The only question going into tonight was "how can they possibly top  last night (The Fuck Your Face Show)?"
My buds and I theorized pre show: perhaps a song filled Saturday night rock fest? Perhaps they'd continue to spell another phrase.
But no - contrary to all expectations and sense of decency Phish came out and destroyed with a top notch, free flowing show from front to back, with more than a few top shelf excursions to sink your teeth into.

Antelope was a statement of an opener, the boys putting us on notice that the fire didn't burn out last night. A jammy opener - though type I, and yet here a peaking 10 minute monster - is always a good sign.
BDTTN was fine, energetic and placed PERFECTLY within the show, it was bounced along to and gave Trey a chance to nimble up his fingers.
Tweezer was known to be on deck for tonight, having been destroyed through at least leg II, but where it was placed - similar to last night's Carini - spelled big things for this show. A smooth segue into Fluffhead (ALSO perfectly placed) followed a gorgeous albeit mainly type I Tweezer jam, and kept the energy going while the audience got to bask in the compositional glory that is Phish.
Roses Are Free has been straining at the leash for over a year, and one might have thought the boys'd take this last opportunity to jam this song out. Alas, it was not to be, though a rousing version drew showers of adulation from the assembled crowd. The ensuing Funky Bitch > Moma was pleasingly, rockingly standard in the best possible way.
The remainder of the first set, containing Circus, Theme, Golgi and Stealing Time landed with quiet and then loud intensity. Set break was upon us and we were more than pleased with the follow up offering from the boys.

Golden Age, Caspian, Light and Boogie made up the first 55 minutes of the second set and I tell ya, they could have stopped there. Within the cliche of "if you only hear one jam from this tour..." well, you gotta hear all four. And that's in addition to the 5 top tier jams from night I (this CO stand really has been an embarrassment of riches.)
But seriously, if you only get one jam from this show, get Light. Good god man, go get a Light that carries with it the momentum of all previous Lights; a Light that is a culmination of all we've expected of the song these past few summer. I don't have the exact time, but this HAD to be one of the giddiest, sickest, dirtiest 20 minutes of music Phish has ever played. Ever. Confident and exploratory, deep and communicative, this Light of Lights was indicative of the connection and control Phish has put on display since note 1 night 1.
With a Wedge, Silent> Horse combo, the band again perfectly placed a comparatively tame combo in just the right spot.
After band and crowd caught their collective breath, it was time to bring it all home, and did they ever. A firey Mikes into a No Quarter that was as heavy as the thunder of the gods set up a funky smoking melodic Weekapaug that shut things down RIGHT. Sleeping Monkey into Tweeprize was the only thing left to play, and Trey and the audience headbanged as one while Tweeprize built to the shows final  crescendo.

Judging against night 1, you can't say this show was "better," because hell, nothing is better. But night II was equally mind blowing in a completely different sense. How many more possible types of mind blowing sets are Phish poised to lay on us tomorrow night? As these two shows have shown, whatever form it takes, it will be the real deal.

Tl;Dr - drop what you are doing and download these shows for your trip to Dick's tomorrow night.

The past couple of nights have been pretty magical out here in Denver. I had this one simple thought tonight and I thought maybe it was worth sharing.

Phish is Phish again.

And it feels so good.

LIGHT REVIEW timings from LP

With a somewhat jarring transition out of nice Caspian (seems fuckerpants has grown some legs in 3.0), Light starts up in what may be a tad slower composed section than usual.

3:07 Trey hits the signature Light lick amidst the "fences are filters" from Page. Onward to a solo…
3:40 Almost a reference to something here from Trey, Allman Bros maybe? I'm terrible at calling teases…Jessica in a slower tempo and different key?
4:37 Trey's using it (whatever the reference is here) as a landing pad in what would normally be the tonic (root note of a key) portion of the solo, you know what would be the release if this were a tension jam…the effect produced is a slight shift signaling an organic turn out of type I territory.
5:17 Some intentionally off-key notes here, maybe some modal playing (definitely not schooled enough in music theory to even really talk about this), but certainly something that fits, just not in the standard in-scale sort of way. Just here and there in his runs producing slightly off-kilter stuff but no outright tension
5:50 He keeps returning to that reference I mentioned earlier which, along with the more off-scale notes, but played smoothly with the vast majority in-scale, overall producing a sound that hints at a different sort of jam to come. But in a very subtle way. Everyone else is playing standardly solid type I Light stuff in here, btw.

5:55 Spoke to soon, Mike is picking up on this modal shift, mimicking Trey's pattern and stepping out front more for a bit, pushing things.
6:05 Definite Leslie phase shift from Trey, adding a bit more lunacy. Very jazzy stuff in here.

6:38 Two seconds of "London Bridge is Falling Down" from Trey, blink and you miss it.
6:45 I'm noticing some extremely subtle use of digital delay (but not the 'loop') from Trey here that possibly had been going on and I might have missed it.
6:57 Plinko clav stuff from Page in a nice push towards type II, all amidst the digi delay stuff. This is very modern (3.0) sounding stuff in here that is certainly using a jazz ethos with a sparse tonality. Each note seems powerful yet does not come to the 'front' of the soundscape and it sounds rhythmically shattered, but creating a collage that fits together. Think each note would be out of place, but the overall sound produced is a pastiche that blends things together--somehow making it all work. Seems like a very mature and thoughtful way of doing things and part of what I love about the 3.0 sound. Less gliding, more complex.

I also think Fish is just using the perfect accents, playing somewhat syncopated yet with *just enough* of discipline towards the rhythm not to lose the beat of the jam

8:16 Envelope filter from Mike!! Crowd roars in approval. With the delay stuff going it almost sounds like there are 5 members of the band playing, everyone is playing off of the pocket of the delay employed by Trey, modulating and stretching things out.

8:33 Those powerful (but not strictly speaking, power chords) that Trey uses to such great effect in 3.0 here, challenging everyone to greater poignancy

8:52 Mike stepping up to the forefront and at 9:00 Trey finding a nice groove cementing a clearer rhythmic picture with chordal work. A nice rhythmic approach creating a new direction. Some palm mutes add emphasis.

9:40 Mike picks up on this new direction and fuuuuunks it up nicely, there's a more sure jam coalescing here definitely. Trey's repeating a chord phrasing pattern first higher then lower tones. Sounds almost like you could imagine a nice A and B sort of jam here (like that used on Fire on the Mountain) but with elaborations A1A2A3 …B1B2B3

10:34 Great Trey and Mike interaction, Trey repeating a single chord and Page picks up…ooh Trey signaling a nice build using the same pattern and

11:14 Almost playing the inverse of the original chord pattern, great groove in here that Fish emphasizes nicely. Just coasting along in groove but with a harsher tonal pallet going on…

12:24 Trey stepping back just repeating the same chord…Page picks up and adds some nice fills. Things getting more rhythmic almost getting towards plinko but not quite

13:12 Leslie is back on for Trey…for whatever reason this effect almost always makes him play things that sound kind of strange in the jam…think he uses it to push things further out there. But the rhythm is still being employed to great effect, just adding a splash of weirdness

13:44 Big departure towards much more melodic (major key) jamming here from Trey. Niiiice melody out of nowhere I swear is a return back to that little them he was teasing in the beginning of the jam. Suuuper happy and joyous sounding but with a great beat pounded out by Fish. Ahhhhhhhh just love this in here, only Phish could switch on a dime like this--remembering something off the cuff from a passage they played 10 minutes before. This is seriously blissful stuff in here, Trey and Mike sound gorgeous.

15:05 Trey with a shimmering little solo and Mike follows with his own lovely solo.

15:40 Trey lands somewhere a little more rocking, but still keeping with this great melody--we've thoroughly left the land of rhythmic scatter-shot and are into a coasting ride of bliss

16:00 Hints of growl from Trey picking things up, almost Manteca but a meanass Manteca…Fish picks it up immediately and we are in minor key land…still rhythmic glide just great flow but quite badass.

17:12 One of my favorite 3.0 runs from Trey in here, you can just distinctly hear he has an IDEA almost immediately going out of nowhere that leads to a BADASS build. Everyone picks things up appropriately and Page lets loose an amazing counterpoint lead at 17:45. Mmmm, this is turning into a mean motherfucker. Trey does a little work higher up the frets and returns to the original almost Manteca sounding groove.

18:48 Just perfect Page backing up with runs that are so clean sounding (piano) but somehow so powerful. They have certainly hit THE groove here of amazing jamming, hard to describe…say YEM-vibe but with a relaxed power. Great sustain from Trey in his phrasings. Can't say enough about Page's backing, he's really melodically leading this thing. This jam is really picking up into just amazing rock territory and they are exploiting every last ounce of music from this pocket.

21:10 Great peak from Trey, rocking and rollicking action from everyone. Just rocking the f out right now. What a peak to this jam. Just hear it. Sounds like a just amazing YEM from 1.0 here, not much to add.

22:45 Straight up Oye Como Va-ing, explicit nod to YEM to my ears…and they ride it to the cool down.

So overall I'd have to say we have 4 pretty distinct (yet organically integrated) movements going on in this jam. Jazz syncopation and storage-inspired pastiche, the first rhythmic groove with that nice AB pattern that is elaborated on fully, the shift to bliss (my favorite segment probably), and finally the growling-yet-somehow-powerfully-relaxed rock YEM-like action to close. The difference to my ears in these big 3.0 jams is that they pick up on ideas and subtly shift them around and have absolutely no fear of completely dropping them…much less time searching. But also this means that if a jam is just not happening they may lose patience and drop it entirely. This is not one of those jams, and I think nicely sums up the spirit of 3.0. Sections are explored for 4-5 minutes max and they are not as concerned with peaking a jam as they are the melodic and rhythmic overall ideas contained within the jams. Pastiche, indeed.

How often do those songs soar to unknown realms? Roses, Bitch and Moma have less than 8 atypical/ type II jams between them. Ever. Hell, even Antelope has really really escaped its structure 3 or 4 times in the past 17 years.

Antelope and Tweezer-> Fluffhead alone were enough to make it a more action packed first set than a vast majority of 1st sets before 97, and a solid 50% after 98 taboot.

But for some reason, tons of people expect Phish to want to live in 97. One day removed from a first set with 2 no bullshit type II jams and we're already complaining about only getting the first Antelope opener since 89 and The 2nd Tweezer->Fluffhead ever?

@Likethingsonmymind:

Typical 2012 first set? Maybe in the sense that there were constantly surprising, big JAMS, and everything was well played. I'm genuinely curious to know what more you were looking for out of that fest set that you didn't get. Elaborate please?

Top notch free form phire from start to finish. I can honestly say now that I do not compare the Phish from '96 and '97 to the Phish of today. I'm loving what they are doing now even more. They've surpassed my greatest expectations and it just feel so, so good to be a Phish Phan in 2012.

I am overjoyed with the love that these four nerds from Vermont make me feel. After being a Phan for almost half of my life, I am so blessed to be a part of 2012.

Now that the smoke has cleared a little bit from the Dick's run, I think we can take a step back and see this show as probably the weakest of the 3 nights - which, hey, when I say "weakest" I mean that in the same sense as "weakest of the Island Tour" or "weakest of Hampton/Winston-Salem '97", that way in which one show of a run has to be weakest by default.

The first set leans more towards what we were getting in the first leg of 2012 - good energy, some nice versions of songs, basically Phish getting the crowd excited for the second set without blowing anyone away (which, of course, there's nothing wrong with - they don't play 8/31/12 I every day, you know!). The second set is the sort of set that would cause people to faint if they played it in 2009 (or maybe even 2000...???), with a sharp Golden Age (this has been a *good* year for Golden Age, hasn't it?), a surprisingly jammed out and dark Prince Caspian that justifies its weird set placement (and - gasp - ever so slightly echoes the Phish of '94/'95), and a monstrous, occasionally *weird* Light that most people consider the jam of the year (I don't, but it's not an outrageous assertion, y'know?) on one end and a nice Mike's Groove (including No Quarter, one of my favorite covers in Phish's 3.0 bag of tricks). This isn't a "you gotta hear this show *now*" deal like 8/31, nor is it a "you gotta hear this set *now*" deal like 9/2 II, but it certainly does not sully the greatest of Dick's 2012, and the second set is a truly enjoyable experience with a tour-defining jam. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

I also love the guy saying 2012 isn't on the same level as 2010 but apparently thinking it is better than 97. Weird omission!

first set coulda gone the other way, and it would've been fine. Extra care added to many of the songs.

Second set Golden Age was great, though I had to leave the room. Came back for the Caspian. Type 2 Caspian went on a ways, Trey cut in with Light, and that jam was really the highlight of the night. Horse was nailed perfectly (finally!) and Trey pronounced some words better than usual. Boogie and Wedge were also typically great. Mike's Quarter Weekapaug. Zeppelin for Halloween?

Fishman's a Monkey who ate a banana, and Trey rambled.

Tweeprise has been strong all tour.

Great tunes and some good jamming tonight. A good follow-up to last night.

Such a good show...I just wanted to add that there is a Talking Heads "Warning Sign" tease by Mike in the Weekapaug intro.

I have listened to Light about 15 times since the show and it stands up as top notch Phish jamming.

To CentralScrutinizer:

"But alas, no jokes or clues last night. It would be cool but I just don't see it happening tonight."

It was a joke that every song started with a consonant. Can't spell out a word with no vowels. If you're gonna start hating on these last 2 Denver shows, get your facts right because almost everybody else is thoroughly enjoying themselves.

P.S. You also bitched about the same openers each night and the "sub par" Antelope without pointing out the fact that it was the first Antelope opener since 01/26/1990.

I'll focus on the recommended jams sequence: Golden Age > Prince Caspian > Light. Golden Age is not that far out of the box, but is compelling listening, nonetheless, especially since the cover was somewhat fresh at this point. Caspian, however, is kind of a premonition--or little sibling--to the Magnaball Caspian: one of the only Type-II versions in Phishtory. Light is wide-ranging and phenomenal, progressing very logically through a series of motifs and styles. That it ends in a colossal peak is noteworthy for sure. There are other things to applaud about this show, including the Tweezer -> Fluffhead and the Mike's Groove with No Quarter as the filling. This was truly a special run, and probably my favorite Dick's run yet.

To central scrutinizer this entire tour is the best tour of 3.0 hands down. nuff said. straight fact

One of the aspects of Phish's music that I appreciate a lot and that gets oft overlooked is the spectacular beauty that can emerge at any given moment. Phish's ability to structure simply gorgeous passages of melodic delicacy is breathtaking. For this Phish fan, it's not all about balls-out, muscular jamz 24/7. I love that style of playing as anyone with an appreciation for all things rock and roll should, but I have literally been brought to tears by these kinds of passages and that my friends is the experience that I tend to remember most. Phish is a band with an amazing emotional range that has been largely ignored by not only outside critics, but even by the devout. Well, maybe not ignored, but there isn't a lot of chatter in the lot about this stuff. I get it though.

Lucky for me, this second night at Dick's provided us with a metric shit tonne of this delicate style of playing and for that I will be eternally grateful.

this show has nothing on the previous night except for maybe the caspian-->light which was the obvious highlight of the evening. one of the better versions of light played imo. gotta stay in reality and not hop on the bandwagon of wow this show was face melting shit mannn.. cuz in actuality it wasn't as a whole. the caspian--> light was. but night1 from beginnning to end just took me to that place that only phish can and we all know what that place is. imo pppl reach and say how great and unbelievable a show was when in actuality it was good but nowhere near what they write. they just want it to be as good as they write soo bad but in reality it isnt. night1 ppl wrote how unbelievable the show was (best of tour, best of 3.0 etc...). I was included in the ppl who wrote things like that and reality definitely backed those statements up. jus put those shows back to back its like night and day. cant wait for tonight and yet sad at the same time tour is coming to an end.

If you care what songs phish is playing more than what they sound like then I have nothing to say to you. I do not care what they play! I care how it sounds. I hope they never play another f'ing Gamehenge song again just so you people that hark back to the old days can keep on bitching it up. First set had a great feel and great mood, and they did that on purpose. Yes I agree the Moma and Antelope and a couple others were mellower and not incredible or anything, but it wouldn't make sense to come out and just rage all the time. If you want to see a really hard first set all the time go to Panic and get drunk and have a blast. If you want to enjoy 4 talented musicians attempting to show you the breadth of what they can do, then here we are. I was not a phish fan until they got back together for 3.0. I like the old stuff and listen to it enough nowadays, but if you think that plinkoing mid-to-late-90's drug-induced jam fests that had plenty of nasty shows is better than now, then do some more research. We all have our opinions, but we are not cheerleaders twisting pom poms. I am a serious musician who loves music more than 99.9999% of you, and in my opinion we are watching the greatest performances by what's considered the modern day band ever. Keep enjoying and listening closer. Also I was 100% sober last night and have already listened to the show again, and I still stand behind what I wrote last night. First hour second set just mind-blowing. Greatest live music I've ever heard.

@wattznext

to elaborate;

when antelope opener kicked off i thought here we go!!!! but antelope was sub par, roses are free was average and so was funky bitch and moma dance. 4 songs that can soar to unknown plains of highly exploratory worlds. but they did not. yes they were tight and the whole set was high energy, which i love. but to me guitar solos or keyboard solos dont count as a jam.

set list placement was not typical(except bdtnl) which is a treat but the song playing itself was typical.

golgi and stealing time were the only non typical songs of 2012 1st sets.

i thought saturday 1st set felt more scripted than friday. at least with a scripted set friday they had the unknown of filling time. which worked magnificently.

have we all forgotten about songs like,
pebbles and marbles, scents and subtle sounds, walls of the cave, fee, ester, divided sky, how about the return of an old fav that was barley ever played....will it go round in circles!!!!

there is so much more great phish so underplayed.

the real point here, is getting exploratory in the first set as well, not just second set.

all phish is a great experience, and i would never say a show sucked. but i do know that set could have been much better.

I was going over my favorite shows that I've been to, and this one cannot be skipped, listening back over it is just fantastic, love the energy, this is one of the uncommon phish shows where the whole show carries second set vibes, and I absolutely believe that Fish pushed himself to the limit this show, I remember leaving dicks positively beaming with optimism, inspired by the wonderful show and experience I had

Set 1: Despite the Antelope opener and Tweezer, I's call this set fairly conservative; finely rendered nonetheless.

Set 2: Everything you've heard and more. I came expecting fireworks from Light, but ended up liking GA > Caspian more. How bout that. Also, this Mike's > Weekapaug should absolutely be on the chart. Tremendous set.

As I take a look back on the Jams laid down during this Dick's run I can't help but think wow do these blow the Tahoe tweezer away. Totally locked in throughout. Not changing ideas every few minutes because they aren't seeming to work. The musical conversation flows perfectly. Whereas with the Tahoe tweezer it is scattered at times yet does have some great moments. Give me this 2012 run anyday.

I really liked this Caspian and it reminded me of the Darien 2000 Caspian.

Decided to go back and review all the shows I've been to...somehow missed reviewing this one the first time around.

The first set was a little bit above average I'd say. Antelope opener for the first time since 1990? That was tight. In my group of friends we all shouted out "Jibboo" when the opening licks were played..and then it turned into Antelope. I'm still convinced that Trey played the Jibboo riff real quick and then switched to Antelope..either way I love both songs as an opener! It was a pretty stacked first set and the energy felt like night one never really ended and just carried over into night two. Nothing particularly stood out in set one, but it was fun all the same.

Set two is where the real action happened, though. Golden Age opener was kind of predictable, but still fun and exciting. I'm not a huge fan of Caspian, but this might just be the Caspian that converted me. This one got dark and dirty and the riff that comes near the end just sold it for me. When they dropped into Light, I knew something big was coming. After night one, you had to expect that they would take Light about as far out as they could. I dont think anyone was disappointed in the direction that Light ended up going.

The Mikes>No Quarter>Groove was probably the other major stand out during set two. I've seen a few No Quarters now and hearing Page sing it is always haunting (in a good way). The encore provided some laughs with the Fishman banana scene...almost passed out from rocking too hard hahaha. I've read before that when Phish closes out a show with Sleeping Monkey>Tweezer Reprise that means they really had a good time. Can't say I'd argue with that

Overall a very sick show.

The 2nd installment of my weekend-long birthday celebration started on full-tilt on Friday, what could the 2nd show bring to the table? Another masterpiece, simply drawn onto the musical canvas using different strokes.

The 1st set started its conversation with me with Antelope (Out of Control) and ended it with reminding me how Faulty it is to be Stealing Time from my current Plan. Thusly, many changes are in store for me upon my return to NYC at the end of this week. Regardless, the songs between 1st and last in this set represented a well-balanced and superbly played set of songs. I felt the Tweezer for tonight and they did not disappoint, either with the song or the execution. Fluffhead was joyous. Bitch>Moma>Circus, Theme. Wow. Especially Circus, surprisingly played more than once on this leg and a personal fave.

Being from NYC, I'm always awaiting my Golden Age and this one kicked in the 2nd set immediately. The ensuing Prince Caspian was easily the best I've ever witnessed. Light continues to be a premier jam vehicle and this one was no different. Boogie On was loudly teased at least ten minutes before its official introduction and segued into another personal fave, The Wedge and possibly the best of version that I've witnessed live. The Horse>Silent, always beautiful. Into a slamming Mike's Song into what might have been the sneakiest sinewy segue into No Quarter that they could have figured out and at this point I was definitely losing my musical religion. Of course, no rest for the wicked and the Weekapaug Groove finished what the Mike's Song started.

Monkey>Tweezer Reprise is getting a bit common but I'm not complaining, the Reprise asked of and got the final orgasmic push out of me on this evening and completed what was simply a great 2nd show. What made it greater was that it followed a great show. And that it held out the promise of another great and final show. And as history proved (as I wrote this after the 3rd show), another great show delivered...:-wink/smile!

Two things I'd like to say specifically about this show. One, the song placement felt impeccable at this show and, two, it felt like an embarrassment of riches to get what was given at both this and the other two shows. Great stuff...:-smile!

Peace,
Alex

Pointless stat: this Saturday night Dick's show shares 9 songs with last year's Saturday night Dick's show (9/3/2011). I have no idea whether that is of any interest, but I'll remember this for the '13 show.

I feel like I've seen some pretty fantastic moments of Phish in person over the years, but as Light wound down I turned to my buddy (his first show) and said I was pretty sure that was the best 15 minutes of Phish I had witnessed. So many different thoughts and teases in there. I'm not saying it is the best 15 minutes of Phish ever, but it sure isn't the worst. This show was a blast, and Light is definitely not the only song to hear from tonight. Catch 'em all.

Wow some real articulate reviews here, some not so much. I thought this show was very solid, I'm honestly not sure why everyone is so "ape-shit" about Fri night seemed gimmicky and "over-rated"(don't get me wrong i like a good joke). While Sat night wasn't the best 2 sets I have seen it was very good and deserves props. As a somewhat older(at times jaded) fan, show energy is everything to me and this show had great energy, the first set really brought me back to my early phish days. Lot's of fun high energy songs in there with a few inspiring type I solo's/jams, just what I would expect from a great night of phish. Followed by some fairly longer songs/jams in the second, Rock and no gimmicks needed!

I'm grateful for the songs, the sound, the whole shooting match. Be here now. We don't need to quote Rodney King or anything, but really folks . . . When comparing years and set lists, I agree that QUALITY of playing is what counts. From what I've heard via streams and spreadsheets, I couldn't, in good conscience, call anything yet played in CO a "snoozefest." Then again, long ago I made a choice to not "over-see" this band (as I did with some other heroes in the '80s) so as to be able to maintain a phresh perspective. 2012 is still simmering with promise of bright horizons. For that, I'm truly grateful. Bring it on, Rodeny (RIP).

And I'm simply saying 2nd set was out of this world amazing. First set was great to set the mood, but as an overall show I give it 5/5 just for how totally incredible the second set was. Icculus opener for first vowel song anyone?

To Likethingsonmymind:

"...when antelope opener kicked off i thought here we go!!!! but antelope was sub par, roses are free was average and so was funky bitch and moma dance. 4 songs that can soar to unknown plains of highly exploratory worlds. but they did not. yes they were tight and the whole set was high energy, which i love. but to me guitar solos or keyboard solos dont count as a jam."

If they didn't mix up musical styles then simply constant jamming would most likely get boring. They've been in that musical state before. They are trying to keep a mood and theme and feel throughout full long jams through full sets through full shows. The difference in feel is really a display of them being able to slow it down a notch. Trey said to Shapiro that he's "heard a lot of girls complain about them playing too fast. But he's never heard one say they were playing too slow." That's why they were trying to separate Weekapaug from Mike's Song with more songs in between and slow down the tempo of Paug. Last night was an exception since it was a Groove>Paug sandwich, and it was definitely not slowed down this time.

P.S. To CentralScrutinizer: I mistakenly accused you of making the above quote. My deepest apologies.

To CentralScrutinizer:

" First set was a snoozefest. I thought it blew the big Meatstick. Second set had some nice moments. Light was pretty good. Didn't hit the levels of some other Lights...But alas, no jokes or clues last night. It would be cool but I just don't see it happening tonight...Hopefully new years run will be better than last years flop. And hope tonight is better than last night which had a nice Light and a cool Mikes Groove and let the always fun Boogie bass beast loose in Denver. But little else worth writing home about."

There's definitely some hating in there man. I'm trying to have a passionate conversation and not an aggressive argument just so we are clear. Emotions get the better of people's words sometimes and I'm just loving what they're doing. We can just "agree to disagree" about the epicness of last night, but calling the first set a "snoozefest" is like the people who called MSG "horrible". Mr. Miner I'm looking in your direction. It was not the greatest NYE ever, but it wasn't horrible. And this probably wasn't the greatest show ever, but 2012 leg II summer tour phish is all I'm listening to right now, and I recommend everybody does the same for a little bit. Respect.

I did notice there were no vowels

but, if that is a joke let me be the forst to say bravo and that they can do better, that's not a great joke. Consideing they only have esther and Eliza to e with, no u songs left and no common o songs left its not that hard to play an all consonant show. But ok. Well done phish on that great follow up gag. Maybe tonight will start with ghost AcDc bag maze Esther and maybe U will get the gamehenge you hate so much. I don't think theyll do it but it would amp up the energy for sure.
And I thought the light was really amazing through most of it actually but not the golden age or prince caspian so much for me. And I love the Weekapaug groove. But the best ever hour of phish and the best show and all that??? I don't think so but I'm glad the cheerleaders do. I didn't think the first set brought anything special and besides the light and mikes groove didn't find the rest very special. But I'm glad the cheerleaders do.
Every good team needs cheerleaders. And phish is the best team out there. And not that it has any place in the conversation, but I am not
a widespread panic fan. Don't dislike them. Don't love them. Love their cream puff war cover though

Thank you Phish. It's not too late for a late fall tour.

Set 1-just so-so. Set 2-excellent! The jam on Golden Age was a big 2001 tease. The Caspian Jam-pure psychedelia. The jam at the end of the other jam on Light was about as bright and sparkly as it gets. No Quarter-darkly beautiful and well played. As a West Coaster I really wish I had made the trip after such a phenomenal weekend in San Francisco a couple weeks back.

1st hour 2nd set greatest hour of music phish has ever played. Ever. What is this going to sound like in a year? In 3 years? In 10 years? The possible progression in the future is hard to even comprehend. But not to get ahead of ourselves. One more night! Can't keep your expectations high enough.

My final blog for this show before they kick me off haha:

To CentralScrutinizer and the phish community at large:

We all do our subtle bits of trolling on these blogs, even if its unintentional. Human instinct probably. We are all enjoying what phish is doing and the crowds and fans are getting more tame (in a good way) and its making the shows and crowds and lots all very enjoyable. I've never experienced a Winter Tour live, and can't wait to see those 2013 dates come out. Definitely nothing until MSG NYE again, which will hopefully surpass last years musically at least. Everyone enjoy the show.

P.S. CentralScrutinizer great call on the absence of I Am Hydrogen. Never crossed my mind. Maybe all number and vowels tonight? That would really be hard to pull off. Esther encore for sure!

first set had me worried. typical 2012 set. i feel the fans need to unite and gently but firmly push for 1st sets like last nights. enough of saying every show is the best. i feel we have entered an age of rating shows based on their second set. this should not be the case. the 1st set should not be about getting through it so we can get to the goods in the second half.

when you have soared through the lands of gamehendge with phish it gives you a marker of where a show should be. last night was it. second set tonight was it.

the rip cord at the end of golden age felt off,and into caspian, what? turns out caspian was as good as it gets type 2 into more type 2 light which has been such a huge jam vehicle. paige and his teases through light were out of this world. and his singing is superb this year.

no quarter in the mikes groove was a real treat. i think that cover really showcases phish.

more antics with sleeping monkey....always a hit

tweeprize blasted off leaving us wanting more.

obviously phish has shown us they can still deliver on the turn of a dime when ever they want. so unite as phans asking for more of this and in 1st sets as well.

this is why we go to the ends of all to see the greatest live act ever!!

First set was a snoozefest. I thought it blew the big Meatstick. Second set had some nice moments. Light was pretty good. Didn't hit the levels of some other Lights but they tried to get out there and that's always nice and try ventilation arrived at se excitement towards the end. Overall I give this show a B or B+. Far from the best hour of phish ever or the best jam ever in Light. I love the phish cheerleaders though and glad they have their Pom poms wildly waving in hyperbole. And for the "no gamehenge yet" theory, how much do they play lizards, tela and col forbin? So you're saying they haven't played ACDC bag or Wilson yet and that means gamehenge is coming? You wish. It would have been cool to freak everybody out last night by starting to spell out gamehenge. Golgi axilla maze opener and everybody would have flipped out. But alas, no jokes or clues last night. It would be cool but I just don't see it happening tonight. Twist, piper, ghost, DWD, crosseyed or RnR. That's what I see. More than half the second sets this year have started with the same 4 songs, DwD, crosseyed, RnR and golden age. Too formulaic and predictable for me. Reminds me of 1994 when 2001 started way too many second sets only that was better because 2001 was fairly new to them and is arguably the best set opener there is. 2012 has been pretty good. Not the level of 2010, 1998 or 92-95, but very good and a million times better than 2011. Hopefully new years run will be better than last years flop. And hope tonight is better than last night which had a nice Light and a cool Mikes Groove and let the always fun Boogie bass beast loose in Denver. But little else worth writing home about.