Just coming off the Sacramento -> SF run and spent the last two nights on couch tour for these Oregon shows. I was slow cooking mushroom risotto during the SOAM and shit...,my spatula got caught in the hose. As I slowly poured chicken broth and stirred with the rhythm over the gas flame, I found myself right back in there as well. In that sweet-spot that I've found myself in both nights of Chase, many parts of Sac, all of Shoreline and all over the Gorge.

This show is fantastic from start to finish. Powerful, hot hot heat, healing (that pause in Divided Sky... is bliss), more heat, optimism, and downright FUN. That risotto gave me the comfort food moment I needed coming off west coast tour kickoff and then sneaking back in for more via web-cast. Love and light, remember to eat, hydrate and take care of each other. (and your shoes!!!!). Peace - MT

This is why we come to see this band, for having a chance to glimpse into the unknown, and seeing the full potential of human creativity and ingenuity in action. For having a shot at being there when everything gels, and the only thing you can feel is love, and everywhere you look you can only see ecstatic faces. Everything was beautiful, it's almost impossible to believe 4 humans could create a sound so... THICK! So full and dense and wondrous. We are witnessing the crux and what is artistically possible and perhaps conceivable. There will be no comparisons to be made. You wouldn't compare a Dali painting with anything, not even another Dali. The act would be fruitless. Why bother? If you're inside a Phish show, you've done it! You're here! Ecstasy, Bliss, Laughter, Love are just a stone's throw away if only you can surrender to the flow.

I love life, I love Phish, I love music and I love Oregon. I love this opportunity we have in this time and space to see what is truly possible. How much love can we add to the world? How much compassion? How am I going to make the world brighter with my presence? You are beautiful, each and every one of you. Happy happy oh my friends! Party on Garth! Party on Wayne! Until next time!

Peace & Love & Phish
Gary

Wow just wow. It took me a second to figure out Mr. Completely when it started the show with a serious sonic push. It seems like they are now going for broke in the first song first set. I can't even describe where it went, but it is worth hearing. When they dropped into Energy, the crowd around me just exploded and everyone was dancing and grooving with big smiles. The jam slowed down and they took it into another rocker with a menacing vibe: Timber. Trey's enunciation of the lyrics with the heavy guitar behind him was powerful.

Casual Enlightentment - ooof, please don't destroy the vibe

Divided sky was great, but I can't help thinking that this song is most amazing the first time you hear it, for the sheer surprise of the changes and the idea of nurturing a bit of beauty to fruition.

Farmhouse was a nice breather and allowed Trey to really feel the song out in a looser arrangement than in previous years. I feel heavy nostalgia for the 90s when I hear this song. Trey was practically whispering and it gave the song a nice plaintive feel.

Melt thundered out next and my section was doing the weird jerky robot dance moves. This one got murky fast, with CK5 creating an amazing visual of a slowly turning whale with the lights. It slowed down and got very atonal. I was enjoying sitting down and just watching the slow turning lights. There was some weird little song I didn't recognize in the muck, then a return to the SOTM riff to close the set. Whew!

Set II started out with a crowd participating ACDC that peaked quickly and landed in Ruby Waves. Geez I love the goofy and light lyrics of this song. It is like the opposite of a heavy trip. Peoples arms were up and swinging and getting down to the good energy. This folks was the jam of the night. Trey locked into some dark repetitive groove and then just brought out this amazing dark peak. Then all hell broke loose and it's like the whole thing lifted up and revealed this layer of disco right below the surface. It was like a funk bomb went off in our section. People were screaming and going nuts. You REALLY should listen to this very unusual jam.

Ruby waves went ambient and then landed gently in Lonely Trip. Perfect placement! Everyone took a breather and listened to this gentle new song that leaves you feeling very good.

Golden Age started and I couldn't believe it! This song can be so uplifting and the lyrics are just so FUN. They just sang it so hard, and the CK5 was helping out with Oranges and Reds to lift up the chakra energy. The jam winded down and I could just hear it coming, Numberline. I cringed for a second, then just went with it. It felt so refreshing to experience that song with a crowd. As Trey ripped into his end solo for the night, we were treated to his final crescendo of notes, tones and textures. It was absolutely stunning with some piercing high notes played with sustain. Very powerful stuff that felt cleansing in a way.

Thank you Phish and fans!

Backwards Down the Number Line might not be the song many of us wanted, but it was song that everyone needed. It is a special song in so many ways. Such a beautiful personal poem between besties. Thanks to Mr. Marshall it is the reason the 3/6/09 interweaves all our number lines and back down here with all our friends at 10/20/21. Cherish these. No one knows how many numbers we have left to pin, but we do get to decide what it contains. Love y’all.

Back to review the second night of Eugene - how special was it, again, that they played Oregon for TWO NIGHTS???

One thing that I want to mention before the show review was that it was fucking LOUD both nights. The Eugene crowd brought it and it was the loudest I've ever heard at a Phish concert! Matt Knight really boxes in the sound.

Anyway, we were hyped to go to our second show in a row without needing to even leave our beds. The energy was palpable before the show, and the vibe was a lot better than the night before given that Trey had already addressed the San Francisco shows yesterday.

We arrived just as Mr. Completely was starting. This is a great Phish song because it has a very short composed section, forcing them to jam almost immediately! And that is what they did - the STRONG opener - and really the strong opening trio (up there with the Carini > Maze > 46 Days from Gorge N2) of Mr. Completely > Energy -> Timber (great theme for Oregon, the trees and the Timbers soccer team!) with a great segue into Timber were absolutely fantastic and a must-hear. It was really cool seeing Timber live (the first 4 songs were my first time seeing each) because the Matt Knight court for Oregon Duck basketball games usually has Douglas Firs on it in a forest design, so seeing Phish play that song right there was special to me. Absolutely a BURNING way to start the show!!!

Next came Casual Enlightment, one of Mike's new songs since quarantine. I'd seen it before on stream, but this was the first time seeing it live. It was fine, Mike's songs are usually a little quirky, but I got the vibe that he wanted to take it further and Trey ended it pretty shortly into the jam, which Trey has kind of been doing lately to the others' songs. When is a Mike song going to go 20 minutes? But for real, It was nice just getting him involved early (that's usually a good sign).

Divided Sky was next and one of the highlights of the run for me. I've seen Divided Sky at a lot of my shows, but this may have been the best one of the year (that and the one at the Gorge!). The crowd was so FUCKING LOUD! during the pause, you could just feel the energy. One of the best moments of the Eugene run for me easily! It sounded like Trey nailed the composed section too.

After an average Farmhouse, Split Open and Melt comes and it just absolutely slayed! The ambience and dissonance was amazing live - one of the best & underrated jams of this little run. I heard Divided Sky for sure and remember telling my buddy. After the raucous close, they went into an instrumental-like trance song and I recognized it but couldn't place it, had to look online to see that it was End of Session! What a rarity, only the second time ever! They dropped back into the coda to close and the place erupted.

I feel like that is one of the best First Sets of the tour. Absolute bombs to begin and end, and a top shelf Divided Sky.

Second set - we were ready for everything with the way Phish has been playing. AC/DC to start and I was hoping it jammed, but Trey's been capping those lately (can't remember when the last jammed Bag was, but it's been too long!).

The highlight of potentially the whole run comes next with Ruby Waves (which I called). This nearly 30-minute behemoth of a Ruby was just about what everyone had been waiting for. It is a must hear, with great early rhythm sections, some hose, and the last 5 minutes just an absolute auditory pleasure chamber of "Run Like Hell" (Pink Floyd)-sounding drums, bass, and guitar. Had some thinking "The Wall" might be the Halloween choice for later in the year.

Ruby closes into Lonely Trip, which I was excited to see live (my opinion, Trey's best new song other than Evolve) and that was fun. Golden Age gets us back into the jamming mood, and don't sleep on this one, it gets to a great melodic peak.

Number Line came next, which honestly I was fine with. I used to be a Numberline hater, but that's stemming from more early 3.0 when I got into the band and BDTNL would routinely cut off jams, not jam itself, and just ruin set flows. That's really the only type of Phish songs I don't like (I like pretty much anything they play), where it just doesn't do anything and is actively negative to the setlist. However, as of recently, 4.0 included, it's a lot better placed and this was a pretty good spot for it. Don't sleep on the Number Line jam here though, which rages pretty hard. This would be the last Number Line until the "Numbers" gag to begin the Vegas run on 10/28/2021, so check that out for some juice and see if there are any clues.

Encore was fine, two show closers we all got to sing along to. What a fucking show! Easily the best out of 12 shows that I've personally attended. Eugene brought it, and so did the band!

Must hear:

First Set: Mr. Completely, Energy -> Timber, Divided Sky, SOAM > End of Session > SOAM

Second Set: Ruby Waves, Golden Age

5/5 for me, thank you Phish for making it such a great two days!

My pick for best set of the fall run - certainly its most underrated - this second set was an instant masterpiece.

The ruby waves gets the acclaim it deserves - but the golden age is spectacular, one of the very best versions of all time. The BDNTL is truly the greatest ever.

The whole set is just sublime, note perfect - and a sacred reflection on mortality in the days following the tragic events in San Francisco.

This set was, for my money, the most spiritual and moving experience of the tour, and one of my most cherished phish experiences of my life.

Looking back on 2021, this has to be the most underrated show of the year. Super jammy first set with an incredible Melt -> End of Season -> Melt, and two fantastic jams in the second set with Ruby Waves and Golden Age.

This show might be too bright and feel good for some and the song selection could be called a little cringy with a second set closing number line, but if you care about artistry, exploration and the flow from section to section, song to song, this is a stellar show. 4.35/10

Really good show here in night 2 of Eugene, better than Night 1 in my humble opinion - loved the start to this one - sick mr completely, good energy and timber is a great song. SOAM was a nice 1st set treat and End of Session is a pretty rare one to here.

Ruby Waves had the jam of the night, and honestly Lonely Trip is a good song, but maybe better for a first set. Golden Age was placed well and BDTNL was played very tight to end a fun set. And Wilson Santos encore a double pinch of gleeful energy

Above average show tonight! Would take this one any given night, 4 stars on here!