2.22.03

SET 1: The Sloth: First of 3.0, has only opened shows 19 times of the 174 times it has been played and not since 7/15/92. Definitely a nod from the band that this was going to be a hard core, Saturday night throwdown in SW Ohio.
Dogs Stole Things: Solid. Trey rips the hell out this solo, total scorcher.
Piper: Solid Piper, great placement! Trey lays way back in the cut in this one and allows it to get funky. He rip chords the hell out of it and forces everyone into Weekapaug. No one, and I mean no one saw that coming. The segue seemed perfect in person but upon careful re=listen, no exactly perfection. I didn’t catch the Dave’s Energy Guide tease, can someone point out the timestamp? ->
Weekapaug Groove: Heavy metal groove in the late 4’s is unique! First ever stand-alone version. Show has been straight fire out of the gate!
Dirt: Perfect cool down, I love this song so much. Trey gives the solo a proper ripping and takes it briefly into a space it hasn’t seen before, likely not on purpose. >
Scent of a Mule: Definitely not a fan of this tune but this one was plenty entertaining both at the show and upon re-listen!
Walls of the Cave: First new tune of the night. Some how this one just never takes it’s foot off the gas – just straight fire basically throughout the entire jam, for a tune including the composed section that is 21:09 – it seems somewhat impossible – but there it is.
Mountains in the Mist: Yes, was much needed at this point too.
Sample in a Jar: Trey rips this one to SHREDS.
SET 2: Tube: The cloth from which all versions should at least have some similar threads b/c this one is exceptional, one of the very best. >
Bathtub Gin: Complete Hose in the mid 10’s, unreal. From here Trey takes a firm grip on the reins and leads the band through a gritty, aggressive romp for about 6 minutes. Quite thrilling. Things really start to settle into a heady, chill space starting in the mid 16’s. The space they get into after they stop playing around with the theme is so good, early 20-minute range, and then back to the theme at 21:20 – fantastic!! This gets exceptionally dirty and funky and finally hits the ending after almost 26 glorious, all time jamming. Peak Phish and a major tour highlight.
Friday: Fans are getting PTSD from this by now but at least it is not in the encore slot. So odd that this is a new song and Trey can’t hit most of the notes in the solo. >
David Bowie: For two seconds in the intro this sounds like Buried Alive. It almost sounds like Page is on the theremin here in the intro. Really creepy, evil stuff. Mike and Trey trading licks is choice too. Solid, yet unspectacular. Workmanlike in nature.
Bug: Standard.

ENCORE: Suzy Greenberg: Standard. Trey “Thank you very much, glad everyone survived the hotel fire this morning.” Oof, not the best way to get that out there considering the fire that claimed 100 lives during the Great White Show in Rhode Island two days ago.
Replay Value/Summary: Just a smoking, white hot show front to back. Walls, Tube, and Gin are not just highlights but all-time versions. The show got off to such a hot start never let up. Phish throws down in Ohio and tonight was no exception. At the time I felt this was the best show of the tour. Now, I feel like 2.20 has a slight edge on 2.22, but just barely. I would rate this as a 4.25 out of 5. The parking garage scene at these two shows was outrageous by the way.