I invited several of my former co-workers to join me for this show, and two of them actually managed to show up. This was their first show and had stars in their eyes walking the lot. I smiled to myself thinking about the lot at Dicks and my first shakedown at Deer Creek in ’03. A quick 3 hour drive put me into Grand Prairie and I was excited to see the boys after what had happened through the last four shows.

The lights go out and I am thrilled to hear the opening notes of No Men in No Man’s land. At the same time my expectations are very high after the last two time is had seen this song live: Dicks night one ’16 and NYE with the hourglass. This was a solid version and got everybody moving right off the bat, but did not live up to the standout versions I had been treated to. Next came Breath and Burning which kind of took things back to square one. Poor heart was a good injection of energy, and was obviously welcome in north Texas. Yee haw.

Wolfman’s was awesome and funky and very welcome at this point in the show. The jam, while energetic, never really broke out of Type I. Water in the Sky was painfully slow and My Soul was My Soul. NICU got my friends to notice Page, maybe for the first time.

This was my MJ show, number 23, and I had never seen It’s Ice. Lately is seems like the band has struggled to make the most of this classic, so I was elated and nervous at the same time when they started. There were some hiccups through the first main composed section, but things tightened up. By the time the jam started the boys were locked in and this was my highlight of the show up to this point. Ocelot was also pretty slow, but developed nicely.

Fuck Your Face was dubbed, “The second greatest Phish song of all time” by Trey. After a pause, he added that they were about to play the best song, which obviously was Ass Handed. Then Fish commented that Ass Handed was the greatest according to Trey, but the next song was the greatest according to him. Saw It Again! I have to side with Fishman on this one because I love this tune and it did not disappoint.

When Running Out of Time started, I was nervous that people would start talking. This did not happen. Everyone in the crowd went silent except for the occasional cheer or woot of appreciation. From this point on I felt a shift in the room. It was like everyone realized that this was an almost intimate show of only around 3,000 people who all really wanted to be there on a Monday night. David Bowie closed out the first set.

The second set started with Dog Faced Boy, but I missed it due to what felt like a very short set break. I came in during the opening notes of Seven Below, assumed this was the set opener, and was very pleased with the choice I thought the band had made to start this set. I love this song, and this version was tons of fun

Petrichor was in my opinion played as well or better than the versions we’ve heard in every city so far during fall terr. I like this song, but I wonder to myself if it could be shortened in sort a “Curtain With” situation where in they would sometimes play the full version and sometimes just skip the first few minutes. Especially at this point in the set, it just feels out of place.

For centuries, the Maze vs Bowie debate has raged on. Well tonight every one wins because they played them both. Except the thing is that Maze always wins, and tonight was an excellent example of how much harder Maze rages face than Bowie. Maze was my favorite song tonight and reached amazing peaks in just over nine minutes.

Dirt brought another wave of quiet appreciation to make for a beautiful moment between the band and the audience. I can’t express enough how impressed I was by this crowd’s respect for the music of our favorite band. By this time most people knew that this was not going to be a jam fest of a night, but we still have Tuesday, and this is special.

I Always Wanted It This was sounds like a Vida Blue song. I felt sorry for Fishman during this one because he has a very repetitive part and it didn’t seem like he, Trey, or Mike were really too invested in the writing of the song. Things got spacey and started really taking off, so naturally Trey ran over to the Marimba Lumina to play some nonsense. I’m not a fan. He did it all three nights at Dick’s, and it felt as awkward tonight, as it did all three of those times. Fishman doesn’t need help playing the cowbell. Page and Gordon find a groove and i’m dying for Trey to run back up and grab his guitar and destroy, but it doesn’t happen. He even threw the beat off so bad Fish had to join the wreckage long enough to make it seem intentional before masterfully resetting thing right back where they were. When Trey finally does go back to the guitar I thought they were segueing into Also Sprach Zarathustra but it never happened.

Piper was solid and ended up sounding like a Birds of a Feather jam. Bug brought us more high energy Type I playing from the whole band but surprised me to be the set closer. This set felt very short, clocking in around 78 minutes, and the fact that it ended at 11:25 led me to believe we would be treated to a lengthy encore ( see UIC 8-15-2011 ). By 11:35 we had arrived at the jam for Rock and Roll and I was ready for blast off, but in just a few more minutes it was all over.

Best day of my life.

Speaking of UIC, I don’t think its any coincidence that the first year Phish played at Wrigley Field the Cubs are in the World Series. I do however hope that by bringing this up I can somehow jinx them into losing to whoever it is that they are playing. I don’t really care….Phish is playing tomorrow night again in a venue that they seem to enjoy. See you wooks on the floor.

Finally, I get see a show by the greatest band on the planet on my home turf, and notably 10 miles east of mine and Trey's birthplace in Fort Worth, Texas I might add.

Highlights:

Set I:

NMINML: Patient, communication, funky
Poor Heart, Water in the Sky: All nods to us Texans, thank you!
Wolfman's: Continued funk and open communication
Ocelot: PLEASE give this a listen, this is the overlooked jam of the night in my opinion! The slow, thoughtful, cohesive, beautiful communication between the band is on magnificent display.
FY Face: Played to acknowledge Trey's excellent performance in Ocelot

Set II:

Dog Faced Boy: I loved this as the opener, but again, I'm a Texan country fan that loves when Phish dabbles in the southern gospel laden vocal harmonies that remind me of sitting on Grandma's lap in Sundown, Texas while she hums familiar hymns.
Seven Below: Sealed the deal on the style of jamming for the night, reflective and patient.
Petrichor: I love this composition, Trey we love it and you, keep it up!
Maze: Every show must have a face melter, and this was it. Fierce, rage, dark, brutal intensity, and glorious peaks abound!
Buffalo Bill and R n' R: Great way to cap off a great night! Nothing too different from R n' R, but hey, my dancing shoes really came in handy.

Final Thoughts:

I had an excellent time and so did the band. Great playing and improvisation overall, and the song selection diversity was an added bonus. Please check out the highlights from above, you'll be so happy you did.

Also, on the attendance for the show. Mid to late October is typically the height of concert season in North Texas. Its HOT in the summer and COLD in the winter (which only lasts 2 months) so all outdoor and indoor concert promoters compete my this hollowed time. Now, this is not the only reason for the shows not selling-out, but a likely contributor. The other (main) reasons were most certainly the smaller fan-base around the North Texas area combined with the ambitious 2-Night run. Don't get me wrong, my friends and I freaked out when these dates were announced, but some speculation as to tickets sales was definitely discussed. That being said, I hope, hope, hope, hope, hope Texas tour stops remain in the rotation. As a Fort Worth native/resident, I love Grand Prairie (Dallas-Fort Worth) as the choice location but hey, Austin, Houston and San Antonio could fit the bill as well.

Anyway, thanks to all you amazing fans for traveling down here, it was great getting to visit with y'all, we don't get to see you enough! Much love and respect from all of us in the Lone Star State. Safe travels and see you next time.

Chris

Oh, fall tour. After the ups and downs of summer 2016, I think we can all agree that we needed a reset button. The release of Big Boat and the unique structure of this tour have done just that. The multiple nights per venue was a wise decision, allowing the Boys to settle in and feel out each locale as they wade through their newly expanded repertoire.

The lot was mellow as the sun crept down over the north Texas praire. The sky was clear, the grass bristling. The smiling hairy ones crept in to Verizon Theatre Monday night with a calm, excited energy. This was my first show at Grand Prairie, and I was impressed with the intimacy of the venue. As the lights went went down, a palpable energy of expectation shimmered through us all. How much of the night will we be riding the Big Boat? What breakouts are in store for us tonight? Given the first-set surprises so far this fall, I think we all were happily clueless. Wooks, vets and noobs alike, all on the same dang page.

No Men in No Man's Land sprung us into action. The driving, shimmering funk got the booty-shaking off to a great start, and the Boys opened it up enough to satisfy any expectations off the bat. Breath and Burning brought us down a notch, and CK5 doused us with an ocean of cool blue. After a crisp rendition, we moseyed into a thigh-slapping Poor Heart. Everyone's funky Brother showed up to play tonight, and with a straightforward, funky dance party, our first set was meeting my high expectations to be on par with the best of the fall tour so far.

A soothingly slow Water in the Sky followed, reminiscent of the Chula Vista show this summer. I really like the toned down WITSs--they're like a happy molasses--but to each his own. A fun and straightforward My Soul follows with a train of NICU and It's Ice staying within the bounds of solid, good Phish. Ocelot slowly sprung out and took a bit to warm up, but eventually made its way to a nice flowing Type I jam.

Gordeaux treated us to a fun Fuck Your Face, which had me laughing and the whole room rockin'. Fish responded with his now-classic Ass Handed. He's getting tighter and tighter with his handling of the Asses, and I am inclined to agree with Trey's remark that it's the best song in their book. Fish disagreed, however, and introduced the following Saw it Again as their best. In SIA, we see the first taste of creeping, haunting grime that will resurface later in the night. Running Out of Time lifted us back up and was a truly beautiful moment in the wake of the Fuck-Ass-Saw. Fishman teased all of us with the grand question--Bowie or Maze?!--and Bowie brought the party back before set break. I wish we'd have gone further with this one, but alas.

Dog Faced Boy was a wonderful, welcome surprise after a 50 show gap. A lot of people were still making their way back after the break, but I think many of us locked in for this one. A delightful Seven Below followed, opening up just enough to explore itself before toning back down. Petrichor was a nice decision after Seven, offering a similar peaceful, pensive mood to what we all would turn out to be a fun Monday night rather than a jamfest. I agree with Gootch350 that a shortened Petrichor would work well--a lot of people cheer during their pauses, thinking it's the end of the song. Or maybe they're cheering the pause? It feels like they're cheering the end.

Maze brought the power back. Paige took over and raged us into a nightmarish jam that Trey locked into, with Fish and Gordeaux offering a striking, grotesque understory. Unfortunately, when Trey took the reigns back he pumped the breaks and wanted to deliver us all back in to his blissful dreamland, which killed the jam and settled us all down slowly. I was still panting and bleary-eyed when the song eased into Dirt, which I was elated to hear but regretted the placement in the setlist. After a 37 show gap, this thoughtful piece was well done and seemed to seal the score for anyone hoping to launch off into the utter Beyond. But Paige, oh Paige, had other ideas.

I Always Wanted It This Way took us down a wormhole, with Paige driving the ship and the rest of us in Tow. Give this one a listen... it will take you places. For anyone weary of the Big Boat infusion to the 3.0 era, let this one bring you into the fold.

Again, Trey brought us back from Paige's jamland and ushered us into Piperland, which was a fun change of sound and energy, but maybe not warranted. I guess we can't always be back in December of 1995, but jams like the IAWITW made me hope for it. We now have a happy, older Trey with ideas of his own. Bug was a fun closing for the set. The encore was straightforward and delightful. That's all I gotta say about that.

I enjoyed the continuous themes of nature in the song selection--open country, rain, fire, dogs and ocelots, dirt and bugs. Overall it was a solid, meaningful show for those willing to be there early in the week. Let's see what's in store for tonight!

Odd setlist, but surprisingly the show had a really good flow. The band was dialed in, and the playing was great. No major flubs, although Water in the Sky and Dirt were a tad sloppy, and Piper was slightly disjointed at the start. The energy in the crowd dipped a little during Petrichor; awesome song, but I think it works better in the first set. Not a lot of type II jamming, but there were a ton of peaks. Replay value may be minimal, but a really fun show.

First set highlights were Wolfman's, which absolutely ripped, and Bowie, which had some nice tension, a strong finish, and marked the first Junta song of the tour. Maze was pure fire; one of the best I've ever seen and the song of the night IMO. The fourth quarter may not look strong on paper, but everything was well played. Seek this show out for the Wolfman's and Maze.

This venue is fantastic. 4000 happy Phreaks. The pit was reminiscent of Santa Barbara for me, friendly and uncrowded. I had forgotten Texas has an open-carry law: there were metal detectors going in. N20 legal in Texas, so lots of that around. I used to get 20lb tanks for $40 and give it away; at 3 for $20, that's at $3k a tank. I digress.

I had a good time, but the music was 3-star. However, I give four because the guys played most (all) of the new album's tunes over the two nights here, and they played well and are having fun taking them for a spin. NMINML was a great start, Breath and Burning nice. Ocelot had a bit of a jam, but nothing mind-melting. The band is playing so well it's hard to fault them.

Petrichor was good (I liked More from night 2 better), and Piper had a nice jam ('My Woman From Tokyo' quote in there).

Band was enjoying themselves and so was everyone in attendence. Vegas is gonna be wild.

Tonight was the first Phish show I have seen outside of my home town Dallas, TX. The weather was probably high 70's and the lot scene was surprisingly active for a Monday. The venue's capacity is around 6.3K I believe but tonight there could not have been more than 4K people in attendance. Besides the first couple of rows in the 400s section, it was almost entirely empty. You always want to see a Phish show sell out, especially in such a small venue, but it made the show even more intimate in a way (see ROOT, DFB and Dirt for examples). Now, for the good stuff only. Here is a short, concise review of the set.
I -
NMINML - Good, not great version. Nice way to start a set.
BAB - Move along
Poor Heart - Nice bluegrass tune for the Texans. Standard.
Wolfman's - Good, not great version that had a little extra "mustard". I know that term gets thrown around a lot, but this version really did have a nice section towards the end.
WITS - Very slow, nice breather. Awkward start though. 1st time played this tour.
My Soul - Standard My Soul. Always wanted to hear this one live. Check.
NICU - first of tour and it was played well. Standard NICU that kept the energy going.
It's Ice - Another bustout. This one was tough for Trey at times as I assume due to the limited rotation he has not practiced this much, but it was still great to hear. Really like the small funk jam in the middle.
Ocelot - slow and very standard version. Yet another bustout.
FYF, AH, SIA - These were, to me, the highlights of the first set. Just pure fun and comical Phish. Saw It Again sounded great. Definitely a combo to revisit.
ROOT - Nice, quiet, intimate moment for Trey.
David Bowie - Yet another bustout. This was a really fun Bowie. Nothing great that really stands out but was a very strong way to end a great first set of Phish.
II -
DFB - No one expected this tune would start the first set. I really liked the placement here actually and fed right into a tune I have been chasing forever.
7 Below - I was thrilled when Trey started out playing the opening riff of this song. I have loved 7 Below ever since I heard the albany '09 version. This version doesn't quite get there but provides a great 2nd set jam for everyone in attendance. Really enjoyed this.
Petrichor - Let me say this... I really like this song and was pleasantly surprised with the album version. That being said, this was not a good set placement. It totally drained the energy out of the second set and felt a bit awkward throughout. It was really well executed I will say. The heavy rotation has really developed this tune for the band and I would argue this was the strongest version yet.
Maze - Easily the strongest song of the night. Maze brought the energy right back into the room and really gave this version their all. The peaks and interplay b/w Page and Trey were off the charts. Must listen.
Dirt - And there goes the energy again...
IAWITW - I have heard a lot of people say that they enjoyed i) the placement and ii) this version of the song in general. I disagree. I don't necessarily dislike the song, it's just that it doesn't really give Mike, Trey or Fish much to work with... Also, Trey has GOT TO STOP going back to the marimba.
Piper - Everyone in the room thought they were seguing into 2001... not so fast. Trey started the Piper riff and we knew we were in for a treat. This version did not disappoint and was the second highlight of the evening. Very good jam and worth another listen, or two.
Bug - Again, strange placement. Good version. Kind of let the energy out of the room again. People assumed there would be another song to end set II but as fate would have it... onto the encore.

*Overall, I give this show a 3.8/5. Great tour bustouts and fun moments, but generally lacking in the improvisational prowess which truly define a great Phish show. See you all tonight.

5 stars.

Was this my ideal setlist, or show? No. Would I have loved some Dicks-esque, bellowing, arena rock jams? You bet your ass! But given this was my 47th show, and only my 4th in my home state, it gets "extra credit".

For me, not having to buy flights, hotels, camping, etc, a short drive up from Austin, and Pit tickets that close to the band with all my friends that might not travel to see the boys = Automatic 5 star show.