Onwards to the final night of Atlantic City 2021, and the final show of the initial leg of 2021 Summer Tour.
What a tour its been!! Final thoughts to come later - for now, on we go....
8/15/21 Atlantic City
Set 1
The Landlady - Surprise Landlady opener! Sounds perfect and the guys nail it compositionally for the most part. Absolutely GORGEOUS
piano throughout from Page, making ample use of the sustain pedal (I
think? It sounds super BIG and, well, grand!). Great stuff!!!
Scents and Subtle Sounds INTRO - Dude, c'mon now. Screw you guys!
Talk about the definition of TEASE!!!! First they get a great version
going in the last show only to abort it for a wacky quasi-trainwreck
Chalkdust, but now they make everyone think they are going to play it
for real only to kill it in half the time this go around!!! BOO!!!!
>The Moma Dance - OK! I FORGIVE THEM! THAT SEGUE WAS OBVIOUSLY PLANNED AND SIDESWIPED EVERYONE IN THE FRIGGIN FACE!!! On
top of that, it's a FOURTEEN minute version to boot! This Moma is a
beast. It does it's usual Moma thing but somewhere along the way ends up
morphing into a Type II bliss fest. Trey slowly picking gorgeous
melodic lines out of the air on top of Fishman's shuffly beat and Page's
ever-so-delicate electric piano. Definitely a unique and must-hear
Moma. It doesn't tear your face off, but it definitely makes great use
of it's runtime!!! Eventually the jam dies down and Trey quasi-ripcords
us out of it into....
>The Final Hurrah - Ok, to everyone in the room, that
was CLEARLY "supposed" to be Blaze On. Thankfully Trey goes for the much
more inspired song selection!!!! Thank you to high heavens Trey
wakes up and delivers terrific leads throughout, better than he has in
several shows. Not exactly shredding, but still tearing it up. A+ Type I
version of this underrated classic!!!!! KILLER VERSION!!! FACEPLANT INTO ROKK!!!
Mike's Song - Ooh, another inspired setlist call! Groovy chill-funk
erupts from this sucker right away. Trey scratching his wah pedal like
it's 1997 again! STRAWBERRY LETTER 23 TEASE, YO. Trey's
playing on this is just as delicate as Moma and FH, but it's nothing
approaching sleepy of lacking passion. It's full of spirit and energy,
he's just choosing to lay down real smooth like. The jam
does develop quite the head of steam by the end though and eventually we
see Trey trilling it out and raging hot. Great stuff!!!
>I Am Hydrogen - Hydro is Hydro but it's always wonderful to get a "proper" Mike's Groove!!! 
It's well-played and everyone hits all of their parts perfectly.
>Weekapaug Groove - Aw yea, get it Cactus!!! In the
grand scheme this one isn't anything memorable or special, but in the
context of tonight it is excellent. A "great l'il 'Paug!" Not worth a
highlight on it's own though. Very nice but nothing special outside of
the context of this complete Mike's Groove.
"yea" sample
The Sloth - Heck yes!!! Slightly sloppy on the rollout on this one, but
A+ for song choice and effort. Sucker rocks as expected even with shaky
knees. For all of that I can't really say it's highlight-list worthy,
but it's also still a fine version all the same!
Roggae - We haven't really had a cooldown yet other than Hydrogen, so I
guess now is as good a time as any! I wouldn't call this must-hear, but
it's every bit as highlightable as the tepid-but-great Mike's Groove
was! Super cool sustained robot feedback squall in the back end (you'll
know it when you hear it). Not a classic Roggae, but still a damn fine
one!
>Back On the Train - Red hot Type I rager. Only 5.5 minutes long, so
it doesn't even get to stretch, but what is here is excellent. Red hot
and fiery and full of energy, just nothing memorable in the slightest. 
You Enjoy Myself - Woah! Surprise YEM to close the set! Shockingly
well-performed from all parties involved. Between this night and last
night, AC 2021 was a great run for the compositional songs!!! Good
golly I really love Trey's new 2021 sounds. They add so much to
something like the "wash uffizi" section than if he was just playing his
"straight" tone. Great stuff. I mean, check out the sick "delay swells"
he is doing during that section!!!!! Overall, an excellent, ass-kicking
YEM that is absolutely worth your time!!!
All in all, I gotta say I've been struggling the last 4 or 5 shows
in a big way. Not because of listener burnout - the shows directly
preceding this have simply been LACKING in some big ways for no
particular reason. It felt like the tour got better and better all the
way through, say, 8/6, then ever since the shows have been very
disjointed. Not many major standout jams or fully cohesive shows. Lots
of "set 1 was great but set 2 wasn't" etc
The "fire" definitely felt lacking FOR SURE. It returned in a big way
during 8/14 and even more so during this first set. There wasn't much
that was truly must-hear, but everything was at least at the desirable
"early 3.0 level of baseline excellence", if that makes any sense. For
this set, I'd say Moma into Final Hurrah as well as YEM are all you
really NEED, but this set held together from start to finish and there
wasn't a single poor song in the bunch!!!!! Everything was very good!!! Great set on the whole!
Set 2
Carini - Ooh yes, a headsmashing Carini to open! They just BLUDGEON
you with the song portion tonight - thank christ it wasn't some
limp-wristed rendition! 16 minutes in length, it wastes no time getting
down to business. The jam begins dark and kind of laid-back in a "slowly
building the intensity" kind of way. Great soloing throughout. Things
are dark and then - literally in ONE second! - at 6:28 it IMMEDIATELY
goes into major key bliss! HOW THE HELL?! STOP! YOU ARE GETTING TOO GOOD
AT DOING THAT! By 8:30, Page is pounding the piano and Trey is
doing more of his patented Divided Sky note sustains. They stay in this
bliss-rock zone for a very long time, content to ride the wave and just
use it for all they suck out of it. And it's downright terrific! Awesome
peaky moment around 11:30 where Trey starts doing some patterns and
motifs and you can hear the other guys latch on and try to keep building
from them. This is one of those jams that just builds and builds
and builds and builds and BUILDS AND BUILDS AND BUILDS AND BUILDS SOME
MORE!!! It's like it's never stopping it's upwards journey! At
12:30, Trey denies the inevitable peak they were heading towards and
shifts the jam into Robo Delay Honk Fest mode. Super funky and kickass,
FX all over the place....Nasty and slammin', baby! Good lord, this is some BIZNESS. Around 14 minutes, the "Bullfrog Oboe" makes its appearance and the jam DROPS
into a more subdued space. Fishman lays out the drums, keeping time on
the cymbals with occasional tom fills to fill the space. The guys are trying to do a very "sparse" jam, but it's kinda falling apart awkwardly....AND IT DOES FALL APART AWKWARDLY! 
All, in all, that was an absolutely MUST HEAR Carini that covered a lot
of ground and covered it excellently despite the floundering for
direction at the end. AWESOME!
>Set Your Soul Free - Good call! Quickly rights the awkwardly
sideways-drifting ship that Carini became and keeps us rocking and our
heads bobbin'. Very uptempo tonight, which is a major plus. Check
out Trey really stretching his vocals, going for higher notes and
pulling it off. THIS VERSION OF SYSF IS KICKING ASS AND TAKING NAMES!!!
THIS SUCKER FREAKING ROCKS TONIGHT!!!! HOLY FREAKING ROBOT SQUEALS FROM HELL, BATMAN! I cannot say enough good about this version - it simply destroys....This
SYSF does go Type II, but of the "RED FRIGGIN HOT MOLTEN LAVA"
variety!!! Dark and heavy and ROCKING!!! Seriously, this is most rocking
thing in a number of shows!!! GET THIS GET THIS GET THIS GET THIS GET
THIS!!!!!
>Beneath a Sea of Stars - Oh boy, after that face melting volcanic eruption, this cool down is like taking the ALS Ice Water Challenge. No need to narrate, it delivers EXACTLY
what you expect and want it to. Absolutely gorgeous, just close your
eyes and pictures the stars above, while you float through the universe,
all your problems washing away in a sea of ecstacy. Or something like
that. A+++++++
Wow
>Piper - HOW FRIGGIN PERFECT!!! A dreamy, slow-build intro
Piper to come out of the heavenly sounds of BASOS!!!! They start it at a
whisper and it's SO PERFECT! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!!!! PERFECT
CHOICE!!! 12 minutes in length, they waste no time getting to
the goods. Uptempo Robot Funk Raging on this one!!! As with BASOS, it's
exactly what you expect and then some!!!! This jam is incredible. There is way too much going on to try to narrate but it delivers from the first note to the last. ABSOLUTE ASS KICKING DESTRUCTION OF THE HONKY ROBOT VARIETY!!!!
IT EVEN ENDS WITH A DAMN CARINI REPRISE!!!!!!!!!
NEW GENRE INVENTED - PORNOGRAPHIC OUTER SPACE ROBOT FUNKGRIND
>Waves -
And the inevitable oceanside version of Waves to help us reconstruct
the soupy mess of brain that is our minds in a puddle on the
sand.....Terrific little Type I version of Waves as good as any other
shorter version of it!!!!
>Simple - A short version of Simple up next. An excellent Type I reading, comparable to the killer Waves immediately preceding it.
>About to Run - Simple dies a fast and painless ambient death
and Trey seizes the opportunity to LAUNCH directly into ATR without so
much as a moment to catch our breath!!!! Another raging Type I rendition
that absolutely slaughters. KILLER!
First Tube - See above...holy freaking hell.....
At this point my head is in my hands.
This is contender for hottest set of the entire tour. Just fire on top
of fire on top of fire on top of fire. How do they do this...
Fluffhead - Begun after Trey gives
thank you remarks to the crowd. This feels incredible powerful and
sentimental tonight. The penultimate song of this first "come back"
summer tour after the COVID layoff. Kinda poignant, a little bit. As
with the other compostion-heavy songs of the last few shows, this one is
also performed damn-near flawlessly. Other than a brief moment or two
of Trey losing his way for a few seconds, he absolutely nails his parts.
Killer. A+ Fluff!!!
>Number Line - Wow! The show closer nobody wanted or expected! 
Great version! Nothing special but for the sake of emotional resonance, it deserves a highlight! Great stuff!
Wow. WOW. WHAT EVEN WAS THIS SET?!
THIS SET DESTROYED WORLDS! BEST COMPLETE SET SINCE 8/6 or 8/10!!!! OUTSTANDING IN EVERY WAY! AND SET 1 WAS NO SLOUCH EITHER!!
The best of the 3 nights in Atlantic City and it's not even close.
Literally the ENTIRE 2nd set is phenomenal. The
Carini>SYSF>BASOS>Piper was WORLD CLASS DESTRUCTION OF THE
MUST-HEAR VARIETY. Absolutely one of the top 3 or 4 jam segments of the entire summer.
AMAZING SHOW!!!
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