For this list we are looking at stand alone jams so no segues. They must be able to hold up on their own. No specific length. As long as the song is unique, has something special about the versoin that will make you want to go back and listen over and over, that's what we are looking for when we are selecting our top jams of 2013...so far. I stress so far since we have a lot of Phish left this year. I hope to get out to see one more before our first child arrives sometime in October. If I play my cards right, my first night out may be the Worcester shows. We have a give take relationship so that only means my wife will have two nights out as well with me hanging with the little fella. I'll take tha trade off any day.
Below is a YouTube playlist of all the jams I selected. I tried to find the best recording first and foremost and if there was one that had both a great recording plus great footage, I threw that versoin up. If I get around to it, I may put this list into a downloadable mix.
Best Phish Jams of Summer 2013 So Far...
#1 -Tahoe - Tweezer (7/31/13)
What I love about this Tweezer, besides the fact that it stretches out over almost 40 miutes without really any dull moments. Even the quite, ambient moments bring something to the table. But what I really love is that it all gets started with Trey missing the standard Tweezer riff rhythmically at the beginning and instead of letting that derail his train of thought, he continues to play with the theme and this sets the band on a path of exploration. That's not only a band well in their comfort zone, that's a leader taking the reigns and guiding us to the promise land. I'm all for the band led jams, and no question this is one of them. But it often starts with a leader and Trey was due. There's that and oh, the improptu crowd / band call and response moments that could only happen when the stars are aligned like they were at Tahoe this night.
Oh, I put in two versions. One is the best recording (SBD) and the other is a video version and the recording is also good but this deserved two slots in the playlist.
#2 -Toronto - DWD (7/22/13)
Goes without saying that this show needed to deliver something special to our friends to the north. It's only fare given the epic tease that occurred just a couple weeks prior when Phish was there. They were at the venue, telling everyone they are going to make the show happen, even though outside if seemed like the apocolypse had finally arrived and Noah's Arc was indeed a necessity. Disease is a common 2nd set opener, which for some the over played slot can dilute the songs value. But when they throw down a version like this, it makes the possibilities endless for what they could do the next time it opens a set.
#3 - PNC - Crosseyed (7/10/13)
The introduction of the Trey echo effect in CnP peaks its head out in this second set opener. The little fluttering riff pops up throughout the second set, which is quintessential Phish when a moment feels righ within a show. This jam has a soaring peak and if you have been or seen pics of this venue, then you know that it's like you are taking off in the Enterprise starship when a jam gets to this level.
#4 - SPAC - Light (7/5/13)
This goes out to Mr. Miner who said that this Light outshines the Dick's Light and also that "the second set of SPAC was one of the finest musical statements that Phish has ever performed." He's known to make bold statements and this could be one of his boldest. But I will certainly agree that this Light is quite a statement. A lot of jazzy dissonance throughout the meat of the jam that leads into ambient jamming, which brings me back to the summer of 98.
#5 - MPP - Stash (7/14/13)
Hands down the best Stash since Phish returned to the stage in 2009 and could be close to one of the more creative spins on the classic ever played. Anytime they take a classic out for a spin and point it in a new direction it fully warrants being on a top 10 list in my book.
#6 MPP - Light (7/14/13)
All Light's get dissonant and jazzy in the jam. That we know. But not all of them include start / stop jamming that is often tied to their 97/98 funk era. It's start / stop dissonance at it's best my friends. While this Light may not be as exploratory as some (See SPAC or Dicks), this packs a serious punch in just over 12 minutes.
#7 Notherly Island - Piper (7/20/14)
I was torn between this Piper or SPACs version, which has some real heat. What eventually won me over was the variety in this version. There is fire, thre is jazzy Phish and more importantly, Page dominates. Page has been a real spark plug this tour - both in his playing and in his chattiness. He also breaks out his vocoder in this jam, which has become a regular toy these days.
#8 MPP - It's Ice (7/14/13)
See my explanation above about the Stash from this same show. It's Funky Ice!
#9 Northerly Island - Mike's (7/20/13)
Some may call this a stretch but I had to put a Mike's in this list some where just because they appear to have finally found the darkness in this jam again. The sheer power of Mike's and the history that goes behind it makes it special for many fans and for awhile it had been a shell of itself but this tour seems to have resurrected our old friend. Chicago got a a nice treat with perhaps the most explosive version yet.
#10 - Darling - Antelope (7/3/13)
Songs like Antelope and Hood have been hitting it on all cylanders this tour but the reason you only find me putting one version of these two up on my list is while they are all stellar this tour, most are within the boundary of the standard stellarness that these songs have always been known for. At Darling, they (and for the most part Trey) introduced a bit of a different approach to the typically fast paced Antelop jam. Trey lays back in this one and for a moment it sounded like they were revisiting the Golden Age jam that started out the set. A very unique and memorable Antelope.
Some push back that I may get for my choices above
1. No Energy?
I am just as excited as you are that they have introduced a new jam vehicle to the mix, especially one that is reminiscent of Light. But just like Light in its early days, it needs time to grow. While it has grown up pretty fast, I wouldn't call any that have been played to date to outshine any of the above pics.
2. No Alpharetta
Lets take a look at these shows. First night had a really fun second set where they teased Heartbreaker all over the place and had some nice segues. The Chalk Dust was close to making this list but to be honest, the jam didn't hold my attention for very long. It definitely gets interesting in the same way Dicks version but not enough to stand on its own as something I'll return to. The second night you could make an argument for Energy making this list simply because it's the songs true coming out party. While SPAC saw it first, this confirmed the potential. But still, doesn't quite hit me like the jams above do.
3. No Gorge! Are you crazy!
Look, those Gorge shows were awesome. And that's just it, it was two complete shows - front to back - that made them stand outs for this tour. But it's more that the whole show is greater than the sum of it's parts type of situation. Yeah that Sneakin is great but combined with 2001 it was an epic dancefest. On its own, that Sneakin is on par wiith many other 10-12 minute Sneakins out there. The Undermind is also nice and gets into some fun ambient spaces but simply on its own it is not as special then when you step back and look at the entire show.
But hey, I'm not perfect and in fact, I welcome the debate. That's part of being a Phish fan. So bring it on. What would you add to this top ten list?
