The Top Ten Jams of Fall
Boardwalk Hall (Andrea Nusinov)
I’ve spent the past week spinning the hell out of Fall and I have come up with my top ten jams of tour. These are—by my ear—the most hooked up, flowing pieces of improvisation from an all-too-short fall run. As always, ranking these was an incredibly difficult task, but that said, I’m quite happy with how this top ten turned out. always, Enjoy the playlist!
10. “Ghost” 10.31 III, Atlantic City, NJ
This locked and driving jam opened the third of set of Halloween with a bang.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/3.01-Ghost.mp3]***
9. “Down with Disease” 10.29 II, Reading, PA
After steering through a couple different moods, the band found the end of the rainbow in a southern-style pot of gold. This Allmans-sque passage and earth-shattering peak cement Reading’s “Disease” as a keeper.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2.01-Down-With-Disease.mp3]***
8. “Golden Age” 10.27 II, Hartford, CT
Fishman absolutely destroys this rhythmic jam, as the band dances around his inhuman beats for much of its duration. The band truly sits into this jam, something they are becoming more and more comfortable doing with “Golden Age.”
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2.04-Golden-Age.mp3]***
7. “Twenty Years Later” 10.29 II, Reading, PA
Methodical, growling, and funky as James Brown’s band on their worst night, this mid-set surprise obliterated the dance floor and left people picking up pieces of their brains off the walls of Santander Arena. Sliding into a rootsy, Americana outro, this jam hit the feel-good spot as well.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2.03-Twenty-Years-Later.mp3]***
6. “Twist” 10.23 II, Glens Falls, NY
This jam provided the pivot point of tour; from here on out, everything the band touched turned to gold.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2.04-Twist.mp3]***
5. “Carini” 10.31 III, Atlantic City, NJ
A free-form, third-set joyride that reached profound planes following some early-jam hiccups. The improvisational centerpiece of the Halloween show.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/3.02-Carini.mp3]***
4. “Light” 10.26 II, Worcester, MA
The most slamming “Light” of Fall has so much to offer, including a searing guitar solo, a passionate composed jam and the the most sophisticated groove exposé of the entire tour. Hey!
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2.03-Light1.mp3]***
3. “Twist” 11.1 II, Atlantic City, NJ
The central part of this jam provided the most cathartic group moment of the year aside from Tahoe’s “Tweezer.” Very powerful music; very powerful energy. The band came down from the mountaintop and retained cohesion through a mini-“Under Pressure” jam, continued into a full-blown, psychedelic third segment of music, and finally came down via a dreamy denouement.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2.01-Twist.mp3]***
2. “Carini” 10.18 II, Hampton, VA
This multi-staged, super-dynamic jam is the only piece of Fall—other than my number one pick—that flows with a completely effortless nature from beginning to end. And that’s quite impressive considering the amount of ground it covers, including a scintillating mid-jam, peak and a funked up final section. Despite Sunday’s scorching final set, this “Carini” is the everlasting gem of Hampton 2013.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2.06-Carini.mp3]***
1. “Tweezer” 10.27 II, Hartford, CT
The guys clicked from this jam’s first note, locking into a sacred stride and never missing a beat. No jam from Fall flowed more effortlessly that this—four-minded, egoless, soulful music from start to finish. As if God pressed play and the band simply allowed the music to flow through them—this is what it’s all about.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2.02-Tweezer.mp3]
Hampton Coliseum (Andrea Nusinov)
Weak end to a pretty good tour. They’ve lost the momentum they had. Phish 3.0 is done. I’ve been seeing them since ’93, and I thought that it was pretty lame to have everyone’s expectations built sooooo high for halloween, and then drop that bomb. Ouch! Very glad I didn’t travel across the country for it. And their miscues and fuckups throughout the AC shows. It’s good to know their human, but it’s sad to think that we can’t be transported to that special place on a regular basis. Oh well….
I would very much like it if Chuck Sperry did a Phish print. Guy makes incredible poster art.
hampton carini = hart tweeze i think. I just love tweeze…
carini has several sections—3 while hartford is all one.
the melody Trey plays at the top of the catfish peak in the carini may be the champion lick of fall tour
each section of this carini is uber chron…love it so much
my new order for tweezers is hart, AC, hampton.
what i love about the hampton carini is that trey introduces the catfish at 6:30 and there is a full three minute tease of the bliss to come until 9:30 when page goes back to the grand and then its full on bliss.
treys scratch fill at 14:30 is so fucking SICK.
i love me some rhythmic trey and this fall had a ton of those laid back late 90s muted lines.
@eljefe, http://www.jambands.com/news/2013/11/14/medeski-martin-and-wood-to-tour-europe-with-nels-cline/#.UohMtj7k9KA
i would also love to see this.
Catfish.
You all and your ranking of shows and jams. I guess someone has to do it. Glad it’s not me. I got into a pickle today, but everything worked out. Great day with the family. Hope you all had a good one.
New band I just recently started listening to names Aqueous. I don’t know much about them other then they seem to jam. Anyone into these guys?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VIjQGN5ENJg
what i love about the hampton carini is that trey introduces the catfish at 6:30 and there is a full three minute tease of the bliss to come until 9:30 when page goes back to the grand and then its full on bliss.
^ great fuckin’ catfish usage! And I totally know what you mean…
just respun reading dwd. To use Dirksenese, it’s an average-good jam until it hits the catfish…and then Trey unleashes his guitar solo of perhaps all of 3.0. to quote someone from twitter, “that solo is a gift from the gods.”
Can’t wait to get back to Phish. I actually normally only listen to Phish. I’m absolutely blown away by this band Aqueous. They have a certain style about them that seems to flow along nicely. Sure a lot of their songs seem to be based off of multiple Phish songs all interlaced into one, but it’s craftily done IMO.
Fuego!
Sup fellers? Happy Sunday. Baby Spaz making a habit of 530 wake ups these days. He grooves on AC Jibboo. That MMWC looks excellent. Have they done that lineup previously? Should be very cool.
Morning Spaz, morning all.
I meditated for a bit this morning and then, after reading Miner’s comment above, put on the Reading DWD. I agree that there is a long period where they are searching, but the pure uplifting beauty of the last 7 minutes or so is in my opinion made that much more beautiful because it soars from that progressive searching. I don’t have the words currently to describe the quality of Trey’s playing (and Page’s comping on the baby g) at the end. Pure joy.
TL;DR Reading DWD made me cry.
Hey Fly. Sounds like a good day already. Hanging here with the boy watching golf. Golf relaxes me, watching it at least…
Reading DWD on deck
Went thru the AC Tweez portal late last nite on my good headphones. Nasty stuff. great breaks in there. Then Hampton TweezAge. Same as before…just a pile of excellent jams to choose from
But really I looked to play the AC tweez and I realized that the waves is excellent too. Then I realized how much I dig roggae. Then I was like I should also check the dwd piper. So that whole set is choice thru Tweez then not exactly my fave way to end the set: Julio, #line, fpants
Go deep into that AC tweez if you can today. With perfect headspace and lots of volume.