Welcome to Show 6 and Week 2 of The Baker’s Dozen! No need for a prosaic introduction today. We know the score. Phish is 10-0 this summer, with victories coming ever more decisively as the season grinds on. We are excited. In a time when the world may be going just a little crazy around us, we’ve got a rock of creativity, joy, and fun in the here and now.

While New York has long been known first and foremost for its donut culture, and fans have especially embraced the wide and wonderful world of this fried confectionary, let’s keep in mind that there are some other things that one might rightfully associate with The City, and it would be doing a disservice to allow tBD to pass without coloring and flavoring our reviews with some of these (admittedly slightly less quintessentially New York) items. So if you like your metaphors mixed and your jam descriptions jumbled, Dear Readers, do continue.

The donut is announced and speculation begins anew. Chocolate songs, chocolate artists, truffle references. Lotta soul and funk. New York hip hop. Can Phish pull any of that off, or would they get scolded for cultural appropriation? Yes. “Double” could mean song pairs. Forbin's Mockingbird? Scarlet Fire??? Maybe it is finally repeat time, this being a new week of tBD? Or could we get two songs at the same time? Maybe, if you have a million dollars. Anything seems possible.

Lights drop, and the band moves to center mic. A cappella again. But not quite. It's almost cappella. Page has a mini synth and presses “go.” The band indeed appropriates culture - ridiculous internet viral video culture. And to hilarious effect, they cover some of Tay Zonday’s “Chocolate Rain,” which was HUGE in 2007, and is described on genius.com as having “an odd structure, with like a hundred verses in a row.” The performance notably includes repeated coordinated lurches to stage right which appear in the original youtube video, as Zonday occasionally moves away from the mic to catch his breath. Clearly, The Boys have taken the stage Looking to Have a Good Time.

Fishman remains at the mic as the band retreats to their instruments. No matter how well things are going this run, it’s at your own peril to forget that you get your “Ass Handed” to you every day. “Free” then takes us into familiar first set territory. A standard good rendition quickly features Mike taking the lead early, Page with some very tasteful comp licks, and Trey seeming casual and comfortable. Things get just a touch fierce at the end. A dab of mustard with little bite - the kind that would go really well with a pretzel heated over coals out on the midtown streets.

Next is “Weigh,” which, more than anything else in the moment, reminds me that this band has a lot of songs. It’s delivered fairly tightly. “Undermind” follows, and is a good version. The jam stays within the lines, and is really smooth and fluid. There is definitely some mustard here, perhaps the smooth yellow mustard you’d want on a good hot dog at Yankee Stadium. “The Oh Kee Pah Ceremony!” Sweet! You are again reminded that this band really has a lot of songs. "Guys. GUYS!!! Don’t go into Suzy! You already played that!" The crowd howls back at “Dogs,” and the mustard keeps coming. Oddly, this is not hot dog mustard, but more like the spicy grainy stuff you want with a ginormous plate of smoked meat from a legit Jewish deli. And then “Destiny Unbound” keeps that mustard boat circling the island of Manhattan, with the improv section extra swampy and gooey - rich honey mustard all the way.

Once upon a time, Madison Square Garden was known more for basketball than the nascent Billy Joel-Phish feud. (Let’s put aside our differences everyone. This darkness has got to give.) And so the next song starts with a hesitation step. Ball on the court, it sounds like “The Divided Sky,” but then a pause. “Did they already play “THE Divided Sky” this run?,” I think to myself? “Did we already play “THE Divided Sky this run?” Trey might be thinking to himself. It could be a ball fake into “The Lizards,” but no, we are safe with DSky, as it would be known if it played in the NBA, or even a top tier college program. The tempo is slow, and the beginning is a little clunky. A recapper more jaded than I might comment that perhaps Trey is allergic to chocolate, and his fingers have gone into anaphylactic shock. A recapper at the same level of jadedness as I would easily forgive this, and have his cold heart warmed watching the band look around the Garden in amazement and appreciation during the pause.

It is at this point, Dear Readers, that I must confess that I am taking in the show in the comfort of my living room in the Green Mountain State. But it’s ok, because I brought all my best sound equipment upstairs for the duration of the run. Sound is phenomenal. I am laser focused on the nuances of the music. No show neighbors busting through or bumping me, no atmospherics to distract my attention. I am in it, for you. But it is also at this point that I report that our actual neighbors *did* knock at our door, having been invited to take in any or all of the show. Their one year old daughter is instantly transfixed on the couch by the quite good remainder of “The Divided Sky.” They have never seen her so focused on something.

Pause. Next up is “Things People Do.” I fell for the head fake, breifly crossed over into thinking it was "Esther." Page’s voice seems a touch more gravelly than usual, and his shirt is way over on the snazzy end of the spectrum. Our little guest bops along to the beat, adorably prop dancing, having picked up the 4-pack of Vermont’s finest beverage that her parents graciously brought with them.

Comma. "Sand." Dance time? You know it. The band falls right into a chill little groove. Just a touch dark, and really spacious. The tempo might be the slightest bit slow, but it sounds great. Again, casual, but with intent. You can hear each of the four clearly, and all the space in between. Since Chicago, this summer’s style (or one of them at least) has reminded me a whole lot of summer ‘97 in that regard. You can really settle into these grooves, like a massage. And then in a massive flash of purple, the groove is stepped up and modulates into celebratory mode. Not crazy wild explosion, but rather a chill celebration, perhaps a little restrained. It is wonderful, and one senses the band knows how locked in they are. They don’t have to go all out. This is celebratory the way Derek Jeter celebrates after leading the Yankees to their 142nd World Series victory while simultaneously managing relationships with 18 of the 20 most desirable women in the world, and remembering to call his mom every day. It’s quite the accomplishment, but this is neither his, nor this band’s, first rodeo. Excellence is par for the course.

End set. Lotta mustard. And a lotta commas.

We take the opportunity at setbreak to assemble a stroller. Our little neighbor will have a little friend, expected to make her little debut on or about September 30. Your humble recapper must consider, do in utero shows count for statistics? How about in utero couch tour shows?

Set 2 starts with a little conference and a reggae groove. Is love what we are? Maybe, but not precisely, at this moment. “Have Mercy!” The beginning of the lead line Trey plays sound a ton like the line in “Wading.” Multiple times. It works. And now “Chalk Dust Torture.” This is the celebratory explosion. A multi-movement behemoth that runs through ideas like marathoners running through boroughs on the first Sunday in November. Except more quickly, even. Phenomenal work, with the band changing sections in lockstep with each other, the four-way mind melds earned over decades of practice and performance. While I danced excessively enough in my living room to blow out the rear end of my personal 18 year old brown hemp jam pants, I will not attempt to dance excessively about architecture on this one. If you are reading this review, you know you need to listen to it yourself to appreciate it, and I recommend you do so now-ish. This one will likely be in the (what’s looking to be an expansive) conversation for Jam of the Year. I will point out that Trey takes a pass at a theme that some say “has been defining the band since 2015.” Check out this forum thread for a deep dive. It’s pretty fascinating. The jam also morphs at one point towards what I’ve been hearing as an Allman’s influenced progression which has reared up repeatedly throughout the summer. Maybe akin to “Jessica.” The band’s penchant for developing and returning to themes across multiple nights and multiple tours is worthy of much more detailed discussion, but no time for that in this (already excessive) Double Chocolate recap.

Next up, another donut themed debut. Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing.” As it kicks off, you could be excused for thinking it might be a bit of a goofball cover, and indeed there is chatter about Mike’s vocals. I find them perfectly competent and fun, but am far more focused on the interplay between Trey and Page, who are flat out making babies. Crunchy chunky sexy funk. This is for real - no joke, no appropriation. It is definitely not appropriate. Luckily our guests left at set break, and at this point, I excuse myself to go do the intercourse - that's what this groove is. Be right back. #CouchTourFTW. “You Sexy Thing” morphs into a synthy and spacey thing, and this is our baby’s favorite part of the night. She’s dancing too.

Dissolve. “Mercury.” This band has a LOT of songs. And some of them are new-ish, and very good. No repeats is a thing that can happen, and maybe even maintain quality for another seven nights. “Mercury” is good, and I particularly enjoy Trey’s return the guitar melody of “the net is unbreakable”, noting it has a little extra sexy syrupy swerve to it. And just like that, we are back into “You Sexy Thing.” This band is a lethal force right now.

“You Sexy Thing” then threatens to go a little spacey, but dare I say, is ripcorded into “Backwards Down the Number Line.” Ok, it’s clearly unfair to describe anything as a ripcord at this point, but we’re all friends here. And we’re all going backwards, together. It would not surprise me if grown men are crying tears of joy in the Garden at this point. It’s a type one version, but Trey is on absolute fire. This is clearly the set closer he always wanted it to be. Only it’s not the set closer. There are some leftover Red Velvet donuts somewhere in the room, and the band rips into “Rock and Roll.” (Speaking of things that might be associated with New York.) This closing combo is an incendiary victory lap, with the latter song clearly giving the impression of being in bonus time. It is becoming increasingly obvious through the run that Trey is at his best while improvising, as opposed to playing the composed parts of the roughly seven billionty different songs the band will play in this short 18 stop summer. And for me, that is alright.

Encore break, and ... “Fee.” Love it. The crowd is all in on the chorus. And from Vermont, I can tell I am actually missing out on what sounds like one of the great sing-alongs in Phish history. I welcome comments further telling me how awesome this was, and that I did in fact totally miss out. There are a couple awkward moments in the song, but those are likely because our lead vocalist is getting ready to do a lyrical replacement at the end. “Have a chocolate donut and catch your breath.” You gotta smile. But that’s not all. A return to the center mic for a cappella proper. It is observed that maybe the band is not satisfied with opening with a joke (almost) a cappella number, but wants to deliver some serious a cappella as a bookend. The “Space Oddity” seems perhaps superfluous at this point. Especially if they are truly going for no repeats. But then you realize this band is toying with us. They are taunting us, letting us know that they know how very many songs they have. It’s a lot. It’s enough that we can burn a couple on you and keep doing this. They are teasing us like Muhammad Ali rope-a-doping us in a great fight in this hallowed room. And it’s exactly how we want it.

See you later on tonight for some Cinnamon Glazed. YES!!!

(I'd like to thank Phish for a whole lot. But right now I'd like to thank them for delivering a show that offered so much to write about.)

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