Phish - December 28th, 2023

More punch than normal in every respect. Mike's vocals; Page's work on the piano - electric or otherwise; Fish's Fish; and Trey's play (his deployment of the echoplex and a bit more by way of soloing): Excellent.

Spacious playing sets the tone before a shift at the 7 minute mark turns towards introspective psychedelia, led by a cascade of synthesizers and Rhodes piano from Page. Mike then suggests some spicy modulatory directions before an energetic major key motif takes hold. The band rides this all the way as Trey takes his time to build a smooth yet powerful crescendo before yielding to the "Gin" motif, puddling into mind-scrambling guitar effects, and > "Ghost".

> from "The Howling", "AWOH" continues its run of huge, improv-heavy versions in 2023. Heavy effects from Trey early give way to a slowed tempo by the 10 minute mark. The band shows patience as they work through the jam. At 17:00, in a place where you might expect a new song to pop out, they instead find a new groove. Sprite play from Trey sends the jam into a feel-good, upbeat place. The jam fizzles to an end and -> into "Rift".

The namesake sound effects from the set's preceding "The Howling" are repeated in the intro, and then this "Mike's" launches into an appropriately funky jam to further cement the former's influence before becoming more typical at 7:15 as it crescendos into the closing chords, then > "Simple".

A tale of two "Simples". Providing a great contrast from a notable "Mike's", the band drops quickly into less by way of bebop to traverse more bucolic terrain. A welcome approach, the version rewards repeated listens-given that the extended improvisation is ineffable-before Trey subtly signals a change, leading the band with unusual, restrained soloing that builds but doesn't break.