6/24/12 Phish @ Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, OH

PHISH
6/24/12
Blossom Music Center
Cuyahoga Falls, OH

I: Sample in a Jar, Tube, Axilla, Bathtub Gin, Roses Are Free, Limb by Limb, Free, NICU, Possum, The Wedge, Corinna, Meatstick

II: Golden Age > Ghost > Sweet Virginia, Rift, Tweezer > Walk Away, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Piper > Waste, Run Like an Antelope

E: Loving Cup, Tweezer Reprise



It was nice to only have a few hours to drive on Sunday to get to the next show.  I spent the afternoon hanging out at a mall and Best Buy where I purchased Breaking Bad season 4 on DVD on sale for $19.  I had lunch at TGI Friday's in Stow where I watched the first half of England v Italy in the Euro 2012 soccer tournament.  There was a large shakedown that had assembled along the pathway when I arrived.  For a Sunday there was a big crowd.  This is a market that is accessible for both east coast and midwest fans.  I like the wooded surroundings of Blossom Music Center.  The roof of the pavilion is unique.  I had another great seat directly in front of Kuroda. 

The first set was a bit of a snoozer.  Sample was anti-climatic.  Tube was nice but far too abbreviated.  Axilla has been played a lot on this tour.  Bathtub Gin had a bit of a jam but seemed somewhat generic.  Roses Are Free came next and was sans any improvisation.  Over time I've come to appreciate Limb by Limb.  Trey shined on that one.  Free in the first set in this era is fairly unusual.  NICU, Possum, Wedge was standard fare.  The rarely played Taj Mahal cover, Corinna, was a diamond in the rough.  I felt it was a well played rendition.  Meatstick featured a number of dancers from the crowd being brought up on stage.  While this was comical it lacked any musical merit.  The first set was rather weak in comparison to other first sets from Phish this summer. 

I called the Golden Age > Ghost pairing to open the second set.  This segue featured some amazing work from Jon Fishman.  This tour he seemed to step his game up.  Ghost also had a nice jam before landing nicely into Sweet Virginia.  This was the first of two Exile songs played during the show.  Tweezer went off the tracks when Trey started his Pink Floyd/Queen/Vanilla Ice thing.  The transition into Walk Away out of Tweezer put me in the mind of Alpine Valley 2000.  This was the best version of Walk Away that I've seen Phish do.  Unfortunately, the energy that was built up by the Walk Away quickly fizzled with Horse > SITM.  Piper explored several themes before making its way into Waste.  I liked the placement of this poignant ballad.  Run Like an Antelope featured the best peak I've heard them do in the modern era with that classic tune.  Overall, this was the weakest fo the three shows which I saw over the weekend.  I hit the road as the encore started. I wanted to beat the traffic. I had a great time touring by myself.  It was nice to have my own hotel rooms.   After the Sunday show I drove all the way home from the Cleveland, OH area to Geneseo, IL on I-80.