First off, this was the first show that I got to see in person with one of my alltime favorite .netters, @sprachtor. Sure, he missed his melt the night before, but we still got to catch a pretty solid outing.

The first set was definitely the most consistent first set of the SPAC run. No, it didn't have any serious highlights like the aforementioned Melt from the night before, but top-bottom, it just worked. AC/DC Bag is always a nice opener. GBOTT gave the boys a nice chane to loosen up. They find a nice groove that Trey has a blast playing over as he builds it to a pretty nice climax. I would say this song had the same general effect as an early show wolfman's. Divided Sky was a perfect call in the pouring rain. Like GBOTT, it gave the guys a nice familiar tune to sink their teeth into. Normally, I am not a big fan of Free in the first set. I never think it really fits, but it did fit well in this spot. Maybe it was the rain. As usual, Gordon laid down some nice thick bass lines here, but all in all, it was a pretty standard version. After running through the middle section of Ice 2-3 times in the soundcheck the night before, I figured it'd be popping up. Well this one was technically proficient, I still felt a little stiff. I think they still had to think about this one a lot. By merriweather and Chicago, they were really feeling it, and it sounded a lot more fluid. It was still a solid version, and fit the flow of the set well. Mound, Maze, and Limb all worked together, kept the flow going, and were well-executed. I wouldn't say anything stood out as being "great," but you must applaud the first set song selection thus far. WOTC probably serves as the highlight of the first set. Trey absolutely explodes out of the back end of this one sending everyone into set break with a smile. While nothing in this set really sticks out as being a "great" version, there was good flow, great song selection, spot on execution, and a high level of energy.

Set two can be described in about the same way. I think I described it as we were walking out as "high end predictable." That is not a knock. Down with Disease is always a pretty predictable opener for the 3rd night of a run if you haven't seen it yet. Trey comes out of the "song portion" very strong. He tastefully alternates between a before lead and some nice little flurries. As they slow down, they slip into a nice little groove. Fishman hits a run that makes you think the jam is going to escalate a bit, but instead, it drops down and is pretty much finished. I think most people thought Trey was going to pick it up, but instead, he starts up ghost. No complaints here. This ghost jam is a bit slower, and it doesn't ever seem driven to any particular climax. It does find a nice "light" plinko jam that they play with for a few minutes. After that, Trey stays on more of a rhythm role while Page throws down some really nice stuff. It starts to escalate, but like the DwD jam before that, it slows back down. It feels like this jam has more fuel in the tank, but Trey pulls a pretty smooth maneuver pulling into Piper. Some described this as a rip chord. I would say it felt more natural than that, but still, it seems there was another layer here that could've been unpeeled. You must take it for what it is though, and this was a pretty solid stretc of music. Piper, as it usually does, served as a great shot in the arm. For the most, it stays close to home, but Trey does a nice job ripping around the main piper theme. After departing from there, it decends nicely into Wading. Sure, it's not my favorite song, but it fit well here in the slow down spot. Antelope picked things back up, but as is the norm now-a-days, there wasn't much exploration here. It was a straight cannon blast from point A to point B. They added the "run like a meatstick" lyrics, so we all knew what was next. Not really my bag, but after a pretty stacked set list, who's complaining? Plus, the kiddies love the meatstick. YEM closed the show down in predictable but classic style. No, they don't take this on the wild excursions they used to, but the composed section alone will always be a good listen. This was a solid well played version. Speaking of predictable, did I mention the loving cup encore?

Some called it predictable. Some called it classic Phish. Personally, I like the occasional curve ball, and that did not happen on this evening. That said, at the end of the day, the set list doesn't matter. It all depends on how it is played. The playing on this night wasn't much more adventurous than the set list calls, BUT like the set list calls, it was freaking rock solid from start to finish.

Highlights:
WOTC, DwD>Ghost->Piper