The neck is still sore from last night’s groove and they expect me to recover with *this* show?

The drive from NC was predictably annoying. (I-95, if you’re reading this, just…. suck less. Signed, everyone.). Had to make DC in enough time to play a set at a food fest with my cover band (pop and R&B) and be done by 5:00 to zip up to Merriweather where, incredible given the date, the weather was very merry. Perfect summer weather, which for the greater DMV is as rare as - spoiler alert -Strawberry Jam. (District, Maryland, Virginia. Not the motor office.) Tonight may have not fully sold out like tomorrow, but the venue was primed and ready to roll.

After an show-opening Sand that took itself for a senset walk on itself, the crowd let the band hear it for last night and as a dare for tonight. Boy, man, did the band take the bait. A daring two-slot If I Could was pulled off with a cooking Buried Alive right behind. This began the first of the MG Trey shots tonight. They were feeling it early with a SYSF that took 16 powerful minutes to bow out for a fast Llama that really turned up the deedeldeees from Trey. Felt vintage, but in a 4.0 way. They were really feeling a certain type of way, cause the Halfway to the Moon and Strawberry Letter 23 were both(!) the first time trotted out with type ll jams and I believe the longest versions for both. Even more, they both held their exact character and just felt so right. Especially that Strawberry ???? Jam. Blowing us up with a Lizards to end the set was clearly the right answer.

I meditated upon what happens to my life in just the last 30 hours during set break. Perhaps I am being reborn.

Firstly, a swerving First Tube complete with Guitar Simba to end it. Then they love bombed us with the jam of the night (and probable JOTY contender) Fuego that showed maturity and movement beyond its 19 minutes of tape. Some of the crunch and drive in there felt 1.0, but with the 4.0 ears for hearing each other that were all loving so much. Man, this set was stacked. The Sigma made its own moves and the Power Ballad-style Caspian was a clutch call to keep it rolling without any energy dip. Waves made me think of my whale best friend from MSG. (I wonder where she’s swimming right now? And if she ever thinks of me how I think of her?) The shout-through-the-roof Meatstick, dance and all, brought joy to every age and maturity level in the place. (Am I noticing what feels like an uptick in the very young now? Summer tour brings out the tamiles, but im loving the kiddos as well as the 20s crowd seeing what all the fuss is about. This. It’s about Meatsticks. Giggle.) Oh Kee Pa did the things and a rock and roll story called Suzy Greenberg tucked the second set in.

The cheers were loud. So, they encored! With Alumni Blues! (Shout out to all the unnecessary degrees in the DMV. We feel seen.) And Letter to Jimmy Page! (I haven’t got this much mail since before the pandemic!) And a crack-the-sky Character Zero! (Aaah aaaaaah!)

Song choice, composition, and high-personality jams make me want to call this show of the tour so far. High, high bar set by these giants.

Tomorrow awaits…

First time at MPP did not disappoint! Met up with some .netters, raged on the lawn, and got post show Taco Bell.

This is easily one of the better first sets I’ve seen in any 14 shows. The only one that beats it is TAB 9/29/21, but that’s basically 1/2 a phish show anyway… SYSF Is surprising because it was only played last week in Bethel. While not the type II behemoth, it certainly made for an energetic jam and set the stage for…Halfway to the Moon? With a full on Shafty jam? Or song? Idk anymore. All I know is you don’t wanna skip this Halfway. And I don’t say that lightly!

Second set reads like a Phish jukebox, but this Fuego is the goods. Almost 20 minutes long, reaches a nice peak before moving into type II territory. Almost reminds me of a ‘94 Tweezer jam with how abrupt the departure in the jam that leads to the final crescendo. Not a whole lot else to speak of in the second set except that I FINALLY got my Waves that I’ve been seeking for over a decade!

The rust from spring tour is shaken off, and Phish put on a winner in Columbia, MD. Show ended at 10:50 pm. Probably the earliest time I’ve ever seen them end. But then again they actually started on time tonight lol.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings! Much love from CLE.

(couch tour)
Great first set, something for everyone.
Solid 2nd set, great Fuego.
Overall, super fun, happy show. The boys are having fun (Llama, shafty, strawberry (jam), lizards, meatstick, simple, oh kee pa, Suzy, alumni) and we're having fun. Would give it a 4.5 if I could. Choosing to go with 4, could go either way. ✌️ and ♥️

It may not have been the best show I’ve seen but in all honesty it was maybe the most fun I’ve had at one! The first set was short but sweet but the band was on fire right out the gate with a blistering Sand. SYSF>Llama was the highlight and a Lizards closer was completely unexpected but joyous in the moment.

Second set didn’t go as deep as other nights of the tour but the monster Fuego was all that was needed. Might go down as the best Fuego yet (?). The late set Meatstick kept the party going into a rousing finale with Suzy and the encore capped it all off nicely for a night of great song selections and on point playing.

Awesome show from start to finish. Great venue, awesome weather, and just positive energy from all. High fives and hugs with strangers all night. First set was just awesome, summertime phish. Second set was some fantastic Psychedelia. With tonight’s rain forecast, and a Sunday show at MPP, there should be a massive Tweezer. That was the only thing missing last night.

Beautiful night, not overly hot. Fun show, well-played, nice variety in the set. Gave it a 4/5 because I enjoyed it "more than average."

Random thoughts:
-The If I Could was a real 1st set curveball / cooler but I was 100% bought in at the end and the lawn was singing along.
- The Llama felt insanely fast -- was it actually faster than the tempo normally gets these days for Llama? Please tell me what you thought.

Pros of this show:
- Funky bangers to start each set with Sand and First Tube, respectively
- Deep jams on SYSF and Fuego, with interesting moments on each
- Nice Meatstick, flashback to 1999 at Merriweather

Cons of this show:
- Despite a psychedelic crab T-shirt for the shows, no Walfredo was played