2024-08-04 Noblesville, IN

 8/4/24 Noblesville #3

Set 1

The show opens with the lively duo of Party Time into Hurrah. Both are good but nothing special. A super rare Knuckle Bone follows and ups the energy a good bit. Inessential but awesome to hear.

First must hear of the night is an absolute destructive, wah drenched Stealing Time. A+ meltage on this sucker!

The Dogs rocks hard tonight and Destiny goes strongly type 1.5, getting super funky for a while. Great stuff!

46 Days is almost amazing. Its sloppy all over but the jam almost transcends. Worth a listen!

Treys playing has been stuck in that "super hesitant" mode all night. No fire in his playing for the most part and he often just sounds at a loss for what to do. Bummer....

After a genuinely terrific (probably highlight of the set!!!) McGrupp, we get Wingsui, Meatstick and Antelope to finish.

Wingsuit is very good if still way too hesitant sounding and Meatstick and Antelope are both nothing special.

All in all, this set felt like a chore to get through. It wasnt bad, but it was supremely average in the worst way. Flashes of awesomeness here and there but Trey is just stuck in 1st gear throughout. Honestly, McGrupp is fantastic and likely the only TRUE must hear of the set.

What is going on with 1st sets these days?!

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with a MASSIVE friggin 32 minute Ghost!!! Refreshingly, the song itself is super funky instead of just being a rock rager. They slowly begin and build into it. A wonderful slow burn into a raging rock peak kinda version
----Around 19 minutes the jam reaches its "natural" conclusion point. They dive deep into wacky ambience for a few minutes moving in and out, unsure whether to continue or not. Thankfully they do and they magically move flawlessly back into the raging peak section they had just finished!!!
--- This eventually morphs into a more laid back yet high energy rock jam. Just as its getting boring, all the way at the dang 26 minute mark, X Factor strikes and rhey dive into heavy darkness for several minutes, Trey ripping it up on the wah, just destroying.
-----Then he yanks us back into Ghost and finishs us out...

Man, that Ghost was janky as hell. It was great, but far too "one color" for its runtime. And the bad flow of it hurt too. Excellent, but not must hear, imo

Thankfully the following 26 minute Soul Planet is miles better! AND HOLY MOTHER OF GOD THIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST JAMS EVER!!!! FREAKING INCREDIBLE!!! MEXICO TIER!!!!!!!!!! MAGIC AND MAGIC AND MAGIC AND MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!

Initial robo rocking gives way to a unique rhythmic section where Trey gets a picking motif going while Page layers synths underneath. This section is long and sloooooowwwwllllyyyy morphs into the most insane and extended majestic peak I may have ever heard. Unbelievable.

Then the jam backs off and they go into lenghty section of latin esque classic rocking culminating in maybe THE greatest peak finale I have ever heard in my damn life to close.

Un. Friggin. Real. Definite JOTY contender. This was OUTSTANDING IN EVERY WAY!!!! 

 Finally we get a breather with the wonderfully placed and played Billy Breathes. PERFECT! Pages piano...good god... unfortunately Trey botches his solo so....

A standard wacky Melt closes the set. Not bad at all, but there are stronger ones for sure.

Thankfully it all concludes with an astonishingly great Slave!!!

All in all, this show felt lacking a lot of the time. Incredibly uneven, quality wise, imo. This was the ultimate "there's nothing bad, but also nothing all that GREAT either" show for the most part. Slave, Ghost and SP and McGrupp being the exceptions.

Also, Trey was still having a pretty subpar night (for the most part), and that hurt big time.

That Soul Planet TRULY is something special. Absolutely perfect in every way from start to finish.

Without Soul Planet Id honestly give this show like a 3.7 or 3.8 or something. Definitely not my favorite show - not bad at all, but tons of "problems", imo

2024-08-03 Nobelsville, IN

 Nice LONG ride at work today, so that means I can continue on with 2024

On to 8/3/24 Noblesville. I hope set 2 is as bonkers as it looks!!!

Set 1

And we begin the show with a classic Mikes Groove. High energy throughout but nothing particularly impressive or noteworthy. Trey sounds hesitant in his playing and it all fails to truly ignite.

The following C Zero and the worst placed Drift of all time follow suit, both being sloppy and uninspired readings pretty devoid of anything you could call fire or heat. Basically, throw them both in the trash.

Maze continues this trend at the start. Thank goodness Trey seems to switch himself on and the back half is suitably facemelting if not exactly must hear.

Man, an off night or what? They just sound kinda tired and disconnected tonight, especially Trey.

I Didnt Know is fun but Reba is terrific!!! The hard part is flawless and Treys solo is great. Maybe a hair below truly must hear, but if you grab 1 thing from this underperforming set, this is what you need.

Surprise Isabella closer. Good stuff but ultimately inessential.

All in all, yea this set REALLY just "underperformed" in a big way. Maze is pretty good and Reba is GREAT, but the rest of the set is just tired sounding. Its like everything fails to launch, ya dig?  

Set 2

A 20 minute Chalkdust opens the set. The song itself is SUPER lackluster and wimpy, but thankfully it does have a great jam. Never peaking in the fiery explosion we all hope for, this jam nonetheless spends its duration in a very cool ultra melodic zone. Not quite "bliss" jamming, but its like a snake fluidly weaving all around. Maybe must hear. Basically, its better than I expected for such a "meandering" jam. Its pretty great.

The following 15 minute Plasma, however, is another story!! This is one of the sickest jams of the summer! Complete X Factor Magic, this one goes through multiple sections of highly inspired playing and brings the heat. Proper type 2. MUST HEAR AT ALL COSTS!!!

And then, just when you think that cant be topped, here comes Monsters....

HOLY. F###### SH1T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

INSTANT GOAT STATUS!!! WHAT IN THE LOVE OF X FACTOR MAGIC!! TREY SOLO OF THE FRIGGIN YEAR!!! AND LISTEN TO HIM JUST EMOTE THOSE VOCALS LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW!!!!!

A wonderful Crosseyed follows, going into some blissful excellence and morphing into a sick ambient kind of section. X Factor strikes thrice!!! I wouldnt say it tops the Mansfield version at all, but this is still KILLER. Definitely another must hear!!!!!!

The show closes splendidly with a fiery Fuego and a ripping Rock and Roll. Perfect!!!

All in all, set 2 was a homerun, full stop, from start to finish! Aside from Reba, set 1 is pretty much forgettable-to-poor. Not as bad as East Troy #1, but closes. Definitely the 2nd worst set of the tour, imo.

Set 2 was just fantastic though!!! The Plasma, Monsters and Crosseyed are all essential and the Fuego and Chalkdust are both worth some attention. Hot damn!

2024-08-02 Noblesville, IN

 Onwards with 2024 today. Crap run again but screw it. Ill just deal with having to pause too much....

8/2/24 Noblesville

Sickest looking setlist of the tour so far, just about!

Set 1

The show opens with an excellent and energetic (if slightly slow) Punch. Heck yes. Its looser than the 12/31/23 version but on the whole its far from the atrocities of some 2018-era versions, etc

The following Kill Devil Falls is absolutely beastly!!! Its a 12 minute hose bliss rager, but it definitely has extra "spark" about it that makes it more than worth hearing. This sucker is MAJESTIC!! And the flawless transition out of the solo back into KDF proper to close is just....man, a baby's bottom wishes it was that smooth! Must hear. A+++++++ !!!!!

Up next we get a stomping and powerful Halfway to the Moon. A really excellent reading, this one has major OOMPH about it. Borderline must hear. They friggin crush this sucker!! Holy crap!!! A headbanger Halfway to the Moon - how about that?!

A surprisingly rare and excellently played Heavy Things follows. Worth a mention - great version!!!

Next we get an 11 minute Life Saving Gun. Nice kind of low key jam on this, but on the whole this is one of the least impressive versions out there. Definitely NOT essential, but its not like its bad or anything. It just doesnt do much.

After a false start and some Trey banter, the set continues with another inspired song choice. Shade is Shade. Beautiful as ever. Great stuff!! I really hope to catch one some day....

Scent of a Mule is awesome to get. Yet another major rarity and also played pretty flawlessly. Killer.

Up next is maybe my favorite new song, Pillow Jets. X Factor all over this one!! Trey rages the robo wah nice and hard, then the jam goes into upbeat bliss rock before winding back down into Jim. What a tease this one was! It was RIGHT THERE, about to burst wide open!

Runaway Jim is an excellent and raging hot type 1 excursion. Definitely kick ass! And with that, the set concludes with another shocker A Day In The Life. Not my favorite but you cant deny how much this kills!


All in all, this was an awesome first set! Enthusiasm and energy out the wazoo coupled with inspired song selection is a winning formula.

Muaically, Id say KDF, Moon, Pillow Jets and probably ADITL are all must hear! 
  

Set 2

Set 2 continues the rarity fest by opening with a pretty close to flawless Oh Kee Pah. Great stuff. Axilla follows and doesn't impress much, but is noteworthy for a pretty heinous near trainwreck, lol.

Axilla may have been unimpressive, but that perfect slide into the Disease bass lick was KILLER. Disease is 15 minutes and the song itself sounds as great as it ever has in recent years. Scorching hot, Trey nailing his parts and feedback - what is this, 2012 again?! Best performed Disease in a long while for sure!!! Even sans jam I would call it must hear! After a few minutes of rocking, they go full type 2 and the jam dives into a cool, laidback, "watery bliss" zone. They then move out of that into a much harder and kind of funky area that is just sick! GROOVE MACHINE SUPREME! From there the intensity just build and builds until Trey EXPLODES into the filthiest, nastiest, most fire laden peak solo you can think of. Just spewing fire! Then, Fishman leads them perfectly back into Disease and they wrap it up.

HOLY CRAP THAT DISEASE IS MUST HEAR!!! THAT WAS SPECTACULAR!!!!!!! X FACTOR ALL OVER!!!

How do they top that?! By launching into a friggin 23 minute Scents, thats how!!!! Its immediately apparent they mean business and are going to take this sucker deep. An initial round of rocking gives way to a cool section centered upon Trey's looper while Page gets a jazzy feel going on the piano. Very cool rock jam there. After a brief minute of upbeat bliss, the jam quickly shifts into darker more mysterious territory!!! Heck yes, lets go!!! Things become VERY dark and spooky. Creepy blips and bloops before Pages synth pushes us into a more atmospheric zone. Just as quickly they leave that behind for an upbeat section. From there it just builds and builds and builds ever skyward into Peaksectionpalooza. Just killer! But wait, theres more!! The peak section begins to build AGAIN into a hotter, more red hot and ROCKING version of itself. This party rocking sees the jam to its conclusion. It almost sounds like they are going into Tweeprize at one point! Avoiding that, the X Factor rears its head once more and they....move prfectly back into the Disease outro to close!! HOLY MOTHER OF INSANITY!!!

And with the spectacular drop into Whats the Use, the universe explodes ......

HOLY CRAP!! INCREDIBLE JAM! MUST HEAR X10!!! THAT WAS ALL OVER THE FRIGGIN PLACE!  

Whats the Use is absolutely next level tonight. Special sauce all over this and the segue into it was just magical! Definitely must hear!!

And into a typical time killer Golden Age. Thankfully this ends up being a GREAT version! Loaded with energy and extra whatever, it even has a great little type 1.5 jam going on. Definitely worth a listen!!!

IAWITW is an absolute friggin smokeshow tonight. Complete wah pedal devastation. Absolutely must hear, this thing is NUCLEAR!!! HOLY CRAP!!! AND THAT FRIGGIN PEAK EXPLOSION!!! AND THEN THEY GO BACK INTO DISEASE AGAIN?!?! LETS FREAKING GO!!!!!!!!

Killer YEM BACK INTO DISEASE to close the show. A++ for that encore... Seriously though, that is a damn Gold Standard YEM right there. Just spectacular from start to finish. Definitely must hear YEM!

Holy mother of god. From Scents right through the end of the show was pure must hear insanity. Disease and Scents were two of the finest jams of the year so far, hands down. WTU and GA both had extra sauce, IAWITW was unbelievable....and that encore!!

WHAT A FRIGGIN SHOW! Did I just hear the show of the tour (so far)?!

My god .....

2024-07-31 St. Louis, MO

 7/31/24 St Louis

Set 1

The set blasts wide open with the positively ass kicking trio of Turtle, Hey Stranger and BOTT. All 3 are explosive type 1 readings full of total energy. Killer.

After a surprise Lawn Boy, a strong Numberline and a very nice Horn, we get a solid Pebbles and Marbles. Good stuff.

After BATR we get a smokeshow Boogie On. It definitely deserves its jam chart status! Extra pizazz all over!!

The set closes with an immaculate Squirming Coil. This was one of the absolute finest versions I have ever heard. Played to perfection and completely loaded with X Factor. Pages outro solo is fantastic, LOADED with emotion. A+++++++++++++++++++++

All in all, this was very much a "high energy ROCK SHOW" kind of set. Id say Coil is the only true must hear (it really is!), but Turtle, Stranger, BOTT and Boogie all deserve mention.

Killer.  

Set 2 gets off to a bad start with a boring snoozefest of a Free. Not good. What happenned?! Trey was melting faces all 2023 and this year so far I swear his playing has been WAY more "hesitant"....

Things pick up with a giant 22 minute Mr. Completely. This one is no good either!!!! Its takes them all the way until the 15 minute mark to begin doing anything remotely interesting. Trey sounds lost for what to play throughout and the whole just fails to "connect". Its very awkward. There is some cool and brief DEG style jamming near the end but its way too little way too late. This jam was just a disappointment from start to finish....

Leave it to Phish to turn it around though as the entire rest of the show is EXCELLENT!!! After a lovely If I Could we get a very chill and bluesy Twist. Things connect big time and Id all this must hear.

Twist goes into the centerpiece of the show - a massive, deep and dark nearly 20 minute Ruby Waves. This sucker DIVES into the strange. X Factor all over! Now THIS is what a jam sounds like when it is actually "flowing"!!! Essential version!! Very exploratory!

Finishing the set we get genuinely-must-hear versions of No Men (tease city!) and First Tube. Both are notably above average in a big way and will absolutely destroy your face, not just melt it.

Inspired encore of Grind into Miss You with a HOLY FREAKING CRAP DO YOU HEAR THIS?! Harry Hood for the ages!! Add this one to the pantheon of all time greats!! Its utterly magnificent!!!

All in all, a really great show overall!! Set two started badly but literally everything from Twist to the end plus the all timer Harry Hood were completely must hear. Add in the Coil from set 1 as well.

A smashing show!! The 3.9 on .net js a bit low. This probably deserves like a 4.1 or 4.2

2024-07-30 St. Louis, MO

 7/30/24 St. Louis (the 40 minute Tweezer show)

Set 1
After a sprightly CTB to open, the show immediately gets torn wide open with a fantastic 13 minute Jibboo in slot two! X Factor is slathered all over this bad boy. Trey spends a long time playing with the whale siren before they kinda take this almost type 1.5, if you will, before raging to a conclusion. Must hear!! So much "character" to this version! WOW!

After a very flubby and untogether NICU we get an absolutely magical Ocelot!!! X Factor all over this bad boy, its a terrific "the band is listening to each other" jam. Its doesnt peak like you want it to, but the journey to the end FLOWS like melted honey. Spectacular. For real. MUST HEAR.

Following a very good Evolve comes a massive 16 minute Theme From the Bottom!!!! And holy effing crap this thing is a BEAST! The song gives way to good type 1 jamming before Trey briefly flirts with the robo wah and leads them in a glorious "taste" of type 2. Unfortunately he just as quickly backs off and you go "oh man, cmon Trey...". Thankfully they move into a spectacular "hose bliss" peak section and slay everything in sight. Just when they reach the natural conclusion point, they push through and keep going!!!! What follows is several absolutely glorious minutes of funky exploration. They go full blown type 2 for a good while in this "coda" , of sorts. Eventually Trey must have signalled everyone or something because they drop PERFECTLY back into the "regular" Theme ending jam as if this whole thing was composed or something!!

X FACTOR ALERT!!! CODE RED MUST HEAR!!! THAT WAS ONE OF THE SICKEST JAMS OF THE SUMMER!!!!!

After a very good Vultures, we get a double whammy of Timber into ER to close the set.

Timber is another must hear version. Kinda lengthier than usual, this one SMOKES to high heaven! Fantastic!

And the closing ER, while not must hear, is noteworthy for being absolutely full of fire and passion. Really strong type 1 version!!!

All in all, WHAT A SET!!! Jibboo, Ocelot, Theme and Timber were ALL MUST HEAR! The X Factor is absolutely flowing tonight and this was one of the finest sets of the year so far! Delete NICU and itd be almost impeccable.

A+, yo!  

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with an excellent "this shouldnt be a damn rarity" INNYLTB. So great to hear again and a great rocking version!

But then....oh boy....here comes a friggin 41 minute Tweezer!!!!!!!!

And thank GOD it is light years better than the Alpine Simple!! From the very start, this behemoth is simply exploding with ideas and energy. There is almost zero "searching" - the jam moves extraordinarily fluidly from part to part to part. There is so much going on that you could break this into a 20 track album, basically.

The peak section around 24-27 minutes or so is one of the most ridiculous, screaming-from-the-sky hose explosions heard since the damn Pelham 2021 Carini!!!!

Basically, this jam is extraordinary. Hands down the jam of the summer and its not even close. Definitely in league with the Mexico super jams or the Berkeley 2023 Tweezer.

Do I even have to tell you this is must hear?! Just sit back and sink into this, letting it wash all over you.....

Now THIS is what a 40 minute jam SHOULD sound like (cough cough Alpine Simple cough cough)

  

After wiping the floor with the Alpine Simple (seriously, there is no comparison. The difference in "quality" between the two jams is astonishing), the show must continue!!!), we get a nice cool down with....a friggin 13+ minute type 2 Ether Edge!! The song as usual gives way to extended POWER rocking before slowly ascending into a lengthy, full blown "bliss heaven" kind of section. Definitely must hear. First jammed out version too, no?

Ether Edge gives way perfectly to a raging, 12 minute Piper. It kinda goes type 2, morphing into a really great, excessively upbeat "motif" jam. Definitely pair this with Ether Edge for a winning duo of uniqueness!!!

And into a too short Meat that doesnt even jam, the set ends on a high note with a positively SCREAMING Blaze On. Legitimately an ass kicker. Maybe not must hear but just know that it crushes.

Encore of a gnarly Saw It Again into Tweeprize.


Holy moly sweet banana jeezus crap on a cracker. I think this might have been the best show since Mexico!!!! There have been other great ones (Mansfield 3, Alpine 2, Sphere 2, etc), but I really dont think any of them hit THIS next level of quality.

This wasnt just an awesome show. This was a CLASSIC show. LivePhish Vol. 1-20 quality, basically.

That Tweezer IS all that and a bag of chips. And Theme, Ocelot, Jibboo, Ether>Piper.....this was almost an "archetypal" Phish show. It had a bit of everything and most of it had that intangible MAGIC that separates a good version from a terrific version.

Delete NICU and that oddly short Meat and you have show that is basically one giant highlight from start to finish.

I cannot say enough about this one. This is now the show to beat for Summer 2024.

2024-07-28 East Troy, WI

 7/28/24 East Troy

Set 1

The show gets off to a fantastic start with a 16 minute, powerhouse ASIHTOS! This one is a little too "one color" to truly call it must hear, but it IS an excellent reading overall. Great stuff!! If it had just a little bit "more" going on Id rave about it.

Tube follows the same formula - full of energy but pretty unmemorable, yet still really good. Strange stuff, haha

555 is the first stumble. This one is basically a waste - Its played awesome and doesnt drag, yet it doesn't jam in the slightest and Trey doesn't even solo. Just weird.

Thankfully Divided Sky is excellent despite feedback issues for Trey throughout. Its no GOAT or facemelter, but it definitely gets the job done.

The following 14 minute Wolfman is the first "probably must hear" of the night. Very laid back jamming somehow winds up building to an inspired peak finale. There are better, but its definitely groovy and excellent!

12 minute Gin up next. Not must hear - its just another "type 1 rager" version, but at the same time it is definitely excellent. Good stuff!

The set ends with a good Bug into a ripping Possum. Good stuff.


All in all, this definitely was not a bad set at all like night 1, but it also felt undercooked in some ways. The goods are there, they just arent given to their full potential. Or something like that. Most of the set lingers in "that was really, realy good but also nothing special" territory.

Solid B+. Wolfman and ASIHTOS are the "best" pieces of the set, and even those both feel like they were taken out of the oven just a bit too early to really make a real impact.  

Set 2

A scorching hot Set Your Soul Free begins set 2. Definite rager. In the back half it actually deviates significantly, dropping quickly into a spooky kind of funky, semi ambient jam. This is pretty cool stuff, except that....Trey ripcords us into friggin Caspian!

UGH!!! WHAT IN THE NAME OF TOTAL B.S. WAS THAT?! WE FINALLY GET A JAM DOING SOMETHING INTERESTING AND YOU KILL IT DEAD FOR PRINCE CASPIAN?!?!

F YOU TREY! SINCERELY FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

Its gonna be one of THOSE sets, I guess.....

Caspian is excellent but that was worse than drinking expired skim milk....Caspian is pretty sick though. It straight up goes type 2 with a move to a kind of "tense" vibe and Gordo kicking on his bass FX. The band latch on to this slow building upward motif and rock it hard from there. It eventually mutates into a slow grooving, chillout to end. And then it ends....Ok, Ill admit defeat on this one. Must hear Caspian. It's definitely unique in a great way! However, if a monster jam was ever going to come out of a Caspian, this was the one. Damn shame it ended when it did

And into a nearly 14 minute Chalkdust we imme launch....Off to a great start, this Chalkdust is a smokeshow!!! Lets friggin go!!! The Chalkdust jam is pretty cool. Its spends a long time in an uptempo-yet-chill kinda zone. Like some rocking 70s cop show music or something (not sure how to describe it, lol). Its full steam ahead. Looper is set and we are off into type 2 once more. After rocking this style for a while it slowly and perfectly goes into a super chill kinda "quasi ambient bliss" zone for several minutes to close.

Must hear! That was a terrific little jam! The song ripped, the jam was actually interesting and unique and it all felt perfect as one piece. Really fantastic!!!!

After that rager we get a nice slide on into Dirt to cool us down. This is a terrific version, notable for a Cactus bass solo!!!

A super short Oblivion (barely 6 minutes?! Shortest to date?!?!) gets us up and grooving again. Which is a shame as this sucker cooks. As with 555, there is NO jam whatsoever. The song IMMEDIATELY just ENDS and the launch into Light.

Thankfully, that transition into Light was tighter and worked better than it had any right to! A very uptempo version positively brimming with enthusiasm!! Light has a wonderfully flowing feel to it. Really great, almost tropical jamming on it before moving into a harder hitting funky rock jam with Trey busting out the "stutter" effect to great use like its 2011 again. It again mutates into a darker area only for Trey to friggin kill the song dead and yank them in 20 Years Later ..

Ugh, Trey, you are better than this ....did someone hurt you on this night or something?! That Light was going places!!!!!!!

20 Years is 20 Years. Doesnt really jam. Next!!!

After 2001 and a typically gnarly Melt to close, we get an encore of The Wedge (why?!) with a decent Carini show closer

Man, this was one of the most disappointing/frustrating shows ever! There is so much audible "potential" but Trey can't get out of his own damn way!!! For set 2, Chalkdust is absolutely must hear and the Light WAS heading there...the actual music played is real good tonight but this show is just a MESS!!