I guess I’ve lucked out for all of my shows weather-wise as they’ve either all been a nice summer evening, indoors, or the storms passed over head before the show. Well, now I’ve finally gotten my “I survived that show” badge. I don’t know how this compares with Walnut Creek ‘97 or Polaris 2000, but you’ve gotta understand that until Phish made an official statement, there were rumors/concerns of the whole thing being called off.

Pine Knob is such a beautiful venue and I wish they’d play here more often. The only tricky thing is that it’s got a much steeper incline than most outdoor amphitheaters (or at least the ones I’ve been to) which makes it hazardous when it’s raining nonstop for 7 hours with all the mud. But once everyone was situated, the music was able to flow through 15-20,000 dancing hippies (I’m estimating; I’m sure the venue is as well because nobody was checking tickets once gates were finally open! It was definitely a great day for the many fans I saw with fingers in the air. It’s not often the concert venue miracles you!).

Now onto the music; it’s like Phish purposely ramped up their game because they knew just how important this show was for us. The venue maintained a strict(ish) curfew, so in order to compensate, phish had forgone their usual “15-minute” setbreak. And instead we got what felt like a 2-hour second set (though I guess if you wanted to curate a custom playlist of the show, the “first set” would have likely ended at Bouncing, and the “second set” would pick up at MFMF).

There may not be one single telltale jam in the show, but rather many jams in the 15-minute range thrown all over the place: ER, KDF(!), Stash(!), and Carini(!) were all some of the major highlights. Carini, especially, hit its stride early on, and Stash continues its run of excellent versions. Even Bowie had some extra mustard in what is another highlight rendition of the song, much like the Bowie played 11 years earlier at the same venue. I should have known it was going to be special when local legend Jovi was in attendance right in front of Trey.

After Blossom, this one feels like the after party set. Or even festival third set. Whatever it is, they gave us what we needed, and we’re all so appreciative! Pine Knob 2022 is one for the memory banks for a couple reasons. I thought it was also really cool of Mother Nature to hold back on the lightening until (almost immediately) after the show ended for us to have a brief reprieve to party in Central Michigan. Also made the lot parties and extracurricular festivities seem that much more excited when the storms resumed, almost on cue.

This is a unique show in a catalog of some excellent summertime shows. Lots of jams, an excited and electric crowd, and great playing. Phish had every chance to phone in their performance, but they went an extra 10 miles for us and even risked breaking curfew for us! Thank you Phish! This concludes my journey for now…until Alpine!