MSG Region Recap
#5 Camden 99 35 #4 Lakewood 15 29
The four-five matchup between Camden ’99 and Lakewood ’15 provided the most marquee matchup of MSG’s second round action. A battle of styles, a battle of eras, a battle of tempos—this contest provided an interesting musical juxtaposition. Camden rode in on the strength of its ’99 psych-goo, while Lakewood put forth its stunningly beautiful melodic theme. In the end, however, the molasses of Camden got the better of Lakewood, as the New Jersey rendition jumped out to a comfortable early lead and continued to score just enough to hold off several comeback attempts from the Summer ’15 highlight.
#2 Jones Beach 95 32 #7 Hartford 13 28
The two-seven matchup pitted two versions, almost two decades apart, that are as different as can possibly be—the wooly and outlandish exploration of Jones Beach’s Summer ’95 behemoth versus the smooth, thematic playing of Hartford’s Fall ’13 standout. The two squads played each other incredibly tough, but the Long Island monster held the lead from wire to wire. Hartford pulled as close as it would come within the games final minute, but never got over the hump. The sneaky-powerful two seed rolls on with a mission to dethrone more widely known versions.
#3 Bomb Factory 51 #11 Laguna Seca 5
This three-eleven matchup saw two classic 1994 Tweezers that are household names—Bomb Factory and Laguna Seca. After pulling a huge upset over Blossom 15, Laguna Seca looked to shock the world by sending the Bomb Factory packing. But the California, multi-band-festival version couldn’t harness its first round magic and got run out of the gym by the iconic Dallas rendition. This was an outright drubbing, and the victory sets up a highly-anticipated Sweet Sixteen matchup between Bomb Factory and Jones Beach.
#1 Auburn Hills 97 62 #9 Gainesville 95 4
Speaking of a drubbing, Auburn Hills annihilated the upstart Gainesville version from Fall 95 with an eye-popping score differential. The Palace Tweezer strolls into the Sweet Sixteen without breaking a sweat over its first two matchups. The tournament starts now for one of the best Phish jams of all time.
Gorge Region Recap
#4 Magnaball 46 #5 Island Run 19
Everyone had this Magnaball-Island Run second-round matchup circled before the tournament started, but it turned out to be surprisingly non-competitive. These versions hail from two of Phish’s most revered events, but whereas the Magna version was, arguably, the highlight of the weekend, the Island version was practically an afterthought to the run’s countless other-worldly jams. Magnaball ran away the contest in the second half in a thumping that few saw coming.
#3 Great Went 34 #6 Alpine 15 21
The Great Went’s afternoon classic coasted to victory in its second round match-up, maintaining a comfortable 10-plus point lead from early in the first half. The impeccable and buttery Alpine version showed some fight in scoring more than expected against the Went’s vaunted ’97 zone defense, but the result was never truly in question. The Gorge region’s second festival version advances, and the Great Went will surely make some noise in the the next round.
#2 Lake Tahoe 49 #10 Lake Placid 13
Following the trend of the Gorge Region, this Battle of the Lakes resulted in yet another blowout as Tahoe easily dismissed Placid. The tour-ending version from Fall ’95 proved no contest for the fan favorite from Stateline, Nevada, as the third Fall ’95 version bows out of the tournament. This sets up a prime-time affair between The Great Went and Lake Tahoe next round.
#1 Alpine 98 42 #9 Vegas 98 16
This battle of 1998 versions provided little drama, as Vegas just didn’t have the mustard to get within an arm’s reach of Alpine ’98s historic outing. Alpine’s victory cemented an all-chalk second round in the Gorge region, and suffice it to say, the next round will provide more drama than this one.
Hampton & Worcester Regions: Round 2
