Who would have thought that I would do another show review this soon? Blossom was supposed to be my only show. I was so awestruck by it, however, that I got into crack addict mode: I needed more. Off to Alpine, for one show at least.

I was not going to miss Phish coming on stage this time, so I urged my riding partner to get on lot (where I got lawn tickets same day--I'm such a lucky girl!) use the port-a-potty (that experience needs its own separate review) and get some grub. Good thing, too. Phish came out 20 minutes after arrival on the top of the (even steeper) hill, dead center once again. During Stealing Time we decided to move closer thanks to another dot netter, and ended up behind the pavs, Page Side RAGE side!!! And boy did Page rage that evening!

When Poor Heart came on I was pleasantly surprised. Poor Heart was the first true exposure I had to Phish. It was a Valentine's Day gift from a good friend, so it is special to me. Reba had me groovin' and Possum had me singing.

The second set was a gigantic mind f***.

DWD had me shaking like a salt shaker, my derriere that is. WTU was so dark and funky sounding to me, and I was SERIOUSLY digging that. Yessir!!! BDTNL was fun and I once again felt the crowd oneness deep down to my soul. It was when Slave came on that I could have taken off into the stratosphere. Trey was digging deep, he was not playing around with this version. I swayed and got teary eyed, and longed for the days of when I fell in love for the very first time. Is that weird? Meh, I don't care. That's how I felt.

The encore broke me out of my romantic haze and got me hyped up again. When the show ended I suddenly wished I could call in dead for work and just follow Phish for the rest of the tour. I am oPHISHlly hooked. My goodness gracious, I am born again.

Set 1: Happy Saturday. Insert Mercury retrograde joke here. Nothing life changing to speak of.

Set 2: I'll leave more detailed song descriptions to others, but I feel like this set highlighted an obvious conscious attempt to be more patient with song transitions this summer. I assume Fare Thee Well had something to do with that. Disease>Halley's didn't feel jarring at all. Natural even. And the tention in Halley's was palpable. The entire shed was on the edge of their seats, willing Phish to drop back into the funk...and they did. Some argue not for long enough, before a seamless segue into Twist, but I can live without a 30 minute Halley's in exchange for a patiently constructed, well executed set that flows smoothly throughout. And that's what this set did.

Light didn't soar too far into the stratosphere before giving way to What's the Use?, which someone affiliated with Alpine must request. They obviously practiced this rarity. It was beautifully executed and subtly nuanced, and really highlighted the excellent sound that makes all the crappy parts of the venue worth while.

Fuego (which just tried to autocorrect to "Diego") was nicely placed, and well executed, and emerged naturally from the end of What's the Use?

What I really want to talk about here is Number Line. No, really. This is where the patience I was talking about earlier really made its mark. Obviously the band f-ing loves this song, and I admit that once it gets going it can really rage, but the beginning can be jarring. Especially if it is cutting off some sort of exploratory mindfuckery (which it has done so many times that I feel like Prince Caspian himself deserves a writing credit). This time would be different, though. This time they took it slow, and payed attention to the rhythem coming out of Fuego, and extended the intro just long enough to dampen the blow, and it worked! By God, it worked!

I'll never complain about a Slave, but I was feeling an Antelope here. Again, totally not complaining. Good Slave.

E: Meatstick was almost certainly played in response to the Rubanesque fuck-doll being tossed around the pit throughout the set. I can't imagine how much fun it is to stand on stage and watch 10,000 people with varrying degrees of mushy brains try to remember how to do the choriographed cock and balls dance moves. I would play this song every night. Like Character Zero. But you know what? You got 7 minutes left, and you want to shred every single one of them? Go for it.

This was my first show but i am not too much of a n00b to not realize that it was a very good,solid show...maybe not quite a super "stand out" epic one,but so what? It's a privilege to see them in 2015 on this tour...and at Alpine.
So,with that said,i had a great time up near the front of the lawn & i only got tapped by a few marshmallows & glow-sticks...haha!
I wore my Phish cap & a SpongeBob SquarePants "Here to party" t-shirt that my wife bought for me for my birthday...& some Hunter S.Thompson style white Chuck Taylor All Stars.
I was ready for any kinda fun & weirdness to happen! Bring it on!

The set one favorites for me was seeing a nice Reba & a very fun,energetic Possum closer...also Julius and Faulty Plan!...A rare Frankie Says threw me for a loop but listening back on the SBD now as i type & then digesting those lyrics,it seems fitting to me with a Maze on it's heels...don't they both refer to the "Eternal Return" concept?

I was scared a bit for Trey's guitar when (what looked to me like) he got his foot tangled on the underneath side of it & it's stand...almost knocking it over completely after putting it down...right after set one finished! Nice Catch Trey!

Set 2 had a very crowd motivating Disease> Halley's Comet & Twist (Singing along was a must! & sing we did!)...What's the Use? had Page turning into the Wizard! Stupendous!...and then a seemingly, more mellow than usual Backwards Down the Number Line...Birthdays! Friends! Cheers! Love this song!
...the double Encore of Meatstick > Character Zero left us wanting more...even though our feet & legs were sore from the steep-hill-dancing...no pain,no gain!

I can't complain about anything really though...for a first Phish show,this one is a keeper to me. Alpine was a great place to see a show & going there with an old buddy of mine & his daughter for their first Phish/Alpine show was just too much fun!

My first trip ever to Alpine Valley turned out to be a wonderful adventure. I had just as much fun NOT seeing Phish as I did actually seeing them! I'll keep this review on topic though...

Set 1 highlights - stepping into the venue for the first time. Wow. Such a huge place! Anyway, No Man's Land was a great opener, Frankie Says was a welcome surprise, right into Maze which always kicks ass. Mercury is officially my #1 favorite new Phish song of 2015 and I thought it was a really stellar version, Trey seemed very focused and had a really nice solo in it. His focus seemed to continue during Reba, which I loved. Possum closer was nice, then we headed to the beer lines

Set 2 highlights - THIS SET IS AWESOME. Cannot stress this enough. The DWD > Halley's portion was absolutely wonderful, and Trey played around with his TruTron pedal quite a lot. For only being 14 minutes, there's a boatload of fantastic improvisation in this Disease and you can tell all the band members are listening to each other.

Around 8:00 in the DWD is when the jam starts getting pretty dark, but not for long - around 11:00 mark the band shifts into a major key and ends the jam with an envelope of existential bliss that had me closing my eyes for several minutes. Right after Halley's is where my mind was completely blown, since they nailed a direct segue into Twist! Really, it was seamless. I could go on and on, but it'll take too long. Everything about this set is fantastic, but I just need to note one thing:

During What's The Use, just past the halfway point, Mike hits a low note and hits his Taurus pedal. The result was a sound that I will NEVER forget, because it seemed like it caused a miniature earthquake and shook the entire venue. The reaction from the crowd was priceless.

After that, a really strong Number Line, and equally strong Slave. Meatstick was fun times, and Zero (always a rocker) took us out. I no longer have a dislike for Character Zero because it kicks ass every single time.

I think there were some better shows than Alpine 1 this tour, but holy skyballs, this is a good one! I'll be re-listening for quite some time.

4 stars out of 5

Rutherford the Brave said it: "The trick was to surrender to the flow." And that's true of this second set. No big jam, but a seguefest of Big Songs, so to speak. No fascinating II-typing, but enticing choruses and classy Treymanship. And right in the middle, a true gem (rare and beautiful) shines: What's The Use?

Set 1 also contains its own gem, Frankie Says, which segues nicely into Maze. Which is followed by Mercury. Which is followed by Reba. Which should make for a nice first set, especially as it started with NMINML followed by Faulty Plan. Nothing really stands out, though.

You're probably not going to mark this show as the summer's high point (but then, who knows?), but surrendering to set 2 is a beautiful expericence, just like 07/22.

This show immediately got thrown in the "average" pile of an undeniably strong Summer 2015 tour. I'd encourage everyone to give this a 2nd spin, though; you'll find this show is one of the most consumable of the summer.

The entire 1st set up to Maze is standard fare with all the ingredients of a fun start to the evening.

Once Maze hits, the 2nd Quarter reveals itself as the true champ of this show. The four song, 44 minute ride through Maze, Mercury, Reba and Possum is a nice microcosm of everything first sets have become this tour. Daring, lengthy and mostly impeccable. Give that first set a ride and you'll be back in the saddle often.

The Second Set fights to find it's footing a few times (notably a real push to jam out Halley's and a wonderful, albeit abbreviated 2015 Twist) but as a full listen, is incredibly satisfying. Blossom and Alpine2 bookend this show, so that's tough company, but give this a 2nd and 3rd spin. You'll like what you hear. The Slave is a particularly soothing beauty and ending with Zero was a sign of the rager coming the next evening.

This one will stand the test of time perhaps better than some of the current favorites from 2015. Thanks for taking a look.

This was my first show. It was a life changer. My best friend took me. We have been in a relationship ever since. It was definitely the show to enter the phish world. I will never forget this show. Phish has truly become a huge part of my life. From falling in love with the environment and the phans to getting proposed to at a show. 8/8/2015 was definitely a new start thay was very much needed.

This was a fun show, just a really fun show. This also holds the distinction of being my first show. I am grateful that I got to see a lot of these songs, though the bust outs the following night kind of tip the scales. The crew with me at this show were all seasoned veterans from 2.0 on, and so it was fun to see them calling songs (is Frankie Says or Shafty? Bowie or Maze?).

Set one was a solid bunch of tunes. No Men's got things started on a great dancy note, while Stealing Time brought out the rock. Poor Heart is always good, but then again, I like some bluegrass, and Cactus' ode to the stolen tape recorder was a clever follow up to Stealing Time while nicely fitting that bill. Mercury was a cool tune that I (like others) had never heard before this tour, and the way it built the crowd up for the one/two closer of Reba (really dug this jam at the time, need to pull out my recording) and Possum was nothing short of spectacular.

Set two, for me, seemed about positive, upward trajectory. DWD kicked it off, into the good timing feel of Halley's Comet. Twist and Light kept things going upward (CK5 was really having fun with the "light is growing brighter now" line this night). What's The Use? was an awesome tune, being previously unfamiliar with it, and it served as a plateau, a base camp where we could all catch our breath a little. Not a lot of people like Number Line, and that's okay, but this one hit as the show wound down and I was reminded of the camaraderie of the four guys I was watching this show with. And Slave. Man. Great way to end the set. Meatstick was a nice bouncy E1, and Character Zero was cool.

Here I was, walking out of Alpine thinking "How does it get any better than that?" As I lay awake in bed at the hotel that night, I had no idea what Trey and the boys had in store...