One of the highest-energy shows I can remember seeing. More peaks than the Rocky mountains.

First set was great but the second was just otherworldly. NMINML through Ghost was just a fractal of musical bliss. Carini got so evil I felt like sacrificing a goat. Then it peaked with an energy that was like a god-damned war machine just destroying everything in it's fucking path.

This band just keeps getting better every time I see them.

I think after the bakers dozen, nobody knew quite what to expect at dicks--and still doesn't, I guess. There are so many songs on the table that the boys are ready to whip out right now, should they feel like it. Instead, last night they played one of the more standard setlists I've ever seen, with about as many 3.0 songs as 1.0. And they destroyed them. The first set started off hot with a type 2 Blaze On right out the gates, then held its energy like very few first sets manage to do.

That second set, though, was something else. Once they got going on NMINML, it felt like they were gonna go the whole set with it. Instead of the semi-usual tension and release jams they are prone to lock into these days, they went ultra-psychedelic. Page made extremely liberal use of his synths, and there were a few points where Fishman sounded like he had six hands. When they finally dropped into Carini, it almost felt awkward. They had been going so hard for so long that to be back in the middle of an actual song just kind of felt wrong. But then they were immediately back in the jam and it was like No Men's had never ended. I felt the same way when they dropped into ghost, but then they were right back in the jam once again. It wasn't until Hood kicked in that the jam felt like it had naturally landed itself on something composed. And we got a patient Hood intro, which is always nice.

Definitely a show worth a relisten. I've heard the second set a few times now and it hasn't come close to getting old. And the first set might just make you care a little more for a song or two you previously weren't a fan of.

Its been few days since this show and after relistening to it several times I'm not quite sure why it doesn't score higher. I guess after the BD the bar was set high. This was the best show of the Dicks run and for me in the top 3 shows of the summer.

Set one is definitely over looked. I was having the time of my life during this set. Blaze on comes out strong. Maybe not the best version but a great way to open the show. 555 is always a nice touch. Never cared much from Breath and Burning. Theme was good but a standard version. Free was thumping out of control. Mikes bass was turned up so loud this weekend and I was loving it, this one had the crowd going for sure. Tube gets jammed out once again, and gets some nice licks from trey along with a perfect amount of synth from Page. Roggae isn't to be overlooked, plenty of peaks and trey shredding. More had the chompers going crazy but what do you expect.

Now this is where things get going. Other than both sets from the jam night, this was the best set of the summer IMO. NMINML gets super psychedelic. This is better than the Dick's 2016 version. The carini is in the top 3 of all time. Psychedelic exploration, plenty of grooving pockets, and a massive peak... What else could you ask for? Ghost was great, had a NMINML groove and quotes, perfect placement in the set. Then we get a huge Hood. The crowd nearly caused an earthquake as Fishman hit the opening notes. Cavern once again had the chompers going crazy.

Now the encore was a little bit of a let down. After such a high energy set I would have hoped for something just a little better. Not that I dislike Silent in the morning just a little slow for what was previously played. Then again let down by a zero.

Overall this night was insanely good. Having attended Night 4 of the BD I would put it just under that show personally. The whole second set is worth a listen! 5/5 for me

Arguably, the top 3 moments of 3.0 Phish were Dick's 2012 itself, Magnaball, and the Baker's Dozen. Similarly to 2015, when Dick's had to follow up Magnaball, Dick's now had to follow up the Baker's Dozen. Both Dick's runs are highly underrated as a result. I'm not trying to say that the first 2 nights of Dick's in 2015 and the last two nights of Dick's in 2017 are some of the best shows in 3.0. But they should definitely be in the 4.1-4.3 range and are worth checking out. IMO the 2017 Dick's run is better than 2015. Mainly because of 9/1/17. This show is right up there with the Fuck Your Face night as the best Dick's show. The first set highlights include a fantastic Blaze On opener, extended Breath and Burning, a space-funk version of Free, incredibly unique and exploratory Tube that shifts from funk to bliss and loses itself in space before Trey subtly brings the funk back, and, of course, a beautiful Roggae. The second set is something you have to hear for yourself to believe. NMINML> Carini> Ghost is over an hour of must hear improv. I can barely think of a better first hour of a set in 3.0 from a jamming perspective besides jam night from the BD or Randall's Island night 3. The band had a little trouble coming back to earth in Harry Hood, but it didn't take anything away from the absurd energy of the crowd. For the Phish nerds out there, it's the only 5 song set of Dick's and only the 5th 5 song set of 3.0.

Set I... opens with a jam! Blaze On goes the distance, for the win! A few more songs are stretched out a bit (several ~10-min. renditions), but Roggae is the overall set highlight for me. No Men in No Man's Land > Carini > Ghost fills up an entire disc. While NMINML is almost 25 minutes long, it's the Carini and Ghost that pack more punches, IMO. Harry Hood > Cavern to end the 5-song second set, then there's a good encore with The Horse > Silent in the Morning > Character Zero. It looks like tonight is already going well, too, so we may have a typically amazing Dick's run. And I have to agree that Mike sounds really good on the soundboard. Finally, I have a new appreciation for the setlist team, who didn't note a legitimate segue into Ghost... that's a tough call, but Fishman gets down to just the hi-hat, and Trey plays the chord vamp... not a segue, thanks for the assiduous phansmanship.

The first set was solid. No real clunkers and it was dialed in. Often there is a lull or a dubious ballad to cool the fans back down to a simmer. None of that last night.

No Mans-Carini-Ghost was outstanding. Drop the NMINML or especially the Carini jam in a high profile 1.0 show available on soundboard and phans would still be totally tumescent about it. Some slop in Hood. Encore was mailed in. But a noble effort worthy of Dicks with a fair amount of replay value.

This show is basically one of those, like Boise 99, where each version that was played this night is a “best version ever”.

This entire show deserves to be in the jam charts. All songs are set aside and have a little extra juice. And a couple are greatest version Evers.

Carini, no mans, tube, theme, blaze on, and free are in the top 5 ever played IMO.

ALL IN ONE SHOW. this recipe is so good that a year later, 8/31/18 many of these very same songs were played again at first night of dicks.
And sure enough, that show is also a greatest show ever.

In short this night is in the top three dicks shows ever. Along with 8/31/12 and 9/4/16.

Must hear show.

Is this still NMINML?

First set Tube was great, really took some great turns. Roggae refused to slow down the jamming and was solid.

Second set descended into psychedelia several times, I had to remind myself that we were only in 2nd or 3rd song of the set. Outstanding, deep jamming. The playing and energy of Mike and Fish really stood out.

And unlike others, I'm a sucker for Horse>Silent and really enjoyed the stadium wide sing-along.

I can't wait to see how the band follows up.

I fear this show will be forgotten in the great year of Phish, 2017. With the Baker's Dozen and a strong new year's showing, there's a lot to go around in 2017. Phans always know Dick's as a place to expect exceptional shows, but this one in particular was beyond exceptional. Great first set (Tube!), phenomenal second set (All of it). They did not stop bringing the jams in set 2 and I couldn't believe it was almost over when they dropped into the hood, no time for a break. Trey didn't come up for air until that hood intro, which you can hear in his first strained "Harry". If that hood got to a cohesive peak as so many legendary versions have, this show would automatically have been an all timer. I'll have that second set in relisten rotation for years to come.

After completely obliterating the Baker's Dozen in July and August, expectations were high when the Phish from Vermont hit Colorado. Some folks will tell you that maybe a couple of these sets weren't up to the same level as the preceding 2017 shows, but hey, folks will say a lot of things.

Just some quick hits. First, they're in Colorado, the land of legal reefer and "Blaze On" kicks off the festivities. They're such clever boys, the Phish. And not just any version of Blaze On, this is 15 solid minutes of jam-packed blazing excitement for your head and your ass. Blowing your mind and making you dance. That's what they do.

The tone of Trey's guitar in Free is just tasty goodness to my robotic ear. One of those things I could hear any day...

Tube. Damn. They jammed it again!! Different from the BD version, but that doesn't make it better or worse. It was great, and I'm hoping that two in a row marks the start of a trend.

Roggae. I love this song. Every version is the best version ever when I'm hearing it.. This one is no different.

More is an anthem, and a pretty damned good one at that. They've not done anything really different with it since its debut and this version was interchangeable with any others.

The second set is just about 3/5ths of everything you could ever want from a second set. The first 3 tunes were incendiary. The other two were solid, but not exceptional. The encores were average versions of commonly played tunes. What else can I say?

Well worth checking out for the Blaze On, Tube, and NMINML > Carini >Ghost

Great show, the best show of the run easily. The second set was a monster, the hose was on full blast. Tube, ghost and no man's makes for a funky dance party. Carini was especially interesting. I think the whole second set needs the "must listen" recommendation. Had a lot of fun page side all weekend. Great folks.

Walking out of this show, I knew the second set was one of the best I had seen up to that point. Looking back and listening to it time and again, I now realize how deep and psychedelic the second set is. NMINML and Carini are basically one long, extended, spacey jam. They reach some weird psychedelic space and run with it for nearly 45 minutes. I'm sure at the time I was lost deep in the space sauce, and the same can be said even upon relistens. A 5 song second set with no slow songs or down time is about as perfect as it gets, and this set is no exception. Ghost continues the space achieved in the first two songs, Hood keeps the peaks and energy going, and Cavern is a well-executed and fun set closer.

The first set and encore are no slouches either, but not nearly as action packed as that second set. For the goods, check this one out ASAP

Enjoyable night in Commerce City once again. Set One: Theme>Free and Tube>Roggae were fleshed out - thoughtful, patient, and solid; thoroughly enjoyable. My son commented that the boys had dug themselves a deep hole in Tube that seemed the path back would prove difficult, but being the consummate musicians they are, pulled it off with aplomb. Those four songs were indicative of the second set to come. Side note: we arrived soon after the start of the soundcheck, during what sounded like Makisupa. They all seemed hell-bent on sonic experimentation (especially Trey and Page) and jamminess. Reflecting on that rather lengthy soundcheck it certainly was another indicator for the night that followed.

As for the NMINML>Carini>Ghost, there was a lot to unpack in those 62ish minutes. The composed section of Carini was a little disjointed (upon second (soundboard) listen, but once they broke free, oh my! Ghost was a welcome surprise to start the fourth quarter, and continued the jam-filled second set (did they out pass out doughnuts and I somehow missed it?!). Fortunately there were mini doughnuts to be had ... ;-)

Great night; looking forward to this evening!

SET 1:

Blaze On: interesting choice of opener for this run - def seems to signal to fans not to expect any crazy setlist shenanigans… very much a ‘we’re here to chill out and have fun after BD’ type opener. Pretty long jam for a 3.0 set opener. Gets into some pretty sparse territory around the middle portion, very nice and busy playing from Mike. Not too interesting otherwise.

555: standard.

Breath and Burning: can’t imagine the crowd was too pleased with this opening sequence, lol. Once again sending a message that this is a chance for the band to let their hair down. Nicely peaked and one of the better versions out there.

Theme From the Bottom: this one gets a better crowd reaction. Some nice reverse reverb briefly in the solo that gets some cheers. GREAT smooth segue into… ->

Free: very strong version, some great theremin-ish synth work and guitar work peak.

Tube: interesting jam! Fans of 2017 synth jamming will want to check this out, some super gnarly Page soloing in the early going – but ditches this for some guitar-led peaky jamming which is pretty unique for the song. Rough transition into the shuffle section.

Roggae: not crazy about this song but this peaks HARD. Trey shredding like it’s 1998. Euphoric!

More: standard.

SET 2:

No Men in No Man’s Land: another ‘let’s let our hair down and party’ choice to open set 2. Trey making good use of pedals in the early going of the jam which quickly transitions into a bliss peak - great screaming playing at the 9 minute mark. Seems like this is going to end right then and there, but Trey has other ideas and guides the band into a minor key section. Love Page’s Rhodes-esque playing in this section, very Miles Davis. Showing why he’s the MVP of 2017. The next 8 minutes of the jam is incredibly special. Trey takes the back seat to Page and Mike who lay down an atmosphere that really needs to be heard to believed – WOW. Eerie and spacey to the extreme! Fish even takes it into 12/8 for a section, extremely special playing that feels like a prelude to the Deer Creek Simple. Suddenly Trey is back on the guitar, comes out firing with Wedge teases everywhere. Fish picks up what he’s putting down – peak incoming, friends! Standard but strong bliss playing from there on out. Everything between the 10-20 min mark is out of this world and more than makes up for some standard fare on either side. Highly recommended. >

Carini: pretty abrupt into this but the place is hyped at the placement. Funny ‘lumpy head’ quotes around the entrance into the jam. Things get going around the 6 minute mark. The start to the jam is all about Trey pushing his pedals to their absolute limits. I’m no stranger to criticising Trey’s tone from this era but it really works for this extremely doomy playing in the early going. Alien sounds everywhere. Once again Fishman giving Trey an escape route about 10 minutes in – but nope, this is BD era Trey, and he’s gonna take this as far as it’ll go. A groovy, happy jam emerges from there for a while until Trey gets possessed with the spirit of Hendrix at around 17:30 and SHREDS an effects-driven peak. Wow. Feels like it could go into Tweezer as this winds down, but then suddenly the band conjures a funky, Camel Walk-style passage out of literal thin air with Page killing it on organ and Mike stomping on the octave pedal. Immediately went back to relisten to the last 4 minutes on first pass – it’s that good. Trey unfortunately bails on this too soon for… >

Ghost: almost disappointing to hear this come out of that space at the end of Carini but the song is great so it doesn’t matter too much. Pretty standard elongated blissy version that stays in second gear for a while until Trey powers things up around 14 mins in, total shredfest for a couple minutes there. Otherwise a solid Ghost that keeps the momentum going but nothing I’d particularly recommend – not that they have anything to prove at this point in the set. >

Harry Hood: nice! Decent, meditative intro but feels like it takes the band a while to lock on this one – the ‘where do you go’ refrain is sloppy here. Jam is standard with one or two nice themes. >

Cavern: super hype coming out of the effects at the end of Hood. A little shaky but loose and fun end to a crazy set.

Encore:

The Horse > Silent in the Morning: A little rough.

Character Zero: REAL rough at the beginning.

—

OVERALL: wow, what a statement show post-BD. We successfully ran the gamut through our toughest songs, we’re free now, and we’re going to play the stuff we WANT to play and play it within an inch of our lives. It’s wall-to-wall energy and crazy peaks right up until the fourth quarter. Set 1 through to Ghost is one of the most impressive stretches of music you’ll hear at any 3.0 show, but particular shouts out to Roggae and NMINML for being total all-timer versions. Will also be coming back to Carini, Tube, Breath and Burning and Free.

4 stars.



In 2011 Phish started an annual tradition of playing a three-night stint over Labor Day weekend in Denver, Colorado at a big outdoor stadium sponsored by and named after Dick’s Sporting Goods, and up until 2017 I steadfastly avoided attending.

Not that I had anything against the place other than its obvious spatial disadvantage, sitting as it does nearly 3,000 kilometres from my home. I guess an added deterrent was that it was always the summer tour capper, and generally by the end of summer tour I felt like I already had enough Phish concerts under my belt for the season and could do without the expense of travelling to Denver for more.

However, weighing against all of this was m’lady’s consistent habit of going to the Denver shows without me, and her equally consistent habit of returning to tell me how awesome Dick’s was.

“Please refer to it as ‘Denver’,” was my usual retort.

And so it was that I found myself sitting on the tarmac in Ottawa bright and early on September 1st, 2017 waiting for takeoff. Unfortunately, when we decided to take the plunge together m’lady could not have predicted that she would fall ill the day before our departure, a victim of bronchitis and other related unsavoury maladies.

As we were taxi-ing down the runway preparing for takeoff she closed her eyes and slumped her head back. “I shouldn’t have come,” she mumbled weakly.

Ho-boy.

But you know, if she’s anything m’lady is a trouper, especially in situations like this. She sucked it up pretty good and tried in vain to get some rest while I watched movies. We made it to Denver where we were met by our Ottawa friend Rob (lots of Ottawa folks make it to Dick’s…err…Denver for these shows) and his rental car carried us from the airport to a nice Mexican restaurant for tacos 9m’lady’s favourite, even when she’s sick) and then on to our room at The Embassy, where we would instantly meet up with literally dozens of other friends who had flown in for the concerts from all over North America.

Phish shows are fun that way.

If you’ve ever stayed at an Embassy Hotel in the US of A you probably know that they are known for good customer service. All the rooms are suites and the hotel offers a free, unlimited happy hour every day, which can be decimating, especially when one has recently found themselves at a significantly elevated elevation. Like in Denver, for example, the Mile High City.

But that’s okay, we’re veterans, plus m’lady spent most of her pre-show time curled up in bed. Of course that didn’t stop her from socializing all the while with a parade of well-wishers who were virtually lined up outside our room waiting to say “hello”. Finally showtime began approaching and we made our way to the venue; I believe we took a cab.

The stadium is 100% general admission, except that tickets are dedicated to either GA field or GA seating. Despite having tickets in the former we parked our weary selves in the latter* and waited for the concert to begin.

When it did it was already about 11pm as far as our Ottawa-set internal clocks were concerned. And while the show was great – exceptional even – by the second set our legs started giving out on us. While everyone (everyone!) stands up for the entire duration of a Phish concert every time, as the show started to wind down so did we. Not only were we sitting down for much of the last half of the show, fatigue (on my part) combined with illness (on hers) had us both nodding off, even as the band tore through several of my favourites, including Ghost, Harry Hood, and the show-closing rager Character Zero.

On the up side, we saved lots of money on concert beers.

Also on the up side, we still had two more concerts to go and a whole suite to ourselves in which to recover. In the end m’lady had to battle her bronchitis all weekend, a fight she undoubtedly won, and while I won’t say I completely caught up on my sleep (not by a long shot) we both made a much better showing at the final two shows.

Gosh, there’s so much more in here that I am omitting for brevity (believe it or not I do try to keep these things reasonably short) or I’m just blatantly forgetting to include. Suffice to say that even sleepy-time Toddman came away from Night One realizing that yes, there was indeed something special about Dick’s.

I mean “Denver”.

*People are generally not clamouring for the bleachers, ergo GA seating won’t get you on the floor but GA field tickets will get you anywhere.

toddmanout.com

After a Relisten I gotta drop a line or two about the 4.5 9/1 show. I will say I love this band and have drawn unmeasurable strength from the music over the years as it relates to overcoming heroin/alcohol addiction but I digress. While I have enormous respect for the band's exploratory talents I can't agree with such a high rating for this show!! I know I said it right?!!? Carini Sweet!! 2nd set Sweet!! 4.5 Hmmmmmmm Relistened to Uniondale '03 last night 4.5.

Sacrilege I know but there it is. Some of 2nd set sounded like drums/space at any Dead show I ever went to. There I said it. Whew

Love this band and love you all.