Phish Summer Tour 2023

[jedifunk]

I would say there are "higher highs" in 23, but 21 had a much higher volume of excellent jams.

23 ain't over yet.

I tend to disagree with that "higher volume" count Jedi, but I've long known that you and I look for different things in jams.

But I also think the quality of the band is measure in more than excellent jams. remember, this band was great 30 years ago when they barely jammed! My "2023 Summer Slammers" LP playlist which showcases not just 20+min jams or even key micro-jams but also excellent set listing is nearly 25hours long. That's almost eight full shows of must-hear stuff and I didn't even include all of the Derek Trucks sit-in (which I'm gonna go back and remedy).

This might be what it comes down to for me, too, in that case. My collection of songs from '21 that I can listen to over and over again is vast. I've not found nearly as much in '23. I've still got some shows to check out, but still. I see your point that '23 has consistency and a lot of great, fluid sets, and maybe in that regard it is the better year. But in terms of single tracks, however long, that have floored me, '21 is the clear winner.

RJ, I know we diverge on jam preferences 

I think I'm with Cactus on this one. I've found more tracks in my 2021 locker than 2023, and the show count is basically equal right now. I'd honestly say that 2021 has the highest count of relistenable jamming from anything in 3.0/4.0

nothing in 2021 gets my coveted 🤌🏼 designation, while there are 3 from 2023, but the volume of extreme high quality is basically double in 2021.

for reference, here's the current designations I hand out:
🤌🏼 denotes epicness
🫶🏼 denotes bliss jam
🦅 denotes soaring jam
🕺🏼 denotes grooviness
😈 denotes dark jam
👩🏼�🚀 denotes ambience/space jam
🤘🏼 denotes rage jam
🎶 denotes melodious jam
🪬 denotes psychedelic jam

[cactusfan]

I'm in the 2021 camp. Best year of phish I've personally witnessed.

2023 has been great though. I'd say '15, '21 and '23 all have stood out in the "anything could happen at anytime" category.

I think I posted this elsewhere but it is quite amazing how there was four to six years or so of 3.0/4.0 that had VERY little jamming. There would be a couple that broke through, but I didn't have hopes of 15+ min jams for awhile there... and first set jams were practically non-existent.

Not anymore. Tons of first set jams, long jams and jams in unexpected songs. I've seen 3/4 of the only jammed out fluffheads ever in the past few years. The last two versions of MFMF had abnormal type-II jams. The list goes on....

That's another thing that was huge about '21, the realization that anything could happen at any time, and how exciting that felt. One of my favorite attended shows was the first night in SF at the start of the fall tour, where they played a great Slave--in the middle of the first set--then, after a devastating second set that included a jammed out Frankie Says, and that closed with Moma, they encored with a 20 minute Carini.

Then in Vegas, the moment they opened a second set with Ass Handed, instantly not only thinking, but knowing, "They're gonna jam out Ass Handed!" That's the kind of year it was.

[rowjimmy]

I think '22 was absolutely a slump as compared to '21 and '23 but I don't think I realized how much so until things picked back up this year.

Other than the surprising reliability that sets were ~75 minutes long (with a very few exceptions) this Summer, I wouldn't say they've been especially predictable. Carini 20+ min show opener. New songs going long. MFMF stretching out. Yet another Fluffed with a jam... If you go revisit the plethora of 15-20min songs on this tour you'll find really high quality jamming that, for the most part, resolves quite well and reasonably. This as compared to the hard turns Trey was so often making throughout 3.0 is pretty fun to listen to.

Plus, if you like to go long, there's 17 20+ minute jams across 25 shows this Summer.
Bonus Stat: Twice this Summer, we got back-to-back 20+ minute jams which, for the record, has only happened 5 times before.