The highlight of set 1 for me was Fishman's melodic work on the marimba lumina during Mercury, and watching Trey's face as he was doing so. Other highlights continue with the new material- I hope Scabbard finds a home in the Phish catalog, because that song has never sounded so good before. Even though Page didnt quite nail the vocals in Heavy Rotation, the jam has serious potential, which excites me. There's a precedent for an awesome jam here- seek out the extended studio version for a real gem. Listen for the unabashed Fire on the Mountain quote at the beginning of Winterqueen, Trey doesn't beat around the kush bush this time when it comes to playing the riff in its entirety during the first progression of the jam.

ASIHTOS shifts into some 3.0 hose before winding into Waves. The band is humming along like a sportscar at this point, up a hill in third, wait the road is ending! Here comes a cliff! oh wait no fear, they have their Wingsuit on everyone. Soaring high they settle down for Farmhouse. Though other sets have bought the farm in the 3.0 when they bust out this millennial tune, this one sees a post FTW Trey, who hits the high register of his guitar with a refound passion. This solo is a keeper. Simple reignites the dance throw down and first tube does its faithful job of turning us all into a bunch of cavemen and cavewomen running around a fire and shouting and jumping for joy, throwing our hands up into the heavens, rejoicing.

The shows at bend in my opinion honored the 09/12/99 Portland shows in subtle and not so subtle ways with some similar song choices, notably the Ghost second set opener and Theme encore in night 1, and the Gin encore, a rare spot for a hallowed tune often relegated to the near end of first set. Trey hits a trilling passage at the end right before he brings back in the refrain that evokes the 09/12/99 version, one of their holiest of jams. Maybe it's all a coincidence, it doesn't matter, this show rocked.