Southern air is pure AF. Landing in Nashville I was reminded of this fact. When I breath better, I think better. When I breath better all seems right with the world; probably something to do with the optimal amount of oxygen getting into my system. And the pure southern air clearly is influencing the band as well. Of course this is all conjecture, but when the band drops into a set one opener 2001 and then seamlessly weaves it through out the first set, it feels like supporting evidence to the pure southern air theory.

I’ve got Hose on the brain so I’ll give it to y’all like this:
Set One gets going at 803
1. 2001 (11:52) instant hose worthy of a relisten
2. Gumbo (6:47) had this fork in the road moment towards the end when it couldn’t have dissolved/ evolved into a jam, but instead just finished with gusto and customary Page outro.
3. Beauty of my Dreams (3:24) standard average great
4. Mull->2001->Mull (8:10, 1:25, 0:30) now a Mike staple this Mull disintegrated into a jam like the foam padding that line the box of my farmers dog orders when I add water and spontaneously combusts, is beamed up, or evaporated and arrives in space. Hosetastic
5. Dirt (4:31) lands perfectly post hosefest and the contemplative lyrics and inspired solo are fitting of Nashville.
6. Stash (15:27) yet again conjures the headless hoseman, who veers hard left to smashville and stretches the improv section longer than music row. Smooth shifts from major key to minor key (something that is prevalent all night) are on full display with a patient start to the jam which turn frenetic before tapering off into…
7. Ether Edge (6:46) which just rocks. Again could be the increase oxygen to the dome piece but felt like this rocked and bled neatly into…
8. About to Run (6:37) which has this rocking, rollicking, driving sound that feels like equal parts Carini and No Quarter (their Nashvillian love child) which again flirts with hose before yielding to…
9. Split Open and Melt (18:45) and I was really really disappointed withy sections reception of SOAM. I mean a Stash/SOAM set one and it felt like no one was psyched where I was getting down. Split lived up to its name, drove hard for toward hoseville and modulated between major and minor key before slipping back into the typical outro.

Set one closes at 928 and setbreak last 38 minutes
Set Two launches at 1006
1. Life Saving Gun (8:48) immediately reminds me of Sand with its Gun sentiment. Not sure why exactly but I kept thinking that as they plugged away at this number. Embracing the newness I found the jam refreshing and sort of ethereal and as the jam crystallized, there it was
2. Sand (9:17) evokes that similar life saving gun PSA, and then does something that I was not expecting, it hints at the Camden Sand 6/7/09 with its jam aiming straight for the cosmos. Definitely punching above it’s weight, this Sand hit hyper speed Ala Buzz Lightyear circling around a fiery planet and slingshotting back to earth, remind Sox that…
3. Everything’s Right (10:17) which i am still a firm believer that the universe cues this song to remind the spunion among us that the long nights over and the sun’s coming up. Jettisoning the song proper, Everything Right competed the opening triplet of songs all containing right micro jams with well developed improv: the Nashville air must be getting piped in through the vents. So when
4. Cities (16:22) drops in, the stage was set, the evening was poised for pure hose. What happens next is what dreams are made of, top notch, top shelf, upper echelon Phish, improvisational mastery, splicing the ends of two songs and fusing them as one as only the hose can do. More of that major minor key modulation begins its metamorphosis into…
5. Slow Llama (5:22) which clearly displays the vultron connectivity that these two songs have. I might have not been sold on Sllama before but now I am. Letting the pressure cooker do it’s job, Llama hits the spot, crawling to a halt for the first break in the set. The air is pure, brothers and sisters.
6. I always wanted it this way (12:59) is psychedelic to say the least. The 12 minutes that elapsed were jarring and spellbinding, relentless and effortless (like something was in the air). So when
7. Bug (8:23) arrived that Phishy nod to what had just transpired was not lost on this listener. Your closet doesn’t disappoint and takes the W straight into the locker room.
Set two expires at 1118 clocking in at 1 hour 12 minutes.
E1. Lonely Trip (?:??) goes contemplative which is what we all should hope for with an encore. Followed by
E2. Harry Hood (?:??) and life is good, the air is pure and Saturday night reads like some choir playing in Elysium.

The air is pure in the south and oxygenation might have just forced the band into some of the greatest music they have every conceived. Or, put another way, the band might have successfully gotten out of the way and let the headless hoseman drench the crowd with the musical equivalent of loving kindness.

(Note times are approximations as are the theories out forth. Also, I decided not to edit so apologize on advance for the errors)

One of the sickest 2001's in recent memory. They haven't taken it to those heights in a long while, love the epic pretty much type 2 Hose peak at the end. You can just feel the exact moment when they all just lock in to whatever IT is and then Trey comes back in with the theme. Remember folks length never, ever is equated to quality. Short tube > long tube every single time.

I have more to say, but god damn this is some of the best playing from the band not only for a tour opener weekend, but just in general as a whole.

Trivialize this cosmic event down to song selection and you are missing the whole loint of the entire thing.

@ROGGAE8981 Huntsville isn’t even in the same stratosphere as this show. Only thing Huntsville had on it was an Icculus… this show crushes in amount of improvisation; quality of improvisation; quality of first set, second set, and encore; flow; tempo. Whole lotta HOSE in this show. I give this a 4 STAR +

This was definitely a step up from the night before. We got two great jams--SOAM in the first set and Cities in the Second. Always fun to start with 2001. Dirt was pretty. Stash was a bit sloppy though the mellow jam at the end was cool. Again, my row was a bit empty though the folks who were there seemed to be having a good time. Sand is always welcome. I liked the pink and green lights pointed my way. Got to shake my booty a bit. All--in-all well done.

After 2 subpar shows in Wilmington, I was excited to see how Phish would pull me back in. And boy did they! The Friday and Saturday show were excellent. The Stash in this show was awesome. I think there is an “I Dream of Jeannie” tease around the 8:09 mark. Correct me if I’m wrong. I heard it the day of the show and just couldn’t place it until I reached out for help.

This show was my first show in 20 years. This show was in my home state and I planned for it a month in advance - Nash N2 and N3. I brought my boyfriend who has never seen Phish before. He is hooked ⭕️
My first show was ‘93 Cincinnati Zoo ✌???? and I had a great run for more than a few years after that. ✨This show was more than I could have even imagined: great seats, great vibe, a little extra space to boogie, cup holders*, 2001 just to start it off. Not even mentioned enough llama woooooo. I laughed I cried I loved and I was a little 1.0. So sue me. This show was A phucking plus. Right right right on

SET 1:

Also Sprach Zarathustra: Rager! Great opener, nice nod to their total show count. Unlike the night before, too open the show in this manner delivers clear intent and effort. Polar opposite! Would recommend and would say this is an all timer! >

Gumbo: Something is off going into the second verse I believe. Other than that, standard Gumbo.

Beauty of My Dreams: For Del, that’s cool.

Mull: -> Also Sprach Zarathustra -> Mull: Mull jam starts getting going, going good – then Trey starts that power chord for 2001. This was cool! Little sloppy – not rehearsed and on the fly obviously but cool all the same.

Dirt: Mike screws up the beginning vocals, ugh.

Stash: Brutal intro. They forgot how to play one of the tunes they have played the most in their career. Very embarrassing!

Ether Edge: Song is very bad.

About to Run: Rock star Trey sounded great.

Split Open and Melt: Lots of hateful noise. But this one actually has elements of an old school Melt with regard to tension and release. Must have been intense in person. Would recommend.

SET 2:

Life Saving Gun: Meh. ->

Sand: Meh. >

Everything's Right: -Standard. >

Cities: Absolutely sick. This is the Phish that we grew up with and that we hope we get every once and again. Fantastic jam and easily the best of the tour so far. Would highly recommend, easy all timer! ->

Llama: Wow. Never saw this coming. Creative and fresh. Great stuff right here! Would recommend.

I Always Wanted It This Way: Type I face melter.

Bug: Bummer, but I guess they earned it.

ENCORE:

Lonely Trip: I am good with this especially considering what came after.

Harry Hood: Very solid version right here. You can definitely feel good about this version and this show!

Summary: Pretty song first set with great bookends. One big gun in the second set and Llama was very cool. I would rate this as a super solid 4/5. Phish.net has it overrated as a 4.238/5 (193 ratings).

Replay Value: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Split Open and Melt, Cities, Llama.

Just to clarify my comments yesterday, I have tripped for many Phish shows. Lots of them. And not once did I ever think the band was also tripping...until last night. 1st time that happened. It just felt like it, especially how set 1 ended! If you saw Page laughing through character like I did , you might think so also. But apparently they were tripping at some of my tripping shows from the past. Mike confirmed he was at Portland Meadows 1998! California Love baby!! Anyhoo, Last night was very psychedelic regardless of the band status. I get real tired of people thinking that because I was tripping, that I am not seeing things clearly. That may be true of others, but I am a very experienced psychonaught and way past that still happening. I hear everything very clearly at this point. I usually listen to Zappa, as I can then hear everything he puts in there. You miss alot when you are straight. Tripping opens up my hearing...maybe its because I am a musician.
Anyway, tonight was a band in total control. Very Funky. Some great jamming...but not much that was out there on the edge....like last night. Nice 2001 to open. Stash had some great improv! I just love about to Run. Well played. But the Melt!!! Top shelf. Probably my fav jam of the night! Almost 20 minutes. Brilliant interplay. Was not the psychedelic mind warp that the melts from MSG and Dick's were....but really great jamming!
Life Saving gun is a great new tune! And good jam on that. Sand was good also, but not at the same level as Dick's on Friday. Everything was OK, but it was the Cities that had the best jam of Set 2 for me. That was some KILLER improv! and the segue into Funky Llama was perfection. Wanted it also had a really good jam....but then it was time to bring it home. Tonight was a band in full control. Last night was a band that was hanging on the edge of the board while the music played the band. I prefer a show like last night any day of the week.

I'm not going to go through a song by song breakdown and I was sober for this show. (Completely sober) So maybe I just wasn't feeling the groove but it was just a pretty dead nuts average Phish show.

2001 to open was a suprise for me. Phish is a band that normally takes the subtle and surprising route but tonight they brought out the giant elephant in the room for everyone to gawk at.

This show lacked a lot of composed technical lines. It was lot of the new 2-3 chord comping parts that aren't really parts, just chugging a long under some words. I like that kinda stuff and some of the newer songs like LSG and Ether Edge sound like I'm at a glorified open mic somewhere.

Some great improvisational moments, a couple of cool segues. But not a front to back barn burner in my book. Felt like every time they were working "it" up on a song they'd just bring "it" back to earth. This is not the inspired, risk taking style they were rocking back at Huntsville and Alpharetta earlier this year to compare it to the other shows I've seen in person.

3/5