Last night marked Phish’s tenth performance – eighth if you’re only counting headlining gigs – at the PNC Garden Bank State Arts Center. If there’s been an ongoing trend to the preshow atmosphere on the current tour thus far, it could be the blazingly hot, 1999 Summer Tour-esque weather. So being mindful of that theme, please try to keep what’s important (water), and know who’s your friend (hydration).

Alas, sometimes an excess of water is the problem, as we saw Tuesday night with Phish’s return to Canada being postponed due to the after-effects of flooding. Whether an intentional nod to a previous Phish show that rain threatened to undermine or just a fortunate coincidence, “Llama” took the leadoff spot. Because the song has been relegated to a once-or-twice-a-year rarity in the 3.0 era, it’s easy to forget what an effective show opener it is.

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