Stereotypical tour opener with a lot of mediocre and a few wow moments. In this case, the wow came in the form of an unexpected encore of rarities.
Not a great night for improv, but we’ll slot it in tier 3 on the back of the old school 2001 > DWD and wild encore.
Tier 1: <vacant>
Tier 2: <vacant>
Tier 3: MAGA Greek1
MAGA Greek 2
<big gap>
MAGA Greek 1
No tentpole jam, but so much great improv and fun playing throughout the night. Puts the lack of good improv on night 1 in perspective. Plus, another encore worth staying for (hope that trend keeps up). Even the Antelope seemed like it had one of the better peaks in recent memory.
GA1
<gap>
MAGA Greek 2
<big gap>
MAGA Greek 1
Great setlist. And while you can quibble that Ghost never quite got there and the first half of Ruby Waves wasn’t great, you’d have to contend with the second half of Ruby Waves, probably the 🐐 Myfe, top 3ish Tube since 2004, great NMINML, and a surprisingly exciting Caspian.
Ps - Another mid-second set debut. Could tonight be the night Perseid (aka Forward People) makes an appearance?
Tier 1: GA1
Tier 2a: AL2, GA2
Tier 2b: GA3
Tier 3: AL1
Switching to tiers bc there isn’t much differentiation. Phish has gotten very good in 4.0 at consistently delivering solid shows via a little of this & a little of that. The difference between the hits, the average, and the clunkers is not nearly as stark as it used to be.
Flubby and at times low energy night with a fairly forgettable 1st set, but then a largely dream setlist 2nd w/ great jams in Carini & Sand.
Tier 1: GA1
Tier 2a: AL2, GA2
Tier 2b: GA3
Tier 3: AL1
Tier 5: NC1
A brilliant ASIHTOS (🐐 candidate) complete with some mesmerizing drumming kept it off the level of Charleston3, Grand Prairie, and Hampton1 99.
Still, between the tepid first set, everything post-Light in the second, and some out-of-control Trey vocal stylings, it’s one of the weakest shows of 4.0, and I have no doubt it will be joked about for years to come.
Tier 1: GA1
Tier 2a: AL2, GA2
Tier 2b: GA3
Tier 3: AL1, NC2
Tier 5: NC1
Solid show with 3 nice jams and room for more until god—in an unprecedented move—made sure there wouldn’t be a repeat of the previous night’s fourth quarter by forcing the band to pull a Costanza and leave on the high note of Q3.
Tier 1: GA1
Tier 2: AL2, GA2, GA3, PIT1
Tier 3: AL1, NC2
Tier 5: NC1
Hard show to rank. No true tentpole jam, but a lot of “a little of this and and a little of that.” Not a classically great setlist, but it was interesting and unpredictable.
Special shout-out to one of the few interesting Bowies since 2009. It almost crossed over in to need-to-hear territory, but unfortunately the 3.0 and 4.0 kids still have giant goooose eggs next to their stats for Bowies seen.
Tier 1: GA1
Tier 2: GA2, GA3
Tier 3a: PIT2
Tier 3b: AL2, PIT1
Tier 4: AL1, NC2
Tier 6: NC1
Took a step back & reworked this a bit. The consistency of clear highlights each show combined with the consistency of not putting it all together each show is making this tour brutal to rank. All-time ER last night & rocking (if light on improv) Q4 but mostly lame S1 until Ass-handed. And while Tube & Ghost in the encore are exciting, each might be the weakest version of 4.0.
Tier 1b: Cuse
Tier 1c: GA1
T2: GA2, GA3
T3a: PIT2
T3b: AL2, PIT1
T4: AL1, NC2
T6: NC1
GA1 has the better S1. Cuse has the best S1 jam (KDF). Ruby Waves & Tweezer are close but one is Tweezer. Encores are even (though I’d take If I Could). GA1 doesn’t have Miss You so points there. That leaves Ghost, Flew Away, 🐐 Myfe & First Tube vs Suzy, 🐐 Oblivion, Wolfman’s & Possum. Probably give GA1 the edge there.
Going with Cuse #1 for now, but thinking it flips over time.
Tier 1b: Cuse
Tier 1c: GA1
T2: GA2, GA3
T3a: PIT2
T3b: AL2, PIT1, PH1
T4: AL1, NC2
T6: NC1
Gin covered a ton of ground quickly. Otherwise, lot of cringe (especially vocals) & not a lot of improv in S1.
Nothing in S2 got “there” except The Well which had a jam as good as the song is bad. More cringe vocals and several jams cut off as soon as they got going. Still, it’s hard to deny the blazing tempos and raucous energy as the band soared from ripcord to ripcord.
Tier 1b: Cuse
Tier 1c: GA1
T2: GA2, GA3
T3a: AL2, PIT2
T3b: PIT1, PH1, PH2
T4: AL1, NC2
T6: NC1
Man, I don’t know. The Carini was incredible and better than anything played Tuesday. But then the show kind of fell off a cliff (and even SYSF didn’t deliver a good jam). First set looks way better on paper than it is on tape. Show wasn’t nearly as spastic as Tues and had less vocal “stylings” but it was also way less exciting.
I don’t know. Nothing matters anyway.
Tier 1: MSG1
Tier 2: GA1, Cuse
T3: AL2, GA2, GA3
T4a: PIT2
T4b: PIT1, PH1, PH2
T5: AL1, NC2
T7: NC1
Wave of Hope & Cities gave it more S1 firepower than any other show this tour. Ruby > Plasma > Simple & Melt gave it more S2 firepower than any other show. Not only was it a lot of improv, it was damn good improv—peak after peak after peak.
Despite all odds, a show with Evening Song, More, and My Soul in set opener/closer spots is now wearing the yellow jersey.
Tier 1: MSG1
Tier 2: GA1, Cuse
T3a: BAMA2, GA2, GA3
T3b: MSG2
T4a: PIT2
T4b: PIT1, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2
T7: NC1
Gorgeous DWD but then S1 fell apart for a while. Likely the 🐐 Fuego (topping Mann 2014) and solid Oblivion (if not the MSG monster we were hoping for). Cool segue from 2001->HYHU. Overall, an up & down show with an uninspiring setlist, but the Fuego was so damn good + bonus points for the Fishman Rosie fun factor despite how poorly it was executed.
Tier 1: MSG1
Tier 2: GA1, Cuse
T3a: BAMA2, GA2, GA3, MSG3
T3b: MSG2
T4a: PIT2
T4b: PIT1, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2
T7: NC1
Weird show to rank. S1 felt like an all-time great first set but is less impressive (though still fantastic) on relisten. S2 felt like a bit of a downer in the moment (non-jammed Sigma & back-to-back breathers didn’t help), but sounds much better on relisten. Gonna put this one a notch above Sat on the strength of S1.
Tier 1a: MSG4
Tier 1b: MSG1
Tier 2: GA1, Cuse
T3a: BAMA2, GA2, GA3, MSG3
T3b: MSG2
T4a: PIT2
T4b: PIT1, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2
T7: NC1
The only debate is MSG1 vs MSG4. While MSG1 **might** have a **slight** edge in improv, MSG4 is clearly stronger in setlist + has a monster encore. Setlist doesn’t factor nearly as much as play, but it counts. If you ding shows like NC1 for brutal setlists, you can’t say it doesn’t matter elsewhere.
MSG4 now wears the yellow jersey.
Tier 1: MSG1, MSG4
T2: GA1, Cuse
T3: BAMA2, GA2, GA3, MSG2, MSG3
T4: PIT1, PIT2, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2, MSG5
T7: NC1
Weak setlist and while there were solid highlights (like every show this tour), most of those highlights are fleeting and far less impressive on relisten. Hard to argue MSG5 being better than any show above it.
ps - Did some tier adjustments. The biggest is making MSG1 & MSG4 co-leaders. Solid arguments for either being show of tour.
Tier 1: MSG1, MSG4
T2a: GA1, Cuse
T2b: MSG6
T3: BAMA2, GA2, GA3, MSG2, MSG3
T4: PIT1, PIT2, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2, MSG5
T7: NC1
S1 was up & down w/o a big highlight. Best Mike’s since 1.0 & maybe jam of tour. Solid Sand->Crosseyed, but ALBTD killed S2’s momentum w/ Lizards not high-energy enough to get it back. Odd to hold Weekapaug for the encore only to drop an incredibly tame version. Giving slight edge to Cuse & GA1 based on S1s & more well-rounded S2+Es.
Tier 1: MSG1, MSG4
T2a: GA1, Cuse
T2b: MSG6
T3: BAMA2, GA2, GA3, MSG2, MSG3, MSG7
T4: PIT1, PIT2, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2, MSG5
T7: NC1
Fantastic Caspian. Epic Tweezer. Great Hood. Beyond that, the supporting cast isn’t nearly as well-rounded as the top shows this tour. Factor in ripcords + some unfortunate setlisting, and we’ll go tier 3 and call it a day—though it might be closer to tier Pennsylvania once dust settles. Great show, but the bar is high this tour.
Tier 1: MSG1, MSG4
T2a: GA1
T2b: Cuse, MSG6, Broadview1
T3: BAMA2, GA2, GA3, MSG2, MSG3, MSG7
T4: PIT1, PIT2, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2, MSG5
T7: NC1
Lotta win in Moma, Sand>RnR, Wope, and a sublime Simple. But maybe more important is all the songs they didn’t play. Not much down time all night (Ocelot is always better than its reputation, and the beloved 90s ballad in the encore slot can slide 😜).
Tier 1: MSG1, MSG4
T2a: GA1
T2b: Cuse, MSG6, Broadview1
T3: BAMA2, GA2, GA3, MSG2, MSG3, MSG7
T4: PIT1, PIT2, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2, MSG5
T7: NC1
N/A: Broadview2
Very ordinary—if a little subpar—3/4 of a show. Then Trucks showed up in blue tights and a red cape with an 'S' on his chest to produce a legendary guest appearance—despite having quite an odd choice of songs thrown at him. Going N/A bc it’s senseless to compare to anything else this tour.
Tier 1: MSG1, MSG4
T2a: GA1
T2b: Cuse, MSG6, SPAC1
T3: BAMA2, GA2, GA3, MSG2, MSG3, MSG7, CO1
T4: PIT1, PIT2, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2, MSG5
T7: NC1
N/A: SPAC2
As always, when I’m at the show I have zero faith in my ranking. But this feels like tier 3.
Monster Carini, big Ruby, unfortunate ripcords of Mercury & WACTOOB. Best ripcord ever in SYSF for Tweezer. Huge Tweezer, ripping Light. SHITLOAF. Far from perfect but a lot of win and not a lot of loss.
Tier 1: MSG1, MSG4
T2a: GA1, CO2
T2b: Cuse, MSG6, SPAC1
T3: BAMA2, GA2, GA3, MSG2, MSG3, MSG7, CO1
T4: PIT1, PIT2, PH1, PH2
T5: BAMA1, NC2, MSG5
T7: NC1
N/A: SPAC2
::deep breath::
Best Dicks since 9/1/17. The only thing keeping it out of tier 1 is a solid but unremarkable S1 because S2+E was absolute Phish perfection where the sum is even greater than the parts. And if you think I’m putting it too high bc shows below it offers more, I have 3 words: walk off Melt.
Last night was my 80th show, and it was an absolute smoker. Second set and encore was an actual Face Melt. Not sure where they go from here. We'll see!
Chop
bobocubed
Brian