[We would like to thank Cotter, the youngest fan ever to recap a show for this blog, for recapping last night's MPP2 show. -Ed.]

Phish means more to me than nearly any other aspect of my life, so the months leading up to any given show are filled with anticipation. I imagine I’m not alone in this sentiment, but my point of view may be different. Being a diehard Phish fan in high school is one hell of an experience. Be it the incessant checking of this very site in class, or even explaining to people that "no, I’m not in love with a water-dwelling animal, but instead with the magic four middle-aged rock stars produce." This leads to some pretty obnoxious scorns, but shows like last night make it worth it. The 40-minute drive north was chalk full of questions by my family on setlist predictions and song meanings, but that’s really not a problem, as I’ll proudly flaunt whatever knowledge such an obsession leads to. Now to the music.

The "Carini" opener was obviously welcomed with open arms. I liked the jam that ensued, and based on the reactions by those around me, almost everyone else did as well. The first thought that popped into my head was the "Fee" from 7/27/14, another Sunday Merriweather gem, and I started to draw parallels between the weirdness of the two openers, and chills followed as I wondered what was next in store. "My Soul" did nothing to dampen this idea, as the dancing continued. Then onto "Rift," my first phish love, which brought back memories of building elaborate Star Wars structures with my little brother. It was relatively well played with a few bumps here and there, but it’s a tough solo, and we still love you Trey!

"Gumbo" sent the crowd into a frenzy, and I can’t remember a more welcome falsetto ending than Trey's during this jam. The “oh crap I didn’t let Page do his solo” look, and the two extra minutes of funk, were awesome and were well deserving of the hollers from many around me. "It’s Ice" seemed like a change, maybe not in energy but in pace, and a fun Page-and-Mike-led jam followed.

Then the four song slowdown arrived, and the general mood followed suit. "Winterqueen" began the slowdown, but Trey's solo was fantastic, and I don’t think anyone can say it wasn’t pretty, so I had absolutely no quarrels with it. "Yarmouth Road" is always a fun sing-along, and it felt like Mike’s first real moment of the evening to shine at the microphone, so I was still out of my seat and dancing like only 17-year-old knees can. "Shade," much to nearly everyone’s dismay, slowed the slow-down even more, but then again, if all Phish fans had their way, only about 30 songs would be played all-too-frequently and whatever surprises a show offered would be taken away.

"Halfway Home" came next, and while it was my least favorite of the quartet, I was still standing for it. I am certainly no jaded vet with 20+ plus years of experience under my belt, but I still know a lot about Phish. I know for sure that no one knows what’s coming next, or what songs they’re going to jam, and---much like last night---what songs they’re going to bust out. So for this reason, I never want to miss a moment, and I’m sure as hell not going to let a four-song stretch of music ruin a night that’s been built up for so long. That’s just my two cents.

"The Wedge" was received in a much different fashion by the crowd, as most everyone stood back up and began the telltale jam-band dance. "Run Like An Antelope" damn near burned the place to the ground, while CK5 brought the lights to near seizure inducing levels.

The second set lived up to the all too common mantra, “never miss a Sunday show," while Trey might still be waiting for "Crosseyed and Painless" to end I’m still waiting for the hair on my arm to sit down after the note Mike hit during "Everything's Right."

Speaking of, the second set opened with a solid "Crosseyed and Painless," which jumped right into "type 2" territory with Mike leading the jam, which I feel like he’s done all weekend. "Everything's Right" came in the two hole, and a solid dance party obviously followed with some weird experiments going on towards the end with Page”s new found toys. "Ruby Waves" was my personal highlight and the woos were well deserved to my ears. The segue into "Twist" was the best segue of the night, and made the near permanent smile on my face even larger. "2001" was a dance fest with a glow stick war like always, but a relatively short version gave way to the crowd favorite, "Blaze On," which ended the second set with about as much energy as it started with.

At this point I checked my phone and saw it was only just after 10:30, and I wondered what kind of weirdness we were about to experience. The weirdness was a "Maze" in the encore slot for the first time ever, and in my view it was incredibly well played, with Trey hitting every note on the white-light-backed solo. "Waste" came next, garnering groans from even me, the most optimistic 3.0 fan ever. "SANITY" was amazing, and all 20,000 collectively lost whatever marbles they had left, as the guy in the row behind me can attest: he screamed like there was no tomorrow for a solid two minutes. The closer was the seemingly all knowing "Wilson," which thousands of Phan’s were more than willing to sing after going insane just prior.

All in all it was a fantastic show with some great highlights, and much like my previous 12 shows, it will not soon be forgotten.

Thank you Phish, for everything.

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