6/23/12 Phish @ First Niagara Pavilion - Burgettstown, PA

PHISH
6/23/12
First Niagara Pavilion
Burgettstown, PA

I: Funky Bitch, Backwards Down the Number Line, Gumbo, Maze, Torn and Frayed, Moma Dance, Scent of a Mule, 46 Days, You Enjoy Myself

II: Gotta Jibboo, Mike's Song > Simple > Light > Weekapaug Groove > Seven Below, Bouncing Around the Room, Julius, Slave to the Traffic Light

E: Lizards



postshow P.A. music was Bee Gees "Night Fever"



I was on the road around 11 am eastern time and was heading north of the Cincy metro area before being bogged down in horrible traffic that had backed up behind bridge construction.  I got fuel near Columbus and headed east from the midwest into Appalachia.  My hotel was a Super 8 near the Pittsburgh airport.  I had Arby's before heading to the lot.  Unfortunately, they made me park in one of the lots behind the venue.  As I attempted to enter the venue the barcode reader said "see box office".  Apparently my seat didn't exist so they gave me an upgrade very close on the Page side.

The first set wasn't much to write home about.  Funky Bitch featured some good work from Trey.  I was glad to get #Line out of the way early.  Gumbo featured the ragtime ending with no jamming.  Maze was when things really got going.  I've heard Torn and Frayed a few times.  We got the Moma Dance that was aborted the night before in Cincy.  This Mule duel was highlighted by Page's Theremin usage.  46 Days was high energy blues rock.  The first YEM of the tour featured some Scent of a Mule phrasing.  There was no jamming in the first set and for the most part it was rather forgettable.

This was a tale of two sets.  The second set was one of the best offerings of the summer tour from Phish.  Gotta Jibboo in that slot reminded me of Summer 2000.  This was a decent version but they played it relatively close to the vest.  Mike's was ferocious but still didn't contain the elusive "second jam" thats been neutered in the 3.0 era.  Personally I liked the choice of Simple at this juncture.  The outro jam was when this show really became special.  Simple > Light > Weekapaug Groove > Seven Below all had plinko infused jams.  Light was particularly noteworthy.  Bouncing Around the Room served as a much needed breather.  Julius got the energy going again before the introspective Slave to the Traffic Light that perfectly capped off the set.  Phish was feeling it on this occasion.  It was a nice when the second set flowed extremely well.  I moved to the back of the lawn for the only Lizards of the tour.  When the lights came up and the sounds of "Night Fever" were audible I was running for my vehicle in attempt to avoid the Star Lake traffic.