Want some crack? Then make it a point to get to the Crackden next year. I just felt so at home driving through this boomtown’s paved-with-gold thoroughfares en route to the amphitheater. It reminded me of my youth, growing up in East St. Louis. May we see the day that Phish plays in Gary, Ind.?

Take a listen to that first set if the opportunity ever presents itself – not a throwaway to be found. Everything they played, they played flawlessly. Gotta absolutely love a first set that opens with “Llama,” “Moma Dance” and “Divided Sky,” especially when it closes with “Wolfman’s Brother” and “Possum.”

Looking back at this set, here’s the bold prediction of the day: By 2005, “Seven Below” will be one of the top five best jam songs in the band’s repertoire. Very “Down with Disease”-esque.

Three more notes about this one. 1.) Very funky on paper, very rock-n-roll in person. Rock Star Trey must have left his waa-waa pedal back at the hotel. 2.) I love mixing it up as much as the next guy, but the return of the traditional “Mike’s Groove,” with “I Am Hydrogen” as the sandwich meat, was music to my ears. 3.) Lastly, while this 25-minute new “Harry Hood” (see Charlotte) is not necessarily better than it used to be, it’s pretty fuckin’ sweet.

Keep on improvisin’.

– Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens