Unfortunately, it seems the 'ratings mafia' got ahold of this one early. In fact, they're busy down-voting Friday's spectacular show as well. I understand that a lot of people spent a lot of money on Mondegreen and skipped Dick's this year, but this run has produced three excellent shows with no sign of letting up. The FOMO among East Coasters is real and it's palpable. Don't let their bitterness color your opinion of this one.

After such a scorcher on Friday, I tried to temper my expectations going into this show. How could the band replicate that sort of success? The 46 Days opener was unremarkable, but served its purpose and kicked off the show on a positive note. The first real jam comes by way of Oblivion, which has been slowly building momentum since its debut last year. I haven't listened to every version they've turned in so far, but I suspect this 18-minute shapeshifter is one of the better takes. The slinky rhythm of this one seems to lend itself to easy jamming. A fiery Axilla II sets the stage for a lovely transition from the outro jam into Bathtub Gin, the night's second major outing. Also clocking in around 18 minutes, this jam is more streamlined and less exploratory than Oblivion's, but it hits the spot.

The second quarter dials back the type II explorations in favor of standard readings of Undermind, Maze, and Free. The tempos are hot and the solo breaks are rollicking. With a little time left on the clock, the band dropped into a surprise set-closing Most Events Aren't Planned. A curveball of sorts, this one settles into its role as a set closer and builds to a satisfying peak. All in all, a solid first set.

After a truncated setbreak, the band wasted no time in getting energy back up with a set-opening singalong. Unmoored from its typical role as a closer/encore, Loving Cup immediately brings the crowd to its feet. With no real jam opportunity, the band swiftly transitions to KDF and the first chance for some exploration in the second set. Clocking in around 25 minutes, this jam is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the set. It covers so much ground it's difficult to describe after just a couple listens, but its easy rock and roll groves stand in contrast to Friday's nervy, peaky liquid magma improv. It probably won't make any best-of lists, but it's worth hearing just the same.

As KDF concludes, we're treated to another new track: What's Going Through Your Mind. Making only its third appearance, the one seemed to elicit confused looks from casual fans. Many in the stands took a seat while trying to comprehend the story behind the song's unquestionably Phishy lyrics. In prime position for an extended jam, the band wastes no time in peppering the simple chord progression with darkness and mystery. Though shorter than proceeding jam, this one proves to be equally interesting. If you're trying to familiarize yourself with this song's capabilities, this would be a GREAT version to listen to.

The fourth quarter, while slim on the big jams, finally delivers some of the fabled "Saturday Night dance party" vibes we're all craving. First, we get a red-hot Crosseyed that never lets up. Next, the band tosses out a rare mid-set Melt, offering some mind-bending psychedelic fury that coalesces into a rhythmless melange of sound. Shorter than usual, this Melt is transitional — a comma rather than an exclamation point. Our cool-down comes by way of another new track, Monsters, making just its fifth appearance. This dark, somber ballad seems to fit this show in both tenor and concept, bridging two the band's most monstrous tracks and providing a brief respite before giving way to a massive set-closing Carini. Like Loving Cup before it, Carini is unmoored from its usual role as a jam vehicle. This version hits the gas and drives like a banshee toward the finish line. I was quite content with how it turned out.

Finally, we get a succinct one-two encore of the always-enjoyable Bug and a screaming First Tube. While it pales in comparison to Friday's YEM bonus jam, this encore still wraps up the show nicely.

While it might not have reached the heights of Friday's jam spectacular, this show was a perfectly serviceable follow-up performance. It provided enough color and contrast to distinguish itself. It produced at least four massive jams that occupied about half of its total runtime. It also featured a number of red-hot type I outings that were more about energy than form. I think there's a little something for everyone here. It's certainly worth a listen.

Down voters are invading, this is a 4.4/5 - maybe a tad lower than Friday’s performance given the epic encore. Maybe mondegreen folks are annoyed due to the letdown of Sunday, but I count at least 5 songs that will be revisited - Oblivion, Gin, KDF!!, WGTYM, C&P and even Melt. Let’s face it, the boys knew they missed a chance to put a stamp on this epic tour at Mondegreen - they’re certainly making up for it the first three days at Dicks!

The rating of this show (currently hovering around 4.00) is bonkers. If 2024 Phish has taught us anything, it's to actually listen to the show instead of just rating it based on the setlist alone. In 2024 the song - any song - has become mere pretext to wildly exploratory and transformative jamming. This phenomenon has slowly been asserting itself since mid-2022, was reinforced all this summer, and got supercharged by the spectacular ambient set at Mondegreen. Need proof? How about Thursday night? Ether Edge (a song I have dismissed as Christian Rock-lite and might actively dislike) goes deep and thick in the first set and the second set explodes with 40+ minutes of Sigma Oasis>Pillow Jets. Setlist lurkers alone probably look at that and think "meh">"meh", but you'd be sadly mistaken.

Saturday showcases more of the same. The first set is so hot it feels much more like the third set of Friday's masterpiece. Every song is loose yet confident and ready for liftoff. 46 Days brings the wah soaked funk right off the bat in the jam. Oblivion blossoms and devolves and blooms anew. Evil Phish and bliss peaking in one package. The Gin is 19 minutes of fire. Maze features an incredible extended Page Peak. And MEAP finally gets the attention it deserves - well sung, well played - demolishing the final chord progression that has been begging for hose ever since it was written. Trey loved it so much you can very clearly hear him shout "yeah!" at 8:29. The floor at Dick's (Mike's side just behind the stack - respect the boogie yall) straight exploded.

You reviewers might not have loved it, but the second set opener of Cup is pretty stark evidence that the band thought they were doing just fine, thank you very much. What follows is another setlist reviewer blind spot - KDF>WGTYM. Or more like KDFalls Apart>WGTYMindf@&*k. At just under 26 minutes, the KDF jam is loose limbed, brave and spectacular. Multiple movements. Tempo changes. Fully formed passages built, deconstructed and scuttled for new ground. Then it all collapses into noise followed by a neat segue into WGTYM. Like many newer Trey compositions the song itself feels a bit too cute and on the nose, but it's just a jumping off point. They leave the song structure entirely and go industrial evil, nudging up to the effects laden jamming of Mexico 2024 and rising to a tidy peak before chording into C&P. Combined - 42 minutes of inspiration. And somehow if those exact same jams were in a DWD, Tweezer, Bowie or any other old school, tent pole jam vehicle, the .net would be raving about back to back all-timers.

Often in these reviews the reviewer mentions what's "worth" listening to. Howsabout we try listening to the whole damn thing? I know my brain got wired before the advent of a la carte music via Spotify, etc., but if you are rating a show it deserves your full attention. Looking at the setlist alone in 2024 gives you very little information about the quality of show itself. Many of the highlights of this show, and of the entire Dick's run, just don't stand out on paper. Cities. Ether Edge. Sigma Oasis. Pillow Jets. Steam. Oblivion. KDF. WGTYM. MYFY. SYSF. Not exactly crusty vet setlist magic. But these are the foundational jams of 3 1/2 nights of incredibly nimble and explosive music. Hell, even the outtro jam of Monsters has some extra sauce on it.

We have been extolled through the years to Read The Book. I'd like to add Listen To The Show to the mantra as well.

Thank you to the Texas crew, Maui crew, Cali crew and security personnel getting the bleep down at the floor entrance just to the right of the stack Mike's side on all four nights. Apologies to the chompers and standers that we joyfully and gently ushered past our collectively swirling mass.

Loved this one. Band sounded engaged all night and never bored or going through the motions. Inventive sections tucked into so many songs throughout the night. Zero BS. KDF and Gin prob the two big highlights but I think this is a show that will reward repeated listening over time — the band was easily tapping into the thing all night.

Full disclosure:

The last of the dozen shows I've been to was 10 years ago. I enjoy the streaming broadcasts, and still occasionally listen to the '94 Gamehenge in West Virginia front to back.

Rather than spew negatives, instead I will ask a simple question out of curiosity.

Why is maze never mentioned in any reviews? Do they fuck it up every time? It's a quintessential Phish tune, for musicianship and the frantic high speed solos.

I've also never understood Rift or Horn turning people off. The dynamics and composition are A+.

I could listen to every album from Junta to undermind forward and back.

The sheer brilliance of cohesion on stage peaked somewhere between 1994 and 1999. Just IMHO.

Rock on phans.

I'll preface by saying that even a bad Phish show is still a good Phish show. And I'll also preface with saying it wasn't bad, but not necessarily good either. This show was like a rollercoaster with a lot of highs and a lot of lows. Setlist choice and flow/momentum had a lot to do with it. Songs felt out of place in this particular rotation they used. Energy was either really up (Loving Cup > KDF) and then really down (SOAM, monsters). I hate when they do this shit. Play an absolute banger then kill the vibe by playing a slow ballot. It was evident too as I heard mumbles and groans around me and saw people in droves going to take a piss break (SOAM, Monsters). Speaking of SOAM, what was up with that 3 minute part where it sounded like absolute chaos in the jam towards the end? I saw it on the looks of everyone around me like: "Is it supposed to sound like this?", "This doesn't sound good." People stopped dancing and vibing too. It was very bad on the ears and vibes. The encore was meh. Bug is a nice ballot and First Tube is always good no matter what. I give the show like a 3.4-3.8

I'm being nit-picky maybe because my expectations were high. But they should be since they are coming off 2 absolute bangers of shows. And I'm only critical because I love this band so much. I think that I traveled far and expected a lot is what let me down. It was still fun, it was still Phish. But I wish they did better in the setlist selection and jammed more songs out in the 2nd set.