Very solid show from beginning to end. Believe me when I say it was a relief to get the idea of the relatively jam-heavy Worcester shows-as- loose-practice-runs-for-Bonnaroo/Summer Tour put to sleep.

The Sloth opened up the first set. After not opening a show from 11/24/91 in New Hampshire until 3/22/03 in Cincinnati, the Phish from Vermont decided to come out of the gate slicing nipples for the second time in the past 10 shows. Well played version, jumped straight into My Sweet One and immediately we've assuaged fears of this being a typical show.

46 Days was flirting with leaving it's structure by 3 minutes into the song but stayed relatively snug within it's languid confines. I'm always a big fan of the joygasm that follows the brief reprise of the chorus and this version didn't disappoint.

Camel Walk leads off a very well played funk suite, something tells me that Camel Walk will be the next song to receive one of the unexpected dashes of extra mustard that seem to be popping up lately, from the SuperMound to the West Coast Roggae amongst others.

The Tube that we all missed made it's grand return in Atlantic City. Page's clavinet work and Fish's "Nude Descending The Staircase" beat seemed to invigorate Phish and lead Tube somewhat outside of the box for the first time in quite awhile. Some classic start-stop jamming allowed the fans to show our appreciation. When that first break launched into some funky bass instead of the end of Tube, ecstatic might not encompass the feeling from the fans. God, I'm so happy with this show I almost typed "Phans"!

The little spacey interlude following Tube undoubtedly had the entire audience in the palm of Phish's collective hands anticipating the long awaited return of the Tube Reprise. It wasn't to be. This Tube didn't reach the heights of Dayton 97 or Hershey 00 but I don't think it would be a stretch to say that people appreciated it more.

The funk continued in the form of Cities. Any time you get a chance to get 10,000 hippies to scream the question "Do I smell?" You gotta take it. While Cities stayed as standard as it gets, I really enjoyed the quick and smooth segue into It's Ice. Fit like a glove on a gearshift as Phish pushed it into 3rd and left the funk behind.

The intricate innards of It's Ice were a nice reminder of how much tighter Phish is these days. Not a perfect version by any stretch of the imagination but played quite nicely. I'm still waiting to hear the crazy leadup before the drop to go straight into "Bundle of Joy" but I probably overthink these things.

After Sand-> Nellie Kane and the warpspeed Rocky Top from Bonnaroo, Ginseng Sullivan was a return to the halcyon days where you could just say "Bluegrass song was bluegrass song"

I really dug the Stash that came next. On second listen it was a lot more atypical than I initially thought. Mike was playing very forcefully and anchoring an excellent melodic take on the Stash jam. Ignoring screaming tension and release this Stash peaked almost romantically, with all 4 guys adding equal pieces to the puzzle. Perhaps some people won't like this version, but this unique take on Stash fits right in with the best things Phish is doing lately.

No matter how many times I hear Simple, I'll never tire of the reverse crescendo nature of it's improv segment. Great psychedelic melodic interplay in this version. Smooth slide into the Wedge, very cohesive 1-2-3 punch.

Stealing Time! Where have you been all my life? Fairly reminiscent of the 46 Days jam (As well as an Ocelot or Alaska jam, for good measure) Stealing Time finally fulfilled it's destiny as a song more akin to a Character Zero than a Sample In A Jar. There is no way that they have played a better version than this before. Real breakthrough with Stealing Time.

Holy crap, a Coil closer! I feel like the requests for a walk-off Page Home Run had been piling up and Phish delivered. Trey's current tone lends itself really well to Coil. As great as the Page solo is, the longer the band stays out the more I tend to enjoy Coil and we got a solid minute of all 4 members blissing out before Page cleared the bases and knocked us into setbreak.
-
My Soul wasn't the most unpredictable opener but something seemed different about it. Perhaps I'm just that much further away from being sick of the song, or maybe the rest of the band was more engaged than usual.

Birds Of A Feather in the 2nd slot seems like another easy call, but Birds decided to rejoin the big kids table. Why not? It's Atlantic City and the big kids table has gambling! If you wanted a 6 minute raging Birds jam, you got it. If you wanted them to push pass the peak and bet on 17 you got that too. Phish hit me. Fishman drops some utterly amazing beats in this jam, rolling toms and cymbals all over the place while Trey plays in a more 'millennial' fashion than he has usually. This jam has the feel of one of those krautrock influenced 99 Pipers but with a much more intricate touch. Spacey jams are at their best when Fishman is still kicking ass on the kit and Page is tinkling the ivories and this Birds fulfilled both of those qualifications while Trey & Mike conducted a counterpoint love affair within the margins. Mike once again showed he is the Admiral of the 3.0 ship while repeatedly whipping out basslines that subtly nudged the jam in different directions.

Trey might have been thinking NICU but Fishman kicks in Back On The Train and suddenly I've realized that Phish developed a better understanding of segues (Or perhaps just stopped fucking with us) at some point since New Years run.

I had a feeling this Train was going to go deep like the seminal version from Miami on 12/30/09. It wasn't to be, but we still got a fairly jammed out version of the song which got some excellent staccato interplay in on top of some huge round basslines from Mike. Trey seemed to cue up a segue into Heavy Things using the delay pedal (ala 6/29/00 Birds->Catapult->Heavy Things) but Fishman decided to make a clean break and let Trey's loop ring out by itself for a moment.

This version of Heavy Things had such an emotive solo from Trey and reached some truly glorious heights in it's slight 7 minute run time. Immediately jumped into my 'Favorite Heavy Things Ever' slot, and that is most definitely not an attempt to damn it with faint praise. Ecstatic.

The first 4 songs of this set seemed like a personal message from the band. A story of dejection and disillusion leading to redemption and joy. The Heavy Things solo perfectly encompasses the vibe of Phish these days: Passionate.

Twist captured that smoky Monaco speakeasy vibe that it's aimed for lately. The band allowed it a lot more room to breathe and it turned into a great showcase for how well they're listening to each other lately. It's constantly amazing how fast they can flip the pages during a jam without ever sounding jarring or disjointed. All of a sudden Twist is just raging! The first big WOO is a great moment. What a way to cut directly into our skulls and implant some unadulterated joy directly into the bony carapace of our lizard brains.

The WOOing continues into a fantastic 3.0 Piper that charges back up the motorik, and hits 100 on the Autobahn before melting away into an ambient segment with heavy Nitrous Oxide overtones. Fishman's sporadic drumming and Mike's huge bass bomb created an excellent illusion of being on some intergalactic carousel that occasionally spins past a drummer in a mumu.
What's this emerging? Billy Breathes?! Holy god. This and If I Could might have to do battle for the best placed 2nd set ballads in quite awhile.

A long pause complete with STEEEEAM requests (Couldn't agree with you more, homeboy!) and Sally brings the funk back for a quickie. Nothing spectacular but pretty solid, I dug the way Fishman pushes the beat directly into David Bowie. Mike's single Maze tease in the intro- a sly nod to the uproar over repeats? If so, well played Cactus, well played. As far as "Remember those songs we played earlier tonight?" Teasefests go, this one was pretty fun. Trey & Page play a really interesting game of cat & mouse on and off prior to the shift into rage mode. A premature jump into the Bowie peak provided one of the few blemishes on the set.

Extremely solid First Tube with a little extra mustard and pickled onion, perhaps some DWD teases in there towards the end?

Can't think of any reason to give this show less than an "A"

Curious to see what would have happened if they played this set at the 'Roo. Maybe more people would have walked out, but I'd assume that WAY more people would have dropped their life and decided to worship Phish for the rest of their lives.

I really really hope they keep up this level of passionate playing and sneaky-amazing improvisation. It's been really invigorating hearing this kind of stuff lately. Thank you, Phish!

They are officially no longer the guy in the pg13 movie that everybody is pulling for and reeally hoping will get the girl. They are the guy in the rated r movie whose character your not sure you like, your not really sure where he's coming from yet. They don't need anybody pulling for them. They just crush it on their own.

Last year started with a similar feel in Bethel but had its ups and downs by the end of the year. They didn't always go for it every show, and their were definitely paper sets. Minus a few mini-gems you could pretty much know what went down without needing to listen although of course we all did anyway. Master jams seemed to coalesce after a night or two off, and by off I mean thoroughly enjoyable shows that didn't have the diving into the deep jams greedy fans like myself clamor for every time.

BUT, this year...and THIS show. I'm almost at a loss for words here. I found myself singing along with heavy things, that's right heavy things. Thank god I was alone in my car. There is not a single phoned-in version of any song in this show. The placement of the songs fit as if no one had any predetermination about what was going to be played. Just a beautiful and subtle flow with extreme stylistic variations that somehow fit perfectly without seeming like it was pick a song out of hat time. And I'm talking about the first set here.

The tube jam was so ludicrously desired from all that when it finally came those 4 minutes of dripping funk in the jam felt like both an arrival and a statement. Like roses from DCU and halley's in bethel the first set jam was so deliciously good that it locked the band into the effortless zone and we could only witness with joy. It was like watching Jordan in his prime with jaw-dropping inexplicable moves that ended with a swaggering score every time. They could not miss this show.

The key, to my ears, is patience. There was never a moment of uncertainty, where the unknown was to be feared. Instead the unknown played through them, casting the moment into a timeless space where the music hovers somewhere between band and the audience's bodies. Where each note blends into the soup and there seems to be some kind of 5th member conducting but there's only them and us. Sorry to get all mystical here but it seems like through inaction comes the correct actions like a Taoist take on jamming but thats really how I feel about the best phish has to offer. I guess theres a reason they call trey the jedi master.

But you don't have to get all new-aged or eastern philosophy to know exactly what I'm talking about. Its why its so hard to put into words that moment when you just know the shit is going down. You can easily feel the difference between something forced (usually by trey but not always) and something that comes organically through the progression of movements in the jam. A nod to this *might* be trey horsing the horse the next night which was at the very least hilarious.

I guess the easiest way to see this is through the segues. Compare sand>nellie kane or BOAF>GBOTT to any of a myriad of end of set song>backwardsdtnl from last year or whenever and you know what I mean.

BOAF displayed the patience that allows the jam to come to them without trying to find it first. Where the search is part of the glory rather than part of the landscape, to be forgotten in favor of the peak. It reminds me of the patience of 97-98 without the over-patience of 99. Throw in a little 03 deep filter and effect laced storage psychedelia and the best of phish right now is mind-bogglingly good. Again. The rhythm of the song blends into a slight time signature shift into a beat that could have turned plodding in 1.0 or fizzled in 3.0 into the drumless depths of a segue into *we're too deep to come back from this jam* some other song. But instead, the 2nd movement develops along a lick from trey that isn't melodic crack of earlier 1.0 and isn't the rhythmic monster of later 1.0 and isn't the dark of 2.0. Instead its the entirely new rough beast of 3.0 which has really begun to find its own sound. Sticking it through the jam peaks in a non-linear fashion that doesn't have a ton of melody but isn't atonal. It is, however, deeeeply powerful. Like raw and primal beasts let loose each member locks out of nowhere.

Yet, this is only briefly done. One minute 30 seconds tops. A moment that of course I wanted to go on for another 10 minutes. But that would rob it of its power and it is only a reflection, a pastiche of something true yet unnameable and we are on to other ripples of the psyche. And a magnificent blend into train that I did not see coming until the unmistakeable beat fishman drives out. In synchronization, the move makes no sense yet makes perfect sense.

And that, to me, sums up phish at the top of their game. It would be unnecessary for me to keep going with a song by song that was already done better than I could do anyway. I just felt I had to get that out and apologize for the lengthy ramblings.

Dear god, see phish. See them many times. Sell your house. Sell your wife. By any means necessary.

Interesting show! Both sets are just filled with interesting jams, some type 1, some type 2, all of them worth a listen. The stand out in the first set has to be the Tube. It seemed the band put a lot of effort into playing what can sometimes be a rote song, and hell it payed off. This is a version we will happily revisit in the future.

Set 2 was great all around, but the BoaF stole the show. Highlight of the whole night. But really, if you're thinking of downloading this show, do it. Set 2 will make it all worth it, not much I can convey that wouldn't be better served by your time actually hearing it.

Throw in an always enjoyable First Tube, and we have a great show I believe will be hard to top in the coming days.

WOW! I had a Blast!
Easily the best 1-2 punch shows I've seen since 1.11.11.

My Sweet One - havent seen since 1990
Billy Breathes - Never saw it ever!
Ginseng Sullivan - Again! 1st Timer!

First Set - right outta the gates I got this new laid back jamming thing -less is more - great stuff.

Tube was rediculous!
Stash is my favorite song - really nice to see it played out on a new level.

The Wedge - one of my favorite tracks
Coil - straight fire!

2nd Set - still having a blast!
I always think of my soul as a jumpoff to crazy shit - once again. Reminded me of the 1.1.11 show throughout!

Birds was a straight out cock out!
I thought I heard Stealy Dan teases in Billy.

Bowie was like a hot load in my face! If I liked that sort of thing!

Tube closer so good.

I walked out of night 1 as happy as I had been the same night I walked out of MSG on 1.1.11.

Bottom line for me - this wiped out every show of 2011 that I saw live.

I think this was overall a great starting point for the first of 3 in the AC run.

The first set really was all about the funk. I would say Stash was the most interesting jam-wise. Stealing Time had the energy peak though. One interesting set choice is playing 46 Days followed by Camel Walk - both songs have really similar intros. I think Trey did that knowingly - I was waiting for Ocelot after that just to be like "har har Trey, we get it..."

The second set featured more solid jamming, though still somewhat conservative. Trey and Page really got a kick out of the audience "WOO"s from Twist and if you listen closely, WOO's can be heard throughout the night after that, even during Bowie and First Tube. I think that should go in the show notes as an audience thing. Anyway, Bowie was the highlight of the second set and probably the night since it featured a bunch of teases and was overall solid and exciting.

The main problem with this show was likely playing too many songs, especially during the first set. I was close to the stage and saw Mike step on his synth wah pedal a few times to get into the jams, like during Simple or Birds or Piper, and then Trey would just change the song. Ginseng Sullivan and My Sweet One are also examples of pure fluff filler songs - the time spent doing those should have been jams on the others!

Overall a pretty good kick off for the early summer tho.

Cool show. Whole night felt kind of deep jammy and in stark contrast to the show they played at Bonnaroo. Peak of Set 1 was probably Faulty Plan, great jam and peak and lights. 46 days, Camel Walk also stood out. Lots of fun covers. Ice and Stash had their moments but overall weren't the peaks of the set. They played well and the crowd was in to it.

The second set featured a lot of deeper jamming, all mainly on a similar ambient/trance/funk kind of vibe. Trey prompted the crowd to continue the "woo!" from Twist over into Piper. The jamming was deep but a bit slow at times. Saved the best for last, ending with a great Bowie, featuring a lot of teases.

Step Into The Sewer, Pt 1

I didn’t feel like paying for internet on top of the already stupid hotel charge here in AC, so this might not get posted ‘til I hit Virginia next week. Aaanyway… In short, d/l the shit out of Night 1. Okay. Did you? Great. Now put on Birds, and put a plate under your face in case of melty drippage.

Once you get through that, hit up the classic Twist -> Piper combo, then kick up your feet and relax into Billy. Still with us? Great. Now start back at the beginning of the first set. Check out all that patience. And listen to Mike and Fish protect the beat.

There’s plenty of good reviews here of the music, so here’s what you can’t see in the download – Bader Field is a small, unused airstrip about a half mile west from the furthest south casinos on the AC boardwalk. Apparently like a shitload of other fans, I looked at a map and saw the Hilton was the furthest south casino, and looked like a pretty short walk to the grounds. I booked it upon receiving my ticket confirmation. About a week before the show, I got an email from the ‘Atlantic Club,’ which apparently had bought the Hilton and rebranded it. I use that term loosely. You can still see the outline of the words ‘Hilton’ on the roof, and the only signs that say Atlantic Club were hastily stenciled on the door. That’s about all they spent on re-decorating since some time in the 60s. I was expecting Nucky to tap me on the shoulder at any moment.

The grounds themselves are well-maintained, getting in and out was considerably less of the massive train wreck I expected from Atlantic City, but I headed up to the show early just in case. At 6pm I walked up and sat down maybe 20 feet from Page’s baby grand, and the grounds very slowly filled up.

Despite the rage side moniker, the folks around me were all very chill and very happy to be there. Here we were, outside in beautiful oddly fall-like weather, and somehow the show felt like an intimate inside venue. Everything felt easy. Every transition, every song choice, even the breeze that constantly washed across the field.

The First Tube on the last night of Super Ball was a pure ripper. After three days of Phish, that ass kicking rendition left just about everyone there wishing we had another night. Tonight’s was no different – driving, deliberate and awesome, but we still have two nights to go. Win!

The walk back was… interesting. Lots of tanks and sketch-bags selling balloons off of em. A couple guys down an alley yelling, “Hey Phish! Get what you want down here! No lines!” Um… no lines? Whatever. Play in the sewer, you’re bound to find some rats.

Many highlights here, and overall, a great show.

First Set:
-Extended Tube is a treat these days, I love it, can't stop listening to this one
-It's Ice: one of a kind for 2012 summer tour
-Stealing Time: excellent version, built up energy before receding into...
..The Squirming Coil made the show special for me, being that it was my first, I vividly remember feeling the connection with Page as he played his solo for us.

Second Set:
-BOAF: at nearly 15 minutes this spacey type II was one of the highlights of the weekend for me and segued beautifully into an energetic Back On The Train
-Heavy Things.. absolutely RIPS one of my favorite versions ever.
(BOAF->Back On The Train>Heavy Things = highlight of the show?)
-Loved the intro to Twist
-"Woo" theme from Twist carried over into Piper... everyone was yelling "woo" after the show and on the way out of the gates, this seemed to become a theme for the night.
-Billy Breathes: first in two years, a nice surprise (also my favorite album)
-Sneakin' Sally: Although it might not have been as extensive as SPAC's Sally, Page was on fire, and I recall after the show, as we were waiting in a parking lot for literally hours, trying to wave down a cab, someone nearby says, "I've been waiting in the parking lot for two god damn hours, but I don't even care cause that Sneakin' Sally was doppeee!"
-And the Bowie, an obvious highlight, with many teases, I remember the shivers I got when Trey played that first Stash lick.

Nice start to a 3 day run....the energy was strong and the crowd was excited...
Very crazy sound effects by the strong winds that carried the music away and then slammed it back in your face....

This show blew me away start to finish. Was page side front. This was #65 for me and it did not disappoint. Sloth opener was a fun opener that set a tone for an intriguing set. Was very stoked to hear My Sweet One followed up by a nice 46. This was my first 6+ minute tube since the late 90s. That Tube was filled with some tight type 2 stop start jam that made me grab the water! On fire..... The entire first set was ripping.

Second set was extremely solid. The entire set start to finish was dirty. Every song was nicely hit, but I'm truly impressed with the segue from Birds>BOTT. Sneakin was retarded. Best Bowie I've heard merely because of those insane teases through the belly of the song.

Can't stop listening to this run. Amped for ATL>CLT in august!

One of the most fun shows I have ever been to and the only one where i was COMPLETELY sober. Great song choices and one of the best 2nd sets of 3.0 The crowd interaction is priceless and really fires up the band.

Nothing like pre-gaming with a Phish show before a night of mayhem in AC

This was first Phish show, and although they didn't replay Spanish moon as i hoped, it was a great introduction to the most complex band ive ever seen, emotional and talented. All of these songs from this specific night are some of my favorite songs now, Birds especially, i cant get enough of Phish now. Shakedown on this night was mildly depressing, but you gotta take the good with the bad. I gotta thank my friends i was with for showing me a great time, and everyone else for being so cool.

Yep, Tube is definitely a highlight. The Wedge was very well played; it's always nice to hear that tune.

The whole 2nd set is so laid back and patient. They were really listening to each other well, nothing rushed or forced: this a mature band with years of experience playing and jamming together, and it shows in a wonderful way. Confident. When they play with such patience, everything opens up and gets more spacious; the air crackles with energy. And that's the good shit.

Their present jamming style is a well-proportioned mish-mash of every style they've embraced in the past. I love the effects that Trey and Mike are liberally using. The boys are on fire - by all means catch a show this tour if you can!

4-star second set. Yikes!!
DOPE is right. I've been listening to this second set NJ all day long. The Birds>Get Back Attack On The Train Heavy Things turned me inside outside back for another then the Twist Around Piper sickness with Trey fire ING on sick bar chords wicked dank PHishickness!!!! So psyched fo Deercreek. Can barely keep my shorts on.

The Helping Friendly Book has all the answers. I know it. I memorized it. GO PHISH 2012!!!

The reviews above pretty much say it all. very well balanced, fun show. the guys are playing at an absolutely stupid level right now and it just makes my imagination run wild thinking about what we're gonna get at some of the more historic venues this summer. Vote Phish 2012 people.

This was an amazing set. I was just happy to be there in the first place, it being my second show, and so I think this helped out a lot, because I don't know if it will ever be topped (for shows that I have been to). My Soul, still, to this day, brings me to tears for some reason...when it's Trey's turn to shred, oh man, brings me to my knees! So good.

this was my first show, and at the time i knew nothing about Phish. only on listening to this show later on , with my growing (but still nooby) phish knowledge do i understand how solid this show was. I wish i could go back in time and see it again.

The Tube in the First set reamins one of my favorite versions heard live, and to date. A very Mike heavy Tube with some awesome start stop interplay. Faulty Plan is a really good version as well, really rocking.

Set 2 Birds is one of the strongest and most underrated jam of 2012 and the segue into BoTT is top top notch stuff. The Twist>Piper besides both being good versions, was a lot of fun with all the WOO carry overs. 11:00 minutes into Piper on the dot, Gordo drops the nastiest Bass Bomb. the segue into Billy Breathes remains as one of my favorite segments and the tease fest of David Bowie is always a treat to listen too even if its not the best bowie musically. First tube was a perfect encore for my frist show.

oh man if only i knew what laid ahead of me at the beginning of this show.

Glorious show. Atlantic City is an absolute fun-fest. The atmosphere at this unbelievable venue was relaxed, communal and genuinely Phish-y. Great music and great vibes all night long.

Set 1: Immediate intensity with The Sloth opener. My Sweet One keeps energy up. I know it's supposed to be fast, but this was actually faster than I like, but still definitely enjoyable. Standard, but well-played 46 Days follows. Camel Walk is nothing special – not ever a huge fan of the song. Tube on the other hand is extended and a real funky treat. I love Phish playing Cities, especially when they're playing shows in fun cities, like AC. It was at this point in the show that I started looking around to try and take in the carnival-like surroundings. It's Ice fits nicely next, and demonstrates good pacing for the set. Ginseng is a song I didn't appreciate until this show – it's a lot of fun live, especially in the heat of summer. Stash is played well, the clever interplay among all four guys is really evident. When I hear the opening to Simple, I just know I'm in for a good time. This song never fails. To me it basically highlights everything Phish is about. After a strong Simple, Trey moves into Wedge, which is a nice treat before a monster rendition of STFTFP. This is easily my favorite STFTFP ever. It is fleshed out and the form and content of the song seem to meld better than ever. Behind Antelope, I think Squirming Coil is my favorite way to end a 1st set. This version is lovely as always, but Page's outro just leaves you feeling so warm inside. Those circling piano notes, which echo in your head, are really the only way to tide me over to the second set.

Set 2: My Soul is a logical opening. It essentially serves as an effective "get ready for what we have in store for you." The three-song-unit that follows is utterly extraordinary. I implore you to listen to this BOAF->BOTT>Heavy Things. You will not regret it. Since many others have noted the brilliance of the BOAF and BOTT, I'll focus on the Heavy Things, which is better here than it's sounded in a long time, in my opinion. Heavy Things often gets a bad reputation as merely a pop song masquerading as a Phish song. If you are one of the many who hold that opinion, I recommend you listen to this version carefully. It possesses such artful soloing by Trey, reinforced by the other musicians who complement his playing perfectly. After this triplet of songs we get a fun Twist in which Mike and Fishman stand out. We are next treated to a juicy, speedy serving of Piper. Billy Breathes gets the ballad spot. All things considered, it works better here than it would have anywhere else in the set, and it is a pretty song. After this breather, Sneakin' Sally is a blast, and the teaser-filled Bowie gives everyone a chance to lick their fingers and briefly re-taste the delicious music that we'd been served all night.

Encore: First Tube was certainly not unexpected, by any means, as the closer of AC night one. But it was appreciated completely. That song has a really mystical feel, which suited the night perfectly.

Really a fun night. Phish showed they were having a fun time. The setlist felt like it was simply what they wanted to play, and that's how I feel it should be. Can't wait to go to another show like this.

Simply a great show. First set had some great songs, all of which played prety tightly. One of the set one highlights would be My Sweet One>46 Days>Camel Walk. Some great solos from trey there. Ginseng Sullivan was fun as always. A pretty good version of STFTFP. A great set closer with Squirming Coil. Page takes his usual solo at the end which was a great way to end the set.

Set two starts with a lackluster My Soul but soon picks up. Some of the best jamming on the tour can be heard during BOAF->BOTT>Heavy Things>Twist>Piper. It's simply amazing. Easily the highlight of the entire show, it's a must hear for sure. Sneakin' Sally had a pretty cool vocal jam break. David Bowie and First Tube only make this show better. I'd definitely recommend this!

Wow! What a show. This show set the pace for a great weekend at Bader Field and indicated that those of us in attendance for the three night stand were in for a treat.

I am writing this review now because I wanted to allow myself some time to digest the sets I saw. My emotions were high going into this show because I attended with some of my very best friends, many of whom I have not seen in several months. Also, this show came on the heels of many wonderful changes in my life, including graduating from college in January and buying a home with my wife in March. Atlantic City was the perfect bookend a wonderful spring season and a great way to welcome summer. If you read this far, thanks! Here is the review:

Set 1: 3.5*/5*

The Sloth opener was an excellent way to introduce the crowd to AC. Gluttony and trepidation were two very consistent themes in .net posts regarding the environment in AC, and I think the band nailed it by opening with this tune. It was performed exceptionally well and laid a great thematic foundation for the contrast of other songs in the set including My Sweet One, Stash and Coil. Camel Walk was a great surprise. Following 46 Days, Camel Walk brought the right amount of funk to drive the crowd into a roaring Tube. I always love hearing a well played Simple, and while the transition to The Wedge felt a little forced made this one of my most favorite segues of the evening. STFTFP... I hate it. Not the song. I hate that they kill it every time and I am beginning to really enjoy seeing this tune performed. Very well done and a solid choice for this set. Coil. Goddamn! What a tune. Great choice for a closer for the first set of the weekend.

The first set transitioned well, some of the jams felt really tight (esp. Tube, Stash and Coil). Page raged his shit to close Coil.

Set 2: 4*/5*

I like the choice of a My Soul opener. I love to dance to this tune and always feel that this song is meant to describe the music Phish performs. The tension and release methodology of Phish always makes me think of strife/rage/sadness followed by vindication/relaxation/jubilation. BOAF is a great song and was performed quite well as the second song in the set. I like that it was chosen to transition in BOTT. Initially, Heavy Things seemed a little out of place in the order it was played here. I love the song and think, after hearing it again, that this worked very well to balance the
second set and allowed the band to pump five more very raucous songs to end the set. Twits > Piper >Billy Breathes > Sneakin' Sally > David Bowie. Wow! And, in case you missed the entire first set, David Bowie included tightly played and in-your-face teases of Stash, It's Ice, Simple and Ginseng.

This set was a real treat. I enjoyed the entire thing and don't feel that any of the performance during this set felt labored or forced. This a fun one to put on the mp3 player and listen to over and over.

Encore: 3.8*/5*

First Tube. I like it and it was a great song to hear right before hitting up KDTU at the Revel.