Phish at Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA, July 8, 2016

Ah, the former Great Woods - a lovely little Massachusetts amphitheater set away from the state's major cities, with a setup that includes great sight lines and easy to-and-fro for bathrooms and beers. 

Unfortunately, it is so poorly run, its corporate namesake, Xfinity, and its promoter, Live Nation, should be utterly ashamed of themselves. I had a horrible traffic experience the first time I was there (8/11/2004), though my second time (7/1/2014) was much better. 

This time was worse than the first, in even more ways, which is a shame because the one element that was not a problem was the band.  Plus, this was my girlfriend Gloria's first Phish show and I wanted her to experience the magic of my favorite band.

Within the first three songs things got shaky - "Party Time" and "Poor Heart" were sloppy, but "46 Days" was good if not great.  Gloria and I did not know that at the time because we missed all three thanks to the stopped-dead traffic jam getting into the place.  I seriously have not had this much trouble getting into a venue since that first Great Woods show and the Coventry nightmare that succeeded it.

Finally parking the car after what seemed like an eternity, I could hear "The Dogs" as it gave way to a truly excellent "Bathtub Gin".  From there, we were in full upswing with Mike Gordon's big rocker "How Many People Are You?" and the bigger rock of "Fuego".  The set had two ballads, "Fast Enough for You" and "Strange Design", both performed beautifully, and perfect for the mildly cool evening (we were in the seating section between the pavilion and the lawn).

"Fast Enough for You"

But it was the jam out of "Cities" that broke free of all convention, even for Phish as Mike Gordon ditched his bass and played guitar while Trey Anastasio played Jon Fishman's Marimba Lumina.  The jam got so weird I could barely follow any sense of beat, structure, or melody.  I can not say it was enjoyable music, but it was interesting to watch.  Closing the set with the second-ever performance of their barbershop quartet rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity", the band was on a good roll and left me positively excited for the second set.

Gloria and me having some beverages during the very weird "Cities"

Set Two started with a "Ghost" jam that fulfilled my expectations, including a short major-key bliss jam and some bass bombs.  As if that was not awesome enough, they launched into a 19-minute version of "Light", with an enormous jam that knocked my socks off.  This was shaping up to be a set to remember as "Wolfman's Brother" kicked in.  

But in the middle of a vocal jam (!) during "Wolfman's", the sound disappeared.  

The band played a little longer, so either they were not aware because the stage sound was still operational or they had hoped the problem was temporary.  During that time, Trey joined Fish on drums and Mike played keyboards with Page McConnell.  But it stayed quiet, so the band stopped and eventually left the stage.

After about 15 minutes, they returned, but the mojo was gone.  And so were the exterior lawn speakers, which means that no one outside of the pavilion got the full sound of the show from that point on.  

I guess "Chalk Dust Torture" (during which I went to the bathroom) and "Saw It Again" rocked well enough and "Back on the Train" was nice, but my whole experience was soured with only half the sound that we had before.  I can tell you for certain that "Slave to the Traffic Light" was beautiful but I bet it would have been epic if I could hear it fully.  And with an encore of the rarely played "I Am the Walrus" (the fourth Beatles cover of the tour!), it was mixed feelings all over again - happiness that they played it, frustration that I could not hear it well.

Already a bit pissed about the way things went in the fourth quarter of the show, things got even worse as Gloria and I waited for the traffic jam leaving the venue to finally get moving.  

We waited.  And waited.

An hour had gone by and we had not moved an inch.  We decided to stay in our parking spot, shut the car, put back the seats, and take a nap.  We slept for more than an hour, and when we woke, all the same cars were in the same position as they were before we slept.  How could a venue in its 31st year of operation be so completely inept with traffic control that it would take three hours to leave the parking lot.  

Three hours!  And we still had to drive to the Hartford area where we were staying to be near the next show.  It was a long night.  Worth it?  I am still wondering.  

OK, maybe for that "Light" jam.

Phish at XFinity Center, July 1

The first show of Phish tour is not usually something to write home about, Last year's summer tour started with a solid but standard show.

But last night's show at the former Great Woods in Mansfield, Mass., was something else. After the "Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan" opener, they immediately picked up on the momentum of last fall's debut of brand new songs and the new album released last week, bashing out a killer version of "Fuego" as if it has been in their repertoire for years. It was only their third performance of what is now the title song to their new record.

The one show at Jazz Fest aside (with its lone cover song), Phish picked up where they left off at the New Year's Run, playing all original songs, including five from 'Fuego'. What's most amazing is how they managed to make those songs into instant highlights. The funk of "555", the pleading "Waiting All Night", the mellow groove of "Halfway to the Moon", the powerhouse title track, and the gorgeously soaring "Wingsuit" were only eclipsed by an insanely awesome segue from "Ghost" to "Weekapaug Groove".

Not that the older material was bad. The climax to "Stash"; the solid groove of "The Wedge"; and the rollicking "Birds of a Feather" kept the show in high gear. Even "Bouncing Around the Room" seemed to sizzle with new energy.

"Cavern" closed the second set in classic fashion and the "Julius" encore went way down before building back up to its climax.

Though "Hood" was the MVP, this night was a clear win for the new songs. I heard someone say, "4.0," and he may be on to something. This could very well be a brand new era of Phish.