Phish continued to bring the heat in Vegas on Sunday. Great flow, heavy riffs, and Trey leading the boys into new territory on several occasions.

After a line problem where security sent us outside, only to lead us right back in, we hit the concourse halfway through The Dogs and in our seats (Page’s side, halfway up) at the first refrain of Ghost. As slot 2 progressed, I knew we were going to have a solid show on our hands.

While looking around to gauge the community around us, I was struck by the hordes and groups of early twenty-somethings. Obviously, Phish is able to attract all ages and many types of people, but the conclusion I came to is this: While on hiatus, Phish lost one generation of phans – the ones in high school and college between 2003 and 2009. I believe our musical interests are solidified during these years of growing freedom and first concerts. These “kids” now in their late-twenties/early-thirties simply missed the Big Boat. Now we have the new crop of phans who grew up on Fuego and other post-hiatus staples. Into our 7th year of 3.0, we are now seeing a new part of our community who have the jobs and the means to make it out to Vegas for Halloween. All of these new “kids” around me were having a good time and we as phans welcome them.

Funky Bitch was then met with a big ovation and excitement. Usually not my favorite, but very enjoyable this time around. Trey then brought in some heavy licks to start Chalkdust. At this point in the show, I started to realize a phenomenon that brought me back to late ’98 and into ’99. During that period of 1.0, I always felt the many songs almost played themselves – Phish was dialed in and while Mike and Page kept songs in a recognizable structure allowing Trey and Fish to improvise around refrains and sometimes even measures of music. This is what made every song unique and also helped lead the band off the beaten path of a particular song. I felt this in Chalkdust.

Army of One was a treat with big sounds filling the venue – Page should always get the Set 1 ballad. Heavy Things was called by the guy behind me as Trey the recorded the very recognizable quarter-note into his playback pedal. A mini-jam and worth a relisten. HMPAY kept us rockin’ and I don’t seem to remember too much about Stash – I’ll have to listen again.

Page opened up Theme, and it brought back a flood of memories for me – Phish opened with Theme at my first show (Alpine ’97). Theme brought the heat. Why this song isn’t a Set 1 closer in a 5 concert rotation befuddles me. Highlight of the first set, but obviously I’m working with a bit of bias. Suzy then closed the first set with a bit of a breakdown to the usual Type I structure. Huge applause after Set I – waves of it, increasing in volume at least 4 times. Well deserved.

Good conversation with the youngin’ next to me during the setbreak. It’s always enjoyable to run through the halftime analysis with others and hear how an alternate history and perspective can affect everyone’s first set.

Mike rumbled in Set II with the wash of sound signaling DWD. This in my 13th DWD and 8th time it’s opened up Set II for me. While I was hoping for Mike’s Song to get us going, thankfully DWD brought the goods. One of the things that bothers me about DWD is the opening jam segment. I just feel all 4 band members are playing in their own world during this section (which is often the only jam section). Compare this to a Tweezer or Ghost which is so tight and in almost all cases the band is playing as one. I think Page is the culprit on this section of DWD which disorients me from the music. Thankfully, this DWD has 3 sections and like I alluded to when discussing CDT, it was Trey driving the group into new terrains.

Birds of a Feather came right out of DWD which was easy to call with a really cool transition that was forming for about 45 seconds. BOAF had a great tension and release moment. With Back-back jams before starting Fuego, I had a brief vision of a 4 song second set, but Fuego could never really get going. Many sat down during Miss You and groaned a little bit, but with the emotion attached to this song, everyone in the room thankfully ditched the preconceived notions (including myself) and paid attention before granting some warm applause.

As we start to wind down (it’s late when your body is still on Central time!) Who can go wrong with a 4th Quarter Hood, but then add a Have Mercy Sandwich – my goodness! I love Have Mercy ever since the Guyutica show. A little bit of quicker temp than in NY, but a real treat. ADITL and Zero brought us home.

Can’t wait until tomorrow – we’re back here because of what happened 2 years ago. It’s going to be great.