heart) challenges in the months preceding this gig, I was walking in with no musical expectations.

One thing was certain, however: a little tour magic was beginning to rear its head before I even connected with my intended posse. Being on that grassy camping lot was like coming home. A good start to the day.

What the music did on this day was to grab me by the scruff of the neck, and say, “Wake up! Snap out of it! Re-engage mf’er!” And so I did, dancing like a fool.

What this did do was begin clearing long locked cobwebs from my heart. By Saturday, I was the universe’s open book, and the crust was cleared from my cosmic radar. I could hear it by the end.

This is the show where replay evokes deep emotions, of all stripes, reminding me that “ There is a road, no simple highway / Between the dawn and the dark of night / And if you go, no one may follow / That path is for your steps alone.”

They’ve walked that path as musicians and humans; they’ve inspired me to step out again. I’ve never needed them like this before!

Just to add a few things not mentioned yet:

1. During the Wedge, for the second(?) limestone block lyric, shortly thereafter Trey squeezes in the phrase `limestone capital of the world', a title which which happens to belong to Bedford, IN, about 90 miles south of Deer Creek.

2. During the `be-bop' mention in Simple, there's a Magilla tease.

3. More this night than 8/8/21, IMO there's a half dozen (or more) Cross Eyed and Painless quotes from Trey. I wasn't at 8/7/21, and I know they played the song there, but I found those quotes in Carini (x2), Sand, Tube and Blaze (Mike's and Bowie on 8/8 as well)..

I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on this show as it was my first post-pandemic and my girlfriends first show as well. What a start with "Carini" and get the crowd pumping. It was my first trip to Deer Creek and what a beautiful experience it was hearing the band (after what feels like so long of a live hiatus).

One thing I wanted to highlight was the "Sand" in the first set, which has stuck with me the past year. The first three numbers were beautifully linked and a great way to kick things off for the night. But the Sand is what brought me to that "feeling" that we all get when we listen to Phish (especially live Phish with a great jam).

Dare I say...a musical state of nirvana?

For me, I had another spiritual moment during the Sand jam. Trey using the loop pedal enhances the quality and I appreciate he tastefulness in how he uses it. I'm not going to dig into the musical details (totally willing to another time), but when certain harmonies, frequencies, octaves and rhythms all interplay with each other in addition to the backing of the band- yeah, it was a moment. Trey opening up the jam with his guitar cries made it seem as if the ascension was nearing completion.

Boom- back to reality (and the song).

Another great show, another great spiritual moment.

This was my very first Phish show after being a fledgling fan for about half a year. My good friend has been a Phish freak for years and after pushing them on me for awhile something clicked when I heard the 12/1/95 Mikes Groove and I knew I wanted in on Phish. Another friend of mine told me about going to Deer Creek as tickets were relatively affordable. With that I knew I needed to make the trip as well. Legendary band at a legendary venue after not being able to see any shows for over a year? Count me in

As previously mentioned, going into the show I was still but a Phish noob. I knew enough songs to be able to identify them when they started playing but not all. Needless to say after having my brain completely de- and reconstructed while on the lawn during the Blaze On>Wilson>Simple sequence I was completely sold on Phish. Only got to see the Deer Creek run last year but it spring-boarded me to go to 10 shows in 2022. Best band in the world.

Set 1: They bust out of the gates with a lot of energy in Carini...except for Fishman, who plays the same thing for the entire jam (with a few of the most basic fills thrown in here and there). More of the same with Sand. Nice version of Tube. Overall a fairly standard first set that showed potential to be better.

Set 2/e: There were some good moments in the Blaze On jam. The jam is decent overall but nothing special. It ends with the typical Phish 3.0 crescendo before they transition back to Blaze On. Simple is another story. The Simple jam has a lot of interesting ideas going on, and the band really steps off the cliff (Fish included). I've definitely heard better performances of the song itself, but this is one of the more exploratory Simple jams I've heard. Even though I loved the exploration, I don't hate how they brought it back to the song at the end of the jam. I'd rather be left wanting for more than feeling like the band was beating a dead horse. Maybe not the all-time best Simple, but definitely a version that needs to be heard. There's nothing noteworthy about the rest of set 2. The encore is also unremarkable, other than Sanity always being fun to hear.

Overall an average show that would've been below average without the Simple. This version of Simple is the first thing I've heard from this tour (and I haven't heard 8/4 yet) that I'd tell someone they need to at least check out. Everything else has been, in the grand scheme of all the decades of Phish music that exists, unremarkable. I'm not saying this Simple is necessarily an all-time great, but it's definitely noteworthy.