What a show! My girlfriend's sister lives literally across the street from Fenway, I can see the park from the window beside me as I type this. Couldn't ask for a better commute to the venue. We went in around 7:15. It was pouring rain but the forecast said that things were supposed to clear up completely around 8 so we were optimistic. They were not letting anyone who wasn't in the grandstands (which are sheltered by the pavilion) go to their seats because of lightning. It is impossible to convey how sweaty and airless and disgusting it was inside. I suggested we go up in search of air. We started climbing stairs and just headed towards where people were not. There were Fenway staffers checking tickets at most of the junctions where more appealing sections met less appealing ones. At one such junction a man was arguing with a staffer about his ticket and we just walked through while a second staffer looked right through us. So we found ourselves in the corporate box suite section which I think is sort of a weird place to want to be for a Phish show but to each their own. It was nice because we could breathe and we weren't getting soaked. We chatted with a very nice and very drunk guy who asked us if we had deodorant (we, of course, did not) and invited us into a box. We declined because neither of us drinks or does anything else anymore because, well you get it. A park employee told us that the band was going to start at 830 and that they were given the go ahead to break Fenway's strict 10:30 curfew IF they did not take a set break. This had us intrigued as it meant we were probably in store for a full 3-ish hour show with no breaks. We walked around the top of the park for a while before making our way to our seats which was arduous because everybody going onto the field has to have their tickets checked again and although we were not on the field we were close and so had to wait in 80% of the line to get to our seats.

SO THE MUSIC
Look, I am writing this just after the show, I can't really speak to the re-listen value of most of the songs. This was a phenomenal show to be at, so glad that I was there. That Carrini opener was perfect and really energized the soggy crowd. Into Possum, great, fun. SYSF sucked a little bit of the energy back out but you know what? That's bullshit. Sure, the lyrics were apparently written by Elmo, but this is a good song, Trey obviously has fun playing it and they played it well tonight. I almost always end up liking this song when I stop judging the lyrics and I really dug it tonight. I don't really have anything to say about Thread. Wolfman's got everyone back into it. I was extremely excited when they started up Reba after Wolfman's but I was increasingly less excited as it seemed like Trey was doing an experiment where he tried to play Reba as if he had only ever heard it once before playing on a boombox that had been buried about a foot underground. In all honesty it sounded to me like there were some sound issues that were throwing him off but I'm speculating. They recovered towards the end of the tune and started up a very nice Back on the Train. Mound was Mound, I don't really know About to Run so I don't really remember much about it. DwD through to the end of the show I thought was really, really great. Were any of these the ultimate version of these songs? No. But I really just loved the whole run. DwD got everyone going again after a bit of a lull. Simple was short, yes but really fun. I honestly really like hearing BDTNL, if you don't that fine but I was happy to hear it tonight. DDHVL was short and fun and 46 Days kept the energy going and had a nice mini jam that sort of but didn't really segue into What's the Use. Mexican Cousin was fun and Trey looked like he was enjoying himself. Also Sprach wasn't a particularly strong version but was fine and I though SOAM was really very good. Suzy was Suzy and Page was on fire, like really really great during this version. I seriously didn't stop dancing for this entire run of songs which the woman next to me appreciated and gave me a high five. This is information that you need. Rise/Come Together was well-played and fine but Wilson was a perfect way to end what for me was a really really great experience. Some people online were quick to denounce this show as a worthless dud, as they have for every show this tour. To which I honestly ask, can you still have fun? Phish brought it tonight. I don't know when people started to demand every show being 3 hours of deep jams with three or four cooldown songs. Most shows are not this. What makes for a good streaming experience is maybe not what makes a for great live experience. I'm going to try to keep that in mind and I think I'll be happier about listening along to the tour.

Compulsory “you had to be there” caveat. Musically, the show was fine! But this show ended up being about more than just the music (which might already mean we’re starting from behind, but I digress), so let’s start there.

Rain delay. Tarps are out, people are sardines in a 100-year-old concourse, and everyone’s getting sweaty and antsy. Chants to be let into seats are starting every couple minutes, interspersed with groans of disappointment as lightning strikes the Boston area with decreasing frequency as first 7:00 then 7:30 pass. Spirits are high, but the Phenway Phaithful are growing restless with the discomfort and anticipation. They’ll play, right? Right?

Around 7:45, we’re finally let into our seats, rain still coming down but lightening up. Being released from the concourse “prison,” the energy in the stadium has taken a turn for the better, and fans who might otherwise not have interacted much are chatting with each other. The band has tweeted an 8:30 start, so folks are counting down.

8:30 arrives, and the band comes out. What rain pun song will we see? Plenty of guesses, but none were Carini. Opening notes blast out, and the crowd loses it. A short Carini smoothly gives way to Possum. Fenway is rocking. We settle in to SYSF with a decent little jam to accompany. Thread’s a good one. Great selection, easing out of SYSF back into the darker energy we started with...until Wolfman’s pulls us into a joyful, funky place. My whole section was grooving, and CK5’s lights showed plenty of others were too. REBA! Think Trey was excited too, as he made some flubs throughout, but combine the complexity of the composed section with the events of the day, and it’s not disappointing, per se.

After Reba goes off the rails in parts, we get Back on the Train. Nodding heads abound. Another brief but rocking jam, the theme for much of this tour, it seems....clapping overhead (the timing of which not a single person in Fenway could get right)...it’s Mound! Fun time time for all. I’m personally unfamiliar with the GotF material and generally skeptical of anything new, but About to Run rocked. Given how my section took it in stride, you’d have thought it was a song Phish had been playing for 10+ years.

Swirling bass, then silence...the crowd starts to hum, and Mike slaps that DWD intro. It’s on. Nice little jam and a short-feeling 14 minutes later (including one instance of dancing on Trey’s lawn turning into dancing on his field), we learn how to compose a band: cymbals, saxophone, bebop, and skyscrapers. The math is Simple but profound. But the math counts BDTNL? Weird. Not the song I was hoping for in this spot, especially as we thought there was a 10:30 hard stop, but the gang brings me around, and I’m happy happy with all my new friends by the tune’s end.

Ok, here’s where I seem to diverge from everyone else in the universe: I don’t like DDHVL. Well, I didn’t. It starts. I pout. It rocks. I come around, no longer a curmudgeon on this one but glad it’s kept short in favor of...46 Days! Which I’d been hoping to see. Disappointing to see it peter out way earlier than it could have gone, but What’s the Use in hoping Phish does what you want with a jam? Happy to have gotten these two, and we’re blowing past 10:30. How much longer will we go? A few minutes, or to 11:00? Or longer? Are we going to keep Boston up past its bedtime?

One fine but joyful Mexican Cousin later, and Fish is taking us back 18 years on a space odyssey. Heck yeah. The Phaithful remain engaged as the band goes through a fun but not particularly standout version of 2001. Every song past 10:30 is a gift, though, so we are eating it up. And then another drum-led song starts up, and it’s SOaM. Yum. I really enjoyed this one in the moment! It went a little somewhere before coming back to a rocking solo calling back the tune’s main three-note structure. Surely that was the set? Suzy had other plans. Put that woman in the loony bin.

By the time this one’s over, it’s 11:00. The gang bows and heads off. Is that it? The house lights aren’t on... Back out we come, and it’s Rise/Come Together. That’s fine! Not my favorite, but good vibes abound. Then Trey makes a half-flub(?) and hits that E we all know and love. Wilson? Wilson? WIL-SOOON. Phish must’ve won the pennant tonight because the whole place is going nuts for a rocking but compact rendition.

Off come the guitar and bass, and now we have closure on the night. What started with unanswered questions, anxiety, and discomfort gave way to much more than 7/5 had to offer. That was it. And it was a party.

My short in the moment review.....

Set 1.
Carini!!! Fifi!!! Scared the shit out of the rain.

Possum. The anticipation for this show rocked. It blew the roof of the place.

Set your souls free. Fun funk space jam.

Thread that’s a tosser? Needs more time cooking.
Wolfmans. Fun peak.

Reba. The white stadium light stands looked like star destroyers flying in.

Back on the train. Fucking trucking. Ramming speed.

Mound fuck ya!!!!!! So much fun. Ya, not perfect but always great.
About to run. Angry trey rock face. Get it red.

Down with the disease. Gooooooo!!!!dancing on the field. High tempo lift off!! Sliding through the solar fields. Traveling through space.

Simple. Great soulful jam. Entering space again. Watch out for asteroids.

Backwards down the number. Fun.

Death don’t hurt very long. Fun and angry.

46 days. Love that cowbell Jon. More cowbell!!!Space end into

what’s the use. Great segue

Mexican cousin. Love this song

2001. Not 20 minutes....one day phish will remember they can jam this longer.

Split open and melt. Reminded me of a smashing pumpkins jam.

Suzy greenberged

Encore.
Come together/rise up. Send it back to the kitchen. It needs some more time
In the oven.
Wilson. Rocking. Kavsox vox. Tease.

On a more positive note with this show in particular especially during backwards down the number line and I really noticed it during about to run TREY sang really nice and clear loud that’s what we want we do not want timid meek anxious trey we want Trey singing at the top of his Lungs I know he has many tour dates And more than half of the songs require him as the lead singer so he has to keep his voice to have lots of water and do the whole Céline Dion thing he’s never gonna sound like Celine Dion we don’t care we just want you to sound loud not necessarily the best singer in the worldWe have never expected that we don’t even really want that but we want to be able to hear the lyrics in lawn at home in car w my pet cat or at work Especially that’s where I noticed that the music is way louder than the voices but tonight thumbs up all around I don’t know if it was Fenway is being a baseball field they gave it this better acoustics or not but trade definitely sounded louder and I loved that. Michelle was still mediocre sorry to be a buzz kill

On July 6th, 2019 m’lady and I were midway through a run that would have us visit three American cities that were each hosting a pair of Phish shows; a triple double-shot if you will. We woke up in the spare bedroom at our friend’s place in Boston and after leisurely shaking the previous night’s cobwebs loose we set out for what proved to be an overtly pleasant day strolling up the lengthy Charles River until we set upon a pop-up outdoor pub (it may have been a permanent enterprise, but it sure looked rickety to me. Or perhaps vice-versa).

I assume we strolled back down the river afterwards to return to our friends’ place but I’m a little foggy on that. Regardless, we ended up heading to Fenway Park either in or after a pretty heavy rain (but unquestionably under some very dark and ominous skies) for a second consecutive night of Phish.

(Come to think of it, the day we walked up the river was so sunny and beautiful that I’m questioning now if that this might have occurred on the following day, because it certainly rained on this day, and not just a little. Now I remember…we ended up walking away from the river and finding a small bar with a cool name…maybe Bukowski’s…where we had dinner and more drinks…but whether this was day one or day two remains a mystery…Ah well, no matter. One thing’s for sure: it would save us both a lot of time if I figured this stuff out before I started typing.)

It was too wet to bother with much of the lot scene so we went in to the stadium early. We had pretty great floor seats for this show but due to a lightning storm they weren’t letting anyone onto the field. We were instead ushered up to the covered bleachers where we waited out the storm with a few thousand other early-arriving fans. It was quite beautiful; we were all sitting there facing the same vista so whenever a lightning blast would light up the sky we’d all ooh and ahh like we were watching fireworks together.

The amazing light(ning) show was periodically punctuated with an update printed on Fenway Park’s famous giant screen. First we were told that the concert’s start-time would be delayed, then came reassurances that the concert was indeed going to happen. Finally the giant message board told us that due to the late start and the city’s live music curfew there would be no setbreak and the show would be one great big set instead of Phish’s standard of two sets.

Interesting.

Finally things cleared up and we were allowed down onto the floor. The show kicked off considerably late and was fantastic. I’m pretty sure this is the only time I saw the band play a full show in one single set and it made for a fun breaking of the wonderful monotony and somewhat predictability of a regular two-set Phish show. The idea of first set-songs versus second-set songs melted away into a sea of illogic. Did the midset Down With Disease mark the end of an imaginary setbreak? Wondering if this song or that song was an obvious set-closer became nonsensical, though ironically for the last forty minutes of the concert I kept looking at the venue’s oversized and impossible-not-to-notice clock mired in the constantly distracting thought that this has got to be the last song, And it kept not being the last song, as the band ended up playing a half-hour past what I assumed was the 11pm curfew. Turns out the city’s curfew was 11:30.

Anyway, it ended up being a beautiful night out and we were treated to another heckuva show. I even bought a show-specific t-shirt at the official merch table. It has come to be one of my favourite Phish shirts.

This was my 50th show and what a show it was! Perhaps the coolest venue I've ever seen phish play (SPAC is pretty spectacular as well) . I caught a Dead & Co show at Fenway a few years prior but honestly I wasn't very impressed. The sound was terrible (as everyone told me it would be) but the sound at this show was great! Worlds apart! The venders were very nice and seemed to enjoy the show. The set list was incredible (Carini opener! No set break! Mexican Cousin! What's The Use?!) and to see phish less than an hour from home with friends and pham?! It doesn't get much better!

IMDANO. I appreciate honesty more than anything truth is something that is lacking in this world even Trey admits that he says 50% half of what he says our lives and that’s probably not even true probably it’s more like 60 or 70% so anytime someone is completely honest in the face of low popularity I appreciate that I am the first to tell when there is a great fish show I am probably their biggest fan or at least one of their biggest fans I have been a fanatic since 2000 and I know more about them than probably anyone or at least almost as much as anyone except maybe people from Vermont didn’t listen to them since nectars and so I always tell At least the truth from my perspective of course it’s just an opinion it’s not God’s truth it’s very subjective music is not an objective or just like a painting can be crap to one person and another person can find a piece of modern Art is brilliant but this is objectively a bad show with no thought put into it and considering people had to wait in the rain I appreciate that they didn’t take a separate they care little bit but they certainly don’t really give a shit about their fans and I don’t blame them I care more about my family and anybody else and I don’t have that many close friends outside my family and close circle of friends and I do not consider phish fans my close circle of friends most of them are drug attic’s or College drop outs or live at home with their mother I went to college at and I graduated with a BA but I can’t even use it because of my criminal record I am by no means a road scholar a Harvard grad or a doctorate but I think I know what I’m talking about when it comes to good music and this was not good music there were only five good shows this whole tour and the fans pretty much got it right for some reason they ended are really really really high note but the middle of the store and and was terrible like you can skip almost every show at the end of the tour except for one night in Connecticut

The older these guys get not only will we know how old they get because of the song Grind but they’re going to start singing less songs about souls oceans happiness or Gamehendge and love and Mark my words more songs about death and being scared of death close clouded and covered and mast by a sarcasm and a bunch of lies really for example songs like thread a song about a church yard graveyard with just one epitaph one grave and obviously they’re talking about themselves you’re a long lot more songs about being alone about loneliness like mercury or mound mound is obviously where an old man died and was buried The song backwards down the number line anybody who believes in evolution usually celebrates birthdays instead of death days because a Christian loves the day he dies because he gets to see Jesus but a unbeliever celebrates the past and lives in the past because he remembers that life was better in the past hence backwards down the number line lyrics about friends that he’s lost or a sister that he’s lost and I love the song miss you don’t get me wrong I miss you as a great song as Christians can miss our family to we just have hope that will see them again I know I’m going to see my dad again who died at 52 of cancer in his neck and back but I don’t despair because I really believe that I will see him again so the closer I get to death the closer I get to see my friend who are used to go boogie boarding with fishing with hiking with and I can’t wait to see him again in heaven and do all those same things without sin anyway back to the songs about death obviously death don’t hurt very long which is A song about death either not hurting very much because you don’t have to experience the pain very long but the truth is there’s no middle ground it either hurts forever in hell or doesn’t hurt at all because of the hope you know you’re going to go to paradise and be with Jesus so that’s just straight up lie from Darwin that these for idiots believe as well as they believe in aliens and I’ll kinds of crazy shit I hate that my heroes are really morons OK next song doesn’t have any lyrics but what’s the use as a definite feel and all five of giving up not caring anymore apathy and ultimate nihilism Look at the lyrics from another trey song About missing his friend and the fact that he would have revenge but revenge is seen as a positive thing just like in Tarantino’s movies revenge is the Lords and we are not supposed to seek revenge we are supposed to forgive but forgiveness is something I never see in the fish community and I never see it in the secular world forgiveness is so rare like truth like the Billy Joel song says honesty is hardly ever seen and rarely ever heard how true the piano man was I never see honesty and authenticity and authentic expressions of passion are the only ones I want to see I don’t want to see songs about death and glorifying death like it’s this good thing it’s the same thing with drugs like glorify marijuana in Marky super police man or legalize it sure marijuana is not nearly as dangerous as other drugs and basically the only downside is it makes you lazy and gives you cancer if you smoke it but still you shouldn’t be glorifying something that has a downside it’s like glorifying prescription drugs I agree we do need to all come together like the Beatles song which is much better than this one by the way and that would be great but basically tray is talking about communism he’s basically talking about would John Lennon believe this utopia of the song imagine wouldn’t it be nice if we all sing coomb by Ya and get along and sing songs like soul planet problem is were sinners and until weAdmit the truth that they are not mistakes they are sin against the holy God who cannot send and cannot lie and loves us deeply until we admit there’s a personal God who hates most of the shit we do you can’t ever go from being the prodigal son to the son returning home I was saved in part because of tragedy mostly because of tragedy my wife had left me I was a drug attic and I had nowhere else to turn but get off the drugs get my life clean and God told me you’re supposed to love me more than your wife and it finally clicked and I cried all the way home from her old apartment where I couldn’t hear her dog screaming so I knew that she Musta left with her new boyfriend and I lost it and gave my life to Jesus the rest is history but I still love the band and two of them are Jews God hasn’t Given up on the Jewish race there his people and he never will look at Jews they are the prettiest people watch the episode of Conan on team Coco where he goes to Jerusalem they really are the prettiest people and it’s no wonder they are gods people they also are impossible to kill think about the holocaust or 911 when you’re fighting against God you cannot win unless you surrender and love him I hope my favorite band does that so that they can stop with all this foolish talk about death read the story of Lazarus or better yet read the story of Jesus the only man who knows how to beat my last enemy death and your last enemy death and the bands last enemy death death is terrible but until we realize that we are the cause of our own demise and stop blaming other people Or Darwin or the survival of the fittest we will never forgive others and we will never help as we are supposed to and Trey is write a life beyond the dream is possible but only as a Christian

This was a lame show and anyone who undertakes the literary acrobatics in their review which are required to claim otherwise is nothing more than a Phish apologist. Much like Curveball, they had the information well ahead of time to indicate that the show would at the very least have to be significantly delayed if not outright postponed/cancelled. They went ahead with it anyway which I think bespeaks how financially oriented this band has become. Essentially every part of making the show happen from the perspective of the audience was a hassle, and at times in the concourse it felt truly hazardous. Ok fine, on with the show. I did not detect anything resembling "energy" or "fire" in their performance, nor did I get the impression that they really were concerned with how much inconvenience the fans went to to hear them play. I felt they delivered a mediocre-at-best performance, and I think the situation called for more. As a veteran of Coverntry and Curveball, I really feel as though Phish has a disrespectful lack of interest in "rising to the occasion." Could they really not have started with Crosseyed? Or Drowned? Or how about a fun cover of any of the thousands of classic songs that reference "rain?" I felt no effort was put into this show. And considering the lengths we all go to and costs we all incur to be there, I find that insulting. Number line? Thread? Mound? Blech.

I am aware that shortly my thoughts will be panned and that I will be encouraged to stop going to Phish shows if I don't like it. Which I certainly am leaning towards. I am sad it came to this. But I encourage anyone who was actually at Fenway on Saturday night to really consider if that show was worth the amount of time and money it takes to see Phish these days. I say no