I get asked sometimes why I continue to read Phantasy Tour despite all of the negativity there. I have a few standard answers: there’s information there that you can’t really get elsewhere, there are some very good threads if you know which threads/people to ignore, but there is another reason that makes it worthwhile. Sometimes the negative reviews reset your expectations.

The reviews of Phish 3D on PT were largely bad. Between the endless complaints about the song selection and the jump cut editing, I went in expecting to see the Coventry “Glide” on endless repeat with the camera switching every tenth of a second. As a result, there was no way I could have been disappointed.

Perhaps it was due to the desire for any Phish content this year in the northwest, but the crowd in Lincoln Square Cinemas was pumped. Glowrings were thrown around a bit as people filed in. Before the lights went out, one person loudly asked how many people were at Indio, and about half of the crowd raised their hands.

About a song into the movie, the crowd split in two. Most of the dancers migrated to the back few rows - although by the end, people were dancing throughout the theatre - while the rest of us sat down to enjoy it. The 3D effect was mostly subtle - other than some balloons being distracting; if you want to have fun at the movie, bring in a few balloons and see if people think they’re another 3D effect - but the one thing it did was to add to the sense of being there. If you’re willing to buy into the illusion, it can be powerful. During Maze, I found myself being one of the people who moved to the back to dance and the effect deepened.

Musically, yes F8’s sets were not Phish’s strongest performances. There are moments where you can see the band being out of sync and others where the jams just are OK where they could have soared. However, most of it was solid at least. For the most part it was a fun night out with my friends.

…and then came the Exile songs…

Why do we travel insane distances to see this band over and over again? For moments like “Shine a Light.” Their power causes them to get fixed in our mind forever, wishing that we could relive them but of course we never can. As I danced and Trey sang, “Come on up now, come on up now, come on up now!” through the amazing surround sound, there was a moment or two where I was back there, where one of those peak moments was experienced again. Complain all you want, but just for that song, $14 for Phish 3D seemed like an incredible bargain to the point where swinging by The Neptune for the midnight showing on the way home was surprisingly hard to resist.

Thank you Phish for inviting Sharon Jones on stage with you for Festival 8 (apparently right before she got a major media push of her own). Thank you for releasing the movie in 3D and sending it off to Seattle. Suddenly this June plane ticket to Norfolk seems like it’s a wonderful idea.

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