Ranking Dick’s: #6 09/02/2011 (2011 N1)
Setlist:
Set 1: Sample in a Jar, Sparkle, The Sloth, Sweet Virginia, Susskind Hotel, Strange Design, Stash, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley -> Sparks > Scent of a Mule, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, Shine a Light, Split Open and Melt, The Squirming Coil
Set 2: Sand > Simple -> Steam > Soul Shakedown Party -> Seven Below > Suzy Greenberg > Scents and Subtle Sounds > Slave to the Traffic Light > Silent in the Morning > Sanity, Sweet Adeline
Encore: Sabotage
Quick Lowdown: The ssssssshow that started it all. The “S” show was one for the record books. I will never forget the energy in the crowd. In between songs people were rattling off every “S” song they new and buzz was nuts. It was something special. It wasn’t just one of the great Phish gimmicks either. This show has tons of substance and features some standout Trey as he was on fire during the entire 2011 run. If you need a bit more background on why the “S” show went down take a minute to read the wonderful remembrance on fan Scottie Nowak penned by Mr. Miner.
Set 1 Recap: I had no idea what i was getting into with my first trip to Denver. “Sample>Sparkle” was not the start I was looking for. Things quickly rebounded with “The Sloth” and a beautiful “Sweet Virginia”. “Susskind Hotel>Strange Design>Stash” is a nice run before setting up the big guys. “Sally” takes this set from play time to serious business. This “Sally” has a monster post vocal jam Mike led throwdown. Then from there is the Phish fan favorite and rarely played “Sparks”. “Scent of a Mule>Stealing Time>Shine a Light” keep things humming alone before the killer closing duo of “Split Open and Melt” and “Squirming Coil”. The dark of “Melt” gives way to a crushed light that is shinned down for a killer Page solo in “Coil”. What a way to end a set. Great and fun first set. Some jams, bustouts, and old favorites.
Set 2 Recap: The opening run of “Sand>Simple>Steam>Soul Shakedown>Seven Below” is as good as it gets. Crowd favorites with each getting the jam treatment (minus Soul Shakedown). It’s a killer run of songs and the flow is absolutely perfect. The peak in “Sand” is off the charts. “Simple” goes into a deep wading groove before seguing wonderfully into “Steam”. “Steam” is another Trey led fire attack. “Soul Shakedown” is pretty much the most awesome cool down choice out there. “Seven Below” is an absolute killer type 1 jam. Tight and with tons of interesting melodies. Must hear. A mid set “Suzy” is played with a ferocious Page solo and is pretty cool in this spot. “Scents” follows and gets another nice jam segment. The “Slave” from this set is one of my all time favorites. Featuring a noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooote that lasts over a minute, the peak crushes your sole in the best way possible. “Silent>Sanity>Sweet Adeline” closes the set in a cool low key way. “Sanity” has SSSSSSS sounds for days. So cool. Awesome, awesome set that has flow and each song is given a ton of life.
Encore: F-ing “Sabatoge”!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought Dick’s was going to crumble. I would have bet the house on “Show of Life” or “Sleeping Monkey”. Instead Phish got it 100 percent right and left us ready for the next night. WOW.
The Takeaways: “Sneakin Sally>Sparks”, “Sand>Simple>Steam”, “Seven Below”, “Scents>Slave”
This Show Summed Up in One Gif:
Score: 4.6/5