our buddies had tix to all four shows on the "come back run," but they spent way too much money in nyc, so they said they were going to the 1st night of hampton and coming home. if we had the money and could meet them on the interstate the 2nd to hampton tix were ours. off we were...

tweezer: what a great song to come back to. the crowd went bonkers when they cranked this one up. this one was of the funkier variety with some very good opening playing by trey and page. with the energy level still high, they dropped into...

theme: decent version of theme. it worked really well out of this tweezer.

foam: wow, they are playing a toughie already. this was executed pretty damn well, especially for being the 3rd show in 2 1/2 years.

pebbles and marbles: i really liked this debut. i was wavering on it, but as happens with phish, this one really took to me after seeing them play it. very cool new tune.

yem: the crowd went bonkers when they played this one. in fact, the ovation was so loud that no one could hear how badly botched the intro was. when the ovation simmered, people, including the band, realized this yem was off to a train wreck start. trey said some stuff about how they had indeed practiced this one, so they restarted. once on track, this was a very good yem. it was not flub free, but the "improv" section was very hot. fishman and gordon sounded really nice.

set 2:

boaf: solid opener. they didn't take it too far, but this song sounded particularly good in this venue. you could hear every little nuance of this very nicely textured tune. alright version, much cooler in hampton.

wolfman's brother: this was the highlight of the show. trey and page were both really nice and funky on this wolfman's. the boys really cut loose on this one. check out this wolfman's.

makisupa policeman: nice cool down after a hot wolfman's brother. they referenced the hooters i was drinking at before the show... too bad 'ol phish was putting back at hooters preshow too...

axilla: they tried to pick up the energy on this one. a few flubs slowed this one down.

twist: not usually my favorite tune, but they found some interesting grooves in this one. after some twists and turns they work there way into...

free: this is a really nice funky free. gordon and fishman, once again, sound wonderful on this one.

all of these dreams: i could've done without this one. they should've just kept the momentum rolling and gone into...

possum: very fun possum, with some interesting "instrument switching." even before the goofiness began, this was a very nice high energy well-played possum. good closer

enc:
contact: this is the best contact i have seen or heard. it sounds weird if you have not heard this one. page owns it, and the boys really let him open up on this super jammed out contact. i love a good predictable song played in a very unpredictable manner. well done!

tweezer reprise: good rowdy closer!

overall:

there were some flubs smathered all over this show, but that was too be expected. with the flubs, came several really nice highlights. was it worth the drive to get down there? after having not seen the guys since cuyuhoga falls 2000, hell yes!!!

highlights:
set 1:
tweezer>theme, yem(just to hear the train wreck that ensues before they take a 2nd stab at it)

set 2:
wolfman's, twist>free, contact