2025-07-09 Columbus, OH

 7 9 25 Columbus

Set 1 

An 11 minute Bag opener bodes well! Its a really good version. Not explosively energetic, but it has a cool kind of jam where they shift key (I think?) which gives the rocking a different flavor. Excellent peak section but not as, well, explosive as it could be. I wouldn't call this must here but it's really good regardless and worth at least to listen.

The following Roggae is a typical average version. Very good and with an excellent solo but at the same time not not exceeding any any expectations.

Great to hear Vultures tonight. A solid version just a little bit shaky on the vocals. Musically it is sound and Trey actually has a very nice solo but on the whole it is, again, nothing special.

After an average Martian Monster we get a pretty good Muml. As with Bag it follows the same kind of path delivering a really good nice version that never completely goes off the rails but also does stretch a good bit. Another version that I can't call must here but is also maybe worth checking out anyways.

Another average reading for the show, Strawberry Letter 23 is great to hear as always and played fine but nothing particularly special in the slightest.

Man this is the most average straight down the middle set I think I've ever heard, what the corn. Okay energy and everyone is playing fine, but Treys playing sounds a bit uninspired and ever so slightly rusty tonight.

Finally we get a genuine must hear. As seems to be the norm tonight we get another fresh set call with Undermind. It doesn't do anything special but is another in a long line of just absolutely off the rail fantastic type 1 readings. Trey wakes up!

The set ends on a high note with the first Petrichor since 2022 (!!!!) followed by Life Saving Gun to cap it off. Thankfully, Petrichor sounds great. Well rehearsed as well it should be!

Then, outta friggin nowhere suddenly ....19 minute LSG. LETS GO!!! The song is hot and the jam begins with Trey jumping straight onto the wah. Amidst Pages robo synths and Gordos growls, he patiently takes his time working in and around the soundscape. He's half "vamping"/half soloing. Throughout, Gordo is way out front, almost taking charge. Eventually Trey starts picking up steam again. They return to jamming on the LSG theme proper. Man, those synths are SICK! Trey starts a little melodic motif while Page is washing us down with his synths like we are at the laundromat. Throughout all this, Trey is still playing rather restrained, hinting at more but never following through. Eventually they all sync up on a cool staccato kind of motif. The jam takes a cool turn and starts to get a lot more low key. Vibrato effects come out, Trey plinkoing it up. Fishman is still rattling away but they are working towards other shores. Trey sets a nice looper for ambience that you barely even notice as they all sync up again on a little rhythm. They ride this for a long time, slowly interjecting with fills and bits. Fishman picks up on it and does some good work accenting the beats. Meanwhile, Trey is doing some nice still-lowkey melodic playing, slowly adding to his loops, introducing some backwards guitar. Fishman begins to ramp up his playing and the intensity slowly begins to build once more. This is a great jam, very much a "full band playing as one" exercise. Killer. Definitely must hear. So while the intensity is ramping up, Trey refuses to let go of his backwards guitar loops. Basically we end up in this kind of fast paced soundscapey area. Not really moving forward at all, just chillin out hanging in one spot for several minutes. Finally, Trey jumps onto the robo wah and we are legitimately back to proper rocking. Loopers still going, we get a kind of dark rock thing going on. Like a slowly building thunderstorm or something. At 15.30 he kicks off the wah and begins to build a peak section, slowly just rocking harder and harder, working thise sustained bends like they owe him money. This is such a "holding back" jam. So primed to just go nuts but they are teasing the crap out of us instead. Unfortunately for some reason we never get any proper peak/resolution and instead Trey leads us back into the chorus to close. Man, talk about BLUE BALLS!!! I cant say that wasnt awesome but it felt a little undercooked at times. Sick on the whole but that anti-climax was super annoying. Still a definite must hear, but I wouldn't call it X Factor Magic at all.

All in all this was an ok set. It wasnt tired, it wasnt lacking energy, the song choices were excellent and fresh. But nothing really "clicks" in that magical kind of way that makes you sit up and take notice. Treys playing isnt exactly "sticky" but I also cant say it is flowing like on a better night. He sounds rather restrained tonight, rarely letting loose. For instance, Bag is primed to erupt and instead it just kinda...finishes. Nicely, but slightly underwhelmingly. That kinda thing.

There is nothing "wrong" with this set. It's just exceptionally unexceptional. Straight down the middle with no dips and very few ups. Bag and Mull are both worth checking out once and Undermind, though "typical" is must hear. And of course the ridiculous Life Saving Gun - it doesnt top Manchester (imo) but is still a very worthy competitor!!!

This set gets a "eh" outta 10 from me. A solid B+ ish set 

 

Set 2

The 2nd Sample In a Jar set 2 opener of the summer (cant believe I just said that!). I maintain this song shouldnt be within 50 miles of a 2nd set but this is a red hot type 1 reading regardless. Still, Sample is Sample.

Up next we jump straight into a 26 minute Wave of Hope!!! HECK YES LETS GO AMIGOS! Very high energy, we get the expected chirpy melodic bliss rock all the way to 11 minutes. Suddenly they stumble into a terrific and raging peak. After the peak subsides the jam somehow drops into a dark kind of No Quarter area. Unfortunately its only for one brief minute before its back out and into the chirpy melodic bliss rocking once more. This jam is super one note, but I will admit its flowing like crazy. It doesn't feel TOO meandering. At 17 minutes loopers and backwards fx and synths come out and we finally move again into a much darker, super lowkey and downright SCARY area!!! Wtf!! Where did this come from?!?! They explore this awesome area nicely for a few minutes. Eventually they slide back to the light and work their way out. The final few minutes see some X Factor Magic make a big appearance!!! Trey begins teasing the crap outta the descending Petrichor lick. The intensity ramps up 10 fold and we get an absolute monster of a shreddy, trill fest, jaw on the floor NUCLEAR EFFIN BOMB EXPLOSION !!! One of the greatest jam finales Ive ever heard. Pedal to the friggin metal!!!!! And then, on a dime and incredibly awkwardly, Trey RIPS them out of the peak and back into a Wave reprise. Man, that was brutal. They nailed the transition but that was so ridiculously unnecessary and totally derailed whatever flow was happening. That Wave was weird - it wasnt my favorite jam. What they were actually playing was always excellent, but it was so bipolar!! Every time you thought it was going one direction they would yank it and slide elsewhere before said section could truly reach its potential. Outro ripcord aside though, that finale really is something special. Must hear jam, but with some caveats.

We get a shock cooldown tonight with the first PROPER Waiting All Night since 2019!!! The fall 2021 "accidental" version doesnt count! The song itself sounds fine and is super welcome, but unfortunately Trey completely botches his solo, fumbling and falling on his face. Bummer supreme ....

They quickly pick up the pieces and rip into a tight and hot Axilla. Genuinely, its a great little standard version! No jam on it tonight, it magically begins to morph and we slide perfectly into a 22 minute Piper!! All hail the recent Piperaissance!! And thank god Trey actually allows them time to slowly evolve the Axilla outro into it instead of just yanking them into it.

Piper kicks into gear and we are off. Its hard to describe a rapidfire Piper. Early on they begin to play around though and things start to get extremely growly around the 8 minute mark. Trey refuses to go deep though, insisting on upbeat melodic motif playing, yanking them back into upbeat bliss rock territory. At least Gordo is keeping his fx going, giving flavor to an otherwise rote section. From here I just begin to zone out as it becomes the usual, typical "bliss rock to infinity" version we've had beaten into us the last few years. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST MAKE IT STOP I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE. Welp, apparently I spoke too soon! Just as im completely checking out, the jam slowly takes on a slightly more laid back kind of night time vibe. If only Fishman would stop his god damn RATTLING and CHILL OUT FOR ONCE!!! Hinting at returning to that awful bliss rock racket, some inspiration begins to spike and we move into more patiently kind of hazy waters. SHUT UP FISHMAN BEFORE I TAKE THOSE STICKS OUT OF YOUR HANDS AND BEAT YOU WITH THEM THIS IS DELICATE STUFF HERE SO STOP IT!!!!! Trey is back to noodly melodic playing except that now its straight up magical. Pages synths beneath add so much, you dont even know ....we are in Bliss Rock Hell, but its at least much higher quality by this point. Around 18 minutes they all lock in hard and we head for a massive peak section. Absolutely expected, but who the hell doesnt love a soaring final just bursting with energy!! I dont want to have to wade through this ja again to reach it, but hot damn, this is what PEAKING LOOKS LIKE!!! PUT THIS IN THE DICTIONARY BECAUSE THIS IS THE DEFINITION!!!! LETS FREAKING GO!!! BANG YOUR HEAD AND GET IT, SON!!!! THIS PEAK IS PURE MAGIC!!! EVEN BETTER THAN WAVE WAS!!! HOLY CRAP IT WONT STOP IT JUST KEEPS GOING!

I freaking hate Pipers like that - but that finale?! Are you freaking kidding me?! They could play Sparkle all night long for all I care if they give us that!!

And mother of god, the most perfectly placed - and gorgeous - Lonely Trip follows. 10/10 on that set placement. Exactly the perfect song at exactly the perfect moment. Played slightly slower tonight, it just spews emotion and honestly made me cry, thinking about my own memories and life...This version is just beautiful. Must hear. Man.....what a tearjerker...God, Treys solo is just emotional perfection. Magic....

The emotions continue as they ease us back into rocking with a wonderfully placed Number Line. It's an excellent version hitting right in the feels. Perfectly emotional with some nice nice peakage. Maybe not must here but in the context of this show it's fantastic.

The set is capped off perfectly with an excellent Loving Cup.

Terrific encore tonight of Bug, MANGO and Antelope! Good Lord! Mango is killer. Tightest ive heard in a while, they nail it!!!

And the show closing Antelope is even better! Antelope has been on a tear recently and this one is no exception. Im calling this must hear. Its several magnitudes more explosive than many "typical" modern versions. A ridiculous finale!!

All in all, this was far from my favorite show and possibly my least favorite of the tour besides Boulder number two. There was a good amount of fantastic stuff but even more that was depressingly average - not in a bad way, just not in a good way either.

Set two brought the absolute fire. The jams weren't completely connected if you catch my drift, but a+ for effort they were definitely trying. The peak finale is on both Wave and Piper are extraordinary and need to be heard at all costs. And the cooldown into that magical Lonely Trip...chefs kiss....

I'd say I agree with the 3.7 rating on .NET. if this was 2015 this would be a 5 out of 5 star show, but when compared to the monsters surrounding it here in 2025, it's lack of flow and excess of issues (even if they are probably just nitpicks on my part), definitely make it fall well short.

Really though, what an incredible time to be a fan that THIS can be considered an off night!!!!  

2025-07-05 Boulder, CO

 7 5 25 Boulder

Set 1

Buried Alive kicks things off tonight. Heck yes. Excellent reading with lots of heat. Great start to the show!

Up next are 46 Days and Birds. Neither are must hear, but at the same time both are genuinely excellent "in the box" type 1 readings. 46 has a great kind of grindy peak and Birds just rages better than you expect it to. Good stuff. What a killer trio to open the show, eh?!

The first must hear piece of the night follows with a spectacular 11 minute Sigma Oasis. This sucker spends its time i this fantastic kind of "type 1.5" area. Quickly the synths come out and Gordo is on growly FX. The jam is very ethereal, maybe majestic you could say! Unfortunately they slide out of going deep but they proceed to rage it hard to a close instead. The flow on this was magnificent. This was one of the most "complete" sounding versions Ive heard. Definitely some X Factor on this one! MUST HEAR!!!

Up next is David Bowie. The song begins with a near trainwreck and there are a few shakey spots rhythmically throughout, which is a shame as this is otherwise another spectacular recent version. As with the Fluff, YEM and Guyuute from this run, Trey 99% straight up nails this with crazy tightness and energy. This Bowie just EXPLODES. I mean, they all do, but ....I wont call this must hear but its dang well worth a listen!!

We get a cooldownn finally with Evolve. Evolve is seemingly always spectacular and this one is no exception. Must hear all day on this sucker - Trey's solo is one of the best Ive ever heard, doing lots of cool "unique for Evolve" stuff. Sick version, seriously.

Up next comes a 15 minute Blaze On. This version is freaking INSANE!!! Man, this HAS to be in the top 3 or 4 type 1 readings of the last few years. Initially going through rounds of heavy m, bubbly kind of gooey funk, it turns to the expected rage fest. And it just explodes. 10 times harder than usual. It goes, and goes, and goes, and goes. It's like a Catholic mass - its STILL goin on! Picture the greatest Blaze On peak explosion finale you've ever heard taken to the nth degree. X Factor. X Factor all over this bad boy. My god.

The set closes terrifically with the duo of Lizards into A Day In the Life. Lizards is killer. Trey has 1 or two vocal flubs but on the whole this is an explosive reading. This is the first thing from a delicate reading of the song! It's just heavy and emotionally girthy and just explosive in the best way. It's slightly too loose for me to call it must here but like Bowie hot dang is it worth a listen!!

ADITL is ADITL. Awesome.

All in all, this was definitely an excellent set on the whole. There were a few small shakey spots and there were "definite" highlights, but this was a strong set regardless and my criticisms are mostly "listening too closely" nitpicks.

Sigma, Evolve and Blaze On are massive must hears. Especially Blaze On. Oh man ...  

 

Set 2

Very sick rocking start with a "now rare" Wilson into a 15 minute Fuego. Actually, its a Fuego>MyFe>Fuego sandwich! Holy mother of corn lets friggin go!!! The first section of Fuego is legitimately outstanding. In two halves, it begins in a dark minor key area. Not exactly robo synthy, but more "dark and depressed". Its extremely cool and sounds pretty unique to my ears. Terrific stuff. Eventually it shifts major and we are off to the FUNK OLYMPICS SUPREME. For a very gloriously long time they proceed to build upon 7/4's Oblivion and deliver the nastiest, funkiest, most godzilla stomping funk jamming Ive heard out of modern Phish in a hot minute. I honestly dont recall ever hearing another Fuego even in this ballpark of straight of funkyness. I mean, this is ROBOFUNK SUPREME DIRECT FROM NEPTUNE.

GOOD GOD THAT WAS SICK!!

Eventually (and sadly...), the jam reaches a natural conclusion point. With a "I think that was a segue?" transition out, they slide into MyFe!!! MyFe is merely a transition piece tonight bridging the two halves of Fuego. Would love to see the stats - this is surely the shortest MyFe in years.

MyFe reaches the jam and instead of going dark as usual, Trey immediately begins the Fuego themes again and leads them perfectly back into it!!! This is what dreams are made of.....slowly the new 11 minute back half of the song turns into this ridiculous kind of Melt-like wall of sound. Fishman never loses the beat but everyone else is basically completely deconstructing this sucker. And this goes on for a long time - gotta be 3 or 4 minutes;!! WHAT IS THIS MONSTROSITY!!!!! From here, somehow they weave their way back from the abyss they were tetering upon and spend the rest of the jam building to the expected ridiculous POWER ROCK conclusion, eventually peaking out and leading into a surefire segue into 2001...

Absolutely unreal. Now THAT was a unique Fuego!!! Good lord what even is this band doing anymore.

Despite one of the most perfect segue setups I can recall, Trey axes the not-to-be 2001 and they rip into Crosseyed.

AND JESUS EFFING BANANA CHRIST FROM HEAVEN WHAT EVEN IS THIS. NEW GOAT. NEW GOAT STATUS RIGHT HERE. WHAT IN THE F. WHERE ARE THEY PULLING THIS STUFF FROM?!?!

Anywho - Crosseyed is 13 minutes of pure magic. Immediately it feels hotter/more intense than usual (which is saying a lot!). Super uptempo, just bangin. You know we are in for some serious shiznit when Trey is ripping the backwards guitar, doing "happy birthday" teases while Fishman is hooting and hollering behind the kit.

The jam is utter magical ridiculousness. Full blown type 2 for its duration, this is the heavenly Yin to Mexico 2025's twisted and gnarly Yang. Crosseyed's jam is insane. Very 1999 combined with a modern Phish edge (or something like that). Soaring through the sky, the heavens, the ether. Yet at the same time burning with the exploding white hot intensity of 10,000 suns.

It begins by dying down to a more quiet feel, intensity remaining however. Immediately we drop straight into this textural kind of major key synthscape. Beautiful loop and synths combos. Soon some synth washes creep in and frighteningly the jam almost dies. Thank Icculus for Jon Fishman! He goes "nope!" and picks the beat back up. Barely two minutes in we are in this unbelievable haze from heaven!! Loopers, synth washes, tons of power drill..... If Trey kicked on the octave up, I would honestly think this was a summer 1999 jam or something.

With the blissful synth wash bedrock in place, Trey and Page both begin swirling around melodically. Very slowly the jam is increasing in intensity. The power drill pops in and out. Trey begins teasing the Fuego lick and we are just soaring into the psychedelic heavens.

Quickly, the jam RAMPS UP the intensity majorly. Its a swirling, snarling PSYCHEDELIC POWER BLISS jam of epic proportions. The speed increases and Trey unleashes the most ridiculous sonic noize destruction soaring peak explosion of all time. An absolute wall of sound coming at you at 5000 mph. Just as we think we have died and gone to purgatory, the jam dies a death and we go into a 15 minute Everythings Right ....

If this isnt a damn All Timer For Any Era jam, I dont know what the hell would qualify to be. @heathen - if this doesn't do anything for you, amigo...

Honestly, its kind of hard to properly describe this jam accurately. Yet another 2025 "this is UNIQUE!" jam.
I think this just replaced everything else as my top jam of the year so far. What in the love of unholy godly X Factor....

So up next we get a 15 minute Everythings Right. Tight and powerful, the jam begins in a very pretty and low key bliss zone. Its got power but they are chilling out and its glorious. Very "hazy" and synthy yet again. Then all of a sudden at th 10 minute mark it slides into minor key darkness outta nowhere, Trey rocking the vibrato effect for a creepy vibe. And in comes the darkness, stuttering away, creeping in the shadows. Very slowly it increases the intensity bit by bit. Good god the flow on this is insane. They are growing a monster! Tense and frightening, they languish in the extreme haze of this dark night, full moon aglow, wolves howling in the distance....just getting more and more abstract, slowly deconstructing the jam. Darkest, most extreme Everythings Right ever played?! We have straight up descended into the swirling vortex to hell. HOLD ME, MOMMY! IM SCARED!!!!!! Thankfully, just as I was about to lose my mind Trey leads us back into love and light and they rock it to a close like they didnt just take us into the depths of despair and fright, lol. Utter magic, once again. How in the hell do they keep topping themselves?!?!?! This is freaking ridiculous!

Sensing our despair they proceed to give us a double dose of love and light with a rocking More into an excellent Slave set closer. Honestly? That More is so perfectly placed it feels so good when you reach it.

Slave and More are both strong typical readings. Neither must hear.

The encore is a SPECTACULAR Buffalo Bill>Harry Hood combo. Hood is unfreakingreal tonight. One of those magical, perfectly created versions just oozing with passion and purpose. The build up/peak goes on forever and will just leave you shaking your head in awe. No its not a 1.0 Hood, but itll do!!! MUST HEAR!!!

All in all, this set two was a damn BEAST!!! The Fuego Sandwich, The Heavenly Crosseyed, The Dark and Scary ER.

Bruh. How they doin' that. Seriously. This band/tour just keeps getting better. Set 2 of night 2 was perfection from start to finish, but I think the 3 big jams of this 2nd set maybe blow away those of night two (except that Tweezer). And that Hood?!?!? Fuhgeddaboutit!!Move over 12/29/23 and 12/30/24! Theres a new sheriff in town and his name is BUFFALO HOOD!!

I get the 4.1 rating on .NET. It was a slightly mixed show ON THE WHOLE, but the highlights were so astronomically insane... Man...Im kinda speechless after these last two shows. 

2025-07-04 Boulder, CO

 7 4 25 Boulder

Set 1

12 minute Gin opener tonight. Gin is pretty boring for the first two thirds. The finale absolutely explodes but its nothing special in the long run.

Up next is Moma. Good stuff but positively average in the most extreme way.

Following a rare Beauty of My Dreams, Theme delivers the same "good enough but also excessively average" level of quality the rest of the set has achieved so far ....

Rift is strong overall but again nothing special.

What in the heck is going on?? This is the most AVERAGE set of the whole year so far. The playing is fine and the energy is basically there, but there is nothing, at all, remotely "impressive" or "memorable" about any of this...

Finally, the first keeper of the show is an excellent 14 minute Oblivion. Nice and tight with excellent groove power, this one kinda develops this unique kinda vaguely bluesy vibe about it. Around 6 minutes they shift into this stoccato kind of area. Trey sets a looper in the background for texture. Yo, this is a sweet little jam! From here, the jam proceeds to start to swirl into this washy kind of vortext. Trey flirts with going major key but the rest of the band amusingly subvert his efforts and force it to stay dark. Slowly some robo and wah effects start to seep in, Page is washing us down with synths and the whole thing becomes downright growly. This is SICK!!!! Just a mushy, gooey, oozing kind of Oblivion. Into the swirling vortex we are sucked ...COME GET YOUR HELPING OF ROBO SOUP!!! Good god, listen to Gordon absolutely tearing it up on this sucker. Anyone saying they cant hear him are lying - hes way up in the mix (at least in this show), and its glorious. Man, I really cant say enough about this Oblivion. Must hear all friggin day - this is the definition of FILTHY MCNASTY!!!!

Yo dawg, you need that Oblivion in your life, stat. Got it? Good. Now go rage it loud and heavy.

Perfectly, the song ends and they immediately launch into Timber. Right away, Timber starts flirting with a really cool kinda dark vibe. Terrific version, it rips as usual. Awesome feedback squeals as the song swirls to its dark peak. Trey kicks on the Leslie giving the peak a unique flavor. Terrific little Timber. I'd call it must hear in tandem with Oblivion.

Up next is a super rare Guyuute!! For some reason Trey sings it an octave up and it sounds terrible, lol. Thankfully, musically, they friggin CRUSH it! Pig slaughter supreme! The technical parts are NAILED and th energy is over the top. The "swirling vortex" section is played as good as any great 1.0 reading. This version was nuts. Must hear, man. My god.

The set comes to a close with the duo of BOTT into Most Events. BOTT is truly terrific. A genuinely EXCELLENT reading, possibly must hear because its just that good. Good lord, this is one of the most spectacular type 1 readings ever. No. Really. Its EXCEPTIONAL!!!! MUST HEAR!!!

Most Events is typically strong but breaks the run of must hear material.

All in all, this set started ridiculously unimpressively. Skip STRAIGHT to Oblivion and just delete everything prior. With Oblivion they kick into high gear and the rest of the set kills. Oblivion>Timber, Guyuute and BOTT were all must hear, imo. Fantastic readings. 

 

Set 2

The second 2 opens tonight with a 12 minute Simple in a rare set opening spot. The tempo is kinda slow and sludgy on this one. Eventually the song shifts into this cool kinda driving rock section. Trey flirting with loops/textural backwards guitar stuff. Super cool. Suddenly some synths come out that sound like a talk box and the jam kinda starts to sound vaguely like a Sweet Emotion jam or something. And then the space robots slowly creep in. Welcome to type 2. This is sick as hell, like some kind of outer space sonic "wallpaper". Very late 90s in that "slow build evolution" kind way. Freaking SICK. Eventually Trey returns to melodic playing sans FX but Gordo and Page are refusing to totally return from orbit. The jam is kind of in this "late night, floating through the stars" area. Super cool when Trey flashes on the Leslie for a bit. God, this jam is so SICK!! Just cruising through the night sky. Slowly it winds down to a close and into Mind we morph.

The tempo slowly decreases and they sliiiddde flawlessly into a 14 minute Mind! THAT FREAKIN SEGUE WAS LEGIT AS HELL. And this version is freaking AWESOME!!! Immediately immersing itself completely into darkness, Trey raging the porno wah, Page laying down those foreboding synths. Then the two of them sync up on this melodic line...this is magical. Freaking X Factor Magic. They rage the melodic space rock until 12 minutes when it goes full ambien wash before Fishman brings the beat back and they take this space jam to a slow, but incredible breakdown/meltdown close. Just as you think its over, Trey launches back into a ripping solo. Full deconstruction. Complete abstraction....add that jam to the hall of fame for dark/spacey/melty jams. Holy mother of awesomeness. Honestly? That was at least on par with - if not BETTER - then the 44 minute Pittsburgh reading. Complete focus and perfection.

And, with another perfect segue, we launch into an 18 minute Tweezer and the universe explodes.... And Tweezer....another UNREAL reading that just spits, snarls, crushes and annihilates everything in its wake topped off with the most ridiculous peak finale imaginable. For my own sake, I will write an extended review of this. There is SO much going on and its unbelievably perfect just like Mind was.... 5000/10 reading. Very "Raleigh 1999 Sand". Dark and powerful. THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST, MOST PERFECT TWEEZERS LAID UPON OUR UNWORTHY MORTAL EARS!!!

Then comes the Godzilla stomping No Quarter we were certain would come out of Mind. Delivers just as you expect absolutely killer fantastic.

And then into a 15 minute Disease?! Are you freaking kidding me? What the heck is this set!!! And its the most ridiculous type 1 reading of recent times, even more than that amazing version from spring tour. This version is absolutely screaming from the friggin sky!!!! This one just SCREAMS!!!!!!!!!! Holy hell talk about capping off a set! Another must hear!!!

If you can believe it, they double whammy us into an 11 minute Ghost. And, if you can believe it, it puts that Disease to shame! Just like the 12/28/23 Gin>Ghost, just when you think things cant get any more nuclear, they come out and bomb you 20 times harder just because they can. This has GOT to be the strongest, hottest, most EXTREME "type 1 set closer" Ghost ever. Its not just blazing, its downright solar. Add in a ridiculous wall of sound style to the whole thing and its just a 5000 ton sledgehammer to the face. And then some.

Holy shiznit.

Hot encore of a blazing C Zero into Tweeprise.

All in all... ok, I understand the 4.5 rating on .NET now!!! From start to finish, set 2 was pure magic. The jams were incredible, doing anythinf but stay in the box. The heat was out of this universe. The flow and segues impeccable. The X Factor Magic off the scale....

In years to come we will remember this 2nd set as among the finest ever unleashed for any era. Period. 

2025-07-03 Boulder, CO

 7 3 25 Boulder,,

Set 1

Wolfman opener tonight. Nothing special but it rages hard with high energy and is a terrific start to the show.

The first must hear is a very lengthy 13 minute Tube. No funkiness here, this one is all power and melodic bliss rocking. But taken to an extra degree!! It slowly just builds and builds getting more and more dense, eventually peaking for a long while before SLAMMING back into the song and out. Terrific version!!!!! Must hear!!

Next comes the first true magic of the show. A Rare Roses are Free follows Tube. Excellent version of the song, but the real shock is that they jam the crap out of it!! Immediately (and I mean immediately), they go type 2 (im calling it type 2) by jumping into a unique stoccato rhythm pattern. Cool stuff. Some slight FX usage, but from here they basically deviate into an extreme kind of "power rock on steroids" jam or something. Just screaming!!! Hot damn!! The X Factor is just oooozzzziiinnngggg from this version. MUST HEAR!!

Perfectly on cue they drop right into Maze. Heck yes. Maze is typically hot and tight. This one feels very uptempo with extra intensity. Also, I swear Page's solo goes twice as long, allowing them to just quadruple the usual energy by the time its Treys turn to rip. This Maze is off the rails. And HOLY MOTHER OF MOLTEN LAVA TREY JUST ANNIHILATED THE UNIVERSE!! HOLY FREAKING CRAP!! Good god, this was an exceptional modern version. Maze has been awesome in recent times but even still this one is just so "extra". Absolutely friggin must hear, holy crap.

And man, talk about a perfectly placed Bouncing Around the Room after that devastation. No, really, this was so perfect - and needed. Great version.

Slowly they build the energy back with Nellie Kane. Unfortunately its not a particular good version. It drags with tempo issues and they never seem locked in. Gordo is even dropping lyrics and even Pages solo kinda sucks! Wtf, yo....

Thankfully they swiftly launch into a 12 minute KDF. Much better! The jam begins with Trey kicking on some chorus/vibrato and toying around with some darker kind of melodic playing. "Night time" jamming, if you will. Quickly they move back out into a decidedly upbeat bliss rock area. Kinda chill, Trey doing upward motifs echoed by Page. Kind of ethereal? Eventually it picks up more and feels like they are starting to click some. But we are still just exploring high energy upbeat melodic bliss rock. Thankfully they soon turn the energy to 5000 and proceed to melt our faces! For several MINUTES they basially peak the ever loving crap outta sucker!!! Trey is peaking, setting loops of said peaks and then peaking again on top of those to creat one massive UBERPEAK. No, seriously, this is must hear for that final section. Holy moly.....

Finally, this fireball set concludes with the double whammy of Sand into Fluffhead. Sand is awesome. Very textural and late 90s sounding. Patiently building the dark mood, Trey using whale sirens (that are unfortunately mixed almost inaudible...), Page echoing throughout on his synths. This is a very patient version. Its not low energy, they are just taking their sweet time and it is glorious, slowly raising the energy bit by bit. Eventually Page turns back to piano and it's off to the expected raging peak. Is this must hear in the grand scheme? Probably. This is damn "perfect" version, perfectly grown and executed. I would definitely say this needs to be heard.

As with the rest of the set, Fluffhead is perfectly uptempo, high energy and generally tight as hell. In other words an excellent reading and a fantastic ending to a crushing set. Really though, this is a STUPENDOUS reading of the song!!!! Man, they absolutely nailed it!!!!! This has to be the most well played Fluff Ive heard in a long time. I mean, its basically flawless and TIGHT. 10/10, A+ reading. For real.

All in all, for some reason I get a slight "vibe" of this being a lesser set (whatever the hell that mean), but I also thought it was basically all killer no filler aside from Nellie Kane.

Tube, Roses, Maze, KDF, THAT FLUFF and probably Sand are all definitely must hear. Nothing really gets strange in this set, just an excess of energy and tight playing even higher than the already high standards of the tour so far. Basically, you like fire? This is the set for you.  

 

Set 2

The second half of the show opens with a 12 minute Carini. As expected Carini. Right away its apparent this will be another "extra" version. Just subtle things, like the extra vocal prowess or the way Page is creeping in synths. The jam begins with Trey doing that patient thing again from Sand. Page echoing him underneath with dark synths is awesome. Trey kicks on a demented Leslie type sound and the jam starts to sound like the depths of the ocean. Trey then proceeds to do some excellently demented wah pedal texturing. They all eventually link up and the jam feels like its moving upwards and back towards the surface. That is indeed what happens and the jam morphs into high energy melodic bliss rockin. Man, is Fishman on fire this tour or what?! He is just exploding. The upbeat rocking takes on an introspective kind of "floating in the sky" vibe. Check out Fish, Trey and Page all in sync, reacting to each other. There is a cool section in the back end where Trey and Page are doing call and response kind of jazzy noodling. And then, this being Phish, they straight up start jamming Deliverance, lol. The jam kind of fades into a strange, screwed up, airy kind of wash from here. That was a really interesting Carini. Not my favorite but that jam was....something! Lots of cool "subtleties" to pick up on. I personally wouldnt call it must hear, but if someone else did I wouldnt argue.

On cue, squalling feedback leads straight into a perfect launch into YEM!! And just like Fluff, they proceed to friggin nail it! Treys playing is TIGHT!!!! Wow! I mean, this is 1.0 tight, lets put it like that. During that "ascending minor key staccato" part, Trey throws in some terrific fills with his sustained notes. Smashing! They rage it to a short vocal jam. They proceed to segue spectacularly back into jamming and proceed to let it rip for another 5 or 6 minutes of type 1 magic. Overall this, like Fluff in set 1, is basically a straight up A+ "standard" reading played as flawlessly and energetically as the very best of modern Phish. Its not "unique" in the grand scheme but it absolutely deserves recognition. Its must hear for sure - not because it gets weird or is particularly "special", but because they friggin nail this m-effer to the board. Tight, tight, tight, tight, TIGHT!!!!!

The jam concludes and Trey counts them off into a 17 minute Sally. As expected, this sucker is gooey and funky. Gordo has it BUMPIN, yo. Stellar type 1 funky raging.
All the way around 9 minutes it finally shifts, moving into upbeat major key rocking. Unfortunately the jam never gets strange preferring to stay in rocking up tempo type 1. I wish it got exploratory but you can't complain too much when it's this hot. Great stuff. The peakage on this sucker is ridiculous, even crazier than KDF. Yet another must hear!

Sally winds down nicely and oh so perfectly they rebuild us up into a short version Light. Nothing special but its a terrific type 1 reading played, again, uptempo and with extra tightness. Good stuff! The jam quickly finds itself moving into a really cool low key kind of chill out jam. Listen to Gordo and Trey playing off each other. Killer. The jam spends a bit meandering in this funky darkness. Trey sounds out of it, unsure what to do. There is a cool/funny moment where Trey does the opening chord of Plasma and they easily could have moved right into it - Gordo heard and immediately begins playing the Plasma bass line harder and harder, as if to signal Trey on. Trey instead kills the jam and weakly moves them into Whats The Use.

And I guess thats a proper thing to say about that lousy jam! The following WTU and Pillow Jets....im not sure if these are good, grimy versions or supremely average readings never worth hearing again. You be the judge.

Average readings of Possum and 2001 close out the set.

Nice encore tonight of a surprise Stash and Rocky Top. Stash is a tight type 1 reading that goes nowhere but Rocky Top is awesome.

All in all this show seem to lose major steam once Light hit, which is a real shame considering how high energy and tight the playing is throughout. The first set was genuinely excellent and the second set started on the same track.

The Carini tonight isn't my favorite but I can't deny that it at least goes quite out there. The the following YEM and Sneaking Sally are both smoke show readings as well. Then it's like the show just falls off the rails huh.

I would rate this show like a solid 3.8 or so in comparison to the shows around it. There is very, very little in terms of exploratory jamming - this is a HIGH energy, TIGHT as hell ROCK SHOW kinda gig. Far from poor but honestly maybe the 2nd "worst" of the tour so far. Or something like that.

Do not sleep on the highlights though!!! 

2025-06-28 Austin, TX

 6 28 25 Austin

Set 1

Holy crap a 10 minute Punch opener. Holy mother of all my freaking YES!!!! And its another TERRIFIC version!!!!!! In the scheme of the crazy versions played this year its maybe the least impressive but this is the biggest nitpick of all time. By modern Phish standards, this is yet another exceptional reading. Tight, red hot, and UPTEMPO LIKE ITS 1995 LETS FRIGGIN GO!!! A+ start to the show!!

Then, as if this is the cover photo for Pantera's A Vulgar Display of Power, we launch into one of the tightest, hottest, most insanely strong type 1 readings of Free that the last few years has seen. Tight as hell, energy out the wazoo. This one is a pure smash to the face. And that solo?! Gnarbars. Freaking gnarbard, amigos. This is must hear. Big time.

Following that, they cement the fact that this is going to be an incredible show with a typically blazing My Soul. Nothing must hear but its an excellent headbanger as usual.

555 follows next and delivers a terrific type 1 reading. Again, super high energy and nasty enough without dragging. Not must hear but still great.

The first mixed piece of the night is Reba, unfortunately. Trey totally botches the start of the technical section and sounds kinda shaken all the way to the solo. I would not call this anything but average. Except (and its a BIG except!) that effing solo. It starts out kinda lame but eventually "clicks" into place and delivers a lengthy jaw dropping peak explosion up there with the strongest of recent years. Honestly? This is must hear - just for that solo!!!

And on into Hey Stranger. And holy moly what a smokeshow! Must hear all day, it's basically the equivalent of Free from earlier in the set. Hot damn!

Some good song choices up next with Plasma and an uber rare Guelah!!! I don't think Plasma reaches must hear status, but it is excellent regardless, with a killer high quality rock an roll finale.

Guelah is fabtastic to hear and sounds great. Nothing else to say.

The set concludes with Moonage Daydream. A ridiculous version, even by MD standards this one is oh so extra. Must hear. Must hear all friggin day!!

All in all, this was another great set!! Blazing energy and mostly tight as hell. A number of "average strong" versions, but thats a little nitpicky. Free, Hey Stranger, Moonagr and the Reba solo are all must hear!!! 

 

Set 2

The 2nd half starts very badly with a LOUSY Chalkdust. 11 minutes, it lacks energy, going nowhere and doing nothing. They try to "chill bliss rock" it but Trey is lost for what to do and abortd the jam back into the finale (which doesnt even rage). Crapdust Torture is more like it.

Following it with a type 1 Twist is just rubbing salt in the wound. At least this is an excellent version regardless that absolutely SMOKES. Not must hear, but worth a listen.

Up next we are finally saved with the Big Boy McGee of the show, a 30 minute Ruby!!!

Ruby is amazing tonight. The initial jam sees them slooooowwwwllllyyy ramping up the energy, bit by bit all the way to the 10 minute mark. But its not a rock and roll kinda thing, its more of a "lets make this more DENSE" kinda thing. Just adding more and more weight until we reach a point where Ruby has officially reached Hefty Boy status. Then around 10 minutes the jam somhow morphs quickly into this tense, dark, kinda scary zone. Very textural with Trey laying back and Page doing his soundscape synth thing. Extremely cool stuff.
Unfortunately, Page then leads us into melodic bliss jamming at the 15 minute mark. Around 17 minutes this begind to pick up steam and they rock and roll rage it to about 20 minutes with a terrific kind of "quasi peak". Killer. Around 20 minutes, the jam shifts again into a spectacular kind of heavy funk jam. This section STOMPS likes its crushing you. Fantastic. Around 25 minutes it slowly morphs back into rock raging and it rages hard with a purpose until the final minute or so where it morphs back into an extremely cool "bottom of the ocean zone" and they fade her to a close ....

Even better it segues spectacularly into Monster as if it was a suite!
Ruby was fantastic. The flow was out of this world. Multi sectional with just enough variation and time to each section. An absolutely WONDERFUL jam!!! No, seriously, this is what perfection sounds like. Its incredible and this review is the furthest thing from doing it justice.

Anywho, Monsters is INSANE.

Its always a smoke show, but this one goes above and beyond. I know I say this all the time but honestly I think this might be the best version played to date. It's at least tied for that version that I rave about from Summer 2024, Deer Creek, I think? Unreal version.

Limb By Limb is next and is a very mixed bag. The song itself is pretty lackluster with a pretty big near Trainwreck that almost derails the whole thing. Thankfully they turn it around for the solo and trade delivers one of the hottest most searing peak fest solos of recent times. Honestly this is just like Reba - forget the song but you need the solo at all costs.

Split Open and Melt is on the slightly shorter side tonight. No real space robots to be found, instead this one sounds a lot more like careening through outer space hurling head-on towards an asteroid you're about to crash into. Or something like that. It's not must hear but it's pretty darn good!!

Finally the set proper closes with a typically kick ass version of Rock and Roll. Another searing reading it more than does the trick and is a super refreshing setlist choice to hear. Always welcome by me!!!

Nice encore of Waste into SANTOS.

All in all, this was a very mixed bag of a set. Ruby and the Limb solo are really the only must hear materials. Twist and Melt are worth to listen though. The less said about that god-awful Chalkdust the better! Good riddance!!

I would rate the show like a solid 4.0 in terms of the quality of Summer 2024. Lots of highlights but also a lot of lots of highlights but "eh" as well. That Ruby>Monsters is God damn essential though! 

2025-06-27 Austin, TX

 6 27 25 Austin, TX

Set 1

The show opens with the "wait, this is a bustout?!" first version of Crowd Control since 2022! And ya know what? Its excellent! The tempo is up, the energy is high and its all around just a great opener.

Immediately upping the ante 10 fold, they launch into a 13 minute Mikes Song. And this is no ordinary 3.0 MS, no. This is a crushing, stomping, face punching monster. X Factor. X Factor everywhere!! Honestly, im gonna commit treason and state that this is a 1.0-tier Mikes. It absolutely KILLS. Just everything about it!! The tightness, the energy, the bump and groove! The playing is definitely inspired - the first jam just sprays fire, then they go type 2 into this incredible kind of soaring bliss jam for a bit before landing back and shredding the song even HARDER to a conclusion. Must hear at all costs. This is like 10 cuts above the usual modern Mikes. Just exceptional.

Keeping the energy going we get an 11 minute Cities. Terrific type 1 version but unfortunately the jam seems to get cut short just at that point of liftoff.

As if all this face smashing wasnt enough, they rip in Divided Sky. And basically everything I said about Mikes should be applied to this. Tight AF. This is a NEXT LEVEL reading that had my jaw on the floor. Just ridiculously fantastic. Must hear, again. Good lord. I cannot stress enough how spectacular this one is.

After an excellent Type 1 reading of The Well, we get a massive bustout of OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DANIEL SAW THE STONE!!!!

Good stuff. Strong versions of Taste and Dirt then lead us to the closing Weekapaug. Paug is the strongest thing since Divided Sky and definitely goes along with the Mikes from earlier. Great version!!

All in all, I thought the first half of this set was downright exceptional for the most part. Seriously great stuff. After Divided Sky the set seemed to get a little bit more ordinary aside from the excellent song choices.

All that being said, Mike's Song and Divided Sky are what you NEED, but special shoutouts to Crowd Control and Weekapaug.  

 

Set 2.

13 minute No Men into a 23 minute Fuego into a friggin 28 minute Golden Age to start. Holy mother of crap ballz. Getting my fire gear on as we speak!

For No Men, all I need to do is quote the immortal Nigel Tufnel - "This one goes to 11!" . An absolute fireball, just like Mikes it is all kinds of just...extra. Nuff said.

Fuego is a monster tonight. It never gets "weird" or abstract, staying in a hard rocking zone for the duration. The interplay between the guys is just sick - this is a terrific version, like the Hollywood Bowl reading on steroids or something. Must hear!!!

Now Golden Age on the other hand...holy moly what is this monstrosity. After a ridiculously magical soaring round of type 1, at 8 minutes the jam immediately drops into funky robo town. They spend until 12 minutes slowly getting more robotic and gooey and wacky and oddball. This just might be the most bleep-bloopiest bleep-bloop jam that ever bleeped a friggin bloop!!!!!! All the way at 15 minutes the beat slows and the song gets dark and HEAVY. ala Mex 2024 Chalkdust or something. Dude ....We proceed to dive into the wormholiest wormhole that ever wormholed a wormhole. Robo deconstruction at its most extreme!!! No, seriously, the next 6 minutes are among the darkest, most heavy and ridiculous minutes ever heard from modern Phish. Picture if the Mex 2024 Chalkdust, the Mex 2025 20 Years Later, and Led Zeppelins "No Quarter" had a threesome and got pregnant. An absolutely unreal section. You need this in your life. Finally, at 21 minutes, out of NOWHERE, they friggin FLOOR IT!!! PEDAL TO THE METAL 500 MPH LETS FRIGGIN GO!!!!! They spend the remainder of the jam absolutely speeding like a rocket out of control, delivering the peakiest peak fest that ever peaked a peak fest!!! Think Bangor 22 Disease mixed with Pelham 21 Carini. ON STEROIDS. HOLY MOTHER OF BUCKLE YOUR GOSH DARN SEATBELTS LETS GO!!! BANG YOUR FREAKING HEAD!!!!
And then, Trey awkwardly forces them back into Golden Age and the saga of the GOAT reaches its conclusion...

GOAT. GOAT RIGHT HERE. GOAT GOLDEN AGE ALL MOTHER FRIGGIN DAY. MOST INSANE VERSION NEXT TO HAMPTON 2018. WHAT THE CORN.

They finally kinda cool us down with a terrific Squirming Coil before Sand. Sand and the set closing C Zero both definitely do the trick, but neither are more than "average strong".

Oddly kinda rusty encore of Life and First Tube, though First Tube does peak like a mother.


All in all, what a show!!! Kind of a mixed bag - great from start to finish but the highlights were clear, boy were they all friggin MASSIVE.

Mikes Song, Divided Sky, No Men>Fuego>Golden Age!!!! THAT GOLDEN AGE!!!!!!!!!!
Great show - id give it a solid 4.2 or so. The highlights were beyond huge but there was also a lot of "this IS really good, but its also nothing special in the slightest". 

2025-06-24 Pittsburgh, PA

 6 24 25 Pittsburgh

Set 1

10 minute Bag opener tonight. Very good version with great energy. Really nice solo with some cool motif jamming that stretches the usual Bag rocking a little bit.

They follow with the first Dogs Stole Things since 2022! You guys know Im a DST hater, but this one is a huge exception. Super high energy and slightly uptempo, this one absolutely slays.
Its honestly great enough for me to call it genuinely must hear!

Another bust out, now we get the first Paul and Silas since 2016. Sounds great. A rare early 1st set IAWITW follows. I think this is a great version. Crazy energy and it really streeeetttccchhhheeesss itself. Trey sounds checked out at times but when he is there it's great. The rest of the guys are absolutely smashing this. I cant call it must hear but I do think its worth recognition.

A 3rd bustout, we get the first Water In the Sky since 2022. Terrific version, it definitely sounds super rehearsed and the guys are all killing. Sick!

Stealing Time is next and I WANT to say its an amazing version. I think it is but I really cant say! Trey is mixed so gosh dang low during his solo that I can barely make him out. What is this garbage?!

Even worse, Ya Mar follows and PAGE is now inaudible!!! Even MORESO than Trey was!!! Ya Mar without Page?! Here ya go folks!!! Its not until halfway through his solo that he becomes audible. I'm not exaggerating, he is completely gone from the mix until about halfway through the song. This mix is a disgrace.

Ugh!!!

Hot damn though, we get a 13 minute Gumbo next! Gumbo is terrific, going type 2 into a great Leslie bliss rock area before getting dark and rocking to a close. Probably must hear.

The closing Walls though? Holy mother of molten lava from the sun must hear must hear must hear!!! This one somehow goes above and beyond the usual Walls heat and delivers a nuclear bomb that will have your jaw on the floor going "where did this come from?!?!". Unbelievable version.


All in all, this set was very good but also definitely not to my personal setlist preferences. Trey also was on/off from song to song. That being said, great energy throughout with a number of standouts.
Dogs, Gumbo and Walls are what you need.   

 

Set 2

Fantastic YEM to open. The boys are ON FIRE delivering one of the tastiest versions. They reach the vocal jam and Fishman refuses to stop, keeping them going into further high octane jamming. Maybe not must hear but damn is it good!!

And then...holy mother of insanity. 43 minute Mind (mind mind mind mind mind mind.....)!!!!!!! The song itself sounds great. The jam begins with a lengthy section of dark kind of tenseness. Lots of synths and Trey using his loopers to make layers of texture. Awesome stuff. The second section of the jam sees them patiently exploring a kind of hazy upbeat psychedelia. This goes from 11 minutes all the way to the 16 minute mark. From there they meander a bit until at 19 minutes things get dark. Just as quickly, Trey leads them back out at 21 minutes into hard rocking. They reach the most unbelievable peak section, going maybe more nuclear than that damn Walls! This rock peak section is INSANE!!! Around 25 minutes the peak finally subsides and the jam morphs into crazy dark psychedelic strangeness. Hell yes! Just when I thought the jam was gonna be stuck, they finally junp off the DEEP end!!! The intensity goes SKY HIGH and we spend until 31 minutes hurtling through the friggin outer space black hole wormhole vortex from hell!!! Holy mother of hold on to your spacesuits!!! THIS IS INSANE! OUTER SPACE THRILL RIDE FROM HELL! LETS FRIGGIN GO!!! Finally around 31 minutes the craziness subsides and the jam starts to break down. X Factor. All the X Factor. Every last friggin bit of it. My word.... Thank God for Jon Fishman - the jam reaches an obvious winding down conclusion point, but he REFUSES to let it end!!! He keeps that rat a tat tat going and they relaunch back into the jam. From here, they spend 10 minutes in the most gnarly, freaky kind of...what the hell would you even call this?! Think the Dicks 2012 Farmhouse taken to the nth degree!!! This wacky, dark almost kind of industrial robo jungle insanity!!!! Now THIS is what hurtling through the vortex sounds like!!! Easily as far out there as the 6/20 Twist and probably more so!!!!!!! Good god!!!! Eventually they return to the song and send us out....

WHAT IN THE LOVE OF GOD EVEN WAS WHAT?!?! THAT WAS FRICKIN NUTS!!!!!!!

All in all that jam was obviously terrific, but at the same time I don't think it beats the Tweezer from the night before. The jam seemed to be a little more long-winded than it needed to be and slightly too "concious" of itself. But ignore me because that's all extreme nitpicking.

From here, the show rages to a close with a soaring Caspian, blazing Julius and a must hear Blaze On. Blaze On is stupendous!!!! So very extra in the best way. It just COOKS!! The jam feels extra powerful and almost funky and the incredible peak finale recalls the Walls from set 1. Absolutely must hear!!!

Fresh encore of The Howling into Ghost. Both good but inessential.

All in all this was another excellent show. It felt a bit more scatter shot than the last couple but musically I can't fault it really. The only real thing is that it didn't seem as smooth as far as flow is concerned, and Trey was having some kind of uninspired night here and there. I'm really not a fan of the first set song choices - I dig the songs but to have all of those together in the same set is kinda rough.

Still this was a great show regardless and I would rate it like a solid 4.2.