Ranking Dick’s: #1 08/31/2012 (2012 N1)
Setlist:
Set 1: First Tube, Uncle Pen, Carini > Kill Devil Falls, You Enjoy Myself, Ocelot, Undermind
Set 2: Runaway Jim > Farmhouse > Alaska, Chalk Dust Torture > Emotional Rescue > Fuck Your Face
Encore: Grind, Meatstick
Quick Lowdown: While the the last night of Dick’s 2011 might have made it a destination, the first night of 2012 began its legacy as an all time venue. There is very little to argue here. The FUCK YOUR FACE show is the greatest show every played at Dick’s and is easily in the conversation of greatest show since the band returned (3.0). The entire show consists of only 17 songs including the encore. Both sets are incredible and the encore is hilarious. This show was mind blowing live and the replay value is through the roof. This show is why we travel thousands of miles to go see Phish.
Set 1 Recap: If you break things down further the fact this set spelled “Fuck You” is hilarious. Things kick off with a beastly “First Tube” that had me so pumped. Killer opener choice. “Uncle Pen” is a nice rarely played choice and then comes “Carini”. This “Carini” established where this show was going. Not fucking around. Another excellent version in a time period where almost every “Carini” was jam chart worthy. “Kill Devil Falls” is nice rocker to keep the momentum going before a 5 hole “YEM”. When “YEM” dropped here it was pretty much game over. You had to know things were going stratospheric. This “YEM” features a hysterical “We Love Dick’s” vocal jam. “Ocelot” is a nice chill jam before the star of the first set ends things . “Undermind” goes places “Undermind” never goes. We have all known the potential of “Undermind” for a long time, and it fulfills every ounce with this monster. This “Undermind” wasn’t really a “FUCK YOU” but more Fucking light everything on fire. Such a patient locked in jam before an absolute hell fire peak. What a way to end the set. One of my favorite set closers in history. Awesome 7 song set.
Set 2 Recap: “Runaway Jim” had been an enigma for much of this era. Not many jams to speak of. This one curbs the trend and goes really deep. This “Jim” is a personal favorite. It is dark and patient before finding a funky rhythmic dance party. This is the good stuff. This “Jim” takes your head spins it around and puts a smile on it. When “Farmhouse” dropped the crowd was a bit worried. That was quickly put to bed with a fiery composed section and outro that is on the incredible. This outro proves alien existence is real and they are definitely Phish fans. From there we get a “2001” fake out before dropping in to “Alaska”. After that comes my pick for best “CDT” played at Dick’s. This “CDT” is a improv masterpiece. Zero notes wasted and with all the jamming before, you can feel the locked in nature during this jewel. Phish finds a section of bliss that only Phish can. Smiles, feelings of love are abound in a song that has “Torture” in the name. Those smiles only continued with Mike broke into the falsetto and “Emotional Rescue” was busted out. “Fuck Your Face” finished off yet another incredible set.
Encore: Sometimes you got to “Fuck Your Face” and then “Grind” the “Meatstick”. So Phish, so awesome.
The Takeaways: “Carini”, “YEM”, “Undermind”, “Runaway Jim”, “Farmhouse”, “CDT”
This Show Summed Up in One Gif:
Searching “Fuck Your Face” for gifs provides some interesting results…
Score: 5/5 (an all timer)