Set 1: Ghost, NICU, Icculus, Heavy Things, Theme From the Bottom > Esther, The Moma Dance > Ocelot, Stash, Lawn Boy, Limb By Limb, Easy To Slip (Little Feat)

Whether it be the preceeding west coast tour that saw some of the bands best shows clearly this year and maybe so far since their return in 2009 or perhaps the fact that Dicks is becoming a classic thrown down venue, there was 'something' in the air from the get go in the first set of Phish's Labor Day weekend bash.

Opening with Ghost is not a casual happening. Not having been used in the opening slot since '98, the band wanted to come out with a statement. They also wanted to place a nice sounding 'G' to round out what appears to be the spelling of Something spelled backwards. As with previous years, Phish has opened the three day Dicks weekend by playing around with the set in some form or fashion. Whether it be playing all songs that start with the letter 'S' or spelling "Fuck Your Face" and then actually playing that very song at the end of the show. 

But what's clearly known is that they are playing very tight. A song that is often diffcult to play live and usually has a few flubs is Esther. It has several moving parts so to see them nail this tune is always a pleasure. The Stash was rock solid and there was a fun moment between Trey and Page in the Limb where they had some back and forth action. Those two have been all buddy buddy this past summer tour. 

While there may not have been any epic jams or crazy left turns, every song was played with enthusiasm causing the crowd to jump for joy at every turn of the knob. 

Set 2: PYITE > Sand, Say Something > Walls of the Cave, Oh Kee Pah Ceremony > Hood > Silent In The Morning, Twist, Slave

Could have gone either Possum or Punch. Happy they went with Punch. The obvious next 's' song in the second set is Sand. Almost feels like we are cheating at this point in the show.  

This Sand had some legs with some potential for serious exploration. Fishman started playing and teasing with a potential 2001 jam and possible segue but that wasn't what the doctor ordered. Trey threw in some hard riffs and steered the flow in a different directoin that eventually derailed the whole jam. But what was there was fun while it lasted. Then came "Say Something", which is a new tune by Gordon and Scottt Murkowski. An obvious nod to their recent gag of "Spell Something" spelled backwards. To be honest, while I think this song has some promise, it threw off the set a bit. 

Trey gets his rocks off in Walls and quickly brings the set back to a roaring pace.  

Oh Kee Pah (flubbed big time by Trey) then... Hood? That's not usually how it goes. First ever Oh Kee in to Hood. We'll take it. Then in to Silent out of Hood? What a segue! At some point they should just encore with Horse.

Twist with some nice meatballs from Gordon. The Woos are ok to do in this song because well, it's part of the song and natural. 

Slave to most certainly close us out for the set. As with most versions this summer, slam dunk.

Encore: Oh! Sweet Nuthin (Velvet cover), Meatstick

Great Velvet cover and an always fun Meatstick round out the night and the message for the evening  - "Most Shows Spell Something". Yeah, they usually spell trouble. Good night kids an be safe.