This Phil and Phriends run is very near and dear to my heart. It was early on in my phandom that I heard the recordings from the Warfield, and my high interest in Phish to some degree ran parallel to my high interest in Grateful Dead, so... Hello Old Friends is a touching soundcheck/opener, as Phil was recently the beneficiary of a liver transplant, and was just happy to be alive and sharing music with his family, as has always been the most important thing in his life, excepting perhaps his own blood relations. Viola Lee Blues opens the show with a big 35-minute jam, and along with Uncle John's Band, Sugaree, Shakedown Street, and Not Fade Away, comprises the jamming highlights of this show. Trey gets quite a bit of vocal room to move around in, as does Page. The chemistry of this quintet is quite remarkable, due primarily to Steve Kimock's and John Molo's adaptability to exploring new terrain with the band, which is all the more remarkable due to the fact that they were playing with Reddy Kilowatt himself, a founding and primary architect of the Dead's legacy. It's a foregone conclusion that you should listen to this run, but please take care to note the synergy beyond the simple flash of half of Phish guesting over the duration of these shows.