2021-09-24 Wilmington, NC - T.A.B.

 Continuing TAB 2021 this fine Monday (ugh, is any Monday fine?!).

9/24/21 Wilmington is next up and it gets special note for being the final "proper" show of the tour featuring the singers/horns and typical TAB setlist.

That being said, here we go:

Set 1:

A fine Drifting eases us into the show before a spectacular Cayman Review follows and truly begins proceedings. Everyone is giving their all and this is truly an A++ rendition. Must hear!

After another nice Mozambique, we get a blazing hot 14 minute Everythings Right. We've still yet topped the incredible Portland version, but this one is as good as it gets without going "X Factor" on us. Just a smoking, molten guitar workout of the highest order. Definitely must hear!

Heavy Things cools us back down quickly. This version is lovely!!! I cant get enough of the flute!!!! That sounds so rad!!! Awesome version!

Quantegy continues the energetic-yet-laid back vibing of the set. Dark and ethereal, the keys and flute really shine on this one. Sometimes Quantegy sounds too "bare bones" for me. This is not one of those versions - its a mystical, swirling, late night psychedelic chillfest supreme!! Must hear!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!! ALL HAIL QUANTEGY!

All hail proper set construction!!!! Man, Liquid Time rising out of Quantegy works PERFECTLY!!!! It almost feels like one big "prog" piece where Quantegy was the intro section and then it launched into LT. That late night vibe of Liquid Time just pairs so perfectly with Quantegy.... And LT is performed flawlessly with extra mustard tonight. As with Cayman, just an A+ version all around. Stellar!

Alive Again reignites that latin heat once more. An absolutely stonking rendition, Im calling this must hear. This version friggin SMOKES!!! I mean, its just scalding hot!! Musically its exactly what you expect, it just has that extra intangible "something" about it like Cayman and Quantegy did. Absolutely smashing rendition. Wow!!!!

Firing. On. All. Cylinders.

Aw hell yea, Olivia! Lets friggin go! Tear it up!!! Must hear, this one feels longer than other with some excellent horn soloing and nasty wah vamping from Trey. Nasty!

Unexpected launch out of Olivia and into a red hot Pigtail. Awesome as anything else in this set. Smashing!!!!

Money Love and Change closes the set. Another molten hot version that just annihilates. Sick.


All in all, THIS SET RULES!!!! Honestly, this felt like the most front-to-back ass kicking, consistently high quality set since maybe opening night in Portland! That X Factor vibe is flowing for sure.

I would say Cayman, Quantegy>Liquid Time, Everythings Right and Money are all must hear while everything else is barely a notch below. A TERRIFIC set!!!!! 

Set 2

Fiery start to the set with a rocking Night Speaks to a Woman. Must hear!! Absolutely volcanic Trey on this sucker!! He is just going OFF!!!

After an absolute smashing and kinda rare And Flew Away, we jump into a nearly 15 minute Gotta Jibboo. From the outset this Jibboo just has that thing. Its got this massive energy about it - this is no laid back chill fest!!!! This sucker is HOT HOT HOT. The jamming is top tier. Robo Trey for days, just laying hard into that robowah.....thick and goopy and sludgy in the best way. This Jibboo is NASTY! MUST HEAR!!!!!!! Lots of sick Trey, tons of lengthy horn solos...by modern standards, this Jibboo goes OUT THERE!!!!

A+++++++++++++++++

After a nice Evolve to cool us down, we get a MUST hear Alaska!! Chunky and nasty and just X Factor all over!!!!!

As with Alaska and Jibboo, the following 12 minute Simple Twist is absolutely must hear. Total nuclear bomb explosion!!!! Absolutely ridiculous!!!!!! Not much else to say - just a massive 12 minute explosion!!!!

The set concludes with a sick About to Run and a typically excellent Blaze On.

After the acoustic encore we get Bouncing and Wave to close the show. Nice choices!

All in all this was a SMASHING show!!! Absolutely terrific and maybe the best, top to bottom, since opening night in Portland!!! For set 2, Jibboo, Alaska, Simple and Night are all must hear. Just KILLER.

Hot damn what a show....

On to COVID TAB!

2021-09-22 Charlottesville, VA - T.A.B.

 TAB 9/22/21 Charlottesville

Set 1

The set opens with a nice robowah Blaze On before Olivia and Moz hit us with a blast of energy.

In Rounds is a truly excellent type 1 reading ala New Haven, but the first must hear of the night is the barnburner Alive Again. Trey just wails and everything is right with the world.

Following another sexy Moma Dance comes another nuclear bomb Set Your Soul Free. X Factor all over this one, the whole band whips up a massive psychedelic fire brew of energy and just explode the song. Must hear. A+!!!!

Following a hot Camel Walk we get a holy mother of godzilla x factor destruction where did this come from nuclear bomb rendition of About to Run. Truly a rare NEXT LEVEL reading, where was THIS Trey all Summer?! An absolute must hear at all costs rendition.

Another must hear Money ends this first set.

All in all, this set felt pretty "average excellent" for the most part, but my freaking god you NEED Set Your Soul Free and that insane About to Run in your life. Maybe Money as well.  

Set 2

Another strong 10 minute Jibboo opens set 2. Nothing specia but solid enough.

However, the following 13 minute Carini is a gnarly, destructive, x factor BEAST!!! MUST HEAR!!!!! Dake, heavy and CRUSHING!!!! HOLY CRAP!!!! They jam this hard - it goes borderline type 2, imo. Absolutely insane Carini.... X FACTOR INSANITY!!!!! No, seriously, I think that might have just been THE jam of the tour so far....

After a nice Ether Sunday, Valentine and Rise/CT trio, a hot Curlew into a ripping Ghost close the set. Ghost kills once again. Definitely must hear!

Nice encore of Life into another hot Sand

All in all, for set 2 you NEED the Carini and that Ghost but the rest is merely enjoyable. This felt like the "least impressive" of the 5 shows so far. That sounds bad but its not a knock - they have all been EXCELLENT. But if I was gonna nitpick and rate them, this one would be bottom of the group so far.

  

2021-09-21 Philadelphia, PA - T.A.B.

 TAB 9/21/21 Philadelphia

Set 1

Excellent and all too rare Corona to open the show. Followed by another great version of Mozambique to keep the energy going! Moz is Moz but dang does this version KILL!!!! SICK!!!

From the get go, the energy is HIGH tonight, even moreso than New Haven. This feels closest to the opening night in Portland - there is just that vibe in the air for whatever reason.

The goods keep coming with an ultra groovy Cayman Review. This one never strays far from the pack, but I would definitely throw this in the highlight pile - groove for days, killer organ and horn solos...this version RULES!!!!! Im gonna call this one must hear!

Uber funky 46 Days keeps the goop going nice and strong. A bit too ordinary for me to call it must hear, but it does exactly what you expect and does it excellently.

Another excellent version of Valentine picks the tempo up very nicely. Love this song and its such a joy to listen to.... definitely not as good as New Haven but still solid.

Lonely Trip is superb as ever - my god do I adore this TAB arrangement. Im gonna call this must hear. It brought a tear to my eye.

Gotta Jibboo saves us from melancholy with a fiery and funky rendition as good as any other. An absolute delight!!! Must hear!!! Love the horns beneath Treys solo!!! And Trey is just melting faces....

Following that we get...the proper TAB show debut of Evolve!! AND HOLY CRAP THIS IS AMAZING!!! I WILL FOREVER BE DISAPPOINTED BY THE PHISH VERSION AFTER THIS!!!!! THE LATIN RHYTHMS!!! THE BACKING VOCALS!!!

THE FRIGGIN FLUTE SOLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good god guys, its like....go listen to the TAB version of Oblivion from 2023. Itll make you go "oh crap, thats what Oblivion should sound like!!!"

This is like that on steroids.
TAB+EVOLVE=LIFE.

Absolutely CRUSHING Money Love and Change sees the set to a conclusion. Not much to say - it kills! X Factor Magic! Total ANNIHILATION!

All in all, another kickass TAB set as expected. This definitely had the best "feel" of any set since the Portland debut (its subtle, but its something different than energy, which New Haven definitely had!). Just everyone sounds extra PUMPED tonight again. Or something like that. Wonderful!!

Id say the set 1 must hears are Cayman, Lonely Trip, Jibboo, Money and of course that mind blowing Evolve!!!! 

Set 2

15 minute Everythings Right to open set 2. Super mega late night ultra groove on this one. Get down with your bad self! Total robofunk annihilation. Meltdown alert!! Get it Trey!!!! Must hear!!!

The heat continues with the first Simple Twist Up Dave of the tour. Firebomb. Must hear.

Spin is a bluesy vortex of insanity! Must hear! Trey EXPLODES!

Ghosts of the Forest and Silver Light are both creative setlist calls, but unfortunately neither go anywhere or produce particularly noteworthy results. Shame! First true stumble of the show.

Thankfully Twist - my favorite late show set killer - comes along and provides the much needed type 1 fire to reignite proceedings. Not must hear, but definitely an EXCELLENT "guitar god Trey" reading.

And they keep it going swiftly with Sand! The uber-groove of ER returns big time. Lay into it, Dezron! Absolutely MUST HEAR! This thing goes NUCLEAR!!!!!! FANTASTIC!!! LETS GO!!!!! And with that, the set proper comes to a close.

The excellent When the Words Go Away and a nice More are both done acoustic before solid versions of Heavy Things And Push On to send us home

All in all, I think New Haven had the better setlist and was the more consistent show, but I also feel this show reacher higher heights, if that makes sense. For set 2 grab ER, Spin, Simple and Sand.

Good stuff  

2021-09-19 New Haven, CT - T.A.B.

 9/19/21 New Haven

Set 1

The show opens with a ripping 12 minute robo funk waterfall delay SYSF. Absolutely smashing, totally must hear. Nuclear!!!

After a hot Olivia, we get another red hot Alive Again. It doesnt top the Portland version but it gets in the ballpark.

Ghost is a smokeshow - guitar god Trey comes out to play and faces are melted. Must hear.

Liquid Time is another must hear. It sounds super rehearsed and album ready. Just terrific!

I Never Left Home follows and is basically an extended psychedelic robofunk jam. Great stuff but maybe not essential.

Set 1 concludes with an excellent 12 minute version of Night Speaks to a Woman. Sick version, must hear.

All in all, this was an excellent, rocking set much more in line with the Portland show. Great setlist shakeups!!! Still searching for more "x factor" level renditions ala Portland, but this was still totally excellent through and through!!!
Grab SYSF, Ghost, Liquid and Night!!! 

Set 2

Set 2 begins with a MUST HEAR In Rounds!!! Total perfection, this is what a "perfect" version, song and jam, sounds like. Extra mustard all over this. A++

The heat continues into the following Camel Walk. I wont call it must hear, but it totally blazes for sure. Pure fire.

And into a 12 minute Sand. And it is X Factor Magic all the way baby! Totally must hear, I think it tops the excellent Boston version! Starting slow and spacey before slowly working to a massive and thunderous extended peak EXPLOSION. Essential listening!!!!

The fire continues with a raging Curlew. Trey goes full on robot nuclear annihilation on this sucker. Good lord, someone get me some cool rag!

And from there we move perfectly into the wonderfully trippy Quantegy for said cooloff.....7 minutes of excellent psychedelic noodling ending with a great segue into a strong yet ordinary Drifting. Great stuff!!

An excellent and rare Traveler gives way to Mr. Completely to close the set. Must hear, its absolutely raging and solo filled as expected.

Ether Sunday and First Tube encore.

All in all this was a HOT show with a terrific setlist - great to see the "rarer" songs slotted in!!! For set 2 I would say In Rounds, Sand and Mr. C are all must hear but the whole thing really killed!! An excellent set and a better show than Boston, imo

 

2021-09-18 Boston, MA - T.A.B.

 9/18/21

Set 1

The show opens with a sick, "soft rock" version of Shine rearranged for horns and vocals. Very cool and unique and a completely different vibe to the "rock track" album version. Must hear.

12 minute Blaze On in slot 2, this one is all Trey. Absolutely killer slow burn kind of jam. Must hear. No, really, this is sick.

After a deightful Magilla and a standard Cayman we launch into Sand. Sand is INSANE! Trey goes full on nuclear bomb, slowly wrenching bent notes from his guitar like a wailing madman. Abs must hear. 10/10. Nuts.....

Valentine sounds terrific and allows us to collect our melted faces from the floor. A really, truly excellent version. Maybe not must hear, but still awesome. Same for the following 46 Days - it doesnt reach the X Factor heights of Blaze or Sand, but of course it more than gets the job done.

Set 1 ends with a blazing Push On Til The Day. Borderline must hear, it rips, but then again, dont they all?


All in all, another great set! Bit of a different vibe to night 1. Felt much more "late night" or something. Kind of laid back in a subtle way. Very cool. Awesome stuff. Definitely grab Shine, Sand and Blaze On!!!

 

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with a ripping 10 minute robo groove Carini. Id call this must hear - a warmup of monster TAB versions soon to come, but major ground is covered in the relatively brief time frame! This one is all over the place!

Remember the late night vibe I mentioned? The following Plasma dives head first into that! A terrific, groovy, chilled out funk kind of jam, all low key and slow burning in the best way. Sick.
As with Carini, it feels like a teaser of the mammoth versions soon to come.

The following Pigtail is MUST HEAR!!!! An absolute friggin PARTY ala Suzy Greenberg, you get dueling horns, organ solo, the works. A++++ album ready version. Hot damn!

As with Plasma, Alaska lays hard into that late-night vibe turning in a nicely relaxed version that even gets a little strange with a weird kind of alien percussion section in the middle. Interesting.

But not as interesting as the following 10 minute Money, Love and Change!! This sucker kills!!! Total jam beast, killer.

Gorgeous Show of Life into a hot About to Run close the show.


All in all, this was an excellent show, though I would definitely say it was slightly "lesser" when compared to opening night in Portland. Strong overall, just nowhere near as much mind-blowing going on. And that's fine, this was still a great show of great music!

For set 2 Id say Plasma, Carini and Pigtail are what you need

 

 

2021-09-17 Portland, ME - T.A.B.

 So I played the final 6 2021 TAB shows last year as a lead in to my Fall 2021 play through. This time Im going whole hog and just playing the whole dang tour - it probably deserves it

This morning I begin TAB2021 with:

9/17/21 Portland

Set 1 -

First Tube with horns/orchestration is a wonderful opener and if you havent heard such a version, you REALLY need to! Such a great twist on the standard formula that really elevates it!!

Things immediately gain some serious steam with a fiery-hot Alive Again making me think of a latin-tinged Steam (though more uptempo) and a friggin BLAZING Camel Walk.

Id call both must hear. Wow! Camel Walk in particular just goes nuclear with fireball heat and blaring horn solos abound. Dang.

Like First Tube, Ocelot is another one given a fresh coat of paint. Ultra groovy with the latin feel again and the horn section giving such a sick vibe. Plus the, dare I say, sexy backing vocals This one is thick and goopy like maple syrup!
Killer.

After a nice breather for Love Is What We Are, we get the newly revived Olivia (as of early 2020) to kick things back up several notches. Man, does this song kick some tail or what?! What a sick groove and melody.... At the risk of calling everything must hear.... Look, this is BAD ASS AND YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT!

A blazing Set Your Soul Free keeps the jet-engine momentum going strong. I cant stop headbanging - so much energy! Maybe not truly must hear, but its a killer type 1 rager as good as anything else so far.

Dark and Down is, well, dark and down! Great stuff, Trey lets it rip. Not much else to say.

The penultimate song of set 1 is a very feisty Mozambique. Golly does this sound fresh or what (I guess it would after pounding Phish shows, lol). KILLER. Gotta love the dang horns and the latin rhythms and the wonderful, sun-shiny feel-good vibes!

Rise/Come Together closes the set. Not the closer people wanted, im sure, but who cares. I love the song and the extra groove and soul that TAB gives it really makes it POP in a way it often doesnt with Phish. Even if you aren't a fan of the song as played by Phish, check out a TAB version - you may be surprised. I could actually see this working great on a TAB album with full-on production and the works.
A spectacular version with a sick Trey solo. Must hear!

All in all, set 1 was a raging success. They came out to kill, and kill they did. SO. MUCH. ENERGY. And good vibes galore, my goodness. I would say Alive Again, Olivia, Rise/CT and that nutzo Camel Walk are what you NEED to hear, but golly...its like trying to compare diamonds or something. Just fantastic music from start to finish. 

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with a killer 17 minute Everythings Right! Holy mother of volcanic robo destruction!!! MUST HEAR!! RED ALERT!!! MELTDOWN TREY IN PROGRESS!!!!

What else am I supposed to say?! They opened set 2 with a nuclear bomb!

After some percussion zaniness to see us out, they move swiftly and launch into a powerful and driving Gotta Jibboo. Aw yea, Trey hits the perfect whale siren and its ON. This Jibboo is PHENOMENAL!! X FACTOR MAGIC! MUST HEAR!!! 10 OUTTA FRIGGIN 10!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!

Get your radiation suits on because the nuclear holocaust continues! Curlew's Call is 13 minutes of spastic insanity - Trey going bonkers, drum solos, everyone just EXPLODING non stop... Must hear yet again!!!!

Finally we get a chance to catch our breath with Ether Sunday. Chill reggae-jazz? This is freakin nice.

After a firebomb Burlap Sack (see Curlew), comes something I didnt expect. Im no stranger to TAB playing Moma Dance, but I realize now I havent actually heard a version the singers and horns until now. And holy pornography on a cracker there's a RUSTLE IN MY JIMMIES! Good lord I never knew a song could sound so X rated! The version itself isnt anything crazy tonight but good golly if you havent heard one of these renditions, you absolutely NEED to!

Up next is the first proper-TAB-show debut of I Never Needed You Like This Before. Stronger versions soon to come, Trey still manages to give a great taste of what is in store several shows dow the line.

Twist. See above. 12 minutes. Robo funk groovefest. Killer.

Life and a nice rocking Tuesday send us out.


Holy moly guys this show was FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!!! I loved it top to bottom!!! Just energy and FIRE out the wazoo, and man I forgot how good the horns and extra vocals make some songs sound....So much terrific music this first night...for set 2, you absolutely need the ER>Jibboo and Curlew for sure.

2021-10-03 New York City, NY - J.F.A.T.

 Took me a month, but today I conclude the 2021 Jon Fishman's Almost TAB run of shows (then I can restart Fall 2021! )

10/3/21 New York City, NY

Set 1 -

Back On The Train - A truly wonderful Type I reading. Check out Dezron's killer playing and Ray's keys give a terrific new feel to it. Love the percussion as well. Super colorful sounding! Awesome!!! Red hot on all fronts. A+++

The Moma Dance - Yet another Super Moma!!! This one is roughly 20 minutes. The first 3 minutes, before the vocals even enter, are SICK! This doesn't even sound like Moma - it sounds like something else! The friggin' bongos, Dezron's INSANE grooving!!! Jeez.... Around the 7 minute point, the jam gets quiet-like and Trey takes the first solo. Strong Type 1 ensues. Following some moments of spastic interplay between everyone, around the 11 minute mark Trey kicks on the RoboWah and things get even more heated! Around 14 minutes, just as you think the jam is gonna stay "in it's lane", Trey sets a whacky looper and some very odd, funk-psych (whatever the hell you wanna call it) ensues. Ray is getting things super heated with new motifs over on the keys, Dezron is keeping that damn groove on LOCK like Mike on a 1999 Sand, and the jam is just exploding with fire and intensity. Overall, this isn't the most out-there thing ever played, but it's 20 minutes of purer FIRE with a large dose of colorful weirdness thrown in as well. Wow!!! The final few minutes see one of the melti-downiest meltdowns in all of guitar meltdowns!!! MELTING GUITAR FIRE!!! MUST HEAR!!!!

Undermind - Undermind up next, and, what do you want me to say?! It crushes! Dezron, of course, sounds spectacular throughout! Nothing you wouldn't expect. Red hot Type 1 of the blazing volcano variety but ultimately not that UNIQUE. Killer, still.

Ocelot - 15 minutes!!! What the hell!! ULTRA FUNKY!! Get it, Dezron!!!! MUST HEAR!!! VERY UNIQUE!!! THIS GETS SUPER DARK AND LATE NIGHT!!!! ALMOST SCARY!!!! FREAKING AWESOME!!! X FACTOR MAGIC!!! MUST HEAR MUST HEAR MUST HEAR!!!

YO. TYPE II OCELOT. THIS IS MASTERFUL. DROP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND GO LISTEN TO THIS RIGHT NOW.

Set Your Soul Free - Raging 15 minute beast! Must hear!!! It does some super amazing chill-fire kind of jamming. Super, super-stretched Type I I guess, but it's absolutely must hear!!! A++++++

Dark and Down - Killer as anything else in the set. Slow, powerful, bluesy guitar fun. HOLY FREAKING CRAP THAT MELTDOWN PEAK!!! MOLTEN GUITAR ANNIHILATION. SWEET MOTHER OF MERCY SOMEONE PUT THAT AXE OUT OF IT'S MISERY!!! MUST HEAR!!!


All in all...my goodness....Set 1 was incredible. Moma might be a bit "light" on substance for those averse to excessive Type 1 groove-jamming, but I thought it was terrific. Ocelot is X Factor ridiculousness. Easily the most out-there Ocelot I have ever heard in my life. MUST HEAR in every way, shape and form. Set Your Soul Free was super, super strong Type 1 that hinted at weirder waters but never went there. Dark And Down was a friggin' nuclear bomb. You NEED to hear that at least once....

My goodness...what a set....

Set 2

Sand - Turn this up loud and sink into the groove.... Only 11 minutes, this one isn't really anything all that special, but of course it's still excellent. Think of this as a warmup....Jesus christ, that final couple of minutes.....

Everything's Right - 36 MINUTE SUPER BEHEMOTH!!!! What the hell?! The song itself begins ultra-CHILL. It proceeds as expected. Right around the 6 minute mark, the proper jam begins with Trey jumping on the robowah. Dezron picks up on a motif Trey is doing and that becomes the new groove. This proceeds until roughly 14 minutes. The jam starts to get quieter and more late-night sounding, with everyone doing circular, repeating motifs. Trey is laying hard into his bleep-bloop robo sound and the whole thing is a swirling mess of rhythm and groove. This is incredible. Around 16 minutes, Trey begins doing ridiculous, hyperspeed delay patterns!!! He sets a loop of this and we are off to the races!! Ray solos along and the jam is getting into the ROBOT SQUIGGLES!!!! Meanwhile, Fishman is still keeping the latin-jazz vibe going, but the whole thing sounds like a spacey mess of robo craziness!!! Full blown, genuine, Type 2, boys and girls. Around the 19 minute mark, an insane section happens where Trey begins an ascending pattern. Everyone else locks in and we are off to the sky....Around the 22 minute mark, the craziness subsides completely. The whole jam quiets right down. Cyro comes to the fore with excellent and colorful percussion accenting the stop-start rhythm the band has settled into. This is freaking SICK. This stop-start section lasts for a very long time. It very slowly spends its time in bleep-bloop land, slowly building back the intensity until around the 30 minute mark when proper, slow-groove guitar-fire soloing resumes. My god, this is nuts....It basically rages as expected to a conclusion....


Wow, what to say. Of course that was must hear. That was probably tied with 10/2/21's Mr. Completely suite as THE piece of music from these shows. Absolutely terrific from start to finish, it never felt lacking for ideas or overly "vampy". I really, really love the "full" feeling of the jamming in these shows - in Phish it SOMETIMES feels like Trey soloing atop everything, but in these jams it really feels like everyone is always super locked in tight with each other and the whole band is playing "as one", so to speak.....But yea, that Everything's Right was a damn masterpiece. Genuine GOAT contender....


Lonely Trip - This honestly made me shed a tear. My god, Ray's piano is outstanding on this - it will send chills down your spine. Lonely Trip is Lonely Trip, but until I hear a better version (haven't heard a strong Phish one), this is the GOAT, as far as I'm concerned. If you pick a version of Lonely Trip to hear forever, it will definitely be this one. 10/10, A+++++++++++++ Gorgeous in the extreme.

I Never Left Home - HOLY CRAP THIS GROOVES. This is sick. This is freaking awesome. Super, ultra-dark and nasty, crazy robo-delay annihilation from Trey. GODZILLA STOMP DESTRUCTION. GET IT! MUST HEAR!

>Carini - I Never Left Home melts down into a massive, 13 minute, headbanger's paradise reading of Carini. The freaking POWER behind this!!! This Carini is heavy like a 20 ton weight!!! Trey proceeds to go on an absolute TEAR!!! Listen to him rip this thing to shreds!! And then listen to Dezron just annihilating everything in sight like his bass is a nuclear-powered bazooka cannon!!! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!! A++++++ MUST HEAR!!!! FREAKING KICK ASS IN THE EXTREME!!!!


And with that, the set comes to a close..... My god. The entire thing was balls-to-the wall. The WHOLE effing set was must-hear, pretty much. ER is legendary for a reason, Lonely Trip is likely the greatest ever played (that I've heard so far), INLH>Carini is the stuff scientists studied to learn how to create nuclear weaponry....



Acoustic encore:

Strange Design - Acoustic Trey is Acoustic Trey, but this was oh so perfect and wonderful. A+

Backwards Down the Number Line - Good stuff!

At this point, the legendary James Casey comes out to join Trey!!!

Evolve - Full electric band again. Yo, the sax soloing is SICK!!!! Must hear!!!

Rise/Come Together - GOAT STATUS! GOAT STATUS!! JAMES CASEY ON VOCALS AND SAX!! THIS SEND CHILLS DOWN MY ARMS!!! FREAKING AWESOME!!! You can feel the power in the chorus - how obvious they are playing the song as a "statement" at the end of this run of shows. Incredible!!! MUST HEAR!!!

A Life Beyond the Dream - And how the hell else were they supposed to end this magical run of shows. Good lord....
 

2021-10-02 New York City, NY - J.F.A.T.

 Onwards to show #5!

10/2/21 New York City

Set 1

46 Days - Opener once more. For whatever reason, things dont feel quite as magical yet and we end up with a strong merely "average great" version. Gets cooking good in the back half. Listen for Dezron laying waste throughout! Great stuff! Gets stronger th longer it goes. Awesome ending.

Tube - WHY HADNT THEY PLAYED THIS YET!!! THIS IS FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!! Of course they lay into this one HARD. 12 minutes long, its an endless series of robo wah explosions, porno vamping and Dezron absolutely tearing it up like a mother effer. This is incredible.. my god ...

In Rounds - 11 minutes?! Holy crap this has no business being this kickass. Again, listen to Dezron just kill throughout. Gotta love Ray's organ soloing. He tears it up for a solid 2 minutes or so with Trey doing robo wah bursts behind him. Slowly Trey creeps in, dropping in those waterfall delays at the perfect time to stellar effect. At this point, Ray backs off and Trey lets go with a perfectly laid back, bluesy kind of solo. All feel, not flash. God this is killer. Then at the 6 minute mark it goes Type 2...FRIGGIN IN ROUNDS GOES TYPE 2. The jam slowly morphs into this ultra chill, slow and quiet, semi-ambient jam. They completely deconstruct it down to almost nothing!!!!!! Lots of watery guitar and perfectly placed piano. It almost develops a dark vibe! That creaking metal effect from Cyro is pretty spooky. THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!!
I mean, we get to a point where the drums drop out except for very light rim shots/hi hat to keep time. You can hear Dezron pushing this thing - he reintroduces the bass line perfectly and the guys take a minute to slowly build back into it! Eventually we are building back to the funk, super slowly and organically!!!!! Trey spatting out hot leads once more. THIS WAS FRIGGIN X FACTOR MAGIC!!! THIS WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST JAMS I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!!! HOLY FREAKING CRAP THIS IS MANDATORY LISTENING!!! HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!? 

Gotta Jibboo - 11 minutes and what a perfect choice out of that whack ass In Rounds! Really laying on the chill to great effect, the extra percussion and Ray's organ sound awesome. It quickly evolves into the hottest, raging, most fire from from the sky Jibboo you've ever heard. Pure volcanic heat. Insane....

Cayman Review - Great to hear! Anothr one not played yet. Great stuff and rocks awesome, but its rather short and ends up being inessential. Its excellent, but you dont need to rush out to hear it.

Blaze On - 16 minutes. Spectacular version loaded with x factor magic. A+++. Must hear!!!

WHAT A FRIGGIN SET! YOU NEED TO HEAR IN ROUNDS!

Set 2

Party Time - Short and sweet. Nothing remotely spcial.

Ghost - 20 minute Ghost! Hell yea! The jam wastes no time getting to that "dark funk" place right from the get-go. Again (and I'm sure you're sick of me screaming this), listen to Dezron!! Man, he was he the greatest replacement we could've hoped for or what?! Love hearing Ray and Trey solo "together" throughout. Ray begins on the organ then eventually moves over to piano, causing the jam to start to move towards "true" Type II. Around 6:30, Cyro starts his sleigh-bell ringing and Trey sets a loop. We are in orbit. He starts to use his backwards-guitar effect and delay pedals to awesome result. At the 8 minute mark, the jam rounds a corner! The tempo picks up and things start to get GOOPY! That loop is still going in the background. Trey is doing ultra-murky and swampy vamping with his wah pedal. Ray is doing killer up-and-down lines all over his organ. This is sick. For the next couple minutes, the intensity keeps slowly building until we end up in a spastic jazz-funk rave of sorts. Trey is totally laying this section out, letting everyone else pick up the slack. Sink into the groove, you won't escape.....Around 11:45, Ray backs off and Trey steps back in. He begins a repeating motif that everyone latches onto and causes Fishman to once again change the rhythm. The jam now has a more "driving" feel, but it still remains funky. Hard to explain. By 14 minutes, Dezron is holding down the melodic anchor, leading Trey to just let loose. My. Freaking. God. THAT GROOVE!!! From the 15 minute point, or thereabouts, the jam has built to a white-hot, rock show intensity with a heavy latin-funk undertone. Trey is strangling his guitar, going for angular lead lines that are like needles in the ears rather than melodically pleasant, lol. Backwards guitar psychedelic meltdown at 15:30!!! Holy crap let's go!!! After this short burst of insanity, Trey returns to the riff that Dezron is holding steady for a moment. But quickly he goes "nah, I'm not done just yet" and returns to the lead area. I can't stop headbanging. IMPACT IS IMMINENT!!! GUITAR MELTDOWN!! Unfortunately, we are denied release and a true "peak" never really occurs. The meltdown just slowly shifts gear back into the Ghost riff and the crazy jam dies a very slow and deliberate death....

MUST HEAR MUST HEAR MUST HEAR MUST HEAR MUST HEAR!!!!!!!! THAT WAS FRIGGIN INSANE!!!

>Mr. Completely - Segue into an 18 minute Mr. Completely!!! AND TREY ALMOST NAILS THE INTRO FOR ONCE!! This sucker is like a guided missile - total ROCK SHOW energy and (mostly) tightness The jam begins quickly, with Trey backing off and doing creative vamp work. It's like a train barrelling down the tracks at 100mph ready to demolish everything in sight. At 3 minutes, Trey begins a plucky little motif - Cyro and Ray pick up on this while Dezron holds steady on the rhythm. Trey lays back and Ray gets a chance to play a very nice solo, all about note "placement", full of repeating motifs that again loop back to Trey. And they build it together. At the 5 minute mark, Trey starts doing some awesome, heavy string bending (you'll know it when you hear it), that paves the way for him to let it rip. Taking his time, throwing a myriad of "motifs" out there, over and over, Ray once more locks in and solos along in unison (as best as one can). Dezron is still holding down the fort like the Queen's favorite knight. Around 6:30, Trey introduces some robo FX, some backwards FX, delays, etc. But he is choosing his spots and letting it all happen naturally and tastefully. Patience is the word here - there is not a hint of rushing this thing! Robo wah in place. around the 8 minute mark, we approach a natural peak!!! Trey begins this cool ascending motif and Fishman picks up on it, accenting the right beats with heavy cymbal smashing and perfectly placed cannon-fire drum fills!!!!! The jam proceeds to start to get dark. Spooky organ, ultra-funky robo-vamping, Dezron still locked in hardcore.....TThe tempo is still the same upbeat groove we began with, but there is a darkly chill undercurrent to it all. Check out Fishman around 9:45 still quasi-leading this damn thing with his "lead drumming". All throughout, aroud 9:45 to 11 minutes, Trey has the robo-honker effect on and he creates an incredibly sick stoccato groove motif. Ultra-synthetic and robotic, this thing will smash your face to the ground with it's danceable intensity!!!! By 11:30 he turns off the robo honk deluxe and the whole jam suddenly gets a more laid-back, latin-robot vibe going!!!! This is friggin' unique!!!!! I've never heard another jam like this!!!! WELCOME TO BLEEP-BLOOP FUN TIMES, SENOR!!! By 13 minutes, the Bleep Bloop army is reigning supreme. I think Trey has set a bleep-bloop loop but I'm not entirely sure! X FACTOR MAGIC! X FACTOR MAGIC! X FACTOR MAGIC!

WE ARE IN SPOOKY SCARY BLEEP BLOOP WORMHOLE HELL!!! PERFECT FOR HALLOWEEN!!!

At 15:30, the jam comes to a complete stop aside from strange percussion and sound effect samples!!!! What is this, Chilling Thrilling or something?!?!?!?!?

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!?! IS THIS A PERCUSSION SOLO NOW?!?!?! THE HELL?! IS THAT CYRO SINGING LATIN?!?!??!?!?

AND THEN THIS LEADS BACK INTO PARTY TIME!!! I AM AT A COMPLETE LOSS FOR WORDS!!!!!

>Party Time jam/Mr. Completely Reprise - So Mr. Completely morphed into this strange sound effect/percussion solo/latin hellscape psychedelia mishmash of insanity, only to then come back from the grave with a return to the Party Time feel. And from here, it's all smiles. Trey doing awesome delay work again. It does it's thing splendidly then leads back into Mr. Completely reprise.

28 minutes. 28 minutes of life-altering music. That was better than the 46 Days>Blaze On (51 minutes) or anything else you can shake a stick at. This was officially the measuring mark to conquer. I cannot overstate how ridiculous this was.

Shade - Shade is up next and gives us the damn breather we need. My brain is still a puddle of mush pooling in the bottom of my skull.

Twist - 11 minute, ultra goopy and funky Twist up next! This Twist is killer. It's total robo-wah funk annihilation. It basically stays in it's lane for the duration, getting hotter and stranger and grimier and stronger until it's conclusion! Spectacular Twist!! Must hear!! My goodness!


And the solo acoustic encore returns:

When The Words Go Away - Wow. What a great song!! I need to add this to my listening repertoire. Terrific version as well. Heartwrenching....

Theme From the Bottom - Good stuff! Who is playing the 2nd acoustic? Or does this just have terrific stereo separation?!

More - is More

First Tube - Is First Tube



Wow...All in all....my god. What a friggin show. This just might have been the best one yet! That Mr. Completely suite was absolutely the strongest piece of improv of the 6 shows so far. Just mind blowing x factor weirdness. 

2021-10-01 Washington, D.C. - J.F.A.T.

 Been a couple weeks and I've just been too busy to keep going with my "2021 Weekend Review" series at the moment.

Changing that today!

So I've already heard Summer 2021, now I'm working through the notable TAB shows.
I did 9/25 Charlotte and 9/26 Asheville (No horns/singers) and 9/28 Pittsburgh (No horns/singers, + Fishman on drums).

Three more Fishman shows to go then I can restart Fall 2021 properly with context

The first three shows blew my mind. I think Charlotte and Asheville are a perfect duo - seriously, it's like one big show over the course of two nights with no repeats between them. The Pittsburgh show went even further but was a lot more "lopsided" and top heave due to the 51-minute opening duo of 46 Days into Blaze On Set two was great but stood no chance, lol

So to cut to the chase, here's 10/1/21 Washington, D.C.

Set 1:

Sand - 14 minute rager to open. Terrific, grimy, patient and dark! This almost feels like something out of 1999/2000 or so without the excess ambience (which I love, by the way!). Trey goes ham with the robo fx and this thing just destroys. KILLER SAND! The final few MINUTES are one entire massive peak explosion!!! MY GOD!! MUST HEAR!

The Moma Dance - 21 minutes! Alright! All welcome the Moma-aissance! Rough intro section when Fishman and Trey get out of sync but they quickly lock back in. Really dig Cyro's percussion on this - it almost makes it sound like Moma was friggin' made to have it! Also, no disrespect to Cactus, but Dezron sounds spectacular on here. At 6:20, we move into the jam. Trey steps on the wah and it's on. I'm not going to try to narrate this - it's a 20 minute Moma that sounds exactly like you would think a 20 minute Moma to sound like! Out of this world, dawg. It goes through 3 or 4 distinct sections and is incredibly dynamic. The final couple minutes get super quiet and jazzy. Sick. MUST HEAR!

No seriously, go check this out for the final section, from roughly 15 minutes onwards. Wow.

Set Your Soul Free - A smashing 18 minute version in slot 3. Cyro's percussion and Ray's organ really give the song an awesome flavor and sound. I love the snow-bell things Cyro starts rattling around 3 minutes. And then immediately, we dive into the jam, with Trey heading right for his waterfall delays. Things get "quiet" like the back section of Moma...Around 4 minutes, Ray takes the spotlight and gets almost two whole minute to himself before Trey comes back with the delays around 6 minutes. He and Ray and soloing together, if you will and it is glorious. This leads to red hot "type 1" until around the 8 minute point. Trey kicks on the robo bullfrog or whatever and the jam starts to get quieter again. Still raging hot but we are entering "late night" SYSF territory. We even get the bleep bloops. Trey decides to hop back onto the wah and the jam just becomes a soupy, murky, grooving hot glorious train barreling down the funky freeway. This goes on for a long time, moving through multiple "sections" of jamming within this larger "late night" setting, if you will. Very slowly, they build the energy back up to the "heat" setting and after a particularly tasty solo, Trey returns the jam back to the SYSF chorus to bring it to a close.

That was freaking SICK!!! Must hear!


Quantegy - Sick stuff. Super late night, gotta love the volume pedal and delay stuff from Trey. Fantastic! Dark and bluesy and chill. Groove heaven! Dissolves into quiet-chill awesomeness. Probably must-hear.

About to Run - ATR follows is literally the perfect song choice to follow Quantegy! It's like they were meant to be paired together! A+ Set construction!!! Awesome and destructive face melter as usual. Nothing you haven't heard before but still an oustanding version.

Carini - FACE MELTER ALERT! FACE MELTER ALERT!!! Man, this trio of Q>ATR>Carini is like...perfect!!! It's like they were meant to be played together! This Carini is a smashing, snarling, gnarly and destructive 10 minutes of ROCK SHOW fire from the sky. Must hear!!!



All in all, great first set!!! EVERYTHING was worth hearing, but I'd say the back half of Moma, the ENTIRE Set Your Soul Free, the Quantegy trio...SCREW IT! YOU NEED TO HEAR ALL OF IT!  

Set 2

Everythings Right - A MAMMOTH 29 minute odyssey through the depths of the groove. Though there are subtle changes and "sections", this is very much a "groove hard for 25 minutes" piece of music. Epic and spectacular, though surely too "one lane" for many listeners. Stick with it abd the final minutes are magic

Death Don't Hurt Very Long - X FACTOR ALERT! X FACTOR ALERT! GOAT! GOAT! GOAT!!! 12 minutes, this one is truly magical. It goes full Type 2, imo. Several different times they totally deconstruct the song, weaving in and out of it. Incredibly cool rhythm changes, from a jazzy vibe to a swing type feel at the end. HIGHLIGHT OF THE SHOW SO FAR. MUST HEAR. MUST HEAR. MUST HEAR!

Farmhouse - Farmhouse is the cool down and jesus christ if it isnt next level great. Spectacular version

No Men In No Man's Land - 18 minutes of awesome. Super latin funk explosion. Must hear!!!! Spectacular!!!
Multiple distinct sections. Wonderful patience in slowly evolving and growing the jam!!! THIS IS FREAKING AWESOME!

Blaze On - An ultra spirited 15 minute reading is next. Trey's soloing is downright stupendous. Hes doing all these unique little lines and figures, being very colorful with his playing. Hot damn, this was fantastic!!! Raging red hot finale.

Wolfmans Brother - The first encore is a super CHILL Wolfy! I guarantee you have never heard it played as friggin smooth and laid back as this. Hell yes. Lets groove, baby! Ultra sly... my goodness this is phenomenal!!!

A Life Beyond the Dream - show closer. Great stuff but in the wake of what came before... For what its worth, I listened to this while browsing an art museum all alone and it gave me goose bumps. Terrific version, again, SPECTACULAR soloing from Trey. Downright magical and full of PASSION!


YO, HOLY CRAP WHAT A SHOW!!! I think all in all the Asheville and Charlotte gigs are still the best top to bottom, but this is definitely a stronger show than Pittsburgh. Either way, you need to hear this. Its ridiculous... 

2021-09-29 Pittsburgh, PA - J.F.A.T.

 Onwards to the first actual "Jon Fishman's Almost Tab" show, lol


After a surprise acoustic show in Columbus on 9/28/21 while Trey got stuff sorted out, we get Jon in to save the day for the rest of the tour.

9/29/21 Pittsburgh

Set 1

46 Days - Um, a 21 minute version to open the show?! Ok! Ultra red-hot until around 5:30 when things go Type II and get whacky! Ray and Trey are playing around with blip-bloop delays and stutters, feeding off of each other. Extremely cool and "goopy" sounding again (my new favorite word, lol). Fishman and Dezron are keeping that damn groove going almost better than if Cactus were playing. This is incredibly sick. You've never heard 46 Days GROOVE like this. Around 8 minutes, Ray starts doing extended holds on the organ and the vibe gets dark. Trey breaks out the RoboWah5000 and honks it the hell up for a long time. Dude, this is already one of the greatest versions of this ever played. This is incredible.
Around 9:15, he sets a cool loop of his wah pedal playing then proceeds to use the RoboFrogDeluxe on top of it, so you get this water, wacky "wobble" sound on top of his already-going robot looper!!! Trey then moves on to doing textural sustains and holds atop all of this. And the GROOVE KEEPS GOING!!! Around 11 minutes, Trey loops this new sound, then returns to his normal clean tone to solo on top of it. At 11:30, everyone syncs up onto a new pattern!!! God, I love live music for moments exactly like this.
Around 12 min, Ray begins a cool descending organ motif. Trey latches on and jams this new pattern. This sucker is growing and evolving and moving! Around the 13 minute mark, Fishman is switching up his drumming, adding in new fills and beats, giving some more "oomph" to this already-red hot rocketship. By 14 minutes, Trey is back on the RoboWah and this jam is getting HEAVY! It's still grooving like a mother, but it's developing a WEIGHT to it! Let me put it like this, you will be headbanging......
Around the 15 minute mark, Trey discovers a new motif and this leads the whole jam back into a kind of "raging Type I" area once more. His guitar tone is clean - no wah, no Robot, and he's just tearing it up all over these disgusting grooves. But then at 17 minutes, he kicks back on the robohonker and EVERYONE starts playing together on the motif once more. The wah comes back at 17:30 and it sounds like this thing is heading for liftoff. Fishman is ANNIHILATING the kit.
By 18:30, the delay pedal returns and we are flying through outer space on a funky, 1973-style rocket ship to the stars. Then at 19 minutes, Trey sneaks in the 46 Days lick and leads the band seamlessly back into a reprise of the song, bringing this incredible, must-hear, MASTERPIECE of a jam to an incredible, hose-peak, EXPLOSION of a finale!

 

I had to take a breather after that opening 46 Days. Literally one song into the show and I needed a break!

Picking back up....


Set 1, Continued:

Blaze On - 31 minutes. Longest version ever. Dude. What. The jamming begins with some vocal scatting from Trey before Ray jumps on the piano and lets loose. Absolutely wonderful latin vibe on this. That is always "implied" in Phish versions, but with the extra percussion and whatnot, the guys really lay hard into that latin-jazz thing and it elevates the song MAJORLY. Around the 6 minute mark, the jam gets super low-key, with a TERRIFIC section of Ray and Trey bouncing back and forth between the two of them. Call and response awesomeness.
Also, why is Trey's playing SO good in these shows when it was, honestly, lackluster for a lot of the summer? WHAT DID HE CHANGE?! Love the percussion in the background during this. Fishman syncs up with it and plays off of it. Great stuff. So by 8 minutes, the jam is starting to get very quiet! Ultra-laid back and groovy. Everyone is locked in together TIGHTLY!!!! Playing off of accent notes and listening to each other.
Check out the section at 9:35!!! Trey introduces this jazzy little motif and everyone instantly grabs ahold of it!!! WOW!!! The jam is slowly moving away from the super-chill into more of a "saturday afternoon at the local jazz fest" kind of feel. Not sure how else to explain it. They are making such great use of so "little"!!!
At the 11 minute mark, Trey starts to rock it up a bit more doing chord hits and slashes. Dezron and Fish pick up on this and the jam starts to get more uptempo. My legs are a-tappin' and my head is a-bangin'!!! LET'S DANCE!! So with the new template laid down, Trey moves over to the RoboWah and the heat begins to build!!!!
Now we are slowly heading for a mid-70's, classic rock, "Frankenstein" type of jam!!! Then at 12:45 the whole band picks up on this runaway groove and the gauntlet is thrown down!!! Trey begins those extended sustains followed by flurries of notes....This sucker is ROCKING now!!!! LET'S FRIGGIN GO!!!!
So from here, by the 14 minute mark, we are firmly in "this is what we expect from a red-hot Type I Blaze On at a Phish show" territory. Everyone is still jamming off of that ascending motif from a few minutes ago (you will know it when you hear it).
But then, SUDDENLY, at 15:30, the jam DIES RIGHT DOWN!!! Trey is whispering "Blaze on....." all smooth and sultry-like, while the music gets uber-funky and low-key!!! LATE NIGHT BLAZE ON!!!
At 17:40, Trey starts doing some new chordal vamping, if you will, with a different feel, and the jam moves into a more "feel good" type of area. Dad-Rock Blaze On? Wonderfully relaxed melodic soloing ensues for a couple awesome minutes. Check out the way Dezron so flawlessly plays along with Trey! Around the 20 minute mark, Trey begins a new descending motif. They jam on this for a good long while, and Trey even gets one of his patented Super-Sustained notes around the 21:40 point. Divided Sky would be proud!
Around 23:30, this building heat subsides, and a more "heavenly bliss" feel begins to emerge! Ray moves to the organ and Trey does a loop on top of which he busts out the RoboWah. But he's using it patiently and subtly, not going ham on it. They vamp this out for a good long while (several minutes), just sitting in this interesting new area. Very feel-good vibes. By 28 munutes, this is still going. This feels a lot like one of those, say, 1999 Phish jams where they just get into a "zone" and you sink right in, just surrendering to the flow, letting it wash over you....minimalist but still interesting. Just sink into the chair and let it take you over.....Wow....
And with that being said, at almost exactly the 30 minute mark, on the dot, they bring the jam to a conclusion.


 

Ok, sorry about that. That Blaze On Super Odyssey was even better than the 46 Days that opened the show.

Two songs, 51 minutes into the show.....

Review of set 1, PART three!

9/29/21 Pittsburgh, PA

Undermind - Awesome little version. Inspired playing from Trey! Only goes about 10 minutes but crushes from start to finish. Seriously, when is the last time Trey was consistently playing this invently and strongly?! And where was this Trey during the summer 2021 Phish shows?! Around the 5 minute mark, things heat up considerably when Fishman takes front and center for, basically, an in-song drum solo, while Ray shreds up the organ. Wowzers. Serious heat. Then at 7 minutes Trey busts out the RoboFX and IT'S ON!!! Holy crap, check out that spectacularly perfect Undermind-motif bass fill at 7:20 from Dezron! The whole band drops out and he goes "do do do do do, do", then they launch right back in with Trey doing the dying robot stuff. Insane. After this several minutes of insanity, Trey returns to the vocals and they ride the song to it's conclusion.

Yo, what the hell was that. That had no business being that incredible.

Ghost - And this mammoth, four song first set concludes with Ghost. Check out Rays spooky organ playing during the verses!! Gives it a totally colorful vibe!! Right away, the jam gets going good with Trey doing patient and perfect lead lines on top of Ray's spooky background organ. Very powerful. Those keys are really adding a new feel to this!!! Trey proceeds to let it friggin' rip on this sucker, going all psychedelic meltdown peak on us!!!! Good lord! Trill city!!! By the 7 minute mark, the fire is RAGING and this thing is about to explode! Impact is imminent!!! Check out the insane, volcanic meltdown peakage around the 8 minute mark! There wasn't anything approaching this all summer with Phish!!! What is going on!!! Where did this come from!!!

ALL HAIL THE UBER GHOST. MAY WE BOW AND ASK FOR MERCY, FOR IT REIGNS SUPREME!!!


And with that, the set is over. Guys, you can just call that the damn show. If they ended it right there, nobody would complain. This was even better than the Charlotte and Asheville gigs that I so loved. If you are a Phish fan, you NEED to give this a listen. I am not exaggerating. This is mindblowingly great stuff....

Playing set 2 while running errands so you guys get a break from my super lengthy ridiculous for a set

Party Time - A raging, robotic, Type 2, 20 min PT to open. Immediately planting it's flag at the summit of "Greatest PT Ever Played" peak. First 15 min or so are insane robowah Type 1, then it begins to deviate greatly from there, going Type 2 into RobotDarkBliss or something until its conclusion. Robot FX loops, late night jazz vibe, percussion all over th place ..Incredibly unique, freaking awesome, and must hear!!

Up next is a 13 min Ocelot. Ultra FUNKY tonight!!!! Ray's keys add a totally different field of color and sound to this!!! Good lord this is terrific. Stupendous soloing from Trey with the perfect amount of RoboFX to give it color but not go overboard. As with Party Time, you aint never heard Ocelot like this!! Wow!!!! Extremely wacky!!! Robot meltdown finale! Wtf!!!

Jibboo up next. Love the percussion on this! Kinda sloppy overall surprisingly. This one takes a long time to get going - not until about the 8 min mark or so. Then, just when you are about to write it off as rote, everything slips into place. The energy SKYROCKETS and they Type I peak this sucker to oblivion. This was the first "low" of the shows so far and it still ended on a massive high. This wasnt essential, but that last couple minutes were FIRE.

Up next we get round two of slow/dark Plasma. Red hot, machine gun Trey type 1. Terrific on the whole, but not the psychedelic beast from the other show. Still, you need to hear Trey absolutely STRANGLING his poor guitar on this!

Lonely Trip follows and is the breather we needed. Very nice as always.

I Never Needed You Like This Before gets us up and rocking again. And jesus friggin christ on a cracker this is 10 min of full blown fire from the sky machine gun Trey insanity. If you want to hear Trey obliterate his guitar, you NEED to hear this! MUST HEAR!!! OH MY GOD!!!

No acoustic encore tonight. Instead, Twist kicks off proceedings. Fishman providing vocals in the chorus makes Trey bust out laughing - "Thanks Fish!". Hilarious. Not anything must hear, but its fun eithr way. Lots of great robo FX.

First Tube to close. Interesting to hear it with a more funky, latin vibe. Basically apply what I said about Twist to this.

All in all, a another strong set, but a massive step down from the first and, easily, the least-incredible of the three shows so far. A terrific gig by itself, the surrounding competition is just so insanely, unfairly great! The Party Time, Ocelot and INNYLTB are all must hear, but the rest of the set is merely average-great.

What in the hell was that first set though! There was no way the 2nd set was gonna top that!

2021-09-26 Asheville, NC - T.A.B.

 Not-yet-Jon-Fishman's-Almost-TAB continues with 9/26/21 Asheville, NC

It's infuriating to think I could have gone to both this and the Charlotte show. I'm in Greenville - Only an hour away to both! But alas, my life was in the gutter at the time and it was impossible to attend....

That being said, here we go with set 1 of 9/26/21


Set 1

In Rounds - Skinny little legs! Odd to hear without the backing vocals, but a surprisingly strong opener that get us going good! For the sake of not highlighting everything, and in the wake of what is to follow, just know that I had to try my absolute hardest not to highlight this, lol. It's great.

Everything's Right - 16 minutes of awesome sauce! GROOVE SUPREME! The guys lay into this one HARD! The jam gets going strong but lays back kinda chill, then eventually Trey turns on the RoboWah5000 and kicks it up a couple notches! Must-hear!!! Better than a couple Phish versions I've heard, that's for sure! Trey is just going for it on these shows - what gives?! Where was this fire all summer when I kept complaining about show after show being way too chill?!
Cool section around 10 minutes where I'd say it goes Type II. A "scary" kind of theme appears and the guys ride this out. This goes for a couple kick-ass minutes and sees the band reaching an awesome robot-fuelled climax!!! Must hear! Killer!! Seriously, this goes HARD! ROBOT FIRE SUPREME!!! BANG YOUR HEAD!!! HOLY CRAP!!!

CHECK THAT FRIGGIN PEAK AT 13:45!!!!! THE GROUND IS QUAKING!!!



No Men In No Man's Land - Holy crap on a cracker, how could they possibly surpass that ER?! Turns out they don't, but this sure tries it's best! If a version this hot was played by Phish, people would be talking about it for days. Not an all-timer or anything, but an absolutely A+ Type I rager version! Perfect usage of robot FX when needed, great soloing from Ray on the organ for a different flavor....highly recommended!


Olivia - Killer! Love Russ's drumming on this. Can't believe this was shelved for almost 20 years until this 2021 TAB tour brought it back!

Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan - Now, if every Phish version was like this, I would never complain about it being on a setlist! The organ gives SUCH a great sound to this and really makes it stand apart!!!! The equivalent of the Ocelot from the show prior, this sucker is down and dirty and murky in the best wah. Super choice wah-pedal strangulation of the highest order! Super patient and all the better for it. This is automatically at the very top of the pile of best versions of this ever played - this very well might be contender for the very best one ever played (to this point)! I have never heard a Phish version come close to the adventurousness of this one!!! Spectacular reading! A+!!! MUST HEAR!!!

Steam - Oooh!!!! Great choice for the super-groove of the TAB band!!! 10 minutes of Hose City magic! Basically, everything I said about Stealing Time, apply straight to this. Face melting in the supreme with an insane peak. What in the hell!!! Why doesn't Trey play like this with Phish?!?!?!?



Push On Til The Day - Rages the set to an explosive rock and roll finale. Hot damn.




Ok guys, 9/25 Charlotte blew my mind. We are only at the halfway point of this one and I think it has already topped it!!! There wasn't anything in the set that was less than terrific. Everything was truly killer. If you are picky, Everything's Right, Stealing Time and Steam are the three things you NEED the most. All 3 are NEXT LEVEL with Steam and Stealing Time being genuine "best ever?!" contenders!

The Moma Dance - A nearly 21 minute rendition to open the set! Holy crap! So strange to hear without Fishman singing, but holy crap the GROOVE on this is INSANE! In all seriousness, the way they play this....it almost sounds like a different song!!!!! The change is subtle but massively effective!! Proceeds destructively as expected until the 8 minute mark where we switch gears into this awesome, almost "Cheap Sunglasses"-style, "late night" groove! Everyone getting down HARD! Trey is making great use of his effects sparingly, doing tasteful delay stabs and squeals...This section is great and goes for a very long time. By the 12 minute point, Trey is doing RoboWah "squiggles" all over the place while the keys start getting a bit darker and angstier. By 13 minutes, the keys give way to piano and you can say we are definitely in Type II!!!! The jam is dark and scary, without resorting to synthesizers or robot FX - this is good old fashioned TENSION! Trey almost derails it by throwing in some Moma Dance refrains, leading the jam back into more "typical" territory. Absolutely magical Moma! It went out there without going "out there". Hard to describe but this was a legitimate JAM!! Terrific and patient - the best kind!!! They stretched it out perfectly! Must hear!

I Never Needed You Like This Before - Absolutely spectacular Type I!!! PEAK ALERT! PEAK ALERT!! PEAK ALERT!

Plasma - 14 minute version, this got a total facelift, much like Camel Walk and Moma!!! Slow, dark, GRIMY and NASTY!!! Almost bluesy!!! Robot FX right out the friggin' gate!!! Dude! Right away at the 3 minute mark, we drop into Type II, late-night, chill ambience!!!! Russ is keeping the drums going, but everyone else is just doing quiet, "aquatic" stuff that would be perfect for a movie soundtrack or something! I guarantee you, you have not heard a Plasma like this (at least, not by Phish). I imagine this is in the ballpark of what Plasma might sound like played by Pink Floyd or something. Around 6 minutes, Trey backs off the FX and patiently lays down a lot of "perfect" melodic lead lines....this is SPECTACULAR!!! Now THIS is X Factor Magic!!! It rages hard in this "late night scary funky" groove until around 10 minutes when Trey starts to strangle his guitar with an incredibly unsettling "stutter" kind of effect!!! At 10:45 we hit a point where, if this was a Phish jam, I guarantee it would turn to bliss (you can pretty much tell the musical "cues", lol). Thankfully this is not Phish and so this spooky, scary, muddy Plasma keeps going!! Keep that tension coming, boys! Around the 13 minute mark, Trey turns to some SUPER grimy and muddy robot sounds and the jam reaches a definite climax before concluding.



Guys. Guys, no, listen to me. I'm serious. Have y'all heard this Plasma? This was one of the most incredible things I've ever heard related to Phish. This was NOTHING like any other Plasma I've ever heard (and probably the same for you as well!).
  

Set 2

About to Run - Great choice out of that "never heard anything like it before!" version of Plasma! Keeps the dark and dirty feel going and gets some rock and roll energy injected as well! Another "does a perfect version exist? Yes!" rendition thrown down by the boys!!! Guitar annihilation!!! LET'S RAGE!

Sand - As always, Sand has to be played. Killer version. Super spacey and goopy tonight. Trey going ham with his delay pedal! Absolutely terrific little Sand!!

>Carini - And into a 12 min Carini!!! Didn't see that coming! And this is absolutely RIDICULOUS! Listen to Dezron's friggin' thunder-stomp bass on this sucker! The jam begins in a laid-back groove mode once again. Trey spends a good long while doing that "laid back" noodle stuff that is oh so choice. Eventually though, things take a harsher tone and Trey busts out the RoboWah in addition to various robot FX for the nasty Carini jam we expect. Spectacular stuff. By the 10 minute mark, things are absolute Type II wackiness of the highest order!! Funk meltdown supreme! BANG YOUR HEAD INTO THE WALL MELTDOWN PEAK AT 11 minutes. Holy crap! MUST HEAR!!!


Carini ends the set proper. Then we get a great acoustic encore of Mountains, Shade and More with a raging First Tube to close.


All in all, WHAT A FRIGGIN SHOW! It's almost a 50/50 tie, but I think this show has the slight edge over Charlotte. It was cool to see that it had a very different vibe! Charlotte had a very "bluesy and relaxed" kind of heat. This show was totally "dark and grimy and funk", if you will.

Again, see my notes for the Charlotte gig - what a show!!! Yea, if you're playing 2021, you need to take the side trip to hear these....

Wow!

 

2021-09-25 Charlotte, NC - T.A.B.

 TAB, 9/25/21 Charlotte, NC

Set 1

46 Days - Surprisingly CHILL reading of the song! Low-key and almost funky! The extra percussion gives a great feel. Right at the 4:15 mark or so, Trey kicks on some tasty RoboWah to great effect. Around 9 minutes or so, Trey lays back and the GROOVE takes over. But then he kicks on that "waterfall delay", as I have been calling it. Things are starting to get "out there", though they are still skirting around the edges of 46 Days. Definite, outer space vibes slowly creeping in! By the 12 minute mark, Trey is setting loops and laying HARD into the RoboWah while the rest of the band groove this to oblivion (no pun intended...). This is freaking AWESOME!!!! Around 13:20, this sucker begins to peak hard, with Trey returning to a more normal sound and just letting it rip, building upwards higher and higher! From here, it's straight up molten lava ripping to the end. KILLER STUFF!! WOW!

The Way I Feel - Keeps the initial chill feel of 46 Days going. Super hot, all down and dirty. Red friggin hot, this is basically 12 minutes of Trey shredding it up. Hell yes!

Blaze On - "Do it, Ray!" is stranger than "Play it, Leo!", but it'll work! Red hot raging type 1 as expected. Then around the 8 minute mark, Trey kicks on the RoboBullfrog deluxe and the jam starts to stretch its wings sonically. Then at 10:30, I'd say we go full Type II!!! The jam gets REAL quiet and a bit spacey, though everyone is still jamming out. Wow, this is cool! Eventually it slowly builds back to Type I raging and the song concludes from there.

Hot damn, three for friggin' three!!!!

Camel Walk - A 13 min Camel Walk is up next, and this sucker is incendiary! Right off the rip, Trey is just destroying worlds!!! DANG! Bascially, it's just Type I fire from start to finish. KILLER!

Ghost - A slow and sludgy, 13 min Ghost follows. Ghost is a bit awkward structurally. Ray's keys really give this a different feel. Right away, Trey jumps on the way and honks it up, again, all slow and sludgy. Immediately, im talking by the 5 minute mark, the jam gets down to almost nothing! EXTREMELY quiet!!! Slowly, they build it back up - Trey is playing extremely GROWLY!!! THIS IS THE COOLEST GHOST IVE HEARD IN A HOT MINUTE!!! THIS THING IS NUCLEAR BOMB FIRE!!! MUST HEAR! MUST HEAR!!!



Hot freakin' damn, that first set was the BEE'S KNEES!!! Everything was total fire played with more energy and enthusiasm than many large chunks of Phish's 2021 summer tour - that's for sure! 

Set 2

Set Your Soul Free - Terrific, Type I rager. Ray's keys really elevate this! Right away, Trey wastes no time jumping on the wah. But then the jam gets more stoccato and latin-feeling. Trey laying back, doing delay lines. From here builds back up and rocks to the finale. FRIGGIN INSANE!

Ocelot - Like everything else tonight, in the best way, this is stuck DEEP in the muck and filth! EXTRA slow and GROOVETASTIC! This thing is disgusting! It goes super-chunk, robo-wah, groove machine up in this sucker! Absolutely the most out-there Ocelot I've ever heard. MUST HEAR!

Sweet Dreams Melinda - Wait, this isn't a Phish show? Great version! Nothing really must-hear, but totally great all the same! Trey's playing is stupendously fluid and delicate! Wow!

Gotta Jibboo - 15 minute killer!!! Of course the crowd goes nuts when Trey triggers the OG whale siren loop at 3 minutes! Ray proceeds to deliver a terrific piano solo for several funky minutes while Trey lays back. He ain't Page McConnell, but he gets the job done! I'd say the jam just about goes Type II around 5:40 when he and Trey lock in together on a motif that brings the jam slowly downwards and even more chill. Builds back to a raging peak from here and finishes with aplomb. MUST HEAR!
HOTTEST JIBBOO I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY FRIGGIN LIFE!

A Life Beyond the Dream - Absolutely friggin' gorgeous.

Twist - DUDE! WHAT IS GOING ON! INSANE TWIST! 16 MINUTES!! SUPER GOOPY AND CRAZY!!! MUST HEAR!



Twist concludes and the set comes to a close. For the encore, we get some acoustic tunes with funny-as-ever Trey banter

Sample In a Jar - Is Sample

Brian and Robert - Yo, this might be a new all-timer version of this. It sent goosebumps down my arms. Absolutely SPLENDID!

Back On the Train - See Sample

Strange Design - Great to hear as always, but nothing tops that Brian and Robert!

Final Encore:
Sand - I'm actually not a huge fan of the TAB versions with horns. I prefer the slinky, low-key groove of the Phish renditions. This one is a great middle ground, with all the sludgy, goopy characteristics of the songs we've already heard, but with a more rocky inflection than most TAB reading. Awesome!



All in all, we aren't to the "great" shows yet and I was already BLOWN THE HELL AWAY!!!! Honestly, if you're a Phish fan, you probably just need to hear this (and the rest - I can't wait!). This was a superb gig! EVERYTHING was a damn highlight!!! Total fire and passion and RAGING ENERGY!!! Plus a healthy helping of dark goop (whatever you wanna call it).

Dang!