2022-07-19 Philadelphia, PA

 7 19 22 Philadelphia

Set 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

 

Set 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THAT 2ND SET KICKED SO MUCH ASS!!

2022-07-20 Philadelphia, PA

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

7/20/22 Philadelphia

Set 1

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

  

Set 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This definitely made up for the boring first set!

2022-07-16 Bangor, ME

 7 16 22 Bangor

Set 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Set 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wow, what a set.

2022-07-15 Mansfield, MA

 7 15 22 Mansfield

Set 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Set 2

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

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

And awkwardly into Carini we go!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2022-07-14 Mansfield, MA

 7 14 22 Mansfield

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

Set 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2022-06-05 Noblesville, IN

 6 5 22 Noblesville

Set 1

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

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

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

Horn is Horn. Good enough but nothing special.

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

Basically, an imperfect but highly enjoyable set! 

Set 2

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

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

Wow. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2022-06-04 Noblesville, IN

 6 4 22 Noblesville

Set 1

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Set 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

2022-06-03 Noblesville, IN

 6 3 22 Noblesville

Set 1

The show opens with Theme. Stellar type 1 version, though I REALLY dont like it as an opener. I dont think that works at all.
Good stuff but nothing must hear.

The following Boogie On is terrific. Its extra lengthy and loaded extra. Must hear. Trey plays happy birthday and the crowd explodes - anyone know why???

After that comes a giant 17 minute Everythings Right. Unfortunately its not particularly special. Its really GOOD but never achieves real liftoff until the end and has a few minutes of disconnect here and there. Its excellent overall but not quite magical, if you catch my drift. Hell, it doesn't even escape bliss rock type 1 until 13 minutes. Overall its really that it just does not do much with its runtime.

Up next is another surprise Esther!! Great overall aside from Trey totally botching the outro section.

Even better, they immediately fade into Buried Alive. Must hear! This shreds!! And why did that segue work so perfectly?!?! This is FANTASTIC!!! GRAB THIS!!!

Same goes for Alaska! Kinda ragged at first, thankfully the solo freaking EXPLODES like a damn nuclear bomb!!! Machine Gun Trey is out in full force!!! MUST HEAR!!!!

Then comes dandy lil Mull. Anyone got a taco? This is fantastic!!!! X Factor Magic all over this beast, it stretches to around 12 minutes featuring wonderfullt patient and building jamming that goes into great melodic type 1.5-kinda zone, slowly essing its way to an eventual close. MUST HEAR!!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!

Absolutely raging versions of Birds and Cavern rock this HOT set to a close.


All in all, this was a weird set. The energy and heat are definitely here, but Trey is kinda having "sticky fingers" here and there. Terrific setlist calls/shakeups and a number of BLAZING HOT versions. At the same time all of it still felt like it should have been better than it was. Really not sure how to explain my feelings - this was great, but felt like it should have been exceptional. Or something like that.

Also, it definitely got better as it went along. It feels like they are warming up until they get through Esther. Then everything clicks and the rest of the set just smokes.

Id say Boogie On, Buried Alive, Mull, and Alaska are all must hear with shoutouts to ER - It tried real hard and was really nice, it just wasnt fully "realized"

My complaints are "thinking way too hard" nitpicks. Dont listen to me, its a pretty great set.

  

Set 2

The 2nd set gets off to an incredible start with the ultimate 1-2 punch that is No Men into Disease. No Men is must hear! Firmly type 1, but just oh so next level. There is definite X Factor with this beast. Wonderful ambient kind of breakdown at the end that leads into ....

Disease. 17 minutes of X Factor Magic. Absolutely essential listening, this thing annihilates! The song itself is tight, fast and ass kicking. You know its gonna be a good one when Trey is nailing that little "back and forth" lick! The jam is a damn adventure, going through 4 or 5 sections from delay jamming to upbeat rock to downbeat robo wah, etc It even has a slow breakdown to a fade out conclusion without Trey yanking them back into the song!!! A+ across the board. Wow.

After a very strong and passionate reading of Joy comes Ruby Waves. This Ruby is all type 1 but again is loaded with undeniable X Factor. This is freaking NUCLEAR HOSE BOMB OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!!! HOSE HOSE HOSE HOSE HOSE HOSE HOSE!!! Essential listening!!!

The Lizards is the only real lowpoint tonight. Disconnect from the start, Trey totally butchers Skippy the Wondermouse. This is the opposite of a clean version

Thankfully a very good Fluffhead picks us back up. Not essential but its mostly real good. Awesome.

The set proper ends with a OMFGWHATTHEHELLKINDOFMOLTENLAVAFIREFROMHELLISTHIS?! Chalkdust!!! Seriously essential, its incredibly EXTRA from the start. Must hear!!!

Nice encore of Contact and First Tube


All in all, set 2 was terrific outside of Lizards. No Men, Disease, Ruby and Chalkdust were all MUST HEAR!!! This was a KILLER show!!! Hell, it looks like the kind of show I would construct if given the chance!

Id give this a solid 4.2

2022-06-01 Charleston, SC

 6 1 22 Charleston

Set 1

Holy crap what a trio of songs to open the show!! Cool It Down is great - energy already and no sticky fingers from Trey. Not essential but its excellent!

The next two songs are definitely must hear though!!! A rare Foam is executed flawlessly. No, I mean that seriously, no exaggerating. Easily the best played version of all the ones Ive hard from 2021, 2023 and 2024. There is NO flubbage, its quick and tight, and they NAIL the outro that is usually a total trainwreck! Wow! MUST HEAR!!

Up after that is the 2nd and final version of Knuckle Bone Broth Avenue for two damn years, and that is a total mystery why as this things is tight, ripping hot, and just perfectly extra. Think of a perfect type 1 Moma with lots of robo wah. This kills. No clue why they shelved it!!!!!

Dirt follows and is just terrific. Ill call this must hear as well - Treys soloing is so POWERFUL. Just a killer Dirt!!!

555 and Gumbo are both great tonight. Neither are must hear, but both are picture-perfect "go to" readings with nothing but tightness and energy. Sick.

Numberline, however, is absolutely essential!! A magical version, Treys solo is spectacular, almost a mini jam in itself featuring a few different little parts/sections. X Factor Magic all over this one, the delay jamming is just insane. MUST HEAR!!!

After a terrific, killer type 1 Wedge of the Gumbo and 555 variety, About to Run comes knocking. See 555 and Gumbo. Excellent but nothing special.

The set concludes on a spectacular note with a must hear Divided Sky!! Talk about a climax, eh?! As with Foam, its nearly flawless, aside from about 5 short seconds of disconnect at one part. Trey is on fire, giving tribute to the gods of sustain. Just POWERFUL tonight. Awesome.

All in all, this set was awesome!!! Not ONE single weak link! The boys are playing TIGHT and enthusiastically. Trey is ripping. The song choices were killer.....

Foam, KBBA, Dirt, Numberline and Divided Sky are all true must hears and the rest of the set never dips below baseline excellent. Just killer. 

Set 2

Wilson is a fresh and high energy opener, but that is quickly forgotten about by the following 24 friggin minute multi beast Simple! Simple is fantastic. It never goes as deep as you would like, constantly flip flopping back and forth from slight dives into type 2 jamming back into melodic type 1. Over and over. But thats ok as the actual music is terrifc! The flow is outstanding. The peak finale is sick and the best part is when Trey reintroduces Simple higher up the neck and they start trying to sing it too high, lol. Good stuff. Must hear!!!

The following round of music will just blow your damn face off. A killer type 1 Caspian (seriously, Trey annihilates!) somehow slowly winds down and heads for either an outro or the start of some jamming. Out of friggin nowhere they segue PERFECTLY without any hiccup into Egg In a Hole! What in the love of hold my beer is going on?!?! This is SICK!!! Egg goes for 3 or 4 absolutely glorious minutes before finishing up and leading into ....

....a 14 minute Piper that isnt just a bliss rocker! This sucker uses its time well, jamming excellently and rocking hard to a close before Trey yanks them back into a Caspian reprise to tie a knot on top and send us out

Holy mother of x factor magic this sequence was FREAKING AWESOME!!!! DUDE! If you want some "WTF is going on?!" Phish, this is the set for you, lol

The following Lonely Trip is one of the most perfectly placed things ever. Another absolutely beautiful reading. I would call it must hear, but just about every version is fantastic....

The get us up and moving again with a red hot and robowah-laden BOTT. Normally Id say BOTT should never leave set 1 (along with Wedge!!!!!) but this is just killer. Perfectly patient playing, extra "eyebrows" all over, super tight, heat when it calls for it ....is it really must hear? Probably not? But know that it is a GREAT version worth your time!!!! This smokes.

Oh hell yea, Most Events is up next. Bring on the fire! Listen to Treys fantastically longing background fills during the verses. Extra mustard all over this bad boy. Listen for the stretched out Page playing during the start section of the jam. Then Trey starts doing cool stoccato delay stuff before he begins soloing. Must hear!! This was one of the best Ive heard. The whole thing was TIGHT and felt super....practiced? Everyone was just giving it extra. Killer.

Blaze On closes the set proper. In the words of our beloved Chris Farley: HOLY SCHNIKES!!! Fire from every angle, this thing is a nuclear bomb!!! Maybe not must hear, but christ on a cracker this thing is FIRE!!! Terrific close to the set!!!

Terrific 4 song encore that opens with only the 8th ever played version of Nothing, and the first version since friggin Mexico 2017. It sounds great, no rust. Play this more!!!!

Circus and Oh Kee Pah follow before a ragetastic party of a Suzy closes out the night for good.

All in all, HOLY CRAP WHAT SHOW!!! THIS SHOW WAS SICK!!! How in the hell does this barely have a 3.7 over on .net?! If this wasnt a 4.1 or 4.2 level show I dont know what is.

EVERYTHING was loaded with energy and the playing was as TIGHT throughout as ever in 2022 to this point. That 2nd set Simple and the Caspian>Egg>Piper shenanigans were just ridiculous. Hell, you even get a dang 4 song encore with a huge bustout...

Go give this show a listen, please! It will kick your ass!

2022-05-31 Charleston, SC

 5 31 22 Charleston

Set 1

A knockout 1-2 punch with a 23 minute SYSF into a 15 minute Walls to open!!!! Holy crap!! Unfortunately, neither realize their full potential. Both are GOOD but neither are GREAT. There is no "magic" or X Factor in either. SYSF in particular takes forever to get going, and it does get going very nicely, but still feels slightly undercooked. Plus it features the most ATROCIOUS forced return to the song Ive ever heard - absolute garbage ending!!!

Walls is still on the lukewarm side of things. As I said though, both are really nice but neither of them particularly excite.....

Things get better though. After a fiery Sample, we get a MUST HEAR Steam!!! X Factor all over this bad boy, Trey junps on the way and razes all in sight. A truly exceptional reading!!!

After MyFe and Sparkle we get another true must hear. Ocelot follows the same course as Steam. Total X Factor. If someone told me this was the best version ever played, I wouldnt argue. Holy crap. Seriously, everything about this is perfection and Trey is just killing.

After a stunning Leaves (MUST HEAR HOLY CRAP!!! Treys solo is freaking insane), Coil closes the set.

All in all, this was a bit of an interesting one. The 2 big jams were the lesst impressive part for me, Ocelot and Steam were the CLEAR highlights, the set had good flow, but also some super average stuff. Shoutout to Leaves as well - AMAZING version.

A good set but a bit all over the place. 

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with a very good Axilla 2. Solid, nothing special. The following 11 minute 2001, however, is very special!!! They jam the crap outta this!!!! X Factor all over, lots of wonderful full band interplay, Trey crushing with extensive robo wah action...This one is a DEFINITE cut above!!! This is AWESOME!!!

And they follow that perfectly with a great segue into a massive 17+ minute Light!!! The song itself sounds fantastic tonight, full of spunk and very tight.
-------The jam immediately begins without any searching - Trey jumps on the RoboHonk5000 and we get a great round of playing for a while. At a certain point the jam develops a slightly more laid back vibe and becomes a mellow bliss fest, but a fantastic one. Listen to Page and Trey playing off each other!
------Very slowly and fluidly, the jam starts to build back the heat bit by bit. Trey jumps on the robowah at the perfect moment, leading us from bliss hell. Man, this jam is SMOOTH!!! Total fluidity!!! Wow!!!
-------Eventually this leads to a more rhythmic and drum heavy section that sounds like it could bust out into Party Time at any second. Listen to Fishman just going all Keith Moon on everyone. This then dials down smooootttthhhlllllyyyy into a much darker and more tense zone. You know its a great type 2 jam when there are separate sections!
------This dark and textural zone slowly evolves once more back into atmospherically upbeat major key playing. The synths and bass fx are still going though so the whole thing has this kind of ethereal quality undercutting it all. My god this jam is FANTASTIC!!!
----Finally, the jam turns into a massively triumphant exploding volcano finale for several absolutely glorious minutes of ass kicking, eventually winding to a close and segueing into Mountains....

HOLY CRAP THAT JAM WAS SPECTACULAR!!! THAT WAS EVEN BETTER THAN THE ORANGE BEACH TWEEZER!!!! 

Mountains is the perfect breather tonight after that nutzo Light. Id call this one must hear, its fantastic!!! It sounds like a Sea of Stars jam played by the Dead or something!!! KILLER!!!!

A super fun Meat is next. Friggin fantastic, definitely must hear. Stupid fun!!! Tons of vocal samples and ridiculously swampy playing. KILLER.

Meat ends with a "didnt see that coming!" genuine segue into Golgi that.....somehow works?! Wow. Excellent and high energy Golgi. Golgi is Golgi but this is good chit, man. AWESOME GOLGI!!!! Golgi will never be must hear, but this version rages.

Old school double set outro of Slave into Cavern. Slave is pretty strong with tons of interesting fill work from Trey and blazing heat when its his turn to let loose. Machine Gun Trey is here, baby! And then his laid back playing at the start of the real solo....just beautiful. THIS SLAVE IS SIMPLY FANTASTIC!!!! ABSOLUTELY MUST HEAR!! JUST MAGICAL!!!

And Cavern is Cavern Seriously killer reading though....

Very inspired encore of 46 Days into a fantastic Tube. 46 is robo wah abuse hell, just gnarly and nasty and synthy and terrific. Tube follows suit. Both are very much must hear imo. Extremely cool delay jamming on that! Basically goes type 2! Absolutely insane!!! They both crush!

All in all, wow what a set!!! As a whole, this show was easily better than Orange Beach 3. 2001, Light, Mountains, that CLASSIC Slave, 46 Days and Tube were all must hear!!! And dont forget Leaves, Ocelot and Steam from set 1!! HOLY CRAP!

This show was far from perfect but set 2 was basically all killer no filler and the heights of this show felt higher than the majority of best material from OB3

The 3.5 rating on .NET is an absolute BS travesty. This show was an easy 4.1-ish level gig imo. The heights were just HUGE.

Great show!

2022-05-29 Orange Beach, AL

 5 29 22 Orange Beach

Set 1

Ooh, what an opener tonight, a 13 minute jammed out Character Zero! The freshness continues! C Zero is MUST HEAR!! Terrific version with tons of full band jamming and interplay. Absolutely essential!! Actually, you could say this even goes type 2 for a good while!!!

Same thing goes for the following Mike's Song - essential listening, it features legitimate full band jamming and isnt just a type 1 rocker. A+ !!!

After a nice bouncing its time for a 12 minute KDF! Unfortunately KDF is the first miss of the night featuring a jam that doesnt really go anywhere and gets killed off the moment it starts to go type 2. Bummer!

The following Winterqueen thankfully makes up for it. Stellar version, maybe not must hear, but definitely excellent.

As usual, Funky B crushes tonight. Terrific organ soloing from Page!!! Funky B absolutely rips, Trey just melting faces. Great stuff.

Great setlist call moving into NICU next. Good version, nothing special.

Carini gets some heat going but is similar to Funky B, worth a listen but nothing essential.

The set closes with a nicely jammed Weekapaug to pair with Mikes Song. Good stuff.

All in all, this was a GOOD set. The only lowpoint was that waste of a KDF. Mikes and C Zero were the only "impressive" music of the set (maybe Winterqueen and Paug) as most of the set was stuck at "very good but nothing special" level. Weakest of the 3 first sets so far, imo. 

Set 2

Awesome start with a Landlady bustout. Must hear, they play it flawlessly with great energy!

But thats just a primer for the mother effing kaiju sized MONSTER that is this 22 minute Tweezer!! All timer jam alert! Must hear at all costs!!! This thing goes throuh 4 or 5 distinct sections from funky rock to blissy rock to HEAVY EVIL FUNK ROCK finally culminating in one the craziest, most insane deconstruction jams ever played. The Albany 2024 Fuego has nothing on this, ok? They spend a serious 3 or 4 minutes slowly breaking it all down into a psychedelic soup of screaming drills and synth and Fishman samples .....
Utter insanity on a 1.0 level of sorts. Just unbelievable. This has to be the jam of the year so far and goes toe to toe with any great jam of 2021 (or any year)!

An absolute monster!

Great drop into a short Plasma to save us from the abyss. Nice version with great bluesy playing from everyone. Grab this!!!

Same for the following 13 minute Wolfman. Another essential piece, total X Factor all over this. Spectacular jamming, and its pretty fresh getting a great version late in the show. This is fantastic!!! Total type 2 robot uber funk jamming. Incredible jamming!

After a solid Miss You, we get Maze and Hood to close the set proper. Both are good enough, but neither excel or make you take notice. Both are supremely average.

Uninspired encore of ALBTD and Tweeprise.

All in all, this set was immaculate until somewhere around Miss You. Then it just lost steam and kinda floated lazily to a conclusion.

The music played straight through Wolfman is all must hear. That is some HIGH QUALITY FRIGGIN PHISH!!! Overall id say this show probably deserves its 3.6 rating - nothing is bad but a lot of it is "enjoyable but supremely average" if that makes any sense.

C Zero, Mikes and that 2nd set sequence are as excellent as anything, but everything else is kinda "eh, that was pretty good I guess".

Easily the weakest of the 3 shows to my ears.

2022-05-28 Orange Beach, AL

 5 28 22 Orange Beach

Set 1

Off to a bangin start when we begin with a damn 20 minute Sigma!!! I still cant believe this song became a primo jam vehicle when it screams "first set type 1 rocker". But thats Phish for ya! Sigma itself spits and snarls tonight - hot energy on this one.
------Immediately at the 8 minute mark they drop into a funky, delay-slashing kind of rhythmic jam akin to something out of, say, Golden Age. Aw yea, lets friggin go! Immediate type 2!!!
-----Fishman drops into the 2001 beat (pretty much!) for a solid 3 or 4 minutes while a chill funk takes over. Gordo THUMPING it up, Trey motifing all over the place, Page on the Rhodes....super 1997 style jam!!!
-----Around 13 minutes Trey starts wah soloing and the jam goes into super funky rock and roll jamming. Definitely slowly working towards some kind of peak down the line.
----At 16 minutes everyone syncs up on an ascending melodic motif and they definitely commit to some peak building for real!! From here they slowly rock it out to a majestically triumphant conclusion. "Youre already there!!!"

Yo, that was fantastic!!! Total X Factor all over that. The funk jamming was PRIMO. Hot damn, what a way to start a show!!!!

And then straight into Possum. Possum is very relaxed tonight in an excellent way. Everyones playing is just on the mark and Treys soloing feels blusier than usual. Kind of a slow burn Possum - this is actually great! It explodes in the back half and Machine Gun Trey comes to kill. SICK POSSUM, YO!

AC/DC Bag is standard tonight but totally full of energy and is just an overall great little type 1 reading. Nothing essential but its excellent!!!

Up next is an excellent Reba. A+ job, for 2022, on absolutely nailing the technical section!!! Hell yea! Seriously, this is basically as good as Ive ever heard "modern" Phish play it. Terrific. The solo is really fantastic. Super patient tonight, it begins real chill and delicate, moving into a darker, more intense zone before positively erupting out of the dark clouds and into the sunshine for a typically blazing Reba solo finale. Wow, that was a GREAT Reba!!!! Maybe not magical, but definitely excellent! And it even comes with whistling! Must hear!

Roggae is placed perfectly tonight working wonderfully as a cooldown after Reba. Everyone is locked in tight and Treys soloing is sooooooo on point. Nothing special you havent heard before, but this is about as good as a Roggae gets, pretty much!!! Killer! Not essential, but the Roggae equivalen of the Bag from earlier in the set.

Up next we get a MASSIVE 9 year, almost 300 show bustout of My Minds Got a Mind of Its Own. First version since friggin fall 2013! Sounds great, no slop here! Nice.

One of my favorite songs, The Final Hurrah gets us up and boogying again. Sounds great, and boy do I wish this was in regular rotation! Thankfully this version SMOKES and MG Trey is out in full force! Id call this must hear - it is SO hot!!!

Finally, the set concludes with a large and in charge 11 minute Free. Heck yes, lets go. And Free is several magnitudes even better!!! Extreme cyborg robo grooving. All hail our dystopian cyberpunk overlords!!! Holy effing hell though - X Factor Magic ALL OVER this sucker!!! The funk jamming is some of the most intensely headbangable music Ive ever heard. Gordo on FX, Trey doing fantastic delay slashing work, Page on wiry synthesizers. This thing is a damn MACHINE!!! And then Trey just letting it rip atop the mechanical soundscape, slowly leading them back into Free so friggin flawlessly....

That Free was INCREDIBLE!!!! HOLY CRAP!!!

All in all, this was a terrific first set!!! Not a weak link in the chain, the high points are higher than those of nights 1s first set. The boys are LOCKED IN tight tonight with no hint of sticky fingers or slop!!! Id say Reba, Sigma, Hurrah and this insane Free were all genuine must hears, while Bag and Reggae were both A+ type 1. Throw in a 9 year bustout sounding like it never left rotation and you have the makings for a wonderful set!!!

AWESOME. THAT FREE, THO!!!!! 

Set 2

Perfect way to open set 2 but with Wave of Hope. Basically a perfect and red hot type 1 reading. If you want a "go to" reading of the song itself, this is the one. Its still incredibly strange to me to be listening to a time where most versions were still sub 5 minutes! Thankfully this would soon change for good!

Wave ends awkwardly with a full stop but they maintain momentum by launching into a 16 minute Mr. Completely - played at the right effing tempo for once! Yay, a Phish version that doesn drag!!!! Golly, this one is like a dang freight train. So great to hear a tight version for once.
----Initial rocking gives way to uptempo major key rocking via Page taking charge on the keys. Trey is being patient, not playing too much, but playing stuff that fits.
-----Unfortunately, minimalist Trey goes for too long and the jam starts to reach that boring "is anything going to happen??" kind of area. They just languish in a nicely melodic "aquatic bliss" zone for way too long. Music to zone out to - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
---What they are actually playing is good, they are just stuck in first gear doing the same stuff over and over and over, like a precursor to some 2023 jams or something. It thankfully picks up a serious head of steam and the final 2 minutes see Trey going full psych shred on us, but its too little too late, imo.
The actual playing and energy were GREAT, but overall that was a bit of a "nothingburger" jam.

Thankfully they maintain the energy in the best possible way by launching flawlessly into a rare Walk Away! Guarantee NOBODY could have called that! AND MOTHEREFFING NUCLEAR BOMB WALK AWAY JUST DESTROYS EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH!!! GET TO YOUR SHELTER!! IF YOU ARE NOT UNDERGROUND YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE!!! Also, mad props to Fishman for the FANTASTIC Mr. Completely jamming beneath it all!!!!

HOLY CRAP THAT WAS INSANE!!! FIRE UPON FIRE UPON FIRE UPON FIRE UPON FIRE!!!

And into a nearly 19 minute Golden Age we go. Please, for the love of god, get strange on our asses! Around 8 minutes the jam goes type 2, moving into a late night, laid back funk vamp zone. And holy hell this thing FUNKS.
....also.....ALL HAIL THE MEOWDULATOR PEDAL!!! THANK YOU MIKE FOR GRACING US WITH CUTE LITTLE KITTY MEOWS AT EXTREME VOLUME!!!!
----By 11 minutes, the late night funk is slowly evolving into something more rhythmic. Page on the Meatstick synths, Fishman switching up the beats, Trey doing lots of good melodic motifing. This is killer! The whole band is locked into the GROOVE ZONE, just crushing as one 4 headed monster. Killer.
----Out comes the robo wah for some color for a bit before back to "standard" melodic bliss rocking. Thankfully it is just bursting with energy and the whole jam is positively exploding! From here, they spend the next long while in "hose peak" land just absolutely rocking to a finale.
Yo, that Golden Age was fantastic!! Definitely must hear!!! Normally I complain about jams like this, but not when they are THIS great!!! This is a spectacular Golden Age!!! GO HEAR THIS NOW!!!!

After a short return to the GA theme to close, they launch onwards into a very nicely placed WTU. Awesome version. Most sound alike, but I swear this one is extra, if you will. Just killer. Perfectly delicate yet tense and brooding. Beautiful WTU!

Super refreshingly, we get a rare 2nd set Moma Dance to follow. Bopping hard, its uptempo, tight and rocking!!! A perfect way to get us back up dancing!! This sucker BOPS!!!! Even though this stays type 1, I would put this in the must hear box for this show. This SMOKES! Awesome little Moma!!!!

A very rare If I Could is up next and golly is it a pretty song or what? Excellent placement as well, imo. Not truly must hear but my god this is just fantastic regardless. Gorgeous!! Aw screw it. Just grab this, it's great!

The set proper concludes with a lengthy Antelope. And its a good one!!! Just absolutely blazing with that same fire and intensity as Walk Away, the machine gun section on this is just * slams head into concrete * By modern Antelope standards this is a mothereffing masterpiece!!! Seriously, this is 1994 level HEAT. Must hear!!!!

Terrific encore tonight of I Am In Miami (2nd and last to date ) followed by Izabella. Miami is super fun if a but awkward, haha. Please break this back out!!! And then here comes nuclear bomb Izabella. Machine Gun Trey out in FULL FORCE like its 12/6/97 or something. Absolutely must hear!! Holy smokes!!!!!

All in all, this show was a KILLER!!!! This was an easy 4.2 or 4.3 level show in my book. Inspired setlist again, incredible effing HEAR, interband TIGHTNESS, multiple deep jams, energy out the wazoo...man oh man this show was a HEATER of the first order. Also, it did away with the "ramshackle" kinda nature of night 1 - tonights Phish was a lean, mean, fire spewing machine!!!

Set 2 was so great. Flow out the wazoo, Walk Away, Golden Age and Antelope were all true must hears while everything else was baseline excellent and hot. Special shoutout to that Moma and for Mr. Completely sounding awesome, if not for the bland jam.

This show is a winner. Full stop.

2022-05-27 Orange Beach, AL

 5 27 22 Orange Beach

Set 1

Not my preferred choice but I cant complain about the freshness of getting a 13 minute Twist to open the show, as well as getting it out of the way for the rest of the run!!! A wonderful version, it goes type 2 early, morphing from really nice chill jamming into full throttle up tempo robo-rocking. If every Twist was like this I would never complain!! AWESOME version! Must hear!!

Halley is next and unfortunately is a stumble, the boys fumbling the arrangement. Trey doesn't even allow a chance to jam and instead the boys execute one of the sickest segues ever into Sand.

And right away its obvious that this Sand has extra written all over it. A truly magnificent FACE MELTER, this one has so much extra oomph and groove. Then Machine Gun Trey comes and unleashes the trill hurricane supreme and just crushes all in sight. Must hear! This San was FREAKING AWESOME!!!!

We get a short break with the first Old Home Place since Fall 2019. Good stuff. Martian Monster is short but hot as hell, robo Trey all over. I would venture to cal this must hear - it kicks ass!! Really great interplay on this!!! Super funky and BOPPIN!!! And Trillmaster Trey continues to reign as best guitarist in outer space!

Following a rare (and honestly excellent!) Dogs Stole Things comes Halfway to the Moon. Not essential but still very good, check it out for Pages exquisite piano solos!!

Up next is a powerful 13 minute Stash. The composed parts sound tight and punchy. And it ends up being a 10/10 type 1 reading. The boys are ON in the best way. Trey is crushing and the whole thing is tight. Its nothing unique, but it is friggin GREAT!!! Go check this out!!

Beautiful Shade is our cooldown next. Excellent.

After a standard INNYLTB to get us rocking again the set comes to a close with Bathtub Gin. Really good type 1 version with a hot peak but nothing must hear. Its excellent, just not anything special.

All in all, I really felt this was a great set!! Some bustouts, lots of Machine Gun Trey, very high energy, tight playing, "colorful" song choices...this was my kinda set!! It wasnt the greatest set of all time but by golly was it FRESH, and that goes a long way!!! It really felt like everything FIT together well too. The only real issues were the fumbled Halley and the last couple songs seeming to lose slight amount of steam.

Id say Twist and Sand and Martian Monster are must hear and Stash is WELL worth your time.

 

Set 2

Llama into a 21 minute Soul Planet to open set 2!! Lets friggin go! Slow Llama is absolutely nuclear tonight. Totally must hear, we get a robo annihilation nuclear bomb version. MUST HEAR!!! Wow!! KILLER!!

Even better is the following Soul Planet. Complete and utter X Factor Magic. This is as good as any jam played in 2021!!!! This is freaking amazing!!! The energy is through the ROOF! Everyone locked in tight and the jamming is SO fluuuiiiiddd!!!! Many different sections that flow seamlessly and perfectly without a hint of awkwardness. Total inspiration from start to finish!! This was easily better than any jam played at the MSG run, imo. EASILY. THIS THING IS FRIGGIN MAGICAL!!! ALL TIMER SOUL PLANET!!!!! WOW!!!!

And they execute another terrific segue straight into a 14 minute Ghost. Ghost is extra funky and murky, less rocky than usual. Soupy and thick!!! Ghost slowly gets a good rock jam before slowly devolving into a lengthy, rhythmic kind of robo chill. It slowly fades itself out kinda over a good long while. Great little Ghost. Maybe not must hear on its own, but terrific in the context of this set!!!

At the precisely perfect moment as Ghost is closing, Trey leads them ridiculously smoothly into the Scents intro and by God that worked so friggin great holy hell!! Scents is a short type 1 workout. Solid stuff but inessential, serving instead, via another great segue, to be the launchpad for a damn 17 minute Chalkdust!!!!
Total beast of a jammed out version. Not much to say. Of course this was essential!! It goes FAR into the outer reaches of outer space textural soundscape type 2, holy mother of X Factor insanity!!!!

The set ends on a fantastic note with a killer as always Loving Cup before a nice encore of Waste and SANTOS.

All in all, this was a great show!! Not an INCREDIBLE one, but it's definitely a lot better than the 3.6 rating on .NET. Id honestly give it more of a 4.0 or 4.1, imo. For set 2, Slow Llama, that Soul Planet and of course Chalkdust were all must hear. And dont forget Twist and Sand from set 1!!!!

I can understand why folks might not view the show as highly as me - lots of "new songs everyone hates for no reason", the fumbled Halley, the abridged Scents, etc. But honestly, I LOVED this show. I thought it was a really great listen and I will definitely revisit it down the line at some point!!!

2022-04-23 New York City, NY

 4 23 22 New York City

Set 1

A reall good Fluffhead opens the show. Trey is very flubby throughout but that's ok considering how energetic and enthusiastic this one is. Inessential but good regardless.

The following Mikes Song builds a good head of steam. Nothing special but definitely enjoyable overall. Same goes for Hydro and Paug. Paug actually gets really great by the end and there are hints of a budding jam that isnt pursued (dang it!). A really GOOD Mikes Groove overall that doesnt disappoint but also doesnt burn down the house.

Up next is what this set is most remembered for - a giant 22 minute Simple outta nowhere!!! The song is good, with the initial type 1 rock jam extending all the way to 13ish minutes. The rock jamming is real tight and not as boring as you might expect. Copious amounts of Party Time jamming/teasing as well! From there the jam breaks down awkwardly like Fuego from the night befor and they literally FORCE it to keep going. Thank god they do!!! They slowly build it up into a dark and monstrous robo stomp funk jam culminating in a full blown Egg In A Hole playthrough at 19 minutes befoe reintroducing the Simple theme and closing it out. That Simple is of course must hear, but honestly it was a bit of a mess. A crazy mess that Im glad exists, but it definitely wasnt the glorious magic of the 8/6/21 Simple etc

Another problem tonight is that Trey is just playing really CHILL. Its like instead of burning fire we are just getting little sparks ....

Divided Sky is up next. Terrific job NAILING the difficult compositional parts!!! Divided Sky is extremely delicate tonight in the best way. Just a terrific version well worth a listen!!!

Average hot First Tube to close

All in all, set 1 was very good. The Simple and Divided Sky were both must hear, but the whole thing still just has this.... underwhelming vibe to it all. Like they are flicking a lighter over and over and only producing sparks. Its really frustrating.

Set 2

Now thats what Im talkin about!! The set opens with a massive 27 minute No Men!! Even better, it RAGES, easily producing more heat than anything in set 1!!! This thing SMOKES!!! No Men is great, if a bit bloated. It never goes "strange", but at least its not chill bliss! Its spends the entirety of its jam in a darkly brooding kind of melodic tenseness. You just get lost in the soup, if you will. Not my favorite jam but it was still must hear, of course.

A spectacular short little Caspian gives us a slight breather . A terrific version, this sounds straight out of 1997 or something!!! Must hear!!

Piper is nice if annoyingly aborted just as the jam gets going, but Jibboo is SPECTACULAR!!!! Truly must hear, that has to be the best soloing Trey has laid down so far in 2022! Exceptional Jibboo!!!

IAWITW is an awkward waste tonight but Lonely Trip is great.

This uneven set ends with a NUCLEAR BOMB Walls of the Cave!! Definitely must hear, this thing annihlates!!!

Nice encore of Wilson, Bowie and More

All in all, a very uneven 2nd set. Caspian, Jibboo and Walls were all must hear, and No Men would be incredible if 10 minutes were chopped off of it. Great show, sure, but the "magic" is still lacking for now. Hmm.  Super uneven run, Im really annoyed that I didnt enjoy most of it that much more.

2022-04-22 New York City, NY

 4 22 22 New York

Set 1

The show opens with a lengtht 16+ minute Everythings Right. The jam takes a long time to get going, feeling aimless and meandering for a while. Eventually it all clicks and Trey explodes into a wonderful, Reba style, trill fest of a solo. From there the jam slowly dissolves into stuttering quasi-ambience and slowly faaaddddeeeessss out to a close sounding just like something straight out of Summer 1999. #thehazeisreal Overall I would definitely label this must hear. A really fantastic reading once it gets going.

The following Tube, while not must hear, is still terrific. Just total funk annihilation for 9 minutes. Wonderful!

Aside from a wnderful Trey solo, 555 is plodding and boring. You can safely skip it if you want. BOTT is way better. Nothing essential but its a typically killer type 1 reading.

Thankfully everything comes together on the following Army of One. Borderline must hear, they kill it. The backing vocals, Treys bluesy soloing...its all great. Definitely worth a listen!

A lengthy 10 minute Axilla 2 follows to kick things back into high gear. The song itself is just unhinged in the best way. The jam is certainly unique, developing a very eery laid back feel. Vocal scatting and a definite 1999-style haze to it once again. Total X Factor on this. This is definitely must hear!!!

Gin is terrific tonight. Very bluesy and rhythmic yet also tropical with a great peak. Hard to describe but definitely unique and must hear!!!

Standard SANTOS to close.

All in all, this was a real good set, if not my personal favorite. Id say ER, Axilla and Gin are true must hears with shoutoutd to Army and Tube. Great stuff but nothing super "impressive" at the same time for the most part. 

Set 2

A giant 22 minute SYSF kicks off set 2. Real good straight ahead version that unfortunately never breaks free, finding itself stuck in "extended type 1". Whats here is really enjoyable but for 22 minutes this thing is definitely underwhelming. Enjoyable version but not must hear, imo.

And into a 16 minute Light we go! Light is way better, imo. It also stays "extended type 1", but the X Factor inspiration shines brightly and Machine Gun Trey comes out to play. A spectacular version, definitely must hear!

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the "surely worst version ever played" Fuego that follows. It falls apart before it begins, never coalescing. The jam even comes to a dead stop before they FORCE themselves on into janky and awkward space jamming. This is terrible. Yuck!!

They try to save it wiu WTU which I will admit flowed great out of that Fuego "jam". After this enjoyable but average WTU they finish the set with a GREAT Numberline. Not essential, but it's definitely really good.

All in all, this set really disappointed me and felt like a chore to get through. SYSF was enjoyable if uninspired and way to "do nothing" for its epic length and of course Fuego was a disaster of epic proportions that left WTU to shakily pick up the pieces. Light was terrific and must hear and Numberline was good.

Im really not sure what to think of the show at this point but im definitely underwhelmed. 

 

Set 3

An excellent robo wah laden Free kicks open the door for set 3 followed quickly by a fiery Wave. Both are hot type 1 readings, neither must hear, but definitely a shot in the arm. The energy is noticeably higher than the rest of the show so far and this goes a long way. They actually sounded HOT on these two, something lacking the rest of the show prior. Great stuff.

Waves and Sand are both exceptional readings tonight. Waves is just magical, seeing Trey do full on whale siren jamming trying to sing to the flying drone whale, lol. And Sand is just a tour de force, equal parts exceptionally funky, powerful and rocking with copious amounts of Trey hose peakage included.
Both are de MUST HEAR!!!

And then a 12 minute Melt, complete with seaweed I have heard, comes along to close the set. Played great but the jam doesn't do anything for me at all. Im sure this is way more satisfying when viewed rather than simply heard.

Its Ice is the surprise encore. I know about the screen freeze but, thematic, how does this tie in with the rest?? Ice is water?? Waves and Sand? Something like that?? Good version but I really dont like it as an encore lol.

All in all, set 3 was the best of the bunch, imo. Obviously constructed, it had great flow that the others struggled with and the most energy of maybe the entire run so far!! Waves and Sand are easy must hears and of course we all should watch this spectacle!!!

Taken as a whole, the show probably deserves the 4.5 it has on . NET. Based strictly on the music itself, I think its more akin to a 3.9 or a solid 4.0, imo. There were 6 or 7 genuine must hear tunes, but there was also a good amount of "unfulfilling" jamming, that Fuego disaster, the up and down quality of set 1...

In no way is this a poor show at all, its just that the majority of it did not "blow me away" either. A lot of it was really enjoyable but also underwhelming overall, if that makes sense.

What I mean by that ....Mexico 2022 #3 is still the best show of 2022 to this point. And by a pretty wide margin, at that.

 

 

Another viewpoint on that Fuego thanks to a .NET review. Sometimes being able to SEE a show can definitely alter an opinion drastically!!!:

I'd like to elaborate on another reviewer's post that mentioned a perhaps confused or rusty start to Fuego. That's not how I perceived it. It was actually a hysterically funny and frankly heart-warming musical moment between four really close friends. After blistering jamming that seemed to go on for an hour with Set Your Soul Free and Light, the breakneck pace finally started to wind down into cool ambient space. Just then the camera happens to cut to behind Fish, who takes the opportunity of this tiny reprieve to play with one hand while turning about a liter of water straight up and chugging the whole thing. Although we viewers at home see this, Trey does not and he begins the notes to Fuego - a beast of a drumming song. They all then realize that poor Fish is gassed (his is the most physically demanding part of the music, after all) but they've begun the song.... So they kinda do a slower, more stretched out intro to let Fish catch his breath. By now Page and Trey are laughing their asses off. Eventually, Fish starts dropping fast little drum fills, as if to say, "Alright you ****ers, I'm ready!!" And then off they go into Fuego. A little moment of empathy for their man behind the kit. I was howling and crying at the same time. What a joy it was to see these guys back on stage with one another, doing the thing that they enjoy most in the world. I shed more than one tear last night and it felt good 

2022-04-21 New York City, NY

 4 21 22 New York

Set 1

After letting us know THE supposed Suzy Greenberg is in the house tonight, they open with a terrific an inspired reading of said song. Extra all over, Fishman is going nut with vocal interjections lol!!! Must hear for sure!!

After a standard hot 46 Days, we get a REALLY nice little Plasma. The jam is super fluid and gooey tonight. Definitely grab this - its a hidden gem!!!

Following that, we get the first TMWSIY suite since... when??? Fall 2019? Or was it played in 2021.... I forget... Good stuff.

Wolfman is pretty terrific tonight. Definitely deserves it's jam chart. Not the hottest ever, but as with Plasma, it's just super duper SMOOTH, slowly winding and building its way to the peaky conclusion. Really, really good!!!

And the "wtf?!" hits continue with a rare outing of Esther, beginning the 2022 Estheraissance. Solid over all though Trey has sticky fingers throughout. A solid reading of one of my least favorite songs.

And set 1 concludes with a huge 17 minute Ghost!!! Up through the 10 minute mark its a gooey, soupy, major key kind of funk. Great stuff. Then it slowly gets a little darker and more serious. Heavier Gordo, more rocking, the robo wah and synths....Things pick up a major head of steam and around 13 minutes they begin to slowly build into one of the sickest, nastiest, hose spraying peak sections ever. And it lasts a solid 2+ minutes!!!!!! Holy moly suzy creamcheese!!!! And then out to a close....Holy SMOKES what a Ghost!!! Total X Factor!!! Definitely must hear!!!

All in all, this was a great set. Individually, I thought it held together better as a whole rather than if you were to pick it apart. Ghost is must hear and Suzy and Plasma and Wolfman are all well worth your time. The rest is excellently average, but major points two huge bustouts. And the energy is WAY better tonight.

No complaints with the set. A million steps up from night 1!!! 

 

 Set 2 opens with a 17 minute Chalkdust!! Woohoo!!! And immediately Trey rips into us with his first solo by going straight for the robo way!! Never heard the in-song solo sound like that!! That was SICK!!! He goes back into a straight sound and they absolutely RAGE for a few glorious minutes! A bit shambolic with the transition back into the song, but who cares. The jam itself begins with them dropping into a laidback night groove. Around 10 minutes a pounding rhythm begins but alas it is not to be and they quickly shift into boring upbeat melodic chill bliss. Ugh. This goes until 15 minutes where things begin to pick and the jam regains a head of steam. Lengthy sustained notes and shredding Trey. Absolutely incredible hose explosions finale!!! Wow!! I know I complain about too much "major key chill bliss", but either way this was a pretty exceptional Chalkdust. Definitely X Factor!!!!

The watery ending of Chalkdust segues perfectly into Tweezer!!! Really beautiful 13 minute chill Tweezer. Definitely worth a listen. This Teeezer is just gorgeous!!! Bright sunny day vibes! HOLY CRAP THAT PEAK!!! MUST HEAR!!! THIS TWEEZER IS FANTASTIC!!!

Perfectly after that magical conclusion we launch into 2001 to get us up and moving and back down from the clouds we were flying through. Excellent high energy version with a great Martian Monster section in the middle.

And then oh crap into Maze we go. AND OH BOY WHAT A MAZE IT IS!!! This one is a gosh darn 10/10 as far as modern versions go. Trey is just annihilating. Absolutely must hear!!!

And what a world it is when a blazing About to Run is the "cool down" song! Also, hot damn does that just FIT coming after Maze or what?! Must hear, this is a facemelter. Also of note is Treys soloing sounds particularly bluesy and slinky on this one. Wow.

An excellent and rare Mango Song follows. They nail this and it sounds GREAT!

Harry Hood is excellent tonight. Not must hear but definitely strong. Killer end to the set with a crazy C Zero/Tweezer sandwich. Id call that must hear. Sick.

Uninspired encore of ALBTD into the obligatory Tweeprize.

All in all, this was an excellent show, but it also fell a little short for my taste/expectations. There is a lot of great stuff but not much that will TRULY blow you away, if that makes sense. I mean, nothing "all timer" level or anything.

Id say Ghost, Tweezer, Maze, Dust and Zero are the must hear materials. This WAS a terrific show, but at the same time it didnt even feel in the same league as something like Mexico 2022 #3
Basically, Im being a jerk to this show. It kills. So ignore me. It was great!!!

2022-04-20 New York City, NY

 Onwards to the 420/Earth Day run!

Been dying to hear these shows since they happened!

4/20/22 New York

Set 1

Certainly a massive 19 minute Carini opener is a good sign of things to come, yes? Wow. Good bliss rock type 1 until around the 9 minute mark. Things shift to a darker, funkier and more laid back vibe. More rhythmic, Pages fancy keys come out to play, Fishman is in Fill City, etc. Unfortunately they quickly abandon this new direction and return to chill major key dad rocking. Around 13 minutes they shift again into funky, upbeat jamming. Love Pages watery keys throughout! Gotta say, the band interplay has been fantastic - everybody is definitely paying attention to each other closely. Just a million "blink and youll miss it" synch up moments between everyone! Around 15 minutes they slowly begin peak building. The crowd erupts (anyone know why???). Around 17:30 the jam explodes into a massive, triumphant peak. Trey hits one of those Divided Sky notes and just holds it for like a minute. Slowly the peak subsides and the jam winds down to a natural close....

Wow!!! That was awesome!!! This Carini wasnt the black hole type 2 space monster we always want, but instead it was a majestic, slow working version that highlighted the tightness of this band while subtly shifting here and there. Fantastic peak. I feel like this Carini is probably underrated - for me to wax poetic about a "mostly major key bliss rock" jam should say enough.....must hear!!!

And so Carini ends and Trey leads us into Possum. Possum is average good. A little lacking in energy at times.

Up next is a lengthy 12+ minute Moma. This version is fantastic. Extra chill and slinky during the song, then Trey kicks into the robo wah and it takes off. Slowly it morphs into an extremely fiery and explosive yet still kinda laid back area. Machine Gun Trey comes out and melts faces big time. Wow. This Moma is SUPER sick!!! Havent ever really heard another like it!!! Definitely must hear!

Moma has an odd conclusion and kind of fizzles out. From here we go into Leaves. On paper this is a terrible placement, imo, but it actually flowed great out of Moma. YMMV. Leaves is always great to hear. This version is average good but nothing special.

And into a super rare Strange Design!!! 2 ballads in a row is an interesting call but who cares when they are Leaves and Strange Design?! This sounds awesome. Lovely and delicate and powerful. Grab this!

Stash is pretty good tonight. The song itself is pretty rusty, but thankfully it has a very cool jam. Darkish and chill, Gordo all over his bass fx while Trey patiently builds his solo. It just builds and builds and builds into a WILD, crazy and explosive "tear your friggin head off" Machine Gun Trey explosion before leading SEAMLESSLY back into the song.

Yo, grab that Stash! That was SICK!!!

The set concludes with a terrific Type 1 Blaze On. Maybe not must hear but know it is excellent.

All in all, this was a weird set!! The energy was there but there was also this weird kind of chill undercutting everything as well. I would say Carini, Moma, Strange Design and Stash are the essential music. Very hard to judge this set - just know that it was great regardless, if not incredible. 

Set 2

The 2nd half opens nicely with Sigma Oasis. Solid version, nothing special.

And into a damn 23 minute Disease we go from there!!! The song sounds good aside from a serious snafu in the middle. 80 million miles removed from the Mexico 2022 atrocity, however! Aside from some brief funkiness, we rage type 1 bliss rock all the way to the 14 minute mark. At the point the jam quiets down. The watery keys come out to play along with some synths. Trey is patiently picking out melodic lines. Slowly they work it back up and Trey goes all Stevie Ray Vaughan on our asses just shredding this sucker to a conclusion.

Definitely a face melter kind of version. Way too "stuck in the box" for my taste, but at the same time it DOES kick ass.

The Howling keeps the party going. Good god does this one FUNK. Super laid back late night groove supreme. Im calling this must hear. Its sick.

And the segue into Twist is just fantastic. And Twist is just an explosive nuclear bomb shredfest once again. Really great. Grab this.

After a lovely Mountains, we get a rare late set 2 Reba! Reba isnt technical perfection, but it's about 95 percent there. Ill take it! Magical solo on this. This rips. It aint MSG95 but this is a great little Reba!

The set proper concludes with a slighty rusty Drift. Ok version, nothing more. Special note to the fantastic climax, however.

Inspired encore of Gumbo into Slave. Not much to say. Good stuff.


All in all this was a strange feeling show. Somethings were terrific, some things were rusty, some things were chill, others were blazing hot. I FEEL like this show is worthy of a light 4.0 rating, imo. Its a million times better than the "good but undercooked" 2/27/22. But neither is most of this show amazing either.

For set 2, Id say The Howling is THE main highlight though Disease was excellent, if boring by the time it was done.

If 2/27/22 is like a B/B+, Id give this a solid, firm, B++