The Way We Were: Exactly one year ago Phish played Bonnaroo for the first time in the middle of an early summer tour that was proving mildly worrisome for fans. The written music was superb, the energy unbelievable, but - tough as it was to admit it - the improv just wasn't going deep. There were bright signs, but it wasn't until the late summer shows that the band started to embrace what was once known as 'Type II' jamming (open-ended improvisations beyond the standard individual song frameworks). Even the improvisatory blowouts of fall and winter - the Albany Seven > Ghost, the Miami GBOTT, runs of segues from early December - seemed exceptional rather than standard.

Things have changed.

Historical perspective is the first casualty of the adrenaline rush of tour, but it's clear that the boys have undergone a transformation during the long offseason, growing both individually and (especially) as a group. All three shows of Summer Tour 2010, so far, would have counted as 2009 highlights - as would a handful of individual performances from *each* show. The whole first set is top flight, but nearly every song in the second set tops its 2009 versions; it's just that kind of show. The Twist, Drowned, and especially YEM(!!) are gold-medal stuff: Trey and Fish are playing at 1999 levels of precision, vigor, and most of all *patience*, while Page and Mike are simply better in every way than they've ever been. (OK, one exception: Page's vocals.)

Patience is the key, I think, and as usual the band's transformation is in many ways Trey-centric. The Red Wizard/Magic Man often seemed jittery in '09, jumping in to arrest unusually free improvisations - witness the painful Hartford DWD/Wilson transition. But he's very much at ease here, really surrendering to the music even at the expense of last year's structural tightness. Even when he tries to pull off maneuvers that don't quite work, like *dropping* beats instead of adding them in the messily exciting first-set SOAM jam, he's right there in the moment.

There's a lot of late-90's rhythm play going on now too, though without the loss of clarity that really set in during '99/'00. Trey's making an effort to sit back during jams, freeing the other players up to take more authoritative roles. This show's Drowned and Twist jams revel in the democratic spirit that's always been a big part of Phish's music, yet sometimes gets submerged onstage, where Trey's leadership role is more or less clear from night to night.

And yeah: consider springing for one of this tour's SBD recordings from livephish.com; the balance issues of '09 have been worked out, and they're a joy to listen to.

As strongly as Fall Tour closed out, exciting as the Miami run was, Phish are simply better now than at any point since their return. If you're on the fence about catching a show this summer, just do it. Can't go wrong with Phish even on an off night, and they haven't had one of those in a while...

My 1st show of 2010 and my gf's first show ever. Was gonna check out the park before the show but hit some traffic so just found my friends in the lot instead. The show itself was excellent. We went in early and were way close Page-side rage-side.

If you haven't given this show a listen I highly recommend it as I find myself putting it on fairly often. Jibboo opener set the mood right and it didnt slow down all night. It also sounded like Mike was turned up higher than usual which is a huge plus imo.
Fluffhead,Funky Bitch,Jim>NICU,Horn>It's Ice were all first time songs for me in a row
Mike kept the funk rolling all night

LONG review. You've been warned….

My fourth show, and first of four this tour. I went with my very good friend Emily, PA native and Phish first-timer. On the way to the venue, after we'd gotten off the highway and were nearing Hershey, we drove through an absolute DELUGE of rain, during which I could barely see the road in front of me. Fortunately, within ten minutes we were past it and out beneath sunny skies again. I had Emily put on "Mr. Blue Skies" accordingly.

I couldn't believe where I was when we pulled into the lot. It had been a long seven months since Cincy. After slipping a flask of Seagram's gin into my back pocket (I was dearly hoping for some of the Bathtub variety), we took in the sights and sounds and smells of lot for a while before heading over to the stadium to get in line.

Hershey stadium being GA floor, there were already a few diehards waiting outside the gates. One older, awesome-looking (GD and Phish) vet kept saying he wasn't calling anything except Fluffhead, third song, first set. Strangely particular call, I thought. The gates opened and we stormed the field, settling into a second row behind some other college-age kids, right in front of Cactus. Pre-show chats with other phans were great as always—really one of my favorite parts of the Phish experience.

SET ONE

JIBBOO. Jibboo opener—who was expecting that? No one, because it had never happened before. I thought it worked very well in the opener slot—a mellow dance number suited for a summer show and soaking up the last of the afternoon sun (which was setting behind Page for the first few minutes so that I could barely look at that side of the stage). Plus, I appreciated that openers were again totally unpredictable after my three '09 shows had opened Chalk Dust, Chalk Dust, Wilson. Nice, breezy jam with some beautiful passages near the peak.

CHALK DUST. I love the one-two opening punch of atypical opener, typical opener. Standard 3.0 rocker—nothing crazy, but thoroughly enjoyable. And I do love the song.

FLUFFHEAD. Third song, first set! None of us could believe the vet's call had been correct (and let it be noted, '09 Fluffheads usually closed the first set or were used as second-set centerpieces, so it really was pretty out of the ordinary). This was the first of several show highlights for me—the whole song was executed just about PERFECTLY, allowing me to really appreciate the contours and dynamics of the composition, easily one of Trey's finest. I was totally, totally hooked onto every note. Excellent, passionate reading.

FUNKY BITCH. Wasn't QUITE as stoked as other people in my section for this one, but sure as hell not complaining. Lots of fun, and everyone's blues solos (especially Page's!) were just killer.

JIM. The first song I felt kind of "meh" about hearing, but as Phish reminded me many times throughout June '09, any song could prove unexpectedly awesome/perfect at any time. After dispatching the song proper, the jam got unexpectedly DARK—not quite going type II, but certainly it was anything but a formulaic Jim. It was like the jam DNA of Stash was bleeding through to the jam DNA of Jim—that's the best way I can describe it. A fresh, engaging run through a song I didn't even know I wanted to hear—thanks, Phish.

NICU. Always fun to spend some time with calypso Phish.

HORN. Wasn't expecting it at all. Very cleanly delivered, and kept the setlist interesting.

IT'S ICE. As soon we got the opening arpeggios, I knew this song was EXACTLY what I wanted to hear. Another one of my favorite Trey compositions, along with Fluffhead and SOAM—to me it just sounds like a plunge into, well, icy darkness. In the subterranean netherworld at the center of the song, Page laid down these Bathtub-esque cascades of dissonance that just sent chills down my spine. What's more, the darkness was perfectly reflected in and amplified by the heavy, threatening clouds which had returned overhead (and of course the full force of Kuroda's lights as the night set in). Just perfect. An easy show highlight.

BOUNCING / SPARKLE. I thought of how Charlie Dirksen used to single these two out as hopelessly jam-less songs in old-school phish.net reviews, and laughed that we got both of 'em in a row. I didn't especially mind, though; nothing could turn the set away from the aura of darkness surrounding it in my mind, and even these two songs sounded faintly sinister sandwiched between It's Ice and…

SOAM. Arguably my favorite Phish song. Arguably. I could hear this at every show and not mind. The song was executed perfectly, and the jam was just about everything you could ask… seething, screaming prog-trance-psychedelia out beneath the storm clouds. What else is there to say?

SET ONE RECAP. In case you couldn't tell, I thought this first set was pretty damn cool. Highlights were Fluffhead, It's Ice, and SOAM, plus the unique jam in Runaway Jim. Between 0 and 10, 5 being an average Phish set, I'd call it a 7.5. Generated plenty to talk about at set break.

SET TWO

DROWNED. Even though the clouds above never opened up (probably for the best!), I thought back to the deluge I encountered on the road, and I felt the cover couldn't have been dropped on a better evening (though, of course, it stayed in rotation for the rest of tour). The jam wasn't all that long (the whole song clocks in around 12 minutes), but what's most memorable is how it went WAY OUT WAY FAST. Immediately established the groove-oriented, dance-party tone of the second set, too. A rousing bit of uptempo funk before Trey throws down the riff for…

TWEEZER. Easily a favorite Phish jam, though unfortunately at the show I couldn't enjoy it fully because I was distracted by some overweight middle-aged assholes who had pushed their way into the front under some bullshit pretext and were trying to grind with ladies less than half their age. They were also talking loudly. During Tweezer. Not cool. I said something and that quieted them down a little bit. I was able to return my attention more fully to the stage by the time the song had dissolved into an ambient, loop-driven haze. [The tapes reveal a quality but not groundbreaking Tweezer that would soon be overshadowed by the Hartford and especially Merriweather Tweezers later in the tour. (Still probably better than most '09 Tweezers, Red Rocks and Miami being the most obvious exceptions.)]

TWIST. I really like this song, and was happy to hear it continue the late-'90s vibe of the second set, especially when, to my surprise and delight, Phish got serious about the jam again! This Twist jam was dirty and funky and featured absolutely demented playing from Mike (Mike really went off the deep end throughout this second set). An easy set highlight, and the third solid jam in a row…

PIPER. … soon to be fourth. Truth be told, this Piper wasn't all that exciting, particularly in light of my next Piper at Merriweather. Very much in the vein of most late-'09 Pipers: a bit of fast-paced G-minor funk. But there's really nothing wrong with that, and if they wanted to play Piper AFTER Drowned, Tweezer, and Twist, they were more than welcome to.

FREE. A typical 3.0 Free, but more cleanly delivered than some, and giving Mike time in the spotlight seemed particularly appropriate this set.

VELVET SEA. A fine ballad to hear in this spot. I'm pretty sure everyone knew what was coming by this point…

YEM. … and when it came, it was NO disappointment. To my ears, one of the best YEMs of 3.0, if not the best. Huge, gooey funky jam caps off a big-time dance-party set. Mike was totally the master of this song. Get the tapes and check this shit out—he goes apeshit all over this jam, throwing in some Boogie On-esque vaults up and down the fretboard. On top of it all, the vocal jam was consistently, truly INTERESTING, and kicked off a summer of similarly interesting vocal jams. All in all, YEM was the highlight of the set, and maybe the single-song highlight of the night. Emily agreed, too—the vocal jam blew her mind. You never know what'll hook a first-timer.

SET TWO RECAP. If you like non-stop groove Phish, you'll want to give this set a listen. For this late-'90s-loving phan, a very tasty block of music. Five of the seven songs are legitimately jammed, and, what's more, the weight of jamming falls fairly evenly, especially between the first four. Highlights were Drowned, Twist, YEM, and Mike. Probably another 7.5—at least as good as the first set, but in a very different way.

Encore was Bold as Love, which was a great farewell (till Portsmouth in two days, of course). The encore (famously, by now) did not contain a Tweezer Reprise, which had some people confused/outraged, but I didn't really mind—for god's sake, the 11/17/97 Tweezer isn't Reprised. I minded even less after the hilarity/awesomeness that ensued surrounding this controversial move at Hartford/SPAC. Encore doesn't really rock the show average, so I'm calling the whole show a 7.5, an early highlight of a fairly excellent tour.

Set 1:

Gotta Jibbo: ****
Chalk Dust: ****
Fluffhead: ****
Funky Bitch: ****
Runaway Jim: ****
NICU: ***
Horn: ***
It's Ice: ****
Bouncing: ***
Sparkle: ***
SOaM: ****

Set 2:

Drowned: ****
Tweezer: *****
Twist: *****
Piper: *****
Free: ****
Wading: ***
YEM: *****

Encore:
Bold As Love: ****

Show Total: 75/95

Final Grade: B+/A-

Mr. Gordon dropped his (meat)balls on the crowd's faces as they left everyone with hershey squirts in their pants.

spectacular show that was well performed.

fun stuff...

From www.onlinephishtour.com />
Phish took the stage last night with a crowd still high off of what has just happened in the two nights leading up to show time. 6/13 would leave everyone with a mess in their pants--exactly what everyone came for. The first set had some great versions of some great songs, the second set was led by Mike for almost the whole thing.

The show opened with a great version of Gotta Jibboo--Mike came out early with it and Trey brought it to a great ending. Chalk Dust Torture really gets the crowd raging, though. Phish executed it so perfectly and Trey brought the end to a trilling finish-- one of the strongest versions of 3.0 Phish. Fluffhead played the most accurate of era 3.0 was great, the soaring end was gorgeous. Funky Bitch showcased Page for certain, but an unlikely star emerged from this song, too--MIKE. You can really hear him popping off in this song. So far this tour Mike has literally pounded the hell out of every song, and this is no different. Great great version.

After standard versions of Runaway Jim, NICU and Horn came a standard version of It's Ice--It is however worth noting that the It's Ice sounds perfect. The execution and Mike's bass is amazing in this version. It makes people think of old school Phish with their precise execution. The drums start Bouncin' before Trey's guitar leaves Ice--allowing Trey to make a cool downward turn into the begging of Bouncin'. The set closed with a dark and ambient Split Open and Melt--a la Cincy 09.

Phish came out for the second set with another 2009 style set opener--Drowned. It's a great version, however--Trey wails going into the jam and just when you think it's slowing down and may go into something else Mike kicks the floor out from under you. The thing drops into a new style of Phish funk. Like Number Line from the night earlier, this song show cases a new style of Phish jamming, albeit both different styles. Number Line was their new style of dark jamming and Drowned was their new style of funk. This song should really get you excited for Phish's future.

Trey starts up Tweezer after the dust settles from the funk. Like all the songs in this show, the Tweezer's composed part features Mike slapping the hell out of his bass again. The jam also features Mike's liquid bass--very dancable jam but not very creative. Out of the end delay loops and spaciness came the beginning of Twist Around.

When listening to this Twist all I could think is "oh, really Mike?!" Yet again Mike is DESTROYING the audience with this bass-led jam. For the first time in 3.0 Phish, Twist has found it's place again. Trey knows perfectly when to end this gem and after a brief pause in music comes Piper. Similar to its 2009 versions this one clocks in at about 10 minutes and doesn't disappoint. A very intricate rollercoaster of improvisation that sinks into Free. Going into the jam Mike drops some bombs--showing he remembers what Free used to be like--hopefully they continue making Frees funkier and funkier so they can once again to musical funk factory powerhouses and not just jam landing points.

Phish closed the set with the first You Enjoy Myself of 2010. During the lyrics section, as expected, Mike slaps the hell out of it. Coming off the trampolines, Trey takes a step back and noodles while Mike and Fishman create a solid back bone groove. Mike goes all over the place in this jam--it really shows how in tune Fish and Mike are with each other now. Really, this YEM jam is like one big bass & drums section with just some guitar and keyboards on top of it, until Trey decides to come to a peak reminiscent to MSG 09's YEM. Really impressive and original stuff. The real bass & drums section features more dripping wet Mike with Fish working off his lead perfectly.

The Bold as Love encore was certainly welcome too, perfectly wrapping up another stellar show.

I can't to review nTelos--sure the be an east coast throwdown!

From www.onlinephishtour.com

Holy Shit yeah. Perfect YEM and the drowned blew me away. I was hoping for Bold as Love so bad and this was so amazing.

Not a show review, but I'll try and be brief ... This would have been the only birthday show I would have had any chance to attend. If someone asked me before the show what I wanted to hear for my birthday, this is exactly what I would have said ... "Well, Fluffhead. Obviously. And SOAM. How about It's Ice. And throw in Sparkle too, because it's the only frequently played song up to that point that I haven't heard live. Oh, and why not just play them all in the first set." WTF?!? I've been to every Star Lake show, except 2003. Another WTF was I doing that was so freaking important to miss a show like that moment. I was at Hershey, Camden, and MPP in 2000. Philly in 1999. DC area in 1997 and 1999. State College in 1997. Polaris, Alpine Valley, and Deer Creek multiple times. Cleveland in 1998. Point being, well within my local area of shows I've attended, or even would attend after this show. Can't believe I thought there was something else that was so much more important than a birthday Phish show.

There are several reviews of this show, so I won't go into the show itself. For a veteran this show was fun, but probably won't get too many second or third listens.

All I have to say is, how do they not play Sugar Shack?!? The setlist says they soundchecked it. Which I guess didn't go over too well to play it live.

Oh, and the Sooper Dooper Looper still remains a classic coaster.

this was my first show of the tour, and holy moly, what a great start to what is shaping up to be an incredible year!!! last year i hit festy, the garden run, then nye at miami, and this year just took off on the same trajectory where '09 left off. the vibe was great, the venue low key and uncrowded, and the threatening weather never unleashed the torrents. i can't believe how tight they are sounding right now, and this is mike's tour so far. ooey, gooey, dripping, dropping bombs. i was with my wife, third show, and we opted for the seats instead of the floor. great scene, plenty of space, and really great neighbors. sound was perfect. saw an unusually high number of wook takedowns, and i can't get this one out of mind. some guy carrying around his infant son, dressed in festy polo shirt!, is in a screaming, in your face, argument with one of the fat, prick-like security guys. can't even begin to imagine what they were at odds over, but it was pretty harsh scene. if you ever read this guy, if you're bringing your kids to the show, be a father first, and avoid controversy like the plague, whether it was your fault or not. walk away. but back to the pleasantness...fluff was the first set highlight for me, but i tought the soam at the end was a signal of the funk to come. second set had me from the opening notes of drowned, and was relentless. who knew my pleas for the tweeprise would be answered fourfold over the next few days!!!! i am so happy to have these guys back, and providing these points in time and space to let it all rip. just say no to haters!

Mmmmmmm... Chocolate !
Phish keeps it old school playing a show where the newest song is 11 years old.
Chicago was tasty, but Hershey sweetens the deal making it the show to beat.
WOW ! Phish is not playing around on this tour kidz... Out of the gate HOT and now on FIRE !!!

Although the music can be infinitely deconstructed and analyzed, I prefer to categorize my shows in two ways: solid perfection ('cause it always is) or mind-blowing transformation ('cause it is more often than not).
This show was solid, as usual. The highlight, for me, was the seamless transition between each and every song. My husband said, "Some of those songs didn't seem to go together, did they?" I disagree. The transitions marked perfection all night long. It was a mid-nineties sort of night in terms of song selection. Jibboo opener is rare and even if you don't like Velvet Sea, any song that brings one (including the band at Coventry) to tears is stellar in my book. Lots of Page songs, if you like Page. Solid.

amazing show! blew me away in a hundred ways. i have been wanting to see YEM for a long time, which by the way, was perfect. it was incredible. the trampoline routine was just great! funky bitch, NICU horn its ice and fluffhead were incredible treats.

The show kicked off with an interesting and unexpected Jibboo opener, which was also the "newest" song they'd play all night. Set one featured a fun song list and was well-played with a nice sense of energy throughout.

They really dug into set two with "jammy" song selections featuring some great improv and decent transitions. Good second set, and as YEMblog stated on Twitter during the show, "I dare u to find a set starting w drowned that isn't awesome". Couldn't have put it better myself.

Encore: Bold as Love -- always a treat. NO Tweezer Reprise, which I found pretty strange.

My overall take: two nice "throwback" sets. Overall, a solid show and well-played.

This was my first show and all I have to say is...WOW. YEM was the funkiest I've ever heard it!! The first set was really good but the second set was epic. Tweezer blew my mind!! Piper is one of my favs and it was killer. SOAM was a great way to end the first set. This was an incredible experience and I can't wait to see them again!!