2011-12-31 New York City, NY

Working through 12/31/11 tonight.

Absolutely terrific first set. Not a lowlight in sight. Not too much went above and beyond, but everything was baseline excellent.

Terrific set sequence as well - everything flowed beautifully and felt in perfect place.

Awesome first set  

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Forgot to mention I'm watching the webcast of this instead of just listening. I'm soaking it all in tonight - set breaks and all

Great show to WATCH! Never knew they did a dance in Mule - that was pretty darn fun.

Everyone is having a blast - there's something hilarious about watching a glowstick land on Page's piano and then he goes and flings it back with a smile on his face

So far in set 2:

Party Time - the first lowlight of the show. Not a great version. Gets the mood going but a pretty poor version playing-wise
Light - BEAST! - Terrific full-on Type II Deep Space Theramin Insanity jam fest
>Golden Age

Some might say Light wasn't long enough, but I think it ran its course perfectly. Trey didn't ripcord it - he realised it was time to move on and did so at the perfect time.

UNFORTUNATELY Fishman completely drops the segue ball AGAIN as he's been doing this year.... GRRRR

HORRENDOUS segue into Golden Age aside, this has been pretty sick so far and GA is now getting down into funky Type II land.... 

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Set 1 was perfect

Set 2 was ok but the segues sucked and other than Light it just felt like a good way to kill time before set 3. Nothing bad (other than those segues!) , but nothing worth mentioning either besides Light. Good stuff but overall a letdown of a set.

Set 3
I have to to bed so youll hear my thoughts tomorrow

 

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12/31 New York City (Freaking AWESOME first set, set 2 shows promise but keeps faltering. Set 3 is just an average 2011 set. Highly disappointing but still a fine gig. Very FUN though!)
AC/DC Bag
>Wolfman's Brother
Scent of a Mule (AWESOME!)
Faulty Plan
Lawn Boy
Gotta Jibboo
Farmhouse (Perfectly placed, beautiful version!)
Pebbles and Marbles (FREAKING AWESOME!)
Ocelot
Fluffhead
Light (TYPE II DEEP SPACE THERAMIN INSANITY!!!!!!)
>Golden Age (AWFUL segue, lol. Gets going then dies... DANG IT!)
>Theme From the Bottom (Much better segue!)
Ghost (Short but sweet)
>Sneakin Sally (Short but sweet, vol. 2)
>46 Days (EXPLODES! TREY HEADBANGING!)
Suzy Greenberg
Cavern
STEAM (FLYING GAG)
Down With Disease (Gag continues, BALLOON INVASION)
>The Wedge
Velvet Seat
Traffic Light

 

 

2011-12-30 New York City, NY

That was a great show!! More than made up for the doldrums of 12/29/11

Great set tonight, tons of energy, but a prevalence of flubs and lack of extended jamming (INCREDIBLE Piper aside) prevent me from rating this higher.

This show felt like the Detroit show from the summer - Awesome on paper with awesome moments throughout but never really peaking into "classic" territory.

Just an awesome all-around show in the simplest of terms.

The Piper from this show is definitely going on my "Jams Of The Year" list for 2011.

Again, not classic, but still a really, really good show.

A very strong A- rating from me

 

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12/30 New York City (Really great show but not classic, ala Detroit. GET THAT FRIGGIN PIPER HOLY FREAKING HELL!!!)
Punch You in the Eye
Prince Caspian (2nd slot! Great jam!)
>Number Line
Divided Sky
Sand (FIRST SET! Short but HOT!)
Vultures (TERRIFIC!)
Quinn the Eskimo
Piper (15 minutes! Type II spazzed out space funk. Dissolves into ambiance. INSANE WHALE SIREN FUNK AMBIANCE. SOUNDS LIKE 2000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ONE OF THE JAMS OF THE YEAR!!!)
>Twist (AWESOME Type I!)
Julius
2001
David Bowie
Squirming Coil
Good Times Bad Times (RIPS!)

 

2011-12-29 New York City, NY

12/29/11 MSG night 2

Other than the Sloth OPENER and YEM in slot 2 (!!!), set 1 was completely and utterly skippable and unmemorable.

Don't rush to conclusions - it was fine, high-quality rocking affair, but there was NOTHING to mkae you even think about returning to it. Just rote versions of the songs played to the nth degree. In 2011 rote means Hot and Fun but not necessarily special.

A fine set but noone will shame you for completely fast forwarding through it  

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I don't know what went wrong this night. This was one of the most....I don't even know what to call it....shows of the year.
The vibes were great, the energy was there, nice flow on paper, no major problems.

It was like a sandwich with 2 wonderful pieces of bread waiting to be filled with tasty meats and veggies

But the sandwich shop ran out of the meat and veggies. And left you with 2 buns.

A good base for liftoff but no liftoff to speak of, does that make any sense?

The first set songs were all fine - even excellent - but none of them were memorable in the slightest. It was all "that was great, but a million others were better".

This show is just completely UNEXCITING - thats the word! Boring? No, not really, just not extra in any way shape or form.

That's almost worse than being bad - at least a bad show is memorable for being bad!

Can't compare to being there but this was a completely unsatisfactory listen, lol.

The best things about this show:

Sloth (Opener!)
You Enjoy Myself (2nd slot! 16 minutes before vocal jam!)
Crosseyed and Painless (threatens liftoff but never reaches it)

Mike's Song
>CHALKDUST TORTURE
>I Am Hydrogen
>Weekapaug Groove

Now THAT perked my ears up!!! The jam from CT into Hydrogen was especially rad - Trey was ripping up the jam full speed and introduced the Hydrogen melody at full CT tempo. Think a heavy metal I Am Hydrogen. VERY COOL!

After that, Character Zero and Loving Cup actually knock it out of the park as the encores.

The rest of the show is just OK in the worst way possible. Like when you are getting over a cold and you feel ok but your taste and smell still haven't returned. Everythign is just BLAND.

This show gets a B/B+ from me. For once I actually agree with the ratings on .NET, lol

Ok rant over - 2 shows to go! 

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12/29 New York City (Ok but incredibly boring show. Grab Crosseyed and the Mike's Groove)
The Sloth (Opener!)
You Enjoy Myself (SLOT 2!!!)
Back On the Train
Maze
Crosseyed and Painless (Nice short jamming.)
>Simple (Nice bliss!)
>LIFEBOY
Guyuute
Mike's Song (FIRE!)
>CHALKDUST TORTURE!
>I Am Hydrogen
>Weekapaug Groove (GREAT jam)
Character Zero (interesting soloing)
Loving Cup
 

2011-12-28 New York City, NY

Starting New Years 2011 with 12/28 right now.

Free opens the night with a BANG! What a perfect opener - how in the hell is this literally the first time this was ever used in this spot?!  

This was such a fun first set! Awesome setlist and flow - there wasn't a dull moment or misplaced song. Several bustouts (Glide and Contact) and a couple red hot jams of both the Type I and Type II variety.

Anyone that hears this set and has anything overtly negative to say about it has sand in their ears.

The energy from Vermont is continued this night.

The aforementioned Free opener was sick.
Glide was unexpected.
Possum roared.

Cities - the first jam highlight of the night. A pretty lengthy (for 2011) Type II jam that rules. Awesome sauce. SPACE FUNK!

Curtis Lowe was a nice distraction before a standard-but-wacky Stash that is definitely worth your time.

CONTACT! - Love this little ditty. This one actually has some funk goin' on as well! Again, worth checking out

Sample is Sample - it rocked.
Kill Devil Falls - see above, but the jam was nicely dynamic with lots of quieter moments before the raging peak

Bathtub Gin closed the set on a high with a nicely jammed out version. Standard 2011 Gin fare, but Standard 2011 Gin fare is great stuff!


I have 0 complaints with this set. The flow really was great. Everything felt in it's place. There was enough jamming to wet the pallet.
Great set! 

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This show is SICK!

Set 2 so far:

Birds of Feather - red hot version. Nothing special and doesn't go anywhere but a great uptempo shot in the arm to kick the set off with a BANG!

Carini>
Tweezer>
My Friend My Friend>
Rock and Roll


Oh nelly, here we GO!

Carini turned into the Evil Monster before somehow morphing into the being of Bliss. This bliss morphed into an EXCEPTIONAL Tweezer. Tweezer was only 12 minutes but felt more action packed than some 1997 mega jams we all know and love. This Tweezer was a multi-sectional plinko fest of the highest order. Absolutely top 10 jam of the year.

Tweezer melted into My Friend My Friend - great to hear in the second set! Keeping the dark energy going this one shred. During the outro explosion jam, we segue unexpectedly into Rock and Roll

This may be my favorite song that Phish regularly covers (along with Cities!) and this is yet another great one! Are there ANY versions of this that suck? Cuz I haven't heard one!

Again as with set 1 the FLOW of the show is just perfect. Everything seems like it's MEANT to go together.

This show is KILLING it!!!

This is about as great of a show you can have in 2011 without it being labeled "classic".

I mean, it's not the Chicago Elements gig, but this is as great as any other amazing 2011 show.

DANG.

Out of that absolutely jaw dropping Rock and Roll we segue into NICU.
This is a very fun and relaxed sounding version. A perfect cool drink of water after getting blasted with heat

Bouncing Around the Room was actually worth mentioning as well - the entire crowd sings along audibly to the whole song. Can't honestly say I can remember another recent version like that! VERY cool!

Harry Hood - beautiful, thoughtful, patient. Bliss upon bliss upon bliss. Harry Hood and I have a love/meh relationship. This one ticks all the right boxes and is great.

Bug to finish the set. Felt like a perfectly sequenced album closer. The calm come-down to ease us out before encore time.

A short but sweet Tube>Rocky Top and Tweeprise to end the show.

This was a RIDE! A terrifically sequenced show - if this was an unplanned setlist they NAILED it tonight.

An absolutely wonderful show more than worth your time.

 

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12/28 New York City ** (AWESOME SHOW! Not classic but DAMN great! GET THAT CARINI>TWEEZER! FREAKING SICK GIG, YO!)
Free (FIRST EVER FREE OPENER)
Glide
Cities (FULL ON LENGTHY TYPE II SPACE FUNK!!!!!!)
Curtis Loew
Stash (nice and quirky!)
CONTACT (FUNKY!)
Kill Devil Falls (Great chill jam! Builds to hot peak)
Bathtub Gin (Nothing special but still excellent!)
Carini (Evil space into uplifting bliss!!! Spectacular jam!)
>Tweezer (12 incredible plink-filled minutes.TYPE II PARTY!!! Multisectional. Longest 12 minute jam ever :D)
>My Friend My Friend
>Rock and Roll (JAW DROP! Goes Type II into...)
>NICU (PLAY IT LEO!)
Bouncing Around (CROWD SINGALONG!)
Harry Hood (Thoughtful and patient. Bliss upon bliss!)
Bug (Gorgeous set finish)
Tube

 

 

2011-09-14 Essex Junction, VT

The "bonus round" of Summer 2011 commences with 9/14/11, Essex Junction

A Benefit For Vermont Flood Recovery

This one has low ratings on .NET because "muh jam, dude", but this is a great, rocking, impassioned show!
The setlist is Greatest Hits as can be, but for something like this that is totally ok.

Now as for the music, we get outstanding straightforward versions of the songs performed - this would be a good show to play on a road trip for someone that can enjoy Phish but isn't a superfan. Just a great straightforward set of songs played with extra energy and care.

The topic of the benefit I'm sure was very personal for the guys and I feel like their is extra "oomph" to this gig, like they really wanna do their hometown/area crowd good, ya know what I mean?

Not exactly a MEMORABLE show, but definitely an underrated one for sure. Give this one a spin if want a show to enjoy on a surface level that you don't need to "devote" extra attention span to

 

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9/14 Essex Junction ** - Flood Benefit (Not classic, but a terrific A+ straight-forward show. Amazing energy - home area vibes. Just FUN and rock! The entire show was highlight-worthy.)
Chalkdust Torture
The Moma Dance
NICU
Funky B
Sample in a Jar
Cavern
Bathtub Gin (Terrific)
Alaska
Possum (MACHINE GUN TREY!)
Wolfman's Brother (GRAB THIS. FUNKY 1.5 JAM! JAM OF THE SET)
Julius (One of the best of all time. Uniquely dynamic and jammed out. 11 minutes!)
Carini (TYPE 2 EFFECTS SPACE AMBIANCE)
>Down With Disease (Funky Type II FREAKING AWESOME DANCE PARTY!)
>Slave to the Traffic Light (INCREDIBLE SEGUE!!! Sick rager)
>Rock and Roll (RnR indeed! Great Type 2 segue into....)
>Twist
Number Line
>Theme From the Bottom
Character Zero (WACKY! HOLY MELTDOWN INSANITY!)
Loving Cup

 

 

2011-09-04 Commerce City, CO

Been a real hard week. Listening has been on my mind but I've been so exhausted that I haven't had a chance to do any more.

Tonight I'm seeing how far I get into 9/4/11, Dick's Number 3

A Maze opener!!!!! Holy hell, I can honestly say I've never heard that before!!

Setlist looks great, hopefully this show slays the very disappointing 9/3/11  

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OH YEA! This show has IT!!!!

9/4/11 Commerce City

Maze
>Back On the Train (OUTSTANDING!!!!)
>Rift

Talk about an opening trio for the books! There is that palpable extra X Factor in the feel of the music tonight. The guys mean BIZNESS.

The setlist for this night is excellent so I hope they keep it up 

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Yup. X Factor Night confirmed.

Song 4 of the set we get a terrific 15-minute Bathtub Gin that is just all kinds of slam-dunk. Even if it basically stays Type I, the playing and jamming is soooo gooodddd......




The Way It Goes was an awesome Gillian Welch cover. Gonna check her out after that!

Halfway to the Moon was excellent. Page came in early on the vocals but he hit it on beat so it worked perfectly. Inspired playing. Best version yet, probably.

Into Gumbo we go!  

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This might honestly be the best, most cohesive, most action-packed first set I've ever heard.

The set is almost over and EVERY track has been a major highlight.

Gumbo - perfection
Halley's Comet - perfection, vol 2

Halley's gets into a raging guitar solo from Trey - BUT, DEAD NUTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SOLO -

segue into Tube

OUT OF FRICKIN NOWHERE.

AND IT WORKS! AND ITS AWESOME!

HOLY CRAP!

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Halley>
Tube>
Roses>
Chalkdust Torture

What a friggin' quartet this was.

BUT, the ENTIRE set was nearly flawless. One of the best 90 minutes of continuous music these ears have ever had the pleasure to listen to.

Out-friggin'-standing.

The best first set of 2011 - easily - or in the top 5 for sure.

Oh my god. 

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Finishing set 2 of 9/4/11 Commerce City

Dick's 2011 started great with 9/2, 9/3 was a horrible dream I'm trying to forget, but 9/4 finishes the trio almost as good as 8/15 began the Chicago run.

Spectacular show.  

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9/4 Commerce City ************* (Absolutely INCREDIBLE First set! A PERFECT first set! Set 2 follows suit. Incredible show!!!)
Maze (OPENER!!!!!)
>Back On the Train (OUTSTANDING AND RAGING!)
>Rift (HOLY CRAP!)
>Bathtub Gin (15 minutes of the greatest Type I jamming ever heard)
The Way It Goes (Gillian Welch)
Halfway to the Moon (BEST VERSION YET!)
Gumbo (PERFECTION)
Halley's Comet (PERFECTION)
>Tube (WTF SEGUE FROM HALLEYS!)
>Timber (SHREDFEST)
>Roses are Free
>Chalkdust Torture (Wacky and Raging)
Rock and Roll (FIRE UPON FIRE UPON FIRE)
>Come Together (BEATLES! Unplanned!)
>Twist (Terrific full-band jamming. Low Rider jam!)
>Piper (TYPE II THERAMIN INSANITY!!!!! OUTER SPACE!)
>Harry Hood
Roggae (GORGEOUS peak!)
Ghost
>GUY FORGET
>Ghost Reprise
Walls of the Cave
Number Line

2011-09-03 Commerce City, CO

 Trudging my way through 9/3/11 this afternoon.

Golly, when the first set features Possum, Moma, Divided Sky, Ocelot, Funky B and Wolfman, I feel like going *YAWN*

Love those songs but I swear there have been 10 other first sets this year with the same songs. Switch it up guys, its getting stale!

Ok, gripes aside:

Possum - not necessarily memorable, but worth hearing once for Trey ripping it up going nuts with sustained notes ala Divided Sky
Moma - A really solid, really good version. I can't put my finger on it but this one felt like it had a bit more extra sauce than usual.
The Wedge - great, perfectly performed version. Very nice but nothing memorable at all.
Ocelot - AWESOME jam in this one! I thought the song portion was on the weaker side but the jam is must-hear.

Divided Sky - not a great one, imo. Nothing majorly wrong but it felt kind of stiff and stilted. I hate to say it, but I was going "is it done yet?".

Funky B
Axilla
Llama - all three were great but what you see is what you get. That's not bad to say, but you know they rock, you know they are gonna be HOT. Ya dig?

Fast Enough For You - at this point I was kinda clocking out of the set trying to keep my eyes open. This perked me up. Why is this such a rarity?! It was terrific!

Wolfman's Brother - Definitely THE set highlight next to probably Ocelot. Spectacular DARK and FUNKY jamming. Mandatory listening.

Ok, on to set 2. Does it get better from here? Set 1 was ok....but Idk, it was like Phish on autopilot or something. Just a boring set (which pains me to say!)

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So after that sleeper set 1, I hear good things about set 2.

It begins promisingly enough with a good-but-regular Down With Disease.

Disease doesn't really do anything unfortunately and just acts as a vehicle to get to Tweezer

And the award for Most Disappointing Segue goes to tonight's one into Tweezer

They are jamming Disease and Trey slyly throws in the Tweezer riff. Instead of following on and adjusting tempo, FISHMAN ripcords us and stops dead in his tracks!

Gah! That was infuriating! They had a perfect segue lined up and Fishman just totally screwed it...

Thankfully Tweezer gets to the goods QUICKLY, after a measly 3 and a half minutes.

Tweezer is awesome. Very grandiose and cinematic tonight. It slowly morphs from a straight on rager into a more uplifting and slightly ambient type of thing. Great pounding rhythms but with lots of church organ from Leo and Big Red giving us those lengthy sustained notes we all love

DIS IS SUM GOODE CHIT, YO

Getting a 1999 vibe here

For several minutes they milk this vibe and just slowly let it build. I've noticed in 2011 so far they have had a trend to just "jump to the goods" while kind of skipping the JOURNEY to said goods, if that makes sense.

Part of what I love about a good jam is the road it takes you on - the slow evolution from one musical idea to the next. Slowly things build and morph. They haven't done that too much in 2011. It's been like really, really good Fast Food Jams a lot of the time. Great and all but lacking that slow journey

This has that journey

By the 11 minute mark you'd swear this was a 1999 jam or something from 2000. That is a very good thing, lol

Slowly things get softer and more gentle. The rhythms continue but we are heading for "Big Cypress Sand" territory.

Wow, see what 2011 Phish can do in just 11 minutes of jam time if they put their mind to it?!

Yo this Tweezer was insane. This goes on the pedestal with the Gorge Rock and Roll or some of the Chicago jams.

Great stuff!

 

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Ok, final thoughts on 9/3/11 (Is it over yet?)

I did not really care for this show

On paper it looks great, but really just grab Ocelot and Wolfman and you can skip the rest of set 1

Set 2 has lots of things going on. The theme for this show was "Short but sweet". Lots of good, short jams. Lots of good segues.

Nowhere near classic and not extensively memorable, but set 2 is definitely worth at least 1 listen

I mean, there really isn't too much to rave about - and you guys know I like to rave

I don't see myself returning to this show ever outside of the highlights. I mean, it's all good, but its just...I don't know. Very hard to describe.

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9/3 Commerce City (Extremely uneven show. Set 1 is a snooze...Set 2 is pretty good. TWEEZER IS SPECTACULAR. Short but sweet is tonight's theme. Lots of goods in tiny packages. Get set 2)
Ocelot (terrific lengthy jamming)
FAST ENOUGH FOR YOU
Wolfman's Brother (NASTY, DARK, FUNKY! MANDATORY! TREY STRANGLES HIS GUITAR!)
Tweezer (ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE FLAWLESS 1999-type JAM! TOP 10 JAM OF 2011. AS GOOD AS ANYTHING FROM THE GORGE OR CHICAGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
>Golden Age (Short but SOARING! Starts to jam but Trey ripcords into LxL...)
>Limb By Limb (Again, short but SWEET! MAGICAL PEAK!!!)
Kill Devil Falls (11 minutes! Whale siren meltdown!)
>2001
>Light (INCREDIBLE SLOW SEGUE INTO DISEASE REPRISAL!!!!!!!!!!)
>Disease Reprise
Run Like an Antelope

 

2011-09-02 Commerce City, CO - Brought to You by the Letter "S"

9/2/11 Dick's

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER "S"!!!!!!

Ok, set 1 - wow, 94 minutes!

Other than song-selection wow factor, the first four tunes (Sample, Sparkle, Sloth, Sweet VA) were nothing more than just-pretty-good versions. Nothing memorable to make you stand up and take notice.

At that point, 20 minutes in, I was thinking this was going to be an "off" night, BUT, my favorite new-song-soon-to-never-return, Suskind Hotel, came and STOLE THE FRIGGIN SHOW!

From here on out the rest of set 1 was terrific. Suskind flipped some switch for them tonight! Basically, pretend the show begins with Suskind and you are all good

Suskind had a great energetic and spastic jam similar to the other recent versions. Extremely hectic and bombastic in a good way.
Strange Design was a perfect interlude for the beast to follow...

STASH! GET THIS STASH! STASH OF THE YEAR! THIS STASH IS INCREDIBLE! FRIGGIN AWESOME!

A lengthy jam that stays firmly Type I, but there is so much energy. The playing is perfect with nary a flub to be found and the guys make wonderful use of dynamics in this. Absolutely spectacular Stash. For real.

Sneakin Sally - this one kept the momentum up. It was absolutely as good as Stash. Had a nice Type II funk jam that is mandatory listening before segueing into the first Sparks since 1996!!!

They play Sparks flawlessly (surely rehearsed, no?) and segue out into a ripping Scent of a Mule.

Mule is never my favorite song to hear, but this one felt noteworthy. Just an excellent performance of it.

After a RED HOT Stealing Time and a Shine a Light laced with gorgeous playing from all, we head for a dark and disjointed Split Open and Melt.

We get a couple minutes of dark and nasty quasi-ambiant Type II, ala Charleston 2019. Grindy and gritty malevolence at its finest.

Jeez, this set just wont let up!

And of course after Melt, we have the perfect set closer - Squirming Coil

Wow, I don't feel like that was a hands-down best-of-year set, but that was surely in the top 10 of 2011, DEFINITELY.
Lots to love - just make sure to start with Suskind Hotel!

Set 2 to come....  

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Set 2

Beast of a set. Top 8 or so of this great year, easily. Nothing was too lengthy but the quality was there in spades.

Outstanding show overall. Good work, Phish 

It was great show. It wasn't out there like the Chicago shows were, but this was totally in the top heap of 2011 even still. Set 2 had mad flow and was just loaded with awesomeness. A great example that jams don't need to be 20 minutes to be fully loaded and worth hearing. Set 2 really, really cooked!  

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9/2 Commerce City** - (Begin straight at Susskind. SET 2 I ONE OF THE BEST OF THE YEAR! BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER "S"!)
SUSKIND HOTEL (SPECTACULAR!)
Stash (DANG! EXCEPTIONAL and dynamic jam! STASH OF THE YEAR!!!!!!)
Sneakin' Sally (FREAKIN SICK. SUPER FUNKY TYPE II.)
>SPARKS (!!!!!!FIRST SINCE 1996!!!!!!!!!)
>Scent of a Mule
Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan (HOLY HELL!)
Shine a Light
The Squirming Coil
Sand (Terrific Type I. HOLY FREAKING CRAP THAT PEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
>Simple (Gorgeous bliss, deep space Type II ambiance)
>Steam (OUTSTANDING HOLY FREAKING FIRE FROM THE SUN THIS IS SPECTACULAR!)
Soul Shakedown Party
Seven Below (Magical Jam!)
>Suzy Greenberg
>Scents and Subtle Sounds (EXPLOSION.PEAKS UPON PEAKS UPON PEAKS!!!!)
Slave to the Traffic Light (LONGEST SUSTAIN NOTE EVER PLAYED BY HUMANS)
Sanity
Sabotage

 

2011-08-17 Chicago, IL

Finally onto night 3 of Chicago 2011

8/17/11 Chicago

Set 1

Ok, I'm nearing the set break and so far this has been the least impressive set of the run. That is saying a lot considering it is still an extremely strong 2011 first set. Terrific song choice - Serious A for effort here - but the playing is on the rusty/hesitant side tonight.

No out and out blunders or anything, but Trey's fingers have some "sticky" moments and on the whole things don't feel as if they gel as effortlessly as the previous 2 shows.

That being said, while everythings has been "base-level-2011-excellent", the genuine highlights of the set have been:

Gumbo (ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. FLAWLESS. MAGICAL GUMBO!!!!!!!!!)
Divided Sky (Just. KEEPS. GOOOOIIINNNNGGG!!!!!!!!)
Bathtub Gin (Jam was slightly by numbers, but it was still amazing)

Those 3 are probably all you REALLY need of set 1.

A+ for effort for opening with damn Forbinbird, but it wasn't that good of a version. Again, A for effort because 1- hard song, 2- OPENER, 3- extreme rarity.
Major leniency for that but that still doesn't make it all that good.

Great Cavern to round out this set and a world-destroying First Tube to close it!

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 Crosseyed and Painless>
Several minutes of gorgeous Type II ambiance>
No Quarter

Yes! The X Factor from the previous nights returns!!!

You HAVE to hear that transition into No Quarter - it was slow, and perfect and flawless!

HOLY HELL

 

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8/17/11 Chicago #3

Ok, where to begin.

This was an incredibly odd show. This is probably the kind of show was absolutely balls-to-the-wall incredible to be at in person, but doesn't translate great to listening.

Set 1 had its awesome moments as I mentioned before, but set 2 was...

I don't know if it was good or just weird or if it sucked or was amazing.

For those that are unaware, I'm dubbing this The Medley Show

Set 2 was like 1 giant medley of songs strung together. 3 minutes of Ghost, 3 minutes of Caspian, Sleep tossed in there, a Tweeprise....

It was like they couldn't decide what they felt like playing and kept switching songs constantly.

The novelty factor ran out quickly for me.

Crosseyed>No Quarter>Timber>Tweezer>Prince Caspian (3 minutes!)>Piper

Now THAT was spectacular. If there's something to grab from this show, do NOT pass this sequence and set 1's Gumbo!!!!!!

Now, the rest of set 2...Dank Sinatra, anyone? LOL.

It was FUN as hell, I'll give it that, but while listening it just got annoying. I was just waiting for it to be over - started getting sick from all the transitions....

Ghost (3 MINUTES)>Makisupa>Sleep>Buffalo Bill>Golgi Apparatus (WORST VERSION EVER)

That sequence of Ghost through Golgi was maybe the most painful 20 minutes ever. It felt like 40.....

Granted, the following Antelope was SPECTACULAR, but Funky B and Show of Life were too little too late to save this crooked ship.

Freaking odd gig, man. A+ for out-of-the-box Phish fun and antics, but C+ for a listening experience, lol. 

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 8/17 Chicago (Would've been INCREDIBLE in person. Set 2 is SEGUE HEAVEN. TOTAL PARTY. Not a great listen but as a party its TOP NOTCH! :D )
Gumbo (FREAKING PERFECT SPECTACULAR 10/10)
Divided Sky
Alaska
Bathtub Gin
First Tube (HOLY MOTHER EFFING HELL ON FIRE)
Crosseyed and Painless (TYPE II AMBIANCE)
>No Quarter (THAT INCREDIBLE TRANSITION HOLY FREAKING HELL!)
>Timber (THAT SEGUE!, VOL. 2)
>Tweezer
>Piper (CROSSEYED REPRISE!)
>Makisupa Policeman (PAGES HOUSE)
Run Like an Antelope
Tweeprize

 

2011-08-16 Chicago, IL

Chicago #2

After the best-of-the-year first night, this one has some heavy shoes to fill!!!

Kicking off with maybe my favorite rarity, a good Dinner and a Movie into a Ha Ha Ha
Nice! That's definitely keeping the bar up

Then we get an absolute BEAST of a Chalkdust!

Chalkdust is always hot. This one is a step beyond. In the middle, They go - I'm gonna say anyways - Type II in the middle of a Type I jam.
That statement does not make logical sense. Listen to this version and you will know immediately what I'm talking about.
Trey goes nuts and starts jamming this lick that sounds like he's playing around with an Ebow or something. You'll know it when you hear it.
Cue the goods for a minute or 2 and then back to Machine Gun Paradise.

It's off the CHARTS awesome!!!!!

After that we get a rare Mexican Cousin - the perfect "intermission" before a refreshingly early-in-the-set Walls Of the Cave
As usual (gonna hear me say that a lot...) Walls is red hot. The set placement was great though - I'm tired of it being a closer Worked great here tonight!

Currently in the middle of it.

More to follow. Stay tuned  

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Got extremely distracted by family and had set 1 of 8/16/11 interrupted for the last 2 hours....

Currently resuming with a very nice Ocelot.

Where I left off before:

Runaway Jim
>Foam
I Didn't Know

RJ was terrific with a really nicely done chill tone to it. Very patient jamming. Extremely enjoyable!!!!
What's a RJ without a segue into Foam?

Foam was even better than Runaway Jim. An awesome, awesome version.

I Didn't Know brought some good laughter with a raucous vacuum solo

Now Ocelot is bringing that slow-jam, swampy kind of vibe. Just...patience is the word for this set, I guess. The guys are takign their time with the songs and just soaking into them. Check out the great soloing by Page underneath Trey's playing. Like listening to Bob Weir doing his rhythm-soloing thing behind Jerry

Awesome Ocelot. Awesomelot. Yes, I went there. Throw your pebbles and marbles, I don't care

 

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Currently in the middle of Theme From the Bottom


So, 8/15 is the benchmark. 8/15 was MAGICAL.

8/16 has moments (Disease>Twist) that come CLOSE to 8/15 but are still light years away.

Let me put it like this though - if 8/15/11 did not exist, this show - 8/16/11 - would easily be in the top 3 or 4 shows of the year so far.

Easily.

This comparison is a compliment to both shows. Night 1 was just so insane there is no hope of competing. Night 2 however is a perfect representation of where Phish is at in 2011 on a great night.

8/15 was a freak accident type of thing. The stuff you pray for but know is not gonna happen most nights.

8/16 is a perfect example of what you CAN realistically hope for on any given night in 2011.

Does any of that make sense to anyone?

 

 

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8/16 Chicago ** (8/15 was a freak accident show. THIS show is a proper example of the REALISTIC best to expect from Phish in 2011. Major compliment to BOTH shows :) SPECTACULAR SHOW!)
Dinner and a Movie
>Chalkdust Torture (MELTS DOWN BRIEFLY INTO TYPE II IN THE MIDDLE THEN TREY MACHINE GUNS BACK INTO OBVLIVION. INCREDIBLE VERSION!)
Mexican Cousin
Runaway Jim (SPECTACULAR jamming!)
>Foam (EVEN BETTER!)
I Didn't Know (VACUUM SOLO!)
Ocelot (Terrific and patient!)
The Wedge
Limb By Limb (SPECTACULAR! GOES TYPE I.5! INCREDIBLE LXL! GREATEST LXL EVER HOLY HELL!)
LET IT LOOSE
Down With Disease (22 MINUTES. TYPE II! Doesn't come close to 8/15/11 though. If 8/15 didnt exist this would be THE jam of 2011!!!!)
>Twist (SEE ABOVE)
Number Line (Incendiary Type I)
Theme From the Bottom
Golden Age (SUSTAINED NOTE OF THE GODS! Ambient dissolution...)
A Day in the Life
You Enjoy Myself (FUNKY DISCO BASS JAM)
Heavy Things (Odd placement but exceptional Trey solo)
Slave to the Traffic Light (Oh my god!)
Rocky Top (PLAY IT LEO!)

 

2011-08-15 Chicago, IL (WAVES>UNDERMIND>STEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 After a respite from listening for several days, I move on to 8/15/11, Chicago #1 - the "elements" show

I was holding out until I felt in the mood to watch the stream of it, but I finally gave in and decided to just listen instead.

Night 1 has a highly interesting setlist! Rarities and debuts, songs in unusual set placements.

I have high expectations for this one 

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Back On the Train - great opener. Amazing peak.

Rift - not a memorable version. Better ones in recent 2011 memories, but still a fine one.

Guelah Papyrus
Scent of a Mule
Jesus Just Left Chicago

All three were excellent picks. All played fine but nothing special, imo.

Wolfman's Brother - Now THIS is what I'm talkin about! CHECK OUT THIS JAM!!! I'd call this a perfect example of "Type 1.5"
They go far out but never reach space. They eventually mosey their way homeward very naturally without a hint of ripcording. A wonderful and "complete" jam! TERRIFIC!!!!!!  

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BABYLON BABY IS A GREAT TUNE AND THIS ONE HAS GREAT JAMMING! AWESOME STUFF!

Beautiful Reba

Alumni Blues - HOTTER THAN THE FRICKIN SUN HOLY SWEET BANANZA

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Made it through set I of 8/15/11 but set II has to wait for tomorrow.

I thought I was in the mood but I'm just not feelin' it tonight.

Forced listening is never good listening  

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8/15/11 Chicago - "Elements" 2nd set

Set 1 was great but didn't really jive with me for some reason. Just didn't "connect" with me.

This second set though is the bomb.

BUT, the major highlight....

WAVES

FRIGGIN

WAVES

HO-LEE-CRAP-ON-A-CRACKER

LIVE THIS WAVES

BREATHE THIS WAVES

DROWN IN THIS WAVES AND BE THANKFUL YOU DID SO

The rest of set 2 so far was great, but nothing beyond the best of 2011 so far. Sand and Light were terrific versions with great sections of Type II and terrific segues.

Dirt was great and unusually powerful.

BUT

Waves is tapping that hardcord X Factor.

BIG TIME.

And now that GENUINE segue into Undermind....

Holy freaking crap.

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Waves>Undermind

Sorry for the hyperbole. It was absolutely warranted.

My mouth is currently hanging askew and my face is numb and tingly.

Absolutely far and away the best performance (just these 2 songs, at least) of 2011.

For millennia to come, when people think of 2011 they will remember the Chicago Waves>Undermind 

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Please forgive me everybody....Final thoughts on the MONSTER show that is 8/15/11

Ok, so set 1 was up and down for me - terrific song selection, but some of the performances weren't anything special. But 2/3 of the set was definitely "we hittin' that rocket sauce tonight" level awesome

Set 2 - my goodness. Where to begin.

First off, if you want anything from this show, GET THE WAVES>UNDERMIND>STEAM.

PRONTO.

If you're not satisfied with this sequence and the incredible performances within, you are not a Phish fan. Plain and simple.

Now, the opening 1-2 punch of Sand>Light was downright terrific, but, the aforementioned trio was GODLY.
If this were any other show I'd be going banana sandwich bonkers about that awesome Sand>Light, but in light of things to come (unavoidable punnage....) , there is nothing to be said.

Waves>Undermind>Steam

Say it with me.

Waves>Undermind>Steam

Get the picture yet?

After Steam, Fire and Camel Walk were pretty excellent, but c'mon, you ain't gonna top that trio we go.

Silent In the Morning was just the song I didn't want and Harry Hood was a pretty bad version (though the terrific jamming ALMOST redeems it.)

Point is...

WAVES>UNDERMIND>STEAM

CAPEESH?
  

 

 In case it's still not clear enough, here's my Idiot's Highlight List for 8/15/11...

8/15 Chicago** (Inconsistent from song to song, hence not a higher rating. The highlights are better than ANYTHING else in 2011 so far though. Truly an X Factor show! "ELEMENTS" SET. GET WAVES>UNDERMIND>STEAM. GET WAVES>UNDERMIND>STEAM. GET FRIGGIN WAVES>UNDERMIND>STEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Wolfman's Brother (Sick Type 1.5!!!)
Anything But Me (MOST RECENT VERSION!)
Babylon Baby (Debut)
Reba (Beautiful!)
Alumni>Jimmy Page (ABSOLUTELY INSANE!)
Sand (SPECTACULAR Type I!!!)
>Light (PERFECT segue into. GREAT FUNKY TYPE II)
>Waves (FRIGGIN SPECTACULAR!!!!!! HOLY FREAKING CRAP MOST ROCKING WAVES EVER PLAYED. GOES TYPE II)
>Undermind (THAT INCREDIBLE GENUINE SEGUE FROM WAVES OH MY FREAKING GOD. TYPE II IMMEDIATELY. Dissolves into ambiance)
>Steam (EXCEPTIONAL. BEST STEAM YET!)
>Fire
Camel Walk
Harry Hood (Just for the terrific jam. Song portion is poor)

2011-08-12 San Francisco, CA

Onwards to Outside Lands 2011!!

This looks like a great straight-ahead-rock-show type of gig. That is fine by me (besides it being a festival setting).

Currently in the middle of this jazzy-yet-machine-gun-Trey Tweezer.

Great show so far! My "expectations" for this set are low, but that doesn't mean I expect poorness, just that I'm pretty sure I get what type of gig this is and that is totally cool by me

Energy out the wazoo tonight (as always - don't you get tired of me saying this? )

The Type I jamming is just terrific. There seems to be a little bit extra Rocket Sauce going on - things are just a tad more adventurous than the usual Type I, if that makes sense. Just lots of little moments that are making me perk my ears up and go "ooh, nice!"

And into Mound we go.

Thoroughly enjoying this first set. Had a crazy hard day un-bricking a driveway and then cleaning said pile of 400 bricks. Sometimes its nice to have a straightforward show that doesn't require a lot of thinking to go along with it

 

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Rock and Roll>Steam

THAT FREAKING SEGUE WAS PERFECT

 

Rock and Roll
>Steam
>Piper
>Roses are Free


That's it. Show over. That was the definite highlight. This sequence is what it will be remembered for. Holy crap what a face-melting sequence...

 

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8/12 San Francisco (Outside Lands Fest) (Terrific straight rock show but not really memorable. RR>Roses is MANDATORY)
Funky B
Moma Dance
Sample In a Jar (Dang!)
Possum (EXTRA ROCKET SAUCE!)
Tweezer (Extra saucy jamming!!!! Astonishing Type I)
>Mound
Suzy Greenberg (GO PAGE GO!)
Mike's Song (HOLY CRAP!)
Weekapaug Groove
Rock and Roll (FIRE)
>Steam (THAT SEGUE! Absolutely spectacular - highlight of show so far)
>Piper (Type II raging jazzy jamming!)
>Roses are Free
Julius (OH MY GOD)
Life on Mars
Birds of a Feather
Fluffhead
Number Line
Chalkdust Torture