PHISH
8/31/12
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Commerce City, CO
Set 1: First Tube, Uncle Pen, Carini, Kill Devil Falls, You Enjoy Myself, Ocelot, Undermind
Set 2: Runaway Jim > Farmhouse > Alaska, Chalk Dust Torture > Emotional Rescue > Fuck Your Face
Encore: Grind, Meatstick
The drive through the Texas panhandle was exciting as I had never been to that state before. The desolate open country brought about images of cowboys and wilder times. It was a welcome sight after I passed into New Mexico when I saw the front range of the Rockies jut up from the southern plains. I followed these mountains the rest of my journey up into Colorado through Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, and finally to my destination of Ft. Collins. After gallons of coffee, dozens of cigarettes, and several footlongs worth of Subway I had arrived. I hung out with my friend Skyler until my buddy from hometown Dave got back from seeing Tedeschi Trucks Band at Red Rocks. It's always good seeing Dave. We played a lot of soccer together and he lived down the street from me in Hazelwood Heights. He joined me for the Sunday show.
The next morning I drove down to Commerce City and checked in at the Super 8 where I'd stayed the year before. I dropped off my canned goods and got the patches from Conscious Alliance. Those were much nicer than the pin from last year. I saw Oliver and Steve A waiting in line for the posters which were hot commodities. I settled on the event shirt which was the same as my patch. I didn't notice the FUCKYOURFACE theme up on the Page side stands. I was just thoroughly impressed with the improvisation. Carini and Undermind were things to behold. It was just a different band compared to what I'd seen in Oklahoma.
Runaway Jim was finally explored like back in the day. With the full moon above the soccer stadium the band explore the outer limits of the galaxy and finally landed down in the Farmhouse. It was a chilling transition. Amazing work. The fakeout of 2001/Alaska was a totally Phishy move. This was the best Chalkdust Torture I've ever seen. This was my 95th time seeing Phish and my first Emotional Rescue. Fuck Your Face capped off the joke. Its shows like these that make us follow the band around the country. Grind, Meatstick was a fitting end to the jovial affair. They brought serious jams in Carini, Undermind, Jim, and Chalkdust. The band fucked our collective faces.
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PHISH
9/1/12
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Commerce City, CO
Set 1: Run Like An Antelope, Backwards Down The Number Line, Tweezer > Fluffhead, Roses are Free, Funky Bitch, The Moma Dance, When the Circus Comes to Town, Theme from the Bottom, Golgi Apparatus, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan
Set 2: Golden Age, Prince Caspian > Light, Boogie On Reggae Woman, The Wedge, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Mike's Song > No Quarter > Weekapaug Groove
Encore: Sleeping Monkey, Tweezer Reprise
With little else to do besides eat Sonic chili dogs and watch AMC movies all day I was able to get a lot of relaxation and rest during this run. It felt good to get recharged from the drive from the midwest. This was the first Antelope opener since '91. Very special indeed. Tweezer was the obvious highlight of the set which was well played but obviously song oriented.
Golden Age had a great jam that expanded upon the ideas of the ATL version. Caspian was an all timer that included a heavy metal jam. This was likely the best version of Light they've played. Light was clearly the highlight of the show. Boogie On, Wedge, Horse>SITM worked as an interlude before a high energy Mike's that included Zeppelin's No Quarter before closing with Weekapaug. I liked this No Quarter better than the one at Alpine. The Monkey, Tweeprise encore was predictable. Postshow P.A. music was Prince "Wanna Be Your Lover". This was a very strong show for 3.0 era and a great counterpiece to the Friday offering.
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PHISH
9/2/12
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Commerce City, CO
Set 1: Cars Trucks Buses, AC/DC Bag > Down With Disease, Bathtub Gin, Nellie Kane, Sample in a Jar, Back On The Train, Rift, Free, Ride Captain Ride, Maze, Halley's Comet, 46 Days, Possum
Set 2: Sand > Ghost > Piper, Twenty Years Later, The Lizards, Harry Hood
Encore: Character Zero
Before the show it rained and when I met Dave in the back lot by the Colorado Rapids practice fields there was a huge rainbow off in the distance. This was an upgrade of the night before when green smog was obvious nearby. This 3 night run of Phish was the pot of gold at the end of my 13 year rainbow of seeing the band. I gave a lot back but this run was a huge payoff for my loyalty. This run brought the jamming the fans have been waiting for. This first set was nothing too outrageous. CTB and Bag was almost a double opener. DWD and Gin were my highlights. BOTT had some nice work as well. Again the first set has to be described as song oriented.
The second stanza was a different story as Phish churned out one of the best segments of my show going career in the form of Sand > Ghost. They continued into a strong Piper before landing in the now rare Twenty Years Later which worked as the slowdown tune. Lizards was perfect placement in a retrospective spot with the tour coming to an end. Hood was a decent version, better than the OKC rendition. Character Zero to close was anticlimatic but I saw it coming. I was satisfied. They delivered on their end. After this tour I feel I can begin to scale back on seeing Phish. They achieved what I hoped they would and the recordings of these shows are the proof. Dick's 2012 was a huge win for Phish and their fans and they type of shows that make you appreciate seeing live music and simply being alive.
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