2021-09-24 Wilmington, NC - T.A.B.

 Continuing TAB 2021 this fine Monday (ugh, is any Monday fine?!).

9/24/21 Wilmington is next up and it gets special note for being the final "proper" show of the tour featuring the singers/horns and typical TAB setlist.

That being said, here we go:

Set 1:

A fine Drifting eases us into the show before a spectacular Cayman Review follows and truly begins proceedings. Everyone is giving their all and this is truly an A++ rendition. Must hear!

After another nice Mozambique, we get a blazing hot 14 minute Everythings Right. We've still yet topped the incredible Portland version, but this one is as good as it gets without going "X Factor" on us. Just a smoking, molten guitar workout of the highest order. Definitely must hear!

Heavy Things cools us back down quickly. This version is lovely!!! I cant get enough of the flute!!!! That sounds so rad!!! Awesome version!

Quantegy continues the energetic-yet-laid back vibing of the set. Dark and ethereal, the keys and flute really shine on this one. Sometimes Quantegy sounds too "bare bones" for me. This is not one of those versions - its a mystical, swirling, late night psychedelic chillfest supreme!! Must hear!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!! ALL HAIL QUANTEGY!

All hail proper set construction!!!! Man, Liquid Time rising out of Quantegy works PERFECTLY!!!! It almost feels like one big "prog" piece where Quantegy was the intro section and then it launched into LT. That late night vibe of Liquid Time just pairs so perfectly with Quantegy.... And LT is performed flawlessly with extra mustard tonight. As with Cayman, just an A+ version all around. Stellar!

Alive Again reignites that latin heat once more. An absolutely stonking rendition, Im calling this must hear. This version friggin SMOKES!!! I mean, its just scalding hot!! Musically its exactly what you expect, it just has that extra intangible "something" about it like Cayman and Quantegy did. Absolutely smashing rendition. Wow!!!!

Firing. On. All. Cylinders.

Aw hell yea, Olivia! Lets friggin go! Tear it up!!! Must hear, this one feels longer than other with some excellent horn soloing and nasty wah vamping from Trey. Nasty!

Unexpected launch out of Olivia and into a red hot Pigtail. Awesome as anything else in this set. Smashing!!!!

Money Love and Change closes the set. Another molten hot version that just annihilates. Sick.


All in all, THIS SET RULES!!!! Honestly, this felt like the most front-to-back ass kicking, consistently high quality set since maybe opening night in Portland! That X Factor vibe is flowing for sure.

I would say Cayman, Quantegy>Liquid Time, Everythings Right and Money are all must hear while everything else is barely a notch below. A TERRIFIC set!!!!! 

Set 2

Fiery start to the set with a rocking Night Speaks to a Woman. Must hear!! Absolutely volcanic Trey on this sucker!! He is just going OFF!!!

After an absolute smashing and kinda rare And Flew Away, we jump into a nearly 15 minute Gotta Jibboo. From the outset this Jibboo just has that thing. Its got this massive energy about it - this is no laid back chill fest!!!! This sucker is HOT HOT HOT. The jamming is top tier. Robo Trey for days, just laying hard into that robowah.....thick and goopy and sludgy in the best way. This Jibboo is NASTY! MUST HEAR!!!!!!! Lots of sick Trey, tons of lengthy horn solos...by modern standards, this Jibboo goes OUT THERE!!!!

A+++++++++++++++++

After a nice Evolve to cool us down, we get a MUST hear Alaska!! Chunky and nasty and just X Factor all over!!!!!

As with Alaska and Jibboo, the following 12 minute Simple Twist is absolutely must hear. Total nuclear bomb explosion!!!! Absolutely ridiculous!!!!!! Not much else to say - just a massive 12 minute explosion!!!!

The set concludes with a sick About to Run and a typically excellent Blaze On.

After the acoustic encore we get Bouncing and Wave to close the show. Nice choices!

All in all this was a SMASHING show!!! Absolutely terrific and maybe the best, top to bottom, since opening night in Portland!!! For set 2, Jibboo, Alaska, Simple and Night are all must hear. Just KILLER.

Hot damn what a show....

On to COVID TAB!

2021-09-22 Charlottesville, VA - T.A.B.

 TAB 9/22/21 Charlottesville

Set 1

The set opens with a nice robowah Blaze On before Olivia and Moz hit us with a blast of energy.

In Rounds is a truly excellent type 1 reading ala New Haven, but the first must hear of the night is the barnburner Alive Again. Trey just wails and everything is right with the world.

Following another sexy Moma Dance comes another nuclear bomb Set Your Soul Free. X Factor all over this one, the whole band whips up a massive psychedelic fire brew of energy and just explode the song. Must hear. A+!!!!

Following a hot Camel Walk we get a holy mother of godzilla x factor destruction where did this come from nuclear bomb rendition of About to Run. Truly a rare NEXT LEVEL reading, where was THIS Trey all Summer?! An absolute must hear at all costs rendition.

Another must hear Money ends this first set.

All in all, this set felt pretty "average excellent" for the most part, but my freaking god you NEED Set Your Soul Free and that insane About to Run in your life. Maybe Money as well.  

Set 2

Another strong 10 minute Jibboo opens set 2. Nothing specia but solid enough.

However, the following 13 minute Carini is a gnarly, destructive, x factor BEAST!!! MUST HEAR!!!!! Dake, heavy and CRUSHING!!!! HOLY CRAP!!!! They jam this hard - it goes borderline type 2, imo. Absolutely insane Carini.... X FACTOR INSANITY!!!!! No, seriously, I think that might have just been THE jam of the tour so far....

After a nice Ether Sunday, Valentine and Rise/CT trio, a hot Curlew into a ripping Ghost close the set. Ghost kills once again. Definitely must hear!

Nice encore of Life into another hot Sand

All in all, for set 2 you NEED the Carini and that Ghost but the rest is merely enjoyable. This felt like the "least impressive" of the 5 shows so far. That sounds bad but its not a knock - they have all been EXCELLENT. But if I was gonna nitpick and rate them, this one would be bottom of the group so far.

  

2021-09-21 Philadelphia, PA - T.A.B.

 TAB 9/21/21 Philadelphia

Set 1

Excellent and all too rare Corona to open the show. Followed by another great version of Mozambique to keep the energy going! Moz is Moz but dang does this version KILL!!!! SICK!!!

From the get go, the energy is HIGH tonight, even moreso than New Haven. This feels closest to the opening night in Portland - there is just that vibe in the air for whatever reason.

The goods keep coming with an ultra groovy Cayman Review. This one never strays far from the pack, but I would definitely throw this in the highlight pile - groove for days, killer organ and horn solos...this version RULES!!!!! Im gonna call this one must hear!

Uber funky 46 Days keeps the goop going nice and strong. A bit too ordinary for me to call it must hear, but it does exactly what you expect and does it excellently.

Another excellent version of Valentine picks the tempo up very nicely. Love this song and its such a joy to listen to.... definitely not as good as New Haven but still solid.

Lonely Trip is superb as ever - my god do I adore this TAB arrangement. Im gonna call this must hear. It brought a tear to my eye.

Gotta Jibboo saves us from melancholy with a fiery and funky rendition as good as any other. An absolute delight!!! Must hear!!! Love the horns beneath Treys solo!!! And Trey is just melting faces....

Following that we get...the proper TAB show debut of Evolve!! AND HOLY CRAP THIS IS AMAZING!!! I WILL FOREVER BE DISAPPOINTED BY THE PHISH VERSION AFTER THIS!!!!! THE LATIN RHYTHMS!!! THE BACKING VOCALS!!!

THE FRIGGIN FLUTE SOLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good god guys, its like....go listen to the TAB version of Oblivion from 2023. Itll make you go "oh crap, thats what Oblivion should sound like!!!"

This is like that on steroids.
TAB+EVOLVE=LIFE.

Absolutely CRUSHING Money Love and Change sees the set to a conclusion. Not much to say - it kills! X Factor Magic! Total ANNIHILATION!

All in all, another kickass TAB set as expected. This definitely had the best "feel" of any set since the Portland debut (its subtle, but its something different than energy, which New Haven definitely had!). Just everyone sounds extra PUMPED tonight again. Or something like that. Wonderful!!

Id say the set 1 must hears are Cayman, Lonely Trip, Jibboo, Money and of course that mind blowing Evolve!!!! 

Set 2

15 minute Everythings Right to open set 2. Super mega late night ultra groove on this one. Get down with your bad self! Total robofunk annihilation. Meltdown alert!! Get it Trey!!!! Must hear!!!

The heat continues with the first Simple Twist Up Dave of the tour. Firebomb. Must hear.

Spin is a bluesy vortex of insanity! Must hear! Trey EXPLODES!

Ghosts of the Forest and Silver Light are both creative setlist calls, but unfortunately neither go anywhere or produce particularly noteworthy results. Shame! First true stumble of the show.

Thankfully Twist - my favorite late show set killer - comes along and provides the much needed type 1 fire to reignite proceedings. Not must hear, but definitely an EXCELLENT "guitar god Trey" reading.

And they keep it going swiftly with Sand! The uber-groove of ER returns big time. Lay into it, Dezron! Absolutely MUST HEAR! This thing goes NUCLEAR!!!!!! FANTASTIC!!! LETS GO!!!!! And with that, the set proper comes to a close.

The excellent When the Words Go Away and a nice More are both done acoustic before solid versions of Heavy Things And Push On to send us home

All in all, I think New Haven had the better setlist and was the more consistent show, but I also feel this show reacher higher heights, if that makes sense. For set 2 grab ER, Spin, Simple and Sand.

Good stuff  

2021-09-19 New Haven, CT - T.A.B.

 9/19/21 New Haven

Set 1

The show opens with a ripping 12 minute robo funk waterfall delay SYSF. Absolutely smashing, totally must hear. Nuclear!!!

After a hot Olivia, we get another red hot Alive Again. It doesnt top the Portland version but it gets in the ballpark.

Ghost is a smokeshow - guitar god Trey comes out to play and faces are melted. Must hear.

Liquid Time is another must hear. It sounds super rehearsed and album ready. Just terrific!

I Never Left Home follows and is basically an extended psychedelic robofunk jam. Great stuff but maybe not essential.

Set 1 concludes with an excellent 12 minute version of Night Speaks to a Woman. Sick version, must hear.

All in all, this was an excellent, rocking set much more in line with the Portland show. Great setlist shakeups!!! Still searching for more "x factor" level renditions ala Portland, but this was still totally excellent through and through!!!
Grab SYSF, Ghost, Liquid and Night!!! 

Set 2

Set 2 begins with a MUST HEAR In Rounds!!! Total perfection, this is what a "perfect" version, song and jam, sounds like. Extra mustard all over this. A++

The heat continues into the following Camel Walk. I wont call it must hear, but it totally blazes for sure. Pure fire.

And into a 12 minute Sand. And it is X Factor Magic all the way baby! Totally must hear, I think it tops the excellent Boston version! Starting slow and spacey before slowly working to a massive and thunderous extended peak EXPLOSION. Essential listening!!!!

The fire continues with a raging Curlew. Trey goes full on robot nuclear annihilation on this sucker. Good lord, someone get me some cool rag!

And from there we move perfectly into the wonderfully trippy Quantegy for said cooloff.....7 minutes of excellent psychedelic noodling ending with a great segue into a strong yet ordinary Drifting. Great stuff!!

An excellent and rare Traveler gives way to Mr. Completely to close the set. Must hear, its absolutely raging and solo filled as expected.

Ether Sunday and First Tube encore.

All in all this was a HOT show with a terrific setlist - great to see the "rarer" songs slotted in!!! For set 2 I would say In Rounds, Sand and Mr. C are all must hear but the whole thing really killed!! An excellent set and a better show than Boston, imo

 

2021-09-18 Boston, MA - T.A.B.

 9/18/21

Set 1

The show opens with a sick, "soft rock" version of Shine rearranged for horns and vocals. Very cool and unique and a completely different vibe to the "rock track" album version. Must hear.

12 minute Blaze On in slot 2, this one is all Trey. Absolutely killer slow burn kind of jam. Must hear. No, really, this is sick.

After a deightful Magilla and a standard Cayman we launch into Sand. Sand is INSANE! Trey goes full on nuclear bomb, slowly wrenching bent notes from his guitar like a wailing madman. Abs must hear. 10/10. Nuts.....

Valentine sounds terrific and allows us to collect our melted faces from the floor. A really, truly excellent version. Maybe not must hear, but still awesome. Same for the following 46 Days - it doesnt reach the X Factor heights of Blaze or Sand, but of course it more than gets the job done.

Set 1 ends with a blazing Push On Til The Day. Borderline must hear, it rips, but then again, dont they all?


All in all, another great set! Bit of a different vibe to night 1. Felt much more "late night" or something. Kind of laid back in a subtle way. Very cool. Awesome stuff. Definitely grab Shine, Sand and Blaze On!!!

 

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with a ripping 10 minute robo groove Carini. Id call this must hear - a warmup of monster TAB versions soon to come, but major ground is covered in the relatively brief time frame! This one is all over the place!

Remember the late night vibe I mentioned? The following Plasma dives head first into that! A terrific, groovy, chilled out funk kind of jam, all low key and slow burning in the best way. Sick.
As with Carini, it feels like a teaser of the mammoth versions soon to come.

The following Pigtail is MUST HEAR!!!! An absolute friggin PARTY ala Suzy Greenberg, you get dueling horns, organ solo, the works. A++++ album ready version. Hot damn!

As with Plasma, Alaska lays hard into that late-night vibe turning in a nicely relaxed version that even gets a little strange with a weird kind of alien percussion section in the middle. Interesting.

But not as interesting as the following 10 minute Money, Love and Change!! This sucker kills!!! Total jam beast, killer.

Gorgeous Show of Life into a hot About to Run close the show.


All in all, this was an excellent show, though I would definitely say it was slightly "lesser" when compared to opening night in Portland. Strong overall, just nowhere near as much mind-blowing going on. And that's fine, this was still a great show of great music!

For set 2 Id say Plasma, Carini and Pigtail are what you need

 

 

2021-09-17 Portland, ME - T.A.B.

 So I played the final 6 2021 TAB shows last year as a lead in to my Fall 2021 play through. This time Im going whole hog and just playing the whole dang tour - it probably deserves it

This morning I begin TAB2021 with:

9/17/21 Portland

Set 1 -

First Tube with horns/orchestration is a wonderful opener and if you havent heard such a version, you REALLY need to! Such a great twist on the standard formula that really elevates it!!

Things immediately gain some serious steam with a fiery-hot Alive Again making me think of a latin-tinged Steam (though more uptempo) and a friggin BLAZING Camel Walk.

Id call both must hear. Wow! Camel Walk in particular just goes nuclear with fireball heat and blaring horn solos abound. Dang.

Like First Tube, Ocelot is another one given a fresh coat of paint. Ultra groovy with the latin feel again and the horn section giving such a sick vibe. Plus the, dare I say, sexy backing vocals This one is thick and goopy like maple syrup!
Killer.

After a nice breather for Love Is What We Are, we get the newly revived Olivia (as of early 2020) to kick things back up several notches. Man, does this song kick some tail or what?! What a sick groove and melody.... At the risk of calling everything must hear.... Look, this is BAD ASS AND YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT!

A blazing Set Your Soul Free keeps the jet-engine momentum going strong. I cant stop headbanging - so much energy! Maybe not truly must hear, but its a killer type 1 rager as good as anything else so far.

Dark and Down is, well, dark and down! Great stuff, Trey lets it rip. Not much else to say.

The penultimate song of set 1 is a very feisty Mozambique. Golly does this sound fresh or what (I guess it would after pounding Phish shows, lol). KILLER. Gotta love the dang horns and the latin rhythms and the wonderful, sun-shiny feel-good vibes!

Rise/Come Together closes the set. Not the closer people wanted, im sure, but who cares. I love the song and the extra groove and soul that TAB gives it really makes it POP in a way it often doesnt with Phish. Even if you aren't a fan of the song as played by Phish, check out a TAB version - you may be surprised. I could actually see this working great on a TAB album with full-on production and the works.
A spectacular version with a sick Trey solo. Must hear!

All in all, set 1 was a raging success. They came out to kill, and kill they did. SO. MUCH. ENERGY. And good vibes galore, my goodness. I would say Alive Again, Olivia, Rise/CT and that nutzo Camel Walk are what you NEED to hear, but golly...its like trying to compare diamonds or something. Just fantastic music from start to finish. 

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with a killer 17 minute Everythings Right! Holy mother of volcanic robo destruction!!! MUST HEAR!! RED ALERT!!! MELTDOWN TREY IN PROGRESS!!!!

What else am I supposed to say?! They opened set 2 with a nuclear bomb!

After some percussion zaniness to see us out, they move swiftly and launch into a powerful and driving Gotta Jibboo. Aw yea, Trey hits the perfect whale siren and its ON. This Jibboo is PHENOMENAL!! X FACTOR MAGIC! MUST HEAR!!! 10 OUTTA FRIGGIN 10!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!

Get your radiation suits on because the nuclear holocaust continues! Curlew's Call is 13 minutes of spastic insanity - Trey going bonkers, drum solos, everyone just EXPLODING non stop... Must hear yet again!!!!

Finally we get a chance to catch our breath with Ether Sunday. Chill reggae-jazz? This is freakin nice.

After a firebomb Burlap Sack (see Curlew), comes something I didnt expect. Im no stranger to TAB playing Moma Dance, but I realize now I havent actually heard a version the singers and horns until now. And holy pornography on a cracker there's a RUSTLE IN MY JIMMIES! Good lord I never knew a song could sound so X rated! The version itself isnt anything crazy tonight but good golly if you havent heard one of these renditions, you absolutely NEED to!

Up next is the first proper-TAB-show debut of I Never Needed You Like This Before. Stronger versions soon to come, Trey still manages to give a great taste of what is in store several shows dow the line.

Twist. See above. 12 minutes. Robo funk groovefest. Killer.

Life and a nice rocking Tuesday send us out.


Holy moly guys this show was FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!!! I loved it top to bottom!!! Just energy and FIRE out the wazoo, and man I forgot how good the horns and extra vocals make some songs sound....So much terrific music this first night...for set 2, you absolutely need the ER>Jibboo and Curlew for sure.

2020-02-23 Quintana Roo, MX - 2024 revisit

 2/23/20 Mexico

Set 1

The show begins with 3 songs that nobody wants to open a show - all in a row. Crowd Control, Farmhouse and Breath and Burning. But ya know what? Ill take em!! They flow together great and there is definitely a "vibe" tonight - a laid back and relaxed one.

Farmhouse is gorgeous and Breath, while not as fiery, is ultimately overall a "smoother" version than 12/8 in Charleston.

A PERFECTLY played Divided Sky keeps the energetic-yet-relaxed feel going perfectly!!! Trey stops in the break to acknowledge the awesomeness of the occasion of Phish in Mexico. Then its back into the song to finish. Great version . Serious heart on this one. Its not the most musically impressive version, it just has a great "warmth" about it...

After a nice Meat, we get probably the most remembered piece of music from Mexio 2020 - the 18 minute Everythings Right. And holy moly what a smokeshow! The X Factor is strong - this is as close to a "perfect" jam as you could get. Just flawless. Mandatory listening!

Surprisingly, Coil (kinda sloppy tonight) is not set closer, but it does go nicely into Wingsuit. An absolutely spectacular version in an era of amazing versions. X FACTOR MAGIC ON THIS ONE! HOLY CRAP!.

Good Bowie to close.

All in all, all you NEED is Everythings Right and maybe Divided Sky and Wingsuit. The rest of the set was positively average, but it was a COHESIVE average which made it strangely enjoyable. Much better set than you think, though it wont win any awards or anything.

Also, its absolutely about the VIBE with this set. Major points for that. You can't help but feel it.... 

Set 2

In amazing fashion, following on the heels of that incredible Everythings Right, they slam us by starting the set with TWO massive and deep workouts!!!!

Simple begins proceedings - 15+ minutes, this one quickly abandons the usual bliss and spends the majority of its time diving into the murky and oh so funky abyss of darkness. Absolutely must hear!!! It gets so ridiculous, they wind up in a full on "In a Gadda Da Vida" heavy metal jam towards the end. Just insane! This actually sounds like a jam out of the late 90s or something!!! X Factor all over this beast! All hail Simple deviation!!!! Complete and total dark-funk type 2 awesomeness!!!

Hot on its heels, they immediately launch into a nearly 18 minute Golden Age! Often times a perfunctory "time killer" late in a fledgling 2nd set, this one is much more in line with the greats of past, ala Hampton 2018. This thing FUNKS with a capital F!! Trey doing great delay work and Gordo annihilating all over... Even better than Simple, this again is X Factor Magic on steroids. Strange, and weird. Flawed, yet incredibly intriguing as well. This jam goes DEEP.
Just utter awesomeness in every way. They freaking CRUSH this!!! Essential listening!!!!

And just as we are being suffocated by the black hole vortex that is the final few minutes of this Golden Age, Page perfectly introducs Fuego and off we go! Fuego ends up being excellent without being essential. Never straying from the "base" type 1 jam, they still burn that sucker to the ground and deliver a version even better than 12/29/19's straightforward rendition. Great stuff!

Fuego concludes and Trey sounds for a split second like hes going to go into Ghost before quickly realizing they already played one and instead opts nicely for Undermind instead. A terrific type 1 reading full of choice delay inserts and even a full blown Manteca jam and Plasma teasing!! Must hear!

As is usual with the 2019 period, the boys are on top of their segue game and Undermind some morphs seamlessly into Back On The Train. Killer. As with Undermind, they stretch the boundaries of the song, toying with Simple, playing around with ambience, doing a bit of this and a bit of that. Somehow the song totally dissolves into several minutes of full blown, pulsing, outer space ambience!!! What the hell is going on! Full blown type 2 BOTT!!!!

BOTT dies down and from the ashes rises....Passing Through as set closer?! Wtf?! Ok just go with it! Sounds great - inspired version!!!

Lengthy encore of Rise, Silent, Fee, Funky B and the obligatory More to close the door on Phish 3.0

All in all, while set 1 was pretty "average" despite 2 or 3 massive highlights, it held together GREAT and played like a dream. Set 2 continued the strange fun of set 2 of 2/22/20. Simple>Golden Age and Undermind>Back On The Train are all MUST HEAR! Simple and Golden Age are both towering titans of jams along with the Everything's Right in set 1.

Maybe not a flawless "complete show experience", but honestly? The damn jams might have been the best of all 4 nights!!! And that is saying A LOT!!!!!

MEXICO 2020 IS A SUPREMELY UNDERRATED RUN LOADED WITH INCREDIBLE MUSIC.

Seriously, this run BLOWS AWAY the 2019 New Years run and its not even funny......



On to casual 2021 relisten!

2020-02-22 Quintana Roo, MX - 2024 revisit

 2/22/20 Mexico

Set 1

The show opens with Fishman singing Willin. Good stuff but does nothing for me, lol

The REAL opener is a beautiful 12.5 minute Tube!! This one starts funky but spends the majority of its time in a soaring, heavenly kind of bliss zone. Trey sounds like he is deliberately leaving space and building the jam, picking his spots, slowly building it to a massive peak. Probaby must hear. Stick with it - it gets good, I swear!

Unfortunately good will is lost when they ruin the set flow by following that with Evening Song. Look, I love the song, but bad placement is bad placement, ok?

Recognizing the error, Trey launches them into a terrific 11 minute Set Your Soul Free. Uptempo, HIGH ENERGY, rocking and everything you need, it gets the job done, going type "1.5", if you will, into a tropical party zone before concluding and turning into...

Not must hear, but excellent!

...You Sexy Thing!

YST, 46 Days, Waste, Your Pet Cat....all are solid, fine versions, but none are worth a second listen.

Then comes Mr. 17 minute Tweezer to the rescue!!! Hot, funky type 1 for 9 minutes leads into a full blown Manteca jam! And its off to the races we go! Type 2 funk madness morphing into friggin Makisupa.... must hear!! This is sick!!!!

They segue spectacular into You Sexy Makisupa and out again into a terrific Type 1 funk fest Twist to end the set.


All in all, a pretty uneven set. Nothing was bad, but the set flow was all over and the only things you really need are the Tweezer madness and probably that Tube. Definitely an "off" set.

That Tweezer>Mak>Twist was NUTS though!!!  

Set 2

Nice, rocking duo of Energy into Soul Planet to start. Guess Trey wanted a retry of the botched pairing back on 12/8!

Energy is fantastic, diving deep into a dark and psychedelic jam for a few glorious minutes before awkwardly coming to an unfortunate close.

Trey starts up Soul Planet and this one has MAJOR funk legs, but as with Energy, it dies just as its really taking off. Still, the 8 minutes that are here are A+++++ . Killer! Id pretty much call this must hear!!! As good or BETTER than the New Years version!!!

Even better, they segue into a 19 friggin minute Waves!!!! Waves is spectacular. Pure X Factor Magic, it spends its duration in spastic outer space psycho jazz land, ultimately peaking hard before crashing ashore....Total magic! MUST HEAR!!

The following Carini might even top that!!! 13 minutes and not a second wasted. It goes extremely dark and GRIMY turning into some kind of space funk soup...This one is NEXT LEVEL. Put this in the pantheon of all time greats. This is not an exaggeration. Complete X Factor Godzilla Stomp Magic!!! DESTRUCTION!!!!

A tasty Chalkdust is the bow on top. Slightly unhinged ala the SPAC 2023 version, this one quickly dives into a tropical kind of type 2 before melting into Have Mercy! Another must hear! Fantastic!!

After a standard, but appropriately placed Life Beyond, we get a great Hood. Ham Hands Anastasio totally botches the composed parts, but the band pulls it together and the jam is a powerhouse!!! Not quite 12/29/19, itll still suffice. Solid enough!

Awesome Sweet Jane into Tweeprize encore


Man oh man where did they pull this friggin set from?!?!? Couple set 1 of 2/21/20 with set 2 of 2/22/20 and youd have a legit all-time 3.0 show!!!!! The Soul Planet, Waves>Carini and Chalkdust were all spectacular and must hear! I give this set 10 thumbs up!!

If only set 1 were this good!!! 

PLEASE GO REVISIT THAT CARINI! ALL OF YOU!!

2020-02-21 Quintana Roo, MX - 2024 revisit

 Mexico 2020 moves onwards with night #2!

SHAFTY!

2/21/20

Set 1

The show gets off to a partytastic start with a stomping Turtle. Awesome as always and a prfect mood setter.

Immediately we dive headfirst into "wtf?! X Factor Land when they follow that up with.....Shafty?!?!? And not just a jam - they actually play the song properly, jam it into Plasma back into Shafty again and back out AGAIN into Plasma once more!

Dude!! MUST HEAR! FREAKIN AMAZEBALLS!!! SHAFTY-PLASMA SANDWICH!!!!

As if on cue, The Lizards rises beautifully from that funky wasteland to bring us back to the beach. Oh man, does the tropical vibe of The Lizards fit so perfect or WHAT?! Its honestly an excellent version, as good as Charleston or better. Very well played and the set placement was super fresh and felt so perfect outta that Shafty bizness.

Killer.

As if all of that wasnt enough, next we get a friggin 19 gosh darn minute Gin-Shafty-Gin sandwich! Welcome to the Phish deli I guess! Gin is absolutely INCREDIBLE!! X FACTOR MAGIC! MUST HEAR!!! Honestly, this Gin might be better than every version played in 2019 - its THAT good. If you dont have "Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar scrunched up stank face" at some point during this jam, something is wrong with you!

So Gin begins quietly and patiently, Page eventually taking charge, the band slowly funking it up yet getting more and more powerful by the second until its some kind of dark, funky runaway freight train in outer space. Or something like that. Absolutely insane Gin....

And the hits keep coming with wonderful 13 minute Blaze On. No ordinary version, this one goes true, dark type 2. If you are looking for a genuine out-there reading, look no further! Right from the outset the jam has a dark feel, and they just lay more and more into it, giving us a solid 8 or so minutes of primo funky jamming that just slowly kind of deconstructs itself bit by bit as it goes along, winding up in ultra funky outer space. Eventually in the end section, Fishman and Gordo perfectly set up a Plasma reprise, but Trey unfortunately denies their request and we get....

Another truly remarkable jam, please dont overlook this. X Factor Magic strikes again, baby!

...the first Sea and Sand since friggin Ventura 1998!!!!!! YAY!! And it is awesome! Not much to say!

Possum shreds this perfect set to a close. Fantastic version that is as pedal to the medal as any classic modern take. Killer.

All in all ...HOLY CRAP THIS SET WAS AMAZING!!!! No, seriously, it was next-level Phish for sure. Massive bustouts, several must hear jams, perfect flow and song selection (imo)....Seriously. This is honestly a damn flawless set to me and I dont say that lightly. The ONLY bad part was Trey killing the jams in Gin and Blaze a bit early it felt like, but other than that...holy moly they came out to KILL!! The Shafty-Plasma sandwich, the Bathtub Gin, the dark space Blaze On. All must hear, full of that extra x factor. If we were to count this as a a 2019 show, I would honestly call that Blaze On the version of the year and that Gin probably the version of the year.

WOW!   

Set 2

The still-new Sigma Oasis opens the set. This is probably the tightest one yet. Still no sign of the jam beast to come (who the hell could have predicted that?!) but its a great version, honestly!!! This version smokes and Trey delivers an outstanding solo. Sick.

Sigma concludes and we get a perfect segue into a 12 minute 2001!!! Im really loving the extended 2001s of late 2019 era! The initial jam on this is excellent. Trey is digging hard into the wah and the squiggles if you will. Page is echoing him on the synth. Great stuff. First chorus around 4.5 minutes! Following that a super sick "motif" jam appears that they all latch on to and jam the F out of. This sucker is NASTY! This sucker is HEAVY!! MUST HEAR 2001!! THEY TAKE IT FOR A RIDE!!!! SPECTACULAR!!!!!!

And they follow that with??? Drift?? Ok, bad song call, but honestly, the slow build out of 2001 is dynamic and actually kinda works, setlist wise. And its a strong version as well - the finale is rocking as ever. Bad song call, but good stuff (??)

Continuing the enjoyable bad set placements is an excellent Lifeboy followed by a friggin MUST HEAR IAWITW. This version SMOKES! Not the super jam of Mexico 2019, this is a blazing type 1 rock and roll FACE MELTER.

Best part, it segues flawlessly into No Men! Nice! No Men rages like fire and goes full on Shafty type 2.

Must hear!! That IAWITW>No Men was spectacular!!!

Piper continues the type 2 outer space microjam fun of No Men to greatly diminished results before a typically hot Good Times Bad Times closes the set.

Inspired encore of Sand into a standalone Weekapaug into another Shafty reprisenand we are out...

All in all, set 1 was magnificent. Set 2 was perfectly fine but nowhere near the excellence of set 1. It felt like they blew their wad in set 1 and didn't know how to top it going in to set 2.

Still, for set 2, that 2001 and the IAWITW/No Men are both must hear.

Another killer show with higher heights than night 1, but overall more imbalance between the 2 sets for sure.

2020-02-20 Quintana Roo, MX - 2024 revisit

 Finally we get to Mexico 2020!! Ive been dying to replay this run forever - I always remembered enjoying it immensely.

First off with the one setter, 2/20/20.
I watched the webcast for this one and absolutely LOVED it! Of course, my original review....you'd think it was the Great Went or something...

Wolfy's Idiot Reviews: 2020-02-20 Quintana Roo, MX

Lets play this with a fresh view, shall we? Fun to see how my opinion might change from 4 years ago!

So, 2/20/20 gets off to an unexpected start with a rare bustout of the Stones classic Torn and Frayed. Not my cup for opener, but I love the song and love hearing it, so...

A very nice Ghost follows. About 11 minutes, this one gets going nicely into a pretty hot bliss -rock zone. Kinda type 1.5-ish. My original review raved about it but I just dont hear it today. Its pleasant enough but not very impressive, imo. Good stuff, but I wouldnt call it must hear.

The following Free, however....whoah boy...hold on to your water wings, X Factor Magic approaching!!!! Ala the Hampton 2018 sample-ridden Golden Age, this Free goes DARK! Diving deep into the abyss they pull out Shipwreck and explore for sunken treasure before returning for air.

An absolutely incredible piece of music. Just insane!!!!

Shake Your Coconuts is stupid as hell but SUPER fun! I love love love it and Victim sounds petty darn good - much better than the Fall tour version. Too bad its the final rendition, this one got going!

Moma was a perfect choice to keep the grooving going out of Victim. A good Moma that does what its supposed to but nothing special.

Gotta Jibboo seems to have extra sauce tonight though. A wonderful reading, just full of that extra something. Excellent version!!!!

A triple header of rarities ensues with an absolutely gorgeous Shade followed by The Landlady and Destiny Unbound.

Shade really fit perfectly in that spot after Jibboo, I swear....Shade is Shade, but that was a great version.

They pick us up quickly with the shockingly potent duo of Landlay into Destiny. Landlady sounded flawless to me and had me going "why wasnt THIS the show opener?!". Destiny was top tier as well - not as exploratory as Charleston, it was still EXTREMELY FUNKY and more than delivered the goods. An absolute highlight!

Sick!

Continuing the groovy flow of fhe set, we move nicely into an excellent Steam. Steam turns in an absolute spectacular rendition - perfectly patient and hot and melty and, well...steamy!!!!! This sucker is hazy!!! Like a steaming hot sauna. Absolutely fantastic!!!!!! They KILL this one! Extra mustard all over!!! Dare I say X Factor Magic!!!!!!! WOW!!! ALL TIMER STEAM. SERIOUSLY.

They pick the tempo up perfectly now with a sick Crosseyed and Painless!!! Talk about yer perfect setlist call! 10 minutes on this one. Nice jamming!

Unfortunately Antelope is rather weak tonight (it has the energy but feels sloppy) and Cavern is Cavern, but Sea of Stars is just MAGICAL!!!! Holy moly yet another X Factor winner over here.....

Great SANTOS and YEM close us perfectly.


All in all, for a Mexico one setter I still think this is a GREAT listen! It really feels like a proper, cohesive "full show" rather than some short warmup, ya know? Obviously the Shipwreck Free is must hear as is probably Destiny, that ridiculous meltdown Steam and Sea of Stars (for sure on that one!!!). Crosseyed is great as well!


I will absolutely go to bat for this as one of the great overlooked shows that everyone should hear.

I would put this at the lower rungs of the upper tier of 2019 shows, honestly. The flow is great for the most part, the song choices are great, there are several must hear jams.....

No its not an all timer but....its just....look, ok, THIS IS AN AWESOME SHOW!