Phish - August 4th, 2023

Jam starts with typical play before the band hooks up on a major key motif. High level interplay follows, and Trey touches the sky with a long, sustained note which culminates in a full band crescendo. The energy shifts towards minor key before returning to the "46 Days" riff to close.

Fire Fish rolls on through the four-minute mark, when he teams up with Trey, the friends synching to create the first of a couple markedly cool improvisational passages. Breaking free, Trey soars above Page, who, with Mike, creates all sorts of colors in sound. Play concludes with a decidedly Allman's vibe, Phish just fresh enough to be surprisingly unfamiliar. They return to "BOAF's" signature melody and classic coda.

The jam escapes the confines of "Halley's" by way of staying on "A", and a brief but potent excursion ensues. A propulsive, upbeat minor key groove develops, with Trey cycling through effects atop Page's Rhodes, Mike's synth bass, and Fishman's steady pulse. A major mode shift then catalyzes a smooth -> "Roggae".

Almost exactly 6 years to the day, "Mike's" gets another monster run as the Set II opener at MSG after 8/2/17's Baker's Dozen stunner. After a spirited, if routine first jam, the second jam forges ahead at 8:45 with a progressively upbeat display of the band's ability to weave a tapestry of interplay as they cycle through the changes. Trey's walkup at 19:20 signals a blowout finale on the horizon which arrives in full a few minutes later, after which the closing chords are repeated, then > "Sand".

Acting as the palate cleanser between a titanic "Mike's Song" and a breakneck "Crosseyed and Painless", this version opts for supreme patience despite its short run-time. Trey's throwback Whammy loops set the tone, as the band settles into a blissy psychedelic space. This then slowly builds to a swirl of hose-y playing before setting MSG on fire with a -> "Crosseyed".

One of the fastest paced versions to date explodes -> out of "Sand" and launches a thrilling straightforward jam before taking its foot off the gas around 7:30 and downshifting into a more contemplative space.