"Love your post except for comment about dead at this point in their careers. First off phish still haven't reached that long as a touring band. They took late 2000-nye of 2002 off( over two years), then took off from early august 2004-beginning of 2009-almost five years. Not to mention that calling them a band from 83'-86' at least in terms of where the dead were at that same time in their respective timelines , it just doesn't match up fairly , the dead were a legit act at that time while phish was still college kids going to school and playing dorm rooms. Really in my opinion as a pro band actively touring I give the dead about. 28 years of touring including their mid seventies short hiatus and Jerry's car accident and subsequent rehab/ diabetes health scare. And I give phish about 22 years and that's including all of the unplayed 2015 as well as many years where they played way less shows than the dead. But secondly some of the greatest dead shows happened right up until 1994. Really they did. Amazing music was being made. There isn't much redeeming in 1995 ok. In terms of totally awsum shows at least. But partial shows were good. And even Then they were at times raging and certain standout songs or sets do exist. So I don't agree with that characteraztion. But that aside this show is fire. And I agree with all your comments about current scene. I too love ALL phish and def love 3.0, and I loved most of 03-04' as well. But they are doing new things they never did before: yea they are also not doing stuff they used to do that people miss but they're till evolving and that's what keeps me, and I think them, interested. And yea trey is on absolute fire here. Just pure hosing. Intense, energetic, varied and creative. The whole band was like this most of entire show . "

"to jbrown...I'm not fluffing! This show rocks, man. Have you actually listened to it? Listen to Piper...it's orgasmic. Listen to Sand....Yeah, the second set is a little uneven in spots and the ripcord is evident, but there's some astounding playing here. Just saying."

"mediocre show, stop fluffing, you dont need to anymore, its actually good now"

"Easily one of my top 15 shows all-time! Great show. Thoughful, well-played, well-paced and Trey was spot on all night. Merriweather is such a special place. I remember seeing the Dead there, with the best Shakedown I've ever heard. The place is magic. This is one of my top three shows from the 3.0 era. Another is Essex Junction, VT on 9-14-11 if you're interested. Anyway, this first set is one of the best 1st sets I've ever heard. What a set-list. What a performance. Drop it like it's hot, boys! BTW, I respectfully disagree with the old-time Heads who continue to rain on the Phish parade. I get that they're different now. I get that you're bummed about it. Get over it. Aren't you different, too? Are you the same now as you were 20 yrs. ago? Anyway, not disputing anything you're saying...I"m just saying....it's nice to still have these guys around, playing well, with passion and having fun. Sure beats the disgusting waste of time the Dead were at this stage of their career. Peace."

"MPP #1 was my 4th show of the tour and I have heard most of the other shows to date via LivePhish.com. Sat. Night in Merriweather was arguably the best to that point. The First Set opened with Daniel Saw The Stone, which I had not seen since the IT Festival in 2003, and was prompted by an audience sign handed up to Trey. It was fun, but it took a few songs for the band to hit their groove. The 5th song was Vultures, which despite a couple of vocal flubs, began to pick up the intensity of the set. Lift-off occurred with a mid-set Wilson into Sand. Sand had a very deep and funky groove going, and the whole lawn where we were hanging was rocking on it. Then it was on to a cover of Ween's Roses are Free, Reba, On your way Down and a set closing Antelope. Wilson through Reba was extraordinary. Things only got better in the second set. Peaks and valleys of energy were the theme of the set and it worked well. Birds of a Feather opened and got the house rocking, and it then moved into Tweezer, which is becoming the anthem of this tour and the place rocked harder yet. Then on to the quieter Horse>Silent in the Morning and Waves so everyone could catch their breath. The another burst of high energy came on us with a mid-set Chalkdust into Lou Reed's Rock & Roll. Things slowed down again with post R&R jam into a slow version of Neil Young's Albuquerque. But then all hell broke loose with a Piper>Wading in the Velvet Sea>2001>Faulty Plan>Suzie Greenberg closer. I feel tired just thinking about how intense that last sequence was. Much like the Dead, it is surprising how much things can change night to night. We had been in Camden on Friday night and while the first set was fun, the second set was an overall dud. One reviewer called the show a "turd with a few raisins hiding inside." That may be a bit harsh, but it was completely lackluster compared to the next night in Merriweather. All in all Merriweather #1 was a great show on a very solid tour. The next stop for us is Watkins Glen, lookout SuperBall, here we come. "