The boys closed super ball 9 in fine style. going into the festival, i never would have guessed that two of my favorite sets would be first sets, friday's and sunday's, but hey, that's how it panned out....

set 1:

soul shakedown party>: i was really feeling a makisupa opener, and for a second, when i heard the reggae, i though i was right. then, i knew i was gloriously wrong. great version. great start to the show.

ac/dc bag>: this got the crowd jumping. nice straight-forward version. high energy. as the jam unwound, trey popped right into....

the curtain>: having had played rift the night before, i thought they might go "with'less." indeed, they did. nice sharp version that fires right into...

forbins!> this was another one i got to knock off the list, and they really nailed this one. we got a nice narration about perception and being stuck in a storage container. just listen to it...

mockingbird: trey was really on top of this mockingbird. i wasn't sure how he would do, but like peaches on the first night, it was evident that trey put some work in and it paid off.

destiny unbound>: i actually called this right as mocking bird ended. right as the words left my mouth, trey cranked it up. gordo got going on some sub-sonic bass bombs in the middle section, and they boys really got loose here. as this one faded away, trey ripped into...

bbfcfm>: standard version, but sure as hell was fun...

wilson>: there are not too many songs that can keep the rocking momentum of a destiny>bbfcfm combo going, but wilson sure as hell did. once they hit the "heavy" section of wilson, they decided not to head back toward the lyrics. instead, trey began wailing on some very raucous "mind left body'esque" licks. the rest of the band jumped right on it. as smoothly as they jumped on this jam, they left it equally as smoothly. best wilson i've seen. one of the most interesting ever.

mound: this one changed the tempo of the set up a bit, but it still seemed to flow very well. they added a little extra in the middle section of this mound. they now appear to be very comfortable with this tune.

song i heard the ocean sing: yep, here we go! the song was played very well, with some very cosmic guitar licks from trey. instead of rocking all the way through, they traveled a dark, ambient journey toward...

time loves a hero: the darker drum beats of the time loves a hero intro worked very smoothly coming out of sihtos. very cool pairing. this tune was played great. nice work page!

reba>: once again, this song seemed to fit the song before it brilliantly. this is one of the best reba's since the return. trey and company exploded with creativity as they came into the more improvised section. oh yeah, did i mention, they finally whistled again. it was a bit rocky, due to some trey laughing, but hey, nice bonus.

bowie: well, this sure makes for a nice closing pair! bowie ain't what it used to be, but this one was certainly more on the winning side of things. trey dug fairly deep on this one before they climbed rampantly toward the bowie coda.

it was sure hard to follow up a MONSTER first set, but the boys gave it their best...

set 2:

big balls>: many had wanted to hear the ac/dc classic, and the boys delivered with a rocking/hilarious version. yeah, who else could have sung this but fishman. great job.

dwd>: a quick space jam leads the boys into this one. trey could not wait to sink his teeth into this one. as soon as the "lyrical phase" of the song ended, trey jumped straight into a completely different realm. exploring some rock/funk grooves, the boys eventually drift back toward the dwd theme. they move back away from going in more of an ambient section. the boys cover a hell of a lot of ground in a relatively short amount of time. the ambience eventually allows trey and page to move into...

no quarter!: i was really hoping they'd bring this one back. as good as holmdel's was, this one was even better. page owns this tune, and not singing really allows trey to focus on some eerie page'esque guitar licks. anyone that says phish can't cover zeppelin needs to put their 10/30/10 tape away and grab this no quarter!

partytime: trey really flashed some muscle on this one. a song that i never really thought would do too much, opened up and allowed trey to fire. great version.

ghost>: following a great opening set, i was really thinking ghost was about to go bonkers. it was less than impressive. they quickly moved into an ambient jam, and for the first time this weekend, an ambient jam really seemed directionless. trey picked up on this and started strumming...

jibboo>: like twist the night before, i was not really wishing to hear jibboo, but once it got going, it ripped. where ghost had failed, jibboo was massively successful. they got a nice complete band effort, with trey clearing the path for all. good version.

light: i really don't like light, but i really love light jams. trey was, once again, in charge here, delivering a mind-bending solo. this one really climbed before making its way into a rare...

waves>: ah, this time the ambience worked. gordon had some very interesting playing on this jam, and trey just seemed to melt around him. it took me awhile to warm up to this one, but i'm coming around now...

wtu>: this transition is similar to the -7>wtu from woostah and the dwd>wtu from alpine last summer. they had a nice ambient groove going, and then placing the notes perfectly, trey lands brilliantly into wtu. standard version, but i've always liked this song.

side note: i will say, i was expecting a more rocking 4th of july type set, but they seemed to be more into the ambient/patient exploration mode, especially from light on. not what i expected, but it was very very good.

meatsticks>: i'm not a meatstick fan and this did little/nothing to change my mind. this set starts to loose me a bit...

faulty plan: hmm? this really turned the vibe on its head, and it didn't seem to fit at all. good version, i guess. very odd placement though...

ssb: yeah, fireworks time!!

enc:

first tube: here come the fireworks. we all wondered what song would welcome the explosions and this was a pretty damn good pick. nothing too unusual but a nice rocking festival closer.