This was my third show, and it was a great/beautiful night. I saw it with my buddies Freedom and Jordan, in a sense (via texting between sets), Ellie, and, in spirit, Harry. We’d gotten there early, and of course, the boys were a bit late. So, expectations (Mine. This was Freedom and Jordan’s first show, and they didn’t know what to expect.) were running wild. A song by song breakdown:

Wolfman’s Brother: The first time I heard this song was through watching the Bonnaroo 09 video feed. It was, honestly, the first time that I “got” the jamming part of Phish. So, I was quite happy to be hearing my first Wolfman’s. Honestly, it’s pretty standard (except for this cool, funky line supplied by Page at around minute 6), but the energy was radiating off of it. Big fadeout and >..........

Peaches: This was when I felt that this show might not be an average, run of the mill show. I dig this Zappa song, and love when Phish covers it. Anyone that wasn’t up and dancing for Wolfman’s, was for Peaches.

Shaggy Dog: I have to be honest, I didn’t recognize this song when they kicked into it. I had to look up the setlist online, to figure out what it was. Apparently, it’s quite a bustout. Phish-grass is always fun, but this defintely wasn’t as much of a highlight for me, as I’m sure it was for some.

Runaway Jim: Pretty standard, but defintely rocking and energetic. Everybody in my section of the lawn was singing along. There was this cool section with what felt like a huge pause, before they kicked back in.

Light Up: This is one of those covers that I personally feel doesn’t appear in enough shows. It’s fun, it’s energetic, it’s funky, what’s not to love? This was also a highlight for my buddy, Jordan, because he’s a huge classic rock and Traffic fan. Page, of course, destroyed the solo. And.............>

Wilson: I’d been rooting to hear this song, because I named my new (as of march, anyway) puppy after it. So, I was pumped beyond belief when they kicked into it.

Alaska: I’d been talking before the show, in one thread or another, about how Alaska has really been growing on me, and how I wished I got one. Well, my wish was fulfilled. Alaska was, as always, rambling and ambling. Still cool. There was one part of the jam, that I felt got mildly dark (for Alaska anyway), but I can’t seem to locate the exact time.

Stash: I love it when Phish gets jazzy and dark. Stash jams can get too chaotic for me, and this one defintely reaches that point several times, but I still enjoyed listening to the clashing, dissonant, interplay between Trey and Page.

Llama: There was some pretty humorous (although I think the Moma abortion was staged) banter before this one, about how Fishman can’t count, and therefore screwed up Poor Heart and Moma Dance. I’m glad he did, because it meant we got to hear Llama. You could almost bottle up the energy during Llama. Everybody was up and grooving.

Buffalo Bill: Trey made a joke about finding songs that start with drums (it’d last the rest of the set), so he said that they’d play Buffalo Bill. Buffalo Bill was fun as always.

Saw It Again: Another song that started with drums. This was a favorite of my group, as everybody was banging their head. If you couldn’t tell by the rest of the set, you could tell by now that the boys were enjoying themselves, and ready to play a special show for us.

David Bowie: An exceptionally long intro to Bowie (filled with trivia) led to a Bowie that didn’t really jam that much, but was still groovy. A nice way to get everybody pumped for set two.

Disease: I was calling for Carini to open set two, but instead we got Disease, which is, IMO the perfect set two opener. Disease got the ball rolling with an exceptionally upbeat motif that eventually settled down into a funky groove before segueing into...

Guelah: I was dancing quite hard by this point. This was also the point at which I noticed some.......ahem.......sketchiness (let’s just say that mirrors and rolled up dollars were involved) next to me. Said sketchiness defintely gave me an unease for the rest of the night, but Guelah made it easier to ignore the sketchiness and focus on the music.

KDF: This is where the true meat of set two comes out. Like Alaska, KDF has the same sort of rambling feeling, no matter what. Of course, KDF is much more energetic. There was an awesome groove established, that gave way to two minutes of pure space. Get this KDF, if nothing else, for those two minutes. I started to feel like a 2001 was coming up next, but of course, Phish defied my expectations once again with......

Twist: This is what will be talked about when people talk about this show. I honestly can’t put into words how outstanding this Twist was. It felt compact (at 14 minutes), but it still covered an extraordinary amount of ground. It was funky, rocking and dark at only 14 minutes. At around minute 10, I texted Ellie with only two words: Fucking Great. This Twist was the highlight of the show. Get it. Now.

Halley’s Comet: Halley’s is fun, and I was excited to see where they’d go with it, but it was your typical 5-6 minute Halley’s. Still, an awesome way to bring us back to earth after Twist. There was a quite fluid segue into....

Sand: I’ve been loving this song lately. I know Sand is always funky, but this version felt especially funky to me. I was grooving like there was no tomorrow during this one. Mike was absolutely on fire during the jam section. After the jam, there was an exceptional segue into..

Roggae: After Sand, I was slightly let down by this, but if you’re going to have a cool down song, Roggae’s an awesome one to have.

Carini: I can’t get enough of this song. Everybody on the lawn was bobbing to Carini. Mike let out some bombs early on, that absolutely shook my entire body. I dug the energy, but I wish that they’d let Carini go on a little bit longer, instead of pulling out CDT.

CDT: I was calling this as the end of the set. As always, CDT was energetic as can be.

Golgi: I was surprised by the choice of Golgi to end the set. Golgi’s a great way to get a positive feeling vibrating, though. So, everybody was jumping and singing along.

Fluffhead: Wow. I was defintely not expecting this. Apparently, it’s the first Fluffhead encore since 1990. Fluffhead is my dream encore (well, maybe YEM). It was an outstanding way to end an outstanding night. Now, it’s time for post show blues to set in.

Dear Trey Mike Page and Fish

Some very special things happened last night; we know that. I think some of the younger members of our scene felt it but didn't completely get it. I'm writing this for them too.

You know we like to predict what you are going to play. I was a freakin' prophet last night. My friend Lou (drummer) hung out with Fish and Page at Mike's Music and backstage- did he show you my facebook page? I called Wolfman's Brother as an opener as I attended the show with my hairy younger bro... and we were off.

I stubbed friends down to our !Row G! seats for good karma, and was dancing on the lawn when Lama was played. I recognized it at that first drum beat, wanted to make a vid of my name sake song but GOT MOBBED. You would have loved that POV- several dozens of our friends high-fiving me and going ecstatic! Just no way to shoot a video with that around me, and I NEEDED to dance.

I called Fluffhead two days ago and all day yesterday; friend me and check my facebook... I saw Fluff at my first show in '93. It is a very very special song to me, and played a part in many significant events in my life. I wrote to you after that first show and explained how Fluffhead seemed to have very therapeutic qualities. Mike wrote back; I still have the letter. I showed it to everyone in the lot. I KNEW you were going to play that song as I had a rough time recently, and needed spiritual healing... I'm a responsible guy with a family and day job, no touring for me. This show was my only chance.

We thought it wasn't going to happen, but I told my crew to have patience... It was in the air last night, wasn't it! Was in Row G from Chalkdust on...When the encore broke I thought it was a tease... Phish don't play Fluffhead as an encore! When I heard the first bars I literally cried.

Too many square and corporate types in the front. I was determined that they were going to 'get it' and not miss this special moment. When you went off into what my musician friends and I call 'the dark labyrinth' (I play saxes, and can't follow along playing that without a score!), I turned around and yelled at the crowd: "When Phish come back for the final chorus, and you hear Fluffhead again, it will be the single most blissfully orgasmic musical experience of your life!!!" I got some odd looks...

But the jam was sooo good. And sooo long. I danced and danced. The energy levels around me rose. People who didn't dance all show started dancing with me. It was infectious. I kept yelling "it's coming it's coming" as you built the tension on stage.

When the dam FINALLY broke, I pogoed off the shoulders of my 6'5" tall brother, screaming FLUFFHEAD in a state of delirious ecstasy (yes, I was THAT guy :-). Everyone around me went bonkers! They phinally got it!

My knees hurt this morning. I'm sore from dancing. But completely blissed out. I turned forty a few weeks ago (you know that as you must have read my facebook page, seen my age, and threw in David Bowie/UB 40 just for me ;-). But last night I was 20 years old again for a few hours. Your music is that powerful.

Thank you gentlemen, for so much. If others didn't have the time of their life last night, they were quite simply doing it wrong.

Peace and all the best to you on your 'travels'. And from all of us here in the Queen City, please come back very soon.

Lama Lamma

TWIST JAM timings from LP

Starts up out of the haze, with some nice Rhodes action by Page. Composed section is pretty standard, fairly tight but nothing of note.

2:34 solo break, Trey is laid back in the groove here giving space to Mike and Page
3:20 some nice staccato runs by Trey, showing a little bit of thought but with a relaxed vibe. Whole band sounds in synch with great spaces left by each member letting the others step up.
4:46 Trey with a little more fire and a phase shifter, Mike envelope filter
5:40 Higher run from Trey with some nice subdued trilling up and down the neck,
6:03 Chord landing by Trey for emphasis.

6:09 Out of nowhere, and I do mean out of nowhere, Page comes in with some organ swells and Mike steps in here with a strong key change into minor territory. I believe this is also an Arabian style scale so often employed (to mind-stealing effect) by early Pink Floyd. Which I might as well say is the direction this dark monster is headed. Perhaps the darkest jam of 3.0, let alone 2012. God this is such an amazingly dark and seemingly planned move, what I love most about Phish jams is when it seems that it simply must be composed music--that there is no possible way anyone could come up with this on the spot.

6:17 Waterfall descending lick by Trey repeated by Page, but with an OMINOUS stature
6:43 Effect turned on by Trey, repeating the descending lines.
7:00 Mike *almost* I shit you not, playing Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun bassline--not a tease--but certainly a stylistic homage.
7:02 Moog (I think) from Page, lightly nodding towards No Quarter but definitely not suggesting an outright segue
7:24 Trey lets out a looooong delay loop (think 90's Ghosts) that is simply, bar-none, the most effective use of this tool I have ever heard. It sets the backdrop in the most perfect way, so foreboding, like a long glimpse at something that just might be the killer's knife, but might also just be the strong acid it feels like you're on. Soundscaped, and I mean perfectly.

7:47 Page repeating the drone, minor Arabian pattern amidst this backdrop really taking center stage but with just a hint. This is more about droning rhythm than any melodic ideas (which in this context is absolutely perfect). Just a *thoroughly* full-band enterprise here, amazing stuff.

8:24 Arising from the mist, a deep growling pattern (think 2003-2004 jams) with a bit more power added to the mix.
8:53 I'm officially calling it--there's a Set the Controls tease here from Mike outright. Just terrifying. With this we have signaled the slooooooow build towards a bit more ferocity…we knew all along something bad was going to happen, but now it seems like it's just around the corner. Waiting for the Heart of Darkness horror, Colonel Kurtz's executed followers are hanging from the trees.

9:17 Feedback from Trey signals the first time he's taking the lead in this jam, picking up from Mike's tease the droning repeated doom. Seriously, this sounds the most like '70 Floyd I've ever heard from Phish.

9:53 Fish is picking up the rhythm and the whole thing seems about to burst, Mike adds the envelope filter that I'm sure must have caused some terror in the audience at this point in the show. This is nightmare stuff.

10:17 Trey adds a more rocking tone to his solo, but played in the same key. I suspect he's just in minor territory here and has dropped the Arabian scale spicing--but it works so nicely because everyone else is still playing that Arabian mode. So you get the power while still keeping the feel of death. Just amazing phrasing here from Trey.

10:55 Page adds Rhodes fill while Trey sustains, Mike adds leads and Trey steps back momentarily. Very tasty Page stuff in here.

11:22 Strong playing by Trey somewhat signaling or at least harkening back to Twist, but with unimaginable power

12:22 Trills from Trey and more power soloing (but not rock, every note is perfectly accounted for here), Trey just going off in such a perfect counterpoint, finally leading the band at just the right moment to lead the band.

13:25 Signs this one is headed towards a conclusion, 13:33 major key reversal from Trey to end things on a strangely more melodic passage > Mike doop choo bahbah ba doop choo…Halley's

Ok so I'm not sure what more can be added. Just one of the best Phish jams from any era. And I don't say that lightly (lame pun).

I thought this was a special night. The crowd was having fun, loving what was given. A great ride for sure. Sun set prior to second set and the energy kept taking off from there.

Having Fishman start so many tunes in a row and the easy joking between the band showed that they are already loving this tour and playing for us. Good times. Well placed Roggae.

Sick sick show overall.

The first set is pretty flub heavy, some of them humorous and fun (lyric flubs in Wolfman's and Jim, false starts on Poor Heart and Moma), some of them just sloppy (Peaches, Wilson). The Wolfman's jam makes for a solid start to the show, though, with a funky Manteca-ish breakdown and some nice Cactus and Page. Jim is good, too, and finds Trey painting beautifully with blended trills. The Light Up and Stash, though, aren't as strong, with the Stash especially struggling and ultimately failing to peak. The end of the set is amusing as only Fishman ribbing can be.

Set two gets off to a much stronger start. DwD has a theme right off the bat and jams ecstatically before settling back into a groove that moves from light and fluttery to straight-up rockin'. Unfortunately the transition to Guelah is pretty rough. Kill Devil gets right in the pocket but then gets stuck there, then flirts with an outro jam before climaxing and moving into space.

Twist is obviously the highlight of this show, although the first six minutes or so are pretty average. But when Page shifts to the organ, the jam goes cosmic...Fish holds the foundation while Trey pitch-shifts and licks, and the band decides to Twist the Control for the Heart of the Sun. Ultimately the jam flexes its rock muscles before executing a perfect > to Halley's, which itself has a beautiful > into Sand. Sand gets a tad plinko, but Trey stays inside the box before pulling another good segue (though not as nice as the previous two) into Roggae. The rest of the set is pretty standard, although Carini is ripcorded and Golgi is pretty sloppy. The Fluffhead encore is solid, and you just have to love a fat encore like that.

All in all, despite some ripcords and flubs, there is a lot to love about this show. You have one really nice jam in Twist, above average versions of Wolfman's, Jim and DwD, some great banter ("Well, fuck that song!) and a string of nice segues in Twist > Halley's > Sand -> Roggae. Four stars might be generous for this show, but three doesn't quite feel right, so I'll go with four.

The second set of this show saved our three-day run. My wife and I were the old hippies involved in the four-car crash on I-275 just south of the venue that held up traffic for everyone coming in that way. After four hours of hell getting our destroyed rental replaced, we made to the venue to catch David Bowie and the second set. We were ready to give up and go home but we decided to try and salvage the trip and see if the music could sooth our nerves. I can't give you an honest critique of the show. All I know is that we felt so good by the time it was over that we summoned the courage to continue the road trip. If you saw the next two shows then you know what a great decision that was. We were rewarded by the best two shows of OUR Phish catalog. The moral is that if you can make to even a part of a Phish show then your life can certainly be changed for the better. Thanks guys.

My brother saw Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway a few months back and saw Trey there. He must have had it on his mind since then!

Not a seamless show, but certainly fun on a beautiful evening in Cinci. Twist was probably the highlight for me, and I won't argue with Fluffhead encore. Happy to scratch Peaches, Light Up, and Saw it Again off the list in the first set.
The sound under the pavilion was loud!

My experience with this show started on Thursday afternoon at the Weston Hotel in Cincinnati. After arriving I felt the need to get a workout in so I went to the ample but mostly lacking hotel gym facility. After about 15 minutes who should walk in but none other than one Trey Anastasio. He looked at me and I looked at him and he then ambled over to the tread mill with iPad in hand and big headphone set on and proceeded to get his workout on. I absolutely wanted to engage him in conversation as he was no doubt pondering the set list for Friday’s show. In the end I figured the dude didn’t want to be bothered so I settled to go for a run on a tread mill down the way from my idol with Run Like an Antelope blasting out of my earbuds. How cool is that! I felt like saying “Hey…I’m listening to you…what are you listening to?”

And a few notes about the show: Great day for a Phish concert. Clear, Sunny, and Hot. Parking lot scene was chill. Wife and I tailgaited for several hours. We had great seats about ten rows back center stage and eye level with the band. The music was loud and in high fidelity. Both set openers were the same as the last show I attended (Clarkston, MI 6/3/11) which I thought was interesting. Wolfman’s opener provided the perfect little warm up jam and I was happy camper. Overall the first set was great and remember thinking at the time that it was something of a unique set list. Come to find out there was a couple of nice bustouts indeed. Llama was way cool and I have to agree, Bowie is one of my favs.

The second set was typical for me. I could swear Phish is screwing with my head. Alternating back forth between a deep dark place and happy time. The Twist > Halleys roll is a good example. But they essentially had me wide eyed and mouth gaped for the entirety of the second set. I am a big fan of DWD and makes a great 2nd set opener and this version was a good time. They play this song a lot and it doesn’t bother me a bit. Throw in an energetic Fluffhead encore and I have to give this show two thumbs up. We had a great time and it was worth the drive from Northern Michigan.

Since the first time I heard Phish at the MSU Ballroom in ’92 I am amazed that 4 guys so seemingly humble in their immense talents can stand there, and without much fanfare, blow your lid clear off time and time again.

All Phish all the time! Cheers Mates!

This Fluffhead encore ... It smokes.

What a fun show! Big Wolfman's (like all versions this year), then peachez, shaggy dog!? and a terrific Runaway Jim to get everything started. A FURIOUS light up or leave me alone. Closing the set with the Fishman gags was great.
The 2nd set wasn't quite as good but was still good fun. Down with Disease showed some real promise but just never really reached the plateau, Twist was INCREDIBLE possibly jam of the year, and Roggae was fantastic. Fluffhead encore. boom.

An overall great show with good jamming throughout most of the songs allowing jam space.

The boys came out and kicked straight into a 14 minute Wolfmans to kick off the night, hence after followed a well placed peaches keeping the energy high and the hopes even higher.

A bust out of Shaggy Dog brought nostalgic cheers from vets, but left me stammering to figure out which song it was, which became very obvious due to the repetition of the song title in the lyrics.

Following shaggy dog the band stuck with the pup theme playing Runaway Jim, which was more or less standard clocking in at just under 9 minutes.

Light up or leave me alone then Wilson set the set back on fire, and left no doubt that the night would not disappoint. One of my new favorites Alaska followed in a well placed slot setting up the set for a bang of a finish.

Stash brought the mood to just the right setting just before the night would take a turn for greatness. The band dropped into Poor Heart, and just as me and my friend exchanged five on the song it stopped on the drop of a dime. Trey then pointed out that Fishman had flubbed the drum intro and said something along the lines of "fuck that song then" providing a comedic factor for the night. Thereafter the boys dropped into Moma Dance which was also aborted due to a Fishman mistake and was followed by Trey making a similar comment.

Llama was just the intro beat and song the crowd needed to explode with energetic delight, and this one would not be flubbed. Afterwards Trey decided to request songs that Fishman starts on the drums, coining them before they were played followed Buffalo Bill and Saw It Again, which added greatly to my sentimental valuing of the show. As Saw It Again changed to David Bowie Trey gave mention that this was Chris's favorite song. This gave a comedic punch to a standard 13 and a half minute Bowie to close the set.

The second set would kick off with a DWD, Guelah Papyrus, KDF, but it was the Twist that turned the night into something special. With a very deep jam it left me with the taste of success in my mouth having gotten the jam i came for. This was the highlight of the night and easily takes a spot as one of best jams of 1st leg.

The Roggae was notably choice as it fit perfectly in the set and was followed by a well jammed Carini which featured Page utilizing the theremin to its full extent.

The Chalkdust and Golgi gave the second set a boom of a finish and left all hungry for more, but what would happen next would send everyone home happy.

Fluffhead as an encore was maybe the last thing I expected but was exactly what I needed. Finding its first encore slot since 1990, it made a notable show a tour highlight taboot.

My wife and I both got to hear our favorite songs from our first shows. Mine was Shaggy Dog from 10-29-95 and her's was Roggae from 8-5-11. Amazing stuff considering it happened on our first show of 2012. I jumped and screamed for Shaggy and everyone looked at me like I was crazy. I never thought I'd hear this song again. Welcome to 2012, where anything is possible on Phish tour!

The band came out as hot as the temperature with a smoking Wolfman's. The rest of the first set gave us quite a lot of variety. Humor came from the Fishman tunes. A dog theme with wolves, shaggies and Jim. Fire came from Wilson, Llama and Bowie. The set was my first introduction to some of the play on words that would continue through the rest of the leg.

As solid as the first frame was, the real action was later in the evening. The Twist was just the kind of trippy jam I needed to get my year started. I've always wanted the Gorge Gin lick to get more exploration. Sand -> Roggae was such a silky smooth transition and the gooey jam will keep me coming back to this show in sight of My Old KY Home.

I've been listening to The Phish since 1993 when I was 11, my first live show was in the heart of the cow funk era in 1997, and I must say this band only gets better with age. I know a lot of the "old schoolers" never want to hear anything off of Joy or Undermind simply because they are newer albums. I still don't understand why fans of this band constantly seem to be complaining about setlists, new songs, etc. For those new album naysayers, I strongly suggest you listen to the KDF > Twist. My first 2nd set KDF, and it completely and utterly melted my face off. This show proved to me that Phish has evolved into such an advanced musical vehicle that they can play any song at any point in the set and it works. Roggae in that spot of the 2nd set? Totally unexpected but amazing. They are playing on such a high level that they can extract whatever mood they want out of the crowd. Yeah, there were a couple missed notes and sloppy exchanges, but with the musical risks this band takes, I feel like if everything was polished and perfect all the time it would get boring. The true soul of the music is in the "grit." You can tell the boys are having a blast on stage this tour, the energy is unlike any 3.0 show I've seen, maybe with the exception of 12/31/10 or 7/2/10.

To conclude, after two dozen shows over the years, I can't honestly say any show was better than any other, or the "best show." They're all great.

The only disappointment of this show: the absolute dump of a venue (astro turf lawn where over half of the available spots to stand has a restricted view? shithole.) and the rude and inconsiderate venue staff. It was the worst venue in one of the most beautiful places for a venue I've ever seen. The backdrop of the riverbank is picturesque. However, I think they need to tear down this rickety old wooden dump and build a new one.

Thank you thank you boys for the beautiful return from my own hiatus Roggae. First saw you guys debut Sand at the Gorge in 99... been a favorite ever since. I brought my parents and husband for their first show, and found them dancing and grooving along, amazed to finally "get" what I'd been raving about all these years Thank you for the good vibes and incredible music. Can't wait to see you again!!

Wolfman's Brother opens the show with its post-rework pointillist funk fully on point. There're lots of rarities in the first set: Peaches en Regalia, Shaggy Dog, Light Up Or Leave Me Alone, and to a lesser extent Buffalo Bill and Saw It Again have all become rare in contemporary Phishtory. Peaches is given a faithful rendering, and there's some phunny banter surrounding the closing tetraptych regarding Fishman being more capable of playing songs that he starts on the drums. This is a kind of lackluster version of David Bowie, I'd say, but the set was more about novelty than that, so it's fair. Kill Devil Falls in the second set ends with a really neat synthy type of outro, and the Twist jam that follows is rooted in the Jesus Christ Superstar tune "Heaven on Their Minds..." it's my absolute favorite version of Twist to date. To follow, you get a mostly legitimate -> from Sand -> Roggae (Fishman does drop out for a second or so to change up the rhythm) and then probably the shortest-ever version of Carini, LOL. A Fluffhead encore is a great send-off and perhaps somewhat of a victory lap, but in typically Phishy style, an ambitious one. (Personal note: I feel about Alaska and much more about Ocelot the way @Icculus is on record about Dogs Stole Things circa 1997, to wit, "Dogs Stole valuable playing time in the setlist." Let's get some jams out of these Joy-era tunes that heretofore have only ever exhibited Type-I tendencies!)

There's a great segue from KDF into Twist here. I didn't really care for the actual jams in either though.

Not to be a downer. . . but three aborts, or flubs, or whatever you want to call it. . .made me feel bad for the band actually.

This is my favorite twist of 3.0 and the video of it is amazing

just listened to this show again.... oooo Twist and Carini give me chills!!

FLUFFHEAD ENCORE!! WOAH!!

I'll tell you what..I ended up winning tickets for that show 6/22/12 in Cincy. I had a lot of Priends and Phamily there also with me and a long time phriend who had never seen Phish. I had been talking to him going to a show for years. I had a extra ticket and gave it to him. I wanted to hear Fluffhead so bad. There were so many songs that I've wanted hear also. The night went on...song after song but no Fluffhead. I never would have thought that Fluffhead would have been busted out as the encore. Awesome!!! Another thing was Peaches en' Regalia! The very first time I saw Phish play..that was the first song they played that night 12/28/93. The second time I saw them 12/29/93 the second song was Peaches en' Regalia. The third time I saw them play 12/31/93 they busted it out also! Did not make the 12/30/93 show,wild blizzard. Much love Zappa he had passed away not too long before those shows on 12/4/93. I've seen some really good shows and some really good Fluffheads. That night takes the cake for me for my best show , a lot of special things came together for me. My phriends my phamily and my Phish phamily just all having a really great time. Fluffhead encore 1990................................................Fluffhead encore 2012!! Much love Phish! GREAT SHOW and GREAT TIMES

First of the 3 show [rust belt tour] and Sick show in Cinny! FLUFF was unreal and the vibe is the best thing about the mini tour i did! The lot is growing up and very PHUN again.Kind vibes and the band Knows this Phans ,SO KEEP IT UP !!! Not one complant at all three shows! thank u PHANS and the BAND !!!This is my 30 plus show and it was like the tour in 97 [summer] from Cleveland to SHORLINE,CA ! that was the JERRY SHOW and i can see the phun back into the bands vibe ! LOVE PHISH!!!

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Once again, another show down at Riverbend next to Coney Island on the Ohio River outside of Cincinnati. This is not one of my favorite venue's at all, just convenient since I live an hour north of there. The new thing this year with this venue, astro turf on the lawn. Yeah that's right, astro turf. What will they do next. Anyway, Phish started off with a great Wolfman's Brother. This song is one I usually don't care that much for, I have to be in the mood for it and when they usually play it. It was great. This is the third time I've seen them start a show with it and it was a great tune to start the show with. They then played a song I've been waiting for for quite some time; Peaches en Regalia which was also a great tune. They went into a Shaggy Dog which I've also never seen them play before. Also good. Then they played a tune which I don't get to hear enough, Runaway Jim. I love this tune and it can get the crowd going real quick like, and it did. Then they played Light Up or Leave Me Alone which I guess I didn't expect. It was alright, nothing fancy. From there, the last seven songs were very good. First came Wilson, then came a good number, Alaska, followed by a standard Stash and going into a great Llama. I can't remember the last time I heard that tune. I was impressed with it too. Then came a tune I'm not that impressed with at all, Buffalo Bill. Then came Saw It Again followed by a great Bowie to end the first set. They started off this set with one of my favorite tunes, DWD. It was good, but not great. It was followed by another tune I don't get to hear that often, Guelah Papyrus. They hit this tune at the right time. It was a great one. Then they turned it up a notch. They went into a great Kill Devils Falls. This is the third time I've seen them play this tune and it gets better and better each time I hear them play it. I love it. Then came a great Twist which I also love, followed by a tune the crowds always love, Halley's Comet. This usually gets the crowd moving around which it did. Then they went into Sand. Nothing fancy, a standard Sand which went well, and then into Roggae. Then came three tunes that spelled out how this show was gonna end (a fantastic finish). Carini followed by Chalkdust Torture and Golgi Apparatus. These three songs really got the crowd fired up leading to a great, great finish, a Fluffhead encore. Phish hasn't done that in years. Fluffhead is another one of my favorites, but so is Carini and Chalkdust Torture. You couldn't ask for a better ending to a show. I liked this show better than last years and I thought that one was great. If this show would have been at Deer Creek, I would have given it even higher marks than I am. I rate this show a 9 out of 10 easily. I can't wait to see the two shows over at Deer Creek next week......

First Phish show and it was well worth it. Wolfman's Brother was a nice funky beat to jam to. And the Shaggy Dog was a very nice suprise. Glad we got a Bowie. Good job guys

Great night in Cincy! I made plans to attend the show with several of my old tour phriends a while back, and since it was my girlfriend's first show, there were plenty of trusted people to give her different viewpoints of the "unfamiliar" scene. Sitting in VIP having pre-show cocktails, her questions were flying.

The first set was great, and started with a Wolfie's that had us rocking from the get-go. Fishman messed up the intros to Poor Heart and Moma, and had everyone laughing. The band razzed him and you could tell that they were clearly having a great time on stage. Well played versions of Peaches, Shaggy Dog, Light up, and I Saw it Again stand out as highlights to me. Of course, the Bowie set closer was awesome.

Second set started strong with DwD>Guelah, and then as it was beginning to get dark, CK really turned up the light show a notch, as the end of Kill Devil Falls light show into Twist was wayyyy cool. Also of note, during the Twist jam, I thought I heard Eleanor Rigby (which turned out to be teased the NEXT night during Maze, which later I thought was kinda strange considering I knew I heard it at Cincy) and mentioned it to my buddy Kingston, who said he thought he had heard it, too. I had played a Jerry Band version during the road trip up to Cincy and had thought my ears were just playing tricks on me, but evidently not.

The Halley's was great but seemed to end prematurely going into a phenomenal Sand. Loved that jam! Roggae kinda fell into a place I would have never thought, and turned out to be one of the major highlights of that night. I never really got that song before, having seen it many times since it debuted in summer 98, but loved it in Cincy. I remember when it seemed every show opened with Chalkdust and the Chalkdust near the end of the show was AWESOME and full of energy. I thought it was going to be the end of the show, and had really hoped they would play Golgi that night, and then they surprised me and went into a rocking version. That was a surprise to me and I pogoed like a young phool.

The Fluff encore was SICK SICK SICK and, although I didn't know it until texting some friends while in post show traffic that it had not encored in ages, I knew there was something a little extra special about it in the encore slot.

Happy crowd + beautiful night + quirky setlist = great show

Get a copy of this show for your perusal.

Cheerz,
Phred

Wait.. Fluffhead had a jam for the 2nd time ever?

Or does that guy just think Fluffhead has a jam?

Sorry. Don't want to be the negative nelly. Just think its funny.