wow! what an incredible phish show. let's get right to the review.

first of all, the energy in chaifetz was unreal all night. before the show even started, the blues were out to a 2-0 lead in the Cup, so people were understandably pumped up. phish kept that going with a chalkdust opener. traditional type 1 version, but certainly no complaints here. moma next - again standard, but with extra energy in the room, this version had a little extra heat. next came a, in my opinion, perfectly placed waves. while it changed the energy in the room a bit, it allowed the fans to settle in. some nice playing here from the whole band, particularly page who was on fire tonight. next came a relatively languid sequence of Bouncin, undermind, heavy things -- all played quite nicely. trey has spoken about working on his singing in recent years, and this work became very clear during heavy things--he really sounds great. roggae next, which always begins softly, but the band roared to a wonderful peak during the jam. the energy continued with the first kasvot song of the night, we have come to outlive our brains. love this song of course. funky bitch was absolute fire. again, money playing from page, and a sick bluesy solo from trey. interesting placement for set your soul free--the last 8 times it was played, it was in the final set of the night (set 2 mostly of course, but set 3 on halloween). the only other set 1 appearance was its debut at the gorge in 2018. no big jam here, just a standard type 1 section. i enjoyed the placement - phish always keeping us guessing. at this point, the blues were up 3-0, and you could feel the euphoria in the room. phish followed suit, delivering a rollicking antelope to close the set. trey threw in some gloria teases here in honor of the blues. (gloria is the song the blues 'adopted' during these playoffs, playing it after every home win both in the arena and in the streets.)

setbreak was phenomenal tonight because the blues won the cup. people were going crazy. i'm not from STL myself, but it felt like i was with all the joy in that room. what a great memory for those true blues fans.

people around me were talking about phish opening set 2 with gloria. after trey's teases, i didn't think it would happen, but sure enough, phish delivered again! they must've learned the song during setbreak--such an incredible moment. some of the most joy i've ever felt at a phish show. next came loving CUP (get it?!) at this point, i worried that the show would be a "had to be there" show, where the intrinsic energy in the venue carried the band through the night, and relisten value would be rather low. oh how wrong i was. loving cup, instead of ending the usual way, launched into an epic jam! starting out with some patient funk, trey eventually led the band into a blissful type-2 jam. absolutely awesome to watch phish jam in a place they usually do not. they arrived in the key of G, and trey began twist. and what a twist this was. perhaps it'll be eventually known as "The St. Louis Twist." featuring at least 3 distinct sections, this moved through bluesy type-1, blissful hose jamming, ripping funk, and a final jam section that sounded akin to weekapaug. truly a thrilling, epic phish jam. a must listen, no doubt. next came the second GOTF song of the tour, a raging rendition of about to run. some awesome soloing from trey here; he was clearly loving the energy in the room. next came the TAB favorite mr. completely. i love this song--and like it even more when phish plays it. this jam again went type 2, the third of the set. started with some precise interplay between page, mike and trey as fishman held it down, and then some awesome hose here during the major key section. the end featured the rare fishman "ripcord" (sort of) as he led the band nicely back into the form. on a dime, the band launched into light. this was my favorite jam of the night. another type-2 masterpiece. awesome rhythmic jamming at the beginning, with more awesome interplay between trey and page. here, the song was perhaps still within the general structure of light, but then the band again dove into type-2 territory. some more blissful jamming, before a full key-change for some funk. the jam then "collapsed" in the best way possible (reminded me of a 74 dead jam in a way), with each band member exploring sonic space before returning to the light form. waste cooled us down before suzy brought the celebratory evening to a fitting close.

the encore began with farmhouse, which i can't say i was thrilled about. i love this song, but it works well as a cool-down, not as a part of an encore. but it didn't matter, because after a nice version, the band began first tube, perhaps my favorite oft-encored song. there was some extra enthusiasm from trey here, as he soloed powerfully over the end section, before relishing the opportunity to lead the entire arena in a massive ovation during the final feedback display.

absolutely incredible show. nearly every opportunity they had to jam in the second set, phish delivered, even in places where they wouldn't usually jam. the energy will hopefully come through on the recording, but even if it doesn't, the jams will speak for themselves. if this is phish the second night of tour, we are in for some serious shit going forward.