Month: August 2013

2 Comments Posted on 14 August 2013

The Next Level: Thoughts On The West Coast Leg Of Phish’s 2013 Summer Tour

And so we’ve come to the end of Phish’s 2013 Summer Tour. Yes, we do have that Dick’s run looming just two-and-a-half weeks away, but Dick’s is something all to itself at this point, right?

After just over a month on the road Phish capped off their summer tour with an eleven-day stretch of shows along the Pacific that has to rank as one of the most profound peaks of their entire career.

(This isn’t to say of course that their music is somehow better than anything they’ve played in, say, the last 15 years – how could one even begin to be able to quantify that, after all? Yet, there’s an undeniable energy surrounding Phish right now that hasn’t been present this consistently for a long, long time…)

So, How’d We Get Here?

Perhaps the best place to start is by looking back on everything Phish has done since reemerging from hibernation on July 3rd in Bangor, ME.

While it was clear throughout the opening weekend of summer that the band was focusing on laying the groundwork for the tour that would ultimately unfold, it’s also clear that their plan hit a bit of an unexpected moment of advanced inspiration within the second set of 07/05. Weaving together a fully-flowing set of music that started with the debut of The Apples In Stereo song “Energy” – also the eventual theme song of Phish 2013 – and ended with their age-old classic, “Slave To The Traffic Light,” from the onset, one couldn’t deny the high level Phish was already playing at.

Continuing southwards – following the 07/09 postponement of their Toronto show – the band reached an initial peak in the tour with their PNC – MPP run of shows. Fusing old school setlists with high quality, boundary-pushing jams – 07/10 “Crosseyed & Painless,” 07/12 “Rock & Roll,” 07/13 “Simple,” 07/14 “Light,” – the band showed two differing, yet ultimately united sides of modern day Phish. In emphasizing their most time-honored classics – “Stash,” “It’s Ice,” “Maze,” “Harry Hood,” “Mike’s Song,” “You Enjoy Myself” – while also centering their 07/14 show around a harangued take on “Light,” the band played a show that could only have happened here in 2013.

A point that must be emphasized: 2013 Phish is everything that Phish has been, everything that Phish currently is, and everything that Phish is working towards. This career-spanning sound is no better heard than in these four shows.

A brief midweek stoppage in Alpharetta, GA allowed the band opportunity to let their hair down, while still expanding upon the improvisational advancements of their first week on tour. Basing their entire 07/16 second set around the riff from “Heartbreaker,” the band built a massive seguefest that read: “Rock & Roll -> Heartbreaker -> Makisupa Policeman> Chalk Dust Torture> Wilson> Tweezer -> Silent In The Morning> Birds Of A Feather.” A wholly-engaging musical moment, it fused the band’s modern-day melodic jamming with their endearing sense of humor, resulting in absolutely classic Phish.

The following night’s highlight came in the monumental “Energy -> Fluffhead -> Piper -> Fast Enough For You” quartet, a segment which displays both how keen Phish is right now at sparking creative jams out of the ether, and how aware they are of fusing their past and present together – be it through setlist construction or various jamming styles – within each of their shows.

The first half of Phish’s 2013 Summer Tour came to a close in a three-night run in Chicago, and a makeup show in Toronto. For however memorable the music made at Chicago was – and much of it is very memorable – it will always be overshadowed by the rain that cost the band half of their 07/19 show, and nearly cancelled their 07/21 show. Regardless the fact that 07/19’s first set is among the strongest of the first three weeks of tour, nor the fact that 07/20 was a surprise three-set show that saw the band construct a fully-flowing (sorry, @waxbanks) second frame which featured a sublime “Golden Age> Waves -> Piper> Slave To The Traffic Light” closing segment, those two nights in particular will always be seen as casualties of THE RAIN.

On the run’s final night it poured and poured and poured. (And poured and poured and poured and…) Rain fell from the heavens in biblical fashion cutting the first set short, while also breaking the internet for the first 25mins of the second frame.

It was in the second set however where the band emerged phearlessly, and pointed the way towards the west – and towards their own future – within a 35min segment that read: “Energy -> Ghost -> The Lizards.” Infusing literally every style of improvisation the band has experimented with throughout their career – before giving a nod to their past through a perfectly placed “Lizards” – the band sent a message about where they were, where they’d been, and most importantly, where they were going.

Following this with a “Harpua” gag for the ages, one in which the band sent a message to their fans that it was in fact they, and not us, who knew what the “right way” forward was for Phish, and it simply was a set we’ll be talking about for years to come.

The next night in Toronto they opened Set II with a lengthy, uplifting, and melodic take on “Down With Disease” whereby Trey and Page hooked up for over seven minutes of improvisational bliss. The trail westward had been marked. Little did we know what was to come…

There Are No More “Standard” Songs

Immediately evident in the rollicking first set on night one at The Gorge – and only further emphasized as the tour wound south along the Pacific – is the fact, that, no matter the setlists, no matter the set, there’s no such thing any longer as a “standard song.” Proof of the absurdly high level the band is playing at right now, there are seemingly no more filler songs anymore.

Listen back to the “AC/DC Bag,” “Timber,” “Funky Bitch,” “Architect,” “The Curtain (With),” “Ocelot,” and “After Midnight” from The Gorge. Listen to the “Bathtub Gin>Tube>Walk Away,” the “It’s Ice,” and the “Stash” from Tahoe. Listen to the entire first set from 08/02, to the blistering seven song opening segment from 08/03, and the “Divided Sky” and “Ya Mar” from 08/04. Listen to the “Wolfman’s Brother,” “Scent Of A Mule,” and “Ocelot” from LA.

First sets, which, particularly from 2009 – 2011, were the definition of banality and sterile song selection, now pop with ease.

You can say whatever you want about how jamming displays the evolutionary steps forward for Phish, but, as the irreplaceable Walter G Holland (@waxbanks) showed us in his insightful piece from last week, the energy the band is now putting into their individual songs – particularly those in Set I – proves the refined peak we now find ourselves at with Phish.

Ever since they stopped focusing on their individual song performances in 1997, this singular aspect of the Phish experience has been missing. A point of emphasis since 2009, not until last year was the band truly capable of stringing together complete shows that featured consistently unique performances of their most time-honored classics. Yet even last year, many shows still relied on extra-musical aspects such as song selection, jamming lengths, and gimmicks to be memorable. Here, now, in 2013, there’s simply no question of whether or not their whole shows are going to be standouts, they just are.

Perhaps we can hear this best in the three-song opening segment from 07/27: “Architect,” “Golgi Apparatus,” and “The Curtain With.” A run of songs that, on paper would appear to be a rigid – even, awkward – way to kick off a show, here, in the idyllic setting of The Gorge – and played with such a unified passion as these were – the songs flowed with an organic, and thematic brilliance.

The kind of moment that signifies Phish at their best, one can only imagine that, by the time the band invades their favorite soccer field just outside of Denver, and then tears through some of their most classic venues back east, that this approach will be further explored and capitalized on.

About That “Tweezer”…

I recently spent a week in Tokyo, on summer vacation from my job as an English Teacher in Korea. On our second day in the country, my wife and I wandered through the Shinjuku and Shibuya neighborhoods, sampling various ramen and sushi shops, soaking in the youthful and creative vibe that permeated around us. We felt alive with that tangible elevation that can only come from travel in a completely new place. At night we made our way to a pub we’d discovered the previous night run by a Japanese man who obsessively collected classic rock records. He graced us with drinks, music that reminded us from home, and invited us to share in a late-night Izakaya feast with his wife.

At one point he put on the 09/02/2012 “Sand,” and the bar, packed with aging Japanese hippies, boogied down like life-long fans.

It was one of the best days I’ve ever experienced in my entire life..

When I arrived back at my hostel I jumped on the internet to discover that Phish had just played a 37-minute “Tweezer.”

I sat at a public computer laughing hysterically.

Somehow this “Tweezer” made this perfect day even better. I wouldn’t even hear the jam for another week, but somehow I just knew…

The thing about this “Tweezer” isn’t so much its length – yes, it’s incredible to see the band played a 37-minute song, but it could have been half that long and it still would have been one of the best jams of the year – nor is it the connective peaks the band reaches throughout – though they are pretty epic. What ultimately makes it so unique, so special, and yes, so important in the historical lineage of monumental Phish jams, is the fact that it reached such a moment of full-band-interplay that it ultimately peaked with a united band AND audience jam, that will go down as one of THE top moments of Phish’s entire history whenever it is they finally decide to hang it up.

By now the topic has been almost beaten into the ground through a series of follow-up “woo’s” in the tour’s final days, and in the endless discussions on the jam that have spread throughout the online community. But, for a moment, just consider the fact that the true peak of the Tahoe “Tweezer” – and the reason the jam will ultimately be remembered – came as a result of an audience instigated cheer within a start/stop jam, that the band immediately latched onto, leading to an apogee within the entire Phish experiment.

This is the artist creating based upon the environment that their audience has created for them.

For all of their history the band has made a point to emphasize how important their relationship with their audience is; how the crowd’s energy often pushes the band to greater heights. Yet, never before has crowd & band seemed so united, so in the moment, so spontaneously connected as they do during the peak of this “Tweezer.” Just listen to the force with which Trey re-enters the jam following the first set of “woo’s” and try to tell me the band wasn’t completely taken aback, and totally blown away by the unified moment of improvisational connection that had just occurred.

Yes, the “woo’s” became a tad over-exhausted by the end of the tour, but, honestly, could you really blame the band for capitalizing on this moment and trying to replicate it? Like their secret language in the early-90’s, their chess match in the Fall of 1995, and the entirety of Big Cypress, the Tahoe “Tweezer” represented yet another completely unexplainable moment of band-audience interplay where Phish just seemed bigger than a rock & roll band.

A New Old School Approach – 08/02’s First Set

You can just feel the energy seething from the August 2nd Bill Graham Civic Auditorium show simply from watching the YouTube clips. The first set since the Tahoe “Tweezer,” the band enters to a crowd that has seemingly lost its collective mind. Just watch how shocked Trey is as he humbly waves towards the fervent fans.

It looks like what one might imagine a 1994 show in some dingy IHL Arena might be like.

In the moment, and in hindsight, “Free” was the perfect song to open that show with. Could anything else have summed up the unified feelings of their entire fanbase quite as well?

I feel the feeling I forgot…..

I feel freeeeeee………

Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

And then that guitar riff…

Without question, 08/02’s first set is the most diverse first set of the entire tour. Combining rarities – “Meat,” “Oh Kee Pa,” “Vultures – tour debuts – the aforementioned along with “Roggae,” “When The Circus Comes,” and “Babylon Baby” – with absolutely stellar playing throughout, it’s – if not the best – then certainly one of the best first sets of the entire tour. Trey just sounds so alive, and in the moment, in the dirty, and building solo out of “Sand,” and in the patient, yet focused, “Reba” that came two songs later.

While one can’t deny the impact of the band’s tighter song rotation here in 2013 – be it more exploratory playing or an influx of repeats – regardless your stance on their structural approach this year, there’s just something about the feeling of being at a show where the band decides to throw down a number of unexpected rarities and bust-outs. Not something any of us should be actively chasing – particularly now, when the band is at the top of their game regardless what they play – when you hear a show full of songs you’d have never guessed the band would have played that night, it just seems to raise the energy and sentiments surrounding the show to an unexpected level.

By mixing “Meat,” “Oh Kee Pa,” “Vultures” and “Roggae” in with rotational staples “Free,” “AC/DC Bag,” “Sand,” and “Reba,” the band crafted a setlist that both celebrated their diverse history, while also displaying their current peak. That they played each of these songs with fresh energy, innovative musical passages, and precision delivery only further emphasized the new/old school gem they unleashed in 08/02’s first set.

Whereas in recent years, these kinds of sets tended to sound bloated and even awkward, everything gelled on the first night in San Francisco.

The Second Set Of 08/04 & Where We Go From Here

If the first set of the San Francisco run represented a veritable link between Phish’s past and present, then the run’s final set displayed not only how far the band has come over the last five years, but also, where they’re headed.

All summer long the band has used “Energy” to usher in their most innovative and consequential second sets.

On 07/05 it displayed the high level in which Phish was entering their tour at, and graced us with the theme of the tour: Energy & Electricity.

On 07/21 it was the only song Phish could have played at the time, expanding into a limitless jam that eventually flowed into “Ghost,” summing up the phearlessness Phish was playing with, and turning the focus towards the west.

On 08/04 it closed out the BGCA run in perfect fashion, summing up the entire vibe surrounding Phish’s 2013 Summer Tour, while reminding us of the electricity that coursed through the community.

Like the two previous sets it kicked off, the entirety of the 08/04 second set flows from the intangible force that that song has on the band here in 2013. Following with an expansive, rock-based jam off “Runway Jim,” a “Light” that both explored all the musical terrain contained within itself before moving into the Storage Unit, and ultimately towards the original kiln of the storage jam: “David Bowie,” the set was constructed in a way to emphasize their jamming vehicles of old, and of new, while systematically pointing the way towards Dick’s, and the Fall.

So, where are we going?

I wrote about this in my recap of the second week of tour, just about a month ago, which you can read here. In that essay, I argued that – up until 07/14 – the 2013 Summer Tour reminded in many ways of August 2010, in that, while it was an incredible tour to be a part of, little did we know until October, that it was actually the building block for the first true peak of 3.0.

Lo and behold, as this tour moved westward, faced with torrential weather that had consumed the tour until that point, with the band fully aware of timing and the moment, Phish pushed the tour to a completely new level with their second set on 07/21. From there through Hollywood the tour remained on an absolutely consistent and mind-bending high.

I cannot see this ending any time soon.

Phish is completely comfortable back on stage, communicating with each other like they haven’t since 1998. The growing pains that plagued them in their first years of 3.0 aren’t even a conversational bit anymore. There’s no longer a need for a “settling in” process whenever they get back on tour.

When we look towards the remainder of the year, what we find is a Dick’s run that’s sure to be a HUGE moment for the band. Regardless if it actually “tops” last year’s run – something that has more to do with subjectivity than it does with what the band actually plays – one has to imagine the shows are going to have a deeply emotional impact on the band. Beyond that: Fall Tour, most notably a return to Hampton. If one thinks Dick’s will hit the band emotionally, just think what Hampton’s going to be like…

Following the first three-night run in the Mothership since March 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2009 is a tour that takes the band through their most hallowed stretch of country – returning them to Hartford, Worcester, Glens Falls, Rochester, and a Halloween date in Atlantic City. And after all that is the 30th Anniversary Run the band has clearly been building towards, and then finally a return to MSG to ring in 2014!

When was the last time the back-half of a year looked this promising for Phish fans? 1997??? 1995???

The point is, the band built to a sustained peak out west at a time when they’ve only got monumental show after monumental show on their horizon. The thought of where (mentally & emotionally) the band is right now musically, and where (locationally) they’re going to be playing over the next five months is somewhat incomprehensible.

Moreover, the fact that they’re playing sets like 08/04 II where they’re throwing out stunning jams from new songs such as “Light” and “Energy,” combined with innovative takes on their classics – “Runaway Jim,” “David Bowie,” “You Enjoy Myself” – while also fucking around with the crowd by continuing to play a “Horse”-less “Silent In The Morning,” or encoring with “Sanity” and “Bold As Love,” just raises the possibilities even higher as we move towards Fall.

So, where are we going?

Gamehendge, duh…

When Is The Last Time Phish Peaked Like This?

In my recap of the second week of Phish’s 2013 Summer Tour, I argued that this was the best start to a tour since Summer 1998. Not only do I not feel this statement was in anyway shortsighted or, even overfluffed, but I firmly believe that the way the tour has unfolded since then has only worked further confirm this opinion.

It’s time to go a bit further….

This recent peak from 07/21 through 08/05 represents the most consistent stretch of high-quality music the band has made since 11/17/1997 – 12/07/1997.

It’s true. Go back through the setlists and the shows of the past fifteen years, and try to find a stretch of ten shows that have been played at as high a level as these have. Add in sets like 07/05 II, the run from PNC – MPP, even the Alpharetta run, and this tour is without question the band has played since at least Summer 1998.

This is not to compare the music made from these two eras – a task that would be as impossible as it would be pointless – rather it’s simply a statement on how great things are in the world of Phish right now.

This is also not to say that this peak here in 2013 is somehow better than any of their peak periods from 1998 – 2012 were. This is only to say that Phish has reached a point of consistency on a high level that is absolutely unprecedented in 3.0 and 2.0, and, that the absence of such a recent period was a major factor in why the band decided to take their first hiatus back in 2000.

Ever since the final show in Chicago, Phish has played with both a driven energy, and an understood ease that has always been present in their peak periods. Regardless if they were exploring minimalistic funk grooves, abstract patterns of dissonant noise, the hellish depths of their souls, or prying open the pockets within their own songs, the combination of a driving force, and a relaxed ease has always been needed for the band to reach these heights.

The only difference between these current heights and those from 1998 – 2012, is that, now, the band can sustain them for weeks on end.

Favorite Shows/Jams Thus Far

I’ve been compiling this list as the tour’s moved along. Were I to grant you my full list that’s currently occupying an itunes playlist, this post would become a lot more bloated than it already is…. Once again, I’ll be focusing here on only a select number of my favorite shows and jams. Rather than ranking them, or trying to grant any a “best-of” status, they’re all simply listed chronologically. More than anything, these are the shows and jams that have really grabbed me as the tour’s evolved.

For any show/jam listed that I’ve discussed prior, I’ve left any sort of write upon them blank. I’d invite you to check out the past lists/write-ups compiled here and here.

Favorite Shows

– 07/05/2013 Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga, NY

– 07/07/2013 Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga, NY

– 07/10/2013 PNC Bank & Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ

– 07/12/2013 Nikon @ Jones Beach Theater – Wantagh, NY

– 07/13/2013 Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD

– 07/14/2013 Merroweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD

– 07/20/2013 Northerly Island – Chicago, IL

– 07/21/2013 Northerly Island – Chicago, IL

– 07/26/2013 The Gorge Ampitheatre – George, WA – To me, this is the most complete show of the entire summer. Combining rarities, gimmickry, jamming, a crafty setlists, and the overall magic that just permeates The Gorge, this is one of those special nights we spend so much of our time and energy as Phish fans searching for.

– 07/27/2013 The Gorge Ampitheatre – George, WA – A more refined approach after 07/26’s throwdown. 07/27 opens with my favorite opening segment of the year, fully summarizing what makes Phish such a special bend. The second set is the definition of perfection in my mind. Fully-flowing, expert selections, top-notch playing of some of their best songs, one listen to this will go a long way in displaying just how high Phish is right now.

– 08/02/2013 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco, CA – Set I might be my favorite of the entire year thus far. Set II is a gem in and of itself as well. With so many rarities and tour debuts in the first set, one might have assumed by simply glancing at the setlist that the flow was sacrificed, but that simply doesn’t happen anymore with Phish. Energy prevails throughout, and the band busts open “Seven Below” and “Stealin’ Time” in Set II before capping the night off with the first ever “Walls Of The Cave” encore, perfectly setting things up for the tour’s final weekend.

– 08/04/2013 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco, CA – Similar in structure to last year’s 08/19/2012 show at BGCA, this show perfectly displays where Phish is at here in mid-2013. Nailing every single song in Set I, the band focuses Set II on two remarkable jam segments – “Energy> Runaway Jim” and “Light -> David Bowie” – while never relenting energy. A perfect show to cap off the best tour of Phish’s career in fifteen years.

Favorite Jams

– 07/06/2013: “Split Open & Melt”

– 07/06/2013: “Carini -> Architect”

– 07/10/2013: “Crosseyed & Painless> Harry Hood”

– 07/12/2013: “Rock & Roll -> 2001> Tweezer -> Cities -> The Wedge”

– 07/21 2013: “Energy -> Ghost -> The Lizards”

– 07/22/2013: “Down With Disease”

– 07/27/2013: “Down With Disease -> Undermind> Light -> Sneakin’ Sally Thru The Alley -> 2001” – A 50-minute segment of music that opened up the final set at The Gorge, this flowed from sparse/rhythmic themes in “DWD” and “Undermind,” to contemplative melodies in “Light,” before building to a massive funk/rock peak in “Sally.” The first half to my favorite set of the summer, this is just further proof of both the power of The Gorge, and the unique peak Phish currently finds themselves in.

– 07/31/2013: “Tweezer” – 37 minutes. The woo’s. Trey’s riff. Tears. What more can I say?

– 08/03/2013: “Rock & Roll -> Steam” – A diametrically different take on “Rock & Roll” than JB’s extended-Type I jam, this version explores the innate groove within the song before segueing fluidly into one of the stronger “Steam’s” we’ve heard thus far. For me, there’s just something about the force in which the band enters the “R&R” jam segment that says so much about how high they’ve been over the past month.

– 08/04/2013: “Energy> Runaway Jim” – The theme song of the summer combined with an age-old classic that’s jammed to a menacing and lengthy rock-based peak. It’s the kind of stuff that’s becoming commonplace here in 2013.

– 08/05/2013: “Harry Hood” – Three songs before the tour’s conclusion, the band expanded on “Harry Hood,” crafting a 22-minute gem that stands up with some of the best versions ever played. No matter the fact that the band clearly wanted to play an upbeat, if, safe show, IT was still racing through their veins. Times like these, even the band can’t even control when they’re going to hook-up.

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And this concludes tackle & lines recap of Phish’s west coast run. Hope everyone has enjoyed this tour as much as I have! Please feel free to leave me comments here, or at my twitter feed: @sufferingjuke. Can’t wait for Dick’s!!!

1 Comment Posted on 13 August 2013

Summer Awards: A Road Map To Navigating Phish’s 2013 Tour

Note: This was a collaborative effort between myself and James Kaminsky (@jameskam17) from One Phish Two Phish.

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Regardless what happens throughout the rest of 2013, Phish’s recently completed Summer Tour is certain to go down as their best overall tour since Summer 1998. Full of thematic, boundary pushing shows, odes to their historical roots, along with clear paths pointing towards their future, 2013 is the most complete Phish tour in over a decade, and a sure sign of the summit reached in Phish’s 3.0 experiment.

With so many highlights contained throughout the tour this is the first in recent memory that simply cannot be divided into best/worst, or worth your listen/not worth your listen categories. There’s nothing cut-and-dry about 3.0 Phish tours anymore.

EVERYTHING played this summer is worth your time and your attention.

As a result, James and I figured we’d compile something of a road map for fans in search of some guidance of where to begin their Summer 2013 (re)listen. As we’re both well aware of, after all, with so much good music just produced, one can become easily overwhelmed by the prospect of re-listening. While this is an “awards” compilation, yes, it’s also meant to be read as an overall guide to the most noteworthy moments of the tour.

Moreover, we wanted to use this platform as an opportunity to extend our thanks to the band and to the overall Phish community for what has to be regarded as the most positive Phish tour in ages. By all accounts, those of you at the shows had nothing but glowing reviews on a nightly basis. I know for myself, hunkered down in a closet apartment in Osan, South Korea, this tour could not have sounded any better.

I’m absolutely honored that James asked me to be a part of this project, and I can’t wait to work with him in the future!

Hope everyone enjoys the piece! Please feel free to share your thoughts, comments, criticisms, and rants in either the comment section or @sufferingjuke and @jameskam17.

*Note: For each section our favorite show/set/jam/song is in bold.

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Opener Of The Year

Llama: Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

First Tube: Columbia, MD – 07/13/2013

Prince Caspian: Chicago, IL – 07/20/2013

Dinner and a Movie: Chicago, IL – 07/21/2013

Architect: George, WA – 07/27/2013

Honorable Mention: Free, San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

In 2012 Phish entered their summer tour with the stated goal of playing 200 unique songs. Impacting their setlists with unexpected diversity on a consistent level like no time previously in their history, the 200-song-challenge affected all aspects of their shows, most notably the opener slot. From 06/07’s Buried Alive, 06/15’s My Sweet One, 07/03’s Skin It Back, 09/01’s Antelope, and 12/31’s Garden Party, the opener became an entity all to its own throughout 2012. Here in 2013 however, the focus moved away from the number of songs the band would play (their rotation was perhaps their tightest since 1997) to, now the quality of play, and the overall craftsmanship of setlists. As a result, the openers were less a separate moment removed from the overall show, and rather an immediate insight into the night’s flow, and the band’s mood.

Each of the above songs we felt best introduced their shows – from the frenetic rage of Llama and First Tube, to the gimmicky charm of Caspian and Dinner & A Movie, to SF’s Free that summed up the entire communities sentiments following the Tahoe Tweezer, while at the same time setting an overall thematic tone for the BGCA run that fits perfectly on re-listen.

And yet, while each of the above songs certainly sent a jolt of energy and adrenaline into their respective shows, no song better captured the setting, mood, nor indescribable bigness of Phish, than Architect did on 07/27/2013. Ushering in the show under a hushed tone, the song – with lyrics like: “it turned out better/so much better/than we ever did expect,” and “there might be more to this than we all know” – allowed everyone a pause to remember just how special and unique this whole Phish thing is.

Regardless of jam lengths, regardless of song selections, at the end of the day, the fact that Phish has created this living, breathing, evolving, fully healthy, totally redeemed entity, which has a positive impact on literally anyone who touches it, is enough in and of itself, right? Raise a glass to the architect…

Top New Song

Yarmouth Road

Energy

Say Something

Architect

Frost

In the Phish offseason, the most commonly heard request from fans for 2013 was not Gamehendge, but new material. Everyone, including me have been craving for some new Phish jams. Trey said a new album was in the works and when news broke the community went crazy. We heard the band was working collectively on the album. I mention this because this year, we did get some new tunes, but none were written collectively from the band.

After a tour opener in Bangor with no new songs, the band changed gears the next show with a Phish debut in the first set and the second set. We got Yarmouth Road, a real funky reggae song from Mike and Energy, an instant classic Phish cover from The Apples in Stereo. Yarmouth brought some great vibes to the first set and settled in comfortably for the tour. Energy kicked off the second set in thrilling fashion and just improved each and every time, getting more and more exploratory, tighter and unique with each play. Say Something and Frost were each played once, the former another Mike song that I absolutely love from the Gorge and Frost, a Trey tune played in Alpharetta.

While each song was unique and special in its own way, Energy was the clear highlight of all the new songs. It kick started one of the best sets of the tour at SPAC and was just a consistent thrill to hear. Only played four times, Energy started with a ton of potential that SPAC night, shifted to a nice meaty exploratory groove in Alpharetta after Water in the Sky, opened up another classic set in Chicago with Ghost->Lizards, Harpua > Antelope and opened the final set at Bill Graham, a peak and symbol of the true development of Energy. Energy is here to stay and is a perfect Phish song with nice lyrics, good harmonies and rocking chords. There’s room for everything and anything with this song and anything is possible. It’s just the beginning for this tune, and the other classics from the summer.

Top First Set Jam

Tube: Saratoga, NY – 07/06/2013

Split Open and Melt: Saratoga, NY – 07/06/2013

Stash: Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

It’s Ice: Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

Reba: San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

Honorable Mention: Cities->David Bowie: Saratoga, NY 07/05/2013

The fact that there’s even a category for first set jams in this collection of thoughts says more about the state of Phish in 2013 than perhaps anything else. Proof that the band felt a comfort with their songs, and a willingness to expand upon them from the onset of the tour, these six jams display the peak period we currently find ourselves in here in Phish’s 30th year.

Centered around two first set’s in particular – 07/06 and 07/14 – throughout the summer, even when the band wasn’t expanding upon their first set selections with exploratory zeal, they were still attacking them with a newfound creativity and energy than we’d seen in over a decade. Just check out the 07/07 Maze, 07/12 Cars Trucks Buses, 07/14 Scent Of A Mule, 07/26 AC/DC Bag, Timber, Funky Bitch, and Tube, 07/27 Ocelot, and the 08/02 Vultures, Sand, and Roggae, for some noteworthy moments.

In the above jams – each of which displayed a willingness to expand with ease within the rather strict confines of the 2013 first set – the band alternated between funk clinics in Tube and It’s Ice, ambient soundscapes in SOAM, Stash and Cities -> Bowie, and the idealized conception of Reba on the first night of the San Francisco run. In the end, the ethereal – and grossly surprising – jam that emerged from Split Open & Melt to close out the first set of 07/06 reigns supreme here in 2013. A moment where the band simply stopped trying to push their oft-tormented classic, and instead, yielded to the larger forces at play, the result was nothing short of sublime.

A representative jam for the year, the 07/06 Split Open & Melt displays the unyielding opportunities available to the band as they continue to explore untapped musical territory in Set I.

Top Sequence

Columbia, MD: 07/14/2013 Light->Boogie On

Saratoga, NY: 07/05/2013 46 Days->Steam

Alpharetta, GA: 07/16/2013 Rock & Roll->Heartbreaker->Makisupa->Chalk Dust Torture

Jones Beach, NY: 07/12/2013 Tweezer->Cities->The Wedge

George, WA: 07/27/2013 Down with Disease->Undermind

Honorable Mention: Chicago, IL: 07/20/2013 Theme from the Bottom->Weekapaug Groove

Unlike any year in recent memory, 2013 was symbolic for many things, one the return of epic and slick segues on a nightly basis! In Saratoga all of set two segued flawlessly between songs, specifically 46 Days-> Steam and Light->The Mango Song and the segues never stopped. Think about Cities->David Bowie from that show in addition to so many more from the run. Merriweather had a fantastic segue from the rocking Light to the funk fest in Boogie On and continued down south with the now famous Heartbreaker set. One of my personal favorite segues all summer happened from Theme from the Bottom to Weekapaug in a classic set two of three sets on Saturday in Chicago. On Saturday night at the Gorge set two was dripping with seamless segues, specifically the gorgeous Down with Disease->Undermind that so many people rave about constantly. But there was one segue that was a personal favorite for it’s tenacity and ultimate rock and roll peak — the Jones Beach Tweezer->Cities->The Wedge.

One of the most brutal shows to endure for any fan, Jones Beach was met with heavy winds and insane rain. The second set started with 20 minute Rock & Roll->2001, another shining highlight of the tour before the band headed right into Tweezer. Around 11:15 into Tweezer Trey starts repeating these light chords, shifting the direction of the jam. Page picks up on this and plays right along with him. Trey changes to a three chord progression that is the stuff of holy gods on top of Page’s now classic melody. Fishman totally locks in on the most intense Wedge groove as Trey continues to rocks these classic chords that EVERYONE should have branded into their brains. Trey keeps it going as he moves the band right into Cities. The jam continues in Cities is the stuff of bass, bliss and bad ass plinko-jazz infused funk. Trey plays these descending chords before fast play of something that sounds like a mind left body jam while Fishman builds faster. Trey then starts playing the Wedge main riff as the band seamlessly segues right into the beat Fish started a song earlier.

This stuff is perfect Phish. This stuff is what we come night after night after night to see. Thank you Phish.

Resurrection Jam

David Bowie (Note: 07/05, 07/12, 07/20, 07/26)

Scent of a Mule (Note: 07/14, 07/19, 08/05)

Split Open and Melt (Note: 07/06, 07/26)

Harry Hood (Note: 07/03, 07/10, 07/13, 07/26, 08/05)

Tahoe Tweezer

Honorable Mention: Mike’s Song (Note: 07/03, 07/13)

One of the enduring themes of 2013 has been the veritable resurrection of many of Phish’s most time-honored classics. Songs like David Bowie, Harry Hood, Run Like An Antelope, Slave To The Traffic Light, and even Mike’s Song – songs which had grown stale, even predictable in recent years – were suddenly presented with a new-found energy. Think of the melodic and chromatic territory the 07/05 David Bowie and the 07/03 Run Like An Antelope reached in the earliest nights of tour. Listen to the commitment to exploration in the 07/06 Split Open & Melt. Feel the fervent fire being birthed in the 07/03 and 07/13 Mike’s Song. Check out how Scent Of A Mule re-emerged as a beacon of creativity in each of its performances.

Each of the above songs – which for so long, had been played seemingly just because they had to be, simply because they were the band’s classics – here in 2013 have been resurrected as show-stopping, and tour-enforcing highlights.

Perhaps this approach is heard best in two songs: the Tahoe Tweezer, and in each Harry Hood played throughout the tour. Played as the lone encore on Bangor’s opening night, Harry Hood was re-approached with creativity, delicate exploration, and refined passion, peaking in two separate performances on 07/13 – when it sounded plucked right out of the mid-90’s – and on the tour finale in Hollywood, when it engaged on a 22min voyage that still has the community shaken.

The former, a 37min free-form jam – the longest jam since the 08/03/2003 46 Days, and the 8th longest jam of the band’s career – represented a peak in the band’s new-found approach to jamming. Focusing on harmonic freedom, which has defined their best jamming of 3.0 – ultimately peaking at Dick’s last year, and then all throughout this summer – the band wove numerous musical passages, culminating in a full-on band & audience impromptu segment of emotional jamming, surrounding a series of start/stop’s and woo’s.

A clear sign of the peak experience the band has had throughout 2013 thus far, these resurrected performances display a band once again at the top of their game.

Top Encore

Bangor 07/03: Harry Hood

The Gorge 07/26: Harry Hood, Fire

Lake Tahoe 07/30: Weekapaug Groove, Character Zero

San Francisco 08/02: Walls of the Cave

San Francisco 08/02: Sanity, Bold as Love

Honorable Mention: Alpharetta 07/17: Quinn the Eskimo

This year the encore was a little different than in past years. While there wasn’t much of a variety, each encore provided a little something to each show. Bangor’s Harry Hood was a perfect encore for the first show of the tour. A classic Phish song, not to mention that it was played perfectly (and was a foreshadower for it’s dominant summer), Bangor’s Hood was the right way to end night 1 and move us from the jitters of a tour opener into the actual tour.

Lake Tahoe’s Weekapaug and Zero were both great for a few reasons. First, Weekapaug continuing the groove from end of the show to encore is BEYOND BAD ASS. Second, Zero was pretty much the symbol for a stellar show all summer. This encore continued high energy and led us into night two of Tahoe with a lot of momentum and energy. San Francisco’s encore on night one and night three were both great. Night one had Walls of the Cave, a nice 2.0 surprise after the Seven Below highlight in set two. A one song encore allowed for a nice meaty jam and some explosive energy. The Sanity and Bold as Love allowed for two tour debuts in one encore, with Sanity being one of the highlights of the whole run. Boom! Pow! Talk about an encore! An amazing Sanity after one of the finer sets of the entire tour then some Hendrix! Man do I love this band.

The best encore happened on night one at the Gorge. After a stunning Character Zero with the band howling at the moon, the boys came out for another round of Harry Hood, another fantastic version, and Hendrix! This encore was the most fitting especially after the masterpiece set two that the boys played right beforehand. Harry Hood, whether set two or encore, was a monster in 2013, something we’ll touch upon later on.

Surprise Gem

It’s Ice

Scent of a Mule

Steam

Split Open and Melt

Walls of the Cave

Honorable Mention: The Mango Song

Along with the resurrected jams that dotted the band’s 2013 Summer Tour are the surprise gems that kept everyone’s ears perked, and made essentially every single show a must hear. From the aforementioned Scent Of A Mule and Split Open & Melt, to the fully-realized Steam jam, the choicely placed – and expansively attacked – Mango Song, and the 2.0 survivalist Walls Of The Cave, each of the above songs helped to shape the summer through their consistent dedication to creativity.

And yet, for as engaging, and even as surprising as each of the above songs performances throughout summer were, nothing could compare to the shock that reverberated throughout the fanbase when Phish dropped into a thick funk-jam right in the middle of Merriweather Post’s It’s Ice. A defining moment in the second week of tour, It’s Ice was one of many songs that helped to shape the early tour peak that stretched from Holmdel, NJ to Columbia, MD.

A group of song’s that felt uncertain of their direction, if not wholly lost altogether, this summer each was featured in a way that far exceeded anything the band had tried to do with them for at least the past ten years.

Top First Set

Saratoga, NY: 07/07/2013

Columbia, MD: 07/14/2013

George, WA: 07/26/2013

George, WA: 07/27/2013

San Francisco, CA: 08/02/2013

Honorable Mention: Saratoga, NY: 07/06/2013

Last year in the quest for 200 songs, first sets were a chance for Phish to play old favorites, one-timers and classic bust outs. Think of Riverbend, Noblesville, and Jones Beach. But in 2013, first sets were different. With a much tighter rotation there was more room to focus on tighter sounding jams and sets crafted with impeccable flow. Sunday night at SPAC just felt like there was a greater force building this beautifully crafted set. Starting with AC/DC Bag, heading into a monster Back on the Train, the lightning Divided Sky then classics in Free, It’s Ice, Mound, Maze and Limb By Limb, ending with a rocking set closing Walls of the Cave. This set just felt right. It flowed perfectly and each song was fantastic. There is nothing better than good music and good flow. And the next Sunday the consistency continued. Never miss a Sunday show.

The second Sunday show of tour went down at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. Opening with an amazing First Tube, right into the funk of the Moma Dance before a fun trio of NICU, Roses are Free and Chalk Dust Torture, Merriweather had high moments from the start and never once had a downer. True highlights in a dark and dangerous Stash proceeded an exploratory Scent of a Mule before my personal favorite, a Phish Destroys America funk fest in It’s Ice! Talk about a first set. Then a nod to the ‘97 funk with Tube before a closing Antelope. Another amazing first set!

Both nights at the Gorge had stunners in the first set, with Friday starting off in classic fashion with AC/DC Bag, the tour debut of Timber and a fantastic Wolfman’s Brother before Funky Bitch, Happy Birthday, the “Russell Wilson” Wilson, Possum and Tube. Secret Smile made a huge return before another tour debut, the elusive McGrupp! Another tour debut Curtis Lowe came for some blues before another set closing Melt! The next night started off in another amazing fashion – Architect, Golgi, Curtain With. The set was upbeat and fun with the Phish debut of Say Something, one of my favorite songs of the summer, and an After Midnight set closer in remembrance of J.J. Cale.

Everyone knows what happened after The Gorge. Tahoe. The Tweezer. 40 minutes of glory. The question on everyone’s mind in line waiting to get in at Bill Graham was how could Phish “top” it? What’s next? There was only one thing Phish could do. They changed the conversation. They played the most fantastic first set of all tour. The Tahoe Tweezer will live forever, and this set proves it. Starting with Free, an ode to the “feeling we all forgot” that exists in the magic of 30+ min jams, before never having a single down moment. The tour debuts of Meat and Oh Kee Pa Ceremony came next before a perfect AC/DC Bag to really get the show on the road. Talk about a four song intro! Next came the tour debut of Vultures which truly resurrected the energy of Tahoe’s Tweezer with the first of MANY batches of woos!! throughout the run.

The tour debut of Roggae was next and it was absolutely magnificent. The fun continued with a funk fest in Sand and a nicely placed When the Circus Comes to Town, a great song symbolizing tour. Another tour debut with Babylon Baby came before Reba!!! A song that has huge jam potential came after a gorgeous Reba, Page’s Halfway to the Moon before a classic Phish set closer – Golgi.

This first set of the San Francisco run was constructed with magic. The set was perfect to move on from the greatness and holiness that is the Tahoe Tweezer. This set was truly so damn good, with perfect debuts, perfect flow and amazing play in each and every song. It’s no exaggeration, and that’s why this set gets the award for top first set of tour.

Derek Jeter Award

Back on the Train: Saratoga, NY – 07/07/2013

Timber: George, WA – 07/26/2013

Golgi Apparatus: George, WA – 07/27/2013

Meat: San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

Divided Sky: San Francisco, CA – 08/04/2013

Honorable Mention: Wolfman’s Brother: Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

Ahhh, the second song of the show. One of those slots that’s often overlooked in its distinct ability to affect the overall flow, energy, and direction of the show, here in 2013, it constantly seemed as though the band fully understood the power and importance of the Jeter slot.

On 07/07, the band followed up a sharp AC/DC Bag with a dense and intricate take on Back On The Train. Three weeks later they again followed and AC/DC Bag opener at the start of their weekend at The Gorge, though this time with a torrid Timber. In Holmdel, following a cancelled show in Toronto the night before, Phish kicked off one of the best shows of the entire tour with a blistering Llama followed by a loose, funky, yet still raging Wolfman’s Brother. During the tour’s final weekend, the band treated their fans to two classics on 08/02 and 08/04, using the second song of each show – Meat & Divided Sky – to key fans into the overall energy the band was messing with by tour’s end.

And yet, it was on the second night of The Gorge, when, after opening the show with their most contemplative, emotive, and sublime opener of the summer, that the band worked to sculpt one of their best shows of the tour, by infusing their age-old classic Golgi Apparatus into the show’s second slot. A song that has always seemingly fit best as a set closer, the placement reminded many of the NICU>Golgi>Crossroads trifecta that opened the hallowed 12/29/1997 show. Perfectly placed, expertly played, that they followed it up with the lone Curtain With of the summer just showed what kind of magic the band was wielding here in the summer of 2013.

Best Poster

BGCA

Hollywood

Alpharetta

The Gorge

Lake Tahoe

Honorable Mention: Jones Beach

Posters were a hot commodity as always this summer, and the posters were absolutely spectacular at each run. It’s hard to say which one is the best, because in all honesty, each and every one of them is special and unique to the venue while looking incredibly bad ass. I narrowed down my 6 favorites: San Francisco, Alpharetta, The Gorge, Jones Beach, Lake Tahoe and Hollywood. Jones Beach is the poster with an astronaut in the middle, surrounded by eyes blossoming from the slime below. Alpharetta’s dual set is perfect for representing the south. A beautiful landscape of friends swimming in a lake, playing on a rope swing. The silhouette of the children and grass with the bright colors of the sky reflect hot summer days in the south.

Heading out west, Phish had beautiful poster after beautiful poster. The Gorge, like Alpharetta, is a duel set with a wolf and goat looking at the lochness monster, swimming in the sea, another perfect poster for the venue. The posters kept getting better and better, with Tahoe’s an image of Tahoe Tessie rising on a full moon from the Lake and San Francisco’s three posters represent the psychedelia that is San Francisco. Night one is a pelican, night two is a butterfly with guitars and a keyboard and the third is a fox with drums. The colors are magnificent, blue and red and each are uniquely special.

However, Hollywood’s poster is clearly the best. Not only is it huge (20×30), but it’s a split perspective of the same image, one from the sky, one from below the waters. On the left there is a boy and a girl sitting high above the water in a patch of flowers, watching sailboats below and fireworks in the distance. On the right side is the image from below the water, with sharks swimming towards a light, deep below the sailboats, next to scuba divers. It’s really a fantastic poster and I’m thankful to have got a copy. Point is, all the posters are beautiful! Wonderful job from all the artists! Thank you!

Most Unexpected Part Of Tour

The Rain

Harpua

The Tight Rotation of Songs

The end of mkdevo

3 Set Show at Chicago

Honorable Mention: Hollywood Harry Hood a.k.a. HollyHOOD

Summer 2013 was a unique tour for Phish for a plethora of reasons. There were a lot of unexpected surprises, some good, some bad, but all having an effect on the tour in one way or another. The biggest may be what happened to @mkdevo and all of his videos. For all of 3.0, if there was a song you wanted to check out and watch, everyone knew look no further than mkdevo. If you missed a show, no problem, you could watch it practically through his videos. The videos were arguably Phish’s greatest marketing tool as they were free and they exposed Phish to a generation of fans who never knew of the band before 2009. It’s definitely been a different tour with little to none visual footage as there has been in years past.

Another big surprise was the Harry Hood from Hollywood, otherwise known as HollyHood. The last show of a 4 night stand between San Fran->Los Angeles, Hollywood was characterized by no new songs and lots of great, but typical, Phish excellence. All of the sudden, out of nowhere in the second set though comes this beauty. This magnificent mother of god Harry Hood that is instantly an all-timer. The song that started it all off in Bangor and never let down throughout the tour peaked in full capacity that Monday night, and that was a huge unexpected gift.

It’s been said a bunch already, but 2012 and 2013 were very different. The chase for 200 songs changed the dynamic of the tour in 2012 and therefore 2013 not only had a much tighter rotation, but it truly felt like a tighter rotation. It made for interesting sets. There was plenty of variety among each jam and development and improvement with each play. The juxtaposition between the two summer tours was evident and unexpected.

But by far, the most unexpected part of the tour was the rain. Without the rain you don’t get the Chicago run – Friday’s cancellation, Saturday’s three set speciality, and Sunday’s Harpua. The rain was EASILY the biggest factor throughout the east coast, all the way through Chicago, with everyone jokingly calling it Phish Pours America and Phish Summer Pour 2013. Every night there seemed to be a storm or threats of storms, starting with SPAC having delays and thunderstorms. Jones Beach’s show was caught in the middle of the worst storm of the summer on Long Island, with the wind whipping people in the face and the rain pounding on all of us from above.

The rain didn’t stop though, it just continued, down to Merriweather and Atlanta, before finally “peaking” in Chicago. When the show on Friday was cut short, the band was truly devastated, and rewarded us with three sets on Saturday. But when Sunday came and the first set was cut during Antelope, you could really tell how frustrated and annoyed the band was, especially Trey and Page. The rain was just a constant deterrent, but both the band and the fans NEVER let it get in the way. I’ll always remember this tour for the rain as will many, as the rain truly gave life to each and every show in a different, unique way.

Show Of The Tour

Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

Chicago, IL – 07/21/2013

George, WA – 07/26/2013

George, WA – 07/27/2013

San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

San Francisco, CA – 08/04/2013

Honorable Mention: Saratoga, NY – 07/07/2013

The thing about this 2013 Summer Tour is that there really wasn’t a single bad show played. Seriously, you could throw any of these shows on and find numerous moments of full-band-connectivity. Even on their safest nights – 07/03 and 07/05 – even on the cancelled mess of 07/19, even when they came out with a song-based/energy affair on the second night of BGCA, each of these shows are still worth your time and your ears. Each display a Phish at the top of their game, attacking their shows no matter the style.

And yet, for however strong as the tour is as a complete entity, their peak shows are simply based on an even higher level of musical connectivity, advanced experimentation, and evolutionary progression. From 07/10 and 07/14’s dedication to the band’s classics, representing an early peak for the tour, while displaying Phish’s desire to jam as a unified force, to 07/21’s show that – like the above jam segment – absolutely HAD to happen, to the string of shows at the Gorge on 07/26 and 07/27 that display the most consistent peak for the band in 2013, to the first and third night of SF that combined rarities and segues on 08/02, and a second set for the ages on 08/04, there’s just simply SO MUCH music we have to listen to from Phish moving forward. And, one cannot forget to mention the initial high-point of the tour – a show rightly praised when it happened, yet overshadowed now as the tour has unfolded – 07/07.

We’ve truly been blessed throughout the entirety of this 2013 Summer Tour. The thought of the band continuing to build upon this at Dick’s and in the Fall is simply mind-boggling.

Thankful is simply not enough.

Top Run

Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York: 3 Nights

Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland: 2 Nights

The Gorge, George, Washington: 2 Nights

Lake Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada: 2 Nights

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California: 3 Nights

Top run? How can one even decide…Between the magnificence and glory at Phish’s real life Gamehendge, Saratoga Springs, through the tri state area in New Jersey and Jones Beach, and the weekend run at Merriweather, almost every run was unique and special, loaded with stunning moments and overflowing with highlights.

Lake Tahoe had great shows and the most special moment, Tweezer, and Bill Graham was the RIGHT way to end the tour, in the place where the birth of the counter culture happened. But one run stands above the rest — The Gorge. Like Phish’s last trip to the legendary venue, this weekend stand boasted complete shows filled with sick segues, exploratory jams and fantastic first and second sets. Night one at the Gorge had a AC/DC Bag, Timber, Wolfman’s Opener with a closing trio of McGrupp, Curtis Lowe and Melt. The first set was stunning as was the second set, which had an 18 minute Crosseyed and Painless, followed by Twist, Steam, Waves and a jam that has WAY TOO MUCH POTENTIAL, Twenty Years Later. Mango, Bug and Bowie!!! rounded the end, before a symbolic Rocky Top, signifying the awesome set, and then the moon howling Character Zero.

The next night opened with a gorgeous Architect, the first Golgi of tour and then the first Curtain With of tour! After that came more great songs with Moma, Maze and the new debut, Say Something, a song I love. After Midnight ended the set with a tribute for J.J. Cale and kept the energy at an all-time high. The second set was even better! The famous Down with Disease->Undermind to start things off before another amazing highlight, Light->Sneaking Sally. A spacey and funky 2001 was nicely placed before a perfect ending trio – Walls of the Cave, Fluffhead and Run Like an Antelope. Talk about a two night stand.

There are a few rules of Phish. Never miss a Sunday show. If you have the ability to go to a show, you go. Never miss Dick’s, and of course, Never miss The Gorge.

Top Set

Saratoga Springs: 07/05/13- Set II Energy > Light->The Mango Song > 46 Days->Steam, Drowned > Slave

Jones Beach: 07/12/2013- Set II Rock & Rock -> 2001 > Tweezer->Cities->The Wedge, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Character Zero

Chicago: 07/21/2013- Set II Energy->Ghost->The Lizards, Harpua > Run Like an Antelope

The Gorge: 07/26/2013- Set II Crosseyed & Painless > Twist > Steam > Waves->Twenty Years Later > The Mango Song > Bug > David Bowie, Rocky Top > Character Zero

The Gorge: 07/27/2013- Set II Down with Disease->Undermind > Light->Sneakin Sally Thru the Alley->2001 > Walls of the Cave > Fluffhead > Run Like an Antelope

San Francisco: 08/04/2013- Set II Energy > Runaway Jim > Carini > The Wedge, Light->David Bowie, Silent in the Morning, Meatstick > Quinn the Eskimo, You Enjoy Myself

For much of 2009 – 2012, no matter what musical leaps forward were made, Phish continually struggled with conceiving fully-flowing sets. While yes, there are exceptions – 08/07/2009 II, 06/27/2010 II, 10/16/2010 II, 05/28/2011 II, 07/03/2011 I, 08/15/2011 II, 08/19/2012 II, and 12/30/2012 II immediately come to mind – the start-to-finish thematic flow of a set – particularly a Set II – was one of the missing links that marked any conversation about where exactly Phish was in their climb back up their veritable mountain.

As with much of their music, all this changed in 2013.

On the second show of tour to be exact.

Crafting a fluid, flowing, and thematically unyielding set on the first night of their three-night SPAC run, the band ushered in a tour full of relentless sets that stack up with some of the most complete sets of their entire career. These sets are SO good that the thought of ranking them/choosing a singular one that’s better than the others seems preposterous. Almost like an insult.

07/05 showed us immediately what was possible here in 2013. 07/10 displayed the lengths the band was prepared to go to craft improvisational brilliance, while also letting their hair down and proving that party/rock sets don’t necessarily mean a loss in flow. 07/12 felt plucked right out of 1998. 07/21 HAD to happen right then and there; phearless’d. 07/26 both built upon 07/10’s theme, but used down-tempo rarities, along with a deranged moon-chant in the often-predictable Zero to allow the band an entrance into an alternate dimension. 07/27 is definition of ‘perfection’ in my mind: jams, flow, energy, rock, classics. 08/04 capped off a tour full of highlights with expansive jams, a nod to the bands ever-present gimmickry, and an ode to the theme of Phish 2013: ENERGY.

While we’ve selected 07/27 as the singular set that best defines the peak we’ve all just experienced here in Phish 2013, the reality is any number of those sets could fill that slot. There’s a reason SO many were SO floored after 07/05 after all…

Jam Of The Tour

Carini -> Architect: Saratoga, NY – 07/06/2013

Crosseyed & Painless> Harry Hood: Holmdel, NY – 07/10/2013

Rock & Roll -> 2001> Tweezer -> Cities -> The Wedge: Wantagh, NY – 07/12/2013

Light -> Boogie On Reggae Woman: Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

Energy -> Ghost -> The Lizards: Chicago, IL – 07/21/2013

Down With Disease: Toronto, ON – 07/22/2013

Down With Disease -> Undermind> Light -> Sneakin’ Sally Thru The Alley -> 2001: George, WA – 07/27/2013

Tweezer: Stateline, NV – 07/31/2013

Rock & Roll -> Steam: San Francisco, CA – 08/03/2013

Energy> Runaway Jim: San Francisco, CA – 08/04/2013

Harry Hood: Los Angeles, CA – 08/05/2013

There’s simply no other option in this category than the 07/31/2013 Tweezer from Tahoe. A 37-minute masterpiece that saw Phish craft an unending jam, displaying both a willingness to expand upon the subtlest of musical cues, and a desire to push their music out as far as possible, that the song resulted in one of the most stunning peaks of the band’s career is almost icing on the cake. And yet, the peak itself resulted in an impromptu band/audience moment of connection only possible in the purest forms of live music, representing a unified sense of elation between band and audience alike. Just listen to the way Trey absolutely tears into his riff following the first – and most spontaneous – set of woo’s from the crowd. There simply hasn’t been a jam in all of 3.0 that can compare with the exploratory zeal, communicative transcendence, nor unified band/audience moment quite like the Tahoe Tweezer.

As for the rest on this list? Each would unquestionably be a top jam in any other year in 3.0.

07/06’s Carini that changed on a dime numerous times, as the band tore through gorgeous melodic passages before landing in the debut of Architect.

The first Crosseyed of the year which saw Trey reach an early peak through his experimentations with this rhythmic and melodic jamming.

The Jones Beach Rock & Roll -> 2001> Tweezer -> Cities -> The Wedge segment that felt plucked right out of 1998, and more than made up for the torrential weather in Set I.

At Merriweather Post the band dropped a sharp and rhythmic Light, which tore through various segments of start/stop jamming, fused with heavy and distorted rock, before segueing perfectly into Boogie On Reggae Woman.

Reaching a mid-tour peak with the Energy -> Ghost -> The Lizards segment in Chicago, a jam that absolutely HAD to happen, it touched on literally every jamming style the band has ever experimented with throughout their entire career in one 26min jam before moving into one of their most time honored classics.

A night later Trey led the band down a beautifully sublime path in Down With Disease, displaying the wide-open possibilities for the band as they moved westward.

On the second night of The Gorge, the band spent the first 50 minutes of their second set locked in a constantly evolving jam segment that passed through sections of funk, ambient, and bliss before peaking with a torrid Sneakin’ Sally.

Two shows after the Tahoe Tweezer, the band took Rock & Roll again on another spin, this time focusing more on the groove rather than its melody, moving it seamlessly into perhaps the best Steam of the year, in a year already full of top versions.

On one of the best shows of the summer – 08/04 – Phish opened their second set with a 27 minute segment based around their newest jam vehicle, and one of their oldest.

Finally, they took Harry Hood out far beyond the reaches of your typical Hood, crafting an often seedy, if not painstakingly gorgeous version that rivals any of the 2003 experimentations on it, and proved just how high the band was by tour’s end.

Each of these jams displayed a band simply locked in. No two ways about it. Phish was on throughout all of their summer tour. Evolutionary steps forward, momentous goals achieved, surprises galore; further proof of where things currently stand in the world of Phish.

Song MVP

Harry Hood

Energy

David Bowie

Crosseyed and Painless

Tweezer

Honorable Mention: Rock & Roll

Look up any show from the past tour where any of the above songs were played, and you’re guaranteed to hear an innovative and energized performance that served as both a show and tour highlight.

Each year of 3.0 has provided us with transcendent takes on Rock & Roll: 08/08/2009, 10/22/2010, 08/05/2011, 08/15/2012, and now, 07/12/2013 and 08/03/2012. Each wholly unique versions that displayed both the open-ended quality to the song, and the bombastic grooves that are just bursting at its seams, the song proved its lasting value in 2013 once again as one of the band’s trustiest jam vehicles.

David Bowie returned from years of seeming irrelevance to reclaim its place among the most enthralling live compositions in Phish’s catalogue. Punctuated by engaging, melodic versions on 07/05, 07/12, 07/20, and 07/26, the song proved that for however predictable and tepid it had been throughout the first three years of 3.0, there was no way the band could contain this gem forever.

Crosseyed & Painless, played only twice, was significantly stretched out on each occasion, further displaying the boundaries pushed in last summer’s transcendent 08/19 version. Offering up one of the jams of summer at PNC, it touched upon the 02/16/2003 Piper theme on its way to fully displaying the rhythmic melodic playing from Trey that was pushing the band to new heights. While it didn’t totally hook-up in the same way sixteen days later at the The Gorge, that version did represent a significant step forward in terms of Trey’s willingness and desire to push their jams deep into the unknown, something which would lead to a landmark jam some five nights later…

The lone cover debut of summer, Energy fit Phish’s rotation with stunning ease, expanding over four transcendent versions to become the new go-to jam for the band. With lyrics that speak directly to Phish’s overall message, a melody that just screams White Album-era Beatles, and an open-ended quality that caters directly to expansion, and it’s no wonder the song has stuck. Just listen to how much the song grew from its 07/05 debut, to its 07/17 performance that allowed it its first opportunity to wander, to its two peak performances thus far on 07/21 and 08/04. Anyone who doesn’t think this is opening one of the second sets at Dick’s is crazy.

Even if the four Tweezers that preceded the 07/31 version had been complete duds, the song was still bound to make this list for the sheer impact its 37 minute incarnation had on the entirety of the music made this summer.

Yet, aside from the 07/06 version, each the 07/12, 07/16, and 07/22 versions are unique, thematic, and are featured in choice segues midway through their respective sets. Still, nothing compares to the masterful jam that kicked off the final set in Tahoe. A musical peak for Phish in any era, it cemented 2013 as yet another Tweezer-strong year, and kept up the trend within 3.0, of a sublime take on their much-loved jam vehicle, joining the likes of 12/29/2009, 12/30/2010, 09/03/2011, and 12/28/2012 before it.

And yet, for everything that’s been played in 2013 – much of which that has simply blown away a large percentage of the music the band has made throughout their already illustrious career – it all comes back to one Harry Hood. The lone encore on the tour opener in Bangor, literally every single version played – 07/10, 07/13, 07/20, 07/26, 08/02, and the monumental 08/05 – is a veritable tour highlight. In much the same way that David Bowie completely revitalized itself here in 2013, so did Mr. Hood, and then some. Peaking in the first half of the tour with old-school takes on 07/03 and 07/13 in particular, out west the song opened itself up to a certain degree on 07/26, before completely rewriting the rulebook on Hood some three songs before the tour’s conclusion. One of the jams of summer, the Hollywood Harry Hood displayed the untapped potential of the song as a jam vehicle, exposing yet another layer in Phish’s continuously unveiling musical amalgamation.

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Once again, many thanks to James for asking me to be a part of this piece! So glad to be able to share our thoughts on Phish in such a way! We can’t wait to see what Phish has planned for us at Dick’s!