It was June 14, 2011 the return of PHISH to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre for their Double-Header of their 2011 Summer Tour.
It was awesome music from an awesome band Even better, it was a live webcast, with icing on the cake being in the flavor of a free mp3 download of the entire show with the barcode number from your ticket. Which "really" worked!!! This offers the opportunity to verify if at the least what you heard was really as tight,solid, and flawless as being there lost in the moment. And...
It begins in the parking lot its own simple festival. Arts, crafts, food, libations, along with a multitude of the special crafts for imbibing in the arts. It has all the feeling of a gypsy village. A perfect warm-up walk through community that is about and leads to the stellar music of PHISH.
You walk into the amphitheater with the music bellowing into the outdoor atrium which takes on the face and smell of good times to be enjoyed. Time to ge settled and dig in and listen to some good music.
The music has already started by the time you have entered the theatre with the second song already underway Moma Dance.
The subtle funk/jazz undertones with a folky bluesiness prevails with these jam legends. Holding solid with an infallable pocket, from playing night after night. Their music transcends the mental psyche of any music lover. They deliver with clean sounding emaculance, simple to listen too and easy to enjoy.
With set lists changing every night, no one listener know what to expect. In the 2010, July 4th show, they dropped the Rage Against the Machine number Killing In The Name Of and nailed it as if they were Rage themselves. A definite power in their music is how their live performance stays in the annals of ones's mind long after the show. Whether its your first time seeing them or not their performance still finds a way to penetrate with good memories of solid entertainment. No matter if they are performing the dance favorite Meatstick (note: Meatstick was never recorded on an album and only performed 31 times, the last time being June 14, 2011. It was intended to enter the Guiness Book of World Records defeating the Marcerana, however not all of the thousands turned as they were supposed to in the dance) or the Beatles classic Day in the Life, they have a way of leaving you with the subtle piercing omnipotence of music and art in the most of purest of natures.
The mere worth of their performance is beyond that of measurement on any terms and,
...if ever the opportunity becomes you go "catch" PHISH!