They're back....

boy.....
and not back where they left off. either.
man....
back like they were at their absolute best.
musically, i don't think i've heard a performance as technically beautiful as that in ages and ages, if ever. have they secretly been practicing for the past 5 years? the energy infused in every song, from waste to possum, was unparalleled.
now, i didn't get to see the show, so i'm going on sound alone here (which should be plenty to go on) but i could hear the smiles of each member of the band at times.
"Play it, Leo" was shouted with such joy, as if Trey had been waiting and waiting to get the chance to trumpet one more time that miraculous call, and couldn't be happier to have been blessed with the opportunity to do so.
the shouts of the audience clued me in to the visuals i was missing. i can only assume by the roar of the crowd that something was bouncin' round the room with the music.
for all the anxious fans wondering if this would be the show, weekend or tour we my get to experience a much awaited fluffhead, well, that anxiety was put to rest with the first note emerging from trey's guitar.

god...

i endured a real trial in patience last night. i resisted all temptations at viewing the setlist. see, this era of phish is the era of twitter, blackberries and iphones. from the first note of fluffhead, every detail of the performance was available online to those that chose to look.

i waited. mr. miners phishthoughts.com was so kind to post a "no-spoilers" page, where the show was available almast immediately after it was fiished, without the setliset anywhere near the page. i listened with the same awe, suprise and amazement that those in the mothership had. i sat hear laughing my ass off in joy as the first notes of divided sky let out, thinking 'holy shit, holy shit!" of course nothing could compare to the collective elation that must have been felt in that arena, but, for not having been there, i got to experience it with the same mystery and anticipation. for that, i say "thank you, mr. miner".

they seemed to pull out every trick in the book. like this was their one shot to amaze us once again. one last chance to let fly with everything left in the bag. but it's not! this is just the beginning. and the glimpse of the new future is ridiculous! if this is what the latest chapter is going to hold, get ready! phish is back, and they've returned to rock our universe.

the mothership is back in orbit.

shit...