4 24 26 Las Vegas
Night five at the sphere opens with the first TMWSIY since New Year's 2023! Talk about a sick opener yo. It starts rather shaky definitely sounding like the guys haven't played it in two and a half years (If I remember correctly....). There isn't much to say. They do sync up about halfway through thankfully and just when it gets going the composition closes right on a dime
Immediately without a moment to spare they launch beautifully into The Lizards. Listening back later I'm sure this won't feel like anything special, But for some reason this morning this version is absolutely hitting me right in the face. Maybe thinking about the TMWSIY>Lizards from 2023 run has got me all emotional I don't know. But man did it make me start crying big time. I had to pull over. This version is played to perfection. It sounds extra enthusiastic and everybody hits their parts perfectly. In the grand scheme is it must hear? Probably not? For emotional resonance?!
Absolutely.
Up next is a 20 minute Set Your Soul Free Like it's 2018 again. This version is really hot and extremely TIGHT. Not like it's a hard song to play or anything but they are absolutely rocking. Great version of the song itself! The jam takes a while to get going, meandering badly through a couple variations of upbeat or hazy blissey whatever. Trey seems unsure of what direction to go. Just when you think it's going to be a bust, at the 9-minute mark things click and the X Factor strikes!! BUCKLE UP! For five glorious monstrous minutes they take the jam dark. Fishman slows the beat down and we enter that "Mexico 2025 20 Years Later" wah abuse, guitar meltdown area. ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS!!! Just facemelting fire. Heavy and dark. YES!!! ALL MY YES!!! LETS GO!!! Around the 14 minute mark they finally lessen the fiery inferno and the jam picks back up tempo perfectly. This jam is SMOOTH!!!! The jam proceeds to get ridiculously funky while also being heavy and rocking and DRIVING! The heavy, driving funk lasts a good while for morphing expectedly straight into hard rock. And I know we like to bitch about them returning to the song at the end of a jam but this is an example of it working absolutely stupendously. The transition back into the main rip is absolutely flawless. This was one of the finest versions in years if not ever in my opinion. Easily the best sense Dicks 2024 (to my memory), although of course it doesn't come close to beating that adventurous mega monster. THIS SUCKER KICKED SO MUCH ASS IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY!!!
10/10 MUST HEAR!!!
We get the nicely placed cool down of a typically fantastic Roggae. Similar to the Mexico 2026 version, It is so perfectly constructed. Just absolutely flawless once again. A great Roggae is a great Roggae, and they are a dime a dozen, but man I swear this one is also must hear. I am completely understating this version. It's just magical. You need this in your life.
Easing the tempo back up its into Ya Mar next. Strong version. The playing is immaculate in the energy high. If only it was longer! The playing is so good but it feels like it's over just as it's beginning!
After a snarling but typical reading of The Dogs comes Billy Breathes. Love the song and it's always wonderful to hear. Contender for their best ballad?? This one is very good but nothing special. It's pretty much played okay but there's one or two slightly hesitant moments. But it's pure nitpicking on my part.
What isn't nitpicking is me saying that the following Its Ice is a mess!! What a shame! The song itself sounds perfectly played, nicely played at the album tempo. Then holy mother of 2004 Phish what happened at the hard part?! Trey COMPLETELY botched it, straight up dropping out of the entire thing just about. Easily the worst played version of that section in years if not ever. That was unbelievably spectacularly awful. What the corn! I know we have all bad nights but holy crap You have to hear this to hear how bad it was. Dang!
What the hell ...Thankfully the set closes on an EXTREMELY high note with a 12 minute Walls of the Cave. This is one of those great versions that transcends the average hot readings most shows receive. This one just goes next level nuclear. Trey is shredding his absolute balls off. I love when he does that seagull screaming pitch shifting thing while he's in the middle of holding a sustained note. This is definitely must hear in my opinion. Fantastic!
All in all, I really enjoyed this set despite the flaws. It started very strongly but dipped pretty noticeably later on only to finish just as strongly as it started. The Lizards, SYSF, Roggae and Walls are all definitely must hear readings. All of that being said I also was a big fan of the flow of the set - It felt like all the right songs were placed in exactly the right spot, You know what I mean? Great Dynamics as far as the setlist construction!!
I'd give the set somewhere in between a B+ and an A- because the dip was so large later on But the highlights were smashing. Hard to explain without listening to it. The energy and enthusiasm were there throughout and there was never a dip in regards to that. Trey was just crushing with his soloing as well and Fishman was going BONKERS!
Set 2
Having ended set one with Walls, How surprising that we get the other half of the Round Room long song duo to open set 2! Surely that has never happened before eh?! A very nicely played and fiery Pebbles kicks things off very nicely. I wouldn't call it must hear but it is excellently played.
And it leads us into the first mega Jam of the night with a massive 28 minute Mind!!! And it's an absolutely bonkers version. I'll admit upfront it's not my favorite though. It's one of those very kind of....spastic jams where you can't tell which way is up we're left or right and it's all kind of messy regardless of being awesome. Jam starts promisingly with the band laying down a hard uptempo dark funkiness.
Having ended set one with Walls, How surprising that we get the other half of the Round Room long song duo to open set 2! Surely that has never happened before eh?! A very nicely played and fiery Pebbles kicks things off very nicely. I wouldn't call it must hear but it is excellently played.
And it leads us into the first mega Jam of the night with a massive 28 minute Mind!!! And it's an absolutely bonkers version. I'll admit upfront it's not my favorite though. It's one of those very kind of....spastic jams where you can't tell which way is up we're left or right and it's all kind of messy regardless of being awesome. Jam starts promisingly with the band laying down a hard uptempo dark funkiness.
Trey unfortunately reverts back to SYSF and spends a solid three or four minutes lost unsure what to do. I mean it gets in the total meandering territory. Finally around the 9-minute mark He figures his stuff out. For several minutes they all link up and the jam takes off like you expect. Around the 12-minute mark it starts to shift. Things start to slowly get more upbeat and blissful. It's a slow transition beautifully done. It lasts for a mesmerizing 5 minutes or so going all the way to the 17 minute mark.
An extremely slow build, they explore the hazy heights of the sky. It's reminiscent of the boulder 2025 Crosseyed, but a bit more relaxed. It's a really really nice section. Finally around the 17 minute mark it's slowly starts to transition again. They spend the next 4 minutes putting the pedal to the metal and blaze it to a Walls of the Cave style freakout. Absolute insanity.
Somewhere around the 22 minute mark they finally get through it and hit a nice crowd interaction stop start moment. Soon after they perfectly return into the beat of the song led by Gordo and Fishman. They quickly bring the song to a close but instead of ending it they leave us with about 5 minutes of pure dark ambience. They just dissolve us into the cloud of Doom. Very much the sequel to Dark Puddle.COMPLETE WITH FOUR KITTY MEOWS! 
I Must note before we move on that that was not my favorite jam. It definitely kicked ass and is must hear for sure, But it's very messy and all over the place. It takes a while to get going and it feels like Trey is struggling to keep up throughout leaving the other guys - ESPECIALLY Fishman!!! - To lead the jam and transitions it feels like. I know others will disagree with me but the spastic and all over the place nature of this jam was kind of hard to get through for me. My issues are nitpicking though so keep that in mind.
.
Not to leave us disappointed, Trey executes the best Piper transition in years. A 16-minute version at that. He does not rush it and he begins it perfectly as the haze of evil is slowly giving away like a phoenix rising from the ashes. He is actually patient for once and the song itself takes a damn FOUR minutes to reach the jam!!! Seriously that segue and transition was absolutely phenomenal. For the love of God please do Piper like this more often!!! An excellent reading overall. Very much "stuck in one zone" though. A variation on the usual shred til you die readings. But this one is very goopy and spacey. And heavy. Trey just slamming power chords etc. its not very adventurous but its still great.
Up next we get a breather/face melted with The greatest version of Monsters yet (I say that every single time but I swear it's true with each passing version). Not much to say it just annihilates. Absolutely must hear!!!
After that some very serious X Factor strikes!!! A 13 minute LSG follows. This one goes deep outer space goopy type 2!!!! The jam is very space -funk whatever. Trey sets some loopers, they squiggle it up, things are nasty etc. In the back half Fishman plays with the beat and the jam just descends/skyrockets into a more majestic and POWERFUL kind of area. Very ethereal and heavy, fiery and dark, but blissful all at once. Pure heavy metal space funk atmospheric whatever. YO LET'S GET IT THIS IS FREAKING AMAZING. OFF TO JUPITER WE GO!!! WOOOO!!!!
I Must note before we move on that that was not my favorite jam. It definitely kicked ass and is must hear for sure, But it's very messy and all over the place. It takes a while to get going and it feels like Trey is struggling to keep up throughout leaving the other guys - ESPECIALLY Fishman!!! - To lead the jam and transitions it feels like. I know others will disagree with me but the spastic and all over the place nature of this jam was kind of hard to get through for me. My issues are nitpicking though so keep that in mind.
.
Not to leave us disappointed, Trey executes the best Piper transition in years. A 16-minute version at that. He does not rush it and he begins it perfectly as the haze of evil is slowly giving away like a phoenix rising from the ashes. He is actually patient for once and the song itself takes a damn FOUR minutes to reach the jam!!! Seriously that segue and transition was absolutely phenomenal. For the love of God please do Piper like this more often!!! An excellent reading overall. Very much "stuck in one zone" though. A variation on the usual shred til you die readings. But this one is very goopy and spacey. And heavy. Trey just slamming power chords etc. its not very adventurous but its still great.
Up next we get a breather/face melted with The greatest version of Monsters yet (I say that every single time but I swear it's true with each passing version). Not much to say it just annihilates. Absolutely must hear!!!
After that some very serious X Factor strikes!!! A 13 minute LSG follows. This one goes deep outer space goopy type 2!!!! The jam is very space -funk whatever. Trey sets some loopers, they squiggle it up, things are nasty etc. In the back half Fishman plays with the beat and the jam just descends/skyrockets into a more majestic and POWERFUL kind of area. Very ethereal and heavy, fiery and dark, but blissful all at once. Pure heavy metal space funk atmospheric whatever. YO LET'S GET IT THIS IS FREAKING AMAZING. OFF TO JUPITER WE GO!!! WOOOO!!!!
It's hard to explain this jam on the fly - But it's absolutely bonkers from start to finish. Now THIS is what an all timer looks like. In all seriousness, because I don't remember, Is this the most "pure type 2 jammed out" person of the song we've gotten?!?! I mean it pretty much immediately leaves home base and never comes back. The ending few minutes are just spectacular with everybody linking up into an interstellar voyage of goopy sound effect laden space rocking. Very twinkly and, well, spacey! Its hard to explain. Finally they execute another perfect return to the song and send us out .
BEST JAM OF THE SHOW. THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD YOU NEED TO HEAR THAT!!!!!
From there it's into a rare standalone Whats the Use. WTU, the following Vultures and SANTOS all deliver typically strong if not particularly noteworthy readings.
The show concludes on an emotionally perfect note with a very nice Slave. This one is powerful and slow building. As with Piper, Trey is patient in his playing, and to great effect, just milking his notes for all they are worth. Im calling this must hear. It resonated with me heavily - and im not usually a Slave guy, so when I am excited about one it's a very good sign okay?
its really spectacular!!! Damn.
All in all, this was an excellent show marred by a few flaws. For set two, the entire Mind>Piper, Monsters, LSG and Slave are all definitely must hear!!! That being said I have to say it's hard to explain this show. I've been thinking about the 3.9 rating it has and how I feel it is a couple points too low.
It's definitely a step down from the night prior, But only because of the horrific Ice in set 1, Trey meandering here and there at times in the jams, and the whole thing feeling More like they are "working hard" for excellence tonight rather than the true X Factor shining through and leading them (does that make any sense?). The night before felt like one of those nights where the show just flowed out like magic. This one it feels like they are having to try very hard on a conscious level to make sure it is great. And they do make sure it's great!
If this is a 3.9 then this is the greatest 3.9 in the history of the band. What 3.9 - Even by 2026 standards - has THAT Mind>Piper, THAT LSG, THAT Monsters, THAT Slave?!?! Nevermind the terrific Lizards, SYSF, Walls and Roggae in set one. Never mind the fact that the energy is Sky high and the show feels like You are getting punched in the face the entire time....
Also shoutouts to the terrific set placement and flow of the show as well as MVP Jon Fishman. Also to mention is that as much as I'm raving about this show it wasn't my favorite and it felt like it was overly long but it was probably just me and my mood today. But the show is absolutely kick ass.
I know ratings don't mean anything blah blah blah but who cares I like them as a general metric reference point or whatever. It's cool to see what the general consensus seems to be on a show. In this case I disagree with the 3.9 rating. Personally I'd give it somewhere between a 4.1 and a 4.2. If it was less uneven and had more "magic" I would regard it higher.
Even all that being said I'm still saying it's an absolutely EXCELLENT show. Other than Ice, whatever problems I have with it are pretty minuscule and won't be picked up by most people. Don't let this show fall away in the wake of the other Titans surrounding it!!!
BEST JAM OF THE SHOW. THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD YOU NEED TO HEAR THAT!!!!!
From there it's into a rare standalone Whats the Use. WTU, the following Vultures and SANTOS all deliver typically strong if not particularly noteworthy readings.
The show concludes on an emotionally perfect note with a very nice Slave. This one is powerful and slow building. As with Piper, Trey is patient in his playing, and to great effect, just milking his notes for all they are worth. Im calling this must hear. It resonated with me heavily - and im not usually a Slave guy, so when I am excited about one it's a very good sign okay?
its really spectacular!!! Damn.All in all, this was an excellent show marred by a few flaws. For set two, the entire Mind>Piper, Monsters, LSG and Slave are all definitely must hear!!! That being said I have to say it's hard to explain this show. I've been thinking about the 3.9 rating it has and how I feel it is a couple points too low.
It's definitely a step down from the night prior, But only because of the horrific Ice in set 1, Trey meandering here and there at times in the jams, and the whole thing feeling More like they are "working hard" for excellence tonight rather than the true X Factor shining through and leading them (does that make any sense?). The night before felt like one of those nights where the show just flowed out like magic. This one it feels like they are having to try very hard on a conscious level to make sure it is great. And they do make sure it's great!
If this is a 3.9 then this is the greatest 3.9 in the history of the band. What 3.9 - Even by 2026 standards - has THAT Mind>Piper, THAT LSG, THAT Monsters, THAT Slave?!?! Nevermind the terrific Lizards, SYSF, Walls and Roggae in set one. Never mind the fact that the energy is Sky high and the show feels like You are getting punched in the face the entire time....
Also shoutouts to the terrific set placement and flow of the show as well as MVP Jon Fishman. Also to mention is that as much as I'm raving about this show it wasn't my favorite and it felt like it was overly long but it was probably just me and my mood today. But the show is absolutely kick ass.
I know ratings don't mean anything blah blah blah but who cares I like them as a general metric reference point or whatever. It's cool to see what the general consensus seems to be on a show. In this case I disagree with the 3.9 rating. Personally I'd give it somewhere between a 4.1 and a 4.2. If it was less uneven and had more "magic" I would regard it higher.
Even all that being said I'm still saying it's an absolutely EXCELLENT show. Other than Ice, whatever problems I have with it are pretty minuscule and won't be picked up by most people. Don't let this show fall away in the wake of the other Titans surrounding it!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment