After starting Fall 2019 and getting burnt out the past few weeks, I
finally arrive at the moments I've been waiting for!! 12/6 and 12/7
Charleston!!!
Aka my first/only shows
I've replayed most of these 2 shows at some point or another (especially
the second set on 12/7) but have never given full-on, full-show repeats
to either.
Keep in mind these were the two most incredible nights of my
concert-going life to this point, so you can imagine my biased memories 
That being said....
12/6/19 Charleston
Set 1
Carolina - Wonderful! A vocal track to open. COMPLETELY unexpected by me
and definitely not on my radar. I'll take it though for checking
a-capella off my list 
Party Time - Now here is where, literally, the party gets
started. Again, at the time I remember this was totally unexpected by me
BUT I quickly thought "how perfect to open a show!!" Again, bias, but
there is palpable energy out the wazoo - more than the previous couple
shows, imo. This PT flat out rages and actually feels like a substantial
performance instead of just, well, Party Time. Proper opener. KILLER.
Strawberry Letter 23 - I was not familiar with the song at this point
and didn't realize they had played it before. This is the 4th time
played and I talked to someone that saw the first 3 as well, lol. I
enjoyed it in person but I had absolutely no idea what the fuss was. I
do know that this opening trio of tracks would never have been on my
must-hear list, but it was such a great set opening that I had no cares
about it at all and just went with the flow. Wherever we go is what is
happenning. Etc. As for SL23, in hindsight I very much dig this. Trey flubs some lyrics but also kills others - check out his sick falsetto
All in all this gets points for rarity/surprise factor but wasn't
particularly outstanding. Still very fine though and a great song call
at this point!
Undermind - I remember being slightly disappointed at this point
that the setlist was denying my expectations/wishes, but as with Party
Time, this was so good in person that it didn't even matter. I remember
really LOVING it while it was happening and getting a new appreciation
for it from this point onwards. I have no memory of the crazy synth
raging from Page but listening back this thing kills. I'm sitting at the
dinner table headbanging and tapping my feet along while listening to
this. I remember dancing my TAIL off. That is a good sign. This
Undermind gets pretty gnarly and fuzzy, definitely red hot. Attendance
bias again, but this Undermind is terrific.
I Been Around - Nothing special, but I recall recognizing the intro "Hey
Page...." and knowing exactly what was coming. Again, setlist
preferences be damned! Never in a million years would you tell me this
set so far (based purely on song choice) would have me going nuts. But
again, that's Phish for you - setlist does not equate to quality
Rarity points - 8th version ever played. Not quite Lushington, but for my first show I'll take a statistic like that 
Great keys from Page. I might prefer this to Lawn Boy, if I'm being honest....
Divided Sky - Finally some "big league" action, lol. This was one
I had been hoping and praying for - DS is possibly my favorite Phish
song (or at least among the classic of classics) and a track I ALWAYS
love to hear. I went NUTS when they started this! I
remember looking out for flubs and they nailed the "backwards" section
so that's pretty much a pass from here on out for me. I'm sure you guys can picture me - arms in the air, screaming - "DIVIDED SKY THE WIND BLOWS HIGH!!!!!!" Do
you guys remember your first Divided Sky? Would love to hear about it!
This particularly version has a very nicely relaxed tempo to it. It just
washes over you. Along the lines of the Junta version, ya know? For
2019, this DS is totally nailed .There's a brief minute or so where
Fishman and the guys get ever so slightly disconnected,
but unless you are relistening through earbuds I doubt most people even
noticed a hiccup. Some cool jamming by Trey begins around 10:30. He has a
couple "finding the right note" moments here and there but on the whole
delivers an inspired round of soloing. If this isn't an "A+ across the
board DS", it certainly deserves props for being executed excellently
(again, for 2019) and keeping the listeners attention from start to
finish.
^^^That was some life-changing s#!t for me, fam...THAT FREAKING SUSTAINED NOTE (YOU KNOW THE ONE!) AT 13:40!!!!
The Sloth - I remember losing it when they busted this out. The opening
combo of PYITE>Sloth from 12/31/95 is rooted deep in the core of my
listening central nervous system. This was the BOMB. Playing-wise it's
not the greatest, but it's a great call after DS. This was definitely a
"you had to be there" song though. For me at least. In person I was just
losing my GD mind...
Destiny Unbound - An old-school 1.0 threepeat section! YES!!! Not
my favorite song ever, but I do enjoy it and was stoked to get another
rarity (even if not a mega one anymore). This is a great version. I
remember at the time realizing they were "taking it out there" quite a
bit but never realized until later it was one of (if not the first) time
they've given it a "ride", so to speak. Gloating points for me - IT WAS MY FIRST SHOW DEAL WITH IT Right
at only 2:33 they drop into a funky jam outta nowhere, Page on the
Claivnet, etc. You know the drill. They ride the funk train for a while,
Trey doing some great soloing. Eventually around 5 min in Page jumps on
the piano and the jam turns the corner to "let's-peak-to-the-sky-ville"
territory. Trey doing his expected chirpy trills and everyone else
building a platform beneath for him to rise to the heavens. Trey starts
playing with delay and slashed chords, Page and Mike absolutely tearing
it up below him. Page then introduces some great organ sounds and the
jam returns to more blissful areas. Tons of lengthy sustained notes high
up on the neck from Trey with Mike dropping bombs throughout and the
whole band just raging this sucker HARD. Really, truly,
exceptional track. They even properly concluded the jam and return to
the songs themes. Fantastic. Then Mike reminds them there is another
verse and drops some HARD bombs like "hey guys, don't end the song too
early!!!!". Outstanding. A+ effort imo. Really.
We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains - Although I knew I wouldn't get
Turtle (my favorite), I was really hoping for Everything Is Hollow. Glad
I got WACTOOB though as I love it as well! Before the dust has settled
on that beastly DU, Trey immediately fires up this baby. A great choice
for a cool down piece after the preceding 3 monsters! The aquatic vibes
with the watery synths and chill atmosphere are just fantastic.
Unfortunately instead of heading for a jam they quasi-ripcord into MyFe.
If this was longer and felt less like an "interlude" then it would
definitely be on the highlights list. What's here is great.
>My Friend My Friend - I remember in person being glad to get this
but also thinking it wasn't the best version, unfortunately. Let's see
how it does for me now...Relistening it's pretty strong but nothing
special. I think at that point I was pretty tired (first show, all the
wait time and stress of pre-show, etc etc etc). It was pretty awesome
but I definitely cooled off a tad bit at this point. A fine MyFe though
with lots of strangled guitar from Trey! Nothing wrong with this at all -
it's pretty dang gnarly! List-worthy though? Ask me a different day and
I might say yes.
>About to Run - Now this I definitely remember being freaking
awesome. I wasn't that familiar with the Ghosts songs yet but definitely
knew this one good enough to recognize what it was. I remember thinking
this was heavy as hell and quite wonderful. The dynamics between the
smashing guitar histrionics and the quiet verses...wonderful. The crowd
is lapping it up at least! Trey absolutely lets it rip on this sucker.
MyFe was just a warmup for this axe mutilation! I recall in person going
"oh my god!" with my head in my hands at what I was witnessing, lmao.
FANTASTIC.
The Horse>Silent In the Morning - No comments. Not even from me. It is literally what it is. It was fine and that was all.
David Bowie - I remember at this point definitely feeling ready for
setbreak (and in hindsight that should've happenned after About to Run
probably). I was rooting for this (MY FIRST BOWIE AT MY FIRST SHOW!
YES!) but at the same time was definitely let down by it. Divided Sky it
was not. I was kinda waiting for it to end (as awful as that sounds).
Not a great Bowie imo.
All in all, this set flows great as a listen. Not everything is top-tier
but there are rarities galore (kinda) and several outstanding tracks
more towards the beginning. Really great set overall and stoked that I
got a good one as my first
Set 2
Axilla - Unexpected by me and kicked us in the face! Awesome
opener! Got teases throughout the rest of the night too which was great.
I remember the guy next to me punched me in the arm and said it was his
40th show but his first Axilla! Goes to show you never know what youre gonna get!!!
The guys really get into the "AXILLA YEAAAHHH!!!" vocals on this. It's a
red hot version with everyone in high spirits laughing their tails off.
Awesome opener!
>Scents and Subtle Sounds (X FACTOR EVERYWHERE) - I recall at
the time not recognizing the song at first and the transition into this
from Ax definitely threw me for a loop. Then they slammed into that main
riff and I went "oh, yes, this song!" Again, not what I expected but definitely what I needed
Around 6 minutes the song fades into the murky abyss and the dark keys
come out. Into jam land we go! Some tasty About-To-Run-esque playing
from Trey. At 6:50 we get a full on Axilla reprise from Trey which is
awesome. The energy keeps building with every measure. Everyone is
taking their time but evolving nicely into some gooey Type II funk
broth!! This is great. I often complain about quickly-changing jams in
recent shows, but this is the kind of stuff I love - they grab onto the
funky heaviness and slowly build it, raging it hard and fast, learning
the nuances of the music, breathing it in and out from note to note.
It's not a race. It's a marathon. And they reach some dang apex peaks
with this thing. I'm not going to call attendance bias on this because
in the moment all I could do was hold on for dear life - I couldn't even
comprehend it in person, so this is like listening to it for the first
time. And it's SPECTACULAR!!! Just freakign awesome. Around 13 minutes
Trey signals a shift in the jam and the heavy funk gets replaced by more
frantic and electronic kind of playing. Bleeps and bloops and blaring
disco synths, all while Fishman retains the break-neck beats he's kept
going since the beginning. Watery playing from Trey, electronics
galore...I'm bad with this stuff but all call it a robot jam or
something
Extremely cool. Absolute Type II. 14 minutes in we get more Axilla from
Trey along with robot spacehip effects from Page! Incredibly awesome.
Things get to a more rocking sensibility from here and the guys just
rock it to high heavens with some 70's-esque blaxploitation-type themes
from Trey (that sick descending part). From here it's to a stop-start
jam with everyone locked in just full on X Factor jamming this mother.
This is incredible. This is one of the jams of the year - can someone
point me to something else from 2019 that is this relentlessly NASTY?! THIS IS CATCHING YOUR PARENTS IN THE ACT KINDS OF NASTY!!!! At 18 minutes they kill it rather quickly (how do they do that) unfortunately, but all is not lost as we go into....
>No Quarter - ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?! Leading
out of Scents, Trey shines the dark and murky path forwards with effects
laden static hysteria. Think white noise. As the first key notes
appear, the crowd immediately goes bonkers, not believing what is
happenning. This was one of the greatest 1-2 punches I've ever heard (I
swear no attendence bias - facts) and it's even killer when Page begins
the vocals. He has those vocal effects and the whole thing screams
amaze-balls. I know I absolutely could not believe what I was witnessing
- again, maybe not what I wanted but definitely what I friggin
NEEDED!!! HOLY HELL!! INSERT HEADBANGING ONCE RIFF COMMENCES. And Trey absolutely rapes his guitar from here to the moon like a cheap Tijuana hooker. Incredible. "Walking side by side with death" - yea you said it Page!!!! Jeeezzzz.....
Your Pet Cat - Holy hell, worst set placement ever I remember being glad to hear it but THOSE FRIGGIN SAMPLES WERE WAY TOO LOUD! I HATE THOSE CAT SAMPLES AND NEVER WANT TO HEAR THEM EVER AGAIN!!! That
being said, I do love this track musically but in person those damn
samples absolutely ruined me. You have no idea. Listening now, samples
aside, there's loads of great soloing from Trey, but dang it kill those
samples!
Mercury - I remember freaking out that they played it. It was definitely
at the top of my want-to-hear list for sure. This one stays pretty in
the box but what's here is excellently played and performed. Despite
only having a short Type I jam, it's top notch playing from everyone.
Great little Mercury! Better than I remembered - I was really hoping
they would stretch this out but alas it was not to be. And that's ok
>Saw It Again - Completely took me be surprise, yet again. A
stupid song but c'mon this was pure fun in person. Love the guys
screaming the background vocals, lol This feels like the crazy jam
Mercury was missing, haha. The guys just go stupid for 5 minutes ripping
and tearing the place to shreds. Awesome.
>Limb By Limb - One of my favorites!!! I remember in person
absolutely loving that they played this and recognizing how awesome this
version was. 13 minutes of awesomeness. This sucker takes it's time
like Scents and just builds and builds. It goest Type II pretty much,
but also still kinda stays in that "let's peak to the moon" mode of
things. But it's on the slightly wacky side as well. EVERYONE is playing
crazy and this is just a friggin' thing of beauty. Also, check those
Divided Sky teases!! THIS THING IS A BEAST!!! It get's wacky and weird, Fishman sings, we dissolve into chaotic ambience....what is this?!?!
>The Lizards - And you bet your gosh-darn mind I went friggin'
insane when this popped out! I turned to my friend and went "OMG ARE
THEY REALLY PLAYING LIZARDS?!?!?" From the version I first heard
from 10/31/90, this has been one of my favorite songs ever and was
definitely up on my wish-list. I still can't believe I actually got to
see it. That friggin Skippy The Wondermouse section almost had me
tearing up....
Suzy Greenberg - It's Suzy. It's awesome. Axilla teases. As with Lizards and Bowie... "YES! I GOT A SUZY AT MY FIRST SHOW! "
Bittersweet Motel - FIRST SINCE 2016!! FOURTH EVER SINCE 3.0! MEGA RARITY STATUS! YES!!!! I DONT CARE THIS WAS AWESOME. COME AT ME.
Death Don't Hurt Very Long - I remember this being another KV
favorite of mine at the time and stoked to get this for sure. Great
little version! Dirty and gritty and gnarly.
Loving Cup - The Phish encore to end Phish encores, at least as
far as covers go, no? Again, I was absolutely STOKED to get this because
it's quite possibly my favorite song on Exile (which is among my
favorite albums ever) and I always love Phish playing it. Literally a
perfect choice for me and to end the night with a bang.
All in all, a pretty spectacular first gig for me, eh?
I still can't believe how great it was in person. This show isn't
Alpine 2019 #3, but objectively, I really think this was probably 2nd
strongest of the Fall tour so far behind 12/1 Uniondale. Attendance
bias, etc but this was a strong gig no matter how you wanna rank it!
That Scents>No Quarter is MUST HEAR (absolutely one of the jams of
the year) and that Destiny Unbound and Limb By Limb are probably
essential as well. Lots of rarities tonight as well as a TRIPLE
encore!!!
I think the 4.2 on .NET is fairly accurate. YMMV
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