6/22/16 Phish @ Xcel Energy Center - St. Paul, MN

I attended the previous Minnesota show which was back in 2000.  This time the band was playing St. Paul at the home of the Minnesota Wild hockey team, the Xcel Energy Center.  It was almost a 6 hour drive which I handled by myself.  I parked in a garage a few blocks from the arena.  They had metal detectors at the door which is increasingly becoming the norm following the attacks in Paris last year.  I saw Brody from Geneseo and my college friend Sarah J who both happened to have seats in my section 117 on the Page side.  We watched the show six rows off the floor. I liked the Al Green on the PA before the show.  The first set seemed like it had been rehearsed.  The playing was very tight but close to the vest and largely void of any jamming.  Stash was the only excursion in the first set which was highlighted by the bustout of The Beatles Dear Prudence for the first time since 10/31/94.  The new lighting at times was a bit over the top and distracting from the actual rig.  I liked the overall feel of the first set. 


Set two had a lot of energy especially in the opening Mike's > Hydro > Groove but I kept waiting for them to take some risks.  It was almost as if when they started up a late set Bathtub Gin they felt like they HAD to make it happen.  This type of music isn't forced.  Trey stepped outside the box for a brief while but it was too little too late for my tastes.  It just felt like a rather vanilla second set aside from The Velvet Underground tune that emerged from Simple.  For the encore I was hoping for a bit more than Water in the Sky and Character Zero.  I wasn't disappointed with the performance but I wasn't blown away either.  Over this Phish offseason I've wondered if last summer was a peak that they likely can't top.  I guess time will tell.  I don't mind the band trying new things and searching new sounds but it's disappointing when they could take improvisation into deeper territory and Trey simply doesn't feel like it.  It makes me not want to spend as much time and money on Phish.  The decision to stop Ghost and start up The Line still is a head scratcher.  As the sun came up the weather became extremely foggy.  The song Eastbound and Down came on the radio and gave me a second wind.  I stopped for breakfast at McD at The World's Largest Truck Stop in Walcott, IA.  On this run it was good to see my friends from Auburn in Chicago and Doc down in Indiana.  However, I still enjoy seeing shows Han Solo.  You become more in tune with the music.  The experience is what you make of it.