Free probably wasn't anyones guess as the opener but always welcomed. Possum gets you moving and then bam.... We enter into our first two headed monster of the tour with The Moma Dance into Ghost. 30 minutes of set 1 bliss. Funky Bitch is pretty standard, Mike's purple hair is not. What a guy. Stash gets a little extra juice and Character Zero adds a nice explamation point to a first set that was above anyones expectations for a tour opener. Did I mention that every song played so far has been from1998 or prior.

No Men in No Man's Land kicked off set two with a bang and they jammed this one out for 15min using some intersting synths, a nice grove, ending in a bright white light blissful peak that we all have been yearning for. Next up is Carini which plays the second song after a big jam well. Nothing to brag home about but keeps the set flowing. I am always blown away by a mid set Slave. Slave to me has a feeling of closure and self reflection that usally is saved for an exclamtion point on a great set. This slave is wonderful, as they all are. Gordon, who really shined last night, showed patience with his solo while communicating with Trey. No where do we go? Why not bounce around the room for a little while and well Bouncing is Bouncing. Soul Planet kicks off the second half and is the second time Phish played the song following the NYE gag. I am a fan of this song but i know it gets mixed reviews. The jam is worth a listen as it has some interesting improv. Soul Planet crawls into Steam which is short and sweet. Still time left for one more jam and the boys break out Hood. This Hood is patient, dynamic, and even had a few bass bombs. Perfect way to end a very good tour opener.

Contact, which somehow dodged 17 shows at MSG last year, is a fitting encore for the 1st show of a tour with a lot of driving left to do. Julius always packs a punch and leaves the crowd satisfyed. This show is beyong my expectations. I expected them to stay the course in set 1 and hopefully get a a sweet jam or two for set 2. Instead we have the concert MVP being a 30min Moma>Ghost that happens 20min into the concert. So pumped to see what 2018 has in store so lets get this show on the road!!