I stayed in Sturbridge, Mass., between Phish shows in Worcester, where I did a 10-mile pace run on the afternoon of the second show. I ran north from the main drag of Route 20, past I-90 and up into the big hills of Brookfield and was lucky enough to see some of the lovely and colorful fall foliage that still remained on the trees in late October. Despite the hills, I managed to nail a 7:09 pace. It was amazing pace run result, considering I was not even training for a marathon - I was just trying to stay in marathon shape.
The opening rat-a-tat-tat snare drum of "Party Time" kicked off Phish's second night at DCU with a festive bang. I was way up behind the stage in section 315, but the sound was perfect and I had lots of dancing room, which I totally used. The party rocked on into "Punch You in the Eye" and the first set continued to bring the heat on that chilly evening. Though "Back on the Train" and "My Soul" were good enough, the set's big moments came with "Bathtub Gin", an excellently executed and ferociously jammed "Stash", and a great (though shorter than I had hoped) "Simple".
And then there was "Ride Captain Ride". Since 1987, the band has played several hundred shows, yet only dug out this nugget 17 times. Since 1993, when I first saw them, they have only played this old Blues Image song (who even remembers them?) 10 times. How I have managed to see four of those is beyond me. It is a fun little ditty about sailing on a mystery ship, but it is legendary for its rareness at Phish shows. Like when I saw "Skin It Back" last year, the thrill was not so much in the song itself, but in the feeling that it is a once-in-a-blue-moon moment when Phish plays it.
OK, it is not exactly the same, since "Captain", though less rare, is a much cooler tune.
Set one ended with a raucous-as-usual "Character Zero" a song typically reserved for the end of set two or the encore, and in retrospect, it is no wonder. The second set was so far out and blissful that even a big number like that was not needed.
Back in the late-'90s and definitely in the 2.0 period of 2003-04, we would occasionally be treated to the kind of set with jams so huge that Phish would end up only playing a handful of songs. This night was a throwback to that, but with all the precision and major-key bliss that has been a staple of recent years. The Who's "Drowned" as an opener lasted 20 minutes. "Light", 13 minutes of glorious jam. When the funk of "Sand" is the shortest of the first three (seven minutes), you know you are in a thick set.
"Theme From the Bottom" slowed it down, but the large ending gave way to a "Mike's Song -> No Quarter -> Weekapaug Groove" combo that absolutely destroyed the room. And for the first time to my knowledge since the mid-'90s, they closed the set with "Weekapaug" but without a big rock-n-roll-ending of bashing out the final chord. It simply was not necessary. We were blown away.
And like "Ride", Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" is another rarity - only six performances since its debut in 2011 - that I have managed to see them play more times than I deserve (I have been treated to half of them).
The encore was awkward, with a guest drummer (Kenwood Dennard) to whom Jon Fishman referred as one of his favorites. He did a nice job with "Boogie On Reggae Woman" but made a mess of "Possum".
Still, nothing could erase what the second set did. It was one of those magical nights that would remove any doubt (if there had been any, which there had not) about why I keep coming back for more, even after 94 shows.
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