2015-12-30 MSG I

The Verdict:
The first MSG show starts a trend that's run for at least the first three shows of the run (I haven't listened to the fourth one yet); that is, the first half-ish of the show is a pretty pedestrian outing by 2015 standards, but then there are a few absolutely gobsmacking jams in the second set, leaving to wonder by the end if the jamming redeemed the mediocrity or not.

N1's opening frame seems a bit short to me, and though it opens strong and the energy stays high throughout, there's nothing here that you haven't seen before. The "Roggae" peak is a high point, and the crowd howling along with "The Dogs" shows how much energy is in the room, but the audience ultimately seems more excited than the band is.

Fortunately, a completely different Phish comes out for the second set, and blows...well, everything...away. The "Chalkdust" is 22 minutes of pure momentum, the "Ghost" sandwiches in a brand new song, "Waves" contains some ambient goodness, and the "Gin"...well, the "Gin" might be my favorite jam of the year. No shit.

As if that isn't enough, the "Mike's Groove" that ends the set contains a gorgeous "Groove" -> "What's the Use?" -> "Groove," the best part of which is an incredibly dynamic version of "WTU?". Then they encore with "Zero," because the universe has a sense of humor.

Anyway, it would be hard to convince me that there's a better second set out there from this year, though there might be some ties. You should just watch the whole thing.


The Live Review:
12/30/15: MSG run starts off with Sample.      
12/30/15: Vocals seem super-quiet. Have the usual EQ settings. Weird.      
12/30/15: Free is #2. Standard take until nearly the end, when Machine Gun Trey makes a weird appearance.      
12/30/15: Simple is the typical outro jam until the very end, when Trey starts up some loops and then transitions immediately into BOTT.      
12/30/15: Neat transition, but almost seemed like a head-fake toward a 'real' jam.      
12/30/15: Pretty swanky solo in BOTT.      
12/30/15: High-tempo version of WAN leads into 555.      
12/30/15: Standard 555 >  a Roggae with a serious peak. That was intense.  
12/30/15: Standalone version of The Dogs. Crowd howling. Awesome.      
12/30/15: 46 Days...whoa, and that's it for the first set? That seemed short.      
12/30/15: S1 had a few neat song choices and two huge peaks (Free and Roggae), but is definitely in the No Reason To Relisten category.      
12/30/15: S2 kicks off with Chalkdust.      
12/30/15: Pretty great Type I jam/solo developing early on here.      
12/30/15: Jam comes out of the coda of the song, as per 2015 style.      
12/30/15: The beginning of the jam sounds a bit like a spacier version of The Dogs.      
12/30/15: I don't have words to describe this jam at the moment because I'm tired as hell, but it's really good.      
12/30/15: Save for the middle section, this jam doesn't have the trajectory of some of the best 2015 jams, but it's 22 minutes of momentum.      
12/30/15: That, in and of itself, is pretty amazing.      
12/30/15: Nice landing in Ghost.      
12/30/15: Grungy funk riff to start the Ghost jam.      
12/30/15: Sort of forced segue into new song. I knew there was a new song in there, was hoping it'd be funk-oriented.      
12/30/15: More like No Men's. But it's not.      
12/30/15: Kind of a neat blues-rock style song, though. Page getting in some piano licks.      
12/30/15: Back into Ghost!      
12/30/15: Very short, straightforward bit of Ghost jamming before Trey whips out Waves.      
12/30/15: Waves goes super-ambient after a few minutes. Really mellow and weird.      
12/30/15: > Gin.  
12/30/15: Arrhythmic vocal jam with Mike leading in Gin.      
12/30/15: Okay, I'm just standing here in my office cracking up.      
12/30/15: That was well done.      
12/30/15: Smooth move into a chordy bliss jam. Page over to electric piano.      
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12/30/15: Perfectly timed Mike bass bomb. Crowd erupts.      
12/30/15: This is fucking awesome.      
12/30/15: Oh shit, Trey is building up. If he peaks this sucker, look out.      
12/30/15: jgtiaeopjgdigjdfp'ibraopj'rOPGIAFJK'EAL    F'KAOP  
12/30/15: OH SHIT. I might have just peed a little.      
12/30/15: I haven't enjoyed an I-Wasn't-There jam like that in a long time. https://t.co/VgQuII84kQ    
12/30/15: Mike's.      
12/30/15: Mike's is going the chords-and-clav route almost immediately.      
12/30/15: Reminded me a bit of a grungier version of the Dick's '14 Mike's.      
12/30/15: Bouncin' is weird meat for the Mike's sandwich.      
12/30/15: Speaking of which, I wonder if they've ever done Mike's > Meat > Groove. Obviously should happen if not, @phish.      
12/30/15: HOOOOOOOOO SLOW SEGUE INTO WHAT'S THE USE      
12/30/15: TREY STOP WE'VE HAD ENOUGH FOR ONE NIGHT      
12/30/15: Super mellow version of WTU? with bluesy licks from...Mike?      
12/30/15: Slow but powerful build back up to the end of the song.      
12/30/15: -> Groove, w/ Auld Lang Syne tease.      
12/30/15: End fantastic set.      
12/30/15: Zero encore because lol      
12/30/15: Excellent second set. No real letup, unless you count the new tune for the few minutes of Waves that wasn't weird.      
12/30/15: Can't ask for more than that.