Best TWEEZER of 2012. There! I said it! The BEST!

Mike teases the bass line of Cars, Trucks, and Buses 11 minutes into Tweezer.

This was my first show, so I'll obviously be a little bit biased. Anyways, first set.

AC/DC Bag- Tight version. I was really hoping for a jammed out version but who wouldn't want that?

Moma- Black Eyed Katy was one of the first phish songs I fell in love with, so Moma holds a special place in my heart. This was the 100th performance of this song, and while it was played energetically, it was nothing special.

Heavy Things- Such a happy song. Page and Trey both played great during this. Above average version.

Ocelot- I've never gotten into this song, but I find myself still listening to this performance a month later. Trey's solo is just really tight and nice.

Funky Bitch- Always nice to hear, but an average version.

Bathtub Gin- Abnormally short, but an amazing peak. The Page-Trey interplay here was great. They were communicating especially well here.

Fluffhead- Really tight and high energy version. It's Fluffhead.

Alumni>Page>Alumni- Flubbed version lead to some great banter about Fishman in college.

Tube- Introduced as a Fishman song taken from a journal of his. Really normal version, no jamming really.

My Sweet One- A nice bluegrass break.

David Bowie- While I think everyone's been a little disappointed by 3.0 Bowie, this one is pretty decent. High energy, and you could tell they were gearing up for a good second set.

Set 2

Crosseyed and Painless- You could feel everybody bracing themselves for a BGC3 caliber performance, and while we didn't get it, it was certainly a good version with a nice jam.

McGrupp- Pretty rare song. They jammed it sort of from 8.00-10.00 and it was actually pretty sweet.

Mikes Groove- I was so excited to hear the opening riff. It was short, as is normal for 3.0, but was really high energy with a great peak. We got some rest with BATR, but were immediately rocked again with Axilla. This Tweezer though is most definitely the highlight of the show. Best Tweezer of 3.0? Best I've heard. I could tell about halfway through the jam that this was going to be talked about for a while after. They took in a much different direction than they normally do, turning the killer Tweezer riff into a melodic ambi-jam. Trey was dropping some beautiful waterfall licks, and overall was killin some arpeggios. While they cut it off a bit short, it was still an amazing rendition. Listen to it NOW. After this they segued into an average Harry Hood. Harry Hood is my favorite song, so I was incredibly psyched when Fishman played the opening toms. It didn't quite reach a peak like the best of the Hoods, but the jam was still very pretty. After this we get some much needed rest from The Horse>Silent. Pretty versions. We finally come back to Weekapaug, which is opened with some pretty different bass work from Mike. While funky and slappy as ever, it somehow sounds a little different from the beginning of most grooves.

Suzy Greenberg- Great high energy version to end a great second set.

Encore

BBFCFM- Amazing energy here. Trey raised the mic above his head, and Mike played on his knees. Trey played his guitar behind his head for a while, and ran circles around the stage. Overall just a fun experience.

Tweeprise- As always, a great end to a show.

I would like to add a review that I wrote last night and made sense at the time. If it's trolly then you all didn't exactly get IT like you were supposed to.

I have no choice but to review this event. It was, for me, a religious experience of no other. If you also got hit by that then I feel like I know you already. My last few reviews have been sappy as shit. I just can't help it. I just went through a cosmic realization of what reality could be if we all weren't all so stupid (me included, but learning fast). This was SF4 period. Look at the setlist's. This was a message. A sign. Do you not think that the banter was a way for them to try and feel like a non glowing human's of jubiliation for just a few moments. They emmersed themselves in the moment and played the air. Not sure what else3 to say. Love is being defined on a nightly basis. Either grab on and share or get lost in the message.

OK now it's time to read other reviews. That show was as good as IT gets. I can't compare it to LB or SF or any of the other stops as those were also that good. Last night was just a complete show from start to finish of total IT. Give that GIN a re listen and then listen to the rest of the show. Messages abound by big RED. Inspired playing by all, but Trey is no longer Troy in my book. Go Red. Hit me in the soul again. Peace all.

Killer old-school show with tons of energy and some really solid playing. There were no big surprises, but Bitch all the way through Bowie made for one of the strongest first sets I've ever seen. Page made my jaw drop a number of times; he gets MVP for the night without a doubt. Fluffhead was extra awesome for the middle of the first set, and just what we needed to hear at the time. I'm pretty sure I called this at some point.

Crosseyed was a first for me; it was good to scratch that one off the list, after so many shows. It didn't seem to go as far out there as other crosseyed's of late, but who's counting? The middle section of McGrupp seemed extra intense; I'm don't know if I've seen or heard it played quite like that; I'll have to go back and listen. For pure group improvisation, Tweezer was downright beautiful; it was a dreamy, watery, blissful kind of tweezer, a thing of beauty. If you don't hear anything else from this set, check out this Tweezer. Hood didn't really stand out to me, but it may warrant a relisten due to other reviews I've heard; Weekapaug was fairly strong, definitely one of the better ones in recent memory.

BBFCFM encore was a fun surprise, another one to scratch off my bucket list; Trey was having a blast running around the stage and hamming it up with the feedback and guitar antics. and of course they sent us home on a high note with the Tweeprise.

All in all, a pretty sick show with a nonstop energy and a relentless pace. Bouncin' and Horse>Silent were really the only breathers!
And I'm not sure how often you get to hear gin, fluffhead, bowie, mikes, tweezer, crosseyed->Mcgrupps and hood all in the same night! Mikes, Gin, Bowie and Hood were fairly standard, but Tweezer is a MUST HEAR.

I might have liked to see a few more surprises, but was quite pleased with my single phish outing for the year. It's good to see they still have it.

A lot of fun banter during the first set, and Alumni > LTJP > Alumni is never not welcome, as well as a legitimately strong Bowie and a well-played first-set Fluffhead. The second set is kind of scattered, especially since there are moments where it feels like the band just wants to keep the Mike's Groove going as opposed to creating some sort of flow (and Mike's Song has really not been very impressive this year, with the possible exception of Star Lake). But the Tweezer...oh, that beautiful, hose-exemplar, major chord jam in Tweezer, with echoes of the rich creamery goodness of the 12/31/91 version we all know and love. I think this might be my favorite 3.0 Tweezer yet; if the Groove had been Mike's -> Tweezer -> Weekapaug and everything else shunted to earlier or later in the set, people might be throwing out Long Beach praise, such is the power of this jam. As it stands, it's still very much worth hearing, and the rest of the show is worth a listen at least once for the first set talking, Bowie, and the Crosseyed > McGrupp duo.

this was/is a tough show to rate, because the bottom line was that the majority of fans (myself included) exited the venue feeling satisfied overall.

the song selection & placement was mostly first-rate, and the performances were mostly crisp & solid (perhaps the "alumni blues">"letter to jimmy page" was a little shaky, but the levity in general + humorous post-song banter more than made up for it). a "tweezer" placed in the middle of a "mike's" groove threw people for a loop in a good way, being that this supposedly hasn't happened in more than 20 years (despite that, my friend will vouch that i actually called for "tweezer" right before they played it....but blame me for being too naive to even be aware of that aforementioned fact until the following day, LOL).

however, the jamming, while interesting, was at times economical to a fault. often i hear people lay the blame on trey for this, but i can't agree with this sentiment 100%. for example, during the jam in "david bowie", trey circled the wagons a bit & then appeared fully ready to blow some heads off at a certain point....however, page pulled out of the jam early, forcing the rest of the band to follow suit. trey even missed the first sequence of "bowie"'s exit licks because he clearly wasn't ready to end the song. oh well....

but when all is said & done, the question is: was it an entertaining night? the answer was most definitely "yes". maybe it's not a show i'll reach for when assembling a "best of" jamming compilation.....but just from a song-oriented standpoint, the hits in charlotte far outweighed the misses.

Five stars. Energy, energy, energy. Let's count the songs played that debuted in the 80's: AC/DC Bag, Fluffhead, Alumni Blues, Bowie, McGrupp, Mike's, Harry, Weekapaug, Suzy Greenberg, BBFCFM.

Really nice Tweezer, a McGrupp that involves the full band, and the banter in the first set about Fish at UVM, and Page getting paid by Goddard, that's just priceless.

Awesome show.

Thought this show was good overall but not great. The highlight came in the form of a tweezer sandwiched in the middle of mike's groove. Possibly the first time that ever happened (not positive). over the past four shows including tonight the exploration that i live and breath for is becoming lesss and less. I'm not saying there is none because there is. I know a show is good when i cannot wait to relisten to certain tunes from it the following day. That happened almost every show leg1. However the past four shows there isn't alot i was so excited to relisten to the next day. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love phish and thnk this is the best tour of 3.0 by far. would just like them to let some tunes breath a little more. jus sayn. that said i can't wait for tuesday night.

Admittedly, I am jealous of the guy next to me who is intensely dancing to the music, matching the particular groove at the moment and completely lost in the experience. I do wish I was that guy many times. I'm not standing like a bump on a log but I am thoroughly focused in on the show, each note.... especially from Trey. That said, the late 90's early 2000's were frustrating for me. So you know, my favorite "go-to" Phish era is '92-'96. Listening with the critically technical ear can be frustrating and can push you in a direction that is contrary to what the show should be all about. Which is feeling, energy, relationship between artist and audience and Fun...most importantly. But, I'm working on that....I am. Fortunately, the way Phish is performing lately is helping me with my cause for what is right...just kicking back with friends and enjoying the damn show!

Sunday Night in Charlotte was very solid, at least in my opinion. I won't say life changing and all of that none nonsense. (But, if I was a young lad growing up on crappy contemporary Pop/Rap and that was my first Phish show, well then maybe so). I love the old school selections and a time warp to Gamehendge is always a winner. The 1st Set was classic. Getting a hefty dose of Gin, Fluff, Tube and Bowie made my ears feel good and silky. Always love a good My Sweet One as well. I enjoyed the silly banter about Fish's GPA in college too. Love the fact that Phish doesn't talk much on stage like other bands, but occasionally it's cool to see them break the silence.

2nd Set was strong, perhaps stronger than 1st? Still arguing with the guys about which set was better. But, opening with Crosseyed and then into a McGrupp, plus the closing 2 songs might be the sticking point for me. After 18 or so shows, I've never seen McGrupp performed so that is a highlight for me. I will only use this reference twice, but the Energy at this show was thick and palpable...not only from the band having a great time, but from the sea of 17 thousand dancing, smiling and totally psyched fans. The lower back started screaming for mercy during Tweezer though so I had some time to sit and stare at ass through Hood (Not intentionally, just had no choice and didn't want to be "the Choade" staring at my phone)....started to get up and then along came Horse and Silent. So, I stayed down. But, that was good because I needed the energy to close out the show with a vibrant Weekapaug and Suzy. Page was killing it. I know Suzy is played a lot, but I still love hearing that one. Now, closing with BBFCFM and Reprise reinforces why I think this show is great. I totally dug Trey mixing it up with his microphone, running around the stage, doing the behind the back guitar tricks....as well as Mike playing the song on his knees. Also, I don't believe I've seen this one live yet either. Top it off with the always, highly emotionally charging Tweezer Reprise and you walk out with a warm, fuzzy, happy to be alive feeling in your gut. It seems the boys enjoy their Charlotte visits lately and pull out some sweet older bits. Two years ago they broke out a Carini/FYourFace combo and last year we got an Icculus.

I apologize for the excess verbiage but I don't contribute often and have to get a bunch of thoughts out. So, in summation, this was one of the most enjoyable shows, for me at least, since '97 or so. But, of course, I don't have as many shows under my belt as some...I can only speak from my experience. That confirmation comes from three things: technicality of playing, song selection and overall energy. I guess it's one of those, "you had to be there" moments, but that's where I stand. I can tell you one very certain thing though. I remember with much clarity the first time I saw and heard Phish...back in a small bar in St. Louis circa 1992. I was sitting at a table 10 feet from the band and didn't take my eyes and ears off of them the entire show. I knew from that moment that this band would be extremely inspirational, unique, ground-breaking and one of my favorites of all time.

I am very happy to see these men playing their best music in a long time. Trey is on point and that makes me very happy. A few misses here and there, but nothing like 10 years ago or so when he jacked up YEM and was afraid to play Fluffhead. Overall, Charlotte is a great indicator that Phish is strong and churning and burning forward for hopefully another decade or two of musical experimentation and aural enjoyment. Hope to see you at another show soon...

Wolf

I danced my ass off! Never a dull moment. Tweezer>Hooooood! When they kicked it off with ACDC and Moma I knew it was on!

There's definitely a Cars, Trucks, Buses Tease by Mike around the 11 minute mark in Tweezer. Whether it's intentional, i'm not sure.

Fun and sloppy (very sloppy...maybe they are doing it on purpose?)...I love the stage banter...Mike talking...holy shit. I hope the band proves me wrong the next several shows...but first leg takes the gold this tour so far. Hands down. Dear Phish...please play an awesome slowed down, and jammed out acdc... Oh yeah and I hate stupid comments as much as everyone else...but sadly there is always that one guy who just doesn't get it and tries to be cool by being annoying...I can't tell you how many people I know like that. Right?

Can we please stick to reviewing the shows and not other people's reviews? Meatballs wanted a reaction and he clearly got one. He was probably aiming for negative 20 and we almost helped him get there.

How is any of this relevant to the quality of the show? People are treating this page like its a forum post; there is a reason there is no "reply" feature here! Move your conversations to the threads (even if they are completely warranted) please so that this does not turn into PT.

Also, I realize the irony of my own comment not reviewing the show, but I swear this is a once and only time. Ok, fine, Crosseyed was done better at Bill Graham's, McGrupp had extra jam-sauce and Bouncin killed the flow. Tweezer brought it back and was enjoyable while the Hood pairing was unique but otherwise not noteworthy.

Sorry for the lameass review, but I generally save the in-depth reviews for shows that actually move me greatly. I was just prompted to put in my $.02 when I saw the majority of "reviews" not actually reviewing the show.

Worth the dload (which to me should be the only point here on the reviews page)? Yes, but just barely.

With a "1" being Coventry and a "10" being 7/6/98 I'd give this show a 4.25. There were some moments but the flow was just not there. Usually that is more forgivable if there is a killer jam in there but for this show there's some enjoyable stuff but nothing jaw-dropping.

there was a machine gun tease before AC/DC Bag....and Mike is nailing it this tour...remember the old shirts AIR Gordon? Might we see a reemergence?

people have been going over board on reviews because 2012 tour has so many amazing shows lol

the meatball guys posts are only for comedic value... and after awhile get pretty old. like if he posts every show people gonna be pissed.

it has absolutely nothing to do with the actual show and is basically a mad libs book.

Trey was a red dragon and was in a wintergreen pine tree showering me with pixie dust that seem to just explode into space...

this is the kind of shit he writes and again it gets old and people come on here to see phans take on the show not for nonsense halfway funny stuff which again gets old quick...

I posted my couch tour review of the show and again this was up there with the top shows of the tour. such an old school start and Gin Fluff Alumni was a hot first set. also the fun fishman facts as well. the 2nd set starting with Crosseyed to McGrupp was hot and the 2nd set had the long sandwich mike's groove which was fun and the Tweezer was amazing, good hood too and I dont know if it has ever been Tweezer and Hood in a mikes groove but these are two big boys to be in the sandwich... BBFCFM was an unseen treat I think someone said it hadnt been in the encore since '92....

over all pretty amazing show!!

First, Meatballs:

I loved your review until you named Disease. You lost points for reviewing the wrong event.

But that's Phish on certain nights. You got it right.

Here's my couch-tour take.

Great energy tonight. I came on board before the Gin, and the organ solo on Funky Bitch sounded just fine. Gin was no invention a'la 6/29/12, and at under 10 minutes, it was less than standard. Fluffhead, on the other hand, sounded incredible. Great Fluff!

Alumni was full of enthusiasm, and Trey only played half of Jimmy Page, throwing the band into bumpy trainwreck territory. The mistake lead to some great banter, stories history, Tube and My Sweet One.

Bowie had another old-school virtually non-existant high-hat intro, and was essentially standard, although the energy was way higher than the usual. Roaring Bowie nailed to a T, but standard in length and form.

Set 2: The band put a challenge to SF3, but didn't match it. There were points of superior energy, but the flow and consistency wasn't quite there. Cross-eyed was another brilliant take, McGrupp a surprise, Mike's had some great Cross-eyed quotes, a second consecutive Bouncin' to follow, Axilla kept the energy rising, and then Tweezer blasted off into type II trance dance. Brilliantly done! Hood was what a standard Hood used to be, and the Horse Silent Weekapaug was a rest period that ended half way through Weekapaug, threatening to boil over. Suzy was nothing more than a great version.

Encore: A pure explosion of energy. Tweezer Reprise should be considered as a candidate for best ever. And the former assumed its old place in the encore slot. Ridiculous ending to the evening, and a good sign that some crazy music is on the way for the remainder of the tour.

Awesome show!!!! Alumni Blues WEEEEEE!!!!

also a mcgrupps but i think the jam of the night was tweezer diff went into a solid type 2 phun!!!

and the BBFCFM encore came out of no where haha

alot of phun i listen to this one on couch tour!!

and yes like I said last time about meatball, he makes 0 sense...

it may be funny once but obv no one thinks its funny now

meatball just take about the show for once.... if you even went

Interesting show to review. My only show of 2012 unfortunately, but my buddy and I decided to hit it last minute after we went to Railroad Earth's music on the mountaintop in Boone, NC. This was a nice way to just extend the trip. We grabbed tickets easily and hung in the lot for a bit.

We actually entered right as they were playing Bag and sort of just rushed through into the Pav without much ado.

Bag was fun, nothing to note really.

Moma kicked in with its funky self. Again nothing notable, but its always fun.

Heavy Things was one of the better versions I'd heard, but was still Heavy Things.

Ocelot was ok, but I also thought this wasn't as good as some of the versions I'd heard in '11 and and years following.

Funky Bitch was a good cover and kicked up the energy level, which I thought was needed.

They burst into Gin, and I was hoping for a really solid version. This one felt super short to me and much like the previous songs, just didn't feel markedly better or different in comparison to some of the previous (or subsequent versions).

Fluffhead was great - I didn't think they completely nailed it, but this one is always nice to hear in the first set.

They kept it old school and treated us to Alumni > Jimmy Page > Alumni, and shared the well known Page recruitment story from Goddard College.

Tube was short and sweet, and they then took time to give Fishman some grief about My Sweet One, which was a fun romp.

They gave the jamming another shot with Bowie, but like Gin I didn't think this one fully connected.

Set I: I'm a bit hard on this set, but I just didn't think musically it quite delivered. It did have a nice old-school vibe though and the banter was more than welcome. I also thought the energy was great and crowd really erupted at the end of the set. It's not a set I go back to however.

On to set II!

They opened with Crosseyed and Painless, which is always a hoot. This one rocked hard and managed to dip briefly into some type II stuff. Perfectly strong opener.

McGrupp was up next and this version was awesome. Great Page playing and this one had a cool sort of jam to my ears. Really good pairing.

Mikes is a good song, but this one didn't really elevate. Following McGrupp it did sort of fit the old-school type show feel.

Bouncin' was up next and was ok for me as a breather.

Axilla kicked the energy back up, which was a good call after Bouncin'.

They kicked into Tweezer and this gave us the highlight of the night. My friend and I had managed to get into the Pav and we were right behind Kuroda and the Soundboard so it was amazing to see him at work during this Tweezer (he was grooving!). This Tweezer was pure hose and they moved effortlessly through the song into a straight-up flawless full band improvisation that was 100% liquid hot butter. Take this one home.

Hood followed and this version was actually disappointing and the jam felt super short without much of a climax.

Horse>Silent 'Paug and Suzy were all satisfactory, but not really much to note.

Encore: BBFCFM was fun for sure, and Tweeprise sent everyone home with a smile.

Overall set II: Tweezer is a great one. Opening pair is worth a spin. Otherwise, an average show.

Overall: Not much here - it was fun, with a good old-school vibe, but I'd say just grab the Tweezer.
2.25/5