When in doubt, call on the Superfly!

Curtis Mayfield appeared on Midnight Special TV show in 1973 and he performed Superfly...

32 years ago today, the Grateful Dead's circus blew into Providence...

Here's the setlist:

5.13.81 Grateful Dead, Civic Center, Providence, RI

Set 1: Wang Dang Doodle tease > Jack Straw, Tennessee Jed > CC Rider, Friend of the Devil, Mama Tried > Mexicali Blues, Bird Song > Let It Grow > Deal

Set 2: Finiculi Finicula > Samson And Delilah, Terrapin Station > Lost Sailor > Saint of Circumstance > Drums > Space > Iko Iko > I Need a Miracle >  Stella Blue > Good Lovin'

E: Brokedown Palace

No matter how much he loves Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers, Pauly patently refuses to post any content having to do with the Steve Miller Band. Since I have no history of psychological disorders related to the aforementioned group, it is my duty to tell you that NBG just posted a long-awaited new Van Session. Check out "Take the Money and Run."

(And Nicki, I still want to know who made that dress you wore at the Hangout Festival)

Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers opened their tour with Gov't Mule tonight and on Friday May 31, they'll appear on CBS this Morning in the 8 a.m. hour.

By Pauly

Phish tour kicks off in one week. Let's hop in our time machine and flashback to last summer. Phish played 33 shows in the summer of 2012. I saw 24 shows spread out over two legs.

Here is a machine-gun Trey inspired quickie review of the 14 out of 20 shows I caught during Leg 1 (originally plucked from my show recaps)...

Atlantic City, NJ - Night 1... Skipped Worcester and Bonnaroo. Hopped on tour in Atlantic City. Caught a ride from NYC with Javier and Igor, who had a bag full of mescaline. He called it "cactus dust" and devoured dippies while speeding down the Garden State Parkway. Sketchy AC. Wiseguys, old people, and plight. Extras were $40. Beach-party-funk with Camel Walk. Page tore it up on Coil. I finally understood the lyric about Satan standing on the beach. That fucker lives in AC, "where the sand turns to gold." Bader's Field proximity to the ocean created a vortex of unparalleled energy. Mesc peaked during a Birds of a Feather wild rumpus. What's the deal with CK5's vagina-inspired circular lights? Twist-Piper "wooooooo" shenanigans. Nitrous mafia vultures in gold chains and track suits dragged icy-cold tanks around the block from the Boardwalk. Spent all night toking up on the beach. Never saw Satan.





Atlantic City, NJ - Night 2... No sleep. Late night at ACH. Gambled on Euro 2012 soccer. I designed and sold "2001" stickers. Faded wookette busted slinging Xannie bars on Shakedown. Golf cart rolled up, three stormtroopers jumped out and cuffed the shoe-less nymph. Javier and I scored choco shrooms from an old hippie Earth mama. I found a guy with jar of Vicodin. Perfect spot in front of soundboard. Surrounded by beach balls and inflatable goldfish. We bet on length of ripcord Halley's. Choco-shrooms kicked in. Evil part of My Friend reminded me of The Sopranos when Silvio kills Adriana. Page channeled his inner Frank Sinatra during Lawn Boy. Phishy girl next to me almost rubbed one out. I wore my Ocelot shirt. They played it. Natalie Portman's hipster doppelganger spilled a giant beer on me during Crosseyed and Painless. Manteca-Light mixed a classic jazz ass-shaker with a 3.0 jam vehicle. Caught Javier grinding the freaky-freaky with drunk Nat Portman girl during Golgi. I watched all the schwilly souls stumble around crowded Shakedown. Female cop ordered me to stop selling 2001 stickers. "Shut it down, Kubrick!" she said. Igor wanted to get a tank delivered to Javier's room. "It only costs $235. Can I borrow $200? We'll make it back in fifteen minutes!"



Atlantic City, NJ - Night 3... All night rager at ACH. Igor got kicked out of a seedy strip club then picked up a sassy, Russian girl who worked at the all-night pizza joint on the Boardwalk. I was worried she might steal my laptop or our room's towels. On way to Shakedown, I passed a K-9 Unit. Police dog knew I was holding and went berserk. Instant panic attack. Lucky day. Nothing happened. Shakedown filled with hungover and sunburned kids. Reeked of stale beer, teriyaki sauce, and sweaty feet. Extras were $30. I spotted Gordo in a golf cart and requested Waves (my pick for a high-stakes fantasy pool). Bruce and I posted up near the soundboard. Fathers' Day show opened with Brother and Phish's kids in a metal bathtub onstage. Trey super chatty. Did he bust into Fish's Adderall stash? Heady set two opener with Drowned-2001-Reba. Rest of set was meh. They phoned in Roses Are Free. Surrounded by shitfaced assholes like the shirtless guy screaming "Woooooo-hooooo!" and three mollified Jersey girls who talked the entire set. Curveball with a DWD set closer. Masses expected a YEM encore. Denied! Left Bader Field with YEM blue balls.



Cincinnati, OH.... 250th show. Skipped the Virginia shows. Jumped back on in Ohio with the Cincy crew (GMoney, Mr. Fabulous and Iggy -- Deadhead converts to the Church of Phish). Shakedown is a triangular lot. I slung 2001 stickers, miracled my extra to DiggDugg, and scored choco-shrooms. Weird first set. My first-ever Shaggy Dog. Fell into a shroom-hole during Light Up Or Leave Me Alone. Amateur drunks behind us would not shut the fuck up. Show went off the rails late in the first set. Intense Stash zapped Fish. Rare back-to-back flubbs. He blew the intro to Poor Heart. "Still learning how to count," said Fish. When Trey attempted Moma Dance, Fish came in late. Trey masked his contempt with humor ("We need to find a song that starts with the drums," he barked). Page was aloof and Gordo looked wicked pissed. Fish bounced back with a sloppy Llama. If Bobby Knight was the coach of Phish, he would've benched Fish the rest of tour. They regrouped during a short setbreak. Smelled burning seeds during DWD. Schwasted rednecks behind us smoked a prison joint, then Vesuviusly puked during Kill Devil Falls. Vomit everywhere. Deviant Twist. Ripcord Halley's. Plinko-enhanced Sand dance party. Ears ringing for hours after a deafening Carini. Iggy calls it "Caprini." Surly phans denied YEM. Again.


Burgettstown, PA... Got on the road two hours late. Mellow lot at Star Lake. Scored Vikes from a giant who looked like an Ohio State lineman. We had pav seats. Our neighbors were extras from World of the Wonderful Whites: bloated, coked-up Huey Lewis clone in a Hawaiian shirt, his gay partner (Anderson Cooper in Tevas), a 95-pound tweaker, and a misplaced young hipster hottie. Tweaker jumped up and down the entire show.  During Backwards, coke-eyed Huey Lewis bothered me with air guitar. Finally got Torn and Frayed after chasing it everywhere. Finally a YEM! First YEM all summer. Everyone went berserk. Seven Below thick-n-juicy. Bouncin' was first "Pauly Takes a Piss Song" of the summer. Tweaker picked up a stray whiskey-tango cougar at setbreak. They smoked meth then dryhumped during Julius. Star Lake was my 100th show in the 3.0 era. So damn lucky. We got super lost on backroads near the West Virginia/Ohio border. Reading Google maps while spun ain't fun. We crashed at a no-tell motor lodge in bumblefuck Appalachia. No wifi. Flesh-eating bacteria was free. Iggy's pillow had a disgusting, yellow-brown stain. I pulled my bed into the middle of the room to avoid a leaky ceiling. Slept in our clothes with lights and TV on. We survived without getting enslaved as a gimp for a rural clan of hillbilly sex fiends. Pro tip: never let the guy on two hits of acid act as the navigator.


Cuyahoga Falls, OH... Hello, Cleveland! I love Blossom. Impeccable sound inside the pavilion. Looks like a wooden pyramid. Chillaxed police at the venue. Anything goes. Best lot scene on tour. Shakedown goes on forever. Made a killing slinging 2001 stickers. Pav seats in front of the soundboard. Watching CK5 work the lighting board is like watching Picasso paint. Shortest Tube ever! Barely 4 minutes. Why even bother? Iggy hoped to hear Axilla, Roses Are Free, and Golden Age. Lucky fucker got all three. Possum is overplayed, but Scotty B once said, "they always nail it." Kid in the hotdog costume climbed on his seat to jump up and down during Meatstick. Trey invited a bevy of Phishy chicks onstage to do the Meatstick dance. Is this Girltalk? Grim Ghost jam sounded like a ritualistic slaying of a mythical demon-like beast. Tight Tweezer > Walk Away. Goofball Trey muttered lyrics to Another Brick in the Wall, Under Pressure, and Ice Ice Baby. Pleasant surprise when Fish sung Sweet Virginia. Antelope was typical full-octane Trey wankage. Everyone went nuts. The fucking exclamation point on a smoking show. "I never saw so many people dance that hard," said G-Money. Spiritual revitalization at Blossom.



Deer Creek, IN - Night 1... After three days off, we loaded up Mr. Fabulous' truck for a classic Deer Creek to Alpine Valley run. Saw seven cars pulled over. Phish kids sat along the highway in zip cuffs. If you're riding dirty, watch your speed! We're too old to sit in the blistering hot lot. 105 degrees? We pre-partied at the hotel. Watched Germany-Italy because I bet on it. Arrived at the lots, found Snail Trax and the Hill Jack boys, scored White Lightning from a Bisco Kid, and a girl with butterfly wings sold me "bombastic mol." St. Louis Tommy miracled me a VIP wristband and a seat right behind pit. Raged solo in the pav. The Cincy crew hung out in the moat (the DMZ between the lawn and the pav). CK5's new "vagina" lights were gone. Fuck Your Face was a fun quickie. Party favors kicked in during Weigh. So damn hot and suffocating, I almost passed out.  Strung-out dude behind me kept screaming, "Page's house!" Chilly-themed tunes to soothe the sweaty audience like Velvet Underground's Cool It Down. The boys snuck McGrupp in the middle of Mike's Groove. Had a personal and profound epiphany during Back on the Train. Classic Fish hijinks. He forgot words to Sexual Heeling. Played Bike instead. Vac solo = jazzy flatulence. Pointed at Trey during the "overrated" part of Bug. He smirked.



Deer Creek, IN - Night 2... Spun-out wook slinging liquid thought I was an undercover cop. I told him I was CIA. We hid behind a bunch of cars and made a trade. Hung out on the lawn with the Cincy crew. Band addressed the "sign" issue: leave the signs at home. Page is anti-sign and almost went on a rant. Iggy refers to Crowd Control as "Crowd Confusion." Deep cuts: Dinner and a Movie, Mound, and Mango Song. Two Velvet Underground covers two nights in a row? Sweet Jane came out of nowhere. Mars theme with Bowie's Life on Mars and BBFCFM. Another ripcord Halley's. DWD-Sand tsunami. Nods to Coltrane during the DWD jam. Crazy visuals during glowstick war. Thousands of multicolored tracers zig-zagged through the Indiana sky. Marco Polo hijinks during Antelope. Three-song encore: Cavern, Sanity, and First Tube. Federales chased nitrous mafia over the lot. Tripping balls in Shakedown. Intense visuals. Ground was breathing. Shadows from car headlights looked like army of snakes slithering through the grass. Hadn't been that spun since we got puddled at UIC. I poked fun of "master baster" burritos. "You know what a Master Blaster really is?" said G-Money. "It's when you're getting a blow job and smoking a hit of crack at the same time." Deer Creek #2 was the Master Blaster of the tour.



Alpine Valley, WI - Night 1... Bunk lot scene at Alpine Valley. Patrolled by the Gestapo. Big Brother guard towers and undercovers everywhere. We had pit tix and stood the equivalent of second row. Greatest hits show plus 10 covers. Pit erupted with Daniel, a traditional "spiritual" tune. Overjoyed with Stones' Let It Loose. Menacing heavy metal riffs in Sloth. I wore the Ocelot shirt. Trey saw it and they played Ocelot. Coincidence? Nah, Trey wasn't looking at me, but at three adorable Wisconsin Phishy chicks in front of me. Another raucous Carini. I was flailing, throwing elbows and head-butted the frat boy next to me. A little baggie had a hole. Party favors spilled all over my pocket. I shoved my hand into my pocket, then licked my palm and fingers. Second set all heat. Balls to the wall. UFO-lights flared up. Contact made with the Mothership. 2001 disco-dance party. Third Velvet Underground cover in three nights with Rock and Roll. Page was killing the ivories. Tweaker-jazz grooves in Piper. Love it when Leo screams: "I know what it means to be alone!" on Good Times Bad Times. "I'm about to become a full-time wook," said Iggy. "I'm gonna follow Phish full time. My wife is going to divorce me, but I'll find a cute college-aged Phishy chick to become my lot girlfriend."


Alpine Valley, WI - Night 2... Ate too much acid. Phish scared the shit out of me. Wook at Deer Creek gave me a double dose. Lost my mud in the first set. Too far spun. Did not appreciate the fourth Velvet Underground cover in four nights with Lonesome Cowboy Bill. Rare corn-funk'd up Access Me. Wicked auditory hallucinations during Meat. Got lost during a confusing space-ambient Fee jam. No idea what they were playing. Sucked down multiple rabbit holes (holes within holes within holes). Happy no one talked to me at setbreak. I would've babbled nonsensical words, jumbled phrases, and wounded animal-like noises. Second set anchored by monster covers: Talking Heads' Crosseyed and Painless and Zeppelin's No Quarter. Vivid flashback during the Crosseyed segue. Mini-leap through time and space. Every time you drop acid, you become a time traveler. Thought I peaked, but ambushed again. Never thought I'd get out alive during sinister Ghost. Rescued by tsunami of crowd energy during 46 Days jam. Heavy Things and Joy were a buzz kill. The Debbie Downer of the run. Meatstick with girls onstage dancing was a bizarre way to end the Deer Creek/Alpine Valley run. Long schwasted night. Tripped balls well into next day. In one straight shot, Mr. Fabulous safely drove us from Wisconsin to Cincinnati.



Jones Beach, NY - Night 2... Skipped the first night of Jones Beach; I was traveling from Cincy to NYC. Watched the webcast at my brother's apartment in NYC. Missed Skin It Back! Hitched a ride to Jones Beach with Javier and Igor (sans cactus dust). Decent Shakedown. Scored moon rocks from a wookette with Terrapin tat. Saw UNOlker making "LUSHINGTON" sign. Nigel flew in from London for rest of tour. He miracled me a ticket. Page side rage side. Spooky orange-red harvest moon rise. Amateur fireworks from lot. Ocean view from behind stage. First set all over place. Another Velvet Underground song off "Loaded" -- Head Held High. Three cherry H.S. girls rolling their tits off behind us knew all the words to KDF. Bittersweet Motel makes me think of "Page's New Shirt." Bad-ass Gumbo. Fish hijinks with Purple Rain. Standard SSB on Fourth of July. Boogie On set 2 opener. Drunk guy asked "Would Stevie Wonder be pissed at how CK5 is lighting his song?" Mellow cosmic jelly in Tweezer-Twist jams. Slave started out sloppy but they pulled it together. Igor drove 100mph back to NYC.



Saratoga, NY - SPAC Night 1... Took Amtrak from NYC to Albany. Big sis Lori (another converted Deadhead) picked me up at train station. Phil flew in from Texas. We ate BBQ. Lori knew shortcut to SPAC. Arrived at lots when it opened. Parked behind Shakedown. Slung stickers. Phil scouted out a shed ticket. Found ChinaKat. I had her tix. She gave me a ganja treat. Saw po-po digging through wook's boot in search of contraband. Shrimp Meatstick was $3. Feral wook-kid tried to pickpocket Phil. Shed tix feel like an indoor show. We had balcony seats, Fish side. Hot sauce Ocelot (not wearing shirt). Highlight was frenetic Tube-Psycho Killer-Tube. Kid busted by security toking a doobie during Stash. More Fish hijinks. Tucking, cymbals, and Neil Diamond's Cracklin' Rose. Old school Paul and Silas. Party favors kicked in during lunatic jam in Traffic's Light Up. Forgot what they were playing. Drenched in sweat after rocking set 2. Balcony violently shook during Carini-Sand. Multiple volcanic explosions. Crowd hung on every lyric of Roses. 25-minute Sneaking Sally-Ghost orgy. Antelope featured Tom Marshall and Dude of Life on  "Marco Esquandoles" lyrics. Soaked t-shirt by end of show.



Saratoga, NY - SPAC Night 2... Under weather with Wook Flu. Loaded up on Zinc and Vitamin C. Any other band and I stay in bed. I rallied for Phish. Arrived at lots late. Non-existent pre-party. First sober show all tour. Found Josh and Nigel. Swapped war stories about Phish festivals. Had balcony seats with Phil and Lori. Phil pointed at me during Torn and Frayed. "Joe's got a cough, sounds kind a rough." Crowd sing-a-long with Cities. Page dedicated Lawn Boy to folks with shitty lawn seats. Not-so-sloppy Peaches. Full on Trey spooge during thunderous GTBT set closer. DWD included Violent Femmes' Blister in the Sun. Phish weaved Blister throughout the set (in Backwards, Scent of a Mule, and Mike's Groove). Felt like shit, yet managed to get down during 2001 dance party. For encore, Trey brought out a different guitar to shred Sabotage. Dedicated to MCA from the Beastie Boys who had recently passed away. Thought balcony was gonna snap off. Ears buzzed for hours after show.


SPAC, Saratoga, NY - Night 3... Fighting off Wook Flu. Rallied. Last night of tour (Leg 1). Party favors was "everything bagel" comprised of leftovers from my tour stash. Faded. Schwilly. Schwasted. Semi-booming. Lori took us to delicious roadside burger joint. Arrived at lots early. Cheap lawns $20. Met up with Nigel. Found PhanArt's set-up. We swapped stickers. Screwdrivers were $5. Scored the last of White Lightning (for friends) from the same Bisco Kid I saw at every show. Lori and I had seats behind CK5. Watched him cleanse lighting rig with sage. Blues jam out of My Soul. Slow-downed Camelwalk faded funk. Love watching the crowd chant during Wilson. Fishman extended Buddy Rich jam on Party Time. Had not heard Driver in forever. Tremendous applause after If I Could. Wish Dolly Parton could sit in for it someday. Evil Melt jam. I caught the last LaGrange (encore at Las Cruces, NM in 1999). Light jam all over place. Whale calls. UFO lights. Silky smooth Twist. Mellow Swept Away-Steep drastic change from maniacal My Friend evilness. Piper jam felt like sitting at beach and digging my toes into the sand. Trey freaked out acid heads with Kung. Lori really wanted a Harry Hood and got it. Ended set with CK5's favorite song... David Bowie. YEM encore. Crowd apeshit. That's how you fucking end a show. YEM is a hell of a tour closer. Barely survived SPAC after I caught the Wook Flu, but I made it to the end. 14th show (out of 20). Leg 1 dunzo.



Epilogue... Long journey home. Amtrak from Albany to Penn Station. One night in NYC with family, then flight home to LAX. On road for... four plus weeks. Another epic bender. Exhausted. 14 shows in 24 days. Missed my bed and my girlfriend and California. Five-week hiatus before Leg 2 kicks off in Long Beach. Seeing 10 out of 13 shows in Leg 2 including the end of summer blowout in Denver with Joker and the Colorado crew.


UPDATE: Here is Part 2 about Leg 2. The second installment of flashbacks focusing on the rest of 2012 Summer Tour.

In the meantime, visit this special page for links to setlists and videos from last summer.

Read extended recaps of Leg 1 shows I attended:

Atlantic City #1: Satan Standing on the Beach
AC #2: Manteca-Light Sand Funk Fiesta
AC #3: Mothership Extraction
Cincy: Can You Still Have Fun?
Burgettstown: Tweakpaug
Blossom: Tweeze Away
Deer Creek #1: Heat Wave Hijinks
Deer Creek #2: Master Blaster
Alpine Valley #1: Float With the Flock
Alpine Valley #2: Gotta Get Out of This Maze
Jones Beach #2: Head Held High
SPAC #1: Light Up the Sally Ghost
SPAC #2: Blistering Sabotage

If you enjoyed these show recaps, please help support my summer tour by purchasing one of my books.

Courtesy post for friend of Coventry Music Pete "PhanArt". Be sure to check out the Rock Art Exhibit at the Saratoga Hilton 7/6/2013.

Summer in Saratoga: A Rock Art Exhibition Announces Final Lineup for the Saturday July 6th show at the Saratoga Hilton, featuring the best Phish inspired art, including limited edition art made specifically for the show. Developed and produced by a group of artists and fans known as the Mothership Art Collective, the art show will be held in the middle of a weekend of Phish, who play just down the road at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, July 5th-7th. Admission is Free.

Previously announced artists include AJ Masthay, Erin Cadigan, Isadora Bullock, Nate Duval, John Warner, Ryan Kerrigan, Branden Otto, Bruce Horan, Ed Wilson, TRiPP, Bill Pompeii, Drew Suto, 10 Minute Tube Designs, Party Time Pins and stuPINdous Creations. Additions to the lineup include Lauren Domsky, Noah Phence, Dave Calarco, MYFE. Designs, Ant Pharm Pins and PerPINdicular Pins

The lineup of artists slated to exhibit at “Summer in Saratoga: A Rock Art Exhibition,” represent some of the best artists in the community. Longtime artists AJ Masthay, TRiPP, John Warner, Ryan Kerrigan, Branden Otto, Edward Wilson, Bruce Horan, Lauren Domsky and Isadora Bullock have been a part of Mothership Art Collective Art shows in the past and each have a large portfolio of concert art across a wide range of musical acts. Erin Cadigan, an artist from Woodstock, NY will be featuring her art, posters as well as her clothing line THREE. Joining the show for the first time is Nate Duval, an official poster artist who has an extensive history of creating unique posters for a number of musical acts. David Calarco, author of Mr. Miner’s Phish Thoughts: An Anthology by a Fan for the Fans will have copies of his book for sale at the show.

First timers include Bill Pompeii of Pompeii Prints, maker of posters, shirts and various pins that have gained acclaim among Phish fans, and Troy, NY artist Drew Suto, who as Senior Artist for Surrender to the Flow, designs the cover art for the Phish fan magazine handed out for free on lot at every show.

Pin makers and artists of the ever growing pin collector/trader community include Matthew Jurcic of 10 Minute Tube Designs, Jack Firestone of Party Time Pins and Adrian Sharpe of stuPINdous Creations. In addition to these pin makers will be Noah Phence of Zenster, Anthony Leetz of Ant Pharms Pins, Monk Cav and Tanner Council of MYFE. Designs, and Sam Sutton of PerPINdicular Pins who will feature their ever popular pin series and designs.

Non-profits included in “Summer in Saratoga: A Rock Art Exhibition”, are The Mockingbird Foundation, which has given grants for music education totaling more than $700,000 over the past 15 years; Screens ‘n’ Suds, which combines craft beers and art to benefit the National MS Society and charities in Richmond, VA and Chicago, IL, raising over $75,000 since 2009; and PhanArt, a book and website created as a way to showcase the art made by Phish fans, raising money for The Mockingbird Foundation through donations from artists and fans, totaling over $10,000 since 2009.

Rock Art exhibitions have been held since 2003 with great success, as unique posters are made for Phish shows during the poster show weekend, making for a must-attend event during Phish tour, featuring some of the most unique concert art being produced today. ‘Summer in Saratoga: A Rock Art Exhibition” is the first event for 2013 produced by the Mothership Art Collective, a group within the Phish community comprised of artists and organizations who promote the art inspired by the band Phish.

The eclectic artists featured at this event show the broad scope of Phish related art and capture the inspiration of the band in their art. The creative fan base of Phish makes for amazing art inspired by the band, their music and the locales they play. The Collective will work hard to bring a show to the Phish touring public each year.

In keeping with the great tradition and success of past poster shows, “Summer in Saratoga: A Rock Art Exhibition” will offer to all patrons and tubes available for purchase. Charitable donations from the event will be made to The Mockingbird Foundation, as well as a wide array of artists featuring posters to fit any budget. More artists will be announced in mid-June, as well as special edition works only available at the show, which will be available for viewing shortly thereafter at www.mothershipartcollective.org

How about some Phish for this week's Key Bump? This should perk you right up. Besides, it's almost time for summer tour. Let's flashback to last year and Worcester with this monstrous Ghost > Boogie On.

Editor's Note: Our good friend Fink offered to write SPAC reviews for us. I thought he was going to write a final recap when he got back to San Diego, but he sent me this review at 4am. Enjoy!! Cheers, Pauly

Guest Review: SPAC 2 - The Heart of the Line-up
By Fink

Phink checking in again, 3:00 AM in the Saratoga Hilton.

Slept in today until about 2:00pm. Headed downstairs to check out the Phish Art show – conveniently located in my hotel. It was cool, blaring Phish (obv.) and had some really cool posters, pins and shirts. Specifically went to meet a couple of people in the scene and pay my respects. I like AJ Masthay’s art and he had great customer service when I bought his tryptch “The Terminal” for the Barefoot Bob fund-raiser. I also went to Telluride Bluegrass this year where he made the official poster. It sold out in 5 minutes but you still saw it was everywhere – they put the piece on t-shirts and blankets. I also wanted to give a quick thanks to PhanArt Pete for putting the show on and consistently being one of the funniest tweeters in the Phish community. Finally I wanted to meet Mr. Miner. He is a great member of the community and contributes so much, even if he does have a tendency to fluff from time to time. I was one of the contributors to his reader’s picks. He asked my name and knew exactly what I wrote about and was complimentary. Not even close to as complementary as he was about the show – it was fun hearing him gush in person.

I met Adam and Vanessa at the hotel to get them their tickets. Adam is my cousin by family lines, but as an only child he looks up to me as a big brother. He and his finance Vanessa own an awesome restaurant (coming to the world trade center in December!) in New York, Little Munster. I took Adam to his first phish show at MSG 2 years ago. He and Vanessa had fun but Adam didn’t exactly get it (Vanessa had been to a bunch of shows previously). I took them again last year and during the DWD->20YL->Carini (so it was really cool to get the Carini with him again), they finally got IT. Adam and Vanessa were in the lawns last night (flying commercial) but moved up to the front of the spaceship (first class) with us tonight. It was awesome hanging with them – after this run the next time I see them will be at their wedding in Nicaragua in the fall.

I headed over to Jaclyn’s – where they had 30 people staying in a super phat house right near downtown Saratoga. They served delicious burgers, people were hanging out in the “Phish Pool” (otherwise known as turning the sprinklers on) and playing croquet. Fun day, but it was time to rally for the show.

We had the same crew as last night (sans Spider, Adam and Vanessa) and were in the upper pav section (30th rows), but more centrally located. Perfect spot to watch the new lighting rig, of which I am a huge fan. Thanks Biebs!

Early in the day I got confirmation that Phish had never played Tweezer in Saratoga and yet had played two Tweeprises. I told everyone this stat. I really enjoy spreading news to the phans, especially in person. Accordingly, I also predicted a huge Tweezer for tonight.

Fashion update: Adam, one of the most stylist guys I know, showed up like he was ready for opening day at the Saratoga Race Track. I had black shorts but audibled to a breathable white shirt due to the heat. Girls looked great as always in lovely summer dresses and awesome flair (including giving me hair bands to wear on my arm and give to damsels in hair distress). Carmine was rocking a multi-rainbow colored moomoo and sporting a Mohawk he got in town Saturday afternoon.

Reminder, I have not looked at social media since before the show and have not re-listned to the show as of yet.

Set I

Highlights included the Wedge but on a more personal level for our crew because Carmine and Lisa own a campground appropriately called The Great Divide. Bug was also a neat personal number for us, causing both Jaclyn and I to give some text love to Stuart who was couch-touring in Colorado (but doing the west coast run with us). Musically, the Tube was tubtacular (seemed like a great version at the time) but the all star of the set was the Melt. For me, Melt can be hit or miss. When its on, its ON. When its off, I get lost. I have been listening a bunch to 7/15/99 Melt released by the Live Bait (those are all great, thanks Phish) – the way Fish starts off with 2001 and continues to play with the tempo is so awesome. Anyway, this Melt, with the stop/start and locked in band interplay, was meltastic.

Not much to report during setbreak other than (my friend) Trey and I talked about 5 songs that were definitely possible (and predicted at least 2 of them would be played): DWD, Tweezer, Sand, Ghost and Carini.

Set 2

Opened up with a Number Line. Didn’t get us excited (time to put this song on the shelf) however (my friend) Trey leaned over to me and said Tweezer was coming next. Not more than 2 minutes later Carmine guaranteed a Tweezer. The stars were aligning for the first ever SPAC Tweezer that I had been talking about all day. Then the heart of the line-up, the 2 through 4 hitters, came up to bat. And each one of them CRUSHED the ball out of the park. Tweezer, Sand, Carini. Are you fucking kidding me? Three of my favorite songs, three songs we thought and hoped would come out, and they were huge. The last versions of Tweezer (12/28/12) and Carini (12/30/12) and second to last version of Sand (9/2/12) are arguably 3 of the top 5 and easily in the top 10 songs played in 3.0. What was neat, as always, was the juxtaposition of the recent versions of each song and the ones played tonight. Each was so different from the last, most exemplified by the Carini. The 12/30/12 Carini is some of the best and darkest Phish ever and yet this one was as happy a version as Carini could be. 30 minutes of dope ass music later, we get our first Architect (called early by this guy), one of my favorite tunes on Traveler. Well placed, good change up after the heart of the line-up. Wilson was Wilson – crowd interaction and interplay was awesome all night (thank you Phans), loved Boogie-ing down with the Reggae Woman as always (great to dance hard with our good looking crew of ladies) and Possum in the set closer spot. Yes Possum is played a lot, but they crush it every time and love playing it so much. All of the guys seem so happy and comfortable on stage, especially Trey. He is really making an effort to connect with the fans. When Trey is happy, we all are happy.

We again made the decision to bail based on the encore song selection and left during Show of Life. We knew we were giving up the Tweeprise (some thought they were saving it for Sunday but I thought that would only be the case if they played it yesterday), however getting back efficiently is important to us. Incredible show – 100x better than the Blister Saturday SPAC show last year.

I went upstairs, showered and hit up Twiddle at the Putnam Den. Wookie and Lauren rallied, as did Adam and Vanessa. Hung out with Jaclyn's crew (congrats Sparkle!) and had a nice evening at Putnam. The warm-up act was solid and Twiddle was good but a bit one-note for me. Granted I had just seen the greatest band in the world ("that’s like your opinion, man!") crush the 2nd and 3rd shows in the summer tour line-up, and the clean-up hitter is coming up tomorrow.

Never miss a Sunday.

Guest post by Fink... our good pal from San Diego. 

****
Check out Fink's Review of the Friday 7/5/13 show.

 FYI... here is the complete setlist and Pauly's couch touch review of 7/6/13.

Official Poster by Mike Davis

Last night's show was cancelled due to heavy flooding in Toronto. Phish is back in America and returned to the Garden State for a show at PNC.

Here is the setlist...

The Phish 7/10/13, PNC, Holmdel, NJ

Set 1: Llama, Wolfman's Brah, Sample in a Jar, Julius, Halley's Comet > GIN, Lawn Boy, Ya Mar, Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan, Theme from the Bottom > Suzy Greenstein

Set 2: Crosseyed and Painless > HOOD > Axilla > Sand > Light > Good Times Bad Times >Slave, Rocky Top > Cavern

Encore: Possum

Times: Set 1 began at 7:54 ET and ended at 9:09pm. Set 2 began at 9:39pm. Show ended at 11:15pm ET.

Courtesy of @PHIISH_FTR

****
Couch Tour Recap: PNC and Back to Jersey
By Pauly

My couch tour resumed courtesy of @SakuraYEM, the awesome Japhan broadcasting from the lawn. The boys returned to NJ, the home state of half of Phish. This show resembled the other four shows this summer... greatest hits first set and a second set with jammy goodness. No new songs this time around.

Phish bounced back from a rare cancellation with a 11-song 75-min first set sprinkled with fan favorites. It was rather short compared to the 90-min openers at SPAC. Llama opener was a positive omen. Wolfman's had mini-jam. Too early in the set to knock the socks off everyone. Leo addressed the crowd after Sample. He felt honored to be playing at the Garden State Arts Center. When he made a cracks that Fish and Gordo were not from Jersey, some of the crowd (lovingly) booed. Short hook on Halley's as per usual. I tweet'd: "Ripcord warning 5.5 mins in." It came in at 5:34. The bookies I work for would be proud. Gin jam took flight.  


Crosseyed and Painless kicked off second set. You know a big set is brewing when they bring the afro-funk. CP Monstah jam melted into HOOD. thirty minute 1-2 punch. That's how you start a set. Axilla is one of Fish's favorite songs. Wish they played it more. Excited to hear, I actually yelled "Fuck yeah!!!!" pretty loud it spooked my neighbor. Sand > Light was sublime. Too bad Sand sexcapades was cut short before it got really down and dirty. I sent text to Bruce at the show, told him I was jealous to miss this auspicious start. A nod to Zeppelin with GTBT. Trey shredding, Leo letting us know what it means to be alone. Then Slave popped up. They rushed the ending and thought it was ending there, but they busted out Rocky Top, which they often played in 1.0 when they were having a fucking blast. Fake out set closer. They tossed Cavern in there. Ha, opened with Llama and closed with Cavern? Man, flashbacks to the early 90s. Oh, and we got Possum'd at the encore. Third time in five shows. Every other night. My girlfriend was overjoyed that there West Side Story teases. I had no clue about Maria.

Looks juicy on paper. Stream sounded great thanks to @sakuraYEM's feed.

FYI... download 7/10/13 PNC at LivePhish.com.

Thanks to LazyLightning55 for the video!

Complete setlist and couch tour recap here.

Official poster by Rich Kelly

Phish is playing 3 sets on Saturday to make up for their clusterfuck on Friday night.

FYI... Phish is webcasting these shows on LivePhish.com.

Here is the setlist for night #2...

The Phish, 7/20/13 Northerly Island, Chicago, IL

Set 1: Prince Caspian > Twist > Oye Como Va > Twist > Ha Ha Ha, Possum, Cities, Lawn Boy, I Didn't Know, Rift, Destiny Unbound, My Friend My Friend, Kill Devil Falls, Cavern, Bowie

Set 2: Back on the Train > Mike's Song > Theme from the Bottom > Weekapaug, Golden Age > Waves > Piper > Slave

Set 3: Meatstick > Birds, Strange Design, Ocelot, Light > HOOD, Good Times Bad Times

E: Shine a Light

Click here to see every Phish setlist from this summer tour, plus links to vids and recaps.

FYI... download tonight's show 7/20/13 at LivePhish.com.

Chicago #2 Recap: Three-Set Make-Up
By Pauly

After the shitshow clusterfuck on Friday, Phish made it up to their faithful minions with three sets on Saturday night, which included a searing middle set that made this jaded vet grin ear to motherfucking ear. Phish took the stage roughly a half hour earlier than usual and the smarmy thugs running the Windy City extended the curfew to 11:30 so Phish could squeeze in a third set to make up for the cancellation of the second set from the previous night.

St. Louis Tom pinged me around 3pm with word from reliable source who conformed a 7:15pm start time. I didn't think the band could get past the powerful machine that runs Chicago with an iron fist. Phish Inc. somehow pulled off three sets, which they could only do with a later curfew. Around 4pm, we got official kangfirmation from the band that they'd be playing three sets (in addition to offering a partial refund). That seemed to quell the mutiny in Phishdom, which was divided between two groups: 1) outraged phans who felts personally slighted by the band and city officials, and 2) Teflon phans that shrugged off the bad beat and hoped Phish would pay it forward sometime in the future. I was in the Teflon crowd, but thought we'd only get 2 sets (albeit much longer sets) so I was thrilled with the announcement for three sets.

My crew was getting soused in the hotel bar and they scrambled to get ready quicker to head to the show a little earlier. We swapped some extra tickets with Fletch. Benjo saw a hottie (with "nice big tits" he added) who was offering to pay $150 for a lawn. Holy fuck. I had not seen such a hot ticket (non-Halloween or NYE) in 3.0 since Hampton. Extras were going for $100+. Not a single floor ticket to be found.

We all had floor tix (with Senor, Benjo, G-Money and Javier) and we posted up FOB. If you were watching the webcast, we were just next to the guy with the inflatable cactus. I somehow found St. Louis Tom even though his phone was dead. Sometimes you're meant to see people at shows (fate vs. technology).


It was almost a given that they were going to open with Prince Caspian. That Twist was topped with some Oye Como Va hot sauce. Ha Ha Ha was unexpected. G-Money and I caught it at the infamous UIC show (played only 6 times in 3.0 and I was a lucky dog to catch four of them). Loved Senor's response to Possum, "This is a new song, right?" I expected Cities and Simple (because both were good songs about big cities like Chicago) this run and Benjo was pumped to hear a Talking Heads cover of Cities. Page dedicated Lawn Boy to everyone on the lawn. He wanted to make them feel a little extra special after Phish Inc. and Live Nation suits pretty much robbed them blind after raking in big bucks selling "lawn seats" which was muddy holes filled with sand and with zero views of the stage. I dig Fish hijinks early in the show (so the vac solo doesn't kill the momentum of a second set) and I Didn't Know was a reminder that we're devoted cult members who worship a chubby guy in a dress playing a household appliance. Maybe all the mind-melting Psychedelic exploration clouded our judgement over the years? Nah, who am I kidding. My biggest regret is that I didn't take more shrooms at Phish shows in the 90s. Rift was quick and painless. Love Destiny Unbound, but its losing its luster as a "bustout" if it's played more than once a tour. My Friend was dark and evil. KDF had a nice mini-jam. Thought Cavern would end the set, so Bowie was all gravy and had some spooky vocals from Fish. Thought first set would be shorter, but glad Phish got through a dry set before the rain arrived.

Javier pounded those souvenir long-stemmed drinks that cost $14! He killed five by the end of the second set (and they were doubles too). We gave him guff that his alcholism is getting in the way of enjoying the Phish. He disappeared at random moments to re-fill his cocktail. I love those edgy moments at a show when you think you lost your friends for good for the night (that they'll never find you), yet somehow they magically re-appear right before a great moment? Well, that kept happening all night long.

The second set was wet wet wet. For a second night in a row, I left my rain gear back at the hotel. Didn't matter. The second set was so good that I danced my way through the raindrops. At the end of Back on the Train, the band had finally turned a corner and the rest of the set was Phish blasting off into the cosmos. Loved the insertion of Theme as the lunch meat for a Mike's Groove sandwich. Glowstick war erupted during Mike's. Weekapaug intro was phat, but the overall version was uneventful. Benjo thought Golden Age had cool Daft Punk lights by CK5. I loved the "blank canvas" behind the band because it allows CK5 to present mood lighting (like the color field school of painters). Golden Age > Waves > Piper > Slave might not sound mind-numbing at home, but it was pure Phish magic if you were dodging raindrops and surfing atop the infectious crowd energy, fueled by 40-minute chunk of bliss. The Deadheads in our crew noted that Waves had many elements to a Dead-like jam. Wished it was played more often. Piper delivered. And Slave? Well, it's my favorite song and I love it so much that I never listen to it. Last time I heard it? MSG run. Perfect way to cap the best set of the run (thus far).

Javier rolled three blunts for three sets. We got stuck surrounded by lots of amateur party people -- sloppy drunks, two feet deep in empty beer cans. One guy was so shithoused that he kept banging into G-Money and Javier. He offered to share a joint, but it was "sad weed" as G-Money put it.

Third set started out slow but then got cooking. Am I the only one who thinks Meatstick is overplayed? Senor loved the Japanese lyrics, which was cool considering we both caught Phish in Japan 14 summers ago. Birds got a quick hook. Strange Design is one of Senor's favorites because back in the 90s, he used to put it on mixtapes for girls he picked up in AOL chat rooms. I wasn't wearing the Ocelot shirt. I love Ocelot even more so because mostly everyone else hates it and it's no longer a first set song, which means the boys think the jam is strong to graduate from the first set. Couldn't stop laughing when a pair of spunout Phishy chicks were rubbing up against G-Money. I was super faded during the Light jam and I was on the ropes, but I got saved by Hood. Trey was in full-blown rockstar-god-wanker mode with Good Times Bad Times. He encore was a soulful cover of the Stones' Shine A Light. Glad Benjo got to see it.

Great second set. The third set had some fantastic moments. Too bad they didn't get a Midnight encore so they could have stretched out a lot of those songs in the second and third sets. I left the show thinking... imagine if Phish came on early every show and trimmed their setlists? They could squeeze in three sets every night.

Two down. One more to go.

We know what Obama wants to hear...

Thanks to @change100 for the catwang'd.

It's coming. Are you ready for an MJ Hallwoeen?

Fink Magazines Phight of the Year: The battle being staged for Song of the Year between Carini and Tweezer

By Fink

A few days ago, I provided the CompuJam Stats for Carini making her case for Song of the Year (link to Part 1). This week, I will deliver the CompuJam Stats for Tweezer arguing his case for song of the year. Prior to doing so, let me just give some quick rational on why I believe these are the top two songs of 2013. Carini and Tweezer epitomize why Phish is far and away the best band in the world, and why I believe they are at the absolute top of their game right now.

1. Quantity. Counting MSG 2012, there have been 42 shows to date. Carini has appeared eight times, Tweezer ten times. Five of the eight Carinis were over 12 minutes. Every version of Tweezer clocked in at over 9:56, three were over 20 minutes. They are in heavy rotation and extended just about every time played.

2. Quality. There are some great jams in nearly every one these tunes. Phish knows how good these songs are as they relied heavily upon them all year long: They were only in the same show once, every version was featured in a prominent position and all were played in the second set.

3. Consistency. Carini and Tweezer have been tremendous in at least 14 of the 18 versions since MSG 2012. That’s a ridiculously high percentage. Put almost any of them on randomly for a listen and you will not be disappointed.

4. Versatility. Phish showed a tremendous ability to take both deep into Type II. They also can veer in any direction – blissful, dark, happy, dirty, funky, groovy, psychedelic, uplifting.

5. Historical. Each offered up multiple versions that will be listened to forever. My Phish All-Time Crushers playlist includes six versions from this battle.

6. Variety. One of the things that blows me away about Phish right now is that most of these 18 jams are so unique…never going back to the same old jam. Nobody else can do what Phish does. Nobody.

Tweezer CompuJam Stats

12/28/12 MSG. The first 20-minute Tweezer in over nine years…this bad man struts out of the locker room at MSG with a limited entourage, calmly steps into the ring and after taking off his boxing robe delivers a master class of jabs, feints and slips. This Tweezer is intelligent, not trying to win the fight in the first round with wild haymakers instead impressing the judges with his incredible and intricate sounds that get better and better as the song goes on. A Money Mayweather style clinic, if you will, on how to jam. A beautiful four man build-up to the middle and then suddenly this Tweezer is gliding along, floating like a butterfly and stinging like a Yarmouth Road. This Tweezer is a seasoned veteran; he’s confident and knows he’s got IT. Slow and steady for most of the jam and then starts to build towards the end to some great rock n' roll guitar licks and a few stretched notes from Big Red. This Tweezer then takes an authoritative step into the Maze.



7/06/13 SPAC. This is only time all year that Tweezer and Carini are played in the same show this year, separated only by Sand. Unfortunately for Tweezer, Carini dominated this round and his cornerman was trying to use the Sand to heal the wounds with gauze. Tweezer goes nowhere so Trey correctly pulls the ripcord. This was a tiny Tweezer, no future at all. He doesn’t have much to offer, SPAC Carini didn’t give SPAC Tweezer the time of day and just dominated him on this night.



7/12/13 Jones Beach. After a lackluster showing in his previous round, this Tweezer was obviously coached up by his trainer, immediately announcing his presence with authority. One bad round does not a phight make. The relentless rain finally subsided and immediately you can hear the confidence in this Tweezer. Hardly a wasted minute, this Tweezer is played with power and like all great athletes makes everyone around him better as he sets up one of the best segues of the year in Tweezer -> Cities -> Wedge (The Right, the left, the right!). This is a professional Tweezer.

7/16/13 Alpharetta. This Tweezer shows up in the middle of the Heartbreaker set. Phish being Phish, you can hear how much fun this Tweezer is having. This Tweezer is having a good time, roaring with laughter, cracking jokes and buying drinks for everyone at the bar. He probably spotted Carini drinking in the corner booth flirting with some guys, thus the Heartbreaker teases. This Tweezer isn’t perfect or beautiful but hot damn this Tweezer is a good time and great fun to be around. He really starts to boogie down and probably left the bar a bit too early with Silent in the Morning. This Tweezer knows how to Party Time.

7/22/13 Toronto. Due to some questionable choices after leaving the bar in Alpharetta, Tweezer needed to get out of the country. This is a fairly standard Tweezer, nothing memorable here. It holds a nice groove for a minute but not much to report. The boys took the DWD jam huge to open the set and then cruised home. After a big night out in Alpharetta and what was in store the next time Tweezer hits the town, it’s not entirely unexpected that this Tweezer took a slight breather from the freezer and went home early. He was saving his Energy (speaking of, gone for good or just took the fall semester off?) for Tahoe, but went home with Silent for the second show in a row.

7/31/13 Tahoe. The Tahoe Tweezer. I think Mike sums it up best: "That Tahoe thing that everyone likes — the Tahoe 'Tweezer.' Was it 'Tweezer?' Whatever the hell it was. I really liked that night, too." We phans have debated thousands and thousands of hours about the significance of this jam. I have read countless essays about it. My crew has had a huge debate on the Tahoe Tweezer causing a schism in the group (aka the "Tahoe Reformation"). This was one of, if not the, greatest songs I have ever witnessed. At the time I remember thinking it was equivalent to watching Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel. This was the highlight of one of the greatest summers of my life. Shit, this was one of the greatest moments of my life. WTF Mike? "Was it Tweezer?!?!?" Was he being cool or was he serious or was he just being Mike? Its actually OK, artists obviously have different viewpoints and whatever works for Phish to get them to the zone they are in right now I am all for. Anyway, this Tweezer is the biggest and baddest dude on the block. This Tweezer definitely carries around the bad motherfucker wallet. This Tweezer isn’t comparable to 2013 Tweezers, this Tweezer is comparable to the greatest Tweezers and really the greatest Phish jams of all time. This Tweezer has it all – versatility, beauty, size, length, depth, strength, tension and release, patience, style, substance, a journey out and back with a perfect landing and of course much debated crowd involvement. While I am anti-woo and encourage everyone that woos to buy the woo-x [/wo͝oks/] patch (of course Trey probably needs the patch more than anyone), patient zero woof fit perfectly for that time and place. The only band in the world that can involve their crowd and have that kind of spontaneous interaction in one of the greatest jams of all time is Phish. This Tweezer flows through different themes and movements with precision and accuracy, moving from beauty to darkness to light to joy to bliss to release to the congregation participation. I was so blown away I barely remember the Tela (or anything else for that matter) that followed.



8/31/13 Dicks. It took exactly one month for Phish to follow-up the Tahoe Tweezer. This Tweezer is actually quite good looking in certain lights, at times nearly moving me to tears, but also has some flaws. There are moments where this Tweezer is quite a handsome chap and makes the ladies swoon. However there are other moments where he is just not good looking at all. I think the biggest issue with this Tweezer is that he is mostly a one-man show, all Trey. Granted that playing is beautiful, but I prefer it when the four are moving as one. And getting number-lined after a great jam…well that pretty much always sucks (excluding the previously mentioned 12/30 Carini).

10/20/13 Hampton. This Tweezer emerged from Paul and Silas, finally out of jail and ready to hit the town. He got into some trouble with that super slutty Carini on Friday night in Hampton, posted bail and emerged from the can as cool as the other side of the pillow on Sunday. This Tweezer is so smooth, yet he has a certain edge. After posting bail, he picked up his gear from the police station: no phone – this dude is old school cool, vintage leather jacket, Persol sunglasses, money clip with $2,517, one Tahoe Millward Phish coin, 3 magnum condoms, a handkerchief with the initials T.T. on it, a torch lighter and a personalized pocket knife. This Tweezer immediately heads from the cooler to the bar, grabs a seat and orders a single malt scotch with a splash of distilled water. The waitress can’t take her eyes off this Tweezer, nobody in the bar can. This is the type of Tweezer that everybody notices but is so complex and deep that they don’t really get up the nerve to talk or dance with. People are just in awe of this Tweezer sitting at the bar, sipping his scotch, reading the paper – just as cool as they come. This Tweezer then segued into What’s the Use, I don’t care what Live Phish or Trey say.



10/27/13 Hartford. Meet Preezer the preaching Tweezer, giving sermons on my favorite organized religion, the Rhombus of Phish. Preezer is happy, uplifting, makes you feel good about hood. Preezer makes you want to move. Even if sitting, you instinctively bob your head up and down and side-to-side. You can’t help but move your body to Preezer’s lecture. Preezer is a feel good Tweezer. I really like Preezer – he is kind and caring and loving. The rhythm section (aka the entire band for this jam) lays down some really beautiful music. Four band members working as one to create music that is so damn phresh. I love the beat of this jam, I love Mikes work on the bass, I love Trey’s rhythmic playing and well placed licks, I love Page injecting the keys at just the perfect moments, I love Fishman holding it all together. Preezer leads into (in somewhat of a jarring move after such an incredible sermon) Birds of a Feather. But I digress; this is quality, top-shelf, beautiful Phish and was in the concluding set of the best 3 show run this year. Bravo.



11/2/13 Atlantic City. This is Shaftweezer. Shaftweezer is the cold private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks, would risk his neck for Brother man, this cat Shaftweezer has a bad motherfucker wallet, can ya dig it? He is the continuation of the phunky “theme” of the weekend, starting with Wombat, all of the Shaft references, the greatest and funkiest Theme of all time and concluding with Shaftweezer. After the show, Shaftweezer took AC Carini back to his permanent resident penthouse at Caesars where he has a circular waterbed and mirrored ceilings, and made the funk with her. I really dig the way the phunk builds in this song two separate times and then boom, a perfect funky return back into Tweezer. However it actually pains me to talk about what comes after Shaftweezer (what horrific 4th quarter calls by Trey), so lets instead focus on what eventually follows every Tweezer – Tweeprise, aka the greatest four minutes in rock ‘n’ roll. How amazing is it that we get to throw it down one last time with Tweeprise before Phish sends us on our way? The Best. Band. In. The. World. And they are at the height of their powers. We are so lucky to be a part of it.


The Scorecard

We will throw out 2 Tweezers in order to make it 8 rounds for each fighter. Seven runs included both a Tweezer and a Carini therefore those will go head-to-head. The only run with a Carini and no Tweezer was BGA. I have selected the Jones Beach Tweezer for that round. The Toronto Tweezer was easy to eliminate. Selecting Jones Beach over Alpharetta was more difficult however I think it is better than Alpharetta.

Lets see how our judges have scored the fight through 8 rounds:
Special thanks to Pauly and Grant, two of my favorite Phisherman and more importantly two of my very dear friends, for their input on this post on Judges Notes.

This heroic battle between the two warriors will (presumably) come down to the final round at Madison Square Garden in December 2013. Which Carini will show up - happy, dark and dirty or in a slutty mood? Is she clean and off drugs or chasing the dragon down the rabbit hole? Will Tweezer be preaching his sermons to us, will he be kicking back like the cool man in the bar or will he be getting phunky? I am so excited to return to the garden and witness the final round.

Song of the year!
The #1 Contender vs. the Champion!
The Youngster vs. the Seasoned Veteran!
Lumpy Heads vs. Cold Freezers!
Man vs Woman!
Carini vs. Tweezer!

Lets Get It On!!!

ICYMI... read Song of the Year, Part 1 here.

Guest post by Fink... our good pal from San Diego. Check out other guest posts by Fink. He wrote reviews of this summer's run at SPAC and his thoughts on the new Phish songs from Wingsuit.

Features

• 23 Ounces Crystal
• Serving Size:

List Price: $15.99
This Month Special Price: check this out!

Related Products

• Aromafloria Muscle Soak Bath Minerals And Salts
• Aromafloria Aroma Remedy Bath Minerals And Salts
• Aromafloria Stress Less Bubble Baths

Product Description

Aroma Therapy
Ocean Mineral Bath Salts with Lavender, Chamomile & Sage.

Stress Less relieves the physical and emotional strain that a stressful lifestyle creates.

Lavender ..... Soothes and relaxes. Chamomile ..... Calms and rejuvenates. Sage ..... Relieves mental fatigue.

No animal testing.

Selina Naturally Celtic Sea Salt Fine Ground -- 1 lb - Vitacost Selina Naturally Celtic Sea Salt Fine Ground -- 1 lb - Taste the Salt Recommended by Health Professionals and Culinary Chefs Vital Mineral Blend Doctor Recommended ... Aromafloria Stress Less Ocean Mineral Bath Salts Stress Less ... Stress Less Ocean Mineral Bath Salts by Aromafloria allows you to immerse in a bath of soothing, calming aromas to relieve the physical and emotional strain of a ... ISSUU - Africa Imports Summer 2013 Personal Care Catalog by ... Retail Catalog for personal care products from Africa Imports. Massage Wands, Therapy And Relaxation Products Massage Wands, Therapy And Relaxation Products At Crystals, Rocks and Gems Amazon.com: Ancient Minerals Ultra Pure Magnesium Oil 8 oz ... As Dr. Mark Sircus' web site video implies to me, if we could swim regularly in the ocean we would likely have less if any need to shore up vitally needed magnesium ... MoonDragon's ObGyn Health Information: Anorexia Nervosa MoonDragon's ObGyn Health Information: Anorexia Nervosa, Eating Disorders Magnesium Oil: A necessary mineral to prevent many major diseases Magnesium supplements can take five years to work...Magnesium Oil takes about four weeks! "Ultra Pure" Magnesium Oil For Less Summer, Late Summer, Seasonal Healing, Healing with the ... seasonal healing, healing with the seasons, emotions, food as medicine, vitamins, minerals, herbs, herbal remedies, disease, disease control, disease prevention ... Sea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The sea, the world ocean, or simply the ocean, is the connected body of salty water that covers over 70 percent of the Earth's surface. It moderates the Earth's ... Sea Salt Health - Your Himalayan Salt Health Benefit Resource Learn about Himalayan salt health benefits for your body and more. Learn the difference between Salt vs. Sea salt.