Phish 6.3.11 Clarkston, MI

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DTE Music Theatre - Clarkston, MI

Words & Photos By Greg Molitor (ReMIND Photography)

On Mike Gordon’s 46th birthday, the hippie masses gathered at Detroit’s Pine Knob aka DTE Music Theatre to celebrate in proper Phish fashion. How perfect was this? Being the only Phish show I could attend this summer, this evening approached quickly in the days leading up, my excitement building with each thought put towards the awaited event. I rode to the show by myself from Lansing, but alone I was not...

When I go to shows these days, they are as much of a social gathering as they are a musical experience. The majority of my best friends were in attendance as I spent most of the evening wandering solo throughout the crowd, giving my best to those close at heart while taking the time to stomp out some good ol’ fashion Phish grooves.

Phish’s performance featured intense, exploratory jamming throughout and was well balanced between spacious passages and energy-filled segues, keeping me on my toes for the next interesting turn. I tend to enjoy the rockin’ moments of Phish shows, so naturally, my favorite selections from the first set were “Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove” and “Chalkdust Torture.” Full of life and professionally playful, the band sounded as they should, a good sign for the rest of the summer for those checking out the remainder of the run.

The second set flowed perfectly. The band played with an obvious sense of duty during the “Fluffhead > David Bowie” as well as the “2001 > Cavern”, two of my favorite tunes of theirs that had me carelessly jumpin’ for joy. The only dragging moments of the entire show was the “Down with Disease”, another one of my favorites that lost me during jam. The encore of “Good Times Bad Times”, a first time live listen for me, sealed the deal... this was an above average Phish show, not the best I’ve seen, but well worthy of my time and certainly enough to make me wish I was going on tour for the next two nights of the run!

Set 1: Wolfman's Brother, Funky Bitch, Sample in a Jar, NICU, Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Tela > Chalk Dust Torture, The Wedge

Set 2: Down with Disease > Fluffhead > David Bowie, Waste > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Cavern

Encore: Good Times Bad Times

Photo Gallery From The Show

www.phish.com

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