7/1/16 SPAC: This was a good first show to begin what's sure to be a fun 3-day splash in Saratoga Springs. We tuned-in via the Live Phish webcast, which provided a nice smooth stream all night long.
We were a little late returning to Casa de Henry from a local art gallery event in our hometown, but the running joke was 'we gotta get down there!' and we made it inside the virtual venue doors by NICU.
I'd like to highlight that I was pleased with the Stealing Time opener, as I had had that song in my head earlier in the day...a little Phish magic to start the show, alright!
Then The Birds flew in, and I don't know about you guys, but somehow I never get tired of hearing the repurposed Halloween Jams...they're just damn delightful!
Sidenote: I would love to hear more new Jams like them in the future.
Then we visited Cities, a cover of the great Talking Heads song off the album "Fear Of Music," and in keeping with this tour's tradition of stormy weather it was indeed 'dark in the daytime."
Next was David Bowie, which almost seemed choresome to me but they quickly went into Free which has a way of bringing everyone into the moment.
Changing gears to bluegrass, we got an Uncle Pen next and Mike & Trey's licks were really together on this one...I'd like to take this opportunity to point out how well-suited Mike's voice is for this style of music. He's also such a versatile vocalist with the ability to hold down the bottom end during acapella songs but then also sing very high at other times...he's just an all-around great player!
Then my hubby got his song wish with the lovely Halfway To The Moon, which was followed by the new Let's Go -- It has a poppy main theme with a groovin' jam which I could see becoming a favorite with the new generation of fans.
Back to the Fuego album, we heard Waiting All Night next. Some people aren't fans of this song, but I think it's beautiful with Fishman's sizzle cymbal and Page's pretty organ part. Also during this song we saw an awesome effect on the LED screens behind the band...reminiscent of the 1960's oil projector visuals -- I experienced this graphic in person at Deer Creek and I'm here to tell you, it REALLY takes you back to another time & place...definitely my favorite graphic I've seen on the new setup thus far.
Next up was Bathtub Gin which I was sure was going to be the set closer, but then they surprised me with an exquisitely executed Golgi Apparatus THEN The Squirming Coil before the set came to a close. Woo Whee!!
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Set II ripped open with a solid Sand into Carini which entered a dark liquid space then shimmered up to a clear sparkling pool. We swam there for a bit before riding the undulating current down to meet Chalk Dust Torture, which took us through a dark and meaty ambient groove...Mike dropped a Bass Bomb that literally shook the webcast camera!! Wow! Trey also jumped on the Marimba Lumina, and I'm happy to see it getting some use this tour. No fault of Fishman, it just seems that he can't really get to it very often during shows, so it's cool that Trey is sharing it with us.
Prince Caspian is always a crowd pleaser, allowing for the opportunity to surface upon the waves after swimming through deep & dark jams through colorful underwater caves in the previous songs.
Remaining in our peaceful place, Bug was next followed by Shine A Light. We got a drum solo in My Sweet One! Sleeping Monkey came next and after calling us "their sweet ones", the band asked us to say their name...which we joyfully reply PHISH!!
It was soon time to dance again with Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001) which was as freaky as it was funky.
In addition to stormy weather being a tradition this tour, cover songs have also joined the party in a big way...Jimi Hendrix's Fire was a molten white-hot close to the set, and the Character Zero encore sent us on our way to say...PHISH! PHISH!!