Been a couple weeks off of my 2019 replay.
After diving into some more 1997 and 1999 shows, as well as a ton of
Fall 2023 relistening this week, the time is right today to continue
onwards....
Up next is a VERY special show - my first! 
Context: I discovered Phish in May of 2018. 12/31/95 was the music that converted me.....
12/6/19 North Charleston, SC
On paper, it must be said, this is a weird/bad looking setlist, no? I
STILL think so! That being said, bias aside, it was an amazing show and
experience so you cant judge a book by its cover!!!
On with set 1!
The most appropriate Carolina is the acapella number of choice to get
the party started. I remember being THRILLED I was able to get one of
these, knowing how rare they are these days. Great stuff.
The band then launches perfectly into Party Time and its a HEATER!
Simple type 1, but Id call this one must hear. It rages hard, everything
is tight, and it serves as the PERFECT announcement that, well...ITS
PARTY TIME, LETS GO!
And that is EXACTLY what it felt like!!!!
Seriously, this was absolutely the opener nobody wanted but the one we all needed, ya dig? The place ERUPTED!
They continue the party vibe into a still rare Strawberry Letter 23. 4th
one to that point if memory serves - I remember someone nearby boasting
they had seen each one so far 
This is pretty excellent, sounds well rehearsed, and was a great unexpected call! I sure as hell didnt know what was going on! Great stuff!
Undermind is hot but ordinary but keeps the party vibe going strong.
Then we get anothe massive rarity-nobody-is-chasing with I Been Around.
Keeps the "fun" vibe still going. Its funny, I felt like one of
the only people nearby that recognized it - I had just done a 2009
marathon and that song was still "fresh" from all the Joy-era deep
diving I'd been doing....
Ok, so at this point in the set, I was having a BLAST, but Id be
lying if I sadi I wasnt disappointed with the song selection. That being
said, it literally taught me - in the moment! - that song selection
ain't everything! I remember thinking during this "ya know, it sucks
this isnt Its Ice or Disease, etc, but who cares when Im having SUCH a
great time regardless!!!"
So, just as Id become resigned to my fate of having to deal with a
setlist "not to my taste", they kick move out of party ville and slam us
with a Junta/early Phish triple threat outta nowhere!!!
Divided Sky begins and I lose my friggin mind. Outside of
Punch, Fluff and Disease, its probably my favorite Phish song and has
been since the beginning. You bet I yelled the loudest "YEAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" ever when it began! Getting to sing along and slow-jump along.....life changing stuff, for real. A memory that will be with me until I die....
Anywho, the song itself, thankfully is EXCEPTIONAL! For a modern
version, its hands down next level!! They NAIL the composition like its
the 90s and the playing is energetic and confident. Trey's solo section
is delightful - trilling out the wazoo, it sounds like the soundtrack to
a majestic bird soaring through the sky, sun in the background....must
hear version!
Then, the fun continues with The Sloth! Considering 12/31/95 was the
first show I listened to, and this was one of the very first Phish songs
I heard, this song holds a special, stupid place in my heart.
Unfortunately, its the weak link of the set tonight and Trey totally
goes Flubs McGee throughout. Oh well, at least I could say I saw The
Sloth!
Lost my mind for a third time in a row when they whipped out... Destiny Unbound?! Not
the Uber rarity of days past, its still rare to get and I was not
expecting it! Even better, it turns in one of the best jams of the run! Color me SHOCKED that they were playing a multisectional, type 2 Destiny Unbound in front of my very eyes. It
quickly dissolves into great funk playing before moving into a great
hose bliss explosion. All smoother than butter. True X Factor Magic on
this one!!!
Good lord!
This being my first show, I clearly remember this being the "dividing
line" in the set for me. Maybe I was just tired from being on the floor
or something but I don't remember much of the rest of the set at
all.....
We get a lovely WACTOOB up next. I feel lucky to have caught one
considering the rarity of these songs these days. This was always a
favorite and I was very happy to get it. Good stuff.
My Friend into About to Run gives us a great double dosage of darkness. I
have zero memory of MyFe, but I do remember being really excited to get
About to Run! Of the new 2019 songs, it was absolutely at the top of
the pile for me and I was STOKED to get that! About to Run killed as hot
as any other. Total headbanger, still fresh at this point (love it, but
its sometimes kind of "stale" these days, ya know?).
The Horse and Silent lead into Bowie to close. I remember being really exhausted by the time of Bowie, lol. Also, Ive never been a massive Bowie fan so, despite being thrilled to get one, I was also thinking "ok, Bowie usually closes sets these days, 10 minutes until I can sit down..."
Bowie is solid - not a flubfest but nothing remarkable either. Its a
GOOD version in a sea (at the time) of not amazing versions.
All in all, you guys have no idea (or maybe you do, lol!), what it
feels like to replay this show again. This first set is weird - its
like a set in two halves! The first half is all FUN and PARTY and th
second half they dive into old school Phish big time. Plus they go nuts
with the 2nd-tier rarities as well!
Musically, Party Time, Destiny Unbound, Divided Sky and maybe About to Run are must hear.
Destiny Unbound is an all timer (if there is such a thing), and Divided Sky is remarkably well performed!
Set 2
So, a raging Axilla gets the set off with a BANG! Terrific choice for
opener and I remember headbanging like a lunatic and singing along
Immediately though, they drop headfirst into a massive, 19 minute
Scents, complete with intro. Still being a pretty fresh fan at this
point, I wasnt as familiar with 2.0 as I should have been and Im ashamed
to say, looking back, I didnt know what was being played until I heard
the chorus and it clicked, lol.
I have little memory of this other than just kinda "zoning out"
because it was all so overwhelming, ya know what I mean? Just trying to
make sense of it all!!!!
---So the jam begins with them in a laid back kind of chill zone. Very
slowly they move the jam into a rockier zone, picking up more and more
steam by the second - Trey even full on plays the Axilla riff! (I
remember catching that and loving it!).
---After another minute or two, the rocking takes a turn towards a more
upbeat/bliss kind of feel. Fishman is still going nuts, but Page has
jumped on the church organ and its total bright sunny day vibes.
----Very quickly, Trey begins to play with FX and we start moving into a
heavy funk kind of zone! Things are slowly turning more....moody.
----Trey takes the lead and they move into a slightly ethereal kind of
"sideways" sounding bliss jam. Total power and energy, but theres a
brewing uneasiness hiding beneath the beauty!! Look out!!!
-----After a soaring peak, things shift into "bubbling robot bliss"!!!
All tenseful synthesizers and stoccato rhythms from Trey. Gordo is going
nuts with the bombs, of course.
-----Slowly, the maelstrom begins to recede and the crowd ERUPTS!
Shifting seamlessly into spastic uptempo SPACE FUNK SUPREME, Trey lets
loose again with the Axilla teasing.
----Kicking on the delay, wonderful Page and Trey interplay occurs.
Heavy dark funk! Then, Trey hits gold and begins this super NASTY
descending, stop start, funk motif!!!! Nastier than the Dicks 2019 Piper! My god!!!!
---Only lasting a brief glorious moment, the motif gives way to further
wah drenched funk jamming before stopping on a dime and dissolving into
about a minute of pure 1999-style ambience to conclude....
THIS JAM IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!! MIND BLOWING! X FACTOR FRIGGIN MAGIC! TOP 10 JAM OF 2019, EASY!!! MUST HEAR!!
So that mind blowing Scents dissolves into ambience and they transition, perfectly, into No Quarter.
You bet I lost my god-d mind. Holy mother talk about a slap in the
face you never could have expected. Utter perfection that segue/song
choice was ....I remember the girl next to me shouting "LED
ZEPPELIN!!!!"
I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THIS!
No Quarter is awesome is fits PERFECTLY out of that jam, just like how
MyFe and About to Run were perfectlt paired in set 1. Trey tears it up
big time. Sick.
Up next is Your Pet Cat. Love this song and was very pleased to get it, but HOLY HELL SOMEONE STOP PAGE AND THOSE SCREAMING CAT SAMPLES!!! THEY WERE SO LOUD I THOUGHT MY HEAD WAS GONNA EXPLODE!
Thankfully all is well with a 13 minute Mercury. Unfortunately, its
merely a pretty good "B+" version that doesn't jam much and isnt played
spectacularly well. Still, I was SO PUMPED to get this! Of all the new songs at the time, this is the one I wantes more than any other. And I couldn't believe I got it!!!!!
I must admit, even at the time, I was bummed out that they played the
song I was dying to hear and instead of getting some sick 20 minute
jammed out version (like most to that point), I instead got shafted. I
mean, it's a fine type 1 version, but it never feels like it properly
gels and never achieved proper "liftoff". They are striking the match
but it just wont catch flame.
Bummer, but ya take what you get, lol.
So out of Mercury they pick us up with a zany Saw It Again. Good stuff! That leads to the next big highlight - Limb By Limb.
14 minutes in length, its complete X Factor Magic!!! They quickly eschew
type 1 in favor of dark funk, leading into some strange outer space
wormhole section completed by Trey reprising Divided Sky and Fishman
singing This Old Man.
Pure old fashioned x factor magic type 2, baby!!!! This is one of
those "What the F is going on?!" kind of jams. Just ridiculous.
I have a great memory of watching this in awe, jaw on the floor, trying
to make sense of what the hell I was witnessing. I was definitely aware I
was seeing something special and was insane....
Out of the ambient noise Trey executes the most flawless segue of all time into....THE
LIZARDS!!! 10/31/90 was one of the first shows I hears and I always
have particularly loved that version of the song. Getting to see it was
such an incredible experience and the Skippy The Wondermouse part
literally made me shed a few tears. Effing incredible....
As if constructed perfectly, the set rages to a terrific close with a
smashing Suzy. Total party rager. Another one I was absolutely beside
myself to get to see!!!
Great encore with Bittersweet, Death Dont and Loving Cup.
At the time I didn't appreciate Bittersweet. A massive rarity, Im kicking myself for not knowing it better, lol.
DDHVL was standard but excellent.
Same goes for Loving Cup. But Loving Cup, like The Lizards or
Mercury....man, it felt like they played it for me or something! Its
literally been my favorite Stones song since I was a kid (I couldnt
believe when I found out Phish played it regularly!) and its always
been, maybe, my favorite cover of theirs (top 5 for sure).
Talk about a storybook perfect ending!!!
All in all, as a listener, this is a weird show with a lot of
highlights. Its way better than it has any right to be. Scents and Limb
are all timers and in set 1, Divided Sky, Destiny and Party Time are
essential as well.
I got so lucky with this show (and the next night) and I count my blessings every day I got to experience them.
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