I couch toured this show with my three month old twin sons Sam and Max. They slept through most of the second set, which is their loss. Max pooped during Secret Smile, which he wants to be clear, was not a diss. Max doesn't mind that song, just so long as they only play it once every three or four years. He just didn't want daddy to miss McGrupp.

Phish always drops the alien abduction on the Gorge, and this show is further evidence of that trend. I was sad I couldn't make it up there this year, but apparently babies require constant supervision. Excited that I got the chance to webcast, which is not something I am normally super into.

Blown away by the show. Interesting setlist, bustouts, lots of stage banter and shenanigans (of the good variety), and excellent playing by the band. The webcast doesn't do the beauty of this venue justice, or the experience of being out there in what is certainly the most awe inspiring venue in the country.

Love the McGrupp through Melt. The entire second set is top notch. Crosseyed through Mango is really "The Main Event", but the rest of the set is, by no means, just filler. I am not normally a Character Zero guy, but the howling at the moon bit makes this one more than just the standard "big rock and roll" ending.

Must hear stuff. I haven't listened to the entire tour so I wont place any declarative "best of" statements in this review, but this show will stand up against just about anything you throw at it.

Highly recommended. Five Stars. Go to the Gorge next time. Can't be missed.

Can't wait for Bill Graham next week. Thanks, Phish, for playing some dates I can take the train to and get home afterwards. Please play a few more years so I can take my boys someday.

This was my 9th Gorge show (with the next night being my 10th). I've seen every Gorge run but 97 and 2003, and this one, my friends, goes down in Gorge history. I'm still a little partial to 7/17/98 which featured in my opinion the mother of all 2001s, which all other 2001s only aspire to be, but fall well short, and the unforgettable Trey and Page funk duel at the end of Weekapaug. But this one was definitely goes down in Gorge history.

I had a feeling they'd come out with a lot of energy after escaping the all the storms and cancellations and postponments of the east and coming into the hot dry desert sun. And they did not dissapoint.They got the ball rolling well with AC/DC Bag. I won't do this for every song, but a quick little story about this Bag- leading up to the show, my friends and I were doing a group email exchange psyching each other up for the shows, and I gave everyone a link to the stats of the Gorge as a venue, using zzyx. And I pointed out that the on the list of 'most common songs never played' AC/DC Bag was the most surprising. I mean, I could swear I had heard it there before, but apparently not. Prior to this year, no Gorge Bags. So fast forward to the show, my friends and I do this friendly pool where everyone puts in a dollar and guesses the opener. But no repeats are allowed. Everyone has to have a different opener. Well, I got in late, so I was the third person who attempted to call Bag, but it was already taken. My friend who won was nice enough to give me my dollar back for being the one who provided the inside scoop on the stats, because well, it was MY idea. So we all had a good laugh and we did an extra enthused stat geek dance to this one. Yeah all right! First Gorge Bag! It was a very special stat geek moment.

Timber was a great second song, and the expected "Song of the Gorge" Wolfman's Brother (now played at 6 of 7 Gorge runs for those stat geeks following at home) really got the crowd moving. Then that Funky Bitch- was it just me, or did this just have a little extra oomph to it? You could just feel the band was energized and ready to take everything to the next level, even a song that's pretty standard such as Funky Bitch.

Wilson was fun and it was fun to see Trey show off his Russel Wilson jersey. I wish him luck getting enough Seahawk fans to do the Wilson chant. It seems a little akin to when Trey tried to break the Guiness Book Record with the Meatstick Dance at Oswego, a little far fetched and something Trey is more excited about than anyone else, but, who knows, maybe I'll just be surprised when I'm watching a Seahawk game on TV and hear the Wilson chant.

I've rambled too much as it is, so let for the rest of the first set highlights, see the short yet incredibly sweet (and funky as all hell) Tube, the well played and well placed McGrupp, the highly unexpected yet welcome Curtis Lowe (Page and blues are like peas and carrots to me), and the wandering but not lost version of Split Open and Melt, a great closer.

Now to the second set, I had been stillll waiting to see my first Crosseyed since Big Cypress. Over the years, I keep missing it by a show or two. They came right out of the gate firing on all cylinders. At one point, when they were still in the structured part of the song, a friend turns to me and says "They're killin' it!" and all I can do is nod and say "uh huh" because I don't want to take my attention away from the band. And that was before they took off on the jam on a ride into outerspace. Segued beautifully into the (for me) always welcomed Twist. Twist really got out into outer space, before coming back down to Earth for another personal first, Steam. I've heard it, seen it in webcasts, seen youtubes of it, but first live one for me, and it did not dissapoint. Another beautiful seague into an unexpected Waves.

The last time I saw Waves was at Great Woods on 8/11/04, during their "farewell tour", when the band and the crowd alike were a total mess. What a difference nine years makes. I couldn't help feeling connected to that Waves, and that tour, and how I never thought at that time I'd ever see a Gorge show again. This Waves was beautifully played, and segued into a perfectly placed Twenty Years Later.

It seems people either love it or hate it, and I'm in the "love it" camp with Twenty Years Later. Everything about it, the vocals, the harmonies, the lyrics, the potential for a ripping guitar solo and climatic ending, and this version was the best I've heard. And again, the placement was just perfect. Just perfect.

The Mango Song might not have been as well placed, but it was great energizer, not that we needed any more energy. Next was "Bug". Glad that other people seem to be finally catching on to this song. There was a time when it seemed I was the only one who loved this song, and "Bug" was a popular one to hate. That seems to have faded over the years.

It seemed that most of us assumed "Bowie" was the set closer. And I would have been perfectly content if it had been. But just when I expected them to bow and walk off the stage, they tear into Rocky Top, which I've only ever seen prior to this at the Gorge in the afforementioned 7/17/98 show. Conicidence? I think not.

Now the Character Zero- not a song I normally get excited about, but this one contained a new all time favorite Phish memory. After Trey asked CK to turn out the lights so they could see the moon, the band then proceeded to howl at the moon, all while building up the Character jam. While they did this, the best glowstick war of the weekend broke out, and some of the crowd howled with the band, and some just cheered and hooted and shouted. The energy in this moment just went WOOOOSH! Just a special moment. Amazing.

After playing two extra songs in the second set, what do they do but come out and play a two song 16 minute encore. It was as if they did not want to stop playing. Good. The feeling was mutual. None of us wanted them to stop playing either. The Hood was short (by Hood standards) but sweet, and the appropriate Fire (forest fires forced some of us to re-route on the way up), rocked the house and brought an amazing night to an amazing finish.

When it was all said and done, myself, along with all my crew, were smiling ear to ear. Well done gentleman, well done. See you at the Gorge in 2014?

The first set was one of the best of the Summer Tour, hands down. Excellent flow, real funky fun, and Birthday banter for Kuroda. "He's just turned 21 so go by and buy him an... iced tea." Everything to start the show was seriously saucy! The second set does not let up for an instant. It is, frankly, FIRE! Easy to get long-winded right here but i will not.

This show is must-hear Phish, of the right now variety. One of the best webcasts yet! This first night Gorge is among the top tier of recent shows... It is worth your time start to finish, without a doubt, but the Wolfman's, SOAM, C&P>Steam, Bug>Bowie, Hood>Fire are all serious highlights for the Phish.

If there were a venn diagram of people who like this show and people who are me, the diagram would be a circle. The first night of Gorge 2013 often stands in the shadow of the second night. Having attended both, I'm of the persuasion that this is the greater of the pair. For one reason: this first set. The second set too, but hawt dawg this first set kills.

This is by far one of my favorite first sets of Phish 3.0 and easily my favorite first set I've seen. The flow is just phenomenal. The Secret Smile > McGrupp > Curtis Loew segment is particularly good. I don't mind Secret Smile at all; however, when I was standing in the pavilion I was worried about how they'd get out of the mood change it brought. If the subsequent song was too rocking SS would have been like a giant gaping hole in the set. Yet another ballad would have been an energy killer. McGrupp couldn't have been a better choice. A song that starts delicately and builds energy? Perfect! It couldn't have been placed better. This is a damn fine version too. Then we get a little Page segue into The Ballad of Curtis Loew?!??! God damn that's just too good. Another fine rendition to be had here. Rarities galore! The Melt, whole quite excellent, is really just icing on the cake.

Set two is no slouch either. Crosseyed is a wonderful way to start the set and is also, ironically, my least favorite part of the show. The jam begins super raging, but once it starts to get out there it just derails and never fully gets back on the tracks. It rambles on, each member doing their own thing without much musical empathy for their bandmates, never really locking in, for nearly four minutes. A more appropriate name for this jam might be Willful and Powerless since everybody wants to go their own direction and a single direction is not decided upon for a long time. Until the Roggae jam, in fact, which just gets ripchorded for Twist.

Whew! That's quite a bit of negative for this being such a great great show! Despite its imperfections, Crosseyed really does do what it's supposed to: set the mood and get everyone raging. The rest of the set is damn spectacular. Great jams and great songs. Nothing super-duper standout, but the jams are fiery and the song selection is money. Plus we get some hilarious antics in the Character Zero that concludes the triple-closer finish.

Who's gonna argue with a Hood > Fire encore?

This is one of the most well-rounded and phenomenally structured shows of 3.0.

Crosseyed was weird. With all the jams they've truncated because they felt like they didnt have a clear way forward,this seemed a weird one to keep rolling with. The Type I section was extra good and as they slipped into uncharted waters there was a lot of promise. After that, it seemed like they didnt link up on an idea for more than a few seconds until the very end when they moved into the Roggae jam. Holy cow that was compelling. So what happens then? They kill it for Twist. A song approaching Free levels of jam derailment. Fortunately, the last 2 minutes of Twist were more interesting than the last 10 minutes of Crosseyed and it was probably the best Twist since Cincy 2012s thematic nightmare jam.
Kind of a bummer that they skipped Roggae after throwing down the defining version of the song at the Gorge. But this Twist makes up for a lot.

Steam was solid. Seen some people toss around best ever. I still haven't heard anything that tops the NYE version, which seems to be weirdly underrated for some reason. Waves-> 20 Years Later was an excellent pairing. I'm glad that they are into 20 Years Later. It kinda flew under the radar and got lumped in with Show Of Life and maybe even Summer Of 89 at one point, but like Halfway To The Moon, it's one of the more under the radar newer songs that could have an extremely bright future.

Waves seems to be in the Twist / Number Line category of songs that are typically hewing close to the vest but always feel pregnant with potential. I like this version a lot for a short one. Hard to ever argue with Waves. I'd be ecstatic if they remembered they had a song called Round Room. Always felt it should have made the rotation in a major way. RR, Waves and Undermind are always going to be a triumvirate of excellency in my mind. No real reason why.

How about that Bowie? Once again, they steered it through some wonderful improvisational spaces. It's great to see both Bowie and Antelope with some life lately. Not that they've been bad in recent years. Just that the band hit on a great formula and stuck pretty close to it. That pays off when they make these subtle shifts in the progression and they feel earth shattering.

Here's hoping for a
II: Light-> Round Room> Energy-> Heavy Things, Rock & Roll-> Farmhouse-> Maze

Or something equally quirky and beautifully trippy!

The first frame is one of the best of the tour so far, possibly benefiting from the band having had a few days to recharge the batteries after what had to be something of a wearying first half. The song selection is ideal (lots of rockers and funky tracks up to Tube, some mellower selections, and then Melt to close), Wilson gets an extra coolness boost with the Seahawks stuff, and the closing SOAM is the third kickass Melt of the summer, a dark and gnarled companion piece to the SPAC Melt that gladly dives into quicksand instead of struggling its way out of it (as the SPAC Melt did). And how can you not like a fun Satisfaction tease?

The major talking point of the second set is the C&P, and after relistening a few times I'd have to agree with @nichobert's assessment, in that the latter part of the jam saw the band casting around for ideas (some quite good) without always actually linking up on said ideas (people have talked about bailing out on Roggae, but the groove that pops up before Roggae is just as promising and almost immediately abandoned). That said, what worked worked darn well, and if the big quibble with a second set is that the marquee jam suffered from the band not quite making their creativity gel, then truly we're being spoiled.

And then we get into the meat of the set, as everything from Twist to Twenty Years Later is gold, the exact sort of thing the band's been working for in terms of cohesive sets the past few years. Twist's middle portion is particularly spartan and interesting (thanks to the Tequila teases) and foregoes the usual Twist ending for feedback, eerie late-90s loops, and equally eerie moaning; Steam and Waves are very good versions with tight mid-song jams (and the Waves outro -> 20YL is quite nice); 20YL gets a sweet little segue and also impresses. The idea of shows divided into quarters has come up a few times before, and IMO this third quarter was *slaughtered*, the group putting together an impressive suite of music that feels of a piece.

Mango and Bug pop up, and it feels like things are winding down, but there's still more surprises to come. First up is a really lovely Bowie for CK5's birthday that continues Bowie's modern-day renaissance (the Bug teases in the intro are trippy, and the actual jam has moments of sheer beauty not common to Bowie), and then comes Rocky Top and then a *wild* Zero, with the mentioned-above "Moon Jam" and a closing section that sounds like the band chucking their instruments down a flight of stairs. Yet another strong Hood (*that* song's having itself a renaissance, too) and a ferocious Fire serve as a great encore.

Final thoughts: much like the Scotch Michael Fassbinder downs in Inglourious Basterds, this is damn good stuff, sir. We'll still be hearing about this show when the year's over, I'd guess.

Couch tourd: 5 stars A+ , would phish again

The mods will review in totality, but this is a band somewhere at the top of their game. This kind of phish is the kind where every moment matters. Every. Single....you get the idea. Wah...wah...wah...wah...howling at the moon indeed.

This was a peak musical lifetime experience for me. Trey was happy and the band was tight from the beginning. Seemed like a tight set, but very normal, so I did a few chores during Possum and got back during the end of McGrupp (damn!). Oooooh! Things were getting crazy. I was suprised by Curtis Loew. The last time I'd heard that was on a mixtape a friend had made.

As soon as Split Open and Melt started, I knew it would take off onto another level like Spac night 2. There it went. My brain was absolutely scrambled. I wasn't such a fan of hte song until Spac 2. Now it seems to explode with possibilities. I get the feeling the guys love singing the group sections as well. The whole makeup of the song is absurd and odd, and they seem to get a kick out of bringing order to it.

Had some technical difficulties during Crosseyed, but after that it was just ecstacy. I don't really have words for what went on.

I'll quote Trey's recent Rolling Stone interview. Speaking of the experience of playing Big Cypress:

"But I just felt so small and insignificant. And I think that's kind of the goal with the live music. Is it just to be a tiny, tiny, tiny part of something?...I go onstage I meditate for five minutes on how much it isn't about me. That's kind of the most important part to me, is that I feel like I'm observing, almost like, I don't know, taking dictation or something. Even with the music, you don't think the earth's rising – it doesn't feel like we're making it up, it feel like we're just listening. It's like reach out – reach out with your ears, reach out with your heart, and just try to play what you hear...You just gotta get out and look around. I try to picture the guy in the back row – him or her in their house, trying to meet up with their friends and trying to find a parking space, and where they're standing, and the guy next to them is making too much noise, and somebody lost their ticket, you know, the lights go down, and we're just these tiny little parts of it over on one side of the room."

...That's what went on, but the experience extended beyond just one venue. The Internet has replaced TV, and Phish webcasts have taken the place of perfect television. Last night was like what Don Kirshner's Rock Concert could have been if it played live Gimme Shelter quality concerts every night. This whole tour has been for me like Prarie Home Companion was when I was a kid. These shows have been like watching baseball after a hard day of work or play.

Things really peaked last night, though. Trey was dancing around like a little kid, Kuroda's lights were tapping into the deep recesses of my soul...I've been a huge music fan all of my life, listening to a very wide variety of different stuff. I mocked Phishheads and Deadheads growing up. Now, I've been able to listen to this immortal jam stuff without spending money to buy the records and spending time to acquire the tapes. All music can be accessed equally, and Phish's music proves they are the absolute top of the pile. It seems now that Phish are the only living band I care about. Oh, and Acid Mothers Temple and Spectrum. Sorry.

I think the internet has also allowed them to get hipper---be a little less off in their own world---more approachable. I believe they want to play to a larger (and more attractive) audience, and I believe they will be rewarded. Like the Dead, they are an American treasure.

They are as good as the best bands from every era, so close with the audience, yet supremely humble. They play like they're not even there. They are just sitting back with us and listening to the magic.

I really didn't see any one individual webcast that was so amazing until now. These webcasts are not just a way for Phish to make a buck. They connects our insane fan cult on another level and the band knows it. We are more united and strong than a KISS Army!

Sorry this has gone on so long. It was just a magic night.

This show is the cat's meow...and why I'm a phan. Get a listen.

I did my best to rid my head of expectations for this 2013 PHiSH Gorge stand as I have with all of them since 1997, but I could not shake one: After Toronto's setlist was complete, I was sure a massive and serious C&P would open a 2nd set this year. Never before had the song done so at the Gorge. On the way into the venue Friday evening, I was given a sweet and tart little candy that was the most powerful and magical candy I have had in decades. Perfect timing.

Set 1 began funky and deep with a Bag and right into Timber, with the tangy sensation washing over me in a clean and awesome wave of transformation. Wolfman's, Funky Bitch and Tube supported the idea that PHiSH was drilling for the water that runs deeeep below the Eastern Washington high desert surface. The Ballad of Curtis Lowe was a soulful reminder that PHiSH understands the music that lives inside of us older fans (2 or 3 years older than the guys in the band). By set end I had Split Open, and Melting was underway.

Setbreak was either extremely long or extremely short... I couldn't tell which. It ended with the slam bang opening of the C&P I knew was due. What also ended was any resemblance to a typical day of existence from where I stood. From C&P until the end, I dreamed the music along with this band, with each transition, lyric, note and chord making perfect sense in a focused flow. This is the reason I go to a PHiSH concert - especially at this venue. I have been attending concerts there since the 1988 / 1989 Champs de Brionne Summer Concert Series began when it was owned by a winery of that name. It was much less developed, in fact crude and hazardous. But roughness didn't detract from the power of the place. Spiritually motivated artists like Carlos Santana tapped into it as as I witnessed there in 1989, breaking from his setlist to address the moving backdrop which he turned to face for much of that afternoon through dusk. PHiSH read my memory banks and felt Carlos' reverberations as the Santana vibe crystallized from the Twist that went into deep dark places in the cosmos. Following that, the peak came upon us as Steam / Waves / 20 Years Later became a 3 or 4-dimensional ember of musical magic as real as the rocks, sky and stars that all watched and listened intently. Howl at the Moon and never miss a show there...

I did my best to rid my head of expectations for this 2013 PHiSH Gorge stand as I have with all of them since 1997, but I could not shake one: After Toronto's setlist was complete, I was sure a massive and serious C&P would open a 2nd set this year. Never before had the song done so at the Gorge. On the way into the venue Friday evening, I was given a sweet and tart little candy that was the most powerful and magical candy I have had in decades. Perfect timing.

Set 1 began funky and deep with a Bag and right into Timber, with the tangy sensation washing over me in a clean and awesome wave of transformation. Wolfman's, Funky Bitch and Tube supported the idea that PHiSH was drilling for the water that runs deeeep below the Eastern Washington high desert surface. The Ballad of Curtis Lowe was a soulful reminder that PHiSH understands the music that lives inside of us older fans (2 or 3 years older than the guys in the band). By set end I had Split Open, and Melting was underway.

Setbreak was either extremely long or extremely short... I couldn't tell which. It ended with the slam bang opening of the C&P I knew was due. What also ended was any resemblance to a typical day of existence from where I stood. From C&P until the end, I dreamed the music along with this band, with each transition, lyric, note and chord making perfect sense in a focused flow. This is the reason I go to a PHiSH concert - especially at this venue. I have been attending concerts there since the 1988 / 1989 Champs de Brionne Summer Concert Series began when it was owned by a winery of that name. It was much less developed, in fact crude and hazardous. But roughness didn't detract from the power of the place. Spiritually motivated artists like Carlos Santana tapped into it as as I witnessed there in 1989, breaking from his setlist to address the moving backdrop which he turned to face for much of that afternoon through dusk. PHiSH read my memory banks and felt Carlos' reverberations as the Santana vibe crystallized from the Twist that went into deep dark places in the cosmos. Following that, the peak came upon us as Steam / Waves / 20 Years Later became a 3 or 4-dimensional ember of musical magic as real as the rocks, sky and stars that all watched and listened intently. Howl at the Moon and never miss a show there...

This band continues to amaze me. Everytime I tune in for the Webcast I am on a music high. The 1st set had some nice stuff going on. Definitely check out this Funky Bitch, worth a listen. The band kept bringing the surprises in the 1st set with Secret Smile, McGrupp, and Loew. I really love the SOAM closer, like foreshadowing what's to come in the 2nd set.

I called a Crosseyed opener. They really delivered on this one. Nice and patient, leading into a nice Twist. Mike really showcases why he is the best bass player on the planet in this Waves. Chilling stuff in this one.

All in all, a great show, with some great jams, and laughs.

Highlights: Funky Bitch, Crosseyed, Waves.

Thank you Phish!

Got home in time to catch most of second set. steam was awesome and it is great that they played waves, wished they would play it a little more, that David Bowie was one of the better Bowie's i've ever heard, the howling at the moon with the character zero jamming was very cool. I also loved the riff that trey kept repeating near the end of Hood, wish I could have been there but I will have to settle for Bill Graham and Hollywood.

Total Hose. Nuff' said.

Missed the first set and the C/P. They're apparently really worth catching (most say they're the highlights of the show, but they'd have to be damn good for that). Twist got nice pretty fast, with the Tequilla tease. Steam was steamphunk(y?), and the steam then fused into waves. 20 Years Later hopped in, and did a great job. Mango was alright, probably the low point of the show (still quite well done though). Bug was pretty sweet, then Bowie took us home (and had a really cool tease of Bug). Rocky Top comes quick, and then during Character Zero, Trey had CK5 kill the lights to look at the moon (which, annoyingly, they didn't bother pointing a camera at. Anyhoo, they all started howling. Then, at the end, Trey took his guitar off, and started rubbing things against the fretboard - his mic, the leg of Page's piano, the chasis on his amp/rack, etc. It was pretty cool.

And then there was Hood. What can I say? It was great. Fire was on fire.

I'm annoyed this was such a great show, because now my next show (Dick's 1) has to REALLY bring it to beat this, damn it.

Satisfaction tease?

When m’lady and I were planning our entire-west-coast Phish+ tour she pulled a Phish-ninja move and suggested that we order tickets for every show except the two night stint at The Gorge. She had been to The Gorge many times – in fact it was m’lady’s favourite outdoor venue (“Have you been to Red Rocks?!?” I asked her…she just nodded solemnly) – and she said there were always a million extra tickets floating around. If we didn’t score tickets for free in the lot surely we’d get them for ten bucks a night; twenty tops.

Shortly after we pitched our tent on July 26th, 2013 we realized that things had suddenly changed. Everywhere you looked was a sea of other Phish-ninjas with their fingers in the air. After countless stops at The Gorge the Phish fans all collectively decided to not buy tickets and the entire camping area was scrambling. We quickly finished up our self-imposed welcome-drinks and headed straight to the box office, where we knew plenty of tickets were waiting.

We found ourselves a few steps behind about five hundred other ninjas who had come to the same conclusion and found a heck of a lot of people waiting for all those waiting tickets. And astoundingly enough, there were only two ticket windows open to fill this massive insatiable need for service, alongside an insulting row of closed and shuttered ticket booths.

As we waited (and waited) in the line it became increasingly clear that some or all of us us were going to miss at least the first major chunk of the concert. It also became increasingly clear that some people were sidling up to the front of the crowd ostensibly to check out the situation and were then squeezing themselves into the edge of the haphazard line close to the front.

I saw this happen several times and soon had enough. Then I did something I’ve never done before; I called out one of the butter-inners.

“Hey, hey you!” I yelled. “You,” I said, pointing, “In the white t-shirt.”

Dude glances at me and immediately looks away.

“Yeah, you man! You can hear me. You weren’t there before!” Still he looks away. “C’mon man, you weren’t there before, you know and I know it. You…in the white t-shirt!”

I kept at him and finally, again he looks at me.

“We all learned it in kindergarten man,” I said, exasperated. He shrugged and walked away, his head down.

One tiny victory. The nervous energy had me vibrating inside.

I was happy to see that from then on whenever someone tried the old sneak-in the collective line would loudly boo them into submission. That limited the butter-inners to only the most brazen and shameless.

At long last m’lady arrived at the window and scored a pair for both nights. She also bought an extra pair, specifically to sell to some random person at the back of the line. As we snaked the long line to do so m’lady found a friend in need and sold her the pair (at face value of course) and we raced to the gates, leaving hundreds of people still waiting in that impossible line. So many ninjas. The show was about to start and there was no way most of them would get tickets in time.

It was my first time at The Gorge. Approaching the venue all you can see is blue, blue sky, and then you reach the rim. Stepping over the edge the whole scene hits you at once: big, big sky falls into dusky mountains, between which the mighty Columbia River has carved a gulch that spans endlessly along the horizon in both directions. Below sits the stage, facing a series of highly sought-after rocky terraces filled with early birds clutching their precious cardboard poster tubes.

There were food and drink kiosks everywhere. The choices were plentiful and the wait nonexistent. We got a few drinks and a burger and had walked well away from the concession area before it occurred to us that we had been heavily undercharged. We found our way to the middle of the lawn, hooked up with some friends and got ready for the music.

The band started while the blazing sun was still up and doing its work. It was only a few songs in when the grand life-affirming ball of heat finally hit the mountain across the gorge and sunk out of sight. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the crowd applaud the sunset, just like back in the old days when people applauded when movies would end or planes would land. The collective joy in ridding the sky of such a monstrosity of swelter was very understandable. It was finally cool enough to consider some serious drinking!

The show was great, and what a joy to stand there completely unconcerned about the rain. Was it possible that the tourpocalypse of extreme weather had come to an end?

After the concert we got back to the campground in short order and did a bit of hanging about before hitting the air mattress fairly early on. My earplugs got a workout contending with the blasting stereos competing with the live bands outside my nylon walls, and sleep eventually came.

Overheard after the show: “Gotta love Phish! It’s 75% the music and 75% going to the show!”

https://www.toddmanout.com

I watched this show's webcast, and it was very evident that the cohesive tightness found in spades in the early 90s--as well as a non-negligible pranksterish bent to the proceedings--was evident in the listening on display here by the band. I think that's one thing that has consistently improved since the Return (Hampton, VA, March 2009), although to some extent lately it feels like Mike and Trey are both a bit disengaged. There is a fabled "big jam" here, in Crosseyed and Painless, but honestly, I was more fascinated watching the interaction between the band members throughout the show from a technical, hermeneutical standpoint than I was in focusing on the extended improvisation. It's not all too often anymore that I can say that, but I'm starting to realise that this element has been present throughout 3.0--and indeed throughout Phishtory--to the point that I'm chagrinned to have been caught up in the joyous whirlwind surrounding post-breakup Phish to the point that I would cease listening critically in that regard. Fool me twice, etc.

Everything in the first set is played with more spunk than standard 3.0 stuff. A little quicker pace/tempo to songs and set as whole. Really helped get the west coast party started off right. This is a fantastic show, my phirst at the Gorge, will never forget it. I was getting pelted by glow sticks so hard during Cross-eyed, and the type I jam was such fire the crowd on the floor was going berserk. Great memories, can't wait for 2018!

I'm writing a review for this show 2 1/2 years later not to recount my experience at the Gorge that night, but to talk about why I keep returning to this show and to address an issue that all of us phans face: how to introduce a curious but skeptical friend to Phish. (I do not advocate forcing Phish on our unwilling friends, although I understand the conviction that "if they hear it and understand it, they will like it.") My answer is a CD/playlist from this show, including Timber and Wolfman's from the first set and Twist through Bowie from the second (exactly 80 mins, CD size). Here's why.

I think as connoisseurs of Phish we've developed a taste for Type II jams and the radical musicality of the early-90s, but we need to be patient with the uninitiated. There's a lot of variety to choose from in the Phish catalogue, but I think we would be best starting a noob off with something more polished and simplistic. (Btw, for a friend just venturing into Type II territory, I recommend selections from 7/13/14. All polish, variety, and quality). For that reason, I choose this show. Very polished, solid Type I jams (C&P is too meandering to qualify for re-listens, but good attempt Trey & Co!), and all of a similar vein. If this show had a color palette, it would be dark blue, like the album cover of Rift.

Timber starts things off rocking and fun. The chorus is contagious, so even if your friend doesn't make it past this song at first, you have a good chance at landing an earworm that might bring him or her back later.

The funk of this Wolfman's is cooking pretty hot, and it has some nice extension, so, in addition to being just a generally pleasing song to the ear, it provides a nice taster of jamming. Remember: funk jams will always win over the most converts.

After that, you have the seamless sequence of Twist > Steam > Waves > Twenty Years Later > Mango Song > Bug > David Bowie. Transversing eras of music, all songs include exceptional Type I jams and maintain a consistent energy and vibe. Twist has the added bonus of a Tequila tease, which most people will recognize, and C&P teases abound (this, in fact, could also be the only downside to the song selection because without the C&P second set opener, these teases are a bit divorced of context).

What a great show! ACDC-WolfMan, Mcgrupp-SOAM where the highlights of the first set for me with Timber, McGrupp, and Soam being the best of the set imo.

The whole second set flows very well with Twist-Bowie being the highlight for me. Character moon jam was also a highlight for how cool it was, you had to be there most likely.

Hood encore was also one of my favorite parts of the night and seemed like a cherry on top. That whole weekend was awesome, the Yakima valley fire definitely made the experience more unique.

This night could not have gone any better!! The Gorge is one of the most amazing venues in the world!! To see Phish here is such a treat! This was my first birthday show, and I reaped all the rewards when they sang happy birthday to Chris. It was like the were singing happy birthday to me!! I couldn't believe it was really happening!! The fireworks after the show, and the lot were the best ending to the start of a fantastic weekend!!

Great show from start to finish, but then, when is a show at the Gorge not great? The first set got things started off right with some rarities and antics from the band, including the start of all the Wilson-Phish business. The second set is where the meat and potatoes is, and it's a close call between this show and the next night as to which one is stronger.

The opening Crosseyed is spectacular and jammy. The band moves nicely through the second set, playing many songs that have become staples in the 2013 rotation. Twist, Steam (!!), Waves, 20YL, Mango, Bowie - all great jams that the band has locked down in the past year or two.

I've always enjoyed Rocky Top so I was glad to hear that one again. The Character Zero to close out the set included some fun howling at the moon antics that got everyone in the crowd all jazzed up for what would turn out to be a great run of shows all the way down to the Hollywood Bowl.

The encore - what else is there to say? Hood > Fire ?? It's a dream encore, and seems like something they pull out for special shows like the Gorge. I'd never seen a Hood encore so that was a treat, and to top it off, they play a Hendrix cover that I'd been aching for! I supposed at the time, and still do, that they played Fire as a nod to the huge forest fires that were happening just across the Columbia River gorge, which many fans will remember as causing them to take a huge detour on the way south to Tahoe a few days later.

All in all, a great show to kick off leg two of Summer tour! They only get better from here...

Just gave this a more thorough listen. One word: Sploosh. Keep it up boys!

Was that an "I can't get no satisfaction" tease before Wilson (from the riddum section)??

Also thought I spotted a 'meat' attempt (also from Mike and Phish) right before Twist??

First west coast Fire since Ventura 97!

Moon Jam! AHHEWWWW!!!!!

First set highlights - great funk jams in Wolfman's Brother and Funky Bitch. The Split closer hinted at the exploratory jamming to come in set 2.

Second set was a highlight unto itself, from the Crosseyed and Painless through Zero's feedback outro. Top that off with a great Hood>Fire encore and you have yourself a helluva show! Glad I tuned in from the couch.

With some nice songs again in the first set, the second set was obviously the MVP of the night. The flow from Crosseyed forward was incredible. Very good show.

Wow.

mike having problems all night...mango and few other songs were trainwrecks waiting to happen. some very sloppy moments, but show saved by tune selection and wild antics.