Phish, back in the Ocean State

After seeing Phish 73 times in 19 different states in the past 16 years it was a treat to get a show that was only 4 miles from my house. Love it. Before the show I went to a little BBQ hosted by some friends on the west side of town and then we all cabbed it (30 year old phish fans are quite responsible you know) downtown. Providence was going off, gone were the huge police presence of years before and we were allowed to roam the streets around the venue. Even Trinity brewhouse set up a huge pre-post party tent with a band playing dead covers and general classic roll awesomeness.

A couple minutes before show time we headed in to find a nice spot on the floor. I love the floor but I am also 6’3’’ and don’t ever sit during Phish shows. Anywho, the vibe was pretty cool inside the Dunk, security was lax and wristbands made the floor less susceptible to poachers so there was plenty of dancing room. The boys kicked off the night with a rare first set “Down with Disease” which was followed by a fairly straight forward set that included some of my personal faves like “Funky bitch”, “Fluffhead” and “Moma Dance”. After a solid first set I was looking forward to the boys opening it up a bit more during the second frame, and that they did.

Phish jump started the second set with this fall tour's first "Rock and Roll" which kept up the energy before segueing perfectly in to "Carini", which gelled in to an atypical major key jam before giving way to "Mike’s > Sanity > Weeks" sando (see the video below of Mikes > Sanity). This was only my third "Sanity" and my first since 1998 and it was on fire. More of a fun song than musically demonstrative one but still, I had a big grin the whole time. The set meandered from there for a bit before culminating with an outstanding "2001 > Loving Cup" closer that got the whole crowd back in to the show. Overall the boys are playing the best since they have since the return and man it looks like they are having a blast, judging by Tuesday’s Manchester show, this weekends Atlantic City 3-night run is something I’m regretting missing. Oh well, There’s always Worcester!

Opener/s: none
Venue Info:
beer sitch: $7 Budlights, brutal.
parking: pain in the ass. Some parking garages are around and random lots throughout downtown PVD
layout: arena
capacity: 14,000 (sold out)

Set 1: Down With Disease, Funky Bitch, Fluffhead, Roses are Free > Rift, The Moma Dance > Ocelot, NICU, Sample in a Jar, Julius
Set 2: Rock and Roll > Carini > My Problem Right There, Mike's Song > Sanity > Weekapaug Groove, Suzy Greenberg, Light, Character Zero, Also Sprach Zarathustra > Loving Cup
Encore: First Tube