2022-07-19 Philadelphia, PA

 7 19 22 Philadelphia

Set 1

Incredible and strange open to the show with a damn a capella....Space Oddity?! Wtf?!?! Major props for this definite X Factor moment, but personally this is a nightmare opener for me - its about 3 times longer than needed and its pretty much my least favorite Bowie song, so...

After a hot Martian Monster comes a 17 minute Halley. The guys sound lost on thr arrangement but once it gets going it rocks hard, delivering a great jam that goes aquatic bliss for a long time before several excellent minutes of late 90s robo haze jamming. Its not extraordinary, but id call it must hear regardless.

Up next is a 12 minute Stash. The song itself is extremely flubby. Definitely a poor reading of the song itself, but it gets cooking good with the jam, almost going type 2 by the end. Not great at all but the jam is worth a listen.

They follow up with an unextraordinary Moma. Solid and good enough but nothing noteworthy in the slightest.

Man, this set is just all kinds of janky so far

Thankfully Jibboo is WAY better!! Id call this must hear. Its only 7 minutes but the jam immediately drops into super delicate low key style and builds back up from there. Totally killer version!!! Must hear!

After a very nice Shade and Old Home Place, the set concludes with Walls. And thank god it is pretty excellent. Great raging peak on this.


All in all, this is another very mixed bag set. Id say Jibboo and Halley are must hear (but only just). Some songs are ridiculously average, some are sloppy, some are great. No need to play this ever again...

 

Set 2

The 2nd set opens way too calmly with More, a bad opener choice imo. Ok but nothing great.

Thankfully they remedy the bad opening choice immediately with an absolutely ridiculous giant Tweezerfest!! The first Tweezer is about 17 minutes, rocking nicely before robo funk deviation begins around 12 minutes. From the 17 minute point, they segue perfectly into Cities, coming back out again into more inspired Tweezer jamming!!

Following about 5 minutes of Tweezer, they go into perfectly, again, into Passing Through! Out of that and into an excellent Isabella before again returning to 5 more minutes of inspired Tweezer jamming!!!

What is this witchcraft!!! This is freaking amazing!!! ALL HAIL X FACTOR MAGIC!!!

Another unexpected segue brings us through a very nicely played 7 minute Mercury that is again sans jam However, this gets us on to a 14 minute Piper instead! Piper never gets strange but I would still call this must hear - it is a 2023 balls to the wall shred beast of the highest order!! Extreme hose explosion!!!!!! Normally I hate a Piper like this but this is outright inspired!! X FACTOR A PLENTY!!! GRAB THIS!!!

And into one short final Tweezer jam...Out of that and into 2001. 2001 is killer. A little janky around the edges but they jam this hard, playing around with the rhythm, tons of Martian Monster teasing etc. Must hear, probably and definitely another highlight!!!

A typically good C Zero ends the set. Killer version with excess wah annihilation. Definitely an inspired and must hear reading, imo! IM WAITING FOR MY MAN!

Encore of Drift into the expected Tweeprise. Drift isnt anything great tonight but it's the thought that counts.

All in all, while set 1 was the definition of hit or miss, set 2 was, seriously, basically all must hear aside from the limp More that opened it. This was a massive Tweezer Festival!!! Definitely the kind of set that needs to be played in full!!! Just wonderful!!!

THAT 2ND SET KICKED SO MUCH ASS!!

2022-07-20 Philadelphia, PA

 Dang it, I put 7/20/22 on the ipod by mistake last night instead of 7/19, so it looks like im doing these two shows in the wrong order, lol.

7/20/22 Philadelphia

Set 1

Terrible opening choice of Steam to begin the show. Thankfully it gets going pretty good - the band is absolutely raging, but its dampened by Trey being stuck in 1st gear. On the good side of average.

Runaway Jim. Better than Steam by a good amount, Trey still takes forever to get into 2nd. The song is tight and the band sound super powerful, only let down by Treys tepid and hesitant soloing. Thankfully he pulls it together eventually and the last minute plus is a terrific Jim peak rage as expected. Really nice Jim overall!

Tela is a great setlist call, if a bit early in the show for my taste. Played well, but Treys ham-fisted guitar tone removes all subtlety. Solid version but not a patch on classic readings.

Things kick up considerably with an 11 minute KDF! It goes type 2 almost immediately, with lots of synth and delay action. They definitely took it deep. Really good stuff except for the "lukewarm" thing that prevents it from really taking off. Its good but the jam feels kinda "stiff" rather than that smooth natural flow.

Great segue into Theme - im shocked that worked! Excellent reading, Trey finally wakes up and delivers the soloing highlight of the set so far. Really good reading!

After an average hot Birds and a fun I Didnt Know, the set concludes with Funky B and a 15 minute Melt. Funky is average hot. Good stuff as always and gets the job done. Trey lets it rip a little bit, finally. Melt is really great. Nicely melodic and kinda ethereal. Breaks down good. Terrific version, extremely psychedelic.


All in all, this was definitely a better set than 7/16 set 1, but at the same time it still rarely escaped "excessively average" territory. KDF was too stilted to be called must hear, imo, but was definitely a cool version regardless. Theme is the closes thing to must hear with Melt probably as well. This WAS a really nice/solid first set. It just didnt "excel" most of the time (does that make any sense?)

Average does NOT mean bad!!! I just mean that a performance is solid but not...exciting? Something like that.

Also, when does this 2nd leg of summer 2022 start to take off? Because Trey "playing too softly/hesitantly" Anastasio is REALLY starting to bug me!!!

  

Set 2

Set 2 is a ridiculous mess!! A very good Bag opens, but just as it begins to jam Trey YANKS them into Soul Planet .....Soul Planet is spectacular. Wonderful delay jamming gives way to an intense wah funk section. Poised to go 25 minutes for sure, Trey executes the most disgustingly unnecessary ripcord from hell into Simple ...

That Soul Planet is must hear. Its AWESOME!!!

Simple, thankfully, makes up for it by being an incredible type 2 beast. 15 minutes long, it spends its duration building a dark and menacing robo hellscape. This is 20 times meltier than the Melt in set 1!!!! Tremendous full band interplay on this, X Factor all over! MUST HEAR!!!

Then, just as the jam is poised to launch back into Soul Planet, Trey yanks them again, this time into an inspired Light. MAJOR props to Fishman for somehow making that ridiculous transition actually work! Wonderful energy an low key, almost dark vibes before chilling out. Just as you think it is ending, they start to rock it up again ....Killer. NIGHT LIGHT.

As the Light jam picks up speed again, they segue wonderfully into Party Time. And this thing smokes!!! Hell yea!! An ass kicking version, totally must hear!!!

After a lovely Lonely Trip, the set concludes with a Bowie. And to my shock and utter amazement, this version is TERRIFIC!!! Honestly, Im calling this must hear!!! SO MUCH ENERGY!!! LETS GET IT, BOYS!!! A smashing success that you wont expect!!! Normally modern Bowies put me to sleep, but this one had me engaged and excited thoughout!!!

Excellent duo of Waste and Loving Cup to close. Both are borderline must hear!!! Waste is excellent and Treys soloing is ridiculous!!!!! Then Loving Cup absolutely annihilates - where was this Trey earlier?!?!

All in all, in spite of the janky and unnecessary ripcords, this was a surprisingly excellent set!! Soul Planet>Simple>Light>Party Time and Bowie are all must hear!!!! Really!!!

This definitely made up for the boring first set!

2022-07-16 Bangor, ME

 7 16 22 Bangor

Set 1

The show opens with a really good combo of Free into INNYLTB. Neither are essential, but both rock good enough and are an excellent way to open a show.

555 is up next and this thing DRAGS like hell. Thankfully the tightness makes up for that and they turn in a really, really good type 1 reading.

Possum picks the tempo back up but, as with Free and INNYLTB, its never quite as hot as it should be. Its "regular good enough" hot, but aside from a brief (and excellent!) peak near the end, its just a hot-but-average Possum.

Up next is No Men, and this is chillist version ive ever heard, hands down. The thing with this set so far is that it has been exceptionally LAID BACK. Not sleepy, but "slow ride, take it easy" kinda chill. And that applies big time to No Men. It ends up being a really nice version when all is said and done but this is definitely NOT the fire to the face you expect.

The first true, probably-but-not-quite must hear of the set is Ocelot. Not the song we needed in such a laid back set, but this is a genuinely excellent reading. Nothing you havent heard before, but it is tight and the guys are locked in together. Excellent solo/jam on this one. Definitely worth a listen.

Up next is Reba and, considering the set so far, its surprisingly sprightly and peppy! Reba is 98% excellent and the solo is definitely strong without pushing it over the top. Good stuff!!

After a real nice Axilla, the set ends with a real nice Antelope. Nothing more, nothing less.

All in all, this is a really weird set, imo. The energy is there - this isnt sleepy! - but the whole thing just feels way too laid back. There is nothing here that will make you upset, no major flubbage, tight playing throughout. But at the same time there is basically zero "wow" factor to any of it. A bunch of really good versions that overall fail to IMPRESS beyond initial listening.

Nothing at all is must hear, but Ocelot comes close. 

Set 2

The set opens with a fantastic 11+ minute Sigma. Right away the energy definitely feels different to set 1. This thing is must hear!!! It goes type 2 immediately and stays there!! Gnarling robo jamming gives way to ethereal soundscape building before an angsty and downright strange deconstruction section to close it out morphing seamlessly into Disease. Wow. Definite x factor on this one!! Total must hear for sure!!!

To top that, they follow up with a friggin 30 minute Disease!!! And holy F### WHAT A DISEASE IT IS!!! The song itself sounds terrific - high energy, tight, Trey nailing all the various licks etc. The jam begins and they spend a long time flitting back and forth between type 1 and type 2, not really committing to it yet. Then around 14 minutes something happens and the jam totally slows right down to about half speed. For the next 3 glorious minutes they go deep into a robo kind of synthy type 2. Around 17 minutes a fiery late night vibe appears and Trey begins to slowly build his solo to magical proportions. By 21 minutes, this thing absolutely EXPLODES like the back half if the Mexico 2024 Chalkdust. Unbelievable. This is a solid 2 minutes of the finest modern Phish available. Around 23 minutes they slowly increase the speed bit by bit returning to a fast rocking jam. By 27 minutes we are in pedal to the metal full hose annihilation like the best of 2023. They return perfectly to the song and close her out.

Holy mother of god that was a true all timer for any era jam. Nothing but X Factor. JOTY right here. Close up shop and go home, it wont get better than that.....

Without a beat to catch our breath, they go perfectly into a wonderfully delicate WTU. Nothing essential but it was so perfectly placed and sounds great!!!

Ridiculously, they slowy morph out of WTU and into Fluffhead! This transition feels so unexpected that I dont think the crowd knew how to react! Fluffhead is excellent, played basically flawlessly. Really strong version of the song. Oddly, the usual climax seems to kinda just fizzle out instead, like a balloon deflating. Very strange.

Segueing excellently out of Fluff is a wacky Twist>Sigma Reprise Jam to close the set. Twist itself gets going nicely into some inspired robo jamming before, somehow, Trey leads them ridiculously smoothly straight up back into Sigma, full blown!! Great jamming ensues. X Factor all over this combo. Definitely must hear.

Terrific encore of a FIERY Rose and First Tube. Honestly, Roses is probably must hear. Serious heft to that one.

All in all, set 2 right through the end of the show is basically all killer no filler. Sigma, Disease and that Twist>Sigma are all must hear while everything else is just excellent regardless.

Set 1 is ok but so ridiculously non-impressive that you can legitimately just skip straight to set 2.

Wow, what a set.

2022-07-15 Mansfield, MA

 7 15 22 Mansfield

Set 1

46 Days limps out of the gate to start the show. The song itself is pretty weak and not-hot, but thankfully they wake up eventually and deliver a smashing, fiery hot climax. Not essential but good stuff.

The following Water In The Sky is a very inspired setlist choice and works great in slot two. Maybe its just me, but it really feels like this one draaaaggggssss too much. Its solid, nothing more.

Then in spot 3 we get a big 16 minute Everythings Right!!! Song sounds good and punchy. The jam begins with some nice laid back grooving and pretty much stays there for its duration. Nice synths popping in and out. Moving into really nice upbeat bliss rock before slowly building a head of steam and getting a lot more rocking and climaxing with a very hot type 1 rock peak. Unfortunately, at 15 minutes, just as it deviates, Trey kills the jam dead!! What in the F?!? BOO!!!! IT WAS GOING SOMEWHERE YOU JERK!!!

All that said, that was a really, really good version with an immensely deflating/disappointing ending

And he kills the jam for Rift?! THANKFULLY, Rift is overall pretty good! It finally sounds practiced. Its not 100 percent, but its like 95% there. EASILY the best version played so far in 2022, by a very wide margin. It doesnt come in the ballpark of the insane 2023/2024 readings and Trey still totally butchers the ascending final riff, but this is a massive improvement.

And into a 12 minute Wolfman we go. Thankfully Wolfman is excellent. Nothing special but its REALLY GOOD. Youve heard many like this but that doesnt diminish its excellence. Massive soaring peak on this. Awesome. Until a better version comes along, ill call it must hear. Really, it just kills.

The set keeps going strong and we get more rocking with an excellent Maze. How come 2022 Trey cant play Rift but can deliver a great Maze no problem?! Good stuff.

A 12 minute Gin is next. It stays type 1 and basically is just a really good rock and roll machine, along the lines of that Wolfman. Maybe not essential but its strong.

The set closes with a roaring Rock and Roll. Definitely an inspired choice, this one, again, is just excellent.

All in all, this was a weird set. It took a bit to get going - its not until ER that they sound awake. There are some flubs and dragging tempos but also lots of rocking from Wolfman through the end. Even still, the whole thing seems to have this ever so slightly lukewarm vibe - lots of really good stuff but almost nothing is truly MUST HEAR (though Wolf comes closest).

Id say Grab Wolf for sure and Maze, Gin and RnR are all worth a listen. 

Set 2

Set 2 gets off to a bad start. Mike's is too short, though at least the jamming is great. Unfortunately the ending riffage is somehow totally botched. Ugh.

Hydro sounds pretty good aside from a small flub or two but the ending - most awkward ending ever since we get no Weekapaug!

And awkwardly into Carini we go!

The next while is just weird in a bad way. Carini is pretty good, developing a nice and gooey, kinda funky jam. Unfortunately, through credit where credit is due, Trey leads them flawlessly into Blaze On.

Blaze On does not jam, but it sounds interesting as they keep the gooeyness of Carini going throughout. Huh.

Then, instead of any jam whatsoever, Trey leads us again into a 14 minute Golden Age. The jam is good but the song itself drags. Thankfully the jam is pretty good, going into a cool rhythmic type 2. The best part though is the absolutely ridiculous segue into The Howling. Holy crap batman that segur was SICK!

The fun continues with a jammed out Howling that I would call must hear. Not much to say - its great.

Out of Howling and into Wave. Wave delivers a really good type 1 reading but ends even more awkwardly than Hydrogen did! Ugh!

The set ends on a high note with a (again, phrase of the night....) really good Hood. Some "extraness" about it for sure with nice bluesy jamming. The only part that sucks is how short the outro jam is!!!

Inspired encore of Bouncing, NICU and Slave. All are really good, lol, but nothing special.

Man, this was a frustrating show!!! Most of it was REALLY GOOD but they struggled majorly with crossing from really good into downright excellent.

The whole Carini>Blaze>GA>Howling is totally worth checking out for the amazing segues, but id say GA and Howling are the only must hears of the set (and thats a "weak" must hear at that)

I dont know what was wrong with this show - the energy was definitely there throughout, but at the same time the whole had this feeling of "this IS really good, but I've heard this exact same version a million times elsewhere".

Something like that. Love the setlist but this show was just....I didnt jive with it.

2022-07-14 Mansfield, MA

 7 14 22 Mansfield

The show begins with an incredible 1-2 punch of Ghost into SYSF. Ghost is a slow building melodic bliss rocker of the most excellent variety. Terrific energy, it culminates in a pretty "heavy" kind of hose peak. Sick as hell.

Even better, without any noticeable hitch at all, they segue straight into SYSF as if it was part of Ghost!! That segue was spectacular and worked so well!!! Set Your Soul Free continues the awesomeness, delivering an extremely funky rendition. They jam it pretty deep for a 10 minute reading, just about going type 2 here and there. Ultra funk for most of its duration before climaxing great and leading back into Ghost to close.

HOLY CRAP THAT PAIR WAS FRIGGIN SICK!! MUST HEAR!!! There are longer and more "out there" versions of both, but these were both standout versions regardless, and the PAIR was just fantastic. KILLER!!! Definite X Factor all over this sandwich!

After a very nice Wedge (thank you for not dropping it late 2nd set!), we get a super rare outing of Mound. Mound definitely sounds rusty - not flubby, but Trey has a hard time throughout with his timings and entrances etc. Still, always great to hear regardless!

Way too early in the set for my taste, Mountains is next. Not must hear but it is still really excellent. Exceptionally DYNAMIC version that sounds like a dang Sea of Stars at points. Great version!

Up next is BOTT. Nothing special but its an excellent standard reading, full of fire. Good stuff that youve heard many times before.

They pick things up quickly with an 11 minute Ruby Waves to follow. Ruby is absolutely extraordinary! Total x factor magic!! A synthy, gooey jam that evolves into an ethereal and magical slow build bliss with a spectacular return back into the song. This was incredible. This was the kind of jamming you expect when you are 20 minutes deep into a jam, not 4 or 5!!! MUST HEAR!!

After an incredibly rare I Been Around, we get a STUPENDOUS little Tube!! Extreme robo funk awesomeness. Absolutely killer. Must hear for certain.

Closing the set with an even bigger bang is a gosh darn nuclear freakin bomb About to Run. Even by ATR standards, this is EXTRA hot. Absolutely must hear. Holy mother of face melting!!!


All in all, despite feeling "lesser" overall, this was still a really enjoyable set!! Good song selection and general heat throughout. Trey is on great form with his solos despite not being perfect technically.

Not every set needs to be the greatest thing ever played to be really enjoyable. This was a great example of that. I would say the opening Ghost/SYSF is essential MUST HEAR music, though Stars comes close for me as well. Ruby, Tube and ATR are all truly essential as well.

Not a perfect top to bottom set, but the highlights were HUGE! 

Set 2

Set 2 gets off to a very bad start with the worst Chalkdust Ive heard in a hot minute. 12 minutes long, the song itself is extremely subpar and limping along. The jam meanderd aimlessly through extremel chill bliss picking for its duration. Basically, this Dust will put you to sleep. Right in the trash with this one!

The only good part is the exceptional segue out into an 11 minute Plasma! Thankfully the following extended sequence of sequence ends up being must hear, pretty much. Starting with Plasma, this one jams excellently, winding up in a MINUTES LONG "burn down the friggin house" hose rock and roll climax up there with the best extended outro jams out there. Incredible.

The keep the jam going after returning to the songs and, magically, they segue seamlessly into a 10 minute jammed out Weekapaug!!! Paug basically goes type 2, spending much of its time in extreme robo land. Absolutely SICK!!

Then, they execute another flawless segue out into Saw It Again for some excellent craziness. It burns hot and goes type 2 for a genuine minute before ANOTHER spectacular segue out into Caspian.

Alas, Caspian is below average, barely featuring any jamming, but my god the segue was soooooop sick and worked a million times better than you would ever think.

This really felt like some giant 30 minute jam that just happened to feature songs instead of the other way around. The sequence is total x factor and absolutely must hear!!!!!

Numberline picks us back up and we get a very high quality bliss rock reading. Not too long but very good.

The following Bug is another total must hear. This one EXPLODES. Trey soloing is just unreal. A+

Sand follows and delivere a very "laid back late night groove fest" kind of reading. Very relaxed but not boring. Really nice version! Actually, its excellent!!! Id call it must hear! As with Bug, it positively EXPLODES!!! Meltdown Trey annihilation!! Holy crap lets go!!! EXTREME PEAK ALERT TAKE COVER!

The show concludes with a killer encore of... Punch (!!!) into SANTOS. Punch is noteworthy for sounding very rehearsed and tight, Trey flubbing nothing!! It doesnt drag at all either. This is basically as good as a Punch is gonna sound in 2022, hands down. Honestly? I would even say this version is about 95% as good as the excellent one from 12/31/23. Call me shocked!!!

All in all, this show is all over the damn place. A lot of "meh", some average, and a good amount of genuinely terrific stuff. The whole affair has that "2nd tier greatness" vibe going on but this is definitely a VERY GOOD show, just not an amazing one.

Hell, the biggest flaw for me is the schizophrenic nature of it - this show is like getting yanked this way and that. You need a Drammamine for the motion sickness!

For set 2, the whole Chalkdust>Plasma>Weekapaug>Saw It Again>Caspian is the most ridiculous segue fest this side of Summer 2019 (THE year of segues!!!). All of those are GENUINE segues, not ripcords!!! ALL OF THEM. Plasma and Paug, musically, are the only essential music of the quint, but you really need to hear it all in one go just to revel in the "wtf?!" insanity of it all.

All that being said, for set 2 I would say Plasma>Paug, Bug and Sand are the must hear material.
This show was really enjoyable but just weird enough that I dont think it reaches the 4.0 mark. Im comfortable giving it a strong 3.8 or so.

2022-06-05 Noblesville, IN

 6 5 22 Noblesville

Set 1

The 34 minute Sand and tour finale show has arrived! And they open it with one of the greatest "nobody could have called this" openers - While My Guitar Gently Weeps!!!! Heck yea! They kill it and Trey delivers a wonderful solo that is both patient and ripping at once. Simply put, they CRUSH this!! Absolutely essential listening! Trey is just melting everything in sight like the Chicago 2018 Moonage Daydream or something. Wow. Talk about a high quality opener!!!

Up next is a red hot My Soul, always a surefire sign its going to be a hot one tonight!! Maybe not essentil but know that it cooks hot regardless. Great version!!!! BLAZING HOT!

Rift is the definition of hit and miss tonight. Most of it sounds tight and BLAZING HOT with ridiculous energy from everyone, and then Trey comes and completely (literally) botches the ascending lick worse than the Coventry Glide. August 2004 Rift right here. Shame!

Horn is Horn. Good enough but nothing special.

Wombat kicks it back into high gear. This is the best played version Ive heard in a while. Super TIGHT and definitely well rehearsed!!! They just nail it!! Absolutely bursting with energy with an excellent vampy funk jam. Not truly must hear, but worth a listen - this is GREAT!!!!

After a typically lovely Evolve, we get a really good Guyuute. Unlike Rift, Trey gets his parts right, though there is a weird kind of "slightly hesitant" vibe to it all. Either way, no flubbage to my ears so this Guyuute is definitely a success!

Limb By Limb is excellent. The solo is just wonderful. Not must hear but a great reading nonetheless.

To my knowledge, the devolution of Mercury begins tonight with this measly 10 minute reading. Really nice version, high energy, pretty tight overall, though nothing special in the long run. A real shame too as it begins to jam and immediately is killed. Wtf, yo?!

Hot Moma is the surprise set closer. Good stuff! AND HOLY SCHNIKE WHAT A MOMA!!! Even by red hot type 1 Moma standards this is a cut above. Absolute machine gun Trey domination of the highest order. Must hear for sure!! This is a monster!


All in all, this was a highly enjoyable set though the highlights were definitely clear. Id say the opening WMGGW and Moma are the only "magical" readings of the set, though My Soul, Wombat and Limb all turned in excellent readings and Guyuute wasnt flubbed, lol. Also, Trey is still just crushing his solos like on night 2.

Unfortunately there were lows as well - 2022 continues to be the worst ever year for Rift, turning in an absolute disaster of a reading (from Trey at least). I mean, this one is BAD. And then the intro of short Mercury....

All that being said, the energy and enthusiasm were sky high throughout so that goes a long way, but there was definitely some slight....hesitancy to a lot of it. Wombat, My Soul, Moma and WMGGW were the only times it felt like things TRULY "clicked" in that special way.

Basically, an imperfect but highly enjoyable set! 

Set 2

So, a 34 minute Sand to open the set, eh?! Wow, ok! Let me see if I can recap this from memory after the fact:
The song itself is slow and sluggish tonight. They quickly get it together but at first its kinda troublesome.
----Very good type 1 ensues and lasts until around 10 minutes. At that point they make the decision to keep going and from 10 to 18 minutes, they jam the crap outta Sand, not going off the edge yet but definitely pushing the boundaries and exploring all the nooks and crannies. Awesome section full of wonderful playing.
----- Around 18 minutes things start to get properly strange and they take the plunge. Killer delay and synth jamming.
-----At the 21 minute mark they begin to build a peak and for nearly 6 friggin minutes they basically peak and explode this sucker over, and over and over and over. Absolutely ridiculous stuff.
------Come the 28ish minute mark the jam shifts and they devolve it from there, slowly winding down with a beautiful, laid back chill vibe similar to the final section of the Mexico 2024 WOPE or something. And from there we are out....

Wowzers!! What a beast!! This is an absolute journey. It doesn't get as crazy as I wish but that is extreme stupid nitpicking. This is an all timer for sure. There was almost no "searching" and it was constantly moving naturally. The different sections were all lengthy and explored properly. This was a monster jam, hands down.

Wow. 

A really, really nice Sigma follows to pick us up out of the ruin of that Sand. The song isnt particularly great but the jam/solo is excellent. In the final minute or so it begins to go type 2 and they move, PERFECTLY, into a Sand reprise to finish!! Hot damn that was sick!

20 Years Later is a grear set call after that and is surprisingly uptempo and powerful. Unfortunately it ultimately doesnt do much but its a great reading of the song itself.

This is followed by a much welcome Mango Song. Pretty good stuff but nothing essential. I will ALWAYS take a Mango though! Actually, this Mango is pretty friggin nice....

Everyone (except mine!)'s least favorite song, Rise/Come Together is next. This one is slow and sluggish, not great example when I try to explain how this song is awesome, lol. Typically excellent solo though!

After a strong Free to close the set, we get a nice encore of Grind into Slave. Free is played surprisingly well with no technical shakiness or confusion about the arrangement (for the most part). Free ends up being really great with terrific delay funk jamming. Killer set closer. This is an AWESOME Free. Definitely worth a listen!!! Eh screw it, call it must hear! THIS FREE ANNIHILATES HOLY CRAP!!!

Slave takes fooorereeeevvvveeerrrr to wake up. Pretty lousy for most of its duration, thankfully the final few minutes see it explode into a wave of nuclear bomb hose.

All in all, Sand is obviously THE major takeaway of set 2. The rest of the set is good enough but nothing else really is particularly great, ya know? It felt like they ran out of steam a little thanks to Sand. Free was smashing though!!!

An extremely mixed bag of a show but the highlights were massive!! Definitely not a poor show but not an amazing one either.

2022-06-04 Noblesville, IN

 6 4 22 Noblesville

Set 1

The show opens with a very nice Turtle. Nothing special but the energy is there and the tempo is up. Excellent.

They immediately kick it into HIGH GEAR with the following Undermind. This baby coookkkssss!! Maybe not truly must hear but its terrific! A definite highlight!!!

And believe it or not, Drift While You're Sleeping in slot 3 was spectacular tonight!!!! Somehow it kept the energy of of Undermind going and built upon it!!! An absolutely explosive reading, one of the finest I have heard. What in the F?!? A Drift in slot 3 that not only does not ruin the set but straight up elevates it?! Must hear!!! Holy crap!!!


After a fun Strawberry Letter 23, the hits keep coming with a blazing hot, X Fsctor Stealing Time. They jam the CRAP outta this one!!! A spectacular reading, hear this at all costs!!! No, seriously, the jamming in this is just absolutely inspired. Must hear. 10/10. THIS IS MAGICAL!!!

What the hell is this set so far?!?!

Runaway Jim is the perfect followup. It never fully "explodes" but the energy is sky high regardless and the back half is one big full-band interplay love fest. Maybe not must hear, but its terrific!!!!! Killer. Definitely a highlight and worth s listen.

Camel Walk gives us a slight breather. Terrific type 1 reading. As Brent Mydland would say, silky, silky smooth!! Definitely a highlight but probably not must hear.

Id say the following Timber is, however! It stretches wonderfully, just about going type 2!!!! The initial build up jam is stretched mightily by Pages colorful synths while Trey slowly builds his solo atop. Patient in the BEST way, the full band interplay is killer on this. Just listen to everyone listening close to each other!! Short but must hear!!! Wow!!

Julius and Melt close the set perfectly. Julius is absolutely BLAZING LIKE A COMET BRIGHTER THAN A FULL MOON!!! Holy crap. Nothing special but good lord it just rips!!!

A solid Melt sends us out. Not very long, barely passing 11 minutes. Despite the length, this has an awesome jam. For a Melt, its surprisingly cohesive, going into a 1999-style "tensely ethereal" zone flirting with ambience but really flying through the clouds instead. Wonderful stuttering synths and patiently building Trey. This is wonderful!!! Then they slowly move into a deconstruction zone for a bit before perfectly segueing back out into the song again. Id call this must hear. I thought it was surprisingly great, especially considering its relatively brief runtime!

All in all, this set WAS KILLER!!!!!! Everything was baseline excellent and Trey was very much "ON" with his playing. The band are definitely having a good night on the musical communication front as well.

Id say Drift, STFTFP and Timber and Melt are all must hear, while Camel, Jim and Undermind come close.

I can see why the setlist would turn folks off, but look past that and go LISTEN instead!! This set blazes, featuring spectacular Trey out the wazoo. I understand the "flaws", but for me personally this was a smashing set!!

Set 2

First 2nd set YEM opener since 1989?!?! And it reaches 23 minutes including a post vocals jam?!?! All that out of the way, the technical parts sound very good but arent "perfect". But zero complaints on that front - sounds great. The lengthy initial round of funk jamming is just oh so good!!! Pages keys give it an exceptionally laid back "take it easy" vibe and Treys soloing is just completely on point. Then of course they build it back up and tear the roof off accordingly. Right around 15 minutes Trey unleashes one of the most ridiculous explosions of fury Ive heard in while. Holy freaking crap!! Then Gordo funks it up and we go into the vocal jam. The vocal jam barely lasts a minute before being 86d. They quickly and smoothly move back into low key funk for a bit. Eventually the jam goes type 2 and they spend the remainder in a slow building, upbeat melodic bliss heaven kind of area. Just wonderful!!!

Holy freaking crap! X Factor ALL OVER that magical beast!!! That is an all-timer-since-2009 version, hands down. Many modern YEMS are real good, but few are truly GREAT like this one....wow... 

Following YEM, we get to finally witness the birth of Wave of Hope as a true jam vehicle!!! Nearly 19 friggin minutes on this one. The song itself is surprisingly funky and thumping tonight!! Total groover! The first section of the jam is an excellent and inspired aquatic robo bliss rock section. Genuinely killer. Around 10 minutes, after some delay action and a brief peak, the jam goes properly type 2, moving into a more low key, late night rock zone. They quickly move back into inspired upbeat bliss rocking of the non-generic variety. Wonderful and perfect melodic playing leads up to a killer peak at 15:30. The jam explodes with some massive, patented Big Red Sustains, lasting a solid 90 seconds of "kicking into overdrive". Around 17 minutes a stomping groove appears but Trey instead decides to reign them in and close the song proper...

That was DEFINITELY must hear!! It never got "strange" at all, but despite being 15 minutes of "upbeat bliss rock", basically, it all felt very inspired, not "searching" or lacking. This was just terrific for the most part. Killer!!

Great pick of a wah infused Bug to give us a cooldown yet still keep the heat going!! Trey is just soloing the crap outta this one. Awesome lil Bug. This version is SICK!!!! Must hear!!! Strangle that guitar, Trey!!!

We get a nice doubleshot of the Farmhouse album with Jibboo following up Bug. Jibboo is terrific, just loaded with extra pizazz throughout. Not must hear, but comparable in quality to the Jim from set 1.

The Howling is up next and boy does this sucker CRUSH. All hail our robo overlords!!! Total robot annihilation throughout from Trey, this is the funkiest thing Ive heard in a hot friggin minute. Seriously, I think this is must hear. Its FANTASTIC!!! This thing is WACKY!!! If Jibboo set the ball on the tee, this Howling absolutely knocked it out of the dang course!!! MUST HEAR!!! THIS IS KILLER!!!

The set concludes with Good Times Bad Times to complete a fiery trilogy of awesomeness. And by god is this fire - listen to Trey absolutely nail that solo!!!!! Freaking fire, thats what this is!!! Holy smokes!!! Im calling this must hear. This just annihilated...MACHINE GUN TREY!!!

In the encore we get something really unique and downright weird - SSSLLLLOOOOWWW MMMMAAAAAZZZZEEEE. This is so damn strange and I'm not entirely sure if this even "works", lol. A++++ for creativity and effort and doing something oh so Phishy! The playing is killer and Pages keys REALLY stand out in a big way on this - man those keys just crush on this. And then Treys terrific slow burn solo is just ridiculous. This is actually super awesome!!!
I dont know if Id want this ever again, but this lone outing is pretty friggin COOL!!!


All in all, I loved the hell outta this set!!! I would say YEM, Wave, Bug, Howling, GTBT and Slow Maze are all must hear!!! (That only leaves out Jibboo, and an argumen can be made for that one too).

This show was HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!!! Trey was having a great night solo wise and the whole affair just brims with "extraness". Hell, Id say the 4.1 rating might even be a bit too low - Id give this a 4.2 or 4.3 most likely. All it really "needed" was, maybe, one more big improv piece and the show really could have gone next level!!!