I could get used to this! And by "this" I suppose I could be referring to a lot of things: the majesty of the Hollywood Bowl; the flawless weather; the smooth security and ease of movement in the venue; the consistently kind people and old and new friends it’s been easy to bump into, despite having flown solo for my first West Coast Phish shows in almost 30 years of seeing the band. No complaints on the set and setting so far from me; it’s been a great weekend. So what about the music, did it measure up to the mood? Would we be giving out any new stars on the Phish Walk of Fame tonight? Roll cameras, action:

The stage was certainly set for a Saturday night special. After casting off any suspicions of no repeats from the opening notes on night one, with everything back on the table the band had a full arsenal of hits to dig into tonight, and they certainly put it to use. In fact with “Leaves” the only exception, the first set was comprised of songs all debuted in 1998 or earlier (many of them in the 80s). Four songs in, it almost seemed for a moment like Phish was going to walk out a full cast of their own star personalities from the catalog—not from Gamehendge, mind you—but the likes of the “Ghost,” “David Bowie,” “Esther” and “Harry Hood.” As it turns out, the only other eponymous character to show up would be Sneakin’ Sally (with a notable performance), but there were plenty of other roles to be played.

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