It’s currently the morning after the show and I’m still buzzing with excitement. This was my first show at Deer Creek, first show post-Covid (or at least since the shutdown), and first show of any kind since I last saw Phish during their fall run in 2019.

As with any Phish show, you can feel the energy; you can feel the electricity in the air when they first hit the stage. But it felt so much more palpable this time around. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing phish, or that we were finally witnessing the show that was supposed to occur last year, but this one just felt different for me. Even before phish rang the first notes of Carini, I just had this overwhelming feeling that everything was lined up as intended.

I can’t even go into a song-by-song review of the show, but I will briefly say that this second set is bar-none the best set of phish I’ve ever witnessed. And while i lack the impressive 3-digit stats that many long time fans have, I’ve had the privilege of seeing some killer shows (Blossom ‘15 immediately comes to mind). And let’s talk about that first set; Carini opener!??! That gets blasted into outer space without any hesitation? And then the Wolfmans, which seemed to have some extra zest? AND a Sand??! Talk about a 1-2-3 punch to start things out. Even WOTC went for a stroll before the huge buildup and climax. I will admit I was a little worried about where phish would go in the second set after such an impressive first set. But then I remembered that I’m the passenger and they have total control of where we go, so I figured what else is there to do but enjoy the ride?

AC/DC Bag to open the second set; “let’s get this show on the road” was a very apt mood given the entire year we all collectively lost. And it set the stage for a massive set. I don’t even know how long the jams were and I don’t really care because They. Just. Didn’t. Stop. This is the set I’ve always dreamed about having. This is (thus far) the apex of my decade-long phish career. I don’t know if it’s must hear Phish, but I think time will look kindly on this show.

Quick little anecdote. I somehow convinced my girlfriend to come along with me to this show (and the next 2 nights). She doesn’t really know Phish, other than what I’ve showed her, but she enjoys some of their songs. Somewhere in the middle of Simple, she asked me what was happening. And I really couldn’t find the words myself. I just said they were finding it. And she didn’t really understand what I meant at first but a few minutes later (jam still going on), she pulls me down so I can hear her say, “I think I’ve got it now.”

Tl;dr this show had me saying “WTF???” for a contiguous 3 hours (in a good way).

Thank you Phish, and thank you fans. We met some really cool people at this show. I can’t remember all your names, but hope to bump into you all again the next 2 nights!