Another show reminding me why I am so in love with this band. There may be some setlist similarities to night one of Dick's last year, but that doesn't matter in the slightest. Everything was played with purpose and intent, and pushed beyond anything you would expect. A 2 slot Hood means they meant business; and they closed the deal with straight fire that never let up until the closing sounds of you beautiful people screaming sounds of bliss/mind fuckery when the final notes of Julius were played. Thank you Phish. Once again.

All timer first set and set of the year competitor second set. No lowlights. Highlights would be just a list of the songs. But Hood, Ghost-C&P, Carini, Light especially. Incredible effort and energy that attempted to incinerate all negative thoughts.

Don't call it a curveback. Rating: 5 stars and 2 planets

The (re)View from Section 115

Free: way too fast as usual, but the quick tempo set up the Eminence Front tease nicely. We were there to forget, forget that we were hiding, forget who were think we are or who we are supposed to be in our daily lives.

Harry Hood: It's never too early in the show for glowstick explosions. @MShow96 was the one who had spotted us and waved us down to his seat, so at the appropriate time, I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you Mr. MShow". Hark The Herald Angels Sing ("Glo-o-o-o-o-o-ria") tease from Trey, which was fitting as we were soon levitating up to dance with angels above the earth.

What's The Use?: Clouds were still hanging in the sky, glowing pink with the last rays of the sunset and the urban lights of Denver. When the band begins the second melodic theme ultra-quietly, and then builds it up, it propelled us even higher into the sky, up in the clouds, carefree.

Blaze On: a good time to heat things up as the temperature had dropped. Probably the weakest song of this set, which proves how strong this set was.

Ghost: I felt a few scattered drops of precipitation during this one. We were standing (or more precisely, grooving) in the wind and rain, hoping for Phish to look, but they would keep us waiting - or were they waiting for us?

Crosseyed & Painless: The segue was well executed, and I was pleased that the band ratcheted down the tempo for this one - maybe even slower than 8/13/97 Star Lake? I took the opportunity to use the facilities during this one, because I knew there would be no lines, and because it afforded me the opportunity to cheer up others in the Men's room by singing, "Still urinating".

Simple: another pleasant segue. At this point I started getting worried about the band throwing down three of their most reliable jam vehicles in a row, along with the surprise Hood earlier. I decided that this was the band challenging themselves a la Baker's Dozen, getting the obvious tunes out of the way in order to dig deeper into their repertoire over the next two nights. We shall see…

Cavern: a satisfactory landing from the mass levitation during the Simple jam, adding punctuation to a surprisingly open-ended first set sequence.

setbreak: @missblue75 and I were wearing disco ball necklaces to the show, courtesy of @CavalierGirl; during set break we presented these necklaces to esteemed guests @DreamComeTrue and @hepkat, informing them that they were "even more Fam" now by wearing them.

No Men In No Man's Land: I was slightly surprised to have called this set opener during set break, but who could be disappointed by the band leading off with their recent and most reliable jam vehicle? 20,000 phans were floating in the air once again with elation.

Carini: And with that mighty riff, the band had played all five songs they had played during Night 1 Set 2 last year at Dick's. Schrödinger's cat floated above his box, looked at me and said, "Deja Vu much?", and was gone before I could respond. @SkyTrainWand had appeared next to me at the start of this set, and the people all were screaming when they saw the Monk. But it may have been just my voice that was screaming...

Theme From The Bottom: the eighth tune repeated from Night 1 last year. I was seriously doubting my own presence in the venue, believing that I was observing the band omnisciently, while they were simultaneously observing my dancing, writhing body omnisciently, while still playing this wonderful song. I texted @EvenCarlSagan, who I knew was watching the webcast from home, to ask him for confirmation that this show was actually happening as I was witnessing it. He didn't respond until after the show was over, which answered my question anyway.

Mercury: This was too much for some people, and I saw many who had been levitating were now returning to seats on the aluminum alloy bleachers. Pacing is important, whether listening, creating, aerobicizing, or orbiting the earth. I followed the many sections of this song, directing my attention to the odd rhythms and the flowing, swooping lights.

Light: At this point, I was near hysterics. *Another* huge jam? Was this really happening, or wasn't it? Does Phish even play shows like this anymore? I was utterly lost mentally during this jam, absorbed by the sights and sounds, taken far away. What did I believe was true, anyway? I was only certain that when Phish ended the song, bowed, and left the stage, I only wanted to hear more.

Martian Monster: My trip is short? Yeah, I wish! The breakdown duet between Trey and Mike was great, but it was Fishman who brought everyone back to the main riff afterwards. He may have slipped up on the MalletKat during Mercury, but from his drum throne he ruled his domain throughout.

Julius: We ought to be present and aware of your surroundings, even when they don't appear to be real. It's a stretch, but that was my takeaway from last night, anyway.

Felt like tonight could have gone either way after the Curveball debacle. Either the momentum they’d built would have been brought to a screeching halt, OR they’d come out swinging trying to make up for it. Luckily it seems like we got the latter. The first set was absolutely fire, IMO. Second set also had some gems but when 3.0 Phish has been typified by mediocre first followed by great seconds, I’d say the second didn’t stand out as much. Either way, phenomenal show. Can’t wait for the rest

Ps: Free had some serious Eminence Front teases that should be listed here

This first set was an absolute heater but I don’t think set 2 was as high energy. Obviously there were some solid jams but the focus from the first set wasn’t there. I’m surprised no one has commented on Trey’s direct quotes of Pink Floyd’s Young Lust at the end of Mercury. He played the main riff of that tune for a solid 30 seconds.

Disclaimer: I watched the HD webcast. I've been a phan since 1994 but did not become obsessed until 2015. As my wife always tells me, nothing ruins one of my stories like an eye witness. Not to say I lie, I just tend to embellish. This is my first review ever for anything.

S1

- free: they come out firing, taking us back to the start of the tour and skips first song of the summer emerges again, mike leads the way in first part of jam, loving treys new fx, build to a sweet but subtle peak, come back to chorus and sing their hearts out. the boys are here to win back the hearts of their phans

- hood: mike is once again laying the thick gooey funk, trey starts laying down some gritty riffs with the new fx warming up, crowd is singing their asses off, trey looks directly into the web cam during hood jam and sees inside your soul (watch for it!), gentle trey solo with solid glow stick war, band trying to find their way a bit but you can tell they are all in and its going to be a fully committed and passionate night at the office, mike continues to shine, fishman is feeling it and page is absolutely killing it, builds to the second peak of the night, blissful and filled with love and positive energy, all you need to know about is you can feel good about hood, 2 for 2, solid start to the night

- what's the use: it's always a good sign for the night when what's the use appears in the first set, it's never been played this much in one tour, some are disappointed by that, I think they like it because they can gauge how fucking tight they are for the night and if each of them have it, well this night they most certainly have it, a few min in and we're going below ground, not necessarily dark, but more like entering outer space through a tunnel in the ground, it's minimal, cinematic, and comes back to the song as beautifully as it left, with trey luring in his target with gentle lullaby notes that silence talkers (his target)

- blaze: my friend at the show just commented that this set is very intentional and I must agree there is definitely a story unfolding, I'm just glad they wrote this song, it's a great first setter and has a super fun dad rock vibe, but the bottomline is the worst days are gone and the band plays on, and off they go on their third jam of the night, page sets the tone, hands off to trey who continues down a more sentimental path as the band for the first time tonight fully connects and shows what dad rock can and should be, trey continues to push, fishman pushes harder, first sick lights of the night, could go down as an all time great blaze, one that will definitely be referred to in years to come, mike talks to tech, trey od's on water, chats with fishman and page

- ghost: when I said a story was unfolding this is the one I was referring to, this could go really deep, some nice runs by page before the chorus but they are building this one slowly, as they enter the jam they feel connected right out of the gate with each of them going on their own lil journey before trey makes the first attempt to take them somewhere happy, mike and page want more spacey, fishman wants to push it and he does to some of the most unique sounds of the summer, until trey reels us back in with his patented sound of the last few summers, reminiscent of nminml 16, at this point they are firing on all cylinders and everyone is off and running on their own sick solo, trey breaks out the wah wah, mike and page take the lead and the first signs of BD17 emerge in Colorado, although new territory for sure, which I'm sure the boys found over the last few weeks knowing they needed to deliver a performance that soothed our souls, and boy have they, it is officially curvy dicks and the crowd is loving it, fuck I'm even loving it on this free (if you consider a grand in travel cost to curveball free) goddamn HD webcast

- crosseyed: and now a seamless transition into my all time favorite, this is too good not to be rehearsed but fuck who cares it is so good, fishman kills the vocals, trey loves what he is hearing, and after the first chorus the boys once again go somewhere special, first set is ratcheting up at a pace that is going to be tough to eclipse in the second half, but if there was ever a night when they were going to do it, it's tonight, after chorus two were hooked in again and this time their taking into the depths of the still waiting jams of gorge16, but super jazzadelic, kind of like a morphine drip after too much time in the sun drinking daiquiris and eating edibles, and then the first sign of hendrix appears, could an Izabella be on the horizon, we'll just have to wait and see as we're still waiting, after returning to the still waiting chorus for a few rounds we return to an upbeat jam that quickly plummets into the depths of our souls, trey is mike breaks out his noisemaker on the mic while trey, page and fish lay down minimal licks of the psych ward variety, until simple emerges out of the anxiety

- simple: the intention of this set is clear, we fucking get it but hey we're free, you can feel good, although what's the use, ah don't sweat it the worst days are gone, and we're going to blaze on motherfucker, right into the best jamming we have done all summer, but we're gonna keep you waiting for more because hey we're a band and we've got it simple, and now back to the sweetest, buttery jam of the night, the mix sounds fantastic and the boys are once again hooked in and firing on all cylinders, so good to have them back and all that curveball shit behind us, this group has a ton left in the tank and nobody is a better entertainer and ratcheting up the energy over the course of a tour than phish, I could've used another ten minutes of this but a seamless transition into cavern will finish off this set

- cavern: trey is getting pumped, dancing and jumping, and he should be because he just hit this first set song selection out of the park, or in tonight's case, the back of the net, slight flubb on the lyrics because he is so amped, but immediately locked back in and the wailing guitar licks begin to set the tone for where this is going, a brief dance by trey and mike lead us fishmans short solo, a pause and then we blast off into a hormone collector, for a tight emphatic effects filled close to the first set

- the best nights are when it just keeps getting better and that first set went nowhere but up, or maybe no mans land

S2

- NMINML: two years ago this was my favorite jam of the first night and still reference regularly, we're happy that they're here and if trey builds off the first set ghost effects, which he is, then we are in for a ride right out of the gate, here we go, immediately locked in, mike killing it, page layering away and fishman setting a blistering pace, trey turns around to adjust his effects and begins taking on a ride, page sets the tone, takes us to another dimension as he jumps between multiple boards, and now the eyeball lights make their first appearance, and here goes trey with his patented 16 dicks NMINML fx, patiently locking everyone into a groove, fishman keep s pushing, trey starts exploring new territory, as does page, and now the boys have decided to go somewhere a little darker for the first time this weekend, but fishman will not let the pace slow, he continues to push and it is magic, mike is killing it with spicy dark mustard, this is must re-listen shit, killer ending

- carini: at this point the crowd is going nuts, the band is all smiles and page and mike are once again laying down brand new licks that are delivering a very original carini, trey takes the lead with another original lead with which i do not have any past comparisons, all i can say is the crowd looks a lot shorter from the holes they are dance digging into the ground, fisherman refuses to letup, the rhythm section is in full control tonight and as they maintain the foundation page once again shines as trey weaves in and out of his runs, we're somewhere special now and it feels right, like a you a sexy thang is playing around in there, and now we've landed in a place where every member feels comfortable doing their thang, its a super happy carini and where they go from here doesn't really matter, this show has delivered everything you could ask for, even after a festival gets cancelled, this band genuinely loves their phans and at this point in their careers will not let them down, this is all about respect and gratitude and i guarantee no one there is talking right now, they heart is simply too filled with love, and then they deliver by building to the next peak of the night with a bit of machine gun trey and incredible page runs, while mike and jon absolutely kill the rhythm with solos of their own, another all time great carini, with a peak that all i can say is the best of the summer and should go down in the carini history books for originality, and although it might not burst with love and light it will remind you of one of your best whippet hits ever

- theme: it always takes me back to being front and center at the pepsi arena, in this version gordo is absolutely crushing it and taking us on a p funk ride through the galaxy, but when we return it always important to know who is your friend, because you're going to be with them your entire life, and you're going to have weekends like atl 18, curveball and curvy dicks, where the boys are absolutely shredding this evenings performance, not a single moment where you're like wtf, this has been a show for the ages and this theme reiterates that this band is as good today as they were 21 years ago, but more wise and caring, which is why mercury is the right ballad for tonight

- mercury: i was hoping for a dirt in this slot but anything will work at this point, what a show, fishman on the marimba is always a treat and tonight he absolutely nails it, they stick to the song structure but they are locked in again and after the nets unbreakable chorus they lock in on their next jam of the night, i have feeling this could be a real bust out, it starts with very simple patterns, fishman, pushes, page leads, mike and trey riff off each other until trey plays the nets unbreakable on his guitar and they set sail on what appears to be their way to the next peak of the night, but before we get there we get some of the dirtiest guitar work of the evening, and to no avail the peak never happens and ripcords into light

- light: light starts off a bit shaky compared to the rest of the show but they eventually settle into a light is growing brighter groove that has energy and passion, and as they slow it down to let each member's sensitivity shine, they eventually land in another new and original place where each member is offering something unique for the night and stretching what would be an ordinary ballad for any other band to a place of new discovery, reminiscent of 2012 light explorations, build to a solid peak with machine gun trey runs being driven by mike's killer bass licks, and if one peak wasn't enough you get two this night, and a 4th quarter light that delivers as you would hope any 4th quarter jam would, standout performance of this song is usually mike and tonight is no different, and of course you cannot forget about ck5 on light, his work is outstanding on this rendition, and that concludes set 2, the light certainly is growing brighter now

E

- martian monster: what could be better than phishs sense of humor. your trip is short. do not sleep on this jam. mike and page go next level and trey brings back the first set effects that are becoming a staple of dicks. highlighted by a mike trey dual solo slug fest, trey face fucks mike until gordo blows his load all over this dicks crowd, this is a special night for sure

- julius: looking at the stats the first show of summer started and ended the same as this one, free > julius, not sure what the message is there but they certainly left the crowd wanting more, as one phan (nagle) said "these fucking guys have never been more dialed in"

This won't be the last review I leave about this show. But the Ghost->Crosseyed needs to be added to the jam chart. The jams out of each were both unique and the segue was ridiculous. It reminded me of the 12/30/97 AC/DC Bag where they almost went into Psycho Killer but just teased it. That sequence was too good. Also, the Mercury needs to be on the jam chart because it is the best version to date with Mexico 2017 being close. The funk jam following "the net's unbreakable" part is ridiculously funky. None of the jams I mentioned should be highlighted yellow, but they should at least be listed

Great show; beautiful weather and a great vibe at the venue! Perhaps the staff @ phish.net would reconsider the "Eminence Front" tease/quote in Free, which I don't believe it was. Though it was similar to the "Come and join the party ... dressed to kill" line from Eminence, it just appears to be a descending set of notes from Trey. A side by side listen would clear it up. Discuss!

This was a great show. It was really similar to night 1 of Dick's last year but had some better moments. Harry Hood and the Ghost->Crosseyed was incredible. Light really stole the show. Some of the jams like Carini took a while to develop but being there and getting lost in the groove was an incredible experience. Can't wait for the rest of the weekend!

Looks like I'm an outlier on this one. After flying across the country to get Curveballed, my expectations and anticipation for this show were sky high. I was locked and loaded and ready to go to Pluto, but this show never quite achieved escape velocity. Despite a couple of really cool sections (Ghost > C&P was a stellar segue), the juice just wasn't there for me tonight. The jams mostly felt unfocused, and wandered for long periods of time without really getting anywhere. Seems like I'm an odd man out on this one, so feel free to take my review with a grain of salt, but I will not be re-listening to this one.

I’m really surprised to see that there is no mention of the You Sexy Thing tease throughout the show. It actually defined the show in almost every song - at some point they broke into the tease jam during each song that wove its way throughout the night. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this keep happening...