2022-07-30 Columbia, MD

 7/30/22 Columbia, MD

Set 1

Great choice of Sand as opener. Unfortunately, it takes forever to really develop any heat whatsoever, and when it does, it never fully explodes like you are hoping leaving an unsatisfied taste behind. Its not bad, but its utterly unimpressive, imo. Bummer.

After a nice but poorly placed If I Could, it's like they decide to restart the show and launch into Buried Alive. If I Could is spectacular and definitely must hear. Just outstanding. Buried Alive is just killer. A perfect, high energy reading. Sick.

Even better is the 16 minute, type 2 beast of a SYSF into a nuclear bomb Llama. Total X Factor all over thi pair. SYSF goes prope type 2, moving from dark and growly playing to major key rock before getting strange in the back half. The segue into Llama has to be heard to be believed abd the song itself is blazing.

Wow.

The fun continues with Halfway ti the Moon. THIS SUCKER GOES PROPER TYPE 2!!!! WTF!!! The song itself is good as ever, then during the jam Trey shockingly, and perfectly, moves them into...Shafty!!! And its no tease, they play and jam the whole thing! ALL HAIL X FACTOR MAGIC!!! DUDE!!!

AND THE HITS KEEP COMING!!! Strawberry Letter 23 is one of the tightest, most well played versions Ive ever heard. Terrific jamming, it quickly deviates, going into dark funk before getting into starry night sky territory. Another insane segue is executed out of that abd into an excellent Lizards.

Lizards is an exceptional reading and an outstanding set closer tonight. Definitely must hear!

Hot mothereffin damn .

All in all, this set is almost 100 percent must hear aside from the bland Sand opener. Absolutely insanity!!! SYSF>Llama, Halfway>Shafty, SL23, Lizards, If I Could - all must hear, and Buried Alive kills too.

Wow. X Factor Magic overload!!! 

Set 2

The set-closer-as-set-opener trend continues with a First Tube as surprise opener! Unfortunately, its not a very good version. Kinda sloppy overall, it just doesn't work tonight as an opener.

What DOES work though is a terrific 19 minute Fuego!! Very hot and tight, its terrific from the start. And holy crap what a Fuego it is!!! The jamming is insane - extremely rhythmic, the interplay is ridiculous, everyone reacting amazingly to one another. This is one of the nastiest stank-face-inducing jams Ive ever heard. Unique and downright magical. My god. Nothing but X Factor, in spades.

The jam winds down with an incredible segue into one of the most perfect and ass kicking Sigmas Ive ever heard. Absolutely magic once again. Holy crap.

The segue fun continues with a perfect slide into an outstanding Caspian!!! THIS IS KILLER!!! THIS FLOW AND CONSTRUCTION IS IMPECCABLE!!! Delivers a cathartic release of fantastic proportions.

And on into Waves!!! The momentum keeps going and this Waves is downright explosive!!! Just magic, magic, and more friggin magic. Insane.

Holy....for the love of God. This Fuego>Sigma>Caspian>Waves was one of the most incredible sequences Ive ever heard in my 7 years of listening to Phish. THE FLOW! THE ENERGY! THE X FACTOR!!!

The flow keeps going with a terrific move into a highly inspired Meatstick. The type 1 is killer - high energy, tight and definitely noticeable better than most. The X Factor strikes and they take it type 2, going into a SICK funk jam for about 3 whole minutes with some awesome stutter jamming to close it. Yet another absolutely essential piece of music from this show!!!!!

Perfect segue into Simple!!! Simple is an excellent type 1 reading. Briefly going type 2, Trey ripcords them into a flawless Oh Kee Pah (no, seriously).

A fiery Suzy then closes the set.

Terrific encore of the Alumni Blues suite and C Zero. Both are must hear!!! Both are absolutely ON FRIGGIN FIRE!!!

All in all, despitea couple setlist and intro song bumps, this show was like 90% all killer or must hear. The Fuego through Meatstick is hands down an essential sequence. Absolutely killer and the encore is insane as well.

3.9 rating on .NET is BS. This is a 4.2 or 4.3 level show all day imo.

My God.

2022-07-29 Raleigh, NC

 7 29 22 Raleigh

Set 1

Good start with the double whammy of Moma into Possum. Nothing special about either, but Trey is playing hot and both are on the excellent side of average.

Immediately after, we get the first surprise of the night. Steam is slowly rising to a boil, but Trey decides to instead - somehow!!! - segue them into Stash!! Yo, wtf was that segue and how the hell was that NOT a trainwreck!! That was AWESOME!!!! Stash itself is an excellent type 1 reading played flawlessly. Great version, nothing to say. But then, during the Stash jam, Trey sees his chance and moves them BACK into Steam!!! Wow. Awesome. Musically, there isnt anything special about either, but that segue business was nuts and both were played excellently. Basically, see Moma and Possum.

Before we have 2 seconds to catch our breath they IMMEDIATELY rip on into Funky B like whiplash outta Steam. And Funky B freaking rips! Id call this must hear!! It just goes and goes and goes!! It just EXPLODES!! Killer!

The Wedge and Horn are both good but positively average.

The set closes on a tremendous note with a ridiculous, X Factor magic, 21 friggin minute type 2 Rise/Come Together!!! And man, this really is all that and a bag of chips. Full of power, they quickly deviate and spend a long time flitting in and out of funky major key type 2. Around the 13 minute mark things get strange for a bit before they return to type 1, absolutely going nuclear bomb on us. Absolutely terrific segue back into the song and we are out ......

All in all this was definitely a really good set!!! Funky and Rise are the only things - purely musically speaking - that truly EXCELLED. However, the rest of set was nothing less than base level excellent. Special note to the Steam sandwich!!!

The "boring" setlist definitely hurt this one, but thats nitpicking. There is NOTHING bad about this set. Its just few on the truly must hear stuff.  

Set 2

The 2nd set opens with an excellent BBFCFM! Taken at an oddly slow pace that almost feels deliberate, this is an excellent rollicking rendition. Great stuff!

Even better, they follow it with a 16 minute Carini. It never escapes type 1 but it is still a genuinely powerful and rocking rendition. Really really good!!! It fizzles out just as its going type 2 and moves into the most inappropriately placed Waste ever.

Waste is very good but Ruby Waves is magnitudes better. 13 minutes, it wastes no time getting down to business. Extremely hot and loaded with X Factor, it goes strange into a crazy, crystalline type 2 outer space kind of area. Absolutely essential, this is incredible!!! It finishes with two entire minutes of demonic, evil, robo hellscape, complete with power drill!!! Now this is TYPE 2!!!! HOLY CRAP THIS RUBY!!!

Seriously, that was an all timer Ruby Jam. SERIOUSLY. Dude, wtf was that?!

Great choice following the evil with Sea of Stars. Perfect. And its a doozy, turning in maybe the finest "type 1" (if you will) version Ive ever heard. Just astonishingly great. Also, tell me this doesnt sound like a damn 1972 Dead space jam out of Dark Star or something. MUST HEAR!!!! X FACTOR FOR DAYS!!!!

And then, like butter, out of Sea and slowly into Piper. Awesome transition! AND PIPER IS FRIGGIN RIDICULOUS!!! PSYCHEDELIC INSANITY!!! The thing goes dark and somehow mutates into a strange and extremely bonker BBFCFM jam. Basically it straight up becomes a type 2 BBFCFM. Must hear at all costs!!

Featuring one of the greatest seamless segues ever played by humans, the go into Light and deliver a spectacular bliss fest type 1 reading. A+ across the board.

To top it off, they then go into a burn the friggin house down Shine a Light. Another must hear, this one is nuclear, holy crap.

Super inspired 4 song encore of Strange Design, Heavy Things, Sneaking Sally and Wilson. Hot damn. All excellent and worth your time. GRAB SALLY! SALLY IS MUST HEAR!!! IT SMOKES!!!

Man, what a show!!! The first set was excellent if unremarkable aside from R/CT, but set 2 was almost entirely all killer no filler aside from that horribly placed Waste.

The ENTIRE run of Ruby through the end of the set is genuinely must hear. Just magic across the board!!!

Id give this show a solid 4.1 or 4.2

GREAT SHOW!!

2022-07-27 Wantagh, NY

 7 27 22 Wantagh

Set 1

Always a great sign when you get a Mikes Song opener! Excellent reading, tight and, by 2022 standards, hot hot hot!! Killer!!

Great segue into a nearly 14 minute Wolfman. And what a WolfMAN it is, holy crap!!! Total x factor magic all over this!!! The song is tight and energetic going into a cool laid back groove. They briefly go type 2 into an uptempo kind of funk before moving smoothly into an incredible rock and roll peak section! But wait, theres more!! They keep it going and the jam winds down with several minutes of hazy, synthy, kind of ethereal type 2. Sick. Must hear at all costs. This is EXCEPTIONAL!

Ya Mar comes next and, like Mikes, delivers a TERRIFIC type 1 reading. Just A+++ all around.

Then, hold on to your damn panties ....they drop the friggin hydrogen bomb with 46 Days. Several measures more insane than even the standard excellent readings all around, this one sees Trey deliver possibly his finest solo of the year so far. Complete abd utter DEVASTATION, going all robo hellscape on us. As essential, or even moreso than that Wolfman! THIS IS FRIGGIN UNBELIEVABLE HOLY CRAP YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS!!!!

Amazing setlist call sliding straight into Its Ice. And its killer!!! Its about 98% perfect on Treys part and the whole thing is very tight and rehearsed sounding. KILLER.

All of These Dreams fits sooooo well after Ice like that. This is MUST HEAR! Again, tight and rehearsed sounding, Trey delivers a wonderfully emotive solo Jerry would be proud of!

The surprises keep coming with the "why the hell did they shelve this?!" Somethings Living Here. Must hear, again, it delivers RAGING hot, molten lava party funk of the highest order. Like if Moma and Party Time had a demented baby or something. Essential!!!! Must hear!! Sick robo delay jamming...

And then, once again, 46 Days Part 2 rolls around with an absolutely nuclear Axilla. Tight and ENERGETIC, they freaking CRUSH this one!!! They even lay into the ending, giver utter destruction for 3 entire minutes of dark ripping. "Dont shine that thing in my face. Ah, what the hell, go ahead..."

MUST HEAR! THIS AXILLA IS A 10/10!!!

After a terrific Circus, the set comes to a close with an inspired Antelope. Not much to say - must hear. Killer.

All in all, this was one of the finest sets of modern Phish, let alone 2022!!! Highly inspired setlist, inspired x factor energy and playing across the board. NOTHING was less than excellent and EVERYTHING delivered!!!

Wolfman, 46 Days, Dreams, SLH, Axilla and Antelope were all true must hears but damn near everything comes close regardless.

THIS SET WAS SPECTACULAR!!! 

Set 2

Set 2 opens with a raging 13 minute No Men. Heck yes! Great high energy type 1, but unfortunately the jam never achieves liftoff, mostly staying stuck in type 1 and kinda fizzing out at the end. Bummer.

Disease is miles better. The song itself is played stupendously (really!) and the jam actually goes places getting deep and strange. At the same time, there is no real x factor and it all feels kind of .....hesitant? The jam isnt "flowing" smoothly. Or something. Still, A+ for effort even if not must hear.

Finally things seem to "click" and Dont Doubt Me turns in a raging must hear rendition. Not much to say except it just kills and feels very inspired.

Golden Agr is basically No Men part 2, delivering a terrific type 1 reading with a total lack of exploration on the jam. Weird and awkward ending....

Lifeboy is gorgeous and welcome as ever!

Fluffhead is excellent all around but also feels kinda loose. Great version overall but nothing special.

Weekapaug is the 2nd must hear of the set. A 9 minute rager, starting chill and slowly ramping up to nuclear bomb energy, this is essential!

Slave encore is sloppy but the soloing is great.

All in all, set 2 was a massive step down from set 1. It was still a very enjoyable listen, but there is basically no "proper" jamming aside from Disease. Its basically a string of excellent and strong type 1 readings. All you really need are Dont Doubt Me and Weekapaug. The rest is good but nothing special, imo

 

2022-07-26 Wantagh, NY

 7 26 22 Wantagh

The jammed out Leaves show!

Set 1

A fantastic opening tonight with the double whammy of The Curtain>SANTOS. The Curtain is surprisingly well played - high energy, tightly executed. Its a wonderful version that will take you by surprise! So much energy!

And even though many will lament the lack of With in favor of SANTOS, it worked perfectly out of Curtain and kept the momentum going big time. Raging hot, its a burner.

The first must-hear of the night comes with a nearly 10 minute STFTFP. The song is hot, but it quickly deviates completely, spending most of its time in magical, soaring kind of melodic bliss rock. X Factor all over this sucker. I would call this going Type 2 - it definitely hits a point where you would have no clue this was Stealing Time if you didn't hear it from the start.

Holy crap this show is killing so far!

The fun continues with a perfectly executed slide out of the jam and into NICU. Hell yea! NICU is really excellent. Terrific high energy version!

After a stunning Roggae we get a perfect Pebbles and Marbles. Definitely practiced, its about as good as a type 1 Pebble could ever be in 2022.

Following that, we get a dang 14 minute Gin. Gin is terrific, total X Factor. It goes type 2 quickly and shift through several different sections. Definitely must hear, this is SICK!

Even sicker is the Maze that follows! Not much to say, its a 10/10 rager that just goes nuclear. Definitely not typical 2022 fare! I would call this must hear!!

The set concludes with, again, an excellent Coil. Tight and passionate abd and just killer.

All in all, WHERE DID THIS SET COME FROM?! WHERE HAS THIS PHISH BEEN ALL YEAR?!?! This is easily the best first set of the summer so far by a wide margin, imo. Nothing is less than base level excellent. Maze, Gin and STFTFP are all must hear and the rest is all excellent!

An absolute stunner of a first set!!! 

Set 2

The 2nd half opens with the double whammy of a 16 minute type 2 INNYLTB into a 17 minute type 2 Leaves.

INNYLTB rocks hard but the jam, despite trying very hard, just isnt very good at all. It never reaches proper liftoff and Trey sounds lost for what to do for much of it. Bummer.

Leaves, however, is one of the greatest jams ever played in the history of Phish. Holy mother X Factor MAGIC!!!! All timer for any era alert!!!! Imagine if Phil Spector produced a jam for Phish. This is a ridiculous magical wall of sound psychedelic explosion of a jam featuring several distinct sections and nothing but utter magic from start to finish. My god. No, seriously, this is 8/6/21 Simple level or better. JOTY right here. Close up shop.

Everythings Right is good and starts to jam darkly but then Trey segues them out into Mango instead. Disappointing, but I cant be mad about getting Mango!

Mango sounds great. Not much to say. From here, the rest of the set is a string of excellent type 1 readings - MEAP and Chalkdust are both GREAT readings and Julius gets the job done.

A must hear Hood for the encore. Its tight, energetic and gets stretched good, going type 2 for a minute or two. Genuinely terrific version.

All in all, set 2 floundered a little once they laid down Leaves. It really needed, like, one more good improv to really push it over the edge. As it is, everything was strong, but it feels more like a first set than a 2nd, and that is the main flaw.

That being said, most of the actual music played was very strong across the board, so this is all nitpicking.

Grab Hood and Leaves and check out Chalkdust!!!

Awesome show overall!

2022-07-24 Hartford, CT

 7 24 22 Hartford

Really been looking forward to this one. Been a fan of the Wave/ASIHTOS since hearing it after it happened.

Love the setlist for the most part, though I know most folks dont like it * rolls eyes *

Anywho....

Set 1

Cars, Trucks, Buses opens the show. Rare as ever, this sounds good if a tad sleepy. Very much "easing into things" vibes. Solid and smooth. Very nice version, great soloing. Builds some good steam by the end.

In 2nd place is a 9 minute (?!) Breath and Burning! I love this song and wish it was played more and not a rarity.... This is a terrific reading, full of extra beans. Killer wah usage. Probably must hear!!

Free and The Final Hurrah are both very good type 1 readings. Nothing wrong with either, but neither transcend as they are both too chill for their own good.

Yarmouth Road is weird tonight. It DRAGS worse than the worst 555 out there, played at seemingly 75% speed. However, it manages, musically, to be a standout version. Really excellent once it gets going and definitely a set highlight.

Plasma is a really strong type 1 reading on the same lines as Yarmouth. Definitely check this out.

And then outta nowhere comes a damn 17 minute type 2 Sigma monster!!! Absolutely must hear, the X Factor shines so bright on this one!!! Inspired robo funk jamming gives way to extreme hose. This is an absolutely INCREDIBLE version.

From there, the set ends with solid but uneventful readings of Limb and Sand.

All in all, this was an enjoyable set. It felt excessively chill, but also never lacking in energy. Sigma is the big boy must hear, but Breath, Yarmouth and Plasma are all worth a listen! 

Set 2

A nearly 24 minute Wave opens the set and holy mother of what in the F!!! The song itself is hard rocking, with inspired dark and light "melodic bliss jamming" all the way to the 16 minute mark. From there, X Factor strikes and they descend into an unbelievable black hole VORTEX of satanic destruction. Truly mind warping stuff. The final 7 minutes or so are among the darkest, most wild jamming Ive ever heard. Unbelievable in every way.....

So, following that, they launch into an 18 minute ASIHTOS followed by a 13+ minute Blaze On. Song is essential, again, spending its time exploring dark and murky robofunk waters before rocking hard to close.

Blaze On is incredible. Most type 2 Blaze since 8/6/21? This thing spends most of its time sloowwwllllyyy deconstructing itself into a goopy, soupy haze that last for multiple minutes. This jam is absolutely glorious, sounding straight out of summer 2000 or something. X Factor for days on this one.

Wedge, Farmhouse, Numberline and C Zero close the set, keeping momentum going while also allowing recovery from the mind exploding insanity of the first 3 songs.

Wedge is average strong, same for Farmhouse and Numberline. All 3 are VERY GOOD but none of them excel at the same time.

C Zero is particularly killer. Just about must hear. It SMOKES!!

Highly inspired encore of Tube into First Tube! Im calling Tube must hear. They jam the crap outta this using every spare inch perfectly. Robo funk annihilation out the wazoo. Awesome.

All in all, as a set, set 2 was front loaded as hell. The trio of Wave and ASIHTOS>Blaze are 3 of the most fantastic jams of the year so far while the 2nd half of the set, though decent enough, is entirely skippable pretty much. Special props to Tube and maybe C Zero.

I really enjoyed this show despite the "all over the place" vibes. You have FOUR big, genuine, type 2 killers with Sigma in set 1 and the trio in set 2. Add Tube and probably Breath or Plasma as well.

Lots to love. Id rate this show like a 4.1 or a light 4.2

The highlights were MASSIVE!

2022-07-23 Bethel, NY

 7 23 22 Bethel

Set 1

A shaky Evening Song opens the show and reminds us how bad of an opener it is regardless of how much Trey wants to believe otherwise. Great to hear though.

Things immediately pick way up with a terrific Turtles. Super high energy and fast, this one kills. Great stuff!!!

After an excellent Vultures and a hot My Sweet One comes a raging, snarling, fireball of a 13 minute Undermind. Total X Factor, they jam the crap outta this and stretch it big time. Absolutely must hear, a spectacular reading!!!

Even better, it segues into a must hear FEFY. Rarity aside, its a really excellent reading totally worth your time. Killer.

Divided Sky is pretty dang excellent, executed flawlessly (or close to it) and exceptionally delicate. Must hear!

The set closes with a 1-2 punch of Suzy into Ghost. Suzy crushes, good enough for me to call it pretty "extra" and Ghost rages with the hottest of the modern era. Wow.

HOLY CRAP!! What a turnaround from night 1!!! Nearly the entire set was one giant highlight!!! Id say Undermind>FEFY is the essential material if you are being picky but just about everything felt much better than average. THIS SET CRUSHED!!!! 

Set 2

Set 2 has an extremely unorthodox opening with an 8 minute Caspian into a nearly 17 minute Crosseyed!

Caspian is absolutely terrific. A++++ and it even gets jammed out nicely, going type 2 near the end.

Moving into Croseyed was so perfect. AND HOLY MOTHER OF X FACTOR MAGIC THIS IS A MONSTER!!! On par with the Bangor Disease, imo, this sucker goes type 2 and has a few distinct sections, never meandering and always keeping you on the edge of your seat. Top 5 jam of 2022 so far. Hands down. Absolute magic.

After an early cool down with Miss You, we proceed to completely top Crosseyed with a ridiculous 21 minute Set Your Soul Free. SYSF is absolutely insane, going deeper and stranger than almost any other version I can think of. Multisectional, zero bliss rock, nothing but strange and weird robo hellscape annihilation. Honestly, I would call this the SYSF equivalent of the 8/6/21 Simple. Yes, I just went there. Yes, I am dead serious. This is the epitome of craziness. If you like your type 2 STRANGE, then this is the jam for you. DEFINITELY a legitimate all-time version of SYSF. Puts the 2/26/22 reading to shame!

Following a brief Caspian reprise, we get ANOTHER must hear type 2 excursion!! Twist is 13 minutes of rocket sauce. It does go type 2 and they explore it thoroughly, but you are grabbing this because of the insane and lengthy hose annihilation peak finale. HOSE HOSE HOSE HOSE HOSE!!!!

A ripping little Carini closes the set excellently.

Encore gets off to a slow start with Silent before F Your Face and Buffalo Bill return us to the zaniness. Killer.

The show closer is yet another classic, all timer version. This time they play Fire, and while tearing the roof off, Trey full on rips into the full Star Spangled Banner slowly, as if he is Hendrix at Woodstock, while the rest of the band keep Fire itself going proper underneath. That was one of the most slack-jawed moments Ive ever had as a listener. Insane.

All in all, set 2 is a ridiculous triumph. Not a single low point aside from the sleepy Silent in the encore. THREE legitimate type 2 adventures, a couple all timers, the sickest encore in a hot minute.....dude.

Crosseyed, SYSF, Twist and Fire.

My God.

Probably the 2nd best show of the entire year so far right behind 2/26/22

2022-07-22 Bethel, NY

 7 22 22 Bethel

Set 1

The show opens with an incredible, actually jam charted, Golgi!!! High energy, when they reach the "up and down" section they stretch it out and legitimately jam it for a minute or two! Absolutely incredible, total x factor magic!!!

The following nearly 15 minute Sample follows suit. Though it never gets "strange" they jam it out wonderfully and the segue back into the song has to be heard to be believed. Absolutely must hear!!!

After a hot My Soul comes ANOTHER jam surprise with a Gumbo that legitimately goes type 2, dissolving into a funky murk. Incredible version, somehow the jam mutates into an equally dark Saw It Again!!! What the hell is goinf on?! What are these sick segues?!

After some SIA zaniness we get a magical Timber segueing perfectly out of SIA!! Even more jammed out, this is total x factor magic. Holy crap.

Meat, Lawn Boy, MyFe and Guelah are all strong and solid while Brian and Robert is just fantastic.

Excellent Walk Away closer.

All in all, what in the love of crap was this first set?!?! The Golgi, Sample and Gumbo>SIA>Timber were all total x factor must hear magic!!!

Probably the best first set so far and one of the sickest sets of the year so far!!!  

Set 2

Rough start with a short Mr. Completely that gets pretty strange but is entirely disconnected and just....not good.

Thankfully a 24 minute YEM makes us forget quickly. X Factor all over, they push through the vocal jam and jam the CRAP outta this one. One of the sickest, most essential YEMs of recent times!! Must hear at all costs!!! Seriously, this YEM is a behemoth!!!

A hot type 1 Fuego follows. Nothing special but still excellent. Good jamming.

From here, there is literally nothing else to say. There is no more jamming, just a string of solid if unspectacular type 1 readings.

Boogie is hot but ends awkwardly, Scents does nothing....

Having ONLY ALBTD as the sole encore is like extreme insult to injury. At least its a genuinely excellent reading, but what the hell happenned?!

All in all, set 1 was pretty dang spectacular. Set 2 on the other hand was enjoyable but so ridiculously unspecial I cant describe it. YEM is a giant shining diamond. The entire rest of the set is just, pretty much, a waste of your time.

At least ALBTD was great.  What the hell happenned?!
Man, no way I can give this show more than a 3.5 thanks to that 2nd set.