Good song selection and great playing made for an excellent first set. Kill Devils Falls got everybody warmed up, and Destiny Unbound in the 2-spot was a great choice. The following Taste jam was very impressive as both Page and Trey delivered on their solos. Halfway to the Moon and Twenty Years Later made for a nice 3.0 song combo. Both has some dark jamming in them, but Twenty Years Later was especially raunchy. It's probably the best one I've heard. By the time Maze rolled around, the sky was turning an ominous orange-grey color. Perfect weather for an intense Maze if you ask me, and this one was a smoker. That threatening sky opened up during Yarmouth Road and it starting pouring, but everyone on the lawn was digging it and it upped the energy of the end of the set during a great Split Open and Melt. This one stepped out of bounds a few times, although not as much as the SPAC version, but the band crushed the return closing jam before the end riff with Trey rocking out. Taste, Maze, and Split Open and Melt were the highlights of the set for me.

When the band returned for the second set Trey played around with harmonics on his guitar so I thought we might be in for a Curtain, but soon enough Mike came in with the bass madness that can only mean one thing: Down with Disease. I was most impressed with two things in the Down with Disease, Trey's fiery soloing and the cool return to the elusive last verse of the song. Free and Bouncing were straightforward, but I did like the pairing of the songs that share the "bouncing around the room" lyric. Birds of a Feather did not break any new ground, but it did pack a punch by the time the last peak came around. Another mid-set Hood comes up next and it was not your standard, modern day Hood where the band builds a nice jam, but Trey doesn't quite nail the peak. Tonight, Trey was determined to shred the peak to pieces and he did just that. In my opinion, this is one of, if not the best Hood of 3.0. Architect was not exactly what I was looking for after Hood, but it was played well and is a nice addition to the "second set breather" catalog. Each song in the set-closing Mike's Groove was given room for additional improvisation and this made a big difference in the impact of the sequence. Mike's Song had a classic dark, guitar driven jam that places it among the best 3.0 renditions of the song. Simple got into a new groove which could have exploded if they kept going with it, but probably sensing the impending curfew, the band starts up Weekapaug before the Simple jam could really take off. It was an above average Simple, but it could have been an all-timer if they had the time to develop the ending theme. Weekapaug gave ample chances for Page melodically lead the jam while Trey played rhythmically for large portions of the jam. Waste if one of my favorite Phish ballads so I was happy to catch it on this night and GTBT was excellent just like the PNC version from earlier this week. They are really playing this song well nowadays.

Second set highlights were DwD, Hood, and Mike's Groove.

Lots of very good performances in this show, but there wasn't a standout exploratory jam that many of us hope for. Still a 4 star show in my opinion.

This was my first Phish show. Of course it gets a "5"! And before anyone calls me a noobie, I am 54 years old and have seen a LOT of concerts. Started getting into Phish after buying Live Phish 16 (big Lou Reed fan -- I ended up REALLY liking the other three discs of that set).

I started eating up their catalog (I have MOST of their studio CD's -- haven't listened to Round Room -- listened to Farmhouse for the first time on the way to this show) ~ 1 year ago. And I have dozens and dozens of their live releases. I was really hooked when I bought "97". Wow.

Anyway -- this show. Let me just say this about the 1st set -- I simply do not understand the number of reviews on this forum that question song placement. "this seemed like an odd place for that song", or "this song at that time just ruined the momentum." People! Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but these are artists. I don't question whether Rembrandt used oil or chalk. HE'S the artist.

Anyway -- for my first show, and proud of the way I had beefed up on their catalog the last year or so, the first set definitely threw me. But it was SO WELL PLAYED. I HATED asking my compadres "what was THAT song?" But, oh well. I enjoyed it!

Second set: Down w/ Disease just scorched. loved it -- "Here we go!" I thought to myself -- they are going to throw down now. Loved the Free and the BoaF -- the latter just cooked. Solid A+ version. Harry Hood was incredible. Architect was like one of those songs from the 1st set, and I haven't delved into the Trey solo material yet, but it was a nice tune. Simple is as favorite of any that they include in the Mike's Groove sandwich. This whole suite was incredible. I think Trey is a much better guitar player in Phish 3.0 because he sits back and lets the other band members take control and he picks his spots. And when he soars, he REALLY soars -- and he did on this set ending extravaganza!!!

The encore was great. Waste is Waste, but the GTBT was a scorcher. I mean, for my money, that one song would have been worth the entire admission. Wow.

So, I am ready for Alpharetta! My compadres said that I had a 'winner" for my first show, and I had to agree -- I thoroughly enjoyed it! ALL of it!

Great show to attend. Lots of energy. Good song choices. And they just sounded really tight tonight. Jam highlights: Trey improvised a nice little up beat outro to Simple instead of letting it peter out. DWD had some good spots and the way the came back to the ending was pretty smooth. And Melt went Type II for a bit. Not a lot of long jams so I don't know how well this one translate to tape. But I had a great time in spite of/in addition to the weather. Oh, and DESTINY UNBOUND!!!!! Woooooo Hooooo!!

As far as I can tell, this show was a game-changer. Previous 3.0 shows were almost always won or lost based on the strength, quantity, and fluency of their type-II excursions. It was pretty easy based on this metric to pick out the top tier of shows (e.g., 8/15/11, 8/31/12), then the next tier (10/26/10, 7/6/12), then the next (… 6/19/11?), and so forth. On occasion, rarities (6/27/10) or some kind of gimmickry (10/20/10) could bump a show up or down. What mattered little were type-I readings of frequently played songs, which as always comprised the majority of each show. In 3.0, these performances typically lacked spice, distinction—something to make Phish's enduring commitment to type-I jamming worthwhile.

Then there's this show, the highlights of which (for me) are type-I versions of "Harry Hood" and "Weekapaug Groove." Intrigued?

You should be. This is something different. I'd argue we'd have to go back about 15 years to find the last show of comparable quality that's defined as much by its "scripted" jams as its open ones. It's like a hallmark shortcoming of 3.0 has suddenly been redeemed.

Speaking of redemption, this show might have singlehandedly restored my faith in the 3.0 "Hood." I'm pretty sure it's been a decade since they peaked the song this successfully. And what a welcome relief. I'd take this version over Worcester '10 any day. Frankly, this is exactly what the song is supposed to sound like. (And while I do sympathize with those who wish "Hood" were on a experimental trajectory, the song needs to be able to TEAR SHIT UP before it can really earn those unusual jams. It's no accident that the best type-II "Hood"s happened around the same time as the best type-I versions, in '94, '97, and '03.)

Likewise, this "Weekapaug" does everything your average, getting-shit-done version from the '90s did. It doesn't have to be radical, because it's already exceptional. For the best version of 3.0, I'm pretty sure it's either this one or Star Lake—happy to have seen them both.

PLUS, there's about 12 minutes of solid type II—enough to keep it interesting—divided pretty evenly between the "Melt," "Disease," and "Simple." All great versions.

And let's talk about the "Disease" for a minute. They'd fallen into the pattern of either playing a short "Disease" and returning to the song's ending, or jamming it out and leaving the song unfinished. It felt INCREDIBLE getting the whole package, jam and reprise, having your cake and eating it too. People went bonkers. Seriously.

Between the aforementioned tunes, killer song selection in set I, a hot "Mike's" > "Simple," and a good old ballad > rocker encore—you've got a great show. Not an all-timer necessarily, but fun, friendly, and familiar… like all those wonderful, not-quite-landmark shows that sprung up everywhere in years like '94 and '98. This night had that kind of feel to it.

Excellent show. I keenly noted how Paige stated that Merriweather is one of their favorite places to play at and this performance to my ears proved that out beyond a Destiny Unbound...

They were running on premium from the start but really loved the Moon/Twenty Years (a relatively rare 1st set placement)/Maze stretch and another scorcher of a SOAM.

DWD was scorched earth material by the time they barned-burned thru it, the Free felt a little more heartfelt and the BAtR a little more celebratory than usual tonight. BoaF flew to some out-there peaks, Trey served the milk with some really creamy licks and Architect continues to find its footing in the Phish catalog. And while the Mike's Song>Simple>Weekapaug Groove might look a bit standard on paper, the Mike's is the best one I've ever seen live in the 3.0 era and the Weekapaug was given the full-on treatment by the boys in the band. Waste made a welcomed return after an over 11 month absence and Trey successfully played Guitar God while Paige did his best Plant and though there is only one Plant there is only one Paige. And one Mike. And one Fish. And one more show on the East Coast before they depart for more southern destination. I think they are going to musically tear this old house down later on tonight. Can't wait...

Peace,
Alex

My 4th Phish show, however, a huge phan here, listen to almost every concert of their tours. Let's get down to brass tax here man...DESTINY UNBOUND! What?!?!
With that being said...the 1st set was amazing. An energetic Kill Devil Falls opener, which is always a great opener. Destiny Unbound, and Halfway to the Moon just prove how much fun the guys have when they play Merriweather PP, which gave me no doubt when I heard Page say that MPP was "one of their favorite venues on the East Coast". The always seem to play the songs that are their personal favorites, and look like they are having so much fun playing them (EVEN LEO!). Let's not forget about that perfectly placed Taste, it felt like there was anticipation for the next song...the crowd could even feel that it was going to be a rarity. An oddly placed Twenty Years Later (1st set? hmm.), which led into a jam filled Maze, that absolutely captivated the entire audience (this was also around the time it started raining, we were having a great time dancing in the mud on the lawn), as if we were never going to get out of that Maze. Into a song I was not familiar with, but now turns out to be one of my favorite songs of the set, called Yarmouth Road, if that's a new song these guys gotta keep it, it was so choice. The set ended with what I'd call a semi-sloppy SOAM. Sloppy was good though, it went with the weather conditions. Everyone was really having a good time in the rain dancing to the sloppy SOAM jams.

The second set can be explained in 2 words...Harry Hood. Haha. I was in the line for the bathroom when they got back on stage, I heard Trey noodling around on the guitar which made me think, hmm maybe a Curtain opener? (or in the back of my mind I was like PYITE please!) However as soon as you heard Mike's bass everyone knew what came next, especially the guy running out of the bathroom with his pants still down yelling "DISEASEEEE". DWD had some sick jam sections which led right into an average Free...nothing like the 2010 Merriweather Free... However into a crowd pleaser, Bouncing Around the Room, which made my girlfriend (1st show) absolutely ecstatic since I told her there is no way we would get a Bounce. BoaF was nothing too special, but I have never seen them play anything from Ghost but Wading in the Velvet Sea, which is an album I enjoy a lot. Into a Hood, which if I may call probably the best Hood of 3.0. Trey absolutely fucking shredded the peak. Page had a little doodle in the beginning, like I said before they were really having fun. Into an Architect which I could take or leave...however followed by a Mike's Groove featuring Simple in the middle, which is always a great trifecta of songs.
The encore was great, love the Waste ballad into GTBT, however 3 out of 4 times I have seen them they have closed with GTBT, so I'm still waiting for a fresh jam encore haha.

My Show Highlights: Destiny Unbound, Halfway to the Moon, Maze, Yarmouth Road, SOAM, DWD, Bouncing Around The Room, Harry Hood, Mike's Groove

You Can't Go Without Downloading: Destiny Unbound, Yarmouth Road, Harry Hood

The split and the hood are both really good...don't know of that many 3.0 shows where u can find both of those songs in great form.

Destiny, Taste, Halfway, 20yl, maze, Yarmouth, melt is like something they took from my brain.

Love the mid second set Bouncing, probably just because I made 40 Minute Bouncing signs 2 years ago.

Now it's all tease tease tease

Opener was a dud! I love everything phish and I try so hard to embrace the new material (as in everything created in 3.0), but kill devil falls has just never done it for me. It was nice to experience a destiny unbound, but it came at such a weird place that i couldn't fully enjoy it. Personally, I was looking for some energy here. Things really got going during maze, the jam was seemingly long (although I haven't actually been able to see how long it actually ran for). Yarmouth is good! Some new stuff I can possibly look forward too? SOAM killed--I think part of this had to do with the pouring rain feeling so exhilarating and relieving the relentless humidity. Maybe it wasn't anything special, but it felt like one of the greatest SOAM's I've ever experienced. Set II destroyed. DWD had a sweet dark and spacey intro with an incredible jam. Free is always a great rocker tune. The guy in front of me actually predicted Free as the second song during the DWD jam, which was pretty cool. BAtR is fun, the crowd all sings along, and the whole no-jam thing is just accepted at this point and I think it's what kinda makes the song cool. BOAF went to some interesting places in the jam, but overall that song has never been one of my fav's. Hood was so tight and precise, but the energy wasn't quite there from the boys. Architect was a good calm before the storm that was Mike's Simple Groove. I lost my shit the entire time that trio of songs played.
waste encore was weird because it slowed things down and sucked out all the energy between the mikes groove and GTBT. if anything i think the encore order should have been flipped. Take the energy from the end of set II and jump right in to GTBT. Then end the night with a mellow waste. That being said, I was glad to hear waste! Overall, decent show, but not the greatest. The rain pouring down during SOAM was one of the coolest things I've experienced at a phish show.

1st set was weird (in a good way) 2nd set was beautiful....Yarmouth Road is awesome, so happy to get destiny, GTBT raged so hard as did the whole mikes groove....weird seeing the ambulance? lights during mikes and simple...hope everyone got out ok....awesome time

This was my favorite show of the two nights for one reason. When Phish is "on" they create a texture of sound that weaves in and out, forms shapes that are felt and heard in unison, seamlessly connect and whose intricacies can not be identified on any HQ recording. They did this all night long tonight with the exception of the transition between Mike's Song and Simple. This show was smoking hot.

FYI: Architect's final riff is influenced by a Max Creek song called "Dark Water". Check it out. It's similar to the Little Feat riff they play in the middle of Alaska.

Also, if it didn't dump rain on a humid summer day during a sick set, I wouldn't be on Phish summer tour. LOVE......rain on me!

*maze tease before Architect

Hello,

This is my first review and third overall show. I debated doing my first back-to-back to get a taste of a run of shows. I decided to just hit tonights and cruise back to PA tomorrow. Unfortunately for me I feel like tomorrows show was the one to see.

Weird vibe in the beginning. Just about everyone I encountered was hoping for a PYITE opener. Instead... Kill Devil Falls. Just an all around odd set, that was hard to get going. Certainly very enjoyable jamming end of set I. I like this Maze alot and Yarmouth really tries to grow on me. SOAM in the rain was alot of fun, I wonder if it will sound as good on tape or for someone not having the heavens open on the lawn.

Really like when DWD opens second set. Silly though they may be a nice glowstick barrage right after sunset really combined nicely. But again I think the boys got stuck in neutral. I felt like Harry could save the set but even that seemed uninspired. Mike's Groove had its moments but a very average set all around.

I'll never get why you would start an encore with Waste. Whatever momentum they had coming out of Mike's Groove fizzled.

As always my sincerest hopes is that I am completely wrong and bashed on this thread. I hope I missed something out there in the rain on the lawn and I put this show on heavy rotation, hating myself for putting down this show. For now, just a couple of hours later, I keep thinking back to the crowd and my neighbors out there on the lawn and I know this was a miss. Can't win em all.

2/5

Going back to review my first Phish show 8 years later! This most recent relisten brings back very good memories and also made me think much higher about the quality of this show. I was very inexperienced at the time and most songs went over my head. I still haven't heard destiny unbound since this show :'( and I'm sure many others can share similar experiences. This show doesn't have one huge jam but it does have a nice mix of old and new songs, good setlist flow and solid energy brought by the rain storms. Before the show there was a huge rainbow to the left side of the stage, a sure sign of things to come both in this show and my future Phish adventures. At the time none of this sunk in, but I've come to appreciate it more as I've become more immersed in the band. I actually forgot how crazy the rain was until I read some reviews. It brought back memories of barefoot people eating it on the lawn. One person slide pretty far trying to get down the hill to their group. The lawn was totally wrecked that night haha. People were going nuts during SOAMelt especially during the "plunge below the water line" lyric. I don't remember much from the second set but Trey is on point in a lot of these songs. The DWD, Hood and Paug all have very energetic soloing and the Mike's song gets as gritty as it gets for 2013 Phish. I feel the Paug in particular is an underrated version with a bit more funk from Mike and powerful soloing from Trey. Maybe this is all just nostalgia resulting from my first full year not seeing Phish multiple times since 2013 but can't wait to get back on the road again with a new appreciation.

Just before the Fall 2013 peak Summer 2013 was rolling along and the playing was pretty darn good for this tour to be sure.

I hadn't caught a show since the previous year in August, so by the time MPP rolled around I was pretty pumped to dive back in.

We had a nice spot right up front of lawn, which helped since it's not the best shed for lawn viewing.

Set I opened with a peppy KDF. Nothing new, but a fun kickoff.

Destiny was up next. Great tune and I've been fortunate to catch a few of 'em. This was fun.

Taste was awesome. This version had a great and patient jam, with Page and Trey working really well. I REALLY enjoyed this.

Halfway to the Moon and Twenty Years Later brought the 3.0 tunes and paired nicely with some good playing and they kept the darkness coming as they kicked into Maze.

Maze was awesome, like most recent/semi-recent 3.0 versions, Page has played amazing and Trey has contributed really interesting work during the Page solo. He peaked this well.

Yarmouth gave us a new tune, it was fun, and it started absolutely pouring at this point with a crazy orange red sky.

Split Open and Melt kicked in at a perfect time (weather-wise) and they played this one fantastic, with a nice deviation to the major key. Really good version.

Overall Set I: After almost a year since my last show, this set hit a lot of high points for me. Good song selection, some really nice jamming in Taste, Maze & Melt & a good bit of weather made for a memorable set.

The second set opened with DWD, which I am never unhappy to hear. This one was very nice as it hit a couple different jam spaces and they found their way back into the ending verse, which was super cool and kicked the energy way up! Great stuff.

Free was up next (how many times have I been hit with that combo!). This was fine.

Bouncin' took it down a notch. Not the best spot.

BOAF was a very nice version. It didn't break away, but it had some really good interplay and Trey and Page were both doing fine work. I really enjoy this take.

Harry Hood mid-set? This was a nice placement, and the jam on this one was really good. I put this way above many of the 3.0 takes. This was straight ahead but had an actual guitar lead peak. Throw in a tasty divided sky tease. This one is rightly annotated in the setlist.

Architect was kind of an odd call. I don't really know about this tune. Pretty cheesy.

Mike's song popped into the fourth quarter as a great energy boost. This version was good, and to my ears much more interesting than the 2012/2011 versions I had caught. Good playing into Simple.

Simple was awesome and this version could have achieved serious liftoff. They hit a glorious chord sequence at the end (similar in some ways to the 7/18/2016 Bill Graham version, but probably a little better even). It threatened to emerge into a hard rocking Disease reprise, but with impending curfew they kicked into 'Paug. The Simple is a sure highlight.

Weekapaug was also great, with a rhythmic dancing take on the jam and a good finale. This Mike's groove was great.

Encore: Waste>GTBT - I was hoping Waste wouldn't finish us off, and GTBT was just what the doctor ordered. Trey wizardry.

Overall Set II: Good set. A little uneven with Free, Bouncin' & Architect, but no complaints about the rest. This was a very good show.
Highlights: Disease, Hood, Simple (throw in BOAF if you are a fan of that song).

Overall: A good show to come back to after about a year. Good jamming, good songs. Not the most even, but definitely nothing egregiously bad or serious lulls.
3/5 Thoroughly enjoyable show!

I've gone back to this show several times in the past years, primarily for nostalgia's sake and partly because I want to listen with more shows under my belt. This was my first show, after having listened to the band for 20+ years and finally having the means and geography to take one in live.

KDF was a nice way to kick off the show, and I got a treat in Destiny Unbound - though I have to admit I didn't know of the song when I first heard it. The highlights of the first set were Maze and SOAM, to date the only melt under my belt.

The rains came in and it made for some sloppy going in the second half. As I was unaware of DWD's persistent presence as a 2nd set opener, I was thrilled and enjoyed listening to them go fairly deep with it. Free and BATR were great, allowed me to sing along with gusto. I was happy to get a Mike's groove first go around and a very nice hood. GTBT rounded out a very solid and fun first show.

[I originally wrote this review for Phantasy Tour right after I got back from the show.]

I was at tonight's show (7/13/13) on the lawn. Before I mention the music itself, I just want to say that the lawn was an absolute mess after the 20-minute rain toward the end of the set.

After set break, my group made its way to the rail separating the lawn and the pavilion. This was a good move, since we stood on marginally less muddy asphalt and watched countless unfortunate victims of the mud slide down the hill and wipe out in the disgusting mess.

As for the music itself, I was generally pleased. I finally got to see the whale call in person, and it was distracting at times. Overall, though, it could have been worse. Wasn't overwhelmed by the KDF opener, but Destiny was a treat. Taste was nice, too. I'm on the fence with Halfway and 20 Years. Both good songs, but back-to-back like that kind of killed the energy of Taste. Maze was an undeniable highlight. Energetic, spirited, and on-point. Yarmouth Road is where the rain really picked up, so unfortunately I couldn't give it the attention I would have liked. SOAMelt, though, was insane. Another highlight, along with Maze.

Second set was odd. I thought the playing was top-notch, but there were a number of unfortunate breaks between songs that called for segues. DwD>Free was superb. Felt Bouncing was in a weird spot. Liked BOAF a lot. Hood was the star of the show for me. A gorgeous version that made it impossible for me to wipe the smile off my face for its entire duration. I think Architect might grow on me. Mike's Groove was real nice, although I thought the segue from Mike's into Simple was a bit shaky. A fun encore, too.

Overall, I give this show a B/B+. Not the best of the tour. I would have liked some more exploratory jamming, but it was still a very fun time. I have high hopes for Curtain and/or Lizards tomorrow night.

My second Merriweather show and both were great. I caught Jones Beach and NJ but this show had a better vibe. Kill Devil was excellent and I knew we were in store for a great night. I'm really warming up to Destiny Unbound. I really like Page's Halfway to the Moon. It was really cool to hear Trey's new solo stuff, Architect was cool. Lets see if it stays in the rotation. Simple was a welcome return for me (and my son). Good Times Bad Times blew the F^&Kin roof off the place. And they had some decent beer at the venue (always a plus).

really fun show... this was the only and the only show i'll be attending this summer unfortunately... I always have fun down in Merriweather. I loved hearing Destiny Unbound... the SOAM was really good.. always love a Hood and Mikes-Weekapaug combo...
gotta say that Birds was my highlight.. thought they really got into it and jammed it really well!
can't wait till the fall!!!

Real Time Discussion:
http://forum.phish.net/thread.php?thread=1373752504