It's easy to take for granted, but Phish are really magicians when it comes to crafting long-form experiences. It occurred to me last night, before the opener, that they were about to play 9 distinctive sets over the course of 4 nights, comprised of any number of distinct pieces of music. Again, that is easy to take for granted, but there aren't many other bands in history that could even approach that. This was a pretty stellar Night 1. If this was your first show, I think you got a pretty solid indicator of what Phish is about, and what keeps us coming back.

The first set did what a good first set of a run does- rocked. Straight-ahead rockers like "Axilla II" and "Sample", the latter delivering some true bliss from the Hammond B3 at the end. Not to mention the always-welcome "Funky Bitch". "Runaway Jim" is nothing but fun. "Gin" and "Ghost" boasted excellent, exploratory jams (and a harbinger of what was to come early in Set II) - neither veered into territory that the band couldn't easily find their way out of and both stuck the landing.

Set Two is what I came for, it turns out: surprises. "The Howling" and "A Wave of Hope" are examples of songs that feel, to me, a bit flimsy. "The Howling" is silly- Sci Fi Soldier in general is a little silly, which is CERTAINLY a big part of what makes Phish who they are, I just feel they have better, more interesting silliness in the catalog than this. But that GROOVE, though...this worked INSANELY well as a set opener, I thought. Page was on fire this set, and it started here. "A Wave of Hope" feels, to me at least, like bad poetry set to a neat groove. If that song speaks to you I am glad, it just doesn't do much for me normally. So it was to my delight that it ended up being a highlight of the set. This was a multifaceted jam that veered into unexpected new key areas, grooves, and motifs that only could come from four guys who have spent a lifetime listening to each other and responding. On a different night Trey might have pulled the ripcord at some point- he never did. Landing in "Rift" felt like the perfect move after that and the crowd seemed to agree.

"Mike's Song" is good anywhere. It can open a set, it can open a show, it can be a closer, it can be an encore. In this case, it signaled that we were, perhaps, coming in for a landing. This could have been a Mike's Groove to close the set. Phish is, by their nature, unpredictable, so it's funny that a thing like "Mike's" showing up midway through the second set made me think I could predict what was coming next. Color me surprised once again! First of all this was an EXCELLENT "Mike's Song", particularly the middle, minor, funky bit which felt filthier than usual. Segueing into "Simple" isn't unheard of, but it was a great moment of "Party ain't over yet!". And we New Yorkers do love our skyscrapers. "Blaze On" also jammed to new and interesting places for an excellent set closer.

The only true stumble of the night for me was "mercy". That song definitely does not do anything for me, and hearing Trey struggle through that vocal had ME begging for...okay I'll stop

"Squirming Coil" was just what I was in the mood for- Page had an excellent night and I felt full of joy as he played out the piano Coda. Finally, "Weekapaug"! although, again surprisingly, NOT finally. "S.A.N.T.O.S." has a fun, flight-filled history at YEMSG so it feels kind of nostalgic now. I think it's safe to say that I and all of my 19,000 friends went home happy. See y'all tonight!