Seen this band way too many times. What they did last night is NOT something they do every night and I am very thankful I was there. If you like dark, introspective Phish, then you will enjoy this show. I can count on 1 or 2 hands the shows I have seen that lived in that space for such a sustained period. First set was great, but starting with Ghost through the end of set II is where we completely left our little planet. Based on my knowledge of how rare the space jamming is these days, I almost feel like I caught “my kinda show” and I could stay home the rest of the weekend. However, Phish being Phish, they could absolutely play an even better version of this vibe and I would feel dumb for staying home. Who’s got my miracle? Did I mention I’ve seen Phish too many times? This is why!!!

Very strong first set. Interesting placements for Character Zero & DWD. Zero had a mellow start to the jam and it was nice to hear it develop slowly. DWD crushed. Reggae was slightly more psychedelic than usual in parts. They were not afraid of experimenting throughout the night (which mostly paid off, but not always imo). Stash was solid and 46 days was a great set closer. Tons of energy…they killed it.
Second set began fabulously with a fun Suzy and another unusually placed Antelope. This antelope was the highlight of the evening for me Just absolutely relentless in the jam. However, the show began to fray (imo) during ghost. I love me some ghost, but the story of this particular ghost meandered a bit too much. This was my 101st show, so I am not unopposed to the band stretching limits with improv, but this one was just a bit too indulgent and aimless. It certainly had its intense moments (nod to Mike’s bass bomb), but overall the jam did not capture me. Trey seemed to bust into Light as an escape hatch from the direction the song had ended up in. Pillow and Stars we ok, but nothing stood out for me until Melt. The jam in Melt was great experimentation as the it immediately left the isual structure and became a very unique Melt. This was another highlight for me.
I don’t give often review shows, so hopefully this was beneficial to someone. Looking forward to the rest of the run at Great Woods.

Oh yes, this was a solid show. Well above average for tour openers. Makes sense though, they were busy in mexico, sphere, nye etc. they're clearly all warmed up and ready for this summer tour + festival. A lot to see this year, big year for Phish imo. Rankings are still broken, ill say this one was worth a 4.1

Must hears from this show: Hey Stranger, DWD, Stash, Ghost, SOAM

This was my first official tour run, and boy did this opener not disappoint. Buried alive was a great indicator that we were in for a real treat, following that up with character zero, Billy Breathes was the studio album that got me to delve into phish so anything from Billy is welcome. Next, a new song Hey Stranger, one of my favorites from the new album which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then Mike started to shake the whole venue with his bass intro for Down With Disease. Unfortunately, for people in the lawn, which includes me, the speakers failed as soon as they started the jam section of the song. I decided to give it a listen on my ride in to Night 2 and I am so so upset that I missed out on it. To close out Set 1 they played 46 days, one of my favorites and what a way to close the first set!

Set 2 started back up with a pretty engaging Suzy Greenberg, and then the real treat came right after, an early set 2 run like an antelope. This antelope is must hear, the recording doesn't do it justice though, the jamming just kept going and didn't want to stop, neither did we. After the momentous antelope we slide right into a funky spacey ghost, this ghost never really reached its peak and was cut short by light, I really enjoyed mikes evil bass effects though. Pillow jets, another song from the new album that I absolutely love. After hearing the sphere version I was only more excited to hear this for myself, and boy did it not disappoint. The jam really started to get dark and evil sounding, just amazing. Now, the other heater tonight was the Split Open And Melt, and it did in fact melt. To top off the night we got a Harry Hood encore, a song I never really clicked to, but still enjoyed nevertheless.

Highlights:
Hey Stranger
Down With Disease
Roggae
46 days
Run Like An Antelope
Pillow Jets
Split Open And Melt

PHISH, FRIDAY 07/19/2024
XFINITY CENTER
Mansfield, MA
Soundcheck: Thread, Mountains in the Mist, Funky Bitch (this soundcheck is possibly incomplete)

SET 1: 
Buried Alive: Trey sounds great. Can barely hear Mike. > 

Character Zero: Awesome placement! I enjoyed the jazzy middle part. Pretty cool.

Hey Stranger: Page owns this one, lots of funk.

Down with Disease: Love the placement. Another bliss jam for the trash heap. So formulaic.

Roggae: Standard. > 

NICU: Sloppy intro. Trey is sloppy at 2:07, he pulls a full on Marty McFly. 

Stash: Another canned bliss jam. Gets cool briefly with about 2 and a half minutes but it's too brief to be consequential. 

46 Days: Rager. Bet this was fun live. Would recommend.

SET 2: 
Suzy Greenberg: The beginning of this seems very low T - very little energy. > 

Run Like an Antelope: Intro seems thin and tentative. Fish samples are dumb. Other than that, this is a pretty raging 3.0 version. Sounds like they are going to wrap it up but Trey keeps rocking. The ending to the chaotic part is sloppy. Like the placement. > 

Ghost: The timing is off here and there with some of the vocal deliveries. Sorta kinda bliss jam evolves quickly but it's Trey lazily strumming that goes nowhere. However, this one gets really weird eventually, kind of like 3.0 SOAMelt's do. It's pretty cool. > 

Light: Meh. > 

Pillow Jets: Ugh. > 

Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1: Standard. > 

Split Open and Melt: Had to be there'd. 

ENCORE: 

Harry Hood: Standard. 

Summary: Cool setlist for set one. Not much for me to revisit other than the 46 Days though and maybe the Character Zero. 3/5.

Replay Value: 46 Days

Trey teased Macarena in Down with Disease. Trey and Page teased Maria in Light. Split Open and Melt contained Shipwreck quotes.
TEASES
Shipwreck quote in Split Open and Melt, Maria tease in Light, Macarena tease in Down with Disease

Tour openers are always interesting.
Set 1 with the buried alive opener was a great start. No complaints with set 1. Hey Stranger has got its groove. Love hearing new songs evolve (no pun intended).

Set 2, some great evil Phish which is my personal favorite flavor. The Split Open and Melt to close the set was so damn good. I'm going to say that we are now witnessing the best SOAM's of Phish's history. Fight me.

Show gets a 4.0 for me. Loved it.

Sent it to Mansfield Friday. My suspicions were correct in assuming that this opener would be great. So glad I choose n1 in hindsight. Who’s to know. I got lucky. I thought the ghost was great but had its legs cut out by light. I get it. I guess. Feel like it could have really gone a bit further. Any way the swampy, sweaty , death metal march mico jam was in pillow jets was so much fun!! I Thoroughly enjoyed the evil phish sections of this night. Completely satisfied. Thanks again!! Sundays gonna be a blast!

The show was fantastic! Great opening show. The Venue not so much. First I had to buy a clear plastic container, then they would not let me in with balloons and glow sticks, WTF. I go to concerts to have fun, security was way to harsh, drones and SWAT teams, this is a Phish show not a political convention. I think I will stick to the Garden, the employees are way more friendly.