After a pretty mellow (dare I say tired) performance on night one I was expecting a nice finale to my 2014 Phish viewing, particularly in light of the barn-burners they threw my way at MPP.

We settled into the spacious lawn (versus the chaos of the pit), which was just perfection.

On to the show!

Bathtub Gin gets us going in style. Truth be told, this is one of the weaker versions I have seen. That said, it hit a decent if well-worn peak and was a really fun way to kick off the show.

Devotion To a Dream gave us a poppy Fuego tune. I remember the playing in the jam to be pretty solid though.

Yarmouth was another dose of 3.0. It's ok on a breezy summer day.

Guelah was a nice old school call. They don'y play it often and this was a fun one.

Alaska is kind of weak. By the time it gets going though everyone is usually grooving and smiling. Eh, ok I guess.

It's Ice was fantastic with a really good funky jam section. Loved this. Definite highlight.

Poor Heart was a good pick me up, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Mountains of the Mist was absolutely gorgeous. I'd been hoping to catch it (much to the chagrin of fans who might not like this slower tune). This one was beautiful. Personal highlight.

Meat up next was great! (as usual). This was a welcome addition to the set (and any set, am I right?).

STFTFP was pretty rocking, but not too unique.

David Bowie went the way of most 3.0 Bowies. It was good, but just so predictable. Anyways, fun end to the set.

OveralSet I: Fun set, some pretty good song choices (Meat, Mountains, Guelah, Ice). Jamming, aside from It's Ice, was not so present, but Gin and Bowie gave us some nice climaxes.

On to set II:
Fuego led off in a summer that gave us some big versions. This one did not disappoint. It went into a nice dark groove, which had some good repetitive playing. After a bit we found ourselves in a nice funky space. This fellow clocked in around 19 minutes or so, so plenty of tidbits to uncover in this version. Well worth a listen.

After that nice opener they queued up Jibboo, which was nice a peppy. It didn't break new ground, but was a nice danceable version with some good interplay.

Meatstick was one of those turning point moments where you felt like they needed to do something to make sure this one didn't veer towards jukebox territory. This version really went there with a nice funky jam after the song proper and culminating in Trey giving us a dose of wah'd out blues rock over the top. This puppy was screaming before winding down into Piper.

Piper was perhaps the version of the summer. They gave it a nice long workout. Kind of had that summer '14 classic rock vamp feel to it. It grew nicely, hit a couple of interesting spaces, and eventually found a nice melodic final groove. Not a massive peak, but this one flew around to new spaces with ease. Before bleeding in Billy Breathes.

Billy Breathes is a beautiful song and in the ballad slot was a nice fit. Sure they didn't completely nail it, but Trey managed to grab a lot of the right notes in the solo and it felt like a nice cool down.

Seven Below usually carries a nice jam, even when it's by the book. This one was really nifty to my ears. Page was the all-star, with Trey coloring around him and contributing to a really beautiful bit of interplay. They peaked it nicely, but the whole jam felt very democratic, and it was cool to hear Page playing out front the way he did.

Waste was ok, didn't really want another breather here, but it was pretty.

Backwards Down the Number line was good. Another good page and trey showcase. They were really playing well off of each other through, but the -7 below and the #line were the best examples. This was a good version if you like this tune.

First Tube capped off a pretty darn strong set. Tons of good jamming and a pretty unique setlist made this one a high point for sure.

Encore: Lizards! Nice. There was some "Virginia is for Lizards" gear floating around, so this one fit the bill nicely. Always a treat. Fan favorite.

Overall set II: Well that sure was fun. Lots of good jamming and the Fuego stands as a top version for sure. Best Piper of the summer and an atypical Meatsick gave us some more Type II. Add in some interesting type I stuff in Seven Below, #Line, and Jibboo and this set's a winner.
Highlights: Fuego through Piper -7 Below and #Line

Overall this show hit some good highs. I think the first set was a bit lacking and I suppose I could gripe about Billy Breathes and Waste on the back nine. But to be honest, just a good solid above average show.
3.2/5