Not too much of a shocker as the Vermont foursome have spent the past four years in the cold, dark depths of the northeast winter for their NYE bash so a trip south is a much deserved option. This will be their third time playing the America Airlines Arena for their NYE run with the first taking place during a dark period in the bands history in 2003 and the most recent taking place during a very happy time period in 2009, their comeback year.

To celebrate this announcement, lets take a step back and listen in to some of the best jams produced in Miami starting with the 2003 run. Below is a YouTube playlist where I grabbed what I could find from these songs. As you may expect, not a ton from 2003 but there were some gems even from back then that I found. To hear all of the songs, check out the phish.in playlist that I put together here. 

12/28/03 Set 1: Frankie Says

Big jam oozes out the back of an otherwise tame song in their repetoire. This time period was dark and so was their improvisation, often lead by Trey and some serious heavy metal jamming. More heavy metal would come in this shows second stand out groove. Who knew Frankie could be stretched to over 11 minutes. Surprised this isn't highlighted in the official phish.net setlist.

12/28/03 Set 2: Suzy Greenberg > Jam

As with the Frankie jam in the first set, this Suzy goes nuts for about 10 minutes, offically clocking this version of Suzy at around 19 minutes. But before we get to the extended jam section that takes place after the 2nd breakdown, the 1st breakdown has it's own extended jam courtesy of Trey and Page's funky dueling.

12/29/03 Set 1: Piper

Ah, you remember when Piper had a slow build? If not then you are in luck as there's no better slow build then a Piper that opens a show such as this one. The jam starts out strong but peters a bit until finding a climax courtesy of big red around 12 minutes in and the fireworks are queued from here until a bit after 14 minutes when the band returns to the Piper chords and verse to end a fun opener.

12/29/03 Set 2: Free

This second set is actually pretty rock solid as far as 2.0 goes. Some nice segues and well placed jams but there isn't necessarily one jam that stands out among the rest. But with this Free you've got a duel between Mike and Trey that gets eaten up by the fans who poor their affection for this band and this moment. When the audience plays a role in the energy, which it so often does when a show is flowing well, it's hard to beat the feeling.

12/29/03 Set 2: Divided Sky

A monster version. It starts oddly with Trey still grinding away at his guitar from the Free that proceeded and seemed as if a Zeppelin jam was coming next. Perhaps the energy of the crowd from the Free inspired Trey to throw this in before closing the set. Either way, from the extended pause to the extended jam that seemed to peak over and over, this is a must hear version for those Sky fans out there.

12/30/03 Set 1: Bathtub Gin > 2001

This is where dreams come true for those teasefest heads. From harkening back to the very special Big Cypress gig with a tease of After Midnight to a rare tease of Show Biz Kids by Steely Dan. Ending a set with a segue in to 2001 is always special and when it gets extra funky and that funk actually reverts into a tease of the funkmaster himself, George Clinton, then you know something special is going down.

12/30/03 Set 2: Tube > L.A. Women

Perhaps all the teasing in the first set was a sign as they kept right on chugging along with this first ever version and ongoing teases of The Doors L.A. Women. It's not the best played cover but this Tube is a boat loads of fun and the segue in to LA is just icing on the cake.

12/31/03 Set 2: Stash

Who has two thumbs and loves Stash? This guy (points two thumbs at myself). I love a deep Stash even and this one goes real deep. It's got those low, staccato sections with Trey barely plucking his strings, Fishman scatting away at his kit and Gordon thumping a single bass note. This all eventually flows into a sick space jam that moves far outside the standard Stash realm. Only to then climb out of the depths of this quite space and back into the madness that is the Stash jam.

12/31/03 Set 3: Runaway Jim

This is a Trey shred fest version. Just pure, good old fashion, rock n roll my friend. And it's 22+ minutes long! What I also really love about this Jim is it comes in the 3rd set of the NYE set. That's atypical for a NYE 3rd set to have such a monster jam like this. At around 14 minutes it starts to slow down then oozes in to a trippy, psychedlic freak out similar to the Frankenstein chaos and then it kicks right back in to rock n roll terrritory. It starts to get pretty schizo at around the 18 minute mark and pretty dark ultimately leading to a segue in to Simple. 

12/28/09 Set 1: Roggae

A great version and the first played since the bands break up in 2004. A well crafted slow build, which is key for Roggae, that lands on a great peak. If any complaint can be made it's with the ending and how they return to the main Roggae theme.

It's funny to listen to these older versions of Light because I remember just hating this song when it first got dropped on us in 2009. From the lyrics to the meandering jam that never seemed to go any where. But some versions back then certainly hinted at the songs future promises and this is certainly one of those versions. As it hits the 10 minute mark it gets in to a really sweet groove with Trey layering all sorts of loops and Gordon supplying a solid bass line to support the layers.

12/29/09 Set 2: Tweezer > Caspian, Jiboo > Wilson > Jiboo

There's some fun scat jamming going on with start / stop jamming that always puts a smile on your face. It eventually turns into the Mike Gordon show as he takes the lead and throws bomb after bomb after bomb. This all leads into some meandering space and while I would often say a segue in to Caspian out of Tweezer may be more of a "oh, bummer", it fits perfectly given where the Tweezer jam was headed. In fact, if you listen to the end of this Tweezer and then fast forward to the thick of the Caspian jam, it's almost as if you never left the Tweezer jam. Then a slight break and right in to Jiboo. This is a smoking version that gets all heavy metal, hence the perfect seque opportunity in to Wilson. While I certainly would have welcomed they kept riffing on the heavy metal jam, this Wilson mashup worked pretty well. It also wasn't easy coming back in to Jiboo but Trey helped guide them back and it was an otherwise great return to close out probably the best segment of jamming thrown down at this MIami haunt to date.

12/30/09 Set 2: Back on the Train

If the 29th had the best segment of jamming with the second set, the 30th has probably the best stand alone jam with this BOTT. Arguably the best version ever played and much like the night before where Gordon helped fuel the Tweezer fire, he helped initially guide this in to type II territory and kept it there for 13 minutes or so after they left the main theme. These moments when a song not often known for its extended jams (see The Wedge from Chicago this summer) goes somewhere is quite possibly my favorite part of a Phish live experience. If you are lucky enough to catch such a moment, you'll never forget the feeling. Even if you've never seen the band before, the energy among the crowd is eletric and it takes a real cold person not to be swept up in the moment. 

12/30/09 Set 2: Antelope (aka Boogielope) 

The Free, Boogie > Antelope ending to this set is a real treat and while the night before may have had better flow for the majority of the set, this ending is hard to ignore. Tons and tons of Boogie On Reggae Women teases in this antelope to the point where could maybe even argue they segue back in to the song proper for a second or two dring the initial build up. It's not the longest version you'll come across but the teases add energy to otherwise great set in Miami. 

12/31/09 Set 2: Ghost > NO2

As with many NYE shows, the jams are compact when they happen and it's often more about the vibe and the antics then just about the music itself. But in the case of this Ghost, the music takes center stage. And who doesn't love a little NO2 to cap off a great jam.