2022-02-27 Quintana Roo, MX

 Finishing Mexico 2022 this morning.

2 27 22 Mexico

Set 1

Surprise bustout of Fat Man in the Bathtub! Was it realy 12 effin years since 2010 already?!?! This sounds great and rocks hard. Honestly, they could add this to regular rotation and I wouldnt complain!!!

Up next is a classic Mikes Groove. Mikes Song never gets super hot, yet at the same time their is this heavy energy all the same. Like a restrained heat. Nice version. Hydro is a little sticky, but Paug is great. A really terrific type 1 version that positively EXPLODES to a climax!!

Mikes Groove probably isnt must hear night, but its still very nice and Paug in particular is great.

46 Days is great. Pretty lengthy, it deserves its Jam Chart but at the same time still feels ever so slightly underwhelming. Interesting.

Rift is....eh. Everyone is killing except Sticky Fingers Trey over here who kinda sinks the ship a good bit. Bummer. Not a good version - just yucky. Trey COMPLETELY botches the fast ascending lick and straight up just gives up!

Thankfully a must hear If I Could follows. Stellar version, Treys extended solo is just downright magical. Killer.

Unfortunately, MyFe returns us to Shakey Trey territory. Thankfully he picks up but its just a solid type 1 reading with a short peak. Nothing special in the slightest.

The set gains new momentum again with the much welcome and very fresh Clear Your Mind. Great stuff. Grab it. Great jamming!!! This thing smokes! Best thing of the set so far!!!

The set ends with a massive 18 minute Melt into a partytastic Suzy . Melt is essential, not much to say. Just dark and melty and spacey and gnarly. A definite BEAST of a Melt!!! Essential listening!!!

Suzy is Suzy.


All in all this wasnt a great set, but it wasnt BAD either. It just felt "undercooked" most of the time. 46 Days and Mikes Groove were both REALLY GOOD but neither truly transcend. Clear Your Mind, If I Could and probably Melt are the must hears. Rift is a complete butcher job up there with the Coventry Glide....

Extremely UNEVEN 

 Set 2

Great start to set 2 with a raging No Men. Just 10 minutes of pure high energy rocking. Awesome.

Immediately following is a 16 minute, chill fest Everything's Right. This one stays in laid back, chill groove zone for its entirety. However, the playing feels inspired and I would venture to call this GREAT!!! Borderline must hear. Not sure what I think of it, haha.

Big sin committed by leaving it for Caspian, but fear not! Caspian puts on its big boy pants and turns in an outrageous rendition!! Total X Factor all over!! It just explodes! And it even pretty much melts down for a good while going proper dark type 2. Wowzers! Must hear!!!!

They follow that with a freaking spectacular Sea of Stars. Holy mother of must hear X Factor Magic, this one stays type 1, but this has to be, hands down, the finest reading I have ever heard. Imagine if 1973 Dead played the song. Thats basically what this version is like. Just astounding in its perfection. Holy crap. It gets dark in the final few minutes but BASICALLY you could call this an "in the box" version. Absolutely a 10/10 MAGICAL rendition!!!!!

 From there we slide into a massive 20 minute Golden Age. Nice. Terrific grooving and full band interplay throughout. Listen to the jazzy back and forth between Page and Trey. Sick. The only downside is that, like ER before, it never goes anywhere. By the 15 minute mark they are still in a decidedly Type 1 Golden Age jam. Thankfully it IS genuinely excellent so I will forgive it. Hell, its not until the damn 17 minute mark though that it finally starts to deviate and goes into a dark robo jam fo two minutes. I'd call this sucker must hear regardless!

Even better though, seriously, is Lonely Trip. This is an astonishly great version. Extra Page all over. MUST HEAR.

And finally into Hood we go! Terrific Hood worthy of its chart. Extra mustard.

The show ends with average readings of ALBTD and First Tube

All in all, set 2 had the makings of greatness but struggled to achieve liftoff. What they DID play was excellent, its just that very little actually trancended into true greatness, ya know what I mean? Id give the set like a B+ or something. Actually, Caspian and Sea of Stars both absolutely did - somehow just forgot about those 2!!

 This show is better than the paltry 3.3 rating it has. Id probably give it like a 3.7 or 3.8. Solidly good but rarely GREAT.

 For set 2 grab Golden Age and Lonely Trip, maybe Hood or ER as well. Definitely the Sea of Stars and Caspian though! Those are the two shining diamonds of the whole show!!!!

 

 

2022-02-26 Quintana Roo, MX

 2 26 22 Mexico

Set 1

Off to an incredible start tonight with the first ever Axilla 1/2 combo. They play Axilla 1 but tack the "dont shine that light" outro to the end. It aint the beast of Mexico 2024, but if this isnt an inspired way to open a show than I dont know what is!!!

Up next is one of the sickest 1-2 punches in recent memory. A fantastically placed Twist is first. Twist is total X Factor, doing a very slow build into a crazy runaway freight train kind of reading. Absolutely inspired and ass kicking. MUST HEAR.

Even better, the jam reaches a natural segue point and Trey leads them right into Your Pet Cat!!! And YPC is awesome.

So, basically, you get 23 minutes of primo awesomeness. Ridiculous.

And if that wasnt enough, up next you get the finest Divided Sky this side of 1.0!!! No, Im not exaggerating. This one is MAGICAL. Just complete and utter X Factor from start to finish. Perfectly played, extra mustard throughout....THIS IS ESSENTIAL. THIS IS AN ALL TIME DIVIDED SKY. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY. 100/10!!!! GRAB YOUR RHOMBUS AND PRAISE ICCULUS!!!!

No, seriously, if you told me that was a 1996 Divided Sky I might just believe you. Ive heard a lot of great 3.0 versions but this hands down the best Ive ever heard by modern Phish, I really think. Magic. Magic. Magic. Magic. Magic.

After a nice Mull, we get....a friggin 22 minute Wolfman. In set 1. What even is this show?? The song itself is downright explosive - really an exceptional reading of the base part. But this jam....holy moly. PUT THIS IN THE HALL OF FAME, NOW!!!!!! A raging hot kind of super chunk deep funk jam on par with late 90s cow funk...then halfway through they naturally hit upon some weirdness and we are catapulted into outer space - FX galore, blaring synths, wacky drums before rocking out steadily to a blazing, explosive finale ....This is easily on par with the very best jams of 2021 and better than a lot of them. Wow. THIS WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!! X FACTOR MAGIC!!!! LETS GO!!!!!

Terrifically spunky Cavern to close the set.

All in all ....what in the love of X Factor Magic was this set?!?!? This was a CLASSIC FOR ANY ERA set!!! The Axilla Combo opener, the 23 minute Twist>YPC party, the 90s-level-of-excellence Divided Sky and a damn 23 minute, multisectional type 2 multibesst of a WolfMAN......

What in the hell....Im already done!!! 

Set 2

The 2nd set wastes no time beginning with a 22 minute Set Your Soul Free. Right from the rip, this one is LOADED with extra everything!!!! And boy, what a beast it is!!! This thing SMOKES!! The initial rocking turns into a lengthy yet excellent round of bliss rocking. Slowly the robo fx come out and we get a long spell in Upbeat Robo Party Funk Rock Land. Excellent stuff. Just as slowly they spend the back section of the jam deconstructing it all and going into full blown type 2 robot apocalypse zone. And then it just fizzles to a close.....Total X Factor Magic!!! Holy moly this was like a killer 3 act play or something. Perfectly built and executed....must hear, of course!! Definitely one of the greatest I have ever heard!!!

And they keep the momentum going by quickly launching into a 13 minute Simple!!!! AND THIS IS INCREDIBLE TOO!! Extra sauce from the beginning, the initial Simple jamming is great. Then, outta the friggin blue, around 7 minutes the song DROPS into a full blown blues jam!!! What in the name of Sweet Banana Jeezus is going on!! ALL HAIL OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, X FACTOR MAGIC!!!!!

After 5 or 6 glorious minutes of blues jamming, Trey decides to change course and we launch into a 17 minute Scents!!!! And hold onto your effing hats, this version CRUSHES. Complete and utter facemelting, hard rocking insanity. Just an absolute MAELSTROM. MACHINE GUN TREY IS IN THE FRIGGIN HOUSE!!! The nuclear annihilation continues all the way to the 14 minute mark. Things get really groovy and low key, yet still super frantic and energetic. Late night vibes. Hot damn. X Factor Magic strikes again.

They ride it out from there and proceed to launch into a 14 minute Crosseyed! Stop! There is nothing left!! You have already razed the entire site!!! Crosseyed is sick. It rages as usual then slowly morphs into a late night, dark chill zone, ala the Gorge 2018 version of something. Super funky and low key yet still bursting with energy. This is SICK. Super slowly it morphs downwards into a insanely relaxing chill bliss jamming. Wonderful interplay between Page and Trey .....wow. This was just beautiful!!! This goes on for a LONG time and its excellent.

Eventually, the jam finally comes to a close and Trey leads us into an absolute heartwrenching version of Waste, placed oh so perfectly. Just gorgeous, wow. Friggin killer.

A killer type 1 Blaze On ends the set.

Inspired encore of The Wedge, Sleeping Monkey and Slave. All are great but you need Slave. Holy crap what a capper on a show like this....


All in all....YO THIS WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST SHOWS I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!!! THIS SHOW IS SPECTACULAR!!!!! WHAT A TURNAROUND FROM NIGHT 2!!!!!

That entire 2nd set is more than worth your time. SYSF, Simple, Scents, Crosseyed and Waste are all must hear. An absolutely RIDICULOUS show and set.

Easily falling into the "all time classic for any era" level for me. I would gladly give this show a 4.5 rating. All day long.

Wow....

2022-02-25 Quintana Roo, MX

 2 25 22 Mexico

Night 2 gets off to a tepid start with maybe the most underwhelming SANTOS Ive ever heard. What the corn - it picks up near the end but this one is a snoozer!!!

Thankfully the following Ghost is miles better. One of those "slowly turn the knob up then just rip it off" versions. Sleepy to start but a magical, soaring runaway beast by its conclusion. Totally must hear, imo.

Even better is Free. This one CRUSHES like Godzilla. Extremly thick and funky, Trey annihilates everything with the robo wah for its duration. 100 percent must hear. This one smokes!!!

Following a typically hot BOTT we get a hefty round of strangeness. Halleys gets taken for a type 2 ride, spending its time in a late night "Fall 1999 Sand minus the whale siren" kind of zone. Really awesome and absolutely must hear. Eventually, Trey executes a weird segue into a brief and awkward SANTOS reprise. To make things even crazier, he then leads them out and into Satisfaction by the Stones. What in the love of F is going on....Thats an awesome moment and it rocks good but comes to a really awkward close.....

Following that is the worst 2001 ever. This thing DRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGSSSSSS and never comes together, feeling stilted and sleepy.

Thankfully Chalkdust is way better and ends the set on a high note. An absolutely demented version ala SPAC 2023, grab this. It rips.

All in all, this set just isnt that great. No energy for the most part, the guys sound half asleep a lot of the time. Ghost, Free, the Halley weirdness (must hear but not necessarily great) and the Chalkdust are all you need. Strong individual highlights but weak as a whole.

Really weird set. 

Set 2 opens with a giant 25 minute Disease. Unfortunately, its a monster of the bad variety. The song itself is awful , provoking memories of 2004. Wake up you guys!!! And Trey, effing practice!!!
The jam isnt much better, spending WAAAAAYYYYYY too long just meandering directionless here and there struggling to come to life...

Bummer. Man, that was the worst epic length jam Ive ever heard. What a disconnected SNOOZEFEST. Just skip this garbage. This doesnt deserve to even bear the title of Down With Disease.....

What does it say when they segue into Numberline and instantly the energy triples?! Unfortunately, this Numberline is also a do-nothing version with Trey doing that "playing too quietly" thing and a total lack of energy in his playing. My god, this is brutal. I mean, he/they are trying but it's just a BAD night for Trey it seems .....skip this as well......

And into a massive 20 minute Carini we go. Please save this sinking ship!!! Off the bat, this also drags...Just drags like a mother....Thank god, despite the sludge, at least this isnt boring. Good late night grooving with Trey robo wahing about. Unfortunately this is quickly abandoned for even more "chill bliss" jamming that lasts the entire remainder of the jam. On the plus side, the playing is purposeful abd they dont sound asleep...look, this is GOOD, but at the same time wholly unnecessary. Good lord please dont tell me 2022 is going to be the year of "chill bliss"....

FINALLY, some good happens when we get an EXPLOSIVE ASIHTOS to close the set. Absolutely spectacular and full of extra everything, this is a nuclear bomb renditon! MUST HEAR!!!

The show concludes disappointly with a coma inducing Velvet Sea and an aggressively lousy and tired sounding Antelope....

All in all....THIS SET SUCKED!!! THAT DISEASE WAS TRASH, NUMBERLINE WAS ASLEEP, CARINI WAS STUCK IN 1ST GEAR, ANTELOPE WAS DOA..... Literally the only thing I can recommend is that outlier ASIHTOS. That was unexpected and unbelievable. Up there with the best ever played. Seriously..

Man, this show though....

2022-02-24 Quintana Roo, MX

 2 24 22 Mexico

The first show of the year gets off to a nice start with the trio of Lizards, Moma and the first Peaches since the Bakers Dozen!

These first few songs are ok but nothing special and see Trey battling "sticky finger syndrome".

Lizards doesnt work as an opener, imo. Much better as something to build to at the end of a show, etc. Moma is hot but excessively AVERAGE. And while Peaches is so welcome, it's definitely a butcher job from Trey.

All that being said, things start to finally heat up with INNYLTB. A really great reading, Trey goes bananas. Total smokeshow.

Some genuine X Factor Magic then rears its head with Funky B. Decidedly loosey goosey, they stretch this and make it rather chill and bluesy. Crap ton of Page. Treys fingers finally loosen up as well. MUST HEAR! The jam chart for this is so well deserved!!!! Definitely NOT your usual Funky B!

And then outta nowhere, BAM! 21 MINUTE TWEEZER!! LETS GO!!! Tweezer is totally fantastic. It spends most of its duration in a terrific upbeat kind of "ethereal bliss rock" zone with deviation in an out. A pretty unique sounding version to me, everyone is just on point. If you like gooey synth soundscapes and patient Trey, this is the Tweezer for you! Must hear!! Also, very cool Lizards jamming at the end. They so perfectly could have straight up gone back into the song....

Out of Tweezer and into Piper. Piper gets going but the jam takes a quick turn (genuine segue!) into Soul Planet. Soul Planet is little more than an interlude however. SP's jam is non-existent and they pull off the smoothest segue Ive ever heard into....Meat.

And Meat is definitely some friggin MEAT!!!! HOLY CRAP THIS ANNIHILATES! DONT SKIP THIS!

An ultra funky Howling keeps the party raging HARD while a lovely little Shade feels like a perfect breather ....Also, I swear there was Dogs/Your Pet Cat jamming going on in The Howling!!!

Man!! That Tweezer>Piper>Soul Planet>Meat was nutso!!! Not always perfect but it was a THRILL RIDE!!!

After Shade we get a typically gorgeous Evolve to ease us back into the show. Excellent as always but nothing special.

Then Tube comes along all high energy and ass kicking. Excellent tight low key jamming on this. Patient and darkly funky with wonderful Tweezer teases. I would say this Tube is a definite must hear. Super "late night" vibes like the recent Dicks 2024 Sand or something. Terrific. Grab this!

Sigma Oasis follows and, hot damn, the song is HEAVY tonight!! So much extra OOMPH about it!! Yet another legitimate must hear. This thing just has the word "extra" written all over. Trey's solo is a massive, feedback squeal laden trill fest. Just crushing. Wow!

Aw yea and into Sand we go! See Tube and Sigma. A bit slower, ultra funky, rages hot....grab it.

After Sand, the 2022 one setter concludes with a special Dave Matthews appearance. Neither So Damn Lucky or The Maker work particularly well, imo. Im a Dave diehard and these both just sound so "wrong" compared to what the DMB versions sound like, haha.

Of course its special and fun but musically it doesnt work imo!

Tweeprize closer.


All in all, this show was all over the damn place. Flow? Whats that?! That being said there was still a TON of genuinely fantastic music!!! Funky B, Tweezer, Meat, Tube, Sigma, Sand - GRAB THOSE. Special shoutout to INNYLTB and the whole wacky segue fest sandwich.

A weird and wild show!!! Absolutely worth your time!!!

2024-12-31 New York City, NY

 FINALLY WE BRING 2024 TO A CLOSE TODAY AT LAST!

12 31 24 New York

Set 1

Terrific opening to the final night when we get a KILLER Mikes>Bouncing>Groove!!! Mikes is easily the best one of the year, im pretty sure. This one BLAZES hotter than the sun, loaded with energy. Trey just annihilating everything in sight.... Seriously, this is a MUST HEAR version!!!!

Bouncing is the surprise replacement for Hydrogen tonight and it actually works really great!! Good stuff!

Then they launch into Paug. No staleness with this one, its easily on the same level as Mikes Song was. Just BLAZING on all fronts. Yea, must hear for sure.

Up next is Stash. This is a REALLY GOOD version. I dont know if its must hear, but as far as type 1 Stashes are concerned in 2024, this was an A+. Again, the ENERGY is just exploding throughout with this one!!!

What is, again, must hear however is Evolve. Add this to the shortlist of best ever readings. Just soooo joyous and full of energy and enthusiasm. Really, truly, you need this one.

And then here comes Llama!!! Lets go!!!! Definitely must hear!! Even by Llama standards this one is nuclear!!!! Wow!!! Look out, the llama is on the loose!!!

In another refreshing setlist shakeup, we get a 12 minute Melt up next. Its gnarly, nasty and oh so noisy. Its good but I wouldnt call it anything particularly special.

Numberline is up next. Like Melt, it rages hard but doesnt really "transcend" either. A great version but nothing special

The fire continues with a 7 minute Carini. Shortest version since ....????? However, do not be deterred, as this things is a nuclear friggin bomb!!! Holy mother of crap, someone call FEMA! MSG is friggin destroyed!!!! Trey, what have you done?!

Finally, the set comes to a close with The Squirming Coil. Coil is slightly shakey from Trey but all around still an excellent reading. And of course that piano outro into set break is always a gosh darn beautiful thing....

All in all, this was a really good set all around! Super high energy, they are PUMPED UP! The Mikes Groove and Carini are must hear, as is the Evolve. The rest is excellent and rocking (special shoutout to Stash!) and just so enjoyable all around.
 
It definitely wipes the floor with set 1 of 12/31/23, I tell you what!!! 

Set 2

Very nice Sigma opener tonight. See Numberline. Great stuff but nothing special.

And then they bust out Big Guns McGee with a smashing 20 minute My Friend. How many extended readings of the song is that now - 6 or 7?! Who would have ever thought MyFe would become a serious jam vehicle?! This version is a dang journey. Rocking along as usual, somewhere around 12 minutes Page lays a bedwork of dark outer space synths. Everyone else syncs up and just rides the wave, vamping and grooving atop it. Things enter a "quiet funk" zone. Trey is playing softly, picking his spots. The synth is "wooing" in and out like in "Cheap Sunglasses"....this is sick. Space funk MyFe. This slowly builds and builds hotter and they rock it out to a conclusion. That was AWESOME!! Id personally say I think that was 2nd best of the year behind Bethel. Must hear!!

Sand follows suit. Another MUST HEAR rendition, this one feels like a refined version of the Dicks version. Super groovy and laid back, whale siren and loopers, etc. Then a slow build to an explosive finale. Absolutely must hear!!

The fun continues with Golden Age>WTU. A perfect combo tonight, GA spends its entirety in a true, spacey kind of ambient dark jam. Full on type 2. And its fantastic. The segue into is so prfect. Grab this pair for sure!!!

Taste is another phenomenal recent version. Must hear. Not much to say! With that, a sloppy Golgi and a standard hot First Tube close the set.

All in all, this set was awesome!! The entire stretch of Myfe through Taste is MUST HEAR. For a New Year's show they sure as hell brought the goods! Fantastic!!! 

Set 3

A raging Character Zero opens set 3. Surprisingly, id call this a must hear!! It is SO extra!! Fantastic!!

GAG TIME!

We all know whats up - the whole 30 minute Pillow Jets into WGTYM EDM dance extravaganza. I am a big fan of this - I definitely think they pulled it off and I cant imagine how insane it all was in person, good Lord.

Now, all that being said, the evil that is Vance Powell strikes once again. The sound mix of the show started ok and has only gotten WORSE as its gone on!!!! Set 3 sounds worse than Mexico 2023, almost!!! Everything is BURIED in room ambience, holy hell. This sounds AWFUL. Almost as bad as Albany #1.....

With that off my chest, lets continue, shall we? So WGTYM comes to a close with an AWESOME segue into Chalkdust. Dust is a terrific and tight type 1 reading. Total headbanger supreme. Trey axes the budding jam and we move into Slave.

Im mixed on this Slave. Most of it feels very "boring average modern Slave", but things finally click near the end and it has a spectacular peak conclusion section. Give this a listen but for my taste this isnt essential.

Just when you think its all over at last, they launch into a spectacular Life Saving Gun. Bringing back memories of the Sphere version, this one is pretty excellently "jammed out", if you will. Wonderful interplay back and forth between Trey and Page on this one. Id say this is must hear - it simply annihilates and definitely stretches well outside of your typical all type 1 reading. KILLER.

The set proper concludes with a typically blazing SANTOS. Awesome.
Inspired encore of Grind, the Icculus they didnt play last year ( ) and of course Tweeprie to tie a knot on it all.

Wow, what a show!!! Musically this has to be one of the most "legit" New Years shows they have done. The first set did not feel like the usual warmup and set 2 legitimately went hard and deep. And of course set 3 is a glorious clusterF of just craziness....

Man, nights 2, 3 AND 4 were all AWESOME shows!!!! Great run overall!!!

Compilation compiling time for me...

2024-12-30 New York City, NY

 12/30/24 New York

Set 1

The show begins and you immediately know they have come to KILL. The opening trio of Possum, Wolfman and Lengthwise>Maze is pure, unadulterated facesmashing supremacy. Holy mother of what in the hell. Possum shreds, but Wolfman and Maze both annihilate. Holy smokes!!!!! Definitely grab Wolfman and Maze!!!!!!

Theme continues the trend. Another must hear, it just has EXTRA written all over it. Outstanding.

Refreshingly placed in the middle of the set, More keeps the good times comin. Strong, rocking type 1. Great but inessential.

Divided Sky makes a rare appearance. Maybe not must hear but it sounds great and is a really good version!

Up next is the double friggin whammy of No Men into MEAP. Utter facemelting awesomeness. No Men, especially - it just EXPLODES and features one of the best hose sprayings of the year. Fantastic.
MEAP isnt must hear but rocks hard as expected.

The set concludes with a TERRIFIC Fluffhead. No, seriously, this one is outstanding!!!! Played nearly flawlessly and with so much extra everything about it .... definitely a must hear!!!

All in all, this set KICKED ASS!!!! Wolfman, Maze, Theme, Fluff and probably No Men are all must hear imo. If you like your Phish to RAWK, this is the set for you. They came out and just slayed. Love, love, loved this set!!! 

Set 2

A strong Hey Stranger opens set 2. Not must hear, but still a terrific type 1 reading just the same!

Up next is a 20 minute Disease. The song itself sounds excellent and full of extra pizazz. Unfortunately the jam is a big, loud, cacophonous nothing Seriously, they get stuck in that vague "type 1.5" area, cycling subtly back and forth through dark and light, never fully committing or going off the deep end. Its not horrible, but I definitely wouldnt call it good either. It all sounds like someone rattling a bunch of spoons inside a tin can for 15 minutes ....enough already!!!!

Thank god, the yearly bustout of Winterqueen follows and it is terrific!!!! Super tight and featuring one of the best Trey solos of the year. Absolutely must hear.

Steering us back on course, Trey then launches us into a 19 minute Tweezer! And mother of god what a Tweezer it is! An absolutely CLASSIC rendition, this one goes HARD fast. Immediately from the beginning they all "give it the eyebrows" as Zappa would say. They are locked in hard. So many melodic motifs jammed, multiple sections, insane FLOW, how in the love of Christ this version isnt jam charted is a bigger mystery than Atlantis. X factor from the first note to the last....

This Tweezer is every bit as good as that 37 minute Ruby Waves. Or better. This is an A+++++±+++++++++++ version hands down.

The followup Seven Below interlude is terrific too. Dont forget that! 7 minute Piper is a terrific wah abuse annihilation but unfortunately gets axed awkwardly for a standard 2001.

Following 2001 we get a MUST HEAR Everythings Right. Its standard type 1 but, as with most of this show, its just SO "extra". An absolute barnburner smokeshow.

ALBTD and a must hear magical Hood close the night.

All in all, set 2 was a mixed bag though nothing but high energy!!! The Winterqueen, Tweezer, and ER along with the best hood since 12/29/23 are what you need. A KILLER show. I ALMOST want to say I liked it better than night 2. The 4.3 rating on .NET is deserved.

AND THAT MASTERFUL TWEEZER!!!!!

2024-12-29 New York City, NY

 12/29/24 finally this morning.

A 4.6 rating?!?! What am I in for?!

Set 1

The show opens with a very nice Sample. Nothing must hear but it just sounds really, really good. And it works as a nice change of pace. Dont want a Sample opener often, but ill take this one.

Bag follows. Great little version. Pretty hot with some slightly funky rock jamming. Another great type 1 reading!

But then, oh boy....a nuclear bomb Moma rears its head. You know its got EXTRA written all over it when it takes nearly 4 minutes to reach the first verse!!!!! A truly next level reading as far as type 1 Momas are concerned, this one is just a BEAST.

And who woulda thought Rift would sound so good coming straight outta the end of Moma like that?! Other than Trey struggling with the fast ascending part near the end, this is an awesome, HIGH ENERGY reading that will have you headbanging in no time. They sound tight and PUMPED UP. Killer.

Thankfully, we get Caspian'd in the middle of set 1 tonight and not somewhere more unpalatable. This version is a monster!!! Over 12 minutes, it just spits and snarls from the word go, Trey's soloing filthier than in Moma. Wow. The initial raging gives way to a very nice, low key kind of bliss zone. Definitely heading for type 2 with this one! The bliss is merely a fake out and the jam gets dark and heavy and gnarly. Fishman murdering the drums, Trey laying waste with the robo wah...ALL HAIL OUR LORD AND SAVIOR X FACTOR MAGIC. Trey steps off the wah and proceeds to just go all rock god on us, soloing it up. The rest of the band latch on and we get a kinda Hendrixy vibe going. This in turn goes dark and nasty again for a bit before seamlessly transitioning back into Caspian proper and raging to a close.

YO THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!! MUST HEAR!!!! HOLY SMOKES WHAT A CASPIAN!!!! IF EVERY VERSION WAS LIKE THIS THEY COULD PLAY IT EVERY SHOW FOR ALL I CARE!!!! WHAT IN THE CRAP!!!!!!!

And then Monsters comes along and just goes full blown Chernobyl on us all...good god sweet Icculus..... another total X Factor must hear version....WHAT A MONSTER THIS MONSTERS IS MY GOD.

#screamingtreyisbesttrey

Up next we get the pure fire trio of Jim, YEM and Ghost to close out this molten lava first set.

Jim is molten type 1. Terrific. YEM is just spectacular - super tight and extra oomph all around. The vocal jam is VERY brief and quickly they slide into Ghost! That transition is SICK. Ghost is another nuclear bomb. Totally insane. Id call the YEM>Ghost must hear for sure!!!!

All in all, HOLY CRAP WHAT A SET!!! While Caspian is the CLEAR highlight, the entire thing smoked and the Monsters, Moma and YEM>Ghost are just as essential. Jim and Rift were blazing hot as well if not totally essential. A spectacular first set!!!! 

Set 2

A rare set 2 opening Gin kicks things off. Really nice version with some unique melodic stuff in the jam. Quickly aborted however, im sure everyone in the arena was going "oh no, c'mon now Trey...."

Alas, fear not as he axes it and we are treated to a 37 effing minute Ruby Waves. Hold my everything, what the F....

So the jam begins. They rage uneventfully until somewhere around the 10 minute mark things begin to "click". They spend the next few minutes peaking hard, spraying that hose!!! Terrific peak!!
------Around 14 minutes that subsides and they go into a sick kinda mysterious low key bliss/ambience/ethereal zone. Very unique and awesome. It almost sounds like they are jamming Frankie Says in major key!
-----Around 17 minutes they slowly move back to heavy rocking, absolutely destroying again until they hit the 21 minute mark. They then dive headfirst into an incredible (and definitely unique!!!!) low key section that feels like an evolution of the first one. A magical section of music!!!
-----At the 24 minute point the jam picks back up once again. Slowly it gets funkier and funkier and funkier untill all the way at the 30 minute mark we are in whacky, funky, robo looper deconstruction zone!!!
GET CRAZY WITH YOUR BAD SELVES!!!!
---------Around the 32 minute mark things begin to coalesce. They rock hard until Trey pulls a GOD AWFUL yank back into Ruby to close.

Other than that disgutingly bad transition back into Ruby, this entire thing was PRIME FRIGGIN RIB. Just replayed the Eugene 2021 (right show?) and Dayton 2023 Rubys in prep for this and this one stomps all over those two "do nothing" versions. This Ruby was SO sick - 5 or 6 different sections, each one highly inspired flowing seamlessly and naturally into the next ....Hell, it even went type 2 early - you get roughly 23 or 24 minutes of proper exploration!!!!!

Man, that was incredible. I have zero issue at all proclaiming that HAS to be the strongest version ever outside of Alpine 2019. I mean, period 

So after Ruby, we get the most perfectly placed and perfectly played Waste to let us catch our breaths. This version is outstanding - absolutely heartbreaking in its tenderness and sincerity. Think Bakers Dozen "On the Road Again" vibes, ok? Absolutely must hear .....wow.

A double whammy nuclear bomb duo of Fuego into Cross-eyed closes the set before a Bold As Love encore. Fuego and CP are both great but neither is essential, imo. And honestly, I dont like CP as set closer - it REALLY feels like there should be one more song after.

BAL is terrific. Very inspired version. Must hear!!!

All in all, this show was incredible. For set 2 Id grab Ruby, Waste and BAL. The aborted Gin, the yank back into Ruby and the weird CP closer are all points against the set but its nitpicking.

Amazing show up there with the very best of 2024!!!!