2022-02-25 Quintana Roo, MX

 2 25 22 Mexico

Night 2 gets off to a tepid start with maybe the most underwhelming SANTOS Ive ever heard. What the corn - it picks up near the end but this one is a snoozer!!!

Thankfully the following Ghost is miles better. One of those "slowly turn the knob up then just rip it off" versions. Sleepy to start but a magical, soaring runaway beast by its conclusion. Totally must hear, imo.

Even better is Free. This one CRUSHES like Godzilla. Extremly thick and funky, Trey annihilates everything with the robo wah for its duration. 100 percent must hear. This one smokes!!!

Following a typically hot BOTT we get a hefty round of strangeness. Halleys gets taken for a type 2 ride, spending its time in a late night "Fall 1999 Sand minus the whale siren" kind of zone. Really awesome and absolutely must hear. Eventually, Trey executes a weird segue into a brief and awkward SANTOS reprise. To make things even crazier, he then leads them out and into Satisfaction by the Stones. What in the love of F is going on....Thats an awesome moment and it rocks good but comes to a really awkward close.....

Following that is the worst 2001 ever. This thing DRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGSSSSSS and never comes together, feeling stilted and sleepy.

Thankfully Chalkdust is way better and ends the set on a high note. An absolutely demented version ala SPAC 2023, grab this. It rips.

All in all, this set just isnt that great. No energy for the most part, the guys sound half asleep a lot of the time. Ghost, Free, the Halley weirdness (must hear but not necessarily great) and the Chalkdust are all you need. Strong individual highlights but weak as a whole.

Really weird set. 

Set 2 opens with a giant 25 minute Disease. Unfortunately, its a monster of the bad variety. The song itself is awful , provoking memories of 2004. Wake up you guys!!! And Trey, effing practice!!!
The jam isnt much better, spending WAAAAAYYYYYY too long just meandering directionless here and there struggling to come to life...

Bummer. Man, that was the worst epic length jam Ive ever heard. What a disconnected SNOOZEFEST. Just skip this garbage. This doesnt deserve to even bear the title of Down With Disease.....

What does it say when they segue into Numberline and instantly the energy triples?! Unfortunately, this Numberline is also a do-nothing version with Trey doing that "playing too quietly" thing and a total lack of energy in his playing. My god, this is brutal. I mean, he/they are trying but it's just a BAD night for Trey it seems .....skip this as well......

And into a massive 20 minute Carini we go. Please save this sinking ship!!! Off the bat, this also drags...Just drags like a mother....Thank god, despite the sludge, at least this isnt boring. Good late night grooving with Trey robo wahing about. Unfortunately this is quickly abandoned for even more "chill bliss" jamming that lasts the entire remainder of the jam. On the plus side, the playing is purposeful abd they dont sound asleep...look, this is GOOD, but at the same time wholly unnecessary. Good lord please dont tell me 2022 is going to be the year of "chill bliss"....

FINALLY, some good happens when we get an EXPLOSIVE ASIHTOS to close the set. Absolutely spectacular and full of extra everything, this is a nuclear bomb renditon! MUST HEAR!!!

The show concludes disappointly with a coma inducing Velvet Sea and an aggressively lousy and tired sounding Antelope....

All in all....THIS SET SUCKED!!! THAT DISEASE WAS TRASH, NUMBERLINE WAS ASLEEP, CARINI WAS STUCK IN 1ST GEAR, ANTELOPE WAS DOA..... Literally the only thing I can recommend is that outlier ASIHTOS. That was unexpected and unbelievable. Up there with the best ever played. Seriously..

Man, this show though....

2022-02-24 Quintana Roo, MX

 2 24 22 Mexico

The first show of the year gets off to a nice start with the trio of Lizards, Moma and the first Peaches since the Bakers Dozen!

These first few songs are ok but nothing special and see Trey battling "sticky finger syndrome".

Lizards doesnt work as an opener, imo. Much better as something to build to at the end of a show, etc. Moma is hot but excessively AVERAGE. And while Peaches is so welcome, it's definitely a butcher job from Trey.

All that being said, things start to finally heat up with INNYLTB. A really great reading, Trey goes bananas. Total smokeshow.

Some genuine X Factor Magic then rears its head with Funky B. Decidedly loosey goosey, they stretch this and make it rather chill and bluesy. Crap ton of Page. Treys fingers finally loosen up as well. MUST HEAR! The jam chart for this is so well deserved!!!! Definitely NOT your usual Funky B!

And then outta nowhere, BAM! 21 MINUTE TWEEZER!! LETS GO!!! Tweezer is totally fantastic. It spends most of its duration in a terrific upbeat kind of "ethereal bliss rock" zone with deviation in an out. A pretty unique sounding version to me, everyone is just on point. If you like gooey synth soundscapes and patient Trey, this is the Tweezer for you! Must hear!! Also, very cool Lizards jamming at the end. They so perfectly could have straight up gone back into the song....

Out of Tweezer and into Piper. Piper gets going but the jam takes a quick turn (genuine segue!) into Soul Planet. Soul Planet is little more than an interlude however. SP's jam is non-existent and they pull off the smoothest segue Ive ever heard into....Meat.

And Meat is definitely some friggin MEAT!!!! HOLY CRAP THIS ANNIHILATES! DONT SKIP THIS!

An ultra funky Howling keeps the party raging HARD while a lovely little Shade feels like a perfect breather ....Also, I swear there was Dogs/Your Pet Cat jamming going on in The Howling!!!

Man!! That Tweezer>Piper>Soul Planet>Meat was nutso!!! Not always perfect but it was a THRILL RIDE!!!

After Shade we get a typically gorgeous Evolve to ease us back into the show. Excellent as always but nothing special.

Then Tube comes along all high energy and ass kicking. Excellent tight low key jamming on this. Patient and darkly funky with wonderful Tweezer teases. I would say this Tube is a definite must hear. Super "late night" vibes like the recent Dicks 2024 Sand or something. Terrific. Grab this!

Sigma Oasis follows and, hot damn, the song is HEAVY tonight!! So much extra OOMPH about it!! Yet another legitimate must hear. This thing just has the word "extra" written all over. Trey's solo is a massive, feedback squeal laden trill fest. Just crushing. Wow!

Aw yea and into Sand we go! See Tube and Sigma. A bit slower, ultra funky, rages hot....grab it.

After Sand, the 2022 one setter concludes with a special Dave Matthews appearance. Neither So Damn Lucky or The Maker work particularly well, imo. Im a Dave diehard and these both just sound so "wrong" compared to what the DMB versions sound like, haha.

Of course its special and fun but musically it doesnt work imo!

Tweeprize closer.


All in all, this show was all over the damn place. Flow? Whats that?! That being said there was still a TON of genuinely fantastic music!!! Funky B, Tweezer, Meat, Tube, Sigma, Sand - GRAB THOSE. Special shoutout to INNYLTB and the whole wacky segue fest sandwich.

A weird and wild show!!! Absolutely worth your time!!!

2024-12-31 New York City, NY

 FINALLY WE BRING 2024 TO A CLOSE TODAY AT LAST!

12 31 24 New York

Set 1

Terrific opening to the final night when we get a KILLER Mikes>Bouncing>Groove!!! Mikes is easily the best one of the year, im pretty sure. This one BLAZES hotter than the sun, loaded with energy. Trey just annihilating everything in sight.... Seriously, this is a MUST HEAR version!!!!

Bouncing is the surprise replacement for Hydrogen tonight and it actually works really great!! Good stuff!

Then they launch into Paug. No staleness with this one, its easily on the same level as Mikes Song was. Just BLAZING on all fronts. Yea, must hear for sure.

Up next is Stash. This is a REALLY GOOD version. I dont know if its must hear, but as far as type 1 Stashes are concerned in 2024, this was an A+. Again, the ENERGY is just exploding throughout with this one!!!

What is, again, must hear however is Evolve. Add this to the shortlist of best ever readings. Just soooo joyous and full of energy and enthusiasm. Really, truly, you need this one.

And then here comes Llama!!! Lets go!!!! Definitely must hear!! Even by Llama standards this one is nuclear!!!! Wow!!! Look out, the llama is on the loose!!!

In another refreshing setlist shakeup, we get a 12 minute Melt up next. Its gnarly, nasty and oh so noisy. Its good but I wouldnt call it anything particularly special.

Numberline is up next. Like Melt, it rages hard but doesnt really "transcend" either. A great version but nothing special

The fire continues with a 7 minute Carini. Shortest version since ....????? However, do not be deterred, as this things is a nuclear friggin bomb!!! Holy mother of crap, someone call FEMA! MSG is friggin destroyed!!!! Trey, what have you done?!

Finally, the set comes to a close with The Squirming Coil. Coil is slightly shakey from Trey but all around still an excellent reading. And of course that piano outro into set break is always a gosh darn beautiful thing....

All in all, this was a really good set all around! Super high energy, they are PUMPED UP! The Mikes Groove and Carini are must hear, as is the Evolve. The rest is excellent and rocking (special shoutout to Stash!) and just so enjoyable all around.
 
It definitely wipes the floor with set 1 of 12/31/23, I tell you what!!! 

Set 2

Very nice Sigma opener tonight. See Numberline. Great stuff but nothing special.

And then they bust out Big Guns McGee with a smashing 20 minute My Friend. How many extended readings of the song is that now - 6 or 7?! Who would have ever thought MyFe would become a serious jam vehicle?! This version is a dang journey. Rocking along as usual, somewhere around 12 minutes Page lays a bedwork of dark outer space synths. Everyone else syncs up and just rides the wave, vamping and grooving atop it. Things enter a "quiet funk" zone. Trey is playing softly, picking his spots. The synth is "wooing" in and out like in "Cheap Sunglasses"....this is sick. Space funk MyFe. This slowly builds and builds hotter and they rock it out to a conclusion. That was AWESOME!! Id personally say I think that was 2nd best of the year behind Bethel. Must hear!!

Sand follows suit. Another MUST HEAR rendition, this one feels like a refined version of the Dicks version. Super groovy and laid back, whale siren and loopers, etc. Then a slow build to an explosive finale. Absolutely must hear!!

The fun continues with Golden Age>WTU. A perfect combo tonight, GA spends its entirety in a true, spacey kind of ambient dark jam. Full on type 2. And its fantastic. The segue into is so prfect. Grab this pair for sure!!!

Taste is another phenomenal recent version. Must hear. Not much to say! With that, a sloppy Golgi and a standard hot First Tube close the set.

All in all, this set was awesome!! The entire stretch of Myfe through Taste is MUST HEAR. For a New Year's show they sure as hell brought the goods! Fantastic!!! 

Set 3

A raging Character Zero opens set 3. Surprisingly, id call this a must hear!! It is SO extra!! Fantastic!!

GAG TIME!

We all know whats up - the whole 30 minute Pillow Jets into WGTYM EDM dance extravaganza. I am a big fan of this - I definitely think they pulled it off and I cant imagine how insane it all was in person, good Lord.

Now, all that being said, the evil that is Vance Powell strikes once again. The sound mix of the show started ok and has only gotten WORSE as its gone on!!!! Set 3 sounds worse than Mexico 2023, almost!!! Everything is BURIED in room ambience, holy hell. This sounds AWFUL. Almost as bad as Albany #1.....

With that off my chest, lets continue, shall we? So WGTYM comes to a close with an AWESOME segue into Chalkdust. Dust is a terrific and tight type 1 reading. Total headbanger supreme. Trey axes the budding jam and we move into Slave.

Im mixed on this Slave. Most of it feels very "boring average modern Slave", but things finally click near the end and it has a spectacular peak conclusion section. Give this a listen but for my taste this isnt essential.

Just when you think its all over at last, they launch into a spectacular Life Saving Gun. Bringing back memories of the Sphere version, this one is pretty excellently "jammed out", if you will. Wonderful interplay back and forth between Trey and Page on this one. Id say this is must hear - it simply annihilates and definitely stretches well outside of your typical all type 1 reading. KILLER.

The set proper concludes with a typically blazing SANTOS. Awesome.
Inspired encore of Grind, the Icculus they didnt play last year ( ) and of course Tweeprie to tie a knot on it all.

Wow, what a show!!! Musically this has to be one of the most "legit" New Years shows they have done. The first set did not feel like the usual warmup and set 2 legitimately went hard and deep. And of course set 3 is a glorious clusterF of just craziness....

Man, nights 2, 3 AND 4 were all AWESOME shows!!!! Great run overall!!!

Compilation compiling time for me...

2024-12-30 New York City, NY

 12/30/24 New York

Set 1

The show begins and you immediately know they have come to KILL. The opening trio of Possum, Wolfman and Lengthwise>Maze is pure, unadulterated facesmashing supremacy. Holy mother of what in the hell. Possum shreds, but Wolfman and Maze both annihilate. Holy smokes!!!!! Definitely grab Wolfman and Maze!!!!!!

Theme continues the trend. Another must hear, it just has EXTRA written all over it. Outstanding.

Refreshingly placed in the middle of the set, More keeps the good times comin. Strong, rocking type 1. Great but inessential.

Divided Sky makes a rare appearance. Maybe not must hear but it sounds great and is a really good version!

Up next is the double friggin whammy of No Men into MEAP. Utter facemelting awesomeness. No Men, especially - it just EXPLODES and features one of the best hose sprayings of the year. Fantastic.
MEAP isnt must hear but rocks hard as expected.

The set concludes with a TERRIFIC Fluffhead. No, seriously, this one is outstanding!!!! Played nearly flawlessly and with so much extra everything about it .... definitely a must hear!!!

All in all, this set KICKED ASS!!!! Wolfman, Maze, Theme, Fluff and probably No Men are all must hear imo. If you like your Phish to RAWK, this is the set for you. They came out and just slayed. Love, love, loved this set!!! 

Set 2

A strong Hey Stranger opens set 2. Not must hear, but still a terrific type 1 reading just the same!

Up next is a 20 minute Disease. The song itself sounds excellent and full of extra pizazz. Unfortunately the jam is a big, loud, cacophonous nothing Seriously, they get stuck in that vague "type 1.5" area, cycling subtly back and forth through dark and light, never fully committing or going off the deep end. Its not horrible, but I definitely wouldnt call it good either. It all sounds like someone rattling a bunch of spoons inside a tin can for 15 minutes ....enough already!!!!

Thank god, the yearly bustout of Winterqueen follows and it is terrific!!!! Super tight and featuring one of the best Trey solos of the year. Absolutely must hear.

Steering us back on course, Trey then launches us into a 19 minute Tweezer! And mother of god what a Tweezer it is! An absolutely CLASSIC rendition, this one goes HARD fast. Immediately from the beginning they all "give it the eyebrows" as Zappa would say. They are locked in hard. So many melodic motifs jammed, multiple sections, insane FLOW, how in the love of Christ this version isnt jam charted is a bigger mystery than Atlantis. X factor from the first note to the last....

This Tweezer is every bit as good as that 37 minute Ruby Waves. Or better. This is an A+++++±+++++++++++ version hands down.

The followup Seven Below interlude is terrific too. Dont forget that! 7 minute Piper is a terrific wah abuse annihilation but unfortunately gets axed awkwardly for a standard 2001.

Following 2001 we get a MUST HEAR Everythings Right. Its standard type 1 but, as with most of this show, its just SO "extra". An absolute barnburner smokeshow.

ALBTD and a must hear magical Hood close the night.

All in all, set 2 was a mixed bag though nothing but high energy!!! The Winterqueen, Tweezer, and ER along with the best hood since 12/29/23 are what you need. A KILLER show. I ALMOST want to say I liked it better than night 2. The 4.3 rating on .NET is deserved.

AND THAT MASTERFUL TWEEZER!!!!!

2024-12-29 New York City, NY

 12/29/24 finally this morning.

A 4.6 rating?!?! What am I in for?!

Set 1

The show opens with a very nice Sample. Nothing must hear but it just sounds really, really good. And it works as a nice change of pace. Dont want a Sample opener often, but ill take this one.

Bag follows. Great little version. Pretty hot with some slightly funky rock jamming. Another great type 1 reading!

But then, oh boy....a nuclear bomb Moma rears its head. You know its got EXTRA written all over it when it takes nearly 4 minutes to reach the first verse!!!!! A truly next level reading as far as type 1 Momas are concerned, this one is just a BEAST.

And who woulda thought Rift would sound so good coming straight outta the end of Moma like that?! Other than Trey struggling with the fast ascending part near the end, this is an awesome, HIGH ENERGY reading that will have you headbanging in no time. They sound tight and PUMPED UP. Killer.

Thankfully, we get Caspian'd in the middle of set 1 tonight and not somewhere more unpalatable. This version is a monster!!! Over 12 minutes, it just spits and snarls from the word go, Trey's soloing filthier than in Moma. Wow. The initial raging gives way to a very nice, low key kind of bliss zone. Definitely heading for type 2 with this one! The bliss is merely a fake out and the jam gets dark and heavy and gnarly. Fishman murdering the drums, Trey laying waste with the robo wah...ALL HAIL OUR LORD AND SAVIOR X FACTOR MAGIC. Trey steps off the wah and proceeds to just go all rock god on us, soloing it up. The rest of the band latch on and we get a kinda Hendrixy vibe going. This in turn goes dark and nasty again for a bit before seamlessly transitioning back into Caspian proper and raging to a close.

YO THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!! MUST HEAR!!!! HOLY SMOKES WHAT A CASPIAN!!!! IF EVERY VERSION WAS LIKE THIS THEY COULD PLAY IT EVERY SHOW FOR ALL I CARE!!!! WHAT IN THE CRAP!!!!!!!

And then Monsters comes along and just goes full blown Chernobyl on us all...good god sweet Icculus..... another total X Factor must hear version....WHAT A MONSTER THIS MONSTERS IS MY GOD.

#screamingtreyisbesttrey

Up next we get the pure fire trio of Jim, YEM and Ghost to close out this molten lava first set.

Jim is molten type 1. Terrific. YEM is just spectacular - super tight and extra oomph all around. The vocal jam is VERY brief and quickly they slide into Ghost! That transition is SICK. Ghost is another nuclear bomb. Totally insane. Id call the YEM>Ghost must hear for sure!!!!

All in all, HOLY CRAP WHAT A SET!!! While Caspian is the CLEAR highlight, the entire thing smoked and the Monsters, Moma and YEM>Ghost are just as essential. Jim and Rift were blazing hot as well if not totally essential. A spectacular first set!!!! 

Set 2

A rare set 2 opening Gin kicks things off. Really nice version with some unique melodic stuff in the jam. Quickly aborted however, im sure everyone in the arena was going "oh no, c'mon now Trey...."

Alas, fear not as he axes it and we are treated to a 37 effing minute Ruby Waves. Hold my everything, what the F....

So the jam begins. They rage uneventfully until somewhere around the 10 minute mark things begin to "click". They spend the next few minutes peaking hard, spraying that hose!!! Terrific peak!!
------Around 14 minutes that subsides and they go into a sick kinda mysterious low key bliss/ambience/ethereal zone. Very unique and awesome. It almost sounds like they are jamming Frankie Says in major key!
-----Around 17 minutes they slowly move back to heavy rocking, absolutely destroying again until they hit the 21 minute mark. They then dive headfirst into an incredible (and definitely unique!!!!) low key section that feels like an evolution of the first one. A magical section of music!!!
-----At the 24 minute point the jam picks back up once again. Slowly it gets funkier and funkier and funkier untill all the way at the 30 minute mark we are in whacky, funky, robo looper deconstruction zone!!!
GET CRAZY WITH YOUR BAD SELVES!!!!
---------Around the 32 minute mark things begin to coalesce. They rock hard until Trey pulls a GOD AWFUL yank back into Ruby to close.

Other than that disgutingly bad transition back into Ruby, this entire thing was PRIME FRIGGIN RIB. Just replayed the Eugene 2021 (right show?) and Dayton 2023 Rubys in prep for this and this one stomps all over those two "do nothing" versions. This Ruby was SO sick - 5 or 6 different sections, each one highly inspired flowing seamlessly and naturally into the next ....Hell, it even went type 2 early - you get roughly 23 or 24 minutes of proper exploration!!!!!

Man, that was incredible. I have zero issue at all proclaiming that HAS to be the strongest version ever outside of Alpine 2019. I mean, period 

So after Ruby, we get the most perfectly placed and perfectly played Waste to let us catch our breaths. This version is outstanding - absolutely heartbreaking in its tenderness and sincerity. Think Bakers Dozen "On the Road Again" vibes, ok? Absolutely must hear .....wow.

A double whammy nuclear bomb duo of Fuego into Cross-eyed closes the set before a Bold As Love encore. Fuego and CP are both great but neither is essential, imo. And honestly, I dont like CP as set closer - it REALLY feels like there should be one more song after.

BAL is terrific. Very inspired version. Must hear!!!

All in all, this show was incredible. For set 2 Id grab Ruby, Waste and BAL. The aborted Gin, the yank back into Ruby and the weird CP closer are all points against the set but its nitpicking.

Amazing show up there with the very best of 2024!!!!

2024-12-28 New York City, NY

 12 28 24 New York

Set 1

The show and run open with a very nice 13 minute Simple. Underwhelming at first, it slowly builds a serious head of steam and positively explodes in the back half. Excellent version worth a must hear!!

The following Free is supremely average. Nothing to say, good or bad. Skip!

Farmhouse, though placed terribly, is actually a gorgeous reading. Definitely worth a listen, itll take you by surprise!!!

Poor Heart comes along and wakes us back up. Page is SMASHING that piano and the whole thing is simply nuclear!!! Must hear (for real!).

Tube keeps the energy going nicely. Nothing special in the slightest, there are far worse songs to get a really "average" version of!!

KDF is good tonight. Red hot but nothing you havent heard before.

Great to see Driver entering proper rotation it seems. Good stuff. The surprise hit of the set though is a terrific, must hear Reba!!! They absolutely nail the composed sections and the solo is definitely more inspired than usual (even if way too short). GRAB THAT!!!

The following Oblivion is disappointingly only 6 minutes, but holy hell does Trey UNLEASH. Easily the best soloing of the night so far, dont underestimate this version - it SMOKES!!!!

Antelope is Antelope. Great set ender. Grab it!

All in all, this was a good, if often underwhelming set. Got better as it went on. Id say the opening Simple, Reba, Oblivion and maybe Farmhouse are all must hear.
A good set, not a great one. Very loose around the edges. 

Set 2

The opening stretch of set 2 is just horrific. BOTT is actually a terrific type 1 reading, but this has ZERO merit reason to open the damn 2nd set.

Axilla is honestly the worst Ive ever heard. Please, find me a worse one. Super sloppy and falling apart, the jam even dies before it has a chance to begin. Terrible!!

A Wave of Hope follows suit. Again, probably the worst Ive ever heard. The song is ok but it goes absolutely nowhere and does absolutely nothing. What is this crap?!

Round Room is an incredible bustout to get. No reason for this to be a rarity. However, this is just as bad, or worse, than Axilla. I sounds like they practiced it exactly one time or something. Just constantly on the verge of total collapse. Yucky .....

Holy mother of hell what is going on ......

Finally, IAWITW comes along and actually sounds amazing!!! Killer jamming on this, just blazing hot. This version is positively UNHINGED!!!! Absolutely must hear, it FINALLY sounds like it will go type 2 but, alas, Trey kills it dead....of course. This is why we cant have nice things....

Adding insult to injury, they follow that with a short Twist....oi vey. Its a nice reading but c'mon now.... Also, Treys voice is COMPLETELY shredded. Maybe he was sick??? Its actually REALLY nice and threatens to go type 2 but gets aborted as well....

Time for bustout #2, we get the Mango Song!!!!! Thankfully, this sounds pretty darn great!! Grab it - very good version!!!

They bring the heat with Blaze On next. A RIPPING type 1 version, they just kill it. Good enough for me to say you should hear this one. As with Oblivion, Trey just annihilates.

Cavern rocks nice and good but Cavern is Cavern.

Im sorry, but I skipped Bowie and Mountains. First time Ive purposely skipped a song/songs maybe ever. But this show is just a damn CHORE by this point .....Im positive I dont need to hear either.

The show concludes with F Your Face (why does the crap show get all the rarities?!) and a nuclear 46 Days to close. F Your Face just crushes. 46 is 46. Terrific type 1 that just burns down the house.

All in all, my goodness what a $#!tshow this show/set was. Set 1 had genuine highlights but even those were definitely "lesser" for the most part.

Set 2 was just a nonstop car crash or something. What in the F. You know a set was BAD when type 1 readings of BOTT, Blaze On and IAWITW were the highlights. Lord help us. At least the encore was fantastic. Definitely grab that F Your Face and 46 Days.

That was EASILY the worst show of the year. By a very wide margin. Even Mexico 2024 #1 was a lot better than this (imho).

Is it over yet?!.....

2024-10-27 Albany, NY

 10/27/24 Albany

Set 1

The show opens with a very rare Heavy Things. This one is must hear - its fantastic!!!!!! The energy, the playing, the tempo...its all PERFECT!! And Pages piano solo is very inspired sounding tonight as well. A+++++ all around!!

They following that with a killer WGTYM. 9 minutes and firmly type 1. The set placement worked great out of HT imo. Maybe not must hear, but now we have a benchmark of what a "excellent type 1" version of the song sounds like. This song demands a produced studio cut - all those layered vocals etc.

They follow that with the first Access Me since 2019! This sounds AWESOME and deserves to be played at least once or twice a year. Very tight and rehearsed, extra mustard all over this!

MyFriend is only 11 minutes tonight but holy CRAP does this thing smoke!!! It basically stays in a dark and heavy type 1 area, but its just so absolutely ass kicking with not an ounce of "searching". All killer no filler. MUST HEAR!

Yet another rarity, My Sweet One is great - Page crushes his solo. Good stuff.

Limb By Limb is must hear tonight. An absolutely EXPLOSIVE peak fest, it just goes and goes and goes. Wow.

Mountains is next. Ive complained lately about the song feeling almost overplayed lately, but man oh man if they slotted it in perfectly like this every time....this works SO GOOD following that Limb and in the context of the set. Yet another stunning version, if not must hear, really. Killer.

And then.....18+ minute KDF outta nowhere! Lets go!! KDF is absolutely insane. X Factor Magic from the get go. There is no type 1 jam section - they go straight for craziness! The jam begins with a sick-ass heavy psychfunk kind of area. Just total annihilation. Very slowly things become lighter until we are in a "1999 Camden Chalkdust" kind of "soaring through the sky" zone. Uptempo bliss rocking with heavy robo FX usage and synths all over the place. This is freaking AWESOME!!!! Just as slowly and SMOOTHLY the jam shifts back towards an extremely dark and almost evil jam. Just growling bass and dark synths, Fishman killing his kit....wow. Soon they finally reach the expected "bliss rock" section and ride this BEAST to its conclusion.

DUDE HOLY CRAP THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!! THAT WAS A "PERFECT" JAM!!! MULTISECTIONAL, NO RUSHING, RIDICULOUSLY SMOOTH TRANSITIONS.......PUT THIS IN THE TOP 10 OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! INCREDIBLE JAM FOR ANY ERA!!! MY GOD!!!!!!

Smoking Walls closer. It kills. Nuff said.

All in all, this set KICKED ASS!! Sure there are "definite" highlights, but there was a consistent power, energy, extra "whatever" that was palpably present from start to finish. Easily the best first of the 3, imo. Wow. Heavy Things, Access Me, MyFe, Limb, KDF and probably Walls are all genuinely must hear. Wow.

That KDF was the definition of mother effing MAGIC. Oh my effing god.....

 

Set 2

Awesome start with a must hear, 17 minute Everything's Right. This one is extremely funky, alternating light and dark. Disgustingly fantastic version. The back half sees them slowly and patiently mutate the jam into an incredible "melodic bliss" section. A gooey rhythmic bottom of synthesizers with Trey layering atop it. Absolutely magical. Total X Factor Magic - that FELT like a 1.0 jam, the way it was so patient!!!

And into a 24 minute Chalkdust! And boy is it a freaking Chalkdust....I have witnessed eternity, for thy name is Albany '24 Chalkdust.

I cant possibly begin to try to explain this thrill ride rollercoaster monster of a jam (at least on my phone - this one will get a laptop writeup!). This Chalkdust was a true MASTERPIECE. That mindblowing KDF in set 1 is like a type 1 Julius compared to this piece of....I dont even know how to begin to describe it.

Everyone is LOCKED in tighter than a eunuch in chastity. The jam features many different styles and sections, each hitting harder than the last. I know I throw the phrase "all timer" around a lot for emphasis (and I mean it, too), but this. This....

Put this on the Mt. Rushmore of all time Phish. If you wanted to put this among the 75 or 100 greatest jams ever, I would not argue. EASILY on par with the likes of the 8/6/21 Simple, or better. Yes, I said better. Thats how insane this is.

Mexico 2024 is complete garbage for the most part compared to this. Thats how unbelievable this Chalkdust was. I am truly speechless and my mouth was left agape. 

Somehow they just keep surpassing themselves.....anywho, on we go and we get, surprise, a 14 minute Mercury! Yay! And on top of that it has bit of a new arrangement as well. Awesome. Aside from some vocal hiccups, this is awesome and the lengthy outro jam is just killer. Definitely grab this!!

After a perfectly placed and oh so gorgeous Velvet Sea, the set proper concludes with an excellent MEAP. Great as always but not essential.

Very cool 4 song encore of Jibboo, Waste, Bug and C Zero. All of them are excellent and Jibboo particularly has extra mustard. Waste is SO ridiculously emotional tonight.... definitely grab it. Just a next level, hard hitting version. This will make you shed a tear, I promise.

All in all, this show was AWESOME!!!!!!!! This 2nd set goes against anything played this year.

Hell, id say the 4.4 rating on .NET might actually be too low!!!!! This is a "mainstream official release" worthy show ala Bethel 1 or Mexico 2, etc

My god. Everythings Right and Chalkdust were both exceptionally magical and amazing.....and the Mercury was really cool. Waste was just outstanding ......

2024-10-26 Albany, NY

 2/26/24 Albany

Night 2 begins with a sleepy-to-hot Possum into a glorious Sigma.

Sigma is almost must hear - the jam gets cut short but while it lasts, it slowly gets darker an darker, going proper growly type 2. Aside from the yank back into the song, its really cool. But damn Trey, totally axing the jam for no reason like that was BRUTAL!!! WTF?! BOOOOOOO!!!!



After a standard hot BOTT featuring excess wah abuse, we get the lovely bustout of Nothing. Always great to hear but not overly impressive as it's definitely loose around the edges.

Stash is pretty great tonight. It stays type 1 but just has "extra" written all over it. A very INTENSE version totaly worth checking out. Awesome.

After Bouncing, we get an awesome robofunk Tube LOADED wih robo Trey and growling Gordo. I would say this is must hear. Definitely grab this. This is SICK!!!! Must hear!!!

Gin is effing ridiculous. Chill bliss rock gives way to an all timer hose EXPLOSION from the depths of Mt. St. Helens. X Factor all over this sucker. MUST HEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All in all, this set took a while to get cooking. Much of it is on the hot side of average. Its not until Stash that things begin to take off. Id say Stash and the Tube>Gin combo are what you need.
Also, that Sigma jam ripcord was one of the lamest things of all time. It was just bad, yo. 

Set 2 begins poorly with a nothing special Caspian opener into a pleasant-but-goes-nowhere Disease that gets axed before anything interesting happens.

A 16 minute Ruby Waves follows. Much better, this one kicks some serious butt. At the same time it really struggles to go outside of the box and is mostly a "type 1 Trey shredder" version, albeit a really good one. Not must hear, imo. But good!

The following 16 minute Fuego, however, is absolute X Factor Black Hole insanity!!!! They slowly deconstruct the jam over a very long period of time into a ridiculous, swirling mass of robo fx, layers of loopers, rhythm changes etc until it resembles if Black Sabbath did a type 2 jam or something. Absolute insanity - Mexico Chalkdust level sludge. One of the most incredible jams of the year!!

AND HOLY MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS PERFECT THAT WAS THE SINGLE GREATEST SEGUE INTO A WTU SINCE THE SONG WAS CREATED! FIND ME A BETTER ONE!!!! IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE THE FUEGO JAM NEVER EVEN ENDED!!! HOLY HELL THIS IS UTTERLY AMAZING AND RIDICULOUS!!!!;

Thankfully the following Golden Age keeps the party going. A TERRIFIC reading just exploding from every angle with energy and a ridiculous Fuego Part 2 deconstruction jam at the end. A mind melting type 2 black hole vortex from hell!!! ALL TIMER VERSION!!!! MUST HEAR!!!! WOW!!!!

That segue into that perfectly placed Lonely Trip is just outstanding. Great version. The set concludes with THE Hood of the year, hands down. And explosive, magical, x factor laden reading. 10/10 Must hear at all costs.

After Golgi, a ridiculous "it just wont stop peaking!!!!" Slave absolutely melts our faces. Even BETTER than that Hood!

All in all, set 2 started badly, but EVERYTHING from Ruby Waves onward is pretty much essential. Set 2 annihilated set 2 of night 1. That was a 4.5 level 2nd set ....A very uneven show on the whole but the highlights were MASSIVE!!!!!!!

FUEGO>WTU!!! GOLDEN AGE!!! HOOD!!! SLAVE!!!!

HOLY CRAP!!!!

2024-10-25 Albany, NY

 10/25/24 Albany

The show opens with the magical Box of Rain tribute to Phil Lesh. Sounds pretty flawless to me for such a complicated song. Downright magical and essential!

The following Free and Moma Dance are both LOADED with extra snap, crackle and pop. Probably must hear, both CRUSH.

Unfortunately tonight, Dirt is pretty poor. Completely botched intro abd the whole thing is just clunky.

Thankfully the following Wolfman and No Men both absolutely slay. Wolf is totally must hear, just loaded with hose and x factor. Incredible version.

Following those, Theme is another downright must hear explosive reading. Holy crap its great. X Factor everywhere!!!

Steam is good but unimpressive tonight. Hold on to your friggin hat though, because tonights Sand is just insane. This Sand is an all timer. Yes, a classic for any era. I strongly feel that. Its is ridiculously great. It has wonderful laid back whale siren grooving that slowly builds to the most epic, incendiary, nuclear hose explosion finale this side of the 90s. Utterly masterful. Wow.....

And with that, set 1 comes to a close...

All in all, I thought this set KILLED! Remove Steam and Dirt and it is all killer, no filler. Box of Rain, Sand, Wolf and Theme are MUST HEAR and the Moma and Free come close (especially Moma). A spectacular little set. Wow!!!!!

There was SO much "extra" energy and vibr tonight. They were just BLAZING. 

Set 2

The second half opens with a very nice Blaze On. It has a kind of slightly dark/tense feel about the jam that is subtle. Very nice if not must hear.

They execute a great segue into a killer 18 minute Piper!!! Piper is like a giant swirling vortex tonight, just raging supreme. Thankfully it goes type 2, robo fx and different rhythms etc. Its not a boring type 1 rager like normal!!! Definitely must hear, this is a pretty sick Piper!!! Very 2021 sounding!!! This Piper is friggin amazing!!!! 10/10!!!! So much awesomeness!!!! THAT PEAK EXPLOSION FINALE!!!! MOVE OVER PELHAM 2021 CARINI, THERES A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN! HOLY MOTHER OF ICCULUS THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!!!

And then suddenly into Light we are yanked. Just like that. Light is nice, having a very relaxed and laid back vibe. Very gooey sounding, love it when the synths appear and it goes slightly psychedelic for a bit before segueing into...

...a 15 minute Tweezer! All right! Lets go!!! Tweezer is very good but ultimately inessential, staying in upbeat bliss rock throughout. Great segue into a very good Wedge, however!!! I never need Wedge in a 2nd set, but this one is great (I think, anyways. The mix on this show is GARBAGE! Trey and Page are BURIED and all you hear are Fishmans drums smashing you in the face - its headache inducing!!! Wtf?!)

SERIOUSLY, THIS MIX SUCKS THE BIG ONE!

So after Wedge, we get a standard Howling into another absolutely evil version of Monsters. Buried in awful room ambience, Trey just unleashes full bore. Probably on par with 8/3. Ill call this must hear. It crushes.

Rescuing us from the darkness and dread, they ease us back in with Numberline. Unfortunately its a do nothing version even lacking a solid peak. Skip this.

The set ends with an absolutely insane Carini. Definitely must hear, this one has x factor all over it, just exploding like a nuclear bomb. However, the LivePhish mix completely RUINS it!!! Trey is effing BURIED, Page is an ambient echo in the background....this mix is INFURIATINGLY BAD. BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD DISGUSTINGLY BAD. Guess I need the AUD for this show. What a shame.....

Inspired encore of Sleeping Monkey, Ghost and Tweeprize. All are great but also none are essential. Ghost actually begins to jam good but Trey full on ripcords them into Tweeprize like its 2010 again or something....

All in all, set 2 had wonderful flow and the Blaze>Piper>Light>Tweezer>Wedge sequence is just flow city. All really enjoyable as one big connected piece!!! Piper is definitely the only thing in that group that I would call must hear - the rest is really good but also excessively "ordinary"/in the box, if you will. Monsters is mega Cash Money. Hands down. Carini is essential as well.

This was a great show in the whole, but the 2nd set felt like it underdelivered a little bit. Piper and Carini are the only things you NEED. The big sequence was great as one piece, but as individual parts, Piper was the only thing that excelled. The final quarter of this show felt kinda by the numbers as well.

Id say the 4.3 rating on .NET is incredibly overblown. Id give this show a solid 3.8 or 4.0
The highlights of this show absolutely KILL, but as a whole listen its not in the same universe as Bethel>Mond>Dicks

Also, after Mexico 2023, Im nominating this as the worst LivePhish recording I have ever heard. Absolutely atrocious and proof that nobody is listening or even attempting to actually mix these!!! UTTER GARBAGE. UGH!!! IM DISGUSTED AND TICKED OFF!!!!